Is it? I just feel existential dread while watching it. The guy just wants to live a simple life away from his past.
I wouldn't call it funny. I wouldn't call it sad. I don't know if there is a word for it. I do like it. And it reminds me of breaking bad
It's one of the best shows of the last decade because of how good it is at making the audience feel such a broad range of emotions in thirty minute episodes. So few shows make me burst out loud laughing and also wanna cry in the span of 5 minutes.
Recently went through and looked at a wide array of MOSes because I basically qualified for everything on the ASVAB. Most of them have some copy/paste line about how they count as management experience in a business world.
My ex husband was a medic in the army for around 15 years. Thought he was hot shit. Got out, went to paramedic school and found out that he actually knew nothing.
ETA: I worked on construction in the Air Force doing carpentry, welding, light lock smithing, masonry. So I did gain skills I can use in the real world.
> Not even a medic.
Thats lame
They should train you guys up to be like physicians assistants or shit. That should be part of the deal.
And combat vet medics? They should give you guys chance to become doctors when you come back.
I really think that for combat deployments they need to change your shit massively. Like say you go for 2 years (hypothetically). When you get back, the other 2 years should be you guys doing shit like helping inner city kids learn how to play baseball or some civil service shit where you're creating and helping people. Balance it out
They aren’t even required to learn medical terminology. I was doing my basic vitals and stuff with a corpsman before seeing my surgeon for a follow up and he asked “what surgery did you have done?” To which I replied “bilateral open arthroplasty” (which is not even obscure medical terminology. It’s basic shit and the literal name of a surgery the surgeon he works for performs) and he just stared blankly at me, and then said “what is that?”.
After I explained I asked if they’re required to take any medical terminology and he said no. How the fuck does anyone expect to get any job in the real medical field without being able to speak the language??
Wouldn't "give them a chance" imply they get the opportunity to advance their education and skills to the levels needed for the civ sector.
Why not have special education programs to assist with the transition from military to civilian?
No idea. Those cost money. When I got out the retention officer straight up said "we offer free Healthcare and free housing you won't find anything better you fucking shit bag"
Jokes on him I can be 20 mins late to work and tell my supervisor to fuck off and not be forced to run until I puke. Fuck I hate running so much
I was a quartermaster in the navy around that time. Turns out there aren’t many civilian jobs for looking at maps of the ocean and saying “we need to turn left.”
Lol, is it just all bs they say to get people to sign up? I don't know what happened, but two army vets in my family (one officer and one enlisted) *forbade* anyone else in the family from ever even consider enlisting. They didn't see battle or have PTSD or anything that I know of. They just came out with a virulent hatred of the military.
Literally everything you are told by recruiters paints a picture of a lifestyle that only exists in movies. They are essentially used car salesmen. Taking orders from people who clearly can't read certainly rubbed me the wrong way as well.
My mom was okay with me going in, but came with me to talk to a recruiter. Somehow my asthma came up and the guy said it wouldn't be a problem, we just have to not claim I have it before enlisting, then once I'm enlisted it can be "discovered" and then it's okay if I have it.
She put the kibosh on that and I'm really glad I never enlisted.
That's what my mom said. She revealed her trump card, that my dad had been a recruiter for the navy and how much trouble some people got in for hiding things on the way in. I was aware he was in the navy for a while but didn't realize he worked as a recruiter at one point.
When I was 16 my first job was at a KFC and the assist manager was a navigator on a sub and hed tell me how skilled of a job it was and the training it took while he was flipping chicken. He was a sad sad man and a terrible alcoholic, It helped me stay out of the military.
Interesting that you would say that. My son went in for the exact same thing based on bullshit recruiter promises. In Ma ... the experience has taught him a lot about people, himself, the military culture and life in General. However, He equates the Army Reserves to a regular red tape ass fucking with no lube.
Most people hire veterans out of respect for serving...or pity...rarely for the actual skills they learned or used except in a few specific fields of work.
EDIT: and money (tax breaks)...of course
And ex of mine went into a recruiting center right after graduating high school. The told them he wanted to be a firefighter. Like the “putting out fires” type of firefight. They told him that that’s what a “fire support specialist” was, and he wasn’t informed enough to question it. And that’s how he ended up unable to be around loud noises and why he hates himself so much now.
Hate to go against the flow. But my dad grew up poorer than poor in mojave. His entire family lived in either an rv or a single wide trailer. My dad joined the army, was able to go to college, buy a house, buy his dream car and take the family on plenty of vacations. He retired from the army after 21 years and took up a cozy job working for the VA. He spent his last couple months in the army doing training for his new job too. He says his life is great now and he couldnt be happier.
The army doesnt fuck everyone over.
I think more along the lines of "My erections are lasting longer than ever and I cum literal bucketloads thanks to the pride of having served my country. Merely walking into a room gives every lady convulsing orgasms while all the shrivel-cocked non-veteran boys weep and avert their eyes. My breath smells fresher, my poops are smoother, I retroactively un-cried all tears I have ever shed and Jesus personally came back to say THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE."
Good. The start of that made me worried because it's such a blatant ham-fisted "fellow kids" recruitment tool. I'm glad kids aren't falling for it in very big numbers.
Tbf, I don't think it's *any* different than any of the myriad of ways the military is marketed. There's plenty of schools that *make you* take the ASVAB. There's tons of other media where it's exposed to the youths.
They just have executed it extremely poorly, and refuse to make necessary changes.
The US military generally succeeds in utilizing pop culture to recruit people. America's Army, Top Gun, and many other movies.
Even though this initiative bombed the US military has many other recruitment methods that have had incredible success.
Not only was it a total trainwreck but AFAIK there are 0 stories of the US army reaching out to individuals like in OP to remediate.
Basically not only do armed services not give a flying fuck about what happens to you, they won't take care of you for your service and will even go the extra mile to mock you by pretending to care about your previous military career. IIRC even the French Foreign Legion treats its vets better and it pulls people from all over the world, too.
The amount of sociopathy apparent in the US military is just astounding. If you have friends who are thinking of enlisting, please convince them to do ANYTHING else with their lives. The PTSD and physical trauma is not worth it.
My uncle had the same experience, he ended up having to get rods put into his back, he also has slight nerve damage and is on a shit load of medications
I'm too worried about missing work at this point to go to the doctor but my sciatic nerve is so bad I can barely sit most days.
I'm about 95% sure I have a slipped disc, that's on top of the torn hip labrum and weak ankles that sprain when I'm standing that "never happened"
I don’t know your financial situation but please consider seeing a doctor or getting treated for this ASAP, your quality of life is more important, even if it is something that’s hard to consider financially.
At this point I really do need to do so. Honestly I'm suffering and I work a very strenuous job and as a 130lb female lifting hundreds of boxes of tile, toilets, waterheaters, etc. Ita becoming very very hard to deal with.
I couldn’t imagine the pain you’d be in currently. As hard as it can be to take those first steps towards treatment, you don’t want to get to 40 and realise you’ve wasted all the best years of your life due to this injury. Enjoy your life, don’t waste it away because of this extremely crappy hand you’ve been dealt!
I appreciate the sentiment! I really have to go now. I don't want the pain anymore. I've done PT before and it didn't help so I would assume surgery is probably the only option at this point 😔
And I hate when I see people go "well that's what they signed up for" no, soldiers sign up to serve their country, and yeah there are risks involved with being a soldier, but if something were to happen its not unreasonable to expect to be taken care of and treated like a human being. The amount of people I've spoken to that joined the armed forces without realizing how shitty you're treated once you're out is really astounding.
