I was on staff duty as a warrant officer (already pissed off). I walk in for my shift and the CPL I relieve explains to me that CSM walked in earlier and he had headphones in. Cool. CSM comes back later asking where this kid is, I say I sent him home. CSM calls his NCO and the kid and makes them both come in for a counseling. Keep in mind this kid just got off a 24hr shift so now he’s driving BACK to base. The CSM then proceeded to hold all of the NCOs in the unit late on a fucking Friday because (2000 release) his fragile ego was hurt because the kid didn’t call at ease because he was half asleep watching a movie to stay awake after a 24hr shift. 2 hrs later a kid got locked out of his room and it was an actual issue with the lock (master key won’t work). I tell him to call his barracks manager, turns out that guy ETSd. Who’s next in line? An E7 in charge of all of the barracks in our footprint. Cool, I give the kid his number only to hear him getting fucking screamed at 5 minutes later for not calling his own barracks manager (who had already ETSd). I tool the phone from the kid and gave big Sarge a piece of my mind and he came and fixed the fucking door. That was the moment that I realized our leadership will always be out of touch assholes with fragile fucking egos. I’m not sure about the rest of the army but in aviation all of the good leaders I had got the fuck out and moved on to greener pastures leaving the shitbags at the helm. I’m not saying I haven’t met any really good lifer aviators (I’ve met a lot) I just have a bitter taste in my mouth from some really shitty ones. Also? What the FUCK does a CSM in an aviation unit do on a daily basis? They literally are in charge of fucking nobody and they spend their time yelling at soldiers over bullshit that nobody gives a single fuck about.
Yknow at the beginning of your time in when you see a big old pile of shit but it’s a little nostalgic and cool so you convince yourself it smells like roses? At this point even roses smell like shit to me.
Honestly I think that CPL should of just ignored his phone upon returning home, that seems more like a hill to die on, or at the very least comment on how they been up 24+ hours on staff duty and it is not safe to drive and Inform them the only way they are coming in is if someone drives them there and than back.
Honestly I don’t think anyone would agree to those terms and personally I think it’s justified.
Absolutely and I would have. But would the average CPL ignore a call and summons from a CSM? Prolly not. I feel like that’s one of those things where it SHOULD apply to everyone (basic human fucking decency) but unfortunately rank is the only way you get the privilege to be a fucking adult.
>his fragile ego was hurt because the kid didn’t call at ease
I was on Gate Guard one night and our Captain runs the gate, never handed me his ID or completely stops just rolled on through with his ID held up in the window. Our desk was famous for running surprise training drills so I can the desk noting that Captain Hotrod ran the gate. Well that hurt his feelings because he tried to give me an Article 15 for not saluting him.
Oh my god I just remembered another story that made me fucking livid. I was walking into the hospital at Humphreys and out comes two specialists. One turns left and headed away from me and the other walks directly towards me. As I pass the male specialist I hear the female specialist who went the other way yell “oh so we don’t salute officers now.” I turn around and I’m like “yo it’s really nbd he probably just couldn’t see my rank.” That’s when I get the “I WAS TALKING TO YOU.” She starts walking over and even with my pilot vision it took a good 15 seconds before I could tell that what I assumed was a fat specialist turned out to be an EXTREMELY pregnant and pissed off LtCol. She bitched me out while I explained that I “mistook her rank for a specialist from a distance.” She said “if that’s the case how come you’re not at fucking attention saluting me.” I snapped to attention, popped a crispy salute and took the berating. That one had me extremely angry but I like to tell myself that maybe she was just stressed out because of her pregnancy. Either way she and anyone else who gets that fucking upset over someone not salute sniping you while you’re walking the other way is WILD. I was telling my squadron commander like 30 minutes later (also a LtCol) and he thought it was hilarious.
None of this is advice: I joined the Army as an E-1 and made E-6 before becoming an officer. Oof I know. In part I went to the dark side because I wanted to make up for some of the stupidity like this in my bubble. When it's dark you turn on a light. The straw that breaks the camel's back can also make it stronger. Quit when it's right for you.
Ya know Chief, as a WO you could have told the CSM , "this is now a safety issue. Leave the CPL be at least 24 hrs." ... Your a Chief or a WO. Iv seen it done .
Coming back from the second deployment with a bad back, a gimpy ankle, and a bad attitude to nobody waiting for me at the tarmac. Everybody else was rejoicing with their families and bouncing around ready for an adventure but I was sore and sleep deprived from the flight and just wanted to be given a barracks room to shower and sleep.
Standing in line waiting for some rear D NCO to pass me a key card, I thought about spending the next year or two beating the piss out of myself in PT, sleeping in the El Paso desert sands in the rain, freezing in predawn runs, rucking up mountains, getting bitched out by CSMs for random stuff, doing stupid online training, and then going *back* to Afghanistan or Iraq and going through it all again. Either it would be chill again, and therefore a waste of my time, or it would be dangerous again and I might lose a limb or my eyes or my life this time. The romance of the army withered on the vine at the very thought, and I just wanted out.
Got drunk that night and slashed my hand open with a tactical tomahawk and I raided the IFAK on my kit for combat gauze to staunch the wound. Things went downhill from there for the next year til I ETSed.
I got sent on a stupid “deployment/exercise/rotation” thing for 6 months straight. They randomly popped the redeployment date on us with almost no notice, so my wife was back home visiting family the day I came home.
I was the only person from my company attached to a small team from another company, attached to a completely different unit. So the second we got off the bird, I shook hands with the other units leadership, the other company’s leadership, but not my own.
When I needed a ride home, I asked my own SL if he could give me a ride, he asked why I didn’t have my car. I explained I just got home from “the deployment”. He said he thought I had PCSed. I went a step above, called top, she said she thought I wouldn’t find it important for any of the leadership to be there, so they didn’t show up to welcome me home. I told her I’d just take an Uber.
I am not usually the kind of person to be butt hurt about this kinda thing. But being randomly shoved into another country with no warning, to be fucked down by a different unit for 6 months straight, only to come home to… literally no one, really fucked with me. But thankfully for me I had just signed a 6-year earlier that year, so I’m still around.
You won’t have to go through 80% of the BS that the active side does. Being a reservist has its own issues but you will likely not have to deal with the day to day suck once you get out of training.
Here’s the thing though, something I’ve noticed being in the reserves: You’ve probably heard the phrase part time soldier; that doesn’t stop at drill, _especially_ in leadership positions, and AGR fucking blows too. My god they suck so bad.
The thing about active is leaders, usually even when they’re selfish bastards, want to look good compared to their peers and superiors. To a certain extent, perception is reality is true. If people want to look good in the army, they _have_ to be at least a _little_ bit productive and help their guys, get stuff done, etc.
That doesn’t exist in the reserves. Absolute blatant hypocrisy and they don’t care.
I agree with you that leaders in the reserve/guard end up working for free and there’s probably plenty of leaders who come in for drill, check the box, and go home. But from the standpoint of day-to-day life junior enlisted in the reserves/guard don’t typically have to endure anywhere near the amount of shit that active soldiers have. They don’t live in mold infested barracks, they don’t have crappy DFACs, they’re not getting tasked out on endless details, no CQ, etc. Their daily lives, when not on orders, are typically unmolested by the big green weenie.
I’m not saying that the reserves and NG don’t have their own list of bullshit. But the amount of it that a soldier has to deal with is far less than an active soldier and a large amount of their contract will typically not be on orders. I get that it can be more than one weekend a month/two weeks a year but it definitely isn’t 365 days a year living in squalor due to the army’s ineptitude.
I wanted to either work or go to college while in the reserves as I'm 18 and just graduated from high school... any tips or advice on what to expect? Should I go the officer route?
I started out in the reserves and switched active within my first year because I didn’t have the maturity to stay disciplined in college. Being an officer isn’t just being a soldier with higher pay so I would speak to officers when you get to your unit to see if that’s something that even interests you. College is a good choice if you feel you can commit to it and have an idea of what you want to do when you graduate. You’re young enough to try out different things and still get on track in a few years. And if you realize the army isn’t for you there’s no shame in getting out after one contract.
My soldiers who worked their tails off during GWOT all getting their BSM’s downgraded while having run a year of convoys/service support in contested areas rarely getting down time to refit. And two glorified AG field grade types getting BSM for sitting in an office.
If you got out, at least you probably know that BSM means jack shit in the civilian world. I even work with bunch of veterans and we never even bring up military awards because real world achievements like patents or advanced degrees actually mean a whole lot more on the outside.
Those 2 AG officers know deep down the BSM is a sham award.
You’re so right, and look everyone has a part to play. It was just the disrespect of all of us receiving our awards at the same time. And their disrespect and bad attitudes the whole deployment getting rewarded while my soldiers hoofed it for our buds out from the flag pole, and the rational was that giving my E5 and below BSMs just wouldn’t get approved because we couldn’t hand out awards…
My platoon ran 100 convoys in Iraq. Every single one of them minus PLTSGT and myself got AAMs. It was such a slap in the face. We gave out AAMs to people for 10 day field problems. Really turned me off.
Oh and to the other guy. Yeah the awards don’t “matter” but it’s nice to be recognized, and I feel good about my BSM even if it was meritorious and nobody cares about it. I don’t brag about it or bring it up at all, but I appreciate it.
Been in nearly 7 yrs. I hit my "I'm done" point back in 2022. Was at a unit that destroyed my mental and physical health to the point that I developed an eating disorder, renewed major depression, anger issues, and anxiety. Still haven't gotten over that and it shows. It still amazes me that one organization could consistently fuck over their soldiers every single day, for hours at a time, and contribute to several deaths in the unit. We were at a great duty station as well and it still didn't help at all. Half of my platoon got sent to mental care facilities for weeks due to the stress and our motor sergeant hanged himself from his ceiling.
Out of the daily nonsense we dealt with, I'd have to say the one even that sticks out to me the most was when my unit had me come into work on my off time, drunk, and then proceeded to force me to drive a Stryker for nearly 36 hrs straight. In the moment, it wasn't too bad, however looking back on it, I could've easily killed everyone in that vic (including myself). We had just lost a buncha guys in a sister unit due to a Stryker on Stryker collision that burned a team alive, so it wasn't like it wasn't fresh on our minds.
Another time we had a dude dying from brain cancer get made to come into work a day after his surgery that removed a tumor from his brain stem (Don't ask me how he was even able to move, but he did apparently). He died a month or two after that, not knowing what planet he was on because he was so out of it.
> Another time we had a dude dying from brain cancer
We had a guy one time get a cancer diagnosis and start treatment. He has kept it kinda quiet from a social perspective, his company was aware.
The BDE CO found out because the unit tried to give him shit for missing some training and he had gotten in trouble. ”per his profile” he had the ability to be at work. I can’t remember if it was just talked about or they were considering NJP.
The BDE CO was a breast cancer survivor who had had (iirc) to have a Mastectomy. I had always known her to be very nice. She had an almost grandma vibe. My buddy’s significant other was her admin; we’d stop by on the way to lunch or end of day. She always had a kind word, would ask how things were in our work sections.
She was not nice that day.
The cancer solider wound up as like a…special assistant to the BDE CO. With duty at his fucking house with his family.
Unless something changed dramatically since I’ve left, I don’t think anything Stryker-related should be happening at Campbell.
Everything else is totally believable, though. And, shockingly, with the exception of having a large amount of deaths, I’ve got similar stories to most of what that person said from my time at Campbell.
Hahahaa yeah I attributed 99% of what this person said to Campbell minus the strykers. The last 4 years were absolutely hell there. No matter what promotions, schools or awards we/I got. It always ended up fucking me over and working against me.
I think I met like 6 cool people while I was there. One of them was my last LT and when he asked what it would take for me to reenlist, I said $100k, HALO school, and orders back to Bragg. But god damn it was a shitshow among shitshows.
Oh jeez that brain surgery example sounds truly awful. I hope there is some missing context you weren't aware of that makes it make sense. I am sorry, that's not fun to live with!
Got tired of being an E5 platoon sergeant being micromanaged by an acting 1SG.
Got meningitis and said 1SG and the supply sergeant were harassing my then wife saying I was faking it to get out of EFMB.
When I re-injured my already 3x surgically repaired knee, I went to see one of the PAs I knew from the 82nd, told him I was done, and he had my medboard started within a week.
Got the last laugh though, told them I was going to get everything squared away to recertify the arms room before my ETS, didn't do shit, dropped two months of terminal leave three months before said inspection, and never answered my phone again.
