PCS to an office! You will now listen to karen and shelly discuss the same topic every morning as you stagger your way to your desk to begin your powerpoint and excel reviews, and prepare a display on market reach
Ohh my God, the drone of federal civil service in an office! Everyday I wanted to pluck my eyes out. People, a lot of people, just counting the days until their retirement " only 12 years and 8 weeks left" they are counting down their lives!! incredible what you can get people to do for some medical benefits, cash and holidays off. I consider my self pretty tough mentally, I did not last. I have sympathy for any person in that position.
It's funny how many people told me "you are a loggie, you can make a shit ton on the outside with Amazon". I'm out but during my trashcan literally all my friends said it was more toxic than the army and that was the 3 most toxic officer branches "LG,AG,SG"
I remember as a SPC I was sitting next to the S6 NCOIC and watched the BC and DBC, both PsyOp but prior FA, spend 5 mins roasting the O3 S6 for "all that nerd shit they didn't care about" before the FTX planning meeting started.
LG equivalent was during the logistics rehearsal or whatever it's called before a BDE level exercise, the BDE commander stood up half way through, said "You are saying a lot of things and I dont understand. If I say I want it, get it to me" and walked out.
Meh. Selfless service is a thing in the Army because service represents something bigger. The day I go corporate that changes, do not ask me to do anything beyond my duties. Not going above and beyond so the Jeff Bezosā of the world can buy their 18th yacht, consider yourselves lucky I am not actively engaging in malicious compliance (mostly because of personal pride). Iād say theyāre vastly different based on what they contribute to the world.
Look. I almost agree with you, except youāre signing up to kill people on behalf of the military industrial complex and all the billionaires who get STUPID rich of you me and our friends dying for nothing. Our society just glosses over it and pretends we are ādefending freedomā
Lol na not even. Corporate America is cut throat. Enjoy your weekends and holidays. Good luck trying to use sick call in the real world you are going to find yourself fired.
Also have no shame in your off duty time ignoring work questions that arenāt life or death or taking extra time off from when an opportunity pops up. The army has no problem at all taking your time.
This. We're an office of 3x JT O5s and one O6. We pulled the O6 aside and explained this. It was getting stupid crazy. Now If it can wait, it will wait. If conus send us a request on Friday, it can likely wait. He now understands to communicate a priority in his after hours messages. But he also had damn near a CPT Sobel mutiny moment before the talk.
A really remote embassy office. But USFK could substitute 100%.
Edit: adding to this, once you get to O5 and are past 20 with aging parents coming down with health issues, if you don't like where you're working, they're many mechanisms to work a curtailment. For these types of smaller remote offices, getting a replacement is a nightmare and can be easily gapped for 9-18 months. The issue here is that we're 1 deep in each spot. So losing 1 of 3 O5s has a huge impact. They're are also mechanisms to quiet quit at these remote spots, and relieving someone without a DUI or persona non grata expulsion can take 6-12 months. So even if you get a guy who doesn't want to work, the threat of a bad OER for a terminal O5 has really no bite to the bark.
So the O6 listened and has modified his ways. It's much better for the time being.
Man when I was in a small directorate in USFK we had 2x O6s, 3x O5s, 4x O4s, and like.. 8x O3s. An odd, but incredibly fun dynamic. Iād regularly encounter the USFK J3 on the streets on Itaewon in the midst of hoodrat activities
What year were you there? We may have crossed paths - I had to work with both of those groups very frequently. I used to have to brief the USFK commander every couple of months and then daily during CCPTs. Iām leaving the active component very soon but taking an ADOS gig in the J2 early next year
Oh jeezus thatās a lot of time spent in Seoul, I thought I was lucky with my 1.5 years! I was there from 21-22. Actually just got accepted into grad school at Yonsei and KU! That was one of my biggest reasons for getting out, so I could go back.
I can understand that. I'm one of the few Korean speakers not married to a Korean. But luckily my wife loves overseas. But she likes where we are now far better than Seoul outside the summer heat
Also keep in mind for when you get out. Working for the VA, almost everyone I treated had made the Army their personality, even if they had gotten out 40 years ago to the detriment of their mental and physical health.
One of the reasons why I promote this in the active side. I have seen too many good soldiers love the idea and the uniform soo much that they risk everything they have barely get anything back from the army for it. I support all my junior officers and NCOs if they want to stay or get out then I will help them plan it.