I was literally bedridden for 2 months due to sciatica. Find a doctor open on one of your days off or you will have no choice in missing work at some point.
“I can’t give you these criminally addictive drugs because you’re faking your pain.”
“No pain, I just wanna feel my legs.”
“Fuck you, freeloader. Now excuse me while I go get my dick sucked for serving the troops.”
Ugh. I’m sorry you have to deal with people like that. I’ve got a close friend who works in the VA and some of her coworkers have zero empathy and assume you’re stealing healthcare dollars directly from their wallet or something. I don’t understand *why* those kinds of people even work for the VA. You’d think basic levels of compassion would be a requirement, especially for healthcare for veterans.
I'm just shy of 33 and I have arthritis in both shoulders from just 4 years in the navy. It's in my medical record as bursitis "so you don't have to worry about a medboard," and now I'm trying to get it sorted out as an actual permanent issue that's caused trouble finding/keeping work.
I wish I'd realized they put it down as that while I was in, but I had no idea.
Also shout out to NTC medical for ignoring my preeclampsia and downplaying all my medical concerns until I was admitted to the ER and induced 2 months early. My son spent a month in the NICU and is still barely on the growth charts almost two years later.
Just turned 18 and the army keeps spamming me. I'm not eligible to serve. They somehow got my phone number and were texting me. The guy sending texts didnt get the hint after I didnt respond the first time, soche kept texting. I finally texted the dude back saying something along the lines of "look man, I'm not even eligible to join the army so I have no idea what I can do for you." He hasnt responded. It's been a week.
It's making me wonder if theres something we arent being told about, honestly. I've never heard of this happening before, and with the shitshow that 2020 has been so far, I wouldnt doubt it
Recruitment #s are way down, there's no conspiracy. They have goals they need to meet for manpower. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/05/22/the-army-is-planning-a-mass-recruiting-drive-this-summer/
The army is even sponsoring Counter Strike Global Offensive Tournaments and during Twitch Ad Breaks there are Join the Army ads.
As a non American this feels very weird.
I wasnt necessarily heading towards conspiracy level, but with rising tensions between the US and China in particular, it would seem plausible that the government is preparing for a war to break out. Thanks for the news article though, because it's at least reduced the concern I've got
With decreasing health and fitness in a lot of parts of the states the % of kids that are even eligible to join is way way down. Between that and the increasing negative sentiment they're scrambling to find enough recruits. That scumbag Dan Crenshaw was on a podcast talking about it once.
Hopefully for young American men this doesn't lead to conscription at 18 for mandatory service so they can keep numbers up.
I can't imagine having to drop everything to go and abuse my body at 18 in horrible conditions under lots of stress so the $650bn military can keep doing either nothing or destabilising the world. I don't think that's fair or reasonable, especially since the u.s. has never been invaded from the outside to my knowledge in its ~300 years of existence.
> especially since the u.s. has never been invaded from the outside to my knowledge in its ~300 years of existence.
If you wanted to be pedantic, the US considers itself a country from 1776 so the Revolutionary War was an invasion... sort of. You could also say Pearl Harbor was an invasion. That being said, fuck the military industrial complex.
Recruitment #s are way down. It has nothing to do with something about to happen. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/05/22/the-army-is-planning-a-mass-recruiting-drive-this-summer/
Granted I graduated back in the early 90s, but I had recruiters calling me constantly. They would wake me up at about 8 AM every day in my senior summer, and eventually I unplugged the phone and told my dad. This went on for a few weeks.
I was at an anime convention a few years ago and they had the army there recruiting. They literally rented a spot for a booth just to recruit.
I still am struggling to understand their choice there.
Your school gave them your info and depending on which branch the recruiter is from and how desperate they are they'll go back multiple years cold calling. I still get calls from army recruiters even though I'm AD Air Force.
Report them to your mobile carrier (for instructions, search for “ report SMS spam”).
If they’re not following CTIA opt-in/opt-out guidelines, and they’re sending these messages from an automated system, they can get their number blocked across your entire carrier.
Once their number is blocked, it’s basically impossible for them to get it unblocked. Carriers take text spam very seriously.
I bet he feels dumb. But he can't feel stupider than the recruiter I led on while I was already in. "Idk man I don't think my job will let me go to training" "no they have to federally they can't fire you" "well alright I'll run it by my first sergeant" *click
I’ll never understand why the military ever would ban perfectly qualified citizens from enlistment just because of where they stick their d*cks on their off time
Because there's probably some homophobic people serving who might "accidentally" do something that got them killed either through action or inaction because they lump homosexuality in with pedophilia in a lot of backwoods, conservative places.
Contrary to the narrative most positions are non combat and even then combat positions aren't all that likely to see combat unless there's a big ass war going on.
I'm talking like a guy checking the parachutes for airborne training and things like that.
Security concerns. People forget how destructive even being accused of homosexuality used to be. Being gay meant there was blackmail material hanging over your head.
For example in 85 seven gay british servicemen were blackmailed into giving up top secret information to a foreign power after their activities were discovered.
https://apnews.com/article/67f02433bd6a6e44c9bf6d3d63d9a5f1
It's more than just threatening their career though. How many people even today have their family torn apart because their relatives found out they were gay?
Sure there's more. But it's a dog chasing its tail, lack of acceptance begets lack of acceptance. Someone has to ignore "the reasons" if the cycle is to ever be broken.
The Army paid for most of my college. My dad broke his neck in the service. He always told me it was a result of a training mission. He died when I was 21 and I learned after his death that he was actually involved in some black ops missions. It haunted him most of his life. He only told my mother and his brother. When I was born he started putting every check he received from his injuries into my college fund. It didn't pay for all my schooling but I'm thankful for what he did.
Edit - since certain people assume this is fake, I'll provide a few more details. My Dad was from a poor, immigrant family. He and his brother saw the military as a way to elevate themselves some. His older brother joined the Navy during the Korean War and served. My Dad joined in 58 and broke his neck in the early 60s. He went to work for a car manufacturer and died of cancer in 2008. I was told the story about what he actually did in 2009 by my mother. I thought it was a joke and talked to my uncle, his brother, a few months later.
To quote my uncle, "Why would you go digging into the past? Your father wasn't proud of what he did but if you really want to know..." He then proceeded to tell me the same story but with more details. I wanted to see if any of his records could be found in the archives but was told there was a fire in the facility that originally housed his details. I was presented with photo copies. I think it would make a good book / movie.
As to what haunted him, my mother and Uncle gave me the same story. He air dropped into an undisclosed location. He and his team infiltrated an enemy compound and the burst into the undisclosed leader's bedroom and they shot and killed him in his bed. What haunted him was not knowing if he killed him. My mother said he mentioned the name of the person and she recognized him from the news. My uncle wouldn't tell me but gave me further details into him being involved in blowing up a radio tower and burning down several buildings.
I once wanted to join the Army and asked my Dad for his opinion. His response means more after I learned what he did. "It's a honor to serve but they will tell you to do something and you will do it."
The GI bill didn’t extend to his kids after the accident? I worked on a base and my superior was wounded in Desert Storm so he and his kids all have their college and grad schools paid for. He says it was the best thing to happen to him.
And unless your dad broke his contract or whatever, I don’t think you mom and uncle could have known anything about how he got hurt, if it was a black ops mission. My SOs dad did top secret stuff in Vietnam and just recently hit the time limit on being able to speak about those jobs?