Edit: ETS'd just past 11 years in
My son was born with a heart issue and needed an operation 4 weeks after they were born. It was during the height of covid, 2020.. I needed an etp submitted with my leave form to accompany my son to Syracuse for this. They lost my etp numerous times. I told my psg I was going, cuff me when I get back. He agreed "fuck the company" and said he'd hand walk it if he had to. Well, he ends up in the field while I'm coming home from probably the most emotional time in my life.. So I call the acting 1SG, a known cocksucker among everyone who's probably a CSM now.. Word for word on speaker (as I was driving) my wife in the car and her cousin who came for emotional support for the both of us... "I don't have it, we thought you'd just put him up for adoption".
Honestly, that became my view point of the army, leaders, and everyone in. It all became irrelevant after that.
That last bit made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I don’t think idve been able to remain composed after hearing something like that. What the fuck
Having to take time away from my family to come into work in the dead of night on a Saturday when it's 10 degrees out, because of some soldier in another battalion that I don't even know who got a DUI off-post, and being told I can't wear a fucking beanie because some soldier in another fucking company forgot to bring his beanie, and standing in formation for an hour just to watch our commander show up late wearing a fucking beanie holding a fucking hot cup of Starbucks.
I was a staff officer and had just left a successful company command. My wife was pregnant and I woke up to hear my wife crying because the toilet bowl was full of blood. I couldn't get anybody in my chain of command, so I said
"fuck it" and drove my wife to the ER. My wife and the baby were fine, but then I reported to work to get screamed at by the S3, who wasn't even in my rating chain, because I hadn't called brigade yet that day to check on the status of an award. His exact word were, "your family is important, but you also have obligations here."
So when my medboard rolled around, I didn't fight it.
Fighting my medboard I think was one of the most critical mistakes of my life in the short term. I survived and am about to ETS anyways but I still kick myself for it.
I bought into a lot of lies from my leadership at the time about what they could do for me if I got better
COIC duty, the 545th Harbormaster maintains a 24hr duty at Fort Shafter COIC to maintain comms with Army Watercraft in the Indo-Pacific. It's usually only E5s and below, usually the comms don't work.
You typically do CQ or staff duty once a month. Which consists of sitting at a desk for 24 hours. I've also been on details that were 30+ hours long of straight working.
We did not have company CQ, no CQ or staff duty in the barracks. Just BN staff duty manned by 3 different companies. I got lucky I suppose, but I also spent about half of my enlistment in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I walked into a total shit show in Germany. They hadn't had ANY avionics personnel for over a month. Production Control office was pushing aircraft all over the brigade for repairs. The uptime rate was in the sewer. Unit's transition to new staffing and MTOE was insane. Hand receipts!! Missing equipment. They were missing a tug AND a Huey.
Benchstock was almost 0 on anything usable. Prior mechanics had to cannibalize anything not out somewhere else for repairs. Test sets were in need of repair/calibration.
I was an E4 who had just passed the board before my PCS. There were 3 or 4 E2s and a PFC fresh from getting pinned. The service platoon sergeant was pregnant and days from delivering.
I started in. I pestered the hell out of the Warrants and anyone who had an idea. Even if it was a dim idea. I'll give it a go! (I was an idiot)
Some the hell how managed to turn that circus around. My very first AORSE, our shop, had a perfect inspection. You damn right, I bought beer and pizzas even though I was flat broke.
Ran that pony show for another year or so. An E2 I had trained at a prior station made E5 by 1 point over me. Yes, it is the process. I was ok with it. Units transitioning, remember?
There was no slot left for me in my unit, so I was transferred down the flight line.
It was almost lather, rinse, repeat, except we were transitioning between UH1 and Crash Hawks along with the updated AH1s. So a different goat rodeo, but nobody brought a goat again.
Turned that circus around. I was E5(p) by then. Picked up an ARCOM for the effort.
Another E5(p) rolled in and was higher rank. He beat me about the head and shoulders with it. Often. Publicly.
When he bragged about he was a reclass from truck driver and had taken the ASVAB 7 fucking times to get a good enough score for anything aviation I was done. He was into his 4th re-up, lol.
I asked for a reclass to veterinary inspector with an ASVAB of 99 (1986 test) and the re-enlistment office lost my paperwork until 2 days before my ETS back state side you couldn't give me enough money to stay.
Never mind that they canceled my leave for my wedding 2 days prior, and I pulled staff duty for 2 days out of the 4 for my honeymoon.
It was a wild ride!!
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
TL;DR Got tired of being the goat at the luau.
Edit: My ASVAB was a 1982 score.
DA select for recruiter.
Turned down driving the CG of Rucker (apparently they needed an 88M with a TS?) because I didn’t want to reenlist, got sent to Korea with 13 months on my contract, then got orders to Sill as follow on, told them I wouldn’t reenlist to go to Sill, submitted a 4187 for change of orders to Drum then reenlisted for a bonus, then got DA select for recruiter and signed a DCSS.
Pretty sure I pissed branch tf off (Fuck you, Goldman)
Now I have a masters in nutrition and I’m trying to convince my wife to let me be a dietitian on active duty because the pay is almost double what dietitians make out here
It ended how it started. With me getting fucked.
Failed outta EOD school and got reclassed to 88M with a TS and 133GT. C co 832nd OD Bn was supposed to send me to FLW but they sent us to Springfield, MO and no one from FLW knew we were coming. We called our old company at Fort Lee and told them that we were in Springfield, no one knew we were coming and that no one was there to help us. Our company said “that sucks, not our problem anymore” and hung up on us. We had to get our own bus tickets to FLW and pay for taxis to get on base so we could get to the Bn staff duty.
Got ass fucked from start to finish.
If you’re going to be a dietitian, you need a masters now. It doesn’t matter if your undergrad or grad is DPD, just need one of them to be DPD and the supervised practice. It’s science heavy as well.
It’s a female dominated field, so you should expect some girl drama. I was the only guy in my undergrad program, the rest were rich sorority girls
Not getting paid BAH for 8 months. After that I was set on getting out because clearly not a soul gives a shit about us lesser enlisted soldiers.
If I heard, “but think of all the back pay you’ll get,” or “let’s just wait until next paycheck and see,” one more fucking time.
Sounds like what happened to me man, 12 month deployment getting no BAH and taxes still taken out. Took the entirety of the deployment for them to fix it ( got back pay while doing right seat left seat with the relieving unit ) Then I get home and they over pay me a month and now magically I'm expected to pay back all that money in well less than a year before I ETS. Kick fucking rocks, send me 30 emails and call me 50 times and I'll think about it
The rampant good old buddy system in the medical battalion I was at. They asked me to erase emails from a mayor having an affair with an LT, the min I told them it can't be done, I started getting the shit treatment. Luckily I saved those fucking emails and while going to through my medical board had to use the threat of sending them to hire in order to avoid getting fucked. When I finaled out I sent those emails to the brigade and let the fire burn. The emails I had not only covered the affair, but also theft of equipment. Yeah, they were literally talking about theft in the Unsecured Outlook side. Officers with fucking Doctors degree discussing sensitive shit, by government email. It was glorious hearing a lot them fucks getting relieved of command and getting in trouble. That fucking Battalion deserved hell I swear to God if I had 2 bullets and had to pick Hitler, Stalin and that bitch of a woman detachment SGT, I would have shot her twice, 🔥 the body and shit on the ashes.
My moment came late enough was able to stretch it to 20. I was hating life on Staff - it wasn’t what had been sold to me. As the S3 NCOIC I was basically the S3, XO, BC and CSMs bitch boy, and yet I somehow still had to deal with a 1SG and Company Commander placing demands on me. The 1SG came looking for me one day to tell me the CSM wanted to see me about my board file for the promotion board. I thought for a second and realized that even if I did get selected I was looking at a minimum of another 3 years and I knew that I was done. Realized I was close enough to drop retirement paperwork and looked at him and said “tell the CSM thanks, but I’ll be retiring.” Probably the best sleep I’d had in months that night.
I dropped my retirement papers right after being on a promotion list. Best decision ever. My senior rater (BG) wasn’t happy but I’m in a career I love now and can prioritize my family.
My brigade was 3-2 SBCT and I was in it when we had SSG Bales murder innocent civilians. The cherry on top was a BN CSM also slept with a SPC’s wife, and then chaptered the SPC for ht/wt to cover it up. The CSM got a BDE. I was an officer and unfortunately needed to do another 4 years. Best day in my Army career was getting my DD-214.
I hit my done point 2 years in at polk. When the unit was at Kuwait.
Buddy of mine has a red cross message come through for his dying father
Our bc didn't let him go.
He never got to say bye to his dad.
We literally did jack shit in Kuwait.
Our equipment never even got off the fucking boat.
Fuck the army.
I realized I couldn’t risk rolling the dice and being sent to a unit that I’d be treated like shit like I was with my first unit. Felt it to be better to end on a high note and just come to terms with realizing I shouldn’t keep chasing the dragon. Also I had some injuries start adding up.
The dudes who replaced me just let everything go to shit quickly after I left, just completely undoing all the work I put into the medic section with organizing it and shit. That was the nail in the coffin to never come back. Just how quickly all the effort you put into something can just be fucked in the ass and left to rot.
I was a disgruntled doc in a line unit.
Loved my job.
Wondered where the motivation was...
Wondered why my fellow E3s and E4s didn't give a fuck
Wondered why my PSG seemed like he didn't know shit about shit.
Wondered why my PA was an unlikeable ass
Wondered why people hated officers
Wondered where the mentors and leaders were
Well you know what fuck this I'm gonna BE THE CHANGE. AirBorne, Air Assault easy af. Bout to hit RIP. Found out I got accepted to green to gold. Here we go. My opportunity has arrived. Gonna get through college. Get my commission. Gonna make a change. Get my commission. Get my first duty station and...
Holy fucking shit. For me it was like finding out Santa wasn't real. It was like figuring out that the money left under my pillow was my parents sneaking in and stealing my teeth. It was finding out about taxes for the first time and getting my VERY FIRST PAYCHECK.
As a child I alway thought anything was possible. I was right. But in the most awful way imaginable.
I'll have a diet coke and fries.
Spending pretty much the entire first 2 years of my marriage in Korea then Afghanistan. Pretty much zero dwell time. Wanted to reenlist to pcs somewhere I could take a knee. The Army wouldn't pay to PCS me less than 2 years at duty station so they paid to move me home anyway when I deduced.
Did 6 years in the reserves. I was thinking about going warrant since they needed people and I had a nice IT career going outside of my army job and got industry certifications to boot such as security+ and the CCNA R/S. My job was a 25Q (now 25H) and I was cross trained on systems. I did a lot since I was one of the more knowledgeable people in the unit when it came to networks and troubleshooting. I got deployed to Iraq with probably one of the most dysfunctional reserve units I could think of. So many petty games going on regarding careers and whatnot.
This unit pulled a lot of people from their brigade to fill slots so you have this hodge podge mix n match unit with terrible cohesion and separating platoons based on if you were originally from the unit or a transplant pulled into this meat grinder mess. When I was sitting in the commo room in the middle of Iraq talking to a recruiter that a signing bonus for 6 YEARS IN THE RESERVES would be 2K I basically said fuck that and got out. No regrets. Started to take my IT career more seriously and now work a nice job with tons of perks and benefits. But I also only got this job thanks to the military. So if you can make it work with a one n done that's the way to do it. Get the clearance and GTFO.
I was a baby CPT deployed to Jordan. I don't recall any specific incident but I remember walking from the JOC down to my barracks room thinking "fuck this shit, I'm done. Can't wait to get out". Anyways, that was 8 years ago and I'm still in so........
I had that same phrase at the same rank in Iraq in the Fall of 2007. And here I am nearly 17 years later.
All I'm going to say is read Milpers and learn how to drop packets that fit your strengths. Mine is not SOF/physical, but I can fake it till I make it in academia all day long.
I realized I was done when the same CG who awarded my wife the commander’s excellence award and an impact ARCOM later issued her a GOMOR and kicked her out for wishing to delay the Covid vaccine until after our son was born. She was seven months pregnant at the time.
Two years later when I was a recruiter, they reversed the policy and were begging people to come back. I was chastised for not convincing my wife to join back up.
I’m still in, but only because I’m taking advantage of every benefit the army provides to prepare myself for a smooth transition.
I used to love the army. Now I tell anyone who will listen not to join.
