JUNGLE EXPERT!?

[307th_ACE]

That's pretty funny.

If CWLC is what I think it is we used to call it ALIT (Arctic Light Individual Training). I taught parts of this course for awhile for both officers and enlisted. It really wasn't too hard -- one night in the field without a tent in the winter, introduction to basic ski and snowshoe skills, rappelling, and some health and welfare concerns. At the time, every soldier had to participate before they could go to the field with their unit.

[Lower_Jumper]

307th Ace, that reminds me of the Light Fighter course the 7th ID used to run. All new light infantry legs had to attend the Light Fighter course prior to being assigned to their units.

I was never in the 7th ID so I never attended the course. Two 7ID light infantry, leg friends of mine told me about it. According to their assessment, like the ALIT, LF wasn't a difficult course either.

~

[307th_ACE]

Yeah, it was mostly pretty lame. More of a wake-up call for the REMFs than anything else.

Basically what we taught them was to bring the right gear for the weather, and plan for it to get worse (I have seen it snow in every month up here), and to have some kind of plan if nothing works like you thought it would (which happens often).

They got to do some rappelling from a 40 foot tower and occasionally a helicopter insertion just to get the REMFs in the Hooah Arctic Light mindset but that was about as "hooah" as it got.

I would have liked to see a much shorter slightly watered-down Mountain School take place, but of course, I was just a SGT and didn't have much say in such matters.

[82ndtrooper]

We wore the patch for a couple of years but then someone in their infinite wisdom took the authorization away to wear it on the utility uniform.

Got the certificat too somewhere here. Probably wadded up with a lot of other stuff.

"Jungle Expert".........................more like "Jungle Bedungle" :D

[Brasso]

There were two different certificates as stated above, from the actual course and the School of the Americas? They took away all Foreign Jump wings and all Recondo, Jungle Expert, etc, I believe in 1983. We were the first guys to get the BDUs in the end of the summer in 82 when I was a drill, since we had to test them before the newbys were issued them in Oct 82......within a year ALL those patches were no longer authorised on the BDU UNF....here is the patch and some
unauthorized certificates....which can be found on a web site for all most any course in the Army, including Delta.

We use this site to gather up the fake certificates so we will have them if were checking out a poser.

[rockwellB\co1\508]

I went to JOTC, Jungle operation training center in 81 the badge was otherized at least while I was there at the 82nd it was awarded the those who proved there selves in the triple canopy areas of downtown panama city. jungle experts Know these things;what is cheeper than a panamanian whore,if you miss the last bus to ft sherman you will get robed,the police there are not there to protect you, and some stuff about the jungle and how your balls will rot off.

[brothers all]

When I first got to Division at Campbell my Platoon Sgt.Wore that Jungle Expert patch on his fatigues. Believe it had a blue background. He was proud of that patch. Panamanian Devil.

This guy went thru every school immaginable. He was an animal.

[ernie11bsfc]

I remember going to jungle school in Jan of 82. It was freezing as we waited at green ramp. we were told not to wear any cold weather clothing because it was going to be hot when we jumped into Panama. I wore my sleep shirt and it was still cold. we did an in flight rigging and then jumped into Gatun drop zone with the elephant grass. First thing I did was remove my sleep shirt. I then remembered we had to look for the direction of the aircraft because that was 12 o clock and my assembly area was at 4 o clock. The Boat ride I forgot what they called them "LMC I think", down the chagres river was ok, we got into the Carribian sea and we could see the barracks. They looked like a resort from the distance, but when you got close they were just buildings with screens. No AC. I went with Alpha Co 1/325. I remember eating the meat sticks on Colon and then after we attended a class on survival where they told us not to eat the meat sticks because they were monkey meat. Delicious.

[Ops NCO]

I remember going to jungle school in Jan of 82. It was freezing as we waited at green ramp. we were told not to wear any cold weather clothing because it was going to be hot when we jumped into Panama. I wore my sleep shirt and it was still cold. we did an in flight rigging and then jumped into Gatun drop zone with the elephant grass. First thing I did was remove my sleep shirt. I then remembered we had to look for the direction of the aircraft because that was 12 o clock and my assembly area was at 4 o clock. The Boat ride I forgot what they called them "LMC I think", down the chagres river was ok, we got into the Carribian sea and we could see the barracks. They looked like a resort from the distance, but when you got close they were just buildings with screens. No AC. I went with Alpha Co 1/325. I remember eating the meat sticks on Colon and then after we attended a class on survival where they told us not to eat the meat sticks because they were monkey meat. Delicious.

Welcome to the site. That being said, please proceed to the Introductions forum and post an intro, per the site SOP. Thanks.

[Purple]

I think the patch went away with JOTC in the mid or late 80's.

Purple

[yrualeg]

I remember going to jungle school in Jan of 82. It was freezing as we waited at green ramp. we were told not to wear any cold weather clothing because it was going to be hot when we jumped into Panama. I wore my sleep shirt and it was still cold. we did an in flight rigging and then jumped into Gatun drop zone with the elephant grass. First thing I did was remove my sleep shirt. I then remembered we had to look for the direction of the aircraft because that was 12 o clock and my assembly area was at 4 o clock. The Boat ride I forgot what they called them "LMC I think", down the chagres river was ok, we got into the Carribian sea and we could see the barracks. They looked like a resort from the distance, but when you got close they were just buildings with screens. No AC. I went with Alpha Co 1/325. I remember eating the meat sticks on Colon and then after we attended a class on survival where they told us not to eat the meat sticks because they were monkey meat. Delicious.

Weeping Jesus on the Cross.......

[blackflagg509]

I think the patch went away with JOTC in the mid or late 80's.

Purple

JOTC was still there when I was in Panama from 87-89'; the Army did away with the Jungle Expert Patch in the mid to late 80's and the Patch became the Southern Command's Patch minus the Jungle Expert Tab on top of it.

[P-Chop]

We don't need no stinkin' patches...........

x 2 in this thread.....that is still alive............for some reason........

cause people like me won't stop posting in it!

[MOHAWK1-502]

I went through JOTC 3x loved each one, and I will say that JOTC was one of the best schools I have ever attended, the instructors were some of the best I have ever ran into in the military. most were 75th and our waterborne instructors were mostly SF from I don't know what group. The ranger guys were all shooters and the SF Waterborne guys knew their shit. We did "green hell" 2x out of 3 one time they said it was off limits cause a guy died on that o-course!!!

[boutaswell]

My only guess is as time went by the Army Leadership got weaker and chose to stop letting people stand out...
Must have been real mean to others who were lazy worthless bastards...

That's exactly why the shit stopped. Too many field grade occifers that got left out of the "Howdy Doody Patch Club" decided to put a stop to all. While at Bragg, in '92 I think, 2/'04 and it's attachments (FIST, Eng...etc) went down to Jungle School. No badge, not even a certificate for that one. I guess they thought the combat jump star for Just Cause in '89 was recognition enough. Still, I would'a like to have been awarded the damn thing.