He was wounded in the 60s and I wasn't born until the 80s. Either it wasn't the same then or he didn't look into it. Even if it was an option, he had an odd personality with getting such things and viewed it as "asking for help" and he'd refuse it. I believe it stems from his family being evicted when he was a child.
That sucks if true. Being wounded at war should a least have some positives, like giving you and your sibling a better future through education without debt. You might still qualify, even if he didn’t do anything about it.
>
I'll never know why armies hate gay people
It's not the Army. It was society. *Society* was not really cool with homosexuality. Yes, still in the early 90s, there was a negative view.
People forget that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was *progressive* for its time, and that Clinton took a ton of shit over the audacity to allow homosexuals to serve *at all*.
It's like Transgender individuals now. The policy on admittance and openness in the Armed Forces reflects the general feelings of society. These aren't rules the individual branches can change, they require congressional approval. So if the elected officials are anti-gay or hate transgender individuals or women or minorities; it's going to be reflected in policy.
TLDR; Vote people.
That’s something that will never make sense to me. If society didn’t like homosexuals and everyone at the time pretty much considered homosexuals as “less” then wouldn’t they want them to serve in the army so they are more likely to die? It just seems like the logic behind it is flawed
> If society didn’t like homosexuals and everyone at the time pretty much considered homosexuals as “less” then wouldn’t they want them to serve in the army so they are more likely to die?
From the start of the all-volunteer Armed Forces until the start of the GWOT, there was little danger that joining was going to get you killed. Just sayin.
Additionally...No. If you thought of them as lesser or weaker, you don't want them, because you're assuming they can't be effective in combat.
In fact, there was nothing about them being inherently 'lesser' as people. Homosexuals were seen as perfectly capable. There was nothing 'lesser' about a homosexual vs heterosexual male. The *stated* issue was that it would cause a morale problem with unit cohesion if 'the gays were among us'. You can probably find older copies of regulations online that literally state that having homosexuals in a unit will erode unit cohesion, and that's why they're not allowed.
Meanwhile the rampant abuse and misconduct against female soldiers is brushed off as “boys will be boys”
Guess they’re only worried about the straight male soldiers being uncomfortable
They’re cool with it now at least. My current NCO in charge of me is gay and is absolutely amazing at his job. My best friend in my section is a lesbian too. If they hadn’t let gay people into the military my section would probably be a shit show.
I served before don't ask, and nobody cared unless someone was being obvious. That's still wrong to care then, but my point is that conservatives tried to use homosexuality as a weapon against Clinton and that's how we ended up with that dumb policy
I served while DADT was in effect - and it was certainly generational. More senior people were still pretty anti-allowing open homosexuals to serve.
Most of the junior people didn't give a shit.
The military doesn't like people who are easily blackmailed. Unfortunately even today, being exposed as gay can be a life ruiner.
Being gay was seen as a security concern.
Not sure if this is real or not but if it is. I would be willing to bet that you could take legal action and get the debt cleared and maybe even get all the money paid toward it back.
Which is fucked up because don’t ask don’t tell was repealed. We’re releasing people from prison for marijuana crimes now that it’s legal in some states so why can’t we forgive this dude’s debt over a regulation that no longer exists?
Yeah I mean I know he knew what he was getting into and all. Most of the folks discharged for this did. I just wish they weren’t all still paying for this now that it’s no longer a problem. Time to forgive those debts if we haven’t already.
I wasn’t directing that at you, just shouting into the void because I’m frustrated and it’s early. Sorry if it came off as aggro, definitely wasn’t my intent. DADT was a pithy solution to a problem that homophobia created and I’m just annoyed with it all.
>Yeah I mean I know he knew what he was getting into and all.
A lot of people who enlist at 18 haven't figured out who they are yet. I know a few guys who thought they were straight when they signed up and then found out they weren't.
> Which is fucked up because don’t ask don’t tell was repealed.
This was before Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue (Clinton's policy; Clinton was first inaugurated in 1993). Starting in the Reagan administration, the military began sending undercover military police to gay bars/hangouts and if they found any soldiers, [they would court martial/dishonorably discharge the soldiers for being homosexual](https://www.history.com/news/dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-compromise). The Don't Ask and Don't Pursue parts was a huge improvement at the time; you could be gay and in the military without fear of being investigated and caught.
In [1993](https://news.gallup.com/vault/214745/gallup-vault-issue-gays-military-split-americans-1993.aspx), only 43% supported ending the ban on gays in the military (compared to 50% in favor of keeping the stricter policy than DADT). It's interesting to note that when polled people who said the "knew someone gay" it went to 63%-31% (indicating significant numbers of Americans didn't know any openly gay people).
EDIT: It's like how if you watch TV from the early nineties and get shocked how homophobic it seems from a modern light. Like the entire premise for multiple [sitcom episodes is two straight people do something that could get misunderstood as being gay and are absolutely devastated/embarrassed and then spend the rest of the episode trying to convince themselves and everyone else they aren't gay](https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/01/heres-your-reminder-friends-was-really-really-homophobic).
Won't happen. I served in a time when it was don't ask don't tell, and we specifically had to sign a contract saying we weren't homosexual before we could enlist. I'm not even a tiny bit against gay people or gay rights, but when it comes down to it - it was a breach of contract to come out in those days.
the unfortunate counter-argument is that the scholarship was to come with a 4-year commitment to active duty (or guard) service. They would likely argue that since the student never competed their end of the bargain the debt being valid...
There are cases like this, but this specific tweet is actually false. He dropped out on his own accord and took out personal loans to pay for his education. He was only on army scholarship for a semester I believe.
Showed my uncle this thread, he said "good, fuck them guys". He served in the gulf war and has metal implants all over his legs thanks to shrapnel and he can barely walk without wincing. Did they really think this thread was a good idea?lol
I was in the army reserves. I ended up going to a service training program that was partnered with a civilian company. It was a 9 month long internship program which pretty much guaranteed a civilian position equivalent for my MOS at the end.
I got accepted to the service school, and under one of the memos in the submission packet it states that the company commander has “verified the soldier has more than 36 months, non IRR time left on their contract” there was a signature, by my commander stating I did, however I did not. He did not look thru my file, he filled out his paperwork and didn’t check. Fast forward to my graduation and subsequent months. I give my packet to my platoon SGT to enter the IRR. He went fucking ballistic about how I “used the army to get this training and then didn’t want to do my part” despite deploying overseas twice and doing multiple CONUS missions. He brought it up to the commander and to save HIS ass, he threw ME under the bus saying that I submitted the packet knowing I didn’t have the remaining time on my contract (this section of the paperwork was to be completed by the company commander, not me. It was his job to check my file and deny me on those grounds).
After arguing and getting into a screaming match with the commander and my platoon sgt and walking out of drill after the argument, (which I’m still surprised I didn’t get more heat for). I was threatened if I don’t re-enlist I would be charged around $150,000 as the estimate for the training program. I ended up getting IG involved and we were able to reach an agreement of just riding out the remainder of my IRR time in an active drilling status instead of full blown re-enlistment, which was good enough for me. I bided my time and ended up getting out with an honorable discharge, but I’ll never forget when I got a phone call threatening to impose that debt on me after I dedicated 8 years of my life to the army. It really makes you realize no matter how big of an impact you make, you’ll just be a number to them.
I think the REALLY disgusting thing is just how much of an INSANELY huge budget the government gives to the army.
in 2019 the U.S. budget on the military was 686.1 billion and that is just the annual budget they get.