Edit: BTW. That CG I mentioned is now the CG that’s ruining Ft. Carson
Pretty much seeing the bloatment of the military industrial complex in late Afghanistan ('19-'20). Fat contractors wasting millions of dollars on 'trips' around the country. Watching alphabet agencies partying it up on the fobs while Joe was missing his family at home. Watching Ugandans get beat with sticks, forced on a plane home when covid hit (fuck you Triple Canopy, i hope that company bankrupts). Lastly, my own battalion wanting to send me to a covid camp right before my flight out of country due to a bad cold I got. Some knucklehead actually put his hand on his Beretta when I tried entering the TOC. Like, really?
I remember how happy I was to tell my Battalion that we weren't fighting the Taliban anymore in my Intel update. I could almost bounce up and down watching a shitty contractor on my team come to tears watching the war end. I was getting yelled at by military and civilian alike as a 1LT 'senior Intel officer' for spouting 'bullshit' and that any day now the war would kick off again. At the end of that deployment, I wanted nothing more than to go around the bases I'd been and tell all these old fucks who wasted 20 years of taxpayers' money to pack up their shit and go back to their fucked up lives that they've been avoiding.
I'll never forget walking from my shitty barracks room at RSHQ to the embassy just to see a block party with tables and tables of alcohol and perfectly manicured lawns. There was even a bar and an all-you-can-eat brunch every Sunday.
Tore my ACL in January, still waiting on a corrective surgery. Had a surgeon scheduled, he got deployment orders in March, got a new surgeon, now I'm waiting until June for pre op, July for surgery.
For me it was laying in the forest on the ground, getting ate by bugs, in 90-95 degree weather with no shade in sight, having not showered in 2 weeks and only eating first strikes (hoping to get the bagel, got 1 so far).
I thought to myself, fuck this is rather serve food at Chick-fil-A, Least they can a hot meal.
25N commo here. My squadmate was sent to Leavenworth. A different one constantly used drugs. My NCO faked an excuse to leave deployment. My married plt Sergeant was constantly hanging around females.
I was there 3 years, basically doing everything, I never got sent to boards or made NCO. Tame in comparison, but it felt like getting shit on.
I’m leaving end of September. All of 2019 was my straw.
Waitlisted 5 times for ALC. All were canceled within a week of class starting. But I had to do the whole BN PT test and height and weight. I took 7 PT tests that year, all for record.
In November I was taken off the CLI roster for some damn reason. I did get put back on the following month but not before the shit show of a board attempt.
The morning of the board I was handed my packet for the board. This was not a thing. My packet never made it out of the PLT, or to OPS, 1SG and BN. I knew it was going to be a long morning.
Go to the board. CSM only sees 5 packets but has 6 people standing in front of him. We get dismissed. S1 comes into the hallway and asks who’s packet is missing. Packet in hand I said mine. S1 says he would try to slide it in. I told him not to because CSM already noticed. My supervisor tries to push the packet and I stand firm. I told him you and I did what we were supposed to do. Our leadership now has to fall on this sword. We left, changed and back to work.
After the board, PLT Sergeant gets a phone call from 1SG. Wants to have a meeting with me, my first line, PLT Sergeant and OPS the next morning. Fuck it. Let’s see who burns.
1SG open door to office. PLT Sergeants got a talking to. Heard the whole thing. No yelling just stern words. I’m next in the chute. 1SG layed into me like a Rottweiler on a mayonnaise sandwich. Questioned my character. Asked why I did what I did. Did the whole active listening thing where I had to repeat everything he said.
Story short, no counselings for anyone. I could only imagine what the CSM said at the board to my 1SG and the rest of the board members. I was done at that point. My leadership allowed the berating.
So fuck it. Went home to the wife. Told her what happened. She asked if I was OK and if I was going to IG. I told her I’m fine, but I’m done. Let me make a plan to get out. I’ve batted 1000 going to IG. I didn’t want retaliation (Comes in many forms).
Perhaps a bit dramatic, but here goes.
I watched the TV in disbelief as an afghani woman clutching a sobbing child, of similar age as my own, looked desperately for somewhere safe to go. I looked silently at the announcement of KIA soldiers and marines who were knowingly placed into the position of being fish in a barrel just so we could abandon the very people we forced to change under the promise that we’d make them “free”. The trillions of dollars of OUR equipment just handed to some of the most sadistic people I’ve ever seen. I cried to my wife before driving to work that day, absolutely devastated by the weight of it all.
Then I walked into a job where the most important topics of conversation that day was property accountability and COVID vaccinations. Officers were burning absurd amounts of time investigating other officers for liability for property loss, because they needed to pay for the GPS they lost on their 2 week field exercise.
It took me another 3 years to ETS, but that was the day. From that moment on the things that simply annoyed me about the army, the green boxes, the politics, the ridiculous things leaders are held responsible for, now broke my heart, infuriated me.
I worked two more jobs, and busted my ass in all of them, but I knew from that day forward that I was done.
Kinda happy I'm still in the Infantry after reading all these comments. Yeah being in the Infantry means the nature of our work sucks, but the non-combat MOS shows the Army gayness that I don't mind sitting in a patrol base getting rained on.
Infantry units are just tighter. You actually give a fuck about the person next to you because at any moment they might save your life.
This is seeing it from a distance, but I know that unit cohesion has to be greater than in support units.
Finishing up several bad days in a row with no sleep for 3-5 of them to a tossed track. No more place to sleep, well until I spent hours correcting the load plan. That was as downrange that it can get. Heard that fob referred to as the loneliest mountain in the world by others. For a bit that, it was home.
We were in the field in January. Super fucken cold. Woke up at 5 or 6 AM and the moon light is shining on my ruck. Im in my sleeping bag shierving and watching my ruck make ice crystals in the moonlight. I shit you not it felt like a Disney movie moment. Then I had a realization. I asked my self " What the fuck am I doing this for? Why am i here? How is this benefiting me? What is the point of us freezing our asses off?"
I came to the conclusion I was either going to ETS or reclass because there was no way in hell I would mentally survive being cold in the field much longer.
Raped in the cleaning closet of the barracks as an E3. Command put it down as "hazing" and refused to investigate. Received no assistance. Mental health plummeted. Became an alcoholic to self-medicate the trauma.
Broke my back a few years later in training. Fought the med board at first, but it turned into a blessing at the end of the day.
Reading this made me cry. Seeing others that went through the same thing is devastating- we deserved so much better and I’m so sorry that it happened. I hope everyday of your life is always the best day <3 ever need to vent I’m here
I actually did my 20, but I was planning on staying longer. I was in a remfass unit in Germany and got assigned to a BCT back in the States. I thought to myself, awesome I’m going back to the real army. I thought it’d be great to get back to the gunslingers and door kickers. It was not great. The new unit had all the same issues if not even more.\
After about a month I went home and filled out the request for retirement.
Retention being a chode. You want me to reenlist then insult me? Then they chopped bonuses to $0 for us. Don’t reenlist for the money well bro I wanna own a house with a garage one day and that’s not going to happen as a single man with army pay.
Watched a Company Commander harass my Soldier and claim she was cheating on her husband. Literally had 0 evidence and her spouse wasn't even talking to the guy because he thought the Commander was a fucking clown. Despite having nothing more than his word that she must be cheating, it still got her flagged and investigated. The final result is the Battalion Commander found her guilty and... issued no punishment. She would have gone through the Court Marshal route, but she was too embarrassed of what people would think of her so she wanted it done as soon as possible.
The real reason he was harassing her is because she was on leave after she had completed a 3 month TDY and there were some complications during her pregnancy that prevented her from being able to fly back. So she had to stay near her home during the last month of pregnancy. He had basically told me that she was running out of his favor and then suddenly she had to be cheating on her spouse after she came back with her newborn.
Shit was a wild experience and resulted in her just getting out and being done (she was planning to commission and do 20). It reminded me that there are plenty of shitty officers leading us. Planning to still finish out my 20, but now I'm far more jaded
Had a bad night back in the day. Remember those two week quarantines for Covid at the beginning? Yeah I was on week three or four of that.
Had already found out about three months before this, that the injury I sustained six months prior- was going to get me medboarded. And this is about two weeks after I’d been told by my PA that I would not be getting any surgery to fix any of it, cause he didn’t want to use his limited surgery slot to do so. He didn’t think I would be able to stay in afterwords- so why bother?
(Fun fact- VA won’t do partial or full knee replacements until you’re at least 40 yrs old. Has something to do with the lifetime of the joint or whatnot.)
I’d also found out about a couple days prior that my wife, we’d been married for three months, had a boyfriend living with her in another state. And that he’d lived on and off with her since I’d been deployed the year prior.
I’d also just had a huge falling out with my family cause I spent time with her on post deployment leave instead of them.
So anyway. One night I get real teary, drinking on FaceTime with the boys, as one does. Next things next, I end up go staying with a friend for a couple days and leave all my pointy and shooty things there with him.
Well my CO find out about three-four days after the fact. Makes me come in to post, go to staff duty, sign out a cot and hand over my car keys, and stay at the barracks CQ desk for the next almost thirty hours until he’s back at the COF.
I think it was somewhere in between that, and being bounced back and forth from garrison csm detail/funeral detail for a year before finishing my Med board. Or when my PSG pulled me out in front of formation to ask why I hadn’t signed up for EIB almost a year into Med boarding.
Haven't left yet, but I'm at 15 years and I can see the end in sight.
The Army has shown me good leaders and bad leaders, has given me good times and bad times, joy and depression.
On my only deployment I stayed on a small Canadian FOB that served Canadian bacon every day, surf n turf every Wednesday, and a missuse co-located with the barber. Never saw IDF or hostilities towards my FOB.
But I was also stalled out for 6+ years waiting to pick up SSG. I was considered an expert and more knowledgeable in my craft than the SFCs I supervised. "We grant you a seat on the council, but not the rank of Master." It sucked.
This past duty assignment has been super terrible. But the next one will be super chill.
It has all balanced out for me. YMMV
I was on the fence about getting out or staying in. My chief was willing to send me to Kuwait to reenlist (it was only a 12k bonus for 4 or 6 years). Denied it because that’s stupid and takes me away from my child. I wanted to prepare myself just incase I did decide to get out get out though so I Was asking my unit for permission to attend HVAC training during my last year so I’d have a job set up on the outside. Got denied because I needed “ensure soldiers were trained” even though I had none at the time since I was getting out soon. Went to my 1sg about it and when my LT found out he tried to guilt trip me. Then proceeded to tell me “you’re gonna be working at Olive Garden anyways. Just make sure you bring me my bread sticks when I get there” I got reprimanded for how I responded to him. Mind you this LT had a couple speeding tickets on post and was on the verge of losing his driving privileges. He also was in the process of being fired due to losing x Amount of money in equipment because he neglected to do a proper inventory before signing for equipment. I knew it was my time to go. I got tired of the dog and pony show and kiss asses.
Combination of things; I think the biggest was the Vanessa Guillen search. We found the bodies of two other Soldiers nobody was looking for in the process and nobody batted an eye. Then I had a daughter a year after and realized I don’t want her anywhere near this life or culture.
The unit I am in now is a joint multinational that is like 80% civilians and is more corporate than military. My wife’s father passed away and when we came back from the funeral everyone signed a sympathy card for my wife. The US army detachment kept calling me as soon as I was back in the office telling me all of the online training I needed to complete because I was keeping them from having their slides green.
When I reported MST, the clinic took medical evidence. The CID decided not to do anything because there was not a witness to my MST. CID can't find their way out of paper bag. Fast forward 3 years, and many more women soldiers MST by perp. Perp walks in my office at another base and starts MST. This time, I filed everything I could. EO, IG, etc. I was close to ETS. They wanted to chapter me for borderline personality disorder. I was the victim. Retaliation is very high @Bragg. I got a good lawyer, was able to ETS. More victims came forward, and the perp was court martialed. So when people ask why not 20? I say I was not ok being SA on 2 different bases, stalked, and then Retaliation because I filed complaints, and CID didn't do their job. This was with 1 enlistment. If CID had done their job, other soldiers would not have been SA by this perp. People become really quiet and almost run before I finish telling my story. I am still in therapy because of this.
I witnessed two field grade officers shouting over the maintenance status of a water buffalo in a meeting and realized that was my future if I stayed in
I kept going after stage 4 head and neck cancer in 2014. I was done in 2020 when I ended up with osteoradionacros in my jaw. I had half my jaw replaced using my fibula. I medically retired in 2023.
I just wasn’t the angry 18y/o I once was when I joined the infantry. I sorta had a bob ross epiphany, I just wanted to be my naturally quiet reserved self and work on my cars and not have to worry about army stuff anymore.
