I had no intentions of ever joining a MC, as I had been perfectly happy doing my own damn thing, and my primary occupation (military contractor) requires me to maintain a security clearance. I was contacted by a couple guys I used to work with (Bevo and Yankee) about joining the IO, so I told them I would check out the website. I did, and other than the fact that they seemed to be playing the billy badass card early and often (should have been a red flag there), it seemed like any other MC- but I did like the law abiding part of it. I didn't sign the guestbook, or submit my info- I had told them that I would check it out, not sign up.

A couple days go by and Yankee contacts me and says he has given a nomad my info and that they would be contacting me. I was a little pissed about him handing off my info, but figured that worse case scenario, I would listen to a sales pitch over a couple beers and ride home. A couple weeks go by and I don't hear from any nomad, just from Yankee and Bevo asking if I had heard from anyone. Bevo called one night and asked if it would be ok to give my info to a brother that lived nearby, and I agreed.

I get contacted by a guy whose road name is Nino, and we agree to meet the following night at the local tilted kilt. At this point I am still not interested in joining anything, but I had given my word that I would meet the guy, so I was going. I rode up there and met him, and he gave me much less of a sales pitch than I had been prepared for- and we ended up mainly bullshitting about bikes most of the time, which I was fine with. As we were leaving, he says he will be in touch with me if they have anything going on, and climbs aboard one of the rattiest sportsters I have ever seen. I commented that the bike looked like it had seen better days, and he laughed and said "Betty White" (the bikes name) was a tough old bitch that had been around the block a time or two.

A few weeks go by before I hear anything from Nino, then he calls me one saturday and asked if I had anything going on the following day, and would I be interested in meeting the rest of the chapter in Waco. As I had nothing going on, and any excuse to ride was a good one, I agreed. I rode to the address where he told me to meet them, figuring it would be easy to spot (MC and chapter in my mind would indicate a noticeable amount of motorcycles gathered in one place). So, after riding past the place twice, I pull in to find two bikes there, and Nino on crutches. I go in and meet everyone, they seemed to come in two varieties- just out of the military, or old.

As they began their "church" (monthly meeting for those playing the home game) I stepped out and checked out the other two bikes in the lot. an Evo softail and a kawasaki with apes. I was called back in a short time later and they were sitting around talking. Nino and another guy from Killeen, prospect Justin had both been involved in a wreck while riding up around dallas, and both their bikes were in the shop. Another member had driven the both of them up there. At least that explained the lack of motorcycles. As we sat around bullshitting, their CP (one of the old guys) asked if I would be interested in hanging around the club, and as I was having a pretty good time talking **** and motorcycles, I said yes. They put it to a vote and I was a hangaround.

I exchanged contact info with the guys who were there, and returned home. Nino and Justin kept in touch and we would go out riding every once in a while, or do cookouts. It was then that I met "Quake","TAB", "SP", and "Snakecharmer". The plan had somehow shifted from me hanging around the Waco chapter to standing up a chapter in Killeen with these guys. I wasn't really sure about the idea, but I genuinely did like hanging out with Nino and Justin- so I just went along with it. Quake was still active duty military, and other than being a bit quiet, seemed to be a decent guy. "TAB" seemed to me like a bit of a car salesman- he was just out of the military and was that guy who always bummed a smoke or a couple bucks off of you (every unit has one). SP was never riding. Snakecharmer was also active duty military and struck me as kind of odd- nice enough, but you always wondered what was really going on in his head. Justin was on planet Justin most of the time, and I liked that about him- never had to guess what he was or wasn't thinking.

Nino said that we had to have our officers in place prior to startup , and I ended up with SAA. Nino with the P, TAB as VP, SP as treasurer, and Quake as road captain. Because Justin was formally a prospect with the Waco chapter, he was officially a bystander in the process. As part of the new chapter startup we were required to go and visit several other chapters. The chapter in Seeley was doing a poker run to raise money for a memorial scholarship fund, and we all voted to go. Nino and justin were still without bikes (and still had broken bones), so that left me, Snake, TAB, Quake, And SP to make the ride down there. On the day of the trip, Snake and SP never showed up, and no answer on their phones. We waited an hour and rolled out. Riding down to Seeley it was clear that neither TAB or Quake had ever ridden in anything resembling a formation- but we made it without incident, and got there right before the poker run began. On the poker run is where I earned my road name. I was in the back (I had to get gas before we rolled out, and ended up mat the very rear) and there was some serious slinky action going on. The guy to my left was an independent on a hot rodded roadglide, so naturally we started pulling holeshots on each other. I launched my bike as hard as I ever have (4k, 2nd gear- because first is only good for wheelies and burnouts), and snapped off both of my struts at the welds.