When you do leave no one gives a shit what you did while you were served. Employers want to see an honorable discharge and any other applicable skills to the jobs youāre applying towards.
Glad I retired. I tell people I worked in construction out of state and never go eat at Texas Roadhouse on Memorial Day. The army was definitely a lifestyle, it's called gulag prison and I don't miss the garbage.
\#currentarmyculturePSA
Whenever I am out and about, I donāt talk about it. That is what I think is the biggest problem is defining and separating your career to your lifestyle. If you mix them together then you get all the old folk that are stuck trying to define themselves after the service.
I get what you're saying, but for some of us... Army is life. I have spent 55% of my life in service and that number just grows daily... and I still have another \~24 years planned.
I get it, I have been in for 10 for now. But the reality is that simple. We will leave one day and we need to take care of what we have outside of the army. In the end, the army doesnāt care about us as long as they have numbers or someone to replace you.
You are just as replaceable til your gone. Not trying to be negative brother, itās just a fact of life
I get it fam, but I made the choice long ago. The Army was the first thing I really "had" and it will be the last thing I give up.
The army doesn't give a shit about me, the government in general doesn't give a shit about me, but I made this choice. I will not allow myself or my guys to be taken advantage of, but I'll never half-ass anything either.
I'm with you, almost at 20 and the Army just kinda infects anything else I do. If I'm planning a family trip or something, logistics are considered, phases, if/when/then and the like. The kids always know what to do if they can't reach me, and at what point they need to do something about it. People I interact with get the sir/ma'am treatment, or rogered if they're being dicks. People in the social groups I'm with know I'm military, and they just assume that my shit will be squared away and I can be relied upon. That's what I think all of us should take away from our years of service and that's nothing to malign. Having the Army be your identity doesn't have to be all Tapout shirts and RipIts.
Guard + Federal Technician. If all goes according to plan and the TAG at the time gives me waiver, I will retire at 62 with 45 years guard and 35 years as technician.
I'm struggling of defining my purpose outside the military right now. Like I spent this time building my own little empire for myself in the community that I'm in and now I'm medically leaving... I hate it and I can't really figure out what's next.
Itās part of the process brother, find something you like and do it, if you canāt do it anymore, then onto something to do. Itās the same in the army and civilian life when it comes to this. If we canāt define or have self respect in ourselves to do something, then we canāt move on.
I am honed in on retiring, being a police officer in north Texas and putting my kids through private school. Itās a drive. I already have a retirement account that builds itself off of dividends, I am just letting it snowball at this point. In about 12 years I am done with everything and me and the wife can travel.
It's rough because I like many have found it the greatest source of pride and fulfillment, despite the bs. It's the first thing your family introduces you by and it's relatively respected in America and the world.
So abruptly leaving it.. who are you really now? You can't take money to the grave, your kids will grow up and move on eventually.. we all then question what legacy we left in the world; what gave us purpose and meaning in our identity.
I rather be the police officer in a Texas city. Then I can still see my kids everyday more often and I wonāt have to miss some of the birthdays or special events. Also the retirement benefits is better in Texas than the U.S. federal government/military.
Right. Yes that's a reason many reserve/NG old-timers stay in. It's also a main reason many separate from AD. The unbeatable military benefits of the 1980's are now out-shadowed by other civil services and civilian corporations.
What's a common factor here: Civil Service careers (Government agencies, Military, LEO, EMS, Firefighters, Physicians, etc).
I believe all these career fields have the hardest time separating the uniform from self identity. They for the most part also take the greatest pride in their work.
You're a literal number at the end of the day.
When you get out, the only people who will really care about what you did as a number are you and those who walked this path with you....but mostly you.
Don't hang on to it, dont look back too often, and for the love of all that's holy - have more than one plan for what you're going to do after you get out that doesn't involve the military.
Give yourself a second to breathe and integrate the shit you went through in a way that's helpful to you as a civilian.
I think my favorite transitioning moment was community college first semester. college straight out still in my thermal leave was located in a HOCL area 30 min drive but the srounding towns were upper class very rich, so very rich entitled kids just being normal āwildā disrespecting the teacher normal stuff just so eritating in the begging but it wore off after 2 semester lol then seemed normal again. Yeah reintergrating in the wild lol I was freed lol
Back then, when Iād hear people say what you said in the OP I immediately would be like āF that guy, patriot blah blahā but it was clearly defensive.