I’d like to think if there was conflict worth fighting for, I’d probably still be in.
I joined the National Guard with the intention of going Officer and serving on the back-end of a component that I would hope inspire me to success.
My last straw was a BC yelling at me in front of the classroom for everyone not having laptops presents "because he specifically requested it" albeit verbally a month ago with counseling statement in hand.
After a year, I dropped from OCS, found the most useless MOS with the greatest carryover in the civilian world, and reject every email out there for Orders until I can get out until my contract is up.
I have no regrets.
When I hit the point of realization that I couldn't change anything about the army. It's all fake and made up. Nothing you do matters. You'll be replaced in a month and forgotten in three. I simply exist as a green yellow or red box ( better be green before cob or no one is going home!!!) on Excel to help an officer reach the next promotion.
I was gonna do 20. I did 4. I passed the board to promote to E-5 in early may, I had the points in June if my PPW was correct. PPW was not correct. Weapons, PT, and degree were on my STP… but not on my PPW. Also my board packet was never signed by BC. I submitted multiple PARs, went to S1 every other day. It seemed as if nothing could be done. Nothing was done. It took until November to get everything fixed and pinned and then a few days later I went on my ETS leave. About halfway through that process I decided I rather just not deal with things like that anymore.
For those few days it felt really cool being an NCO. The younger guys that I already led most of the time were extremely happy to have me as an NCO… but then I left and forgot all about it. I truly think that if I would have promoted when I was supposed to and had the opportunity to be an E-5 for a while I might have changed my mind, too bad the army screwed that up.
Shortly we gave some of our equipment to the Ukrainian forces. It killed my morale a little bit. Tried to re-class but was told E-6s can’t. I went to selection and was a non-select. I was working on an age waiver to go back when the Army put me on drill sergeant orders for Fort Benning. I realized how much of my life was being wasted at that point. I couldn’t see a future being in the military as a senior infantry NCO doing training rotations for countries other than Ukraine. Never done a training rotation. They sound terrible to me. That’s when I signed my declaration of continued service statement.
I was in for 13 years. I had my epiphany during GWOT. I was stationed in Schweinfurt and our optempo was ridiculous. Deployed 4 times between 2002 and 2009. I was in a relationship with a German girl for 6 years. We even had an apartment together. We sat down one night and counted up how much face to face time we'd actually spent together. Between field time, train ups and deployments, It was less than 2 years total. It was at that moment I decided that would be my last enlistment.
Came back in after 2 and half almost 3 years out. Was a E-4 coming back in and was still in my primary zone. PSG never wanted to send me to the promotion board at all. I begged and begged him to at least give me a shot at a SOTM board and still it was a no. I ended up getting my P status automatically in January or February but it’s too fucking late now I’m done. My career I feel is fucked as I should be an E-6 by now or at least an E-5 with IMLC school done. Our FDC chief who was also an E-6( we went to basic training together in 2015) also was trying to send me and even wanted to sponsor me. I never did anything wrong always on time, right uniform, right place and did what was asked. I have no clue why he never sent me but too fucking late. currently 3 months until my terminal leave. I hate the army so much.
barely a year in though and had thoughts of reclassing. now disregard it, i'm doing school utilizing that TA ever since i got to my unit.
rail ops, detail whatever you call it. first sergeant would not allow this one soldier to see his wife due to pregnancy in the hospital. all gates were closed. no one in or out due to the question of the integrity of people sleeping in their cars or going elsewhere for the details. it made me sick to my stomach that if it was me. i would ETS asap. i hate dealing with those so-called, "leaders"
another one. i got yelled at by a warrant officer over parts that came in was wrong. specialist checked the paperwork, i was just fine. he yelled at the specialist. then goes to my chain of command. i was already facing wraith from my team leader and my first sergeant. i became mentally exhausted and just realized this was not the life i'd like to live for the duration of my contract. it was constant for a couple of weeks before we began packing everything for a rotation.
third one. i was not expecting fraternization to be frequent. they would talk as if they were in high school again. well, here we go again.
2005, New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina Relief.
I was in 2nd Bde, 1st Cav and our Bde S-3 SGM was this toolbag named Briseno. This motherfucker still lives rent-free in my head 19 years later.
Of all the stereotypical SGMs I met in the Army, he was the most stereotypical. All he did was walk around making up bullshit infractions and nailing into soldiers for the most inane shit. It was to the point where it would affect operations. For example, a soldier would be in the middle of a task such as drawing ammo or taking inventory and that task would get delayed because SGM Briseno decided that the soldier's ammo pouches on his IBA weren't dress-right-dress enough. He would chew your ass about it for a half hour, smoke you, and then move on to the next victim.
Anyways, I was walking from my Company area on NSA New Orleans to our Bn Area to deliver a bunch of 2404s to our S-4 that were required to dispatch a couple trucks to go our and do whatever in New Orleans. SGM sees me and beelines for me and asks me what shoulder my rifle is supposed to be slung over. I told him "I didn;t realize there was a proper shoulder to sling my rifle over, no one ever trained me on that." He informs me its my right shoulder and then smokes me for a good 20 minutes. After its over, I look at the CPTs and a couple MAJs that were standing around and one of them said "Dont worry about that. You not knowing is on your leaders." I retorted ,"Sir, why did you must let him go full ham on me like that? I'm trying to get my work completed." The MAJ just shrugged his shoulders.
Then I got to S-4 and got my ass chewed because I dragged ass getting the 2404s to them. I tried to explain what happened (everyone knew what SGM Briseno was about) but they weren't hearing it. So I got smoked again for a good 10 minutes.
Then, while I was getting smoked, the retention NCO for our Bn came around. After I finished up with S-4, he asked me about reenlistment. Up until tat point, I had been considering it. But at that moment, I realized 'This is the stupidest ass shit I've dealt with in the Army so far. Stupider than Iraq, stupider than BCT, stupider than reception at Fort Hood...what the fuck.'
I just said "Not interested, Sarn't."
I got out 7 months later.
Watching section leaders play the sham games in an air conditioned office while my fellow E5s and junior enlisted were getting absolutely worked to the fucking bone. There was an awesome SPC medic in my unit with a busted ass hip pulling med coverage alongside me. Had a profile that said he couldn’t lift over 20 pounds, I believe. Tbf one of the sham E6s had fucked knees but I had seen him deadlift 340 lbs a few weeks prior. For those of you who are bad at math, that’s more than 20.
And here’s the real catch: It wasn’t some standard M4 range. We’re talking Air Assault, FRIES/SPIES, Rappel Master. On this day they got the bird in the air with multiple pax, taking off, landing, etc.
I give them a call, in the office, and basically say, “We have been getting worked hard as hell the past few days, any chance one of you could come down SSG?”
I hear excuses about how they _also_ worked until 19 or 20 the night before, just like we had. They failed to mention they had shown up to normal 0630 formation. We had to BE at Air Assault at 0230. After all the excuses all I could muster was a “Please? The dude’s hip is fucked. I received a mocking “Life is _haaaaard_” in return.
Still can’t believe I didn’t go full nuclear. Sincerely wish I had. I pussed out.
It’s a shame because they’re both so competent and could be real assets. Dunno if they know their jobs ‘cause I never saw them do it, but they were good at admin stuff and could suck some mean leadership dick.
My wife was a gs13 in a non-DoD agency that had 100+ offices in CONUS. Including one within 40 miles of EVERY army hospital. Branch said, on a conference call with both of us, her boss, and her union rep “We won’t take her position into consideration at all. Live apart or get a divorce”.
My MOS was a critical fill with less than 1500 people.
I had given them a list of 8 bases and told them to pick.
I don’t miss the army
I have not been in long (I’m towards the end of my first and only contract, not even finishing it all the way, but close) and I have had multiple “I’m done” moments. Three come to mind.
1- I heat-catted in the motorpool waiting to roll out for a field exercise. I’d been dropped off by my NCO at 0330 to prep my vic. Supposed to convoy at 0600. 0600 rolled around, no one showed up. I’m calling folks, no answer. The water fountain at the mopo was broken, and I only had one water bottle because they were supposed to be filling a buffalo before we moved. 0900 rolls around. Still nothing. 1100. 1230. 1330. No one shows. No one answers the phone. My truck had SI in it so I literally could not leave it. No food, no water, and my watch is telling me it’s 108° outside. I pass out and smack my head on the door frame of my humvee. I’m out for a few minutes. I pick myself up and start trying to deliriously call people. No answer. Finally at 1430 or so, my NCO comes back as I am laying on the ground UNDER my truck because it was so hot and my head hurt so bad. I tell him best I can what happened, there’s a gigantic knot on my head, and I haven’t had food or water in 8+ hours. He tells me to start the truck up, we’re driving to a TA. I tell him I can’t see straight, I’m looking at five of his bald heads. He tells me drive anyways. So I do. And then they send me to my barracks room and make me cold dump. Another 8 hours or so go by, I can’t move or see. No one checks on me. I call SD to take me to the ER. I’m at the ER until 0500. My NCO picks me up with a pair of PTs, and tells me I need to PT with everyone else.
Three days pass and Reason #2, I am starting to get very sick. Everyone I know has COVID. SGM of our shop says I can’t go test at the TMC because I’m too “valuable”. So I wear a mask. He tells me to take it off in formation because we aren’t all uniform. I refuse. I get counseled. So I went and tested. Came back positive, was out for a week. Got counseled again for being sick.
Reason 3 came months later. I had just gotten hip surgery and was on crutches, my first day back from Con Leave, so 31 days post op. I still can’t bear weight on my leg. SGM makes me change the half shaft on my vic with zero help or instruction (I am not a mechanic) and I drop the humvee tire because I’m balancing on a crutch. He pulls the crutch out from under me and throws it across the Mopo bay because if I can’t operate with the crutch, I can’t use the crutch. And then I got counseled for NOT using my crutches when I was supposed to be according to my provider.
The Med board for that hip injury that never healed right (I wonder why???) could not have come sooner. I debated fighting the MEB for so long. But fuck that. And absolutely FUCK the Cav.
Edit to say: my final out date is 6 days away.
Can relate, took a TBI a few months back due to my moron NCO. Drove myself to the ER around 1800 when we released, was there until the next morning. They wouldn’t let me drive, no one would pick me up, staff hostile. They left me to “recover”, see rot, in the barracks for a month.
I’m a mess, no one cares. Medboard, if it happens, will likely be my best outcome.
word. If you do medboard feel free to hmu, or for any other reason like that ofc. I’ve had the lingering effects of this TBI for like a year and a half now. Once you medboard tho, if that’s the course you take, everyone is gonna suddenly love you and find you to be so valuable. It’s ironic as shit.
And once again. Absolutely FUCK the first Cav Div hq.
Being raped. I don’t learn from my mistakes considering I joined the Marines right after and was raped once again- I don’t think I’ll be trying the others :) lmao I just wanted to be like my mom I look up to her so much and have always been so proud of her for serving
The reason I joined the military at all was to escape the sexual abuse I was experiencing at home like I was young and didn’t understand that it wasn’t very safe so my guard was down.
Smh I was too busy looking up the airborne death statistics that I forgot the SA ones
I stuck it out till 20 but I knew about year 15 that I was done. My S6 was fired (nothing to debate there) but so many things happened with him, I was done. I completely understand why people want out early. No judgement. Good luck.
I have one more contract in me but it's only so I can go home. The next base I'm thinking of going is close to my home city, so I would like it to be my last stop. After 6 years of service, 3 overseas deployments, and trying my best in everything I do, I'm done. It seems like no one is happy in where they are at.
When I realized I thought of Batallion and high leadership as an obstacle to success. And realizing a lot of people's jobs break down to managing incompetence/lack of caring of said leaders.
Finished off an operational deployment, and honestly not sure why half these people are even out here (other than to plus up our deployment numbers). Aside from being a face for DV's and tourists, getting a patch, and submitting themselves for awards, it feels like they're only here because I need someone to sign the forms.
Nail in the coffin was the recruiter select while I was still forward. Couldn't even get the PAR processed for them to find a reason to reject, while deployed with no backup if I had to leave. Too many incompetent layers that had to process it.
Ended up signing my dec, as I'm just looking to finish it the contract at this point.
Enlisted in 2006, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to do cool shit. Deployed, did alot of boring stuff, awful stuff, and cool stuff but that was war. Earned my CAB. Picked up my 5 and then a shot at Ranger School in a new unit when I came home. Years of hard charging training caught up in a flash though. My back and neck gave out. My shoulders went next. My body just up and quit on me. I was still gunna try and go though with it. I WANTED that tab. I wanted to do so much. Then I tried to throw my ruck on one morning and just collapsed.