When we got to the end of the ride, I asked if there was anywhere nearby to get a couple hose clamps to replace the zip ties I was using to keep the broken pieces of strut in contact with each other. The guy running the event, Skidplate, said he was a welder by trade, and if we didn't care to hang out for a bit- he would fix the struts permanently. We ended up staying quite a bit longer than planned- but he got me welded up and we rolled out. By the time we left, it was getting cold, and after my bike spit out the battery bolt and we got that fixed it was freezing. Quake got his name because he was shivering so bad it looked like he was experiencing an earthquake... all by himself. I came away from that event with a different perspective on things. The guys in seeley didn't know us, but fed us, gave us plenty to drink, and fixed my bike- no questions asked. Quake was supposed to have duty the next morning, but paid another soldier to pull it rather than leave me on the side of the road- even after I told him to. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

The next event I went to was in gruene. It was that chapter's stand up party, and I was riding down with Snake and some of the IR (Iron Rockets) guys. One of the rockets was in Snake's unit and was not wearing his reflective vest (Fort Hood policy), so rather than say anything to him- Snake took pictures and when we got back turned him in to the 1SG. I was installing ape hangers on his bike when he let that one slip. My thought process was if you aren't going to have the ***** to correct the guy, you don't have any right trying to throw him under the bus. He would later say that it wasn't him that got the guy in trouble (article 15)- but I had a difficult time believing anything from him after that.

Quake had come down on orders for Italy, so he was hoping to get patched in before he left. We had also gotten another guy that was slated to be a member of the chapter- Kornbread. He was a nice enough guy, little loud for my taste- and talked A LOT. It was about this time that TAB started making noises about Nino not being a good CP. My position was that we weren't even a damn chapter yet, and he was the only one who was actually wearing a cut- so shut the hell up. My opinion was not popular with TAB, and I had yet to see SP operate a motorcycle. Doubts forming.

Snake had begun to bring another girl around the club, who was not his pregnant wife- she was his new private. This caused issues with the other military guys in our would-be chapter, and with the military members of the IR (see also: all of them. So, many of them distanced themselves from the situation- so that they would not be put into a position where they had to lie or rat out Snake. I also took the distance route because I knew his wife and kids (4) and did not to be in any position to have knowledge of any of it. Nino asked snake to not bring her around the club, and he agreed- but did it anyways.

By the time of the stand up party for our chapter, there were as many problems as there were members, but we went ahead anyways. Snake had left his wife and moved in with the private, and Snakes wife was in need of help with the kids... which SP did. And then she moved in with SP... see also AWKWARD. The patch in party was pretty good. I ended up working as security the whole time, and nobody got hurt or died, so I guess that's a success. I took a job working with Kornbread at a rehab for teens with drug and behavior problems, and the hours put me out of the loop for much of the drama that followed for the next 6 months. We had gotten two prospects Backwash and Cardiac. Backwash killed a bird with a knife during his interview- my kind of dude lol. Cardiac was a bit too timid for my taste- but seemed ok. This was about the time when Snake screwed up big.

Snake had left his wife, but was still legally married. His relationship with the private was a no-go with the military- even if he was single. He got caught with her, and she, like any decent human being would do- cried rape... not just any rape, but gang rape. There was a couple huge problems with this allegation 1) None of us (other than Snake) would touch that with a stolen dick, and 2) That would require us to be around that situation (we were still maintaining distance due to awkward and UCMJ). She eventually retracted her statement, but I wasn't too keen on having my name associated with anything of the kind- seeing as I had chosen to go ahead with membership in this club specifically to avoid this exact scenario. Nino said he would deal with the Snake situation, and I left it at that. My work schedule kept me (mercifully) out of the loop most of the time, but TAB had been in Kornbread's ear about how lousy Nino was as a CP, and got him all fired up to the point he walked away under less than optimal circumstances. He was put in for OIB (out in bad- basically barred from contact with the club again), but it was overturned, and he was moved to a different chapter. TAB stepped OIG (out in good- can rejoin at a future date if so desires) rather than man up for his role in the Kornbread incident. SP became the VP (but still never rode), and Snake became road captain.

