Automatic pranks pulled on the new folks while you were in the military.

[Oldiron]

I'm sure everyone has heard about sending the newbies for prop wash and relative bearing grease but did your group have something special that got carried out without setting it up?
Every year as aircrew we had to go across the bay to North Island for swim test, tower jump etc.. When we would get to the dilbert dunker (the simulated cockpit that runs down the track and hits the pool before turning upside down for you to get out of) it was just common knowledge that the person in front of the newbie would ride the dunker and while upside down under water, would frail around, act like they were hung and finally come up gasping for air. Needless to say some of the old timers put on quite a show and scared the mess out of some of the guys.
Yes, it was mean, but so much fun. How about the rest of you?
Larry

 

[Lee Barner]

way, way back in the day in 1969 at Keesler AFB, we would send "pingers"(you could hear their hair trying to grow) up on the roof for "hurricane watch". every once in a while one would be forgotten about and once one came down and went to the CQ office and reported he thought there was a hurricane coming to the night shift NCOD. no more of "hurricane watch" for a while. almost lost a stripe over that one. lee

 

[Evil Dog]

Worked in Central Supply at the Base Hospital for a while. About once every 6 months some newbie would be sent over to get a "fallopian tube". I'd generally ask "left or right" and send them back to find out. When (and if) they came back the question would be "sterile or nonsterile".... another trip to find out. Could get 4 to 5 trips out of someone before they finally figured it out.

 

[Frank46]

For you navy guys. Stand around a galvanized bucket and stare into it. Sooner or later some guy would ask "what's in the bucket? sea bat would have been the reply" When he bent over to look someone would swat him in the backside with a broom.
Bucket of steam and possibly a few others.
Fire hose in the voice tube to the poor fool standing lube oil pump watch. Had it happen to me. Ah the good old days. Frank

 

[Cyrano]

Worked in Central Supply at the Base Hospital for a while. About once every 6 months some newbie would be sent over to get a "fallopian tube". I'd generally ask "left or right" and send them back to find out. When (and if) they came back the question would be "sterile or nonsterile".... another trip to find out. Could get 4 to 5 trips out of someone before they finally figured it out.

Somebody once got in trouble over that. The newbie was told to go to supply and get 3 yards of fallopian tubing. The supply officer, a female, overheard that and was definitely not amused. The NCO who originated the prank lost a stripe over 'sexual harassment'.

 

[STCM(SW)]

The Sea Bat in a box when some LT kept telling my 1st class to stop hitting him in the butt so he could see the sea bat.
There was always the Mail buoy watch on the bow with life jacket and boat hook.....
One new sailor came out with just a towel around him and asked is there realy a sea bat.
I told him would a Master Chief lie?
After he was swatted with the broom, he went below decks muttering to himself about what a @%$&^ Master Chiefs were....

 

[Fat Frank]

Can't think of any from my days, but I remember my dad telling about one in particular. He was an Aircraft Engine Mechanics Instructor at Chanute (B-29 engines mainly). When the new guys would be putting their engines back together, he (or "someone") would drop a couple of extra nuts & bolts in the tray when they weren't looking. He said it was great fun watching them take everything back apart trying to find out where they forgot something.

 

[rwsmith]

Spoil sport.....

Somebody once got in trouble over that. The newbie was told to go to supply and get 3 yards of fallopian tubing. The supply officer, a female, overheard that and was definitely not amused. The NCO who originated the prank lost a stripe over 'sexual harassment'.

Messing with a great tradition like that.

 

[NCTexan]

When our 8 inch howitzer battery would set up in a firing position... we'd take an empty powder tube and pound it into the ground as a "field urinal".

Gunny Connors would wait until a new LT was relieving himself at the tube... walk up and stand directly in front of the victim while holding a tight salute.

He'd patiently wait for the return salute while the LT was fumbling and trying to figure out how to free up his right hand.

By this time, quite a crowd would assemble to watch the fun.

============

This same Gunnery Sergeant would corner the newby 2nd LT and explain the ways of the field Marine Corps.

He'd say, "LT they taught you lots of things in Basic School but things work a little differently in the real world. As you know the senior NCO's and officers work very close together in the field. So what is your first name?"

The new LT would nervously blurt out "Mike".

The Gunny would say, "That's good. From now on I will call you Mike...

... and you can call me Gunnery Sergeant."

 

[vigil617]

When our Coast Guard cutter was in homeport, we often would have Reservists on board during weekends, mixed in with the ship's company and standing watches, one of which was at the quarterdeck. That watchstander was responsible for making "pipes" (announcements) over the shipwide intercom system, including directives for individuals to "lay" (report) to a location on the ship where they were needed.

It was not unusual, then, during a weekend when a new Reservist was on the quarterdeck, for a prankster to call and give him the instruction (which he would then dutifully broadcast for all to hear), for so-and-so to "lay to the aft transporter room."

Think Star Trek.

Seeing one of the previous posts reminded me of another gag that would take place on the same cutter, on which there was a short, 2" diameter vertical brass tube leading from the bridge to the ceiling of the radio room directly below on the next level. While underway, the bridge watch would use the tube for passing paper messages -- including the hourly on-scene weather -- to the radioman on watch for transmission by radioteletype. Usually, the bridge watchstander would first call down through the device, for instance, "weather in the tube" to alert the radio operator to step over to his end of the tube and catch the message when it was dropped through.

