Coins/Blue Falcon - Campfire Stories

[@TorremThonius]

I think the reason he loves the 509th is because, as someone who is pissed off at everything, he recognizes the handiwork of true experts.

[@christianholbrook2686]

I think it's more the fact the 509th was far kinder to him than his own damn company.

[@TorremThonius]

@@christianholbrook2686 yeah, that’s true. Maybe it was a psy-op, plant seeds of loyalty to OpFor in the specialists of other units.

[@kingofthegrimm6161]

I just had a fucken funny idea Idiot enters zack’s shop pisses him off calls up the 509th and practically used them as hitmen

[@leerman22]

@@christianholbrook2686 Well he's pretty much the only guy there who can fix guns.

[@ladywaffle2210]

@@kingofthegrimm6161 "509th here." "This is Zach." "Hey-hey, our man in our hour of need! What do you need from us?" "Do you take target requests?" "Who do you want us to shoot at?"

[@DeadlySkill15]

*secret achievement unlocked* “Get the 509th division coin without being in the 509th”

[@antekknapek4635]

*how are you awake?* "Be saved from the pit by doing something productive for a very long period of time"

[@DrMatrix1231]

I would be more impressive if it were the 501st ; )

[@FlameDarkfire]

But seriously, his description of them makes me want to join up with them now

[@ShagaroKujo]

@@FlameDarkfire you would want them on your side if fort polk gets attacked

[@unequivocalsuffering2734]

@@DrMatrix1231 Ayyyyy

[@RobinMelons]

One of these days, some modder is going to make a Fort Polk mod and recreate every bit of information from Zach.

[@Soron661]

hehehehehehehehe. I'd love to see Zach play that mod. it'd be so hilarious seeing him turn into that one character from that episode involving a Zach stuck repairing weapons and doing stupid things.

[@EDFslayer]

I was actually thinking of doing that, I couldn't think of a decent story but I started to make a world with a massive military base. Best idea I had was NCR asking you to join a military exercise

[@K-11609]

Lily - LunarSlayer oh nice! If you go through with it, can you update us on that?

[@CelestialBuddo]

@@EDFslayer Any progress?

[@rookiestudios7406]

Let’s hope so

[@grimreminder5038]

What civilians hear: "You've been awarded the good conduct medal" What I hear: "Congratulations, here's another thing you have to buy for your uniform or we *will* complain"

[@vinokai]

.....so EA runs the US Military 😂

[@Trench1919A4]

@@vinokai YES

[@thegoodolddays9193]

Punishing good behavior is always a great strategy.

[@grimreminder5038]

@@thegoodolddays9193 that's the only strategy "leadership" seems to understand these days. Well, that and mandatory fun days where it's like a normal weekend but somehow depression got invited and everyone's confused as to how that happened

[@thegoodolddays9193]

@@grimreminder5038 Even the name, "mandatory fun", screams depression.

[@thegeneralissimo470]

To give a bit of context, a lieutenant colonel is roughly 15 pay-grade steps above a specialist, which is what Zach is.

[@hungryburger1170]

so a whole dollar an hour extra

[@Meme-Weeb-Dweeb]

No, one Arizona Sweet Tea extra an hour

[@kin2skyrim]

@@Meme-Weeb-Dweeb an arizona sweet tea is an arizona sweet tea, im not complaining

[@lornbaker1083]

That's still a big level of respect. Zach must really impressed them. Also I love the idea that the only way that you can pretty much get the coin is by aiding opfor.

[@theregalproletariat]

How'd you get 15? Specialist is OR-4, Lt Col is OF-4 - I make it 9 pay-grade steps.

[@triplecastsleep1924]

I love the fact that sergeants in the military basically spend their entire time making a group of armed people, trained to kill, as miserable as possible for a living.

[@DerDoctor69]

I mean, what they gonna do? Shoot the sergeant.... Oh wait

[@Shadow-gc6le]

@@DerDoctor69 *pvt Pyle has joined the chat*

[@DetectiveDorian]

It's good to be miserable early on; it helps mitigate the misery later.