Snake and the private were one of those couples that fight every time that they were together in public, and so I continued to avoid that whole situation. If they were to be somewhere, I wasn't. Evidently during one of their "off again" periods, she slept with Yankee (guy from beginning of story) while at a party (not official club function) at Nino's house, and a hangaround. Snake went batshit, and ended up on the 5th floor. I didn't go visit. Snake would come to church, then roll out- we never saw the guy, and I at least, was not really unhappy with that arrangement. Things were sort of normal for a while (comparitively speaking) and one of the IR guys asked me about renting out a room at my place- I agreed.

About 2 months after the IR roommate moved in, Nino and the roomie approached me about letting Snake move into the third bedroom of my house. I reluctantly agreed, as he was supposedly done with private and had nowhere else to stay. He moved in and things were ok for a while. I didn't charge either of them much of anything for rent, but did require that they help out with chores. We rode quite a bit, and he seemed to be a quasi normal human at times. iR roomie stole a waitress from a pool hall we frequented, so there were now four of us. Snake stole a pretty little bartender, so that made 5. I didn't mind bartender and waitress being there. they kept the house clean, and cooked (and weren't too bad on the eyes). So all was well for a while. SP never rode.

I rode with Snake and IR roomie to san antonio for a party. we took bartender and waitress. I really liked bartender. she was a sweet girl who was my brand of crazy. Snake got mad when I asked her not to do the wet t-shirt contest, and proceeded to treat her like an animal the rest of the night. IR roomie had to talk me out of removing his head. I spoke with him about how he treated her when we got back (and I could calmly do so) and he stated he humiliated her just because he could, and that he really didn't want to be with her- he was still stuck on private. He said that he was going to cut her loose.- and by cut her loose what he meant was drop her off at work, and not retrieve her, or answer his phone when she called or texted. Because that's how a real man handles that ****. He then informed me that he was going to get back with private. I told him what he does in his personal life was his business and that's what made him happy fine. I also explained that I did not want drama in my house- she had an apartment go there. SP still never rode.

Chapters of the IO are required to do a charity fundraiser at least once a year. Ours was coming up. The VP is usually the one in charge of setting up the event and delegating tasks out to get it done. So in the grand tradition of his riding, SP assigned tasks for us, lost what we gave him, and stepped out in good less than a month before the fundraiser. The fundraiser was to help pay medical bills for a lady with terminal cancer. The one who had coordinated the fundraiser to start with was Boca, Nino's wife, so she was scrambling trying to get everything in order, and damn near gave herself a nervous breakdown in the process. Boca was a member of the Iron Maidens at the time, which is like a support thing for the IO. She was also driving Nino crazy with the event. So he asked Snake if he would assist her with it, and he did a damn good job. he was officially moved into the VP slot and the event went off without a hitch. It seemed that Snake had finally gotten his head on straight. Nino even allowed private to help out with the bike wash. All was good, for about 49 seconds.

Shortly after the fundraiser, Boca had a bit of a meltdown. Everyone told Snake what a great job he did, without realizing it was Boca who had done 90% of the leg work to get it done. She was pissed and went full cartman on us. Snake, being the guy he is, used this as a reason to pull her maiden patches, behind Nino's back. This made **** just great. Snake was in my ear constantly about all the things we should be doing, and how this could be improved. And then Yankee (the guy who ****ed private earlier) came to the killeen chapter. Strangely- the two of them were buddy buddy (hell, they did have something in common) and I hoped it was all going to work out... then it didn't, at least not for me.

Bartender had moved out, and Snake was going to private's apartment to see her. Until I came home from work to find he had moved her in, and her (not housebroken) puppy. He then followed that magic trick with a vote of no confidence on Nino, which i reluctantly agreed to (BIG MISTAKE- "magic 8 ball theory of leadership"= no bueno) pretty much just to shut him up. The Snake and Yankee problem was evidently resolved by their insistence that it was Nino's fault, because it was his house. I don't know about you, but I have never seen a home, apartment, or hotel ever force intercourse... but that's what they went with. Yankee is one of those people who comes from the Michael Moore school of thought on rules-"I can break all I want to ensure you always adhere to my interpretation at all times". He is not the sort of person to actually support or correct anything to anyone's face- all support or correction will be done in the form of a ridiculously long (seriously- about four times this length) e-mail, chock full of grammatical and spelling errors or paragraphs about nothing... or the club's definition of a true biker.