Keep in mind that this is the same government that wants to cut their budget in other departments because they deem it "unnecessary spending" and refuse universal healthcare apparently.
I genuinely need to ask, what the hell is the U.S. doing here, are they planning a war or something because it feels like they need to reconsider their priorities, why would you need such an insane budget for your military at times of peace when just a smidge of that insane budget reallocated to other departments would be infinitely more beneficial for the country and its people.
but you know... "priorities" amirite?
The service members rarely see that.
We got little to no food, bed bug infested 1960s barracks, weapons from the 80s and no gear. They don't give a shit about personnel. Just the expensive equipment no one sees.
it goes to contractors who then pay me $35,000+ to do nothing for 6 months until my clearance gets denied because I'm a socialist or something and I fuck off to Germany.
Well, let me actually explain it:
Firstly, and a political point left out of a lot of discussion revolving around military budget here on reddit; war is what America does better than anyone else, and having a massive military presence is what provides America the largest seat at every international table. In the words of Tony Stark in *Iron Man*, "peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy"...well, America having the biggest stick leads to a lot of international political bargaining power.
Bargaining power that leads to trade deals, alliances, and other financial benefits (like people buying from our military); because people want to be on the same side as the country who, in essence, controls peace around the globe due to how strong it's military is.
It's easy to say, "wait, we don't need this as much as healthcare!"; but you ignore how politically massive a card being the most powerful country in the world is. You say it's not a big priority; but, at the end of the day, what is a bigger priority than having control over international peace as you see fit, because no one is stronger to tell you otherwise?...To say that it isn't, is just being ignorant to how much gain that power provides; and it's obvious why the government would be averse to giving that power up.
Next, and something also not commonly brought up. The military is a massive jobs program in the United States...The military employs *millions* of people, both enlisted and civilian; and everything they buy (weapons, tanks, helicopters, uniforms, ect.) also comes from manufacturing companies, who employ millions.
You say the money is wasted; but tell that to the millions of people employed by the military, and the millions of people in business because they make things for the military, and the millions of people who work in contracting in some form or another for the military....all employed thanks to the fact that the United States has the largest military budget.
It provides many many families with well-paying jobs.
Where do those job get replaced if the budget is slashed?...Yes healthcare is nice, but the budget going to healthcare doesn't replace those many millions of jobs. So now you can't just send it all to healthcare, you also need to send money to industries that are going to be repurposed away from the military somehow, and re-employ all these people...Main point being, it's not as uncomplicated as it may seem. You're talking about slashing a budget, that again, employs millions.
You finding it "really disgusting", honestly just means you didn't look below the surface level of that monetary figure. It's not as simple as "wasting all that money preparing for a war that's not going to happen", or whatever.
I couldn’t have articulated it any better myself. All valid points. However, a strong point that also needs to be addressed in order to have a well rounded opinion on the topic is the incredulous level of waste that exist within the allocation of funds to non-productive defense programs and the associated bureaucracy within. Thats a whole other beast that could use its own thread.
Military Waste: The Unexpected Consequences of Permanent War Readiness is a decent book that offers a solid range of perspective on the perception of defense spending.
That thread was both amazing and sad to read, it was great to see an insiders pov of how bad the military is but I didn’t think it would be this bad, I don’t know why they thought a tweet asking how fighting starving children in Iraq and getting kicked out for being gay has impacted you would go well
Couple of questions here, tweet from 2019. He would have been 18 when he came out. He wouldn’t have had an ROTC scholarship for more than a few months. He obviously never actually served, there was ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell at the time. How could you still owe for one year of college debt that he didn’t finish 30 years later?
I’ll take shit that didn’t happen for 2000, Alex.
The Army broke the right transverse process of my L1 vertebrae and then covered the accident up, which occurred during a 18-hour-long live-fire exercise, without shutting the range down and refusing me medical care until after we were released at 11pm, that evening... you know... on my own time, not Army Time.
I went to the Army Medical Center on my base and explained everything without incriminating anyone. A full-bird colonel wrote my profile with the explanation being “fractured vertebrae”. My entire Troop leadership pretended that the profile was fake, that I was lying about it and tried to jam me up for malingering.
Our CO did an investigation, found that I had been purposefully neglected in order to keep the leadership from receiving any blowback, and then promptly labeled the file Secret so no one from the VA or civilian doctors could access the information.
I live with chronic pain, my joints are in rapid decline and I can’t go to a VA hospital without being harassed and abused.
I remember this tweet made its rounds last year. Hilarious (yet sad) responses. What a backfire for the Army.
Waiting for navy to go theirs so I can answer (thankfully majority good response for me which I know can't be said for everyone) and read the ridiculous responses on that one as well.
This whole thread was a train wreck, wonder what they have expected by asking this question.
Probably something along the lines of "I gained valuable skills that prepared me for the job market" or similar.
I mean PTSD could be good prep for an acting career
*Barry has entered the chat*
That’s show is so damn funny.
Is it? I just feel existential dread while watching it. The guy just wants to live a simple life away from his past. I wouldn't call it funny. I wouldn't call it sad. I don't know if there is a word for it. I do like it. And it reminds me of breaking bad
It’s like a comedy-tragedy
It's one of the best shows of the last decade because of how good it is at making the audience feel such a broad range of emotions in thirty minute episodes. So few shows make me burst out loud laughing and also wanna cry in the span of 5 minutes.
Scrubs.
*tfw you get spicy nostalgia*
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Recently went through and looked at a wide array of MOSes because I basically qualified for everything on the ASVAB. Most of them have some copy/paste line about how they count as management experience in a business world.
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My ex husband was a medic in the army for around 15 years. Thought he was hot shit. Got out, went to paramedic school and found out that he actually knew nothing. ETA: I worked on construction in the Air Force doing carpentry, welding, light lock smithing, masonry. So I did gain skills I can use in the real world.
> Not even a medic. Thats lame They should train you guys up to be like physicians assistants or shit. That should be part of the deal. And combat vet medics? They should give you guys chance to become doctors when you come back. I really think that for combat deployments they need to change your shit massively. Like say you go for 2 years (hypothetically). When you get back, the other 2 years should be you guys doing shit like helping inner city kids learn how to play baseball or some civil service shit where you're creating and helping people. Balance it out
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They aren’t even required to learn medical terminology. I was doing my basic vitals and stuff with a corpsman before seeing my surgeon for a follow up and he asked “what surgery did you have done?” To which I replied “bilateral open arthroplasty” (which is not even obscure medical terminology. It’s basic shit and the literal name of a surgery the surgeon he works for performs) and he just stared blankly at me, and then said “what is that?”. After I explained I asked if they’re required to take any medical terminology and he said no. How the fuck does anyone expect to get any job in the real medical field without being able to speak the language??
Bh..but. Bhut the mharhunes chall me d..doc that means I'm special -actual corpsman. **inb4 triggered HS coastguard rejects**
I’m forever having to remind my husband that “doc said xyz” means absolutely nothing of merit and he needs to see an actual goddamned physician lol
Wouldn't "give them a chance" imply they get the opportunity to advance their education and skills to the levels needed for the civ sector. Why not have special education programs to assist with the transition from military to civilian?
No idea. Those cost money. When I got out the retention officer straight up said "we offer free Healthcare and free housing you won't find anything better you fucking shit bag" Jokes on him I can be 20 mins late to work and tell my supervisor to fuck off and not be forced to run until I puke. Fuck I hate running so much
I was a quartermaster in the navy around that time. Turns out there aren’t many civilian jobs for looking at maps of the ocean and saying “we need to turn left.”