[@SirAroace]

now you know why Bob Ross hated his job and became chill painter

[@combinecommando001]

@@DetectiveDorian it's also a good way to filter out those who can't handle the life without actually causing harm.

[@detectivecobalt2721]

I'm serving in Fort Polk right now. I agree with everything he says Edit: we made it to Germany boys, we won!

[@detectivecobalt2721]

I got a coin from a 2 star general for my motivation

[@pugking1233]

God help you

[@macasaurusrex4863]

F

[@KermRiv]

F

[@ChrisHansen5.56x45]

Damn you should’ve put more points into your luck perk tree

[@Scavenger-sw7ei]

I loved the '' I'm sorry '' from Zach how he said was just so funny

[@enclavesoldier6928]

yes your just right

[@Ribbons0121R121]

"iM sOrRy"

[@m3chaw0lf]

Sounds like pyrrha

[@SirMemesalotThe3rd]

9:20

[@ctaw2006]

I wheezed

[@jordanguelbert7754]

The more I hear zach's stories, the more I go "wow RVB was more realistic in the character department than I thought"

[@MrLego3160]

Almost like one or more of the guys in it are ex military

[@elijahjarman2837]

@@MrLego3160 I think Gus may have been army

[@RickachuCXVI]

@@elijahjarman2837 so was geoff, but that's his point

[@Supperdude9]

Being in the 509 sounds like it would be fun. Living to piss off the smarmy and snarky incompetent upper command of Fort Polk is true hero work. Seriously, you get paid to troll a whole base.

[@tdwreck2020]

except you would be in the field all the time in LA

[@deaddad6310]

Whole Army* literally all of the army goes there to train against the 509th

[@vinokai]

Wonder if they do midnight raids.

[@thesugardaddy7037]

@@vinokai I would assume so

[@Slagmaster]

we do a little trolling

[@justin2308]

Those coin and ribbon stories are actually pretty wholesome. Also, take value in those National Defense ribbons anyway because not everybody is going to have the willpower to even get through basic training. I know I couldn’t, not by a longshot. The Blue Falcon Story was freaking hilarious. Zach’s love for his M16 saved him from the pit, but got almost everyone else into it.

[@dravenocklost4253]

Nope. Everyone else being lazy got themselves into trouble.

[@patrickglover7506]

Not a bad strategy for boot camp Id assume (civilian talking here).

[@sillylittleowlguy2392]

Patrick Glover I mean, everyone else will hate your guts for being a blue falcon

[@FnD4212]

Love for Piper.

[@GamerJV]

It wasn't really a blue falcon move. He was doing what he was supposed to be doing. He didn't run down to the office and snitch.

[@koyooko5160]

I'd love for this to be a mod for random encounters, you find two NCR rangers camping on your adventures telling stories.

[@leechowning2712]

Someone please make this.

[@Techhunter_Talon]

Have it be that you catch the tail end of a story just so the player can stop and have that 'WHAT DID THEY JUST SAY???' kind moment when you caught something that sounds absolutely outlandish out of context.

[@Wolf4Babygirl]

Could happen...civie11 is in the new Postal

[@ladywaffle2210]

@@Techhunter_Talon If you sit next to their campfire, they say, "Oh, have you heard X story?" If you say no, they respond with, "Oh, it's a great one!" and repeat the dialogue.

[@isaacljung4898]

@@Techhunter_Talonin the mike just exclaiming “KILL HIM!!” Way?

[@RyanKing00]

For some reason, I got the image in my head of Zach just looking at the other recruits that got in trouble, staring at them from above, and whispering "long live the king"

[@pugking1233]

That images in my head now and I love it

[@don_musavt]

Achievement unlocked: "doing the hokey polky" earn a coin for aiding 509th in being a nightmare for the rest of the infantry

[@demilung]

It's fitting that "the bad guys" at Fort Polk are fine and cool dudes.

[@mccor002]

Playing OpFor is like the most fun you can have in the military

[@walnzell9328]

For your exceptional marksmenship skills, we award you the expert marksmanship ribbon. That'll be $30. Does EA run the military?