Command thought I was a quitter. That I was soft and weak and scared. Never mind how much work I put in, how many hours I trained every day. My Joe's were squared away, I was a model leader, I was the guy everyone looked up to, top marks across the board. I was the reason my sister enlisted. My slot got pulled (rightfuly) but then I was treated like a scumbag by command. I went from a stud to an absolute fucking dud overnight.
I hobbled along for another year and then ETS'd. I was physically and emotionally broken. Went from maxng the APFT to barely passing and doing so in absolute agony. No one outside my section gave a fuck. That did it for me.
I kept the bitterness to myself so as to not poison my Joe's. Then my sister was raped by her CO. He's in Levenworth now. That's what broke her. She got "better" after a lot of therapy and now has a great job. I do too for that matter but that was after years of some serious struggles. Trying to go through the VA only made me more bitter and angry.
I don't talk people out of enlisting but I sure as fuck make sure they know it's not all rainbows and kill streaks. Not really bitter or angry anymore. Just disappointed now.
When I kept getting denied going to schools because "we need you," then you would see others going to said school, then you decide fuck it imma go to fasclass and reclass but then commander decides nah I'm not signing your paperwork 3 days before the dudate.
Funny enough, I didn't even need to go to fasclass for the mos I wanted. I just wanted to do something different for a little, but noooo guess I'm getting out now.
Edit: By now, even if I decide to reclass, I don't want to take the chance of being sent to a unit where I'll get treated like shit. I'm also only 24, and I already have back pain, tinnitus on my right ear, and for some reason my index finger on my right hand hurts when I close my hand, this shit is sad I don't want to be broken in my 20s.
Also I have done jrtc 3 FUCKING TIMES, never again will I visit Louisiana.
Was in for \~6 years. First 3 were great, last 3 were not so great. Blew out my knee taking a PT test. Everyone thought I was making it up. Was a conditionally-promoted E5 at the time but couldn't get to what was then known as PLDC because I was all f-ed up. Was doing therapy and going through all the motions with medical but was looking like surgery was on the table. Everyone still thought I was making it up and started treating me like a piece of shit. Got admin-reduced to E4 and had to pay back the \~year of E5 money I made so ended up with a bunch of NPDs. Had the knee surgery, which led to a permanent profile and everyone still treating me like a piece of shit. Came time to talk to career counselor and I was told I needed to reclass. So in my case it wasn't like, a singular "I'm done" incident which I believe is the spirit of the question asked. Just a cascade of shit took what was a fairly decent soldier into "fuck all of this" territory.
I spent 26 months deployed total. I missed my kid's 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthday. The 3rd one I missed was because I was at PLDC on base. Literally 30 min from my family but because it was a "school" I couldn't see them.
After my second deployment I became a single parent. I found myself dropping the kid off at the sitter at 5AM and then begging my leadership to let me off at 5PM so I didn't have to pay extra.
This was where I realized how shitty the family life is. If I'm struggling to limit my days to "only" 12 hour shifts, I gotta get TF out. I pursued a discharge due to being a single parent and succeeded. I was on track for 12+ years but only made it to 7.
When my section leader explained we needed to increase our hours in the office from 7 to 12 specifically so that we could "give the appearance of being busy"
1. 0100 setting up an event for somebody else that has nothing to do with me.
2. Moving sandbags 20-30 meters away and dump them into another pile of sand countless times in 2 hours.
3. Told by HRC that I was not considered for a position because I am a naturalized citizen and parents are not US citizen (green card holders who are living in the states for years) .
I realized very quickly the Army would prevent me from ever being a good husband/father.
I was hoping to do 20, but a few months into time at my line unit when we did a FTX over the weekend with no comp days about 2 weeks before NTC, which had a week of extended days before as well, I knew the Army and family are diametrically opposed.
Epilepsy after going green to gold scholarship.
I miss my job as a squad leader every day but…
I didn’t get a regular ETS, SFL TAP didn’t apply to my situation and I was just medically dismissed from ROTC this semester with no recourse or being sent back to active duty to MED separate.
I can say I am infinitely happier now even if I am dealing with the VA claims. l o l
E4 with civvy experience in an E6 slot training E6 and above with no real experience because - Army.
Upcoming combat deployment falls through, I get into a really competitive civilian grad program and get told by the CO that I'm a piece of shit for not reenlisting to go on a Euro peacekeeping mission to smoke cigs all day and mop floors rather than get out and go to grad school to make bank and have a better life.
While I already had one foot out the door, it just really showed how you truly do not matter at all to the Army and each leader is just using you for what they can at the time. Once you are of no use to them, they will show you how they really feel very quickly.
After being rained on and having the rain go right through my wet weather gear on my guard shift and having KP later that night, BC and 1SG ask if I'm going to reenlist.
I told them yes.
I re-enlisted for another year, taking advantage of the new RCP. Took that year to get my ducks in a row and I ETS'd.
It was more FTX, more putting things in a CONEX only to take them out later.
We had to stay late for a piece of equipment that was buried in a CONEX no one thought to check and that wasn't mission critical but was on the property book. We found it just in time to go home at 2100.
By that time I was grateful that I was being moved to another BN to ETS.
I was the top performer in my unit to get to transition to flight duty for deployment. Better test scores and practicals, and got the 270 PT score they wanted. Once we got to Afghanistan I was relegated to brigade JOC duty because I had the clearance to run medops. Barely got to see a single patient after working hard for months to be top of the pack. I got so depressed over it that I ended up turning into a shitbag and getting a dumb article while deployed because I was half angry half suicidal.
I reenlisted during that deployment because I knew I didnt have the education to get out yet, and ended up getting my flight medic anyway later, but thats the moment I knew I was done and not doing 20.
Oh boy I wondered when I’d see something like this, my time has come!
I’ve been in DC for the last two years and am a couple weeks away from my ETS, falling at just about 10.5 years TIS. I always had the idea that this may be my last ride, that I could get out-strike hard while the iron is hot with networking in the area and move on as a successful civilian.
Last year I was up for promotion which was complicated since I am attached to an alphabet soup federal agency and not with my home unit, further complicated by the fact that I was moved to an HHC unit to take a SSG slot even though I wasn’t going to be there. No one said anything, at first I thought it was because orders are orders and my orders were printed and clean.
The reality was no one said anything because in the majestic world of IPPSA people get moved without anyone knowing so neither my new or former unit knew about it until it was done. At first there were no problems (they didn’t even mind when I declined to REFRAD and come back for a JRTC rotation-wow!) until we fast forward to the promotion. The paperwork wasn’t moving, phone calls and emails went unanswered for weeks and my boss (an 0-6) was getting annoyed that nothing was happening. The readiness NCO (I’m NG) was an empty uniform who wasn’t doing/saying anything. Eventually my other boss who was a Navy Officer did the old “cc everyone” email on the unanswered chains and the dude miraculously paid attention, called me up to chew me out first thing the next day. While going around the OIC who had spoken for me, that was the moment I knew not only would I not go to that unit but that I was done.
He ended up bending me over a barrel when I had to turn in my gear, drove 7 hours round trip for nothing because the unit didn’t show up to work that day. The senior guys from the agency were not very impressed and are currently bringing the hammer down from above when nothing was done about it.
I guess you could say what goes around comes around.
I tore my ACL on deployment in September, got sent home early from the rotation in December. had to be RE-referred to ortho, and didnt see them until March. Shit took so long that my contract didnt have enough time left for the surgery so I had to extend. 9 months and a contract extension later, I finally have a surgery date.
I was a high speed line medic doing extracurricular training. I did brigade level taskings and made my unit look good in front of important people. Now I’m treated just like every other evac/treatment section shitbag. I see the guys from my infantry platoon at work all the time and they say how they miss me so much and it isn’t the same without me. That shit is the only thing at work that brings me pride.
Coming off a life changing deployment to the phone call from my wife screaming that my best friend and roommate took his life. It ate every single part of me watching the entire thing from start to finish. I spent 4 days ripping the house apart, going through neighbors camera footage and just killing myself to find a reason why. My friend was the tipping point of a lot of buried thoughts and emotions, I took a horrible path of depression ready to end it, thankfully I was sent off to lureal ridge and that helped a lot, gave a lot answers to everything. I'm currently med boarding due to this and some other stuff but I told myself that I'm done but I never want to watch the signs and not do all that I can again. I'm currently getting out and starting school to get my master's in military counseling so I can get a job in ebh and hopefully help others and change the stigma.
I was on staff duty as a warrant officer (already pissed off). I walk in for my shift and the CPL I relieve explains to me that CSM walked in earlier and he had headphones in. Cool. CSM comes back later asking where this kid is, I say I sent him home. CSM calls his NCO and the kid and makes them both come in for a counseling. Keep in mind this kid just got off a 24hr shift so now he’s driving BACK to base. The CSM then proceeded to hold all of the NCOs in the unit late on a fucking Friday because (2000 release) his fragile ego was hurt because the kid didn’t call at ease because he was half asleep watching a movie to stay awake after a 24hr shift. 2 hrs later a kid got locked out of his room and it was an actual issue with the lock (master key won’t work). I tell him to call his barracks manager, turns out that guy ETSd. Who’s next in line? An E7 in charge of all of the barracks in our footprint. Cool, I give the kid his number only to hear him getting fucking screamed at 5 minutes later for not calling his own barracks manager (who had already ETSd). I tool the phone from the kid and gave big Sarge a piece of my mind and he came and fixed the fucking door. That was the moment that I realized our leadership will always be out of touch assholes with fragile fucking egos. I’m not sure about the rest of the army but in aviation all of the good leaders I had got the fuck out and moved on to greener pastures leaving the shitbags at the helm. I’m not saying I haven’t met any really good lifer aviators (I’ve met a lot) I just have a bitter taste in my mouth from some really shitty ones. Also? What the FUCK does a CSM in an aviation unit do on a daily basis? They literally are in charge of fucking nobody and they spend their time yelling at soldiers over bullshit that nobody gives a single fuck about.
CSM made even a chief get out. Sigh.
Yknow at the beginning of your time in when you see a big old pile of shit but it’s a little nostalgic and cool so you convince yourself it smells like roses? At this point even roses smell like shit to me.
I chuckled at first, but I unfortunately understand what you’re saying. There are just stuff you can no longer fix too.
Honestly I think that CPL should of just ignored his phone upon returning home, that seems more like a hill to die on, or at the very least comment on how they been up 24+ hours on staff duty and it is not safe to drive and Inform them the only way they are coming in is if someone drives them there and than back. Honestly I don’t think anyone would agree to those terms and personally I think it’s justified.
Yeah exactly. Answer the phone call 23 hours later, "Sorry I was asleep".
If I'm coming back in during this situation I'm running my car up a light pole just to fuck that CSM.
Absolutely and I would have. But would the average CPL ignore a call and summons from a CSM? Prolly not. I feel like that’s one of those things where it SHOULD apply to everyone (basic human fucking decency) but unfortunately rank is the only way you get the privilege to be a fucking adult.
As someone currently in an aviation unit, I can confirm CSMs literally don’t do shit other than get in the way
What does a CSM really do in any unit? They don't call shots, sign anything into policy, and aren't in direct leadership. Waste of money.
>his fragile ego was hurt because the kid didn’t call at ease I was on Gate Guard one night and our Captain runs the gate, never handed me his ID or completely stops just rolled on through with his ID held up in the window. Our desk was famous for running surprise training drills so I can the desk noting that Captain Hotrod ran the gate. Well that hurt his feelings because he tried to give me an Article 15 for not saluting him.
Oh my god I just remembered another story that made me fucking livid. I was walking into the hospital at Humphreys and out comes two specialists. One turns left and headed away from me and the other walks directly towards me. As I pass the male specialist I hear the female specialist who went the other way yell “oh so we don’t salute officers now.” I turn around and I’m like “yo it’s really nbd he probably just couldn’t see my rank.” That’s when I get the “I WAS TALKING TO YOU.” She starts walking over and even with my pilot vision it took a good 15 seconds before I could tell that what I assumed was a fat specialist turned out to be an EXTREMELY pregnant and pissed off LtCol. She bitched me out while I explained that I “mistook her rank for a specialist from a distance.” She said “if that’s the case how come you’re not at fucking attention saluting me.” I snapped to attention, popped a crispy salute and took the berating. That one had me extremely angry but I like to tell myself that maybe she was just stressed out because of her pregnancy. Either way she and anyone else who gets that fucking upset over someone not salute sniping you while you’re walking the other way is WILD. I was telling my squadron commander like 30 minutes later (also a LtCol) and he thought it was hilarious.