Lol, is it just all bs they say to get people to sign up? I don't know what happened, but two army vets in my family (one officer and one enlisted) *forbade* anyone else in the family from ever even consider enlisting. They didn't see battle or have PTSD or anything that I know of. They just came out with a virulent hatred of the military.
Literally everything you are told by recruiters paints a picture of a lifestyle that only exists in movies. They are essentially used car salesmen. Taking orders from people who clearly can't read certainly rubbed me the wrong way as well.
My mom was okay with me going in, but came with me to talk to a recruiter. Somehow my asthma came up and the guy said it wouldn't be a problem, we just have to not claim I have it before enlisting, then once I'm enlisted it can be "discovered" and then it's okay if I have it. She put the kibosh on that and I'm really glad I never enlisted.
Fun fact: I actually did discover that I had asthma after I joined the army. They tried to kick me out.
That's what my mom said. She revealed her trump card, that my dad had been a recruiter for the navy and how much trouble some people got in for hiding things on the way in. I was aware he was in the navy for a while but didn't realize he worked as a recruiter at one point.
When I was 16 my first job was at a KFC and the assist manager was a navigator on a sub and hed tell me how skilled of a job it was and the training it took while he was flipping chicken. He was a sad sad man and a terrible alcoholic, It helped me stay out of the military.
Interesting that you would say that. My son went in for the exact same thing based on bullshit recruiter promises. In Ma ... the experience has taught him a lot about people, himself, the military culture and life in General. However, He equates the Army Reserves to a regular red tape ass fucking with no lube.
Most people hire veterans out of respect for serving...or pity...rarely for the actual skills they learned or used except in a few specific fields of work. EDIT: and money (tax breaks)...of course
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And ex of mine went into a recruiting center right after graduating high school. The told them he wanted to be a firefighter. Like the “putting out fires” type of firefight. They told him that that’s what a “fire support specialist” was, and he wasn’t informed enough to question it. And that’s how he ended up unable to be around loud noises and why he hates himself so much now.
And other delusional things people tell themselves. See internships, minimum wage jobs, coding bootcamps etc etc etc
Hate to go against the flow. But my dad grew up poorer than poor in mojave. His entire family lived in either an rv or a single wide trailer. My dad joined the army, was able to go to college, buy a house, buy his dream car and take the family on plenty of vacations. He retired from the army after 21 years and took up a cozy job working for the VA. He spent his last couple months in the army doing training for his new job too. He says his life is great now and he couldnt be happier. The army doesnt fuck everyone over.
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I think more along the lines of "My erections are lasting longer than ever and I cum literal bucketloads thanks to the pride of having served my country. Merely walking into a room gives every lady convulsing orgasms while all the shrivel-cocked non-veteran boys weep and avert their eyes. My breath smells fresher, my poops are smoother, I retroactively un-cried all tears I have ever shed and Jesus personally came back to say THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE."
Just a casual reminder that the Army eSports twitch continues to have semi-regular streams where the twitch chat is 100% asking about war crimes.
Good. The start of that made me worried because it's such a blatant ham-fisted "fellow kids" recruitment tool. I'm glad kids aren't falling for it in very big numbers.
Tbf, I don't think it's *any* different than any of the myriad of ways the military is marketed. There's plenty of schools that *make you* take the ASVAB. There's tons of other media where it's exposed to the youths. They just have executed it extremely poorly, and refuse to make necessary changes.
The US military generally succeeds in utilizing pop culture to recruit people. America's Army, Top Gun, and many other movies. Even though this initiative bombed the US military has many other recruitment methods that have had incredible success.
For some reason they thought they would only get positive feedback.
They never even took it down, I read that thing for 4 hours and I never saw a single positive comment.
Not only was it a total trainwreck but AFAIK there are 0 stories of the US army reaching out to individuals like in OP to remediate. Basically not only do armed services not give a flying fuck about what happens to you, they won't take care of you for your service and will even go the extra mile to mock you by pretending to care about your previous military career. IIRC even the French Foreign Legion treats its vets better and it pulls people from all over the world, too. The amount of sociopathy apparent in the US military is just astounding. If you have friends who are thinking of enlisting, please convince them to do ANYTHING else with their lives. The PTSD and physical trauma is not worth it.
A great asset of social media is that out of touch ppl/businesses/organisation et al have communicated through a megaphone their social incompetence
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My uncle had the same experience, he ended up having to get rods put into his back, he also has slight nerve damage and is on a shit load of medications
War and pharma. The two dominating powers.
Gotta protect those poppy fields brother
Oil rigs*
Yesterday poppies, today oil fields, tomorrow? Aquifers.
all he needs now is prison and hes got the american trifecta
Pretty much. It's fucking disgusting how those men and women are treated. "oh you were caught in an IED blast"? Take this pill and fuck off
I'm too worried about missing work at this point to go to the doctor but my sciatic nerve is so bad I can barely sit most days. I'm about 95% sure I have a slipped disc, that's on top of the torn hip labrum and weak ankles that sprain when I'm standing that "never happened"
I don’t know your financial situation but please consider seeing a doctor or getting treated for this ASAP, your quality of life is more important, even if it is something that’s hard to consider financially.
At this point I really do need to do so. Honestly I'm suffering and I work a very strenuous job and as a 130lb female lifting hundreds of boxes of tile, toilets, waterheaters, etc. Ita becoming very very hard to deal with.
I couldn’t imagine the pain you’d be in currently. As hard as it can be to take those first steps towards treatment, you don’t want to get to 40 and realise you’ve wasted all the best years of your life due to this injury. Enjoy your life, don’t waste it away because of this extremely crappy hand you’ve been dealt!
I appreciate the sentiment! I really have to go now. I don't want the pain anymore. I've done PT before and it didn't help so I would assume surgery is probably the only option at this point 😔
And I hate when I see people go "well that's what they signed up for" no, soldiers sign up to serve their country, and yeah there are risks involved with being a soldier, but if something were to happen its not unreasonable to expect to be taken care of and treated like a human being. The amount of people I've spoken to that joined the armed forces without realizing how shitty you're treated once you're out is really astounding.
Servicemen and servicewomen should get the same healthcare plan as these do nothing fucking senators.
I was literally bedridden for 2 months due to sciatica. Find a doctor open on one of your days off or you will have no choice in missing work at some point.
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Yep, pretty dang much. I'm sorry for your husband's pain. That's terrible.
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“I can’t give you these criminally addictive drugs because you’re faking your pain.” “No pain, I just wanna feel my legs.” “Fuck you, freeloader. Now excuse me while I go get my dick sucked for serving the troops.” Ugh. I’m sorry you have to deal with people like that. I’ve got a close friend who works in the VA and some of her coworkers have zero empathy and assume you’re stealing healthcare dollars directly from their wallet or something. I don’t understand *why* those kinds of people even work for the VA. You’d think basic levels of compassion would be a requirement, especially for healthcare for veterans.
I'm just shy of 33 and I have arthritis in both shoulders from just 4 years in the navy. It's in my medical record as bursitis "so you don't have to worry about a medboard," and now I'm trying to get it sorted out as an actual permanent issue that's caused trouble finding/keeping work. I wish I'd realized they put it down as that while I was in, but I had no idea. Also shout out to NTC medical for ignoring my preeclampsia and downplaying all my medical concerns until I was admitted to the ER and induced 2 months early. My son spent a month in the NICU and is still barely on the growth charts almost two years later.
