Where did my "DU Star Membership" come from?

[Victor_c3]

I just noticed that somehow I became a DU star member - something that I should have pay for, but I didn't. Apparently, it was effective 18 DEC 2012 and I don't have any clue if anyone bought me this as a gift or whether it was an administrative error.

Anyways, if anyone gave me this as a gift, thank you very much. I don't have a clue who it was, if that was the case. I really enjoy reading the conversations here. Even though I've only been a member since this last summer, I really feel at home here. The community really is great.

Thanks :cheers:

Respectfully,

Victor G. Philippi
proud DU member

[ZombieHorde]

1. Some DUers are so sexy that even the stars are attracted to them. nt

[Siwsan]

2. I was gifted a star, last year.

There are some wonderfully thoughtful and generous people on DU, that's for sure.

[NYC_SKP]

3. There's a bunch of DUers who do this, one in particular lives in California.

But I'm sure there are others.



Oh, and thank you for serving our country.

:patirot:

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. I thought there was not way to donate a star on DU3.

Admin change its mind about that?

[Arkansas Granny]

16. I asked about that a month or so ago and was told that

you can no longer make a donation for another member.

[madinmaryland]

4. Welcome to DU, belately!!

[Aristus]

5. Someone wanted to give you a gift.

Welcome to DU, from a former tanker.

[Victor_c3]

7. What is funny about the tanks is

The first fire-fight I was ever in I just happened to be sitting in the loader's hatch on an MI. That happened to be the firefight that I was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge for. So, I got my CIB for being on a tank

My platoon was a very odd conglomeration of two tanks and two Bradley Fighting Vehicles. My platoon was attached to a combat engineer battalion along with a tank platoon and the battalion commander, in his infinite wisdom, decided to split my platoon in half and give me half a tank platoon. So, I had two tanks, two brads, and a tank Platoon Sergeant in my platoon. Several times, I was very glad to have those tanks in my platoon. I know that usually in a garrison environment that tankers and infantrymen don't get along, but that wasn't the case with my platoon.

[Aristus]

9. Yeah, infantrymen rock.

I couldn't say that back in the day.

Sounds like you were part of a reinforced platoon-sized Team. It's like the battalion-sized mixture of infantry, tanks, artillery and engineers is known as a Task Force. My last duty station was with the 1/70th Combined Arms Task Force at Ft. Knox.

[Victor_c3]

12. They called all the battalions "task forces" when I was in Iraq in 2004

I was officially part of TF 82nd Engineer Battalion (1st ID). I had the misfortune of being one of the two heavy platoons in the battalion and whenever anything bad happened out in our battalion sector, I was kicked out to deal with it.

I don't know what I was thinking when I volunteered to be an Infantry officer. War sucks and I don't know why anyone would/should volunteer to see it. But those are the sorts of stupid decisions that guys like me make in our youth.

[Aristus]

17. No kidding. That's why war is marketed so forcefully to young men.

Big, expensive toys, rite-of-passage, patriotism, the whole ball of wax.

I was a hot-headed 17 year-old when I went in. I was in the Gulf in 1991, although my unit never got into combat, thank God. Our base was Scudded on February 24th, but the missile missed by a fair margin. That was all the hostile fire I needed to turn me off of war. My Dad, who served as an air ambulance officer in Vietnam told me that combat was nothing you'd ever want to see first-hand.

[madrchsod]

6. that`s the way we roll here at du.....

[Buzz Clik]

8. DU stars are used to track your movements.

Not unlike an ankle bracelet attached to those under house arrest.

What did you do?

[pinboy3niner]

10. Shhhhh!

That was supposed to be a secret!

[Victor_c3]

14. I feel like I've been the butt of a lot of your jokes recently

but tough love is better than no love. I'll take it.

[Victor_c3]

11. uh oh...

ummmm...

I voted for Obama? Is that worth keeping an eye on me?

I'm also notorious for never getting my car inspected and I get a lot of "un-inspected vehicle" tickets. The local townships around here make a killing from me...

[In_The_Wind]

13. I'm going to take a guess.

It could be from a DUer who looked at your profile.


Thank you