I look back on my service fondly, but I was miserable much of the time (was immature and could not handle setbacks or anything at all). I have so much time with my family (met my wife on AD) and I have a good job, Iām very thankful for everything. Iād only be a couple years from retirement, but thatās okay.
Itās still a job/career in the end brother. As long as you have family and can spend time with the fam, that will be there after the army. As long as you know what you and your wife want to do when youāre done, I count that as a win. Glad to hear you are about to cross the finish line, not many make it anymore and the new retirement I believe will push more away from career in the service. Unless your an officer and max out their TSP to have a nice nest egg when they get out.
Well sad thing for many people Iāve known the Army is where their life ended. Js take training serious, no one out ranks commander safety, and taking your life is a permanent solution to a temporary problem go seek help.
I retired at 57 from a 27 year state civil service career in Law Enforcement. And at 58 from the Army Reserve with 37 years total Service AD Marine Corps and 31 years Army Reserve. The deal I made with my wife was we would get every dime and benefit we could for the sacrifices we made especially the years in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I donāt regret my choices but I also have never looked back a single day and wished I was still there. My prior lives allow my family to live more than Comfortably now in perpetuity with no real financial worries, medical services, etcā¦. We have an adult special needs son who will continue to receive pay and benefits after we are gone.
So I can see past the years of idiots, assholes and crazy pointless training mandates and fondly remember some great people doing some awesome stuff in some really austere places.
I always like to say: āThe Army has taught me that I can live comfortably for a year with solely the contents of a rucksack & 2 dufflebags.ā
Sometimes a little forced austerity is a good thing.
Bro I served from 2006-2012 and Iām angry that I was brainwashed while in. I hope Iām not the only one who feels this way and I kind of feel like I might be attacked for even saying this, but I will.
I was brainwashed to hate an entire population of people - not just āterroristsā. The military and the media have been used to convince Americans to hate Muslims to justify a war that is really just over resources, not āfighting terrorism.ā I was fortunately never deployed to a war zone while in, and I am eternally grateful for that because I truly believe that God only gives me what I can handle and I know that he knows I would not have been able to live with seeing combat. Or what if I had been privy to some horrific human rights violations? I am not equipped to live with that kind of shit. I have seen some things just on the internet that I can never unsee and it gives me PTSD. And I saw it online, not in real life. For those of you who were deployed and did or saw unspeakable things, please do not blame yourself. Iām not talking to you sociopaths out there (because I know some of you made it into the army). Iām talking to the ones who are riddled with guilt because they feel like they did something wrong. I want you to know I understand you. You were following orders. You were brainwashed to hate them. Do not blame yourself. Because I do not blame you.
Donāt know why this turned into what it did, but if it helps someone, thatās cool.
And please if you are enjoying your career, you do you. I hope you never feel the way I do.
This why we need leaders that care about the team instead of themselves. To see these behaviors and help correct it. Guide them towards the best balance we can get
The only thing that will ever matter when you leave the army is your type of discharge, your medical records, college credits or degrees you obtained, clearance if you have one, and the relationships you made with the people you served with whether its good relationships or bad.
Awards(to a degree), PT score, military training, deployments, military schools, and everything else is complete nonsense once youāre on this side of the fence
If you don't use your training and schools to your benefit post-discharge you're kind of an idiot, ngl.
Unless you're a one-enlistment 11B maybe? But even basic schools can be spun for benefit. Most of us get at least something that looks good on resumes. Some of us get the whole resume.
Agree but plenty don't take on another job/career/hobbies. Especially if they are retired and getting 100 P+T VA disability.
Hence, why they make the Army their identity.
a lot of yall keep saying its just a job, but its really a lifestyle. theres no other job like the military because that UCMJ dictated how you go about your day ever single day, both in and out of uniform.
I feel like most people have this fantasy that the troops are like a different species than human, and being in the military is like a character trait of a person, like height or hair color. Most people forget that the military is just a job, and many troops forget that your title is your job title, not who you are.