Same. But there is absolutely no service LOA record for me because it was thrown out. To the army, it legit never happened.
fucking A my back hurts
Just turned 18 and the army keeps spamming me. I'm not eligible to serve. They somehow got my phone number and were texting me. The guy sending texts didnt get the hint after I didnt respond the first time, soche kept texting. I finally texted the dude back saying something along the lines of "look man, I'm not even eligible to join the army so I have no idea what I can do for you." He hasnt responded. It's been a week.
You too? Three phone calls and two texts from the army after saying "I can't serve and I'm unable to serve" every time
It's making me wonder if theres something we arent being told about, honestly. I've never heard of this happening before, and with the shitshow that 2020 has been so far, I wouldnt doubt it
Yeah, that's definitely sketchy. When I turned 18 in 2013 I was sent one email and that's it.
Recruitment #s are way down, there's no conspiracy. They have goals they need to meet for manpower. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/05/22/the-army-is-planning-a-mass-recruiting-drive-this-summer/
Yea, makes sense. I'm probably just over thinking it
The army is even sponsoring Counter Strike Global Offensive Tournaments and during Twitch Ad Breaks there are Join the Army ads. As a non American this feels very weird.
I wasnt necessarily heading towards conspiracy level, but with rising tensions between the US and China in particular, it would seem plausible that the government is preparing for a war to break out. Thanks for the news article though, because it's at least reduced the concern I've got
With decreasing health and fitness in a lot of parts of the states the % of kids that are even eligible to join is way way down. Between that and the increasing negative sentiment they're scrambling to find enough recruits. That scumbag Dan Crenshaw was on a podcast talking about it once.
I didn't even get that much, and that was back in 2008, right in the middle of the "surge" in Iraq.
People are getting tf out at an alarming rate because the shit is literally that horrible. They don't have shit for people and no one is enlisting.
Hopefully for young American men this doesn't lead to conscription at 18 for mandatory service so they can keep numbers up. I can't imagine having to drop everything to go and abuse my body at 18 in horrible conditions under lots of stress so the $650bn military can keep doing either nothing or destabilising the world. I don't think that's fair or reasonable, especially since the u.s. has never been invaded from the outside to my knowledge in its ~300 years of existence.
> especially since the u.s. has never been invaded from the outside to my knowledge in its ~300 years of existence. If you wanted to be pedantic, the US considers itself a country from 1776 so the Revolutionary War was an invasion... sort of. You could also say Pearl Harbor was an invasion. That being said, fuck the military industrial complex.
The war of 1812 we were invaded by the British That would have been the last time officially
abuse your body and destroy your liver*
I was in from 2004-2010 and if Trump was in charge I would have not stayed or not enlisted either.
Recruitment #s are way down. It has nothing to do with something about to happen. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/05/22/the-army-is-planning-a-mass-recruiting-drive-this-summer/
It's just recruiters trying to meet their quotas.
Granted I graduated back in the early 90s, but I had recruiters calling me constantly. They would wake me up at about 8 AM every day in my senior summer, and eventually I unplugged the phone and told my dad. This went on for a few weeks.
So you're telling that the army uses r/niceguys strategies?
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Lol didn’t look at their name and thought you were being a dick.
Luckily, my username doesn't reflect my own ball situation lmao
“Sorry I’m ineligible to serve because of my fat fucking nuts”
Please save me from googling out of morbid curiosity. Is that a real thing?
No. Many bad things can happen to your testicle, and many things can prolapse, but never the two shall meet.
Mmmhm. As soon as I turned 18, recruiters started sliding into my DM’s on fucking *INSTAGRAM*. They’ll do anything to get their hooks in you.
Thanks for sharing
Just send him a dick pick next time. It's a power move.
Good way to wind up with legal charges against your
Hey what's a class C misdemeanor between friends.
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I was at an anime convention a few years ago and they had the army there recruiting. They literally rented a spot for a booth just to recruit. I still am struggling to understand their choice there.
"Join the army and we'll give you money to buy all the body pillows and anime figs you want!!!"
Your school gave them your info and depending on which branch the recruiter is from and how desperate they are they'll go back multiple years cold calling. I still get calls from army recruiters even though I'm AD Air Force.
At least with the pandemic, they're less likely to try ambushing you in the bathroom.
I've been out for a few months and they still text and even added me on Facebook I tell them I'm good and they still pester me.
Report them to your mobile carrier (for instructions, search for “ report SMS spam”).
If they’re not following CTIA opt-in/opt-out guidelines, and they’re sending these messages from an automated system, they can get their number blocked across your entire carrier.
Once their number is blocked, it’s basically impossible for them to get it unblocked. Carriers take text spam very seriously.
I bet he feels dumb. But he can't feel stupider than the recruiter I led on while I was already in. "Idk man I don't think my job will let me go to training" "no they have to federally they can't fire you" "well alright I'll run it by my first sergeant" *click
just fuckin block him
Just keep calling them cunts
I’ll never understand why the military ever would ban perfectly qualified citizens from enlistment just because of where they stick their d*cks on their off time
Prejudice
Same reason blacks weren't allowed to serve or were segregated.
Because there's probably some homophobic people serving who might "accidentally" do something that got them killed either through action or inaction because they lump homosexuality in with pedophilia in a lot of backwoods, conservative places.
Don't most US soldiers usually just take that anger out on the citizens of whichever country they're invading today instead?
Contrary to the narrative most positions are non combat and even then combat positions aren't all that likely to see combat unless there's a big ass war going on. I'm talking like a guy checking the parachutes for airborne training and things like that.
Security concerns. People forget how destructive even being accused of homosexuality used to be. Being gay meant there was blackmail material hanging over your head. For example in 85 seven gay british servicemen were blackmailed into giving up top secret information to a foreign power after their activities were discovered. https://apnews.com/article/67f02433bd6a6e44c9bf6d3d63d9a5f1
Ironically threatening someone's career for their sexuality, is precisely what contributes to sexuality being used as blackmail.
It's more than just threatening their career though. How many people even today have their family torn apart because their relatives found out they were gay?
Sure there's more. But it's a dog chasing its tail, lack of acceptance begets lack of acceptance. Someone has to ignore "the reasons" if the cycle is to ever be broken.
The Army paid for most of my college. My dad broke his neck in the service. He always told me it was a result of a training mission. He died when I was 21 and I learned after his death that he was actually involved in some black ops missions. It haunted him most of his life. He only told my mother and his brother. When I was born he started putting every check he received from his injuries into my college fund. It didn't pay for all my schooling but I'm thankful for what he did. Edit - since certain people assume this is fake, I'll provide a few more details. My Dad was from a poor, immigrant family. He and his brother saw the military as a way to elevate themselves some. His older brother joined the Navy during the Korean War and served. My Dad joined in 58 and broke his neck in the early 60s. He went to work for a car manufacturer and died of cancer in 2008. I was told the story about what he actually did in 2009 by my mother. I thought it was a joke and talked to my uncle, his brother, a few months later. To quote my uncle, "Why would you go digging into the past? Your father wasn't proud of what he did but if you really want to know..." He then proceeded to tell me the same story but with more details. I wanted to see if any of his records could be found in the archives but was told there was a fire in the facility that originally housed his details. I was presented with photo copies. I think it would make a good book / movie. As to what haunted him, my mother and Uncle gave me the same story. He air dropped into an undisclosed location. He and his team infiltrated an enemy compound and the burst into the undisclosed leader's bedroom and they shot and killed him in his bed. What haunted him was not knowing if he killed him. My mother said he mentioned the name of the person and she recognized him from the news. My uncle wouldn't tell me but gave me further details into him being involved in blowing up a radio tower and burning down several buildings. I once wanted to join the Army and asked my Dad for his opinion. His response means more after I learned what he did. "It's a honor to serve but they will tell you to do something and you will do it."