[@sparkymist]

Army Artilleryman ah yes I remember when we transitioned from the old army camo to the ACUs, we were told to go buy them or wait tell some came in...for about 6 months I was the only one with the old uniform because I would not go pay money lol

[@catboy9653]

Worse, its the united states government

[@cifalem]

@@catboy9653 that's just EA with armed guards and prisons

[@TemplonicChaos]

I didnt have to buy my expert marksmanship ribbon in the Navy...but that was back in 06' so who knows.

[@lEGOBOT2565]

yes

[@TRETHEGAMERMAN]

I love hearing these military stories because 1) they’re entertaining as hell And 2) it gives me inside information about the military to make my life easier because in the event of me having to be drafted into the military I’ll be by myself because none of my friends can qualify to be in the military

[@arx3516]

These stories remind me a lot of what my dad and many of my friends told me about the compulsory military service in Italy, wich i skipped since they turned the military into a voluntary one while i was attending university.

[@Noredlac_]

These stories are a lot better if you’ve experienced Army bs

[@kalskirata9643]

Ive served in a foreign military, German navy to be precise, and i can tell you, this is the same in every military, details are different but most of it is pretty similar. One thing EVERY soldier, sailor or airman does is complain... And there is enough incompetence in the military to be infuriated as a lowly E3. Zachs stories are fucking hilarious

[@JohnnyShagbot]

Necro post but, you're not gonna get drafted. The draft will never be activated again, we have more than enough people in the military at this point.

[@Meme-Weeb-Dweeb]

@@JohnnyShagbot "You can never have a enough bodies to through at problems" - Russia, 1941

[@KingdomCome257]

Couple years ago when I went to college, I was on the battleship Wisconsin at Nauticus taking pictures for a photography project. There was a small re-enlistment(?) happening towards the front of the ship and I was waiting off to the side for the ceremony to concede and I could take pictures of the older officers in their white uniforms. I see a younger sailor in ceremony whites running up to me out of nowhere and asked if I was there to take pictures of an event. I said I wasn't and was just getting pictures where I could for B roll (I had a professional camera around my neck). The sailor told me to follow him towards the back of the ship and explained that there was a high ranking commander that was retiring, and the photographer for the event was a no show. I went over and there were about 100 people all in ceremony whites and the sailor said to act professional and get in there like a photographer, get plenty of pictures of the ceremony, and to mainly get pictures of the retiring commander when he receives his medal board, and when he did his final dismissal from duty. I took many, many pictures of everyone there, the ceremony, the medal board and the final walk, all the sailors, the commander with his family, etc. After it was all over I was talking to the sailor who first fetched me and the commander came over and shook my hand, palming me a standard USN Carrier Strike Group 2 coin. I thanked him profusely and agreed to transfer all the pictures to a flash drive he can use. A few weeks later (and several technical difficulties) I managed to get the thumb drive and met with him to hand it over. When I give him the thumb drive, he hands me another coin, this one shaped like a badge and 2 tridents on either side, a more elaborate Carrier Strike Group 2 medal. He said it was his personal thanks for saving the memories of his retirement and i thanked him for one of the coolest experiences of my life. td;dr: Got 2 Carrier Strike Group 2 coins as a civilian for photographing a high ranking sailor's retirement.

[@nothingtoseehere1221]

Thats siiiiick

[@iateseveralpoundsofsemtex1577]

christ almighty man.

[@fraserking4747]

“No, they’re the bad guys.” *D u h*

[@03c12]

Having been 1-4 IN REGT OPFOR in Germany for 3 years I can say...yeah it's pretty great to just piss off the rest of the Army. We do something similar to the 509 except we stay on the ground.

[@03c12]

@@ArtyFire118 Still here.

[@03c12]

@@ArtyFire118 No, got there December 16. Close though.

[@03c12]

@@ArtyFire118 Pleasure doing business with you. We only get more effective as time goes on and we get more gadgets and gizmos

[@MinecraftLD10]

@@03c12 Please tell me you got to have a bit of a half life speedrun moment where a basically an unprepared group got wiped and didn't even see one of you for a split second to know who did it...