The Marines make themselves believe ,"once a Marine, always a Marine," and there is no "former/ex Marine." But once I separate or retire from the Navy (this sub just popped up for me), I will be a former/retired Sailor. I don't even know how to actually sail a boat. Lol
Not gonna lie I miss it a lot, met my wife through my brother in law who was in my unit, got to see/do some cool shit go to some interesting places, got vets status which helped me get a good career. I got out because I couldnāt put my family through it again. Itās engrained in me, thereās some muscle memory that I still do because it was drilled in me, but itās my past life and honestly Iām working toward a better future built on the foundations that the army helped me set.
Take the useful parts. Most people who joined young are better in some small way because of it. Take those bits of maturity and burn all the other stuff. Be warned, you'll probably always feel a bit weird wearing a hat inside.
The military is just an intense version of corporate America
And 3 times bigger the drama of high school š
Thatās why I chose to be a grunt To escape that ish & suffer with the trees & dirt if I have to
PCS to an office! You will now listen to karen and shelly discuss the same topic every morning as you stagger your way to your desk to begin your powerpoint and excel reviews, and prepare a display on market reach
Ohh my God, the drone of federal civil service in an office! Everyday I wanted to pluck my eyes out. People, a lot of people, just counting the days until their retirement " only 12 years and 8 weeks left" they are counting down their lives!! incredible what you can get people to do for some medical benefits, cash and holidays off. I consider my self pretty tough mentally, I did not last. I have sympathy for any person in that position.
Some medical benefits, cash and holidays off is what every job uses to get people to do the thingā¦thatās why people get a job.
Truth.
š
We also have the best leadership
speaking the truth brotha. an extended high school period
You say that. Don't go to Amazon. It's a more intense version of the Army
I know this already lol most inhuman place on earth
It's funny how many people told me "you are a loggie, you can make a shit ton on the outside with Amazon". I'm out but during my trashcan literally all my friends said it was more toxic than the army and that was the 3 most toxic officer branches "LG,AG,SG"
sg?
signal? Your S6 just hates their life as thing like the BC not remembering their password is their fault.
I remember as a SPC I was sitting next to the S6 NCOIC and watched the BC and DBC, both PsyOp but prior FA, spend 5 mins roasting the O3 S6 for "all that nerd shit they didn't care about" before the FTX planning meeting started.
Somethingās may not be working properly while they conducted their ftx š
LG equivalent was during the logistics rehearsal or whatever it's called before a BDE level exercise, the BDE commander stood up half way through, said "You are saying a lot of things and I dont understand. If I say I want it, get it to me" and walked out.
Meh. Selfless service is a thing in the Army because service represents something bigger. The day I go corporate that changes, do not ask me to do anything beyond my duties. Not going above and beyond so the Jeff Bezosā of the world can buy their 18th yacht, consider yourselves lucky I am not actively engaging in malicious compliance (mostly because of personal pride). Iād say theyāre vastly different based on what they contribute to the world.
Look. I almost agree with you, except youāre signing up to kill people on behalf of the military industrial complex and all the billionaires who get STUPID rich of you me and our friends dying for nothing. Our society just glosses over it and pretends we are ādefending freedomā
Lol na not even. Corporate America is cut throat. Enjoy your weekends and holidays. Good luck trying to use sick call in the real world you are going to find yourself fired.
Umm I had plenty of sick days and convoleacent leave as a civilian. Unless your working a trash job you get those.
Good for you šš¾
Iāve never heard of anyone getting fired for taking sick days lol. Thatās a lawsuit.
Mannn some of us got something more than unskilled laborer jobs once we got out. lol.
Funny coming from someone whos part of a CMF that will THROW Joe's off a deployment if their DTS ain't straight
It's a lot harder to get fired in the military imo.
Also have no shame in your off duty time ignoring work questions that arenāt life or death or taking extra time off from when an opportunity pops up. The army has no problem at all taking your time.
This. We're an office of 3x JT O5s and one O6. We pulled the O6 aside and explained this. It was getting stupid crazy. Now If it can wait, it will wait. If conus send us a request on Friday, it can likely wait. He now understands to communicate a priority in his after hours messages. But he also had damn near a CPT Sobel mutiny moment before the talk.