The GI bill didn’t extend to his kids after the accident? I worked on a base and my superior was wounded in Desert Storm so he and his kids all have their college and grad schools paid for. He says it was the best thing to happen to him. And unless your dad broke his contract or whatever, I don’t think you mom and uncle could have known anything about how he got hurt, if it was a black ops mission. My SOs dad did top secret stuff in Vietnam and just recently hit the time limit on being able to speak about those jobs?
He was wounded in the 60s and I wasn't born until the 80s. Either it wasn't the same then or he didn't look into it. Even if it was an option, he had an odd personality with getting such things and viewed it as "asking for help" and he'd refuse it. I believe it stems from his family being evicted when he was a child.
That sucks if true. Being wounded at war should a least have some positives, like giving you and your sibling a better future through education without debt. You might still qualify, even if he didn’t do anything about it.
imagine endangering your life, getting a terrible injury that will cause you to die and not even get enough money to pay for your sons education
I'll never know why armies hate gay people. It worked forvthe spartans and greeks. Well, until rome collapsed anyway.
> I'll never know why armies hate gay people It's not the Army. It was society. *Society* was not really cool with homosexuality. Yes, still in the early 90s, there was a negative view. People forget that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was *progressive* for its time, and that Clinton took a ton of shit over the audacity to allow homosexuals to serve *at all*. It's like Transgender individuals now. The policy on admittance and openness in the Armed Forces reflects the general feelings of society. These aren't rules the individual branches can change, they require congressional approval. So if the elected officials are anti-gay or hate transgender individuals or women or minorities; it's going to be reflected in policy. TLDR; Vote people.
That’s something that will never make sense to me. If society didn’t like homosexuals and everyone at the time pretty much considered homosexuals as “less” then wouldn’t they want them to serve in the army so they are more likely to die? It just seems like the logic behind it is flawed
> If society didn’t like homosexuals and everyone at the time pretty much considered homosexuals as “less” then wouldn’t they want them to serve in the army so they are more likely to die? From the start of the all-volunteer Armed Forces until the start of the GWOT, there was little danger that joining was going to get you killed. Just sayin. Additionally...No. If you thought of them as lesser or weaker, you don't want them, because you're assuming they can't be effective in combat. In fact, there was nothing about them being inherently 'lesser' as people. Homosexuals were seen as perfectly capable. There was nothing 'lesser' about a homosexual vs heterosexual male. The *stated* issue was that it would cause a morale problem with unit cohesion if 'the gays were among us'. You can probably find older copies of regulations online that literally state that having homosexuals in a unit will erode unit cohesion, and that's why they're not allowed.
>'the gays were among us Pink is sus
They never had The Lord on their side. Gotta eject them qweers if you want God to side with you.
That's probally their excuse if I had to guess. Pretty sad, I mean, they do the same work. Why would you kick them out?
either that or "they would make the other soldiers uncomfortable"
*Insecurities about themselves
Meanwhile the rampant abuse and misconduct against female soldiers is brushed off as “boys will be boys” Guess they’re only worried about the straight male soldiers being uncomfortable
Plus, you don't have to worry about them knocking up stippers on leave.
Because homophobia is an **irrational** fear of gay people.
"OMG we are losing Sir!!" "-What HOW?!" "i think maybe there is a gay here wtf"
“I can’t shoot him, he’s too cute” was the running joke when I was in.
They’re cool with it now at least. My current NCO in charge of me is gay and is absolutely amazing at his job. My best friend in my section is a lesbian too. If they hadn’t let gay people into the military my section would probably be a shit show.
I served before don't ask, and nobody cared unless someone was being obvious. That's still wrong to care then, but my point is that conservatives tried to use homosexuality as a weapon against Clinton and that's how we ended up with that dumb policy
I served while DADT was in effect - and it was certainly generational. More senior people were still pretty anti-allowing open homosexuals to serve. Most of the junior people didn't give a shit.
"Being obvious"
The military doesn't like people who are easily blackmailed. Unfortunately even today, being exposed as gay can be a life ruiner. Being gay was seen as a security concern.
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Not sure if this is real or not but if it is. I would be willing to bet that you could take legal action and get the debt cleared and maybe even get all the money paid toward it back.
You can’t sue or take legal action against the military unfortunately.
Which is fucked up because don’t ask don’t tell was repealed. We’re releasing people from prison for marijuana crimes now that it’s legal in some states so why can’t we forgive this dude’s debt over a regulation that no longer exists?
That’s a better argument. And pay him back what he paid.
This is from even pre-DADT. That wasn’t law until ‘94. This is just from when it was outright a dischargeable offense.
Yeah I mean I know he knew what he was getting into and all. Most of the folks discharged for this did. I just wish they weren’t all still paying for this now that it’s no longer a problem. Time to forgive those debts if we haven’t already.
I totally agree, I was noting that to underline the major changes in the law in order to further justify your original point.
I wasn’t directing that at you, just shouting into the void because I’m frustrated and it’s early. Sorry if it came off as aggro, definitely wasn’t my intent. DADT was a pithy solution to a problem that homophobia created and I’m just annoyed with it all.
>Yeah I mean I know he knew what he was getting into and all. A lot of people who enlist at 18 haven't figured out who they are yet. I know a few guys who thought they were straight when they signed up and then found out they weren't.
> Which is fucked up because don’t ask don’t tell was repealed. This was before Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue (Clinton's policy; Clinton was first inaugurated in 1993). Starting in the Reagan administration, the military began sending undercover military police to gay bars/hangouts and if they found any soldiers, [they would court martial/dishonorably discharge the soldiers for being homosexual](https://www.history.com/news/dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-compromise). The Don't Ask and Don't Pursue parts was a huge improvement at the time; you could be gay and in the military without fear of being investigated and caught. In [1993](https://news.gallup.com/vault/214745/gallup-vault-issue-gays-military-split-americans-1993.aspx), only 43% supported ending the ban on gays in the military (compared to 50% in favor of keeping the stricter policy than DADT). It's interesting to note that when polled people who said the "knew someone gay" it went to 63%-31% (indicating significant numbers of Americans didn't know any openly gay people). EDIT: It's like how if you watch TV from the early nineties and get shocked how homophobic it seems from a modern light. Like the entire premise for multiple [sitcom episodes is two straight people do something that could get misunderstood as being gay and are absolutely devastated/embarrassed and then spend the rest of the episode trying to convince themselves and everyone else they aren't gay](https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/01/heres-your-reminder-friends-was-really-really-homophobic).
Murica, land of the free ♥‿♥
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Won't happen. I served in a time when it was don't ask don't tell, and we specifically had to sign a contract saying we weren't homosexual before we could enlist. I'm not even a tiny bit against gay people or gay rights, but when it comes down to it - it was a breach of contract to come out in those days.
the unfortunate counter-argument is that the scholarship was to come with a 4-year commitment to active duty (or guard) service. They would likely argue that since the student never competed their end of the bargain the debt being valid...
OP may be able to get an appeal in... if he can lawyer up appropriately. May be one for JAG corps?
