Mostly just bitching

[Don Coyote]

I hate sitting through retention briefs. All the scaremongering. "13% of vets are unemployed" "most people with degrees still don't have jobs twos after getting their degree" "you have such great health care" "If you are married and have a family you should stay in"

And then I got and see that the points for E5 in 91E are 350 as of Aug. And it hurts. I can't do a job I would love to do in the Army because of one fucking eye.
So, in stead I refuse to be sent promotion boards as a 92Y in this unit. Not that it would matter, as soon as I elible, points fot E5 in 92Y jumped to 798, the max points you can have is 800. And I don't know the most important part of my job as 92Y, so I would be one of the worse E5's, although that must just be a bunch of bullshit, since I know all teh regs I need to know, so I can fake vast knowledge by being able to research fast. But the thought of issuing out shitpaper and pens, and hten having to do all the other BS associated just makes me want to go on a rampage.

It hurts me a little be every time an NCO asks me when I am going to the board. All I can do is shrug, and say that I don't know. Sometimes I point out that I have jsut over a year left before I leave, but it's just a cop out. I think of it is just bullshit. Boards and points don't show anything but that you can cheat, and scrounge points, and that you can regurgitate enough information and not stammer like a retard in a dress uniform. I refuse to do it. I refuse to play bull shit games, and because of my stubbornness I know soldiers that have been about as long as me are now NCOs, and I know NCOs that are worthless as people nevermind as soldiers or leaders.

And yet I still feel like I am letting my NCOIC done and have been since late 09, and more importantly I am letting myself down.

But then I look around and see all the bullshit. and tell myself, it's not worth is. It's not swallowing pride, memorizing shit that no-one actually bothers with using, practicing facing movements when they are only dusted off for ceremonies. Then i tell myself that is just this bullshit unit, that what others tell of the real Army not being this shitty, or worse that parts of the Army are worse than my bullshit unit.

I should told the Army to suck my dick for taking away my first choice of MOS the day I was supposed to ship out, and swallowed my pride long enough to get a new place and job while living with my parents on their couch, which their fucking badly trained dogs, with their dog hair everywhere, in house that stank of years of pet shit and piss, in a desert that tears up my nose now.
Some how I think I would have been much happier. Poorer, but happier, and ironically in better physical condition. years of callouses on my hands, gone. All because I let myself just being adequate. sure I score 264 out of 300 on the pt test, but I also get taped for body-fat for being 10 pounds overweight, of course I easily pass body-fat by stricter DoD standards. ya I can run close to 13min in a 2mile. I used to run a 3mile cross country in less than 17. And yet, I can't find myself caring enough to ever get myself training hard enough to shore up all these deficiencies, because "it's good enough for the Army"

I need to stop bitching about much I am pissed because of shit that I let the Army do to me. I always get the same answers. Get laser eye surgery. Change MOS. Change duty station. But fuck I've been wanting to get moved from where I work, battalion S4 to the company supply room for YEARS. I wanted to be the fucking armorer. Or at least actually issue shit out instead of, photocopying paper work, fixing shit for college educated retards, But now for some fucking reason even though are fucking shit loads of 92Y in the brigade, I am too fucking valuable where I am, where I literally do about 30 min of work an entire day. All we do is fucking track shit. We don't do shit. We track and inspect the supply rooms for the companies.


And this was all sparked because my platoon sergeant found the first award I was supposed to have ever been given, 30 Apr 2009, now. Ya, I just got an award I was given a year ago today. I didn't get the medal or the fucking ribbon for it, but hey one of 2 awards I felt that I earned. And what did I do to get it?

FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE WHILE SERVING AS A MEMBER OF THE FORT LEWIS MILITARY HONORS TEAM. SPC ME DEMONSTRATED PROFESSIONALISM, SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE AND DEVOTION TO DUTY WHICH GREATLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF NINE CEREMONIES IN HONOR OF DECEASED ARMY VETERAN'S HONORABLE AND FAITHFUL SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES. SPC ME'S OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AND SELFLESS SERVICE REFLECT GREAT CREDIT UPON HIMSELF, THE <BATTALION>, THE <BRIGADE>, I CORPS AND FORT LEWIS, AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Ya, we spent a lot of time after the duty day drilling, we came in on the weekends, and holidays to render Honors to deceased Veterans. We always made sure we looked SHARP, out of our own pockets. I volunteered for that duty, because I hated how it seemed like no one wanted to. I don't think soldiers should be forced to do this. They should WANT to do it. And even then most of the team were voluntold for it. I didn't even care about being awarded, but I was pissed that I missed the ceremony, and my award just got lost, while everyone else on the team got theirs. I would have been happy with a fucking coin or a certificate of appreciation(which isn't really an award at all).