The gag, when snow was falling outside, would be for the bridge watchstander to call "weather in the tube" and when the radioman was underneath to receive it, a large snowball would be dropped on his face.

"Sparky" didn't usually take kindly to it.

 

[litenlarry]

Stateside, while in a radio platoon, most of us were Nam Vet's..When a newbee would join the platoon, we would have them go to supply for a battery..All batteries have the BA designation..Thus the battery requested would be a BA1100N..They would go to supply and ask for one (supply was in on the prank)..The newbee would return to the radio room and say they didn't know what battery he wanted..The NCO would then have the newbee write down the battery number..Which looks like this , balloon...
Eventually the newbee would get the joke..Hey we were bored..

When onboard a Navy ship, the thing I heard about was the ritual of crossing the Equator for a first timer..They would take them to the flight deck (if the ship had one) and get a bunch of light bulbs and smash them on the deck..The new person would have to take off their shoes and put a bucket over their head..
In the meantime behind them a bunch of egg shells were put on the deck..The newbee was whirled around and pointed in the direction of the egg shells, thinking it was broken light bulbs, and ordered to walk barefoot thru them...

 

[bovw]

I was a radio guy in a 8 in arty battery. We'd send the boots up to one of the howitzers for a roll of gun line. Sometimes We'd send them to admin for a form ID10T.

 

[Milpolice]

As an Air Force Law Enforcement Specialist we would dispatch a new Airman over to Capt "Smith" quarters to get the keys to a B52 or KC135 he took home by mistake. We would cancel just prior to arrival...lol

 

[Oldiron]

OK Army guys, fess up I know Cyrano wasn't the only one who ever saw/did these things.
Another one we used to do, wasn't really aimed at newbies but at Jr. naval officers. North Island ran DWEST (Deep Water Environmental Survival Training) so on Wed afternoon the training flights would assist with pickup. At 100 ft it was very easy to see the new officers emblazoned wings on their wet suit (the enlisted Navy folks would have the poopie suits on) so we would check to see if they paid attention in class. Rule #1, let the horse collar touch the water to discharge the chopper's static charge before you touch it. To test comprehension we would let it swing about 2' above them for a few brief moments. Had more than a couple reach up and get the full joy of 100,000+ volts of static biting them.
Larry

 

[gdnagle]

Way back when I first started working in the shipyard in the 60's we would have the new guy tap the threads in the bulk head. When it was a inside, exterior bulkhead bulkhead the guys would start to tap from the inside so they didn't have to hang on the outside. We would tell them that doing it that way would make left hand threads. We would go away and come back, seeing them hanging on and tapping the holes from the outside.

Man if you wanted to see pranks you should have worked in the ship yard in the 60-70's.

 

[JJEH]

I was in maintenance and they always played the game "go to supply and get 1 liter of blinker fluid" with the FNG's. When I came there after basic training they tried it with me as well. But since I already did my apprenticeship as a mechanic I knew that you need at least 2 liter of blinker fluid for a semi truck and trailer.

One day - I was in the maintenance office - the phone rang. It was the 1SG's male secretary (I saw it on the phone#). I answered the phone with "Ramses Pyramid Constructions, what can we do for you today?" He apologized for dialing the wrong number. 5 seconds later he called again... same thing happened. The 3rd time he called I got angry, telling him that we are busy building pyramids and that we don't have the time for his pranks. He's close to a heart attack and I had trouble keeping it serious with him since everyone else was almost wetting their pants. The 4th time he called I let someone else answer the phone.

I know, I'm a butt...

 

[Aticus]

Overseas I heard from a friend that his bunch sent a newbie after a bucket of prop wash even gave him the bucket. When he didn't return after something like 4 hours the good sargent got a little worried. The guy finally showed up with half a bucket of laundry detergent. He bitched he had a heckuva time finding it. After he let that stew for a while the newbie confessed he'd been to the laundry to get the powder then went for a short nap, got lunch, relaxed in the shade for an hour or so then came back. That had been tried on him before so he took a chance to return the favor.

 

[steveno]

I guess you have never had a DI throw your footlocker down a flight of stairs because he didn't like an electric razor

 

[vigil617]

Wasn't a prank, but would have worked well as one.

Our cutter made a quick fuel stop at the Navy base at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico one afternoon during a long Caribbean deployment, and my buddy Tom, the communications officer, got word from somewhere that the Navy had letters for us, and we could pick them up at such-and-such building.

Mail being the precious commodity it was at that time, Tom scrambled around and secured a government vehicle, and he and I drove up on the base to get the mail. We found the building, which seemed to be a commissary, and Tom went inside while I waited in the truck.

A few minutes later, he comes out with a big cardboard box full of a green leafy vegetable, shaking his head and telling me, "It was lettuce that had for us, not letters!"

Tom was the kind of guy that sort of stuff always happened to.

 

[litenlarry]

As a newbee, the local Fire departments had some of the best pranks..
I knew some old timers in the KCFD..One prank that still makes me laugh, just thinking about it was..
A little background, all stations were 2 story fire stations..Sleeping quarters were on the 2nd floor..To gain quick access to the fire trucks, a hole in the 2nd floor with a fire pole to the ground floor..The concept was to gear up on the 2nd floor and go down the pole..
The newbee was the last to go down the pole, so the person before him would take wax paper ( that's before sandwich bags) that their sandwiches were wrapped in and slide down the pole with the wax paper in their hands wrapped around the pole..
The next guy down would drop like a rock..
Man those old firefighters got a kick out of that..