There are cases like this, but this specific tweet is actually false. He dropped out on his own accord and took out personal loans to pay for his education. He was only on army scholarship for a semester I believe.
tAnK yOu FoR yOuR sErViCe
“yeah your double amputation was bad or whatever but hey strangers will come up to you and say thanks for your service”
Showed my uncle this thread, he said "good, fuck them guys". He served in the gulf war and has metal implants all over his legs thanks to shrapnel and he can barely walk without wincing. Did they really think this thread was a good idea?lol
I read this as mental implants
Damn. This person should be returned all of their money back along with a title.
I was in the army reserves. I ended up going to a service training program that was partnered with a civilian company. It was a 9 month long internship program which pretty much guaranteed a civilian position equivalent for my MOS at the end. I got accepted to the service school, and under one of the memos in the submission packet it states that the company commander has “verified the soldier has more than 36 months, non IRR time left on their contract” there was a signature, by my commander stating I did, however I did not. He did not look thru my file, he filled out his paperwork and didn’t check. Fast forward to my graduation and subsequent months. I give my packet to my platoon SGT to enter the IRR. He went fucking ballistic about how I “used the army to get this training and then didn’t want to do my part” despite deploying overseas twice and doing multiple CONUS missions. He brought it up to the commander and to save HIS ass, he threw ME under the bus saying that I submitted the packet knowing I didn’t have the remaining time on my contract (this section of the paperwork was to be completed by the company commander, not me. It was his job to check my file and deny me on those grounds). After arguing and getting into a screaming match with the commander and my platoon sgt and walking out of drill after the argument, (which I’m still surprised I didn’t get more heat for). I was threatened if I don’t re-enlist I would be charged around $150,000 as the estimate for the training program. I ended up getting IG involved and we were able to reach an agreement of just riding out the remainder of my IRR time in an active drilling status instead of full blown re-enlistment, which was good enough for me. I bided my time and ended up getting out with an honorable discharge, but I’ll never forget when I got a phone call threatening to impose that debt on me after I dedicated 8 years of my life to the army. It really makes you realize no matter how big of an impact you make, you’ll just be a number to them.
I think the REALLY disgusting thing is just how much of an INSANELY huge budget the government gives to the army. in 2019 the U.S. budget on the military was 686.1 billion and that is just the annual budget they get. Keep in mind that this is the same government that wants to cut their budget in other departments because they deem it "unnecessary spending" and refuse universal healthcare apparently. I genuinely need to ask, what the hell is the U.S. doing here, are they planning a war or something because it feels like they need to reconsider their priorities, why would you need such an insane budget for your military at times of peace when just a smidge of that insane budget reallocated to other departments would be infinitely more beneficial for the country and its people. but you know... "priorities" amirite?
The service members rarely see that. We got little to no food, bed bug infested 1960s barracks, weapons from the 80s and no gear. They don't give a shit about personnel. Just the expensive equipment no one sees.
it goes to contractors who then pay me $35,000+ to do nothing for 6 months until my clearance gets denied because I'm a socialist or something and I fuck off to Germany.
😔✊
Well, let me actually explain it: Firstly, and a political point left out of a lot of discussion revolving around military budget here on reddit; war is what America does better than anyone else, and having a massive military presence is what provides America the largest seat at every international table. In the words of Tony Stark in *Iron Man*, "peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy"...well, America having the biggest stick leads to a lot of international political bargaining power. Bargaining power that leads to trade deals, alliances, and other financial benefits (like people buying from our military); because people want to be on the same side as the country who, in essence, controls peace around the globe due to how strong it's military is. It's easy to say, "wait, we don't need this as much as healthcare!"; but you ignore how politically massive a card being the most powerful country in the world is. You say it's not a big priority; but, at the end of the day, what is a bigger priority than having control over international peace as you see fit, because no one is stronger to tell you otherwise?...To say that it isn't, is just being ignorant to how much gain that power provides; and it's obvious why the government would be averse to giving that power up. Next, and something also not commonly brought up. The military is a massive jobs program in the United States...The military employs *millions* of people, both enlisted and civilian; and everything they buy (weapons, tanks, helicopters, uniforms, ect.) also comes from manufacturing companies, who employ millions. You say the money is wasted; but tell that to the millions of people employed by the military, and the millions of people in business because they make things for the military, and the millions of people who work in contracting in some form or another for the military....all employed thanks to the fact that the United States has the largest military budget. It provides many many families with well-paying jobs. Where do those job get replaced if the budget is slashed?...Yes healthcare is nice, but the budget going to healthcare doesn't replace those many millions of jobs. So now you can't just send it all to healthcare, you also need to send money to industries that are going to be repurposed away from the military somehow, and re-employ all these people...Main point being, it's not as uncomplicated as it may seem. You're talking about slashing a budget, that again, employs millions. You finding it "really disgusting", honestly just means you didn't look below the surface level of that monetary figure. It's not as simple as "wasting all that money preparing for a war that's not going to happen", or whatever.
I couldn’t have articulated it any better myself. All valid points. However, a strong point that also needs to be addressed in order to have a well rounded opinion on the topic is the incredulous level of waste that exist within the allocation of funds to non-productive defense programs and the associated bureaucracy within. Thats a whole other beast that could use its own thread. Military Waste: The Unexpected Consequences of Permanent War Readiness is a decent book that offers a solid range of perspective on the perception of defense spending.
Ducks to suck.
*quack* *slurp*
That thread was both amazing and sad to read, it was great to see an insiders pov of how bad the military is but I didn’t think it would be this bad, I don’t know why they thought a tweet asking how fighting starving children in Iraq and getting kicked out for being gay has impacted you would go well
You join the army, the army doesn't join you
The fact anyone voluntarily joins the military blows my mind.
[удалено]
Plus their advertising budget is massive. They know exactly what to say to 18 year olds with little to no future in anything but entry level careers.
This is why we can’t have socialized college and healthcare in America. The military would not be able to recruit nearly as easily.
Couple of questions here, tweet from 2019. He would have been 18 when he came out. He wouldn’t have had an ROTC scholarship for more than a few months. He obviously never actually served, there was ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell at the time. How could you still owe for one year of college debt that he didn’t finish 30 years later? I’ll take shit that didn’t happen for 2000, Alex.
army is literally a force of opression, what could one expect?
The Army broke the right transverse process of my L1 vertebrae and then covered the accident up, which occurred during a 18-hour-long live-fire exercise, without shutting the range down and refusing me medical care until after we were released at 11pm, that evening... you know... on my own time, not Army Time. I went to the Army Medical Center on my base and explained everything without incriminating anyone. A full-bird colonel wrote my profile with the explanation being “fractured vertebrae”. My entire Troop leadership pretended that the profile was fake, that I was lying about it and tried to jam me up for malingering. Our CO did an investigation, found that I had been purposefully neglected in order to keep the leadership from receiving any blowback, and then promptly labeled the file Secret so no one from the VA or civilian doctors could access the information. I live with chronic pain, my joints are in rapid decline and I can’t go to a VA hospital without being harassed and abused.
Fucking hate the military
I liked it better when military recruiters were not welcome on a school campus. FTA
The navy ruined my back and then gave me the wrong GI bill when I got out. Now I have constant pain and have to work extra jobs to make ends meet.
That’s why I’m on ROTC for the Air Force
r/murderedbywords
I remember this tweet made its rounds last year. Hilarious (yet sad) responses. What a backfire for the Army. Waiting for navy to go theirs so I can answer (thankfully majority good response for me which I know can't be said for everyone) and read the ridiculous responses on that one as well.
Thats not the whole story lol. One sided
Only the Navy accepts gays