But what did people say when I got my award finally? "Hey look more promotion points"  That is all they think about. Oh look more points, or I got a bigger award than people I out ranked, or people I don't like got a bigger award than me.

I hate monkeys.

Very respectfully,

FUCK OFF

[Doktor Howl]

Coyote,

In all fairness, the economy is far worse than it looks. 

But S4 duty DOES suck (though not as bad as S3).  How did you manage to get shafted with that?

[Triple Zero]

Hey Coyote, I understand if you want to "just bitch", but, um, I have no idea what is going on in most of your post, except that you're not eligible for something in the army because of your eyesight?

What is:

E5, 91E, 350, 92Y, 798, NCO, NCOIC, MOS, the pt test, and SPC ME?

All I know about the army is from my dad who did something with telephone communications  when he had to do service, he was 18 in '68.

Though if you just want to bitch for the people that do understand those terms, that's fine too

[Cain]

With Trip.  I probably understood a little more, from reading Tom Clancy novels and decoding some of the military in references (and from what I did understand, I can see why you're pissed) but a little more clarity would be quite helpful for some of us.

[Don Coyote]

Coyote,

In all fairness, the economy is far worse than it looks. 

I am actually at the point where I would rather be homeless eating garbage than be in the Army much longer.

But S4 duty DOES suck (though not as bad as S3).  How did you manage to get shafted with that?

I do not know. I got stuck in the S4 about a week after I got to the unit.

MOS- military occupational specialty
91E- Army designation for machinist
92Y- Army designation for unit supply specialist
NCO- non-commissioned officer
NCOIC- NCO in charge
350- the number of promotion points needed to get the rank of E5
789- see above
E5- fifth enlisted paygrade, and the first paygrade associated with an NCO. No corporals do not count.
AFPT- the pt test. it is 3 events designed to asses your physical fitness. It consists of timed pushups, situps and a 2 mile run.
SPC- specialist, and E4 and the rank I currently posses. The ME was me blanking out my name.

[Cramulus]

tangent--

if they changed "promotion points" to "experience points" I bet they'd see a rush of new recruits

[Doktor Howl]

No corporals do not count.

Sure they do.  I had more fun as a corporal than as a sergeant.

[Doktor Howl]

tangent--

if they changed "promotion points" to "experience points" I bet they'd see a rush of new recruits

Added advantage:  2 generations of D&D players would learn almost instantly that "adventure" = "misery, looked back on after 10 years".

[Don Coyote]

No corporals do not count.

Sure they do.  I had more fun as a corporal than as a sergeant.

You were also infantry. combat arms units actually use corporals. Al the corporals I know that aren't in CA units are just specialists with stripes.

[Doktor Howl]

No corporals do not count.

Sure they do.  I had more fun as a corporal than as a sergeant.

You were also infantry. combat arms units actually use corporals. Al the corporals I know that aren't in CA units are just specialists with stripes.

And the captain giveth and the captain taketh away.  A corporal is still a SPC4.  You're just an "NCO on loan".

[Don Coyote]

No corporals do not count.

Sure they do.  I had more fun as a corporal than as a sergeant.

You were also infantry. combat arms units actually use corporals. Al the corporals I know that aren't in CA units are just specialists with stripes.

And the captain giveth and the captain taketh away.  A corporal is still a SPC4.  You're just an "NCO on loan".

I know a guy that got asshurt because a girl in my platoon got corporal and he didn't. That shit was funny.

[Adios]

tangent--

if they changed "promotion points" to "experience points" I bet they'd see a rush of new recruits

Added advantage:  2 generations of D&D players would learn almost instantly that "adventure" = "misery, looked back on after 10 years".

Ain't it the troof?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fort Lewis?

[Don Coyote]

Fort Lewis?

Yes ma'am.  How else do you think I knew about the Capital Mall in Olympia?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fort Lewis?

Yes ma'am.  How else do you think I knew about the Capital Mall in Olympia?

Well... you could be from Shelton, or something.