1SG (R) Carlos Spann

1SG (R) Carlos Spann sat down with me for Heroes I Know. Paratrooper stories. 82nd Airborne. Fort Bliss. Fort Bragg. Germany. Drill sergeant.

Deland, Florida. He came out of the Guard. Already knew how to say permission to speak freely so he could say what was on his mind. Basic. He was not afraid of the drill sergeants. Mass punishment. He spoke up. A couple of weeks in. They let him talk. Then they set him straight.

Then Bliss. Ninety-eight degrees. Red rag. White bumper. Logan Heights. Bravo Battery. No drill sergeant on the bus. An E-6 who was pretty chill. Then Command Sergeant Major Rogers, his senior drill sergeant, put military bearing on him. Drill Sergeant Derringer. Drill Sergeant Ware. That imprinting stuck.

He went back to Florida and came back in. AIT still had that soldier mentality. Then the division. Then Germany. Then the hat. Drill sergeant. Then first sergeant. Lots of laughs. A few tears.

He is the type who will tell you he is not afraid of you and then stay in the fight for the kid next to him. Thank you, First Sergeant. That is why we hit record. Get the story on tape before we are too old or too sick to tell it.