[@skorgevondoom___9571]

opfor Or I as know them due to my dad, THOSE MOTHER*****

[@patrickglover7506]

I love how the drill instructor was marking the people who were still doing stuff like they had been told, and didn't punish them. Its like, "You guys are good. It's these snoozy little princesses that are in trouble."

[@LokasennaCole]

What sucks is that the guys who didn't get in trouble would probably be the target of retaliation from the guys who did.

[@patrickglover7506]

@@LokasennaCole unfortunately yes.

[@CrimsonFox36]

"I got an award for aiding the enemy!"

[@lapislucas001]

Mike and Zach should do a podcast that's just them telling stories

[@jarrettgarcia3980]

Bruh I was thinking that too I think it funny yo listen too

[@diegomarquez4340]

I think it’d make a good series idk about the rest of you BUT I would love to see Zach critique guns in video games. Especially those in apocalyptic games where guns that don’t look like they would work do

[@landonjamison7332]

Diego Marquez that’s a baller idea

[@Brainwave101]

I'd love to see his reactions to MGSV's weird ass bootleg guns.

[@NYPDOFFICER3]

Put him in Halo and he'll rip his hair out trying to comprehend how dumb the guns are

[@SuzanneHomemaker]

To be fair most of those guns would work just once

[@3asianassassin]

Well there are the gun rant videos, but there should be more

[@theillegal2350]

There should be challenge coins for being stationed at Fort Polke

[@justin2308]

Tristin O'Leary But then they’d have to recognize Zach for the work that he did, and apparently they didn’t want to do that too much. 😂

[@theillegal2350]

@@ArtyFire118 what did they give to you for picking up brass at the range or something

[@theillegal2350]

@@ArtyFire118 the difference is you earned it

[@KermRiv]

The only coin that I'm really proud of was given to me by a chief when I made e-5. She and I usually would talk while I was cleaning my p-way during cleaning stations and I had helped her with a couple of things because she wasn't ships company. I had gone to her a few times for mentorship and such because she was one of the good ones. When she handed it to me I couldn't even say anything. After all I had done this was the first time I had been personally awarded anything at all. If you're out there chief Romero, you were awesome... keep it up.

[@cooperdavis9663]

I love how Cass is just quietly sitting there and listening intently to their rambling

[@Trainfacts]

0:10 I've never been in the military so I've never got a challenge coin before, but the closest thing I can compare to a challenge coin was when while working as a freight conductor I stopped for a switch banner (basically a reflective set of targets they put in switches so we'd actually look at them rather than just running through it) then like 3 train masters came out and gave me what I call a railroad challenge coin which, they probably gave to everyone but still

[@NickTaylorRickPowers]

So a pat on the back?

[@jasonharding96]

Zach is like I got a coin from the 409th from aiding and abetting the enemy

[@ehails8519]

It's interesting that Mike puts Zach's character in blue... trying to tell us something Mike?

[@dinodude6992]

That's because zachs a paragon while mike is a renegade

[@comradedima9791]

zach is the lesser of two evil

[@Ghostrecall_M]

Man, after Mike changed the portraits date this comment.

[@walnzell9328]

The 509th sound like the Viet Cong.

[@AceOfBlackjack]

God dam it, you are right.

[@waffle3632]

They kinda are. They use guerilla ops to train the military against fighting insurgent guerrilla techniques that they are likely to see in combat against terrorists

[@AceOfBlackjack]

Defau/t look them up, I did and they literally have enough trenches too make ww1 look like a creek battle.

[@avengermkii7872]

It's nice that he got rewarded for doing something for someone who wasn't even in his unit. Always appreciate the people who do things for you

[@koltinn]

0:00 - 4:39 Zach aiding and abbeting the enemy 4:39 - 5:56 Expert Marksman pin from the Range Officer 5:58 - 9:29 Zach's involentary blue falcon

[@aideennoble2234]

I was taking to a friend/coworker about your story a few days after you uploaded this and he said he was part of 509th. Small world

[@Phonedharpy]

This whole story series is just two military veterans complaining and telling you why you shouldn't enlist Edit: Jesus Christ thank you guys for 350 likes!