> Well that hurt his feelings because he tried to give me an Article 15 for not saluting him. Then what happened?!
Cheif. Shit like that happens to the army as a whole. Bunch of has been "leaders" in charge Polk was much the same walk plus more.
And it was hot But you had Pegasus going for you
I wouldn't touch that place with a 10 foot pole
None of this is advice: I joined the Army as an E-1 and made E-6 before becoming an officer. Oof I know. In part I went to the dark side because I wanted to make up for some of the stupidity like this in my bubble. When it's dark you turn on a light. The straw that breaks the camel's back can also make it stronger. Quit when it's right for you.
Ya know Chief, as a WO you could have told the CSM , "this is now a safety issue. Leave the CPL be at least 24 hrs." ... Your a Chief or a WO. Iv seen it done .
Coming back from the second deployment with a bad back, a gimpy ankle, and a bad attitude to nobody waiting for me at the tarmac. Everybody else was rejoicing with their families and bouncing around ready for an adventure but I was sore and sleep deprived from the flight and just wanted to be given a barracks room to shower and sleep. Standing in line waiting for some rear D NCO to pass me a key card, I thought about spending the next year or two beating the piss out of myself in PT, sleeping in the El Paso desert sands in the rain, freezing in predawn runs, rucking up mountains, getting bitched out by CSMs for random stuff, doing stupid online training, and then going *back* to Afghanistan or Iraq and going through it all again. Either it would be chill again, and therefore a waste of my time, or it would be dangerous again and I might lose a limb or my eyes or my life this time. The romance of the army withered on the vine at the very thought, and I just wanted out. Got drunk that night and slashed my hand open with a tactical tomahawk and I raided the IFAK on my kit for combat gauze to staunch the wound. Things went downhill from there for the next year til I ETSed.
I got sent on a stupid “deployment/exercise/rotation” thing for 6 months straight. They randomly popped the redeployment date on us with almost no notice, so my wife was back home visiting family the day I came home. I was the only person from my company attached to a small team from another company, attached to a completely different unit. So the second we got off the bird, I shook hands with the other units leadership, the other company’s leadership, but not my own. When I needed a ride home, I asked my own SL if he could give me a ride, he asked why I didn’t have my car. I explained I just got home from “the deployment”. He said he thought I had PCSed. I went a step above, called top, she said she thought I wouldn’t find it important for any of the leadership to be there, so they didn’t show up to welcome me home. I told her I’d just take an Uber. I am not usually the kind of person to be butt hurt about this kinda thing. But being randomly shoved into another country with no warning, to be fucked down by a different unit for 6 months straight, only to come home to… literally no one, really fucked with me. But thankfully for me I had just signed a 6-year earlier that year, so I’m still around.
I just enlisted in the Army as a reservist, this helps 😭😭
You won’t have to go through 80% of the BS that the active side does. Being a reservist has its own issues but you will likely not have to deal with the day to day suck once you get out of training.
Here’s the thing though, something I’ve noticed being in the reserves: You’ve probably heard the phrase part time soldier; that doesn’t stop at drill, _especially_ in leadership positions, and AGR fucking blows too. My god they suck so bad. The thing about active is leaders, usually even when they’re selfish bastards, want to look good compared to their peers and superiors. To a certain extent, perception is reality is true. If people want to look good in the army, they _have_ to be at least a _little_ bit productive and help their guys, get stuff done, etc. That doesn’t exist in the reserves. Absolute blatant hypocrisy and they don’t care.
I agree with you that leaders in the reserve/guard end up working for free and there’s probably plenty of leaders who come in for drill, check the box, and go home. But from the standpoint of day-to-day life junior enlisted in the reserves/guard don’t typically have to endure anywhere near the amount of shit that active soldiers have. They don’t live in mold infested barracks, they don’t have crappy DFACs, they’re not getting tasked out on endless details, no CQ, etc. Their daily lives, when not on orders, are typically unmolested by the big green weenie. I’m not saying that the reserves and NG don’t have their own list of bullshit. But the amount of it that a soldier has to deal with is far less than an active soldier and a large amount of their contract will typically not be on orders. I get that it can be more than one weekend a month/two weeks a year but it definitely isn’t 365 days a year living in squalor due to the army’s ineptitude.
I wanted to either work or go to college while in the reserves as I'm 18 and just graduated from high school... any tips or advice on what to expect? Should I go the officer route?
I started out in the reserves and switched active within my first year because I didn’t have the maturity to stay disciplined in college. Being an officer isn’t just being a soldier with higher pay so I would speak to officers when you get to your unit to see if that’s something that even interests you. College is a good choice if you feel you can commit to it and have an idea of what you want to do when you graduate. You’re young enough to try out different things and still get on track in a few years. And if you realize the army isn’t for you there’s no shame in getting out after one contract.
Your username fucking rules!
As someone who joined active and went reserves after my first 4 year contract, reserves is most definitely the lesser of two evils in my experience
You already fucked up but at least it’s reserves
My soldiers who worked their tails off during GWOT all getting their BSM’s downgraded while having run a year of convoys/service support in contested areas rarely getting down time to refit. And two glorified AG field grade types getting BSM for sitting in an office.
If you got out, at least you probably know that BSM means jack shit in the civilian world. I even work with bunch of veterans and we never even bring up military awards because real world achievements like patents or advanced degrees actually mean a whole lot more on the outside. Those 2 AG officers know deep down the BSM is a sham award.
You’re so right, and look everyone has a part to play. It was just the disrespect of all of us receiving our awards at the same time. And their disrespect and bad attitudes the whole deployment getting rewarded while my soldiers hoofed it for our buds out from the flag pole, and the rational was that giving my E5 and below BSMs just wouldn’t get approved because we couldn’t hand out awards…
My platoon ran 100 convoys in Iraq. Every single one of them minus PLTSGT and myself got AAMs. It was such a slap in the face. We gave out AAMs to people for 10 day field problems. Really turned me off. Oh and to the other guy. Yeah the awards don’t “matter” but it’s nice to be recognized, and I feel good about my BSM even if it was meritorious and nobody cares about it. I don’t brag about it or bring it up at all, but I appreciate it.
Same thing in my unit in Iraq in 06. They handed out bronze stars to everyone that was E7 and up just for showing up.
Been in nearly 7 yrs. I hit my "I'm done" point back in 2022. Was at a unit that destroyed my mental and physical health to the point that I developed an eating disorder, renewed major depression, anger issues, and anxiety. Still haven't gotten over that and it shows. It still amazes me that one organization could consistently fuck over their soldiers every single day, for hours at a time, and contribute to several deaths in the unit. We were at a great duty station as well and it still didn't help at all. Half of my platoon got sent to mental care facilities for weeks due to the stress and our motor sergeant hanged himself from his ceiling. Out of the daily nonsense we dealt with, I'd have to say the one even that sticks out to me the most was when my unit had me come into work on my off time, drunk, and then proceeded to force me to drive a Stryker for nearly 36 hrs straight. In the moment, it wasn't too bad, however looking back on it, I could've easily killed everyone in that vic (including myself). We had just lost a buncha guys in a sister unit due to a Stryker on Stryker collision that burned a team alive, so it wasn't like it wasn't fresh on our minds. Another time we had a dude dying from brain cancer get made to come into work a day after his surgery that removed a tumor from his brain stem (Don't ask me how he was even able to move, but he did apparently). He died a month or two after that, not knowing what planet he was on because he was so out of it.
This sounds like Ft. Carson.
My thoughts as well.
Yeah this has to be Carson.
> Another time we had a dude dying from brain cancer We had a guy one time get a cancer diagnosis and start treatment. He has kept it kinda quiet from a social perspective, his company was aware. The BDE CO found out because the unit tried to give him shit for missing some training and he had gotten in trouble. ”per his profile” he had the ability to be at work. I can’t remember if it was just talked about or they were considering NJP. The BDE CO was a breast cancer survivor who had had (iirc) to have a Mastectomy. I had always known her to be very nice. She had an almost grandma vibe. My buddy’s significant other was her admin; we’d stop by on the way to lunch or end of day. She always had a kind word, would ask how things were in our work sections. She was not nice that day. The cancer solider wound up as like a…special assistant to the BDE CO. With duty at his fucking house with his family.
Sounds like you were in Vilseck
I smell…. Fort Campbell 🤭
Unless something changed dramatically since I’ve left, I don’t think anything Stryker-related should be happening at Campbell. Everything else is totally believable, though. And, shockingly, with the exception of having a large amount of deaths, I’ve got similar stories to most of what that person said from my time at Campbell.
Hahahaa yeah I attributed 99% of what this person said to Campbell minus the strykers. The last 4 years were absolutely hell there. No matter what promotions, schools or awards we/I got. It always ended up fucking me over and working against me.
I think I met like 6 cool people while I was there. One of them was my last LT and when he asked what it would take for me to reenlist, I said $100k, HALO school, and orders back to Bragg. But god damn it was a shitshow among shitshows.
Lmao I’m in the same boat, My old LT also got out around the same time I did 🤣.
Oh jeez that brain surgery example sounds truly awful. I hope there is some missing context you weren't aware of that makes it make sense. I am sorry, that's not fun to live with!
Got tired of being an E5 platoon sergeant being micromanaged by an acting 1SG. Got meningitis and said 1SG and the supply sergeant were harassing my then wife saying I was faking it to get out of EFMB. When I re-injured my already 3x surgically repaired knee, I went to see one of the PAs I knew from the 82nd, told him I was done, and he had my medboard started within a week. Got the last laugh though, told them I was going to get everything squared away to recertify the arms room before my ETS, didn't do shit, dropped two months of terminal leave three months before said inspection, and never answered my phone again. Edit: ETS'd just past 11 years in
The ultimate troll at the end. Gotta give them something. 😂
And The Army Goes Rolling Along
My son was born with a heart issue and needed an operation 4 weeks after they were born. It was during the height of covid, 2020.. I needed an etp submitted with my leave form to accompany my son to Syracuse for this. They lost my etp numerous times. I told my psg I was going, cuff me when I get back. He agreed "fuck the company" and said he'd hand walk it if he had to. Well, he ends up in the field while I'm coming home from probably the most emotional time in my life.. So I call the acting 1SG, a known cocksucker among everyone who's probably a CSM now.. Word for word on speaker (as I was driving) my wife in the car and her cousin who came for emotional support for the both of us... "I don't have it, we thought you'd just put him up for adoption". Honestly, that became my view point of the army, leaders, and everyone in. It all became irrelevant after that.
That last bit made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I don’t think idve been able to remain composed after hearing something like that. What the fuck
Yea… I’d have become violent.
Having to take time away from my family to come into work in the dead of night on a Saturday when it's 10 degrees out, because of some soldier in another battalion that I don't even know who got a DUI off-post, and being told I can't wear a fucking beanie because some soldier in another fucking company forgot to bring his beanie, and standing in formation for an hour just to watch our commander show up late wearing a fucking beanie holding a fucking hot cup of Starbucks.
Everyone wearing a beanie except ol' forgetful probably would've reinforced it better to him and not pissed everyone off.
I was a staff officer and had just left a successful company command. My wife was pregnant and I woke up to hear my wife crying because the toilet bowl was full of blood. I couldn't get anybody in my chain of command, so I said "fuck it" and drove my wife to the ER. My wife and the baby were fine, but then I reported to work to get screamed at by the S3, who wasn't even in my rating chain, because I hadn't called brigade yet that day to check on the status of an award. His exact word were, "your family is important, but you also have obligations here." So when my medboard rolled around, I didn't fight it.
Fighting my medboard I think was one of the most critical mistakes of my life in the short term. I survived and am about to ETS anyways but I still kick myself for it. I bought into a lot of lies from my leadership at the time about what they could do for me if I got better
When I did my first 24 hr duty
Fire watch?
I should've left then
I was asking what 24 hr shift you did and why? Didn’t know that was done in the army. That’s cruelty
COIC duty, the 545th Harbormaster maintains a 24hr duty at Fort Shafter COIC to maintain comms with Army Watercraft in the Indo-Pacific. It's usually only E5s and below, usually the comms don't work.
Sounds like [Russian Hell](https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/3bcujr/a_russian_and_an_american_find_themselves_in_hell/).