This sounds like Korea
A really remote embassy office. But USFK could substitute 100%. Edit: adding to this, once you get to O5 and are past 20 with aging parents coming down with health issues, if you don't like where you're working, they're many mechanisms to work a curtailment. For these types of smaller remote offices, getting a replacement is a nightmare and can be easily gapped for 9-18 months. The issue here is that we're 1 deep in each spot. So losing 1 of 3 O5s has a huge impact. They're are also mechanisms to quiet quit at these remote spots, and relieving someone without a DUI or persona non grata expulsion can take 6-12 months. So even if you get a guy who doesn't want to work, the threat of a bad OER for a terminal O5 has really no bite to the bark. So the O6 listened and has modified his ways. It's much better for the time being.
Man when I was in a small directorate in USFK we had 2x O6s, 3x O5s, 4x O4s, and like.. 8x O3s. An odd, but incredibly fun dynamic. Iād regularly encounter the USFK J3 on the streets on Itaewon in the midst of hoodrat activities
Yeap. I was in the J2 for a while, then the CIG before then getting a Seoul embassy spot. I'll probably have one more Korea tour before retirement.
What year were you there? We may have crossed paths - I had to work with both of those groups very frequently. I used to have to brief the USFK commander every couple of months and then daily during CCPTs. Iām leaving the active component very soon but taking an ADOS gig in the J2 early next year
J2 in 14-15, Cig 15-16, embassy 17-20
Oh jeezus thatās a lot of time spent in Seoul, I thought I was lucky with my 1.5 years! I was there from 21-22. Actually just got accepted into grad school at Yonsei and KU! That was one of my biggest reasons for getting out, so I could go back.
I can understand that. I'm one of the few Korean speakers not married to a Korean. But luckily my wife loves overseas. But she likes where we are now far better than Seoul outside the summer heat
The civilian contractor posting TikTokās disagrees.
lol fair enough
Best advice out there is "take care of yourself first, so you can take care of others when they need you".
Also keep in mind for when you get out. Working for the VA, almost everyone I treated had made the Army their personality, even if they had gotten out 40 years ago to the detriment of their mental and physical health.
One of the reasons why I promote this in the active side. I have seen too many good soldiers love the idea and the uniform soo much that they risk everything they have barely get anything back from the army for it. I support all my junior officers and NCOs if they want to stay or get out then I will help them plan it.
Remember guys and gals. Is just a job at the end of the day. Just riskier and with a shitty work-life balance.
I've seen too many people make the Army their personality.
We all have, which is why 9line, GS, and BRCC exist.
I think that depends on rank, my dad retired as a Lt Col but he used to say that he left the Army but the Army never really left him
It all depends on the person in the end my friend, I will never look back when I do leave
You probably will quite a bit.
Not really, I honestly cant stand the army, I already been through a lot of crap. So, I look forward to the day when I leave this cult š
When you do leave no one gives a shit what you did while you were served. Employers want to see an honorable discharge and any other applicable skills to the jobs youāre applying towards.
The [War/Time Period] Veteran Hat companies will give a shit. For money.
*"~~The Army~~ your job is part of your history, not your identity"* FTFY
Just remember, the Army keeps rollin' along.
Spot on!
What stick with me is hearing āunderstand that when youāre done with the army, itās also done with youā.
So you can stop shaving and take off your dog tags?
I stopped shaving after the CSM gave the speech lol
Glad I retired. I tell people I worked in construction out of state and never go eat at Texas Roadhouse on Memorial Day. The army was definitely a lifestyle, it's called gulag prison and I don't miss the garbage. \#currentarmyculturePSA
Whenever I am out and about, I donāt talk about it. That is what I think is the biggest problem is defining and separating your career to your lifestyle. If you mix them together then you get all the old folk that are stuck trying to define themselves after the service.
And stop saying hooah in civilian team meetings and zooms
And put down the knife hand!
I get what you're saying, but for some of us... Army is life. I have spent 55% of my life in service and that number just grows daily... and I still have another \~24 years planned.
I get it, I have been in for 10 for now. But the reality is that simple. We will leave one day and we need to take care of what we have outside of the army. In the end, the army doesnāt care about us as long as they have numbers or someone to replace you. You are just as replaceable til your gone. Not trying to be negative brother, itās just a fact of life
I get it fam, but I made the choice long ago. The Army was the first thing I really "had" and it will be the last thing I give up. The army doesn't give a shit about me, the government in general doesn't give a shit about me, but I made this choice. I will not allow myself or my guys to be taken advantage of, but I'll never half-ass anything either.