[@milk1472]

It's not all bad, honestly, the shitty stuff is what's fun to look back on and laugh

[@Shevlander]

@Brent Hannon ...Zach ain’t laughing.

[@joshuamorrow8863]

I love this, I could watch it all day long

[@krazykat64]

Shevlan d I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Zach sounds bitter when he talks about just about everything. He’s a really funny guy, but Mike seems to be the one who does all the laughing. 😂

[@theillegal2350]

Quit ironically I am hoping to work in the armory because of zach.

[@ToozdaysChild]

The idea that you have to BUY the medals and honors you've been awarded is... Like, I'm a literal American, and that's the most America thing I've heard in awhile.

[@MetalMaxDog]

Now I’m curious, did the rest of the guys know that you tried to say anything or did they have silent anger towards the ones that were not in the pit?

[@buttunbasher3604]

How is this comment 3 days ago?! Are you from the future?! Or the past?!

[@diobrandocinematicuniverse4450]

Why does it say this was released three days ago even thought I just got it today

[@sigmamaleaffirmationhypnob7340]

@@diobrandocinematicuniverse4450 patreon patrons get early access

[@diobrandocinematicuniverse4450]

@@sigmamaleaffirmationhypnob7340 ahh ok

[@sayyidvasquez9925]

Yeah wtf

[@HereticalKitsune]

I got a single Coin when I served and that was the NRF 10-coin for... participating in the NRF training! xD There were only coin checks in my unit... Coins were checked and who hadn't had their coin had to pay the round.

[@twm0904]

Please keep making these videos, the stories are hilarious

[@Warlordrex5]

Family: "Why do you collect those stupid coin? They're just over glorified paper weights." Me: "I just think they're neat." Edit: Also I swear to god I can't like this enough, great stories just absolutely died when Zach went "I'm sorry."

[@legomatt0134]

So I got a fun one, so basic training, I had a similar experience, we were told to go away, so I in turn went to finally do laundry, 1 hour turned to 3, then to 5 and people just dozed off, so my bay had a paddle ball, so I was in the laundry room and while everyone is taking naps, I hear a shh and then the drill sergeant walked into the laundry room and told me to shut up and don't say anything, so he leaves and about 5 minutes later, I find out me and one other were the only ones up and the rest of the bay went to the pit and ran the whole pit. I believe 3 passed out and one went to the hospital, makes me miss the military.

[@leechowning2712]

Everyone goes why are they so mean and I'm a case of it keeps people from dying. There are bad people out there and you don't want to be asleep in the wrong place.

[@appalachianbandit2528]

I went and augmented the OpFor at Ft. Polk and I got a Army Achievement Medal for killing a platoon of 4th ID scouts single handedly. I was pretty pleased with myself.

[@sabregunner1]

i like this 509th story. they guy knew he was imposing on and reaslised the magnitude of what he was asking. like zach said, they guy was nice about it. appreciation and recognition of how much they are asking of you is big tbf zach, what you did doesnt sound like a blue falcon. they snitch on people. you did as you were trained to do, your DS than gave you specific instructions , which you followed. you did this without tattling, thats the difference

[@mb51196]

I had an almost identical experience in basic, Sunday was church day, we had the day to do whatever to get our gear prepped for the next week, and people got to attend the service of their choosing. I was sitting at my bed, cleaning the training rifle they gave us, when I noticed someone come in. It was a Sargent. I began to rise to call his entry when he pointed right at me then put his finger to his lips in the shushing motion, wrote down who had fallen asleep on their beds, went to the other bay, I heard a sharp squeak of surprise from one of the others, he left, the next day everyone caught sleeping had to go do extra drills.

[@rainmanslim4611]

"And he asked nicely" I swear, so much can be accomplished if you just ask nicely, people are way less likely to give you pushback and way more likely to just say "sure no problem" if you just ask nicely.