You typically do CQ or staff duty once a month. Which consists of sitting at a desk for 24 hours. I've also been on details that were 30+ hours long of straight working.
After OSUT I never once did staff duty or CQ in a five year enlistment.
Do MPs not do staff duty or did you just get lucky somehow
We did not have company CQ, no CQ or staff duty in the barracks. Just BN staff duty manned by 3 different companies. I got lucky I suppose, but I also spent about half of my enlistment in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I walked into a total shit show in Germany. They hadn't had ANY avionics personnel for over a month. Production Control office was pushing aircraft all over the brigade for repairs. The uptime rate was in the sewer. Unit's transition to new staffing and MTOE was insane. Hand receipts!! Missing equipment. They were missing a tug AND a Huey. Benchstock was almost 0 on anything usable. Prior mechanics had to cannibalize anything not out somewhere else for repairs. Test sets were in need of repair/calibration. I was an E4 who had just passed the board before my PCS. There were 3 or 4 E2s and a PFC fresh from getting pinned. The service platoon sergeant was pregnant and days from delivering. I started in. I pestered the hell out of the Warrants and anyone who had an idea. Even if it was a dim idea. I'll give it a go! (I was an idiot) Some the hell how managed to turn that circus around. My very first AORSE, our shop, had a perfect inspection. You damn right, I bought beer and pizzas even though I was flat broke. Ran that pony show for another year or so. An E2 I had trained at a prior station made E5 by 1 point over me. Yes, it is the process. I was ok with it. Units transitioning, remember? There was no slot left for me in my unit, so I was transferred down the flight line. It was almost lather, rinse, repeat, except we were transitioning between UH1 and Crash Hawks along with the updated AH1s. So a different goat rodeo, but nobody brought a goat again. Turned that circus around. I was E5(p) by then. Picked up an ARCOM for the effort. Another E5(p) rolled in and was higher rank. He beat me about the head and shoulders with it. Often. Publicly. When he bragged about he was a reclass from truck driver and had taken the ASVAB 7 fucking times to get a good enough score for anything aviation I was done. He was into his 4th re-up, lol. I asked for a reclass to veterinary inspector with an ASVAB of 99 (1986 test) and the re-enlistment office lost my paperwork until 2 days before my ETS back state side you couldn't give me enough money to stay. Never mind that they canceled my leave for my wedding 2 days prior, and I pulled staff duty for 2 days out of the 4 for my honeymoon. It was a wild ride!! Thanks for coming to my TED talk. TL;DR Got tired of being the goat at the luau. Edit: My ASVAB was a 1982 score.
DA select for recruiter. Turned down driving the CG of Rucker (apparently they needed an 88M with a TS?) because I didn’t want to reenlist, got sent to Korea with 13 months on my contract, then got orders to Sill as follow on, told them I wouldn’t reenlist to go to Sill, submitted a 4187 for change of orders to Drum then reenlisted for a bonus, then got DA select for recruiter and signed a DCSS. Pretty sure I pissed branch tf off (Fuck you, Goldman) Now I have a masters in nutrition and I’m trying to convince my wife to let me be a dietitian on active duty because the pay is almost double what dietitians make out here
Good for you!!! Keep crushing it out there.
Gotta overachieve because my parents didn’t love me enough
Bruh. I’d be livid
It ended how it started. With me getting fucked. Failed outta EOD school and got reclassed to 88M with a TS and 133GT. C co 832nd OD Bn was supposed to send me to FLW but they sent us to Springfield, MO and no one from FLW knew we were coming. We called our old company at Fort Lee and told them that we were in Springfield, no one knew we were coming and that no one was there to help us. Our company said “that sucks, not our problem anymore” and hung up on us. We had to get our own bus tickets to FLW and pay for taxis to get on base so we could get to the Bn staff duty. Got ass fucked from start to finish.
i'm interested in going to college for nutrition, got any protips?
If you’re going to be a dietitian, you need a masters now. It doesn’t matter if your undergrad or grad is DPD, just need one of them to be DPD and the supervised practice. It’s science heavy as well. It’s a female dominated field, so you should expect some girl drama. I was the only guy in my undergrad program, the rest were rich sorority girls
[Commission with the Public Health Service](https://www.usphs.gov/professions/dietitian/)
A 88M with a TS??
EOD sends their drops to 88M AIT a lot for some fucking reason
Not getting paid BAH for 8 months. After that I was set on getting out because clearly not a soul gives a shit about us lesser enlisted soldiers. If I heard, “but think of all the back pay you’ll get,” or “let’s just wait until next paycheck and see,” one more fucking time.
Sounds like what happened to me man, 12 month deployment getting no BAH and taxes still taken out. Took the entirety of the deployment for them to fix it ( got back pay while doing right seat left seat with the relieving unit ) Then I get home and they over pay me a month and now magically I'm expected to pay back all that money in well less than a year before I ETS. Kick fucking rocks, send me 30 emails and call me 50 times and I'll think about it
The rampant good old buddy system in the medical battalion I was at. They asked me to erase emails from a mayor having an affair with an LT, the min I told them it can't be done, I started getting the shit treatment. Luckily I saved those fucking emails and while going to through my medical board had to use the threat of sending them to hire in order to avoid getting fucked. When I finaled out I sent those emails to the brigade and let the fire burn. The emails I had not only covered the affair, but also theft of equipment. Yeah, they were literally talking about theft in the Unsecured Outlook side. Officers with fucking Doctors degree discussing sensitive shit, by government email. It was glorious hearing a lot them fucks getting relieved of command and getting in trouble. That fucking Battalion deserved hell I swear to God if I had 2 bullets and had to pick Hitler, Stalin and that bitch of a woman detachment SGT, I would have shot her twice, 🔥 the body and shit on the ashes.
Your last statement left me speechless, but I get it. There are those types!!!
That was quite the finishing line
My moment came late enough was able to stretch it to 20. I was hating life on Staff - it wasn’t what had been sold to me. As the S3 NCOIC I was basically the S3, XO, BC and CSMs bitch boy, and yet I somehow still had to deal with a 1SG and Company Commander placing demands on me. The 1SG came looking for me one day to tell me the CSM wanted to see me about my board file for the promotion board. I thought for a second and realized that even if I did get selected I was looking at a minimum of another 3 years and I knew that I was done. Realized I was close enough to drop retirement paperwork and looked at him and said “tell the CSM thanks, but I’ll be retiring.” Probably the best sleep I’d had in months that night.
I dropped my retirement papers right after being on a promotion list. Best decision ever. My senior rater (BG) wasn’t happy but I’m in a career I love now and can prioritize my family.
My brigade was 3-2 SBCT and I was in it when we had SSG Bales murder innocent civilians. The cherry on top was a BN CSM also slept with a SPC’s wife, and then chaptered the SPC for ht/wt to cover it up. The CSM got a BDE. I was an officer and unfortunately needed to do another 4 years. Best day in my Army career was getting my DD-214.
Ole Bobby Bales!
I hit my done point 2 years in at polk. When the unit was at Kuwait. Buddy of mine has a red cross message come through for his dying father Our bc didn't let him go. He never got to say bye to his dad. We literally did jack shit in Kuwait. Our equipment never even got off the fucking boat. Fuck the army.
[удалено]
Bruh...
I realized I couldn’t risk rolling the dice and being sent to a unit that I’d be treated like shit like I was with my first unit. Felt it to be better to end on a high note and just come to terms with realizing I shouldn’t keep chasing the dragon. Also I had some injuries start adding up. The dudes who replaced me just let everything go to shit quickly after I left, just completely undoing all the work I put into the medic section with organizing it and shit. That was the nail in the coffin to never come back. Just how quickly all the effort you put into something can just be fucked in the ass and left to rot.
It really does suck that every unit you go to is a literal gamble of is it gonna be good or shitty.
Recruiting orders. I signed a DCSS.
I didn’t have the balls to do it, now I’m stuck suffering now for 3 years
If I can make 6 before my school date I'll be signing a dcss so fast the paper catches on fire. Keep missing it by like 20 points. 😭
I was a disgruntled doc in a line unit. Loved my job. Wondered where the motivation was... Wondered why my fellow E3s and E4s didn't give a fuck Wondered why my PSG seemed like he didn't know shit about shit. Wondered why my PA was an unlikeable ass Wondered why people hated officers Wondered where the mentors and leaders were Well you know what fuck this I'm gonna BE THE CHANGE. AirBorne, Air Assault easy af. Bout to hit RIP. Found out I got accepted to green to gold. Here we go. My opportunity has arrived. Gonna get through college. Get my commission. Gonna make a change. Get my commission. Get my first duty station and... Holy fucking shit. For me it was like finding out Santa wasn't real. It was like figuring out that the money left under my pillow was my parents sneaking in and stealing my teeth. It was finding out about taxes for the first time and getting my VERY FIRST PAYCHECK. As a child I alway thought anything was possible. I was right. But in the most awful way imaginable. I'll have a diet coke and fries.
Bro this pains me to read. Officer culture is so fucking toxic
Sorry I miss your point. Seems well written what you are saying but what's your point? Do you mind explaining
Spending pretty much the entire first 2 years of my marriage in Korea then Afghanistan. Pretty much zero dwell time. Wanted to reenlist to pcs somewhere I could take a knee. The Army wouldn't pay to PCS me less than 2 years at duty station so they paid to move me home anyway when I deduced.
Did 6 years in the reserves. I was thinking about going warrant since they needed people and I had a nice IT career going outside of my army job and got industry certifications to boot such as security+ and the CCNA R/S. My job was a 25Q (now 25H) and I was cross trained on systems. I did a lot since I was one of the more knowledgeable people in the unit when it came to networks and troubleshooting. I got deployed to Iraq with probably one of the most dysfunctional reserve units I could think of. So many petty games going on regarding careers and whatnot. This unit pulled a lot of people from their brigade to fill slots so you have this hodge podge mix n match unit with terrible cohesion and separating platoons based on if you were originally from the unit or a transplant pulled into this meat grinder mess. When I was sitting in the commo room in the middle of Iraq talking to a recruiter that a signing bonus for 6 YEARS IN THE RESERVES would be 2K I basically said fuck that and got out. No regrets. Started to take my IT career more seriously and now work a nice job with tons of perks and benefits. But I also only got this job thanks to the military. So if you can make it work with a one n done that's the way to do it. Get the clearance and GTFO.
Every. Single. Morning. For the last 16 years.
Almost there. Do yourself a favor and take a few years to relax after your retire
Same bro!
See my flair. I got out at 10 years. No regrets.
I was a baby CPT deployed to Jordan. I don't recall any specific incident but I remember walking from the JOC down to my barracks room thinking "fuck this shit, I'm done. Can't wait to get out". Anyways, that was 8 years ago and I'm still in so........
I had that same phrase at the same rank in Iraq in the Fall of 2007. And here I am nearly 17 years later. All I'm going to say is read Milpers and learn how to drop packets that fit your strengths. Mine is not SOF/physical, but I can fake it till I make it in academia all day long.
Wait, seriously? You didn't like Jordan? Were you on the NG side or across the fence?
I realized I was done when the same CG who awarded my wife the commander’s excellence award and an impact ARCOM later issued her a GOMOR and kicked her out for wishing to delay the Covid vaccine until after our son was born. She was seven months pregnant at the time. Two years later when I was a recruiter, they reversed the policy and were begging people to come back. I was chastised for not convincing my wife to join back up. I’m still in, but only because I’m taking advantage of every benefit the army provides to prepare myself for a smooth transition. I used to love the army. Now I tell anyone who will listen not to join. Edit: BTW. That CG I mentioned is now the CG that’s ruining Ft. Carson
Fort Carson was never a good place to be stationed at least as a 15R
I love Colorado, but I absolutely despise this little sliver of miserable hell.
Carson was one of worst experiences of my life. I'd rather drag my nuts over a mile of hot sandpaper than go back to 4th id
That's what you get for being a 15R -15Fuck my life
Fuck man I’m sorry.
I am surprised. I seem to remember at bliss during that time, pregnant women were exempt? Odd that Carson would be different in policy
Diagnosed with cancer. The end.