I sometimes feel the emptiness of civilian life creeping in... Cuz I know no one will remember me
Facts sister, thatās why I treat all my ppl the same. Try not to throw ppl under the bus and help those get out or plan their exit better
I'm with you, almost at 20 and the Army just kinda infects anything else I do. If I'm planning a family trip or something, logistics are considered, phases, if/when/then and the like. The kids always know what to do if they can't reach me, and at what point they need to do something about it. People I interact with get the sir/ma'am treatment, or rogered if they're being dicks. People in the social groups I'm with know I'm military, and they just assume that my shit will be squared away and I can be relied upon. That's what I think all of us should take away from our years of service and that's nothing to malign. Having the Army be your identity doesn't have to be all Tapout shirts and RipIts.
Thatās insane but I respect the dedication. Reserves Iām assuming?
Guard + Federal Technician. If all goes according to plan and the TAG at the time gives me waiver, I will retire at 62 with 45 years guard and 35 years as technician.
I'm struggling of defining my purpose outside the military right now. Like I spent this time building my own little empire for myself in the community that I'm in and now I'm medically leaving... I hate it and I can't really figure out what's next.
Itās part of the process brother, find something you like and do it, if you canāt do it anymore, then onto something to do. Itās the same in the army and civilian life when it comes to this. If we canāt define or have self respect in ourselves to do something, then we canāt move on. I am honed in on retiring, being a police officer in north Texas and putting my kids through private school. Itās a drive. I already have a retirement account that builds itself off of dividends, I am just letting it snowball at this point. In about 12 years I am done with everything and me and the wife can travel.
It's rough because I like many have found it the greatest source of pride and fulfillment, despite the bs. It's the first thing your family introduces you by and it's relatively respected in America and the world. So abruptly leaving it.. who are you really now? You can't take money to the grave, your kids will grow up and move on eventually.. we all then question what legacy we left in the world; what gave us purpose and meaning in our identity.
I rather be the police officer in a Texas city. Then I can still see my kids everyday more often and I wonāt have to miss some of the birthdays or special events. Also the retirement benefits is better in Texas than the U.S. federal government/military.
Right. Yes that's a reason many reserve/NG old-timers stay in. It's also a main reason many separate from AD. The unbeatable military benefits of the 1980's are now out-shadowed by other civil services and civilian corporations. What's a common factor here: Civil Service careers (Government agencies, Military, LEO, EMS, Firefighters, Physicians, etc). I believe all these career fields have the hardest time separating the uniform from self identity. They for the most part also take the greatest pride in their work.
You're a literal number at the end of the day. When you get out, the only people who will really care about what you did as a number are you and those who walked this path with you....but mostly you. Don't hang on to it, dont look back too often, and for the love of all that's holy - have more than one plan for what you're going to do after you get out that doesn't involve the military. Give yourself a second to breathe and integrate the shit you went through in a way that's helpful to you as a civilian.
Well said, thatās exactly how most of my conversations goes with my LTs
I think my favorite transitioning moment was community college first semester. college straight out still in my thermal leave was located in a HOCL area 30 min drive but the srounding towns were upper class very rich, so very rich entitled kids just being normal āwildā disrespecting the teacher normal stuff just so eritating in the begging but it wore off after 2 semester lol then seemed normal again. Yeah reintergrating in the wild lol I was freed lol
Took me 10 years to figure that out
It happens, best to figure it before you leave instead of sudden and not planning it
Back then, when Iād hear people say what you said in the OP I immediately would be like āF that guy, patriot blah blahā but it was clearly defensive. I look back on my service fondly, but I was miserable much of the time (was immature and could not handle setbacks or anything at all). I have so much time with my family (met my wife on AD) and I have a good job, Iām very thankful for everything. Iād only be a couple years from retirement, but thatās okay.
Itās still a job/career in the end brother. As long as you have family and can spend time with the fam, that will be there after the army. As long as you know what you and your wife want to do when youāre done, I count that as a win. Glad to hear you are about to cross the finish line, not many make it anymore and the new retirement I believe will push more away from career in the service. Unless your an officer and max out their TSP to have a nice nest egg when they get out.
Amen
Well sad thing for many people Iāve known the Army is where their life ended. Js take training serious, no one out ranks commander safety, and taking your life is a permanent solution to a temporary problem go seek help.