Yankee and Snake decided that Nino should be centerpunched for his role in Yankee ****ing private. (just take a moment to let the logic there sink in... I'll wait). I called bullshit. I became the next target. I had allowed private to use my truck as I always ride. I told her to keep it clean, gassed, and the oil changed and I wouldn't care. So, the day I needed to use it to get on post and it was full of garbage, out of gas, and overdue for an oil change did not end well for private. Nor did the day when I got in the truck and was gone less than 10 minutes before receiving a text stating i "need to hurry. I need the truck" I simply replied "buy one". Private then proceeded to throw temper tantrum. Add this to the fact that Snake's shiny new CP tab had gone straight to his head. Backwash was in town (he had gotten stationed overseas) and asked Snake to get him a soda while he was in the kitchen- to which Snake replied "just because it starts with a p and ends with a t means it says prospect" Strike 2. And then there is the fact that since he had him a shiny new CP tab, he felt he no longer needed to clean up after himself, any of the common area chores, or pay rent. Strike 3, GET OUT.

I informed Snake and private (who had become pregnant and was playing that **** up for all it was worth- really? YOU'RE 3 WEEKS it aint gonna kill you to take your boots upstairs!!!) that upon their return from nationals they needed to find another place to live. Snake just glared at me, then they left for two glorious weeks of silence. While they were gone, Yankee had left his truck parked at my house, his water pump was leaking, so I fixed that for him. They got back on a monday, moved out on wednesday, and had me submitted for out in bad by friday. Said I was "grossly disrespectful". Yankee went right along with it- going so far as to send multiple page emails as to how I have a "1% mentality" and am no good for society. Really. Took a lot of willpower not to shoot the radiator on his truck, after all It had a leak before.

Up to this point the story is an issue with a few individuals- here is where the organizational problems start.

The review for my OIB was scheduled for the 6th of july... and in the weeks leading up to the review I was contacted by... NO ONE. They had already gotten misspelled page upon page from Yankee. I had IR roomie who was a nomad in their club as a witness to my side, as he lived there and could verify everything. I had Backwash, who saw a lot of it, and they called NOBODY. IR roomie had to call them, and most of the time got voicemail. The DLA (division of legal affairs) in the IO doesn't answer to anyone. That's an issue. I ended up calling them repeatedly until I got to speak to one of them, who didn't seem to want to be bothered. I emailed my statement to 4 of them with a return receipt- one person opened it.
i did get a phone call saying "you're out. have a nice day" WTF?

I had a nomad who attempted to get the IP to look at it, but he was informed that with elections coming up, he didn't want to rock the boat. After elections I was told that I should give up because basically "the DLA says that the DLA is never wrong, so we have to listen to the DLA" I attempted to contact the IVP and IP, but they blocked me on facebook, and don't return phone calls... because that's how real men handle things.

At this point I do not want any part of that organization. They have members who abuse the power of their positions to exploit their "brothers". No place for me. All I want is an admission that they half assed it. It's the principal of the thing at this point.

It is highly likely I will never get that., It is more likely that I will get banned, this thread deleted or locked. At this point I really don't care. If reading this prevents one guy on here from having to deal with the crap I went through, totally worth it.






epilogue-

Nino stepped out and told them exactly what he thought of all of them... his OIB is still pending.

Snake and private moved in with cardiac, who kicked them out for doing the exact same **** at his house. Snake is most likely going to kick him out next.

Yankee now floods people's inboxes with threatening messages, but cowers and runs when you approach him.



and for all the IO faithful who think I'm full of ****, or slamming your club unjustly, I can provide any and all email traffic0 just PM me.

 

I think you blew your chance to join when you listed 'Author of War and Peace' as your avocation.

 

My head hurts......

Maybe I missed it but did SP ever ride?

EDIT-Every one of you should be sent back to the 7th grade.

 

Damn Dude, What a story and from what little I know personally of IO members I can believe it.
Drama, Drama, Drama. I'll leave it for the little girls.

 

No worries.. I hear the Girl Scouts are actively recruiting with a relative short hang around period.

 

I saw him ride his bike once in 13 months.

 

I can only hope your other 8 posts are as helpful and well thought out as this one. Come back when you have learned a little etiquette.

 

Simmer down there, Bad ***, before he blocks you on Facebook!

 

Threats are discouraged on HDForums.....

 

Just putting my experience out there so maybe someone else will learn from my mistake.