[@tyler89557]

It also helps that his own unit tended to treat him poorly.

[@brennanhearn6342]

I was in San Diego ten months in the navy, it rained THREE times. It was NEVER cold, hell the ocean was like a heated pool at midnight on New Year's...I didn't make expert with the pistol, but I was CLOSE, and outshot MOST of my division. Proud of that. Fourth generation military, grew up shooting...Love it.

[@doomsdoor]

My favorite memory of basic in the army was when the drill sergeants found a patched hole filled with candy wrappers in the female sleeping quarters, they had stolen spackling paste to cover the hole but it had a slight discoloration They called the company into formation and started yelling at as us and first sergeant started pointing me out saying that I looked like I was a ghost from how pale I was Somehow only the females got punished for that until the ones responsible came forward, took a few hours oof

[@lillianwolfe8314]

I'm not sure how you've been managing to upload so many Campfire Stories recently, but I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, THANK YOU!

[@LargerRanger5-Mhz-mW]

2:53 “don’t ask, And if a Walmart employee shows up, if you want to take care of him it’ll help me a lot” XD

[@mrlandshark5559]

My brother was going to enlist a few years ago but was turned away because he had broken his leg 7 months prior so the leg was slightly longer than the other. I think he dodged a bullet when he had ridden that dam skateboard down a hill.

[@trenchcoatbandit]

im loving the campfire storys keep up the good work buds

[@Stuff8522]

Here's what I use mine for. Spinning on the computer desk while watching you or The History Guy talking about coins. If that's not an appropriate usage of these pieces of metal, I don't know what is.

[@commanderbastard1993]

The OPFOR 509th sound awesome. They have the best job. Being paid to troll the army, sounds like heaven.

[@JMIK-mf1ly]

I hope that you two continue this type of thing cause it is really interesting and brightens up my day. If you ever get the chance make like a pod cast of these episodes. They are amazing and I hope you to have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

[@splatterking1171]

I come to this channel for three things, Mike's spontaneous adventures on Zach, Zach shooting people in the face while screaming, and Mike and Zach's stories

[@Sunrie]

These are PAINFULLY relatable

[@muggo947]

YES more storys! Love them

[@richardmillhousenixon]

My dad was a civilian contractor for the military following his services in the army and at some point became good friends with (now former) General B. B. Bell (yes, that was his actual initials IIRC. I know his last name was bell, and I'm pretty sure on the initials). And General Bell, at some point prior to his retirement, gave my father two of his personal challenge coins to give to me and my sister (I think I was around 6 at the time), So my sister and I both have a challenge coin from a 4 star general, despite neither one of us ever serving in the military.

[@L337f33t]

I just want to say you two are a national treasure. I listen to the story episodes at work and it makes what I do bearable. The compilation episodes were a godsend, especially Zachs gun moments. 40 minutes is great because I don’t have to skip as many ads!

[@FlauntyToaster]

the 509th story is my favorite military story. ive listened to is at least a dozen times

[@AshenWolf93]

Mike, getting the marksman ship ridden for your officer is pretty cool. Zach story is awesome but your story is still great to hear. I honestly love these campside stories between you two.

[@AINGELPROJECT667]

Wait did Mike just tell us how he got unique loot from doing a sidequest?

[@somerandomguy2316]

:) this is exactly what I needed. Thank you. It has been a rough day but these stories help. Thank you mike and zach

[@TheHeavysilver]

Thanks to this my recommendations are filled with “what’s a blue falcon” videos

[@DuckyTheFox]

I saw the title and all i could think was that old video: "OBJECTS I'VE SHOVED UP MY ARSE" "COINS"

[@BigWired]

Hey, I came across your channel and these stories because of watching Fallout videos, and I have to say that these videos, stories of the military, are really wonderful. It's a great insight into how things work, and it also reminds me of my two Uncles, Uncle Steven and Uncle David, when they'd come home from being out on deployment and talk about their experiences. They were both regular army, Canadian Military, although my Uncle David also had a stint in the UN Peacekeeping Forces which included a tour of duty in Cypress in the mid-80s. So hearing these stories, it just... you know, feels heartwarming, like having a piece of them back again as they've both passed away some time ago. Thank you.