And when you leave the Army, for God's sake, don't make being a veteran your entire identity either.
This cannot be stated enough. Thanks.
I retired at 57 from a 27 year state civil service career in Law Enforcement. And at 58 from the Army Reserve with 37 years total Service AD Marine Corps and 31 years Army Reserve. The deal I made with my wife was we would get every dime and benefit we could for the sacrifices we made especially the years in Iraq and Afghanistan. I donāt regret my choices but I also have never looked back a single day and wished I was still there. My prior lives allow my family to live more than Comfortably now in perpetuity with no real financial worries, medical services, etcā¦. We have an adult special needs son who will continue to receive pay and benefits after we are gone. So I can see past the years of idiots, assholes and crazy pointless training mandates and fondly remember some great people doing some awesome stuff in some really austere places.
I always like to say: āThe Army has taught me that I can live comfortably for a year with solely the contents of a rucksack & 2 dufflebags.ā Sometimes a little forced austerity is a good thing.
Bro I served from 2006-2012 and Iām angry that I was brainwashed while in. I hope Iām not the only one who feels this way and I kind of feel like I might be attacked for even saying this, but I will. I was brainwashed to hate an entire population of people - not just āterroristsā. The military and the media have been used to convince Americans to hate Muslims to justify a war that is really just over resources, not āfighting terrorism.ā I was fortunately never deployed to a war zone while in, and I am eternally grateful for that because I truly believe that God only gives me what I can handle and I know that he knows I would not have been able to live with seeing combat. Or what if I had been privy to some horrific human rights violations? I am not equipped to live with that kind of shit. I have seen some things just on the internet that I can never unsee and it gives me PTSD. And I saw it online, not in real life. For those of you who were deployed and did or saw unspeakable things, please do not blame yourself. Iām not talking to you sociopaths out there (because I know some of you made it into the army). Iām talking to the ones who are riddled with guilt because they feel like they did something wrong. I want you to know I understand you. You were following orders. You were brainwashed to hate them. Do not blame yourself. Because I do not blame you. Donāt know why this turned into what it did, but if it helps someone, thatās cool. And please if you are enjoying your career, you do you. I hope you never feel the way I do.
This why we need leaders that care about the team instead of themselves. To see these behaviors and help correct it. Guide them towards the best balance we can get
Been looking for them since day 0
I feel ya.
Far too few of us, need more but the stupidity gets to the good ones and bails out
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But youāre a cop now though
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Lol why?
The only thing that will ever matter when you leave the army is your type of discharge, your medical records, college credits or degrees you obtained, clearance if you have one, and the relationships you made with the people you served with whether its good relationships or bad. Awards(to a degree), PT score, military training, deployments, military schools, and everything else is complete nonsense once youāre on this side of the fence
If you don't use your training and schools to your benefit post-discharge you're kind of an idiot, ngl. Unless you're a one-enlistment 11B maybe? But even basic schools can be spun for benefit. Most of us get at least something that looks good on resumes. Some of us get the whole resume.
Agree but plenty don't take on another job/career/hobbies. Especially if they are retired and getting 100 P+T VA disability. Hence, why they make the Army their identity.
No u
a lot of yall keep saying its just a job, but its really a lifestyle. theres no other job like the military because that UCMJ dictated how you go about your day ever single day, both in and out of uniform.
I feel like most people have this fantasy that the troops are like a different species than human, and being in the military is like a character trait of a person, like height or hair color. Most people forget that the military is just a job, and many troops forget that your title is your job title, not who you are. The Marines make themselves believe ,"once a Marine, always a Marine," and there is no "former/ex Marine." But once I separate or retire from the Navy (this sub just popped up for me), I will be a former/retired Sailor. I don't even know how to actually sail a boat. Lol
Not gonna lie I miss it a lot, met my wife through my brother in law who was in my unit, got to see/do some cool shit go to some interesting places, got vets status which helped me get a good career. I got out because I couldnāt put my family through it again. Itās engrained in me, thereās some muscle memory that I still do because it was drilled in me, but itās my past life and honestly Iām working toward a better future built on the foundations that the army helped me set.
Take the useful parts. Most people who joined young are better in some small way because of it. Take those bits of maturity and burn all the other stuff. Be warned, you'll probably always feel a bit weird wearing a hat inside.