[@geraldtucker6952]

0:38 my dad has a huge collection from his time in the army. Lot of them are lost sadly, but he had two soldier of the year tokens

[@fuschiaboystatus1289]

All of these stories are great, but for some reason, this is the video I want to see animated

[@CMT_Crabbles]

I remember binging these stories while eating a bag of family size Dorito’s in some hotel room. Good times!

[@julianblankenship7564]

Mike, I envy you. I hit my targets. I closed in on my groupings. And I was set.... To fail. Because my wingman decided that he was gonna place his shots on my target. In the white. They couldn't count enough distinct shots in my tight placement. So they started counting my wingman's erroneous fire down my center white. I would have the ribbon if I wasn't placed next to the only man with short-sightedness in my flight.

[@MattyJ7316]

4:10 dude I died laughing at that. Good story, my guy!

[@MrMTGPsycho]

Thing I hate about challenge coins is how everyone has forgotten their history, which is SUPER cool. Basically, it all started in the middle ages with rings (usually). See when a noble needed to relay orders and for those orders to be followed either A) they have to go or B) they have to send someone. Only B was a bit of a toss up at time cause, why am I going to listen to this random nobody. Enter the ring, it's a piece of jewelry anyone of authority will recognize and basically means, you now speak with the authority of the noble. Now, the coin part came in MUCH later (after guns, before telegraph) for when a commander needed their orders followed without question. Some commanders minted coins to do this job. It's really cool because normally a private tells a frontline commander what to do and they either get ignored, told to screw off, or shot. Private shows the coin and OH BOY, that private now speaks with the authority of whoever the hell minted the damn thing, usually a general or, because England, a lord. History is AWESOME.

[@majorghoul9017]

Op-For is the best position in the army and I love them so much

[@Red0543]

The only coin I got is the one I got from being part of the Nordic Battlegroup. We didn’t get deployed, we didn’t do anything but participate in the Joint Action exercise (... Dear gods I got so many stories from *that* exercise!) and take inventory over and over again. Still, it’s a pretty cool coin and a way to help me to remember “the good old days” :)

[@classified7529]

I burst out laughing at the last one with the drill sergeant thank you guys for your service to our country

[@TheFirstVonGunther]

My favorite coin I have is also a bottle opener for helping a fixed wing repair unit run a range and training up their guys. Good shots, them.

[@mrfate8355]

Every time I hear zach talk about fort Polk I always feel the urge to apologize to him on behalf of Louisiana

[@darthjavaga5874]

This is one of my most favorite stories so far

[@LaserAgentRyan]

1:40 I bet you love them

[@noahodum6646]

And that is when the Zach becomes the house mouse of his Platoon

[@FakeFailsafe]

I see you've been doing these a lot. And I want to say. I appreciate it. I really like you guys' stories, but I don't have the time to sit down and watch your whole Fallout series, so having these little side videos is really nice. Thanks, my mans.

[@Misterbitties]

Wait was Zach in the 10th? That’s the Division my brother was in!

[@silverbloodborne9495]

And your name is Zach ummmmmmm

[@carbonwolf1087]

Oh boy.

[@Misterbitties]

I was curious to see if he was deployed around the same time my brother (Nick) was.

[@andreipintea9333]

7:12 I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard.

[@TheBat200]

One of my brothers was 10th mountain division too! I have his coin somewhere in all my stuff.

[@SirDerbear]

I love this series! Puts a huge smile on my face hearing these stories.

[@Foxxie0kun]

Sounds like Zach and the other guys still being productive in the dead of night got rewarded while the guys who went to bed got punk'd. That Drill Sergeant was pretty clever for setting that up, though.

[@EyeSky420]

I have a challenge coin for being a groomsman at a wedding.

[@Kyxemi]

I love these videos so much, especially since you've been uploading so much of them recently. It honestly makes my day hearing you two go back and forth, and the hilarious and cool stories you have, thank you.

[@jarrettgarcia3980]

Zach and mike really should have a podcast cause yall tell the funniest fucking stories about your military career😂😂 also love the videos pls never stop

[@DarkLord-en9pg]

These story videos are the best

[@calebjohnson5058]

Idk y I never watched these vids. I missed out for so long. Absolutely love military stories.

[@SageryKT]

I got coin from an EOD unit in Iraq for moving shit around with a 10K forklift. I got one from my actual unit for working my ass off fufilling an E5 roll as an E3. It's a pretty subjective award.

[@fpsp.t.t.h3010]

Holy shit dude, you guys need to keep doing this and like many people have said just make a podcast. You guys have been amazing ever since you put out that first fallout multiplayer episode

[@joshz6975]

Blue falcon story had me ROLLING

[@Mid_Knight2]

omg the last story happened to me before, we already graduated, but since we were in the Covid cycle, a lot of us were hold overs, me and a bunch of my buddies were chilling in our bunks, others decided to make a fort out of the mattresses, and the DS walked in, i yelled "AT EASE" everyone jumped, someone knocked down the fort, and he saw it, he started laughing then he said "FRONT LEANING REST POSITION, MOVE!"

[@goonofjoliet6469]

I can see Zach down right crying after that story and I fucking died when the Sargent said "Don't you say another fucking word" Fucking gold

[@alecfrancis9316]

I had a bit of a weird go at rifle qual during basic training. I went to basic with what I would consider to be an above average shooting experience than other recruits. I was by no means an expert rifleman, but I knew how to line up sights and pull triggers, so by BCT metrics, I was an expert. Now, when I went through basic, we spent a whole week spinning up for our ACTUAL qualification day. Zeroing, and practicing what we would actually be expected to do come Friday, shooting pop-up targets. We shot on the simulators and we shot on ranges that gave live readouts of our impacts, it was honestly pretty high-speed stuff. The whole week I was performing at the top of my platoon, outscoring most if not all of my fellow boots. I was pretty confident that I would really show out come qual day, and I would be one of the handful of new recruits rocking the expert badge, which is the ONLY thing you wear on your ASUs that you have any say over during basic training. Boy was I wrong. Come qual day, I was no more than five or six rounds through my first stage of firing when I encountered the most devastating malfunction you can experience with the M16 platform rifle. I got a double feed. Now, most malfunctions you can fix with "immediate action", which is essentially slapping the magazine, running the action, and returning to firing. Tap, rack, bang. It takes about two seconds. A double feed means there's two rounds fighting for space in a chamber made to only fit one round. This generally means that these rounds are pretty well stuck, not engaged with the extractor, and will not be removed by mere traditional methods. You have to take the weapon apart and fix it. Foolishly, I recognized this problem, and tried to quickly "shotgun" my rifle and start fishing these rounds out. After maybe 45-60 seconds, I managed to get everything cleared and back into action, and put my rifle back into firing order. By this time, several targets had popped up and fallen back down, resulting in a scoring of zero hits for maybe ten to a dozen targets. By the time I finished the course of fire, I was left with a paltry, but still decent score of 27/40, all things considered. But according to regulations, because I had scored a "passing" score, that would be my final score, and I would not be allowed another try. If I had just done the "smart" thing, and laid my rifle down and asked for help, I would have failed that course of fire and been allowed a retry, where I would have certainly done better. So I was effectively punished for having fixed the problem myself. This would be a learning experience for me, demonstrating that whenever possible, you should always pass even the most menial of problems up the chain. Never do anything outside of your scope, even if you easily could. Because doing so will eventually bite you in the ass. This lesson has benefited me more times than I can count. The Army is so fucking stupid sometimes.

[@darkbrotherhoodassassin2877]

I love your stories, you guys should do more of them

[@SuperMinecrafter5000]

The one where everyone is asleep, it’s their fault, Zach and the other guys were the only ones doing what they were supposed to do.

[@MangoJam420]

I don't know why Mike suddenly started pumping these out but I'm digging it!