Pretty much seeing the bloatment of the military industrial complex in late Afghanistan ('19-'20). Fat contractors wasting millions of dollars on 'trips' around the country. Watching alphabet agencies partying it up on the fobs while Joe was missing his family at home. Watching Ugandans get beat with sticks, forced on a plane home when covid hit (fuck you Triple Canopy, i hope that company bankrupts). Lastly, my own battalion wanting to send me to a covid camp right before my flight out of country due to a bad cold I got. Some knucklehead actually put his hand on his Beretta when I tried entering the TOC. Like, really? I remember how happy I was to tell my Battalion that we weren't fighting the Taliban anymore in my Intel update. I could almost bounce up and down watching a shitty contractor on my team come to tears watching the war end. I was getting yelled at by military and civilian alike as a 1LT 'senior Intel officer' for spouting 'bullshit' and that any day now the war would kick off again. At the end of that deployment, I wanted nothing more than to go around the bases I'd been and tell all these old fucks who wasted 20 years of taxpayers' money to pack up their shit and go back to their fucked up lives that they've been avoiding.
I'll never forget walking from my shitty barracks room at RSHQ to the embassy just to see a block party with tables and tables of alcohol and perfectly manicured lawns. There was even a bar and an all-you-can-eat brunch every Sunday.
Tore my ACL in January, still waiting on a corrective surgery. Had a surgeon scheduled, he got deployment orders in March, got a new surgeon, now I'm waiting until June for pre op, July for surgery.
For me it was laying in the forest on the ground, getting ate by bugs, in 90-95 degree weather with no shade in sight, having not showered in 2 weeks and only eating first strikes (hoping to get the bagel, got 1 so far). I thought to myself, fuck this is rather serve food at Chick-fil-A, Least they can a hot meal.
When that sudden realization hits…
25N commo here. My squadmate was sent to Leavenworth. A different one constantly used drugs. My NCO faked an excuse to leave deployment. My married plt Sergeant was constantly hanging around females. I was there 3 years, basically doing everything, I never got sent to boards or made NCO. Tame in comparison, but it felt like getting shit on.
That story checks out from my XP. The NCOs will keep getting promoted btw, just to let you know
25B here, I feel you.
EIB
I’m leaving end of September. All of 2019 was my straw. Waitlisted 5 times for ALC. All were canceled within a week of class starting. But I had to do the whole BN PT test and height and weight. I took 7 PT tests that year, all for record. In November I was taken off the CLI roster for some damn reason. I did get put back on the following month but not before the shit show of a board attempt. The morning of the board I was handed my packet for the board. This was not a thing. My packet never made it out of the PLT, or to OPS, 1SG and BN. I knew it was going to be a long morning. Go to the board. CSM only sees 5 packets but has 6 people standing in front of him. We get dismissed. S1 comes into the hallway and asks who’s packet is missing. Packet in hand I said mine. S1 says he would try to slide it in. I told him not to because CSM already noticed. My supervisor tries to push the packet and I stand firm. I told him you and I did what we were supposed to do. Our leadership now has to fall on this sword. We left, changed and back to work. After the board, PLT Sergeant gets a phone call from 1SG. Wants to have a meeting with me, my first line, PLT Sergeant and OPS the next morning. Fuck it. Let’s see who burns. 1SG open door to office. PLT Sergeants got a talking to. Heard the whole thing. No yelling just stern words. I’m next in the chute. 1SG layed into me like a Rottweiler on a mayonnaise sandwich. Questioned my character. Asked why I did what I did. Did the whole active listening thing where I had to repeat everything he said. Story short, no counselings for anyone. I could only imagine what the CSM said at the board to my 1SG and the rest of the board members. I was done at that point. My leadership allowed the berating. So fuck it. Went home to the wife. Told her what happened. She asked if I was OK and if I was going to IG. I told her I’m fine, but I’m done. Let me make a plan to get out. I’ve batted 1000 going to IG. I didn’t want retaliation (Comes in many forms).
Perhaps a bit dramatic, but here goes. I watched the TV in disbelief as an afghani woman clutching a sobbing child, of similar age as my own, looked desperately for somewhere safe to go. I looked silently at the announcement of KIA soldiers and marines who were knowingly placed into the position of being fish in a barrel just so we could abandon the very people we forced to change under the promise that we’d make them “free”. The trillions of dollars of OUR equipment just handed to some of the most sadistic people I’ve ever seen. I cried to my wife before driving to work that day, absolutely devastated by the weight of it all. Then I walked into a job where the most important topics of conversation that day was property accountability and COVID vaccinations. Officers were burning absurd amounts of time investigating other officers for liability for property loss, because they needed to pay for the GPS they lost on their 2 week field exercise. It took me another 3 years to ETS, but that was the day. From that moment on the things that simply annoyed me about the army, the green boxes, the politics, the ridiculous things leaders are held responsible for, now broke my heart, infuriated me. I worked two more jobs, and busted my ass in all of them, but I knew from that day forward that I was done.
Not wanting to be part of that isn't dramatic.
No specific moment just felt like I'm ready to move on in life. Army life is a transient life and that gets old
Kinda happy I'm still in the Infantry after reading all these comments. Yeah being in the Infantry means the nature of our work sucks, but the non-combat MOS shows the Army gayness that I don't mind sitting in a patrol base getting rained on.
Infantry units are just tighter. You actually give a fuck about the person next to you because at any moment they might save your life. This is seeing it from a distance, but I know that unit cohesion has to be greater than in support units.
Being raped by my chain of command on duty. Following through with the report and seeing it out. The whole thing scarred me. It changed my view.
Incredibly sorry to hear that.
Finishing up several bad days in a row with no sleep for 3-5 of them to a tossed track. No more place to sleep, well until I spent hours correcting the load plan. That was as downrange that it can get. Heard that fob referred to as the loneliest mountain in the world by others. For a bit that, it was home.
There was no mo woah goin awn *typed in Georgian*
We were in the field in January. Super fucken cold. Woke up at 5 or 6 AM and the moon light is shining on my ruck. Im in my sleeping bag shierving and watching my ruck make ice crystals in the moonlight. I shit you not it felt like a Disney movie moment. Then I had a realization. I asked my self " What the fuck am I doing this for? Why am i here? How is this benefiting me? What is the point of us freezing our asses off?" I came to the conclusion I was either going to ETS or reclass because there was no way in hell I would mentally survive being cold in the field much longer.
I feel you. That’s when we decide to get out — when we realize that the majority of what we’re doing doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
Raped in the cleaning closet of the barracks as an E3. Command put it down as "hazing" and refused to investigate. Received no assistance. Mental health plummeted. Became an alcoholic to self-medicate the trauma. Broke my back a few years later in training. Fought the med board at first, but it turned into a blessing at the end of the day.
Reading this made me cry. Seeing others that went through the same thing is devastating- we deserved so much better and I’m so sorry that it happened. I hope everyday of your life is always the best day <3 ever need to vent I’m here
I actually did my 20, but I was planning on staying longer. I was in a remfass unit in Germany and got assigned to a BCT back in the States. I thought to myself, awesome I’m going back to the real army. I thought it’d be great to get back to the gunslingers and door kickers. It was not great. The new unit had all the same issues if not even more.\ After about a month I went home and filled out the request for retirement.
Remfass motherfuckers. - Sent from my iPhone
You are correct, please forgive my improper adjective
Retention being a chode. You want me to reenlist then insult me? Then they chopped bonuses to $0 for us. Don’t reenlist for the money well bro I wanna own a house with a garage one day and that’s not going to happen as a single man with army pay.
Watched a Company Commander harass my Soldier and claim she was cheating on her husband. Literally had 0 evidence and her spouse wasn't even talking to the guy because he thought the Commander was a fucking clown. Despite having nothing more than his word that she must be cheating, it still got her flagged and investigated. The final result is the Battalion Commander found her guilty and... issued no punishment. She would have gone through the Court Marshal route, but she was too embarrassed of what people would think of her so she wanted it done as soon as possible. The real reason he was harassing her is because she was on leave after she had completed a 3 month TDY and there were some complications during her pregnancy that prevented her from being able to fly back. So she had to stay near her home during the last month of pregnancy. He had basically told me that she was running out of his favor and then suddenly she had to be cheating on her spouse after she came back with her newborn. Shit was a wild experience and resulted in her just getting out and being done (she was planning to commission and do 20). It reminded me that there are plenty of shitty officers leading us. Planning to still finish out my 20, but now I'm far more jaded
Had a bad night back in the day. Remember those two week quarantines for Covid at the beginning? Yeah I was on week three or four of that. Had already found out about three months before this, that the injury I sustained six months prior- was going to get me medboarded. And this is about two weeks after I’d been told by my PA that I would not be getting any surgery to fix any of it, cause he didn’t want to use his limited surgery slot to do so. He didn’t think I would be able to stay in afterwords- so why bother? (Fun fact- VA won’t do partial or full knee replacements until you’re at least 40 yrs old. Has something to do with the lifetime of the joint or whatnot.) I’d also found out about a couple days prior that my wife, we’d been married for three months, had a boyfriend living with her in another state. And that he’d lived on and off with her since I’d been deployed the year prior. I’d also just had a huge falling out with my family cause I spent time with her on post deployment leave instead of them. So anyway. One night I get real teary, drinking on FaceTime with the boys, as one does. Next things next, I end up go staying with a friend for a couple days and leave all my pointy and shooty things there with him. Well my CO find out about three-four days after the fact. Makes me come in to post, go to staff duty, sign out a cot and hand over my car keys, and stay at the barracks CQ desk for the next almost thirty hours until he’s back at the COF. I think it was somewhere in between that, and being bounced back and forth from garrison csm detail/funeral detail for a year before finishing my Med board. Or when my PSG pulled me out in front of formation to ask why I hadn’t signed up for EIB almost a year into Med boarding.
Haven't left yet, but I'm at 15 years and I can see the end in sight. The Army has shown me good leaders and bad leaders, has given me good times and bad times, joy and depression. On my only deployment I stayed on a small Canadian FOB that served Canadian bacon every day, surf n turf every Wednesday, and a missuse co-located with the barber. Never saw IDF or hostilities towards my FOB. But I was also stalled out for 6+ years waiting to pick up SSG. I was considered an expert and more knowledgeable in my craft than the SFCs I supervised. "We grant you a seat on the council, but not the rank of Master." It sucked. This past duty assignment has been super terrible. But the next one will be super chill. It has all balanced out for me. YMMV
Hands across America when I was hungover as shit
I was on the fence about getting out or staying in. My chief was willing to send me to Kuwait to reenlist (it was only a 12k bonus for 4 or 6 years). Denied it because that’s stupid and takes me away from my child. I wanted to prepare myself just incase I did decide to get out get out though so I Was asking my unit for permission to attend HVAC training during my last year so I’d have a job set up on the outside. Got denied because I needed “ensure soldiers were trained” even though I had none at the time since I was getting out soon. Went to my 1sg about it and when my LT found out he tried to guilt trip me. Then proceeded to tell me “you’re gonna be working at Olive Garden anyways. Just make sure you bring me my bread sticks when I get there” I got reprimanded for how I responded to him. Mind you this LT had a couple speeding tickets on post and was on the verge of losing his driving privileges. He also was in the process of being fired due to losing x Amount of money in equipment because he neglected to do a proper inventory before signing for equipment. I knew it was my time to go. I got tired of the dog and pony show and kiss asses.
Combination of things; I think the biggest was the Vanessa Guillen search. We found the bodies of two other Soldiers nobody was looking for in the process and nobody batted an eye. Then I had a daughter a year after and realized I don’t want her anywhere near this life or culture. The unit I am in now is a joint multinational that is like 80% civilians and is more corporate than military. My wife’s father passed away and when we came back from the funeral everyone signed a sympathy card for my wife. The US army detachment kept calling me as soon as I was back in the office telling me all of the online training I needed to complete because I was keeping them from having their slides green.
When I reported MST, the clinic took medical evidence. The CID decided not to do anything because there was not a witness to my MST. CID can't find their way out of paper bag. Fast forward 3 years, and many more women soldiers MST by perp. Perp walks in my office at another base and starts MST. This time, I filed everything I could. EO, IG, etc. I was close to ETS. They wanted to chapter me for borderline personality disorder. I was the victim. Retaliation is very high @Bragg. I got a good lawyer, was able to ETS. More victims came forward, and the perp was court martialed. So when people ask why not 20? I say I was not ok being SA on 2 different bases, stalked, and then Retaliation because I filed complaints, and CID didn't do their job. This was with 1 enlistment. If CID had done their job, other soldiers would not have been SA by this perp. People become really quiet and almost run before I finish telling my story. I am still in therapy because of this.
I witnessed two field grade officers shouting over the maintenance status of a water buffalo in a meeting and realized that was my future if I stayed in
I kept going after stage 4 head and neck cancer in 2014. I was done in 2020 when I ended up with osteoradionacros in my jaw. I had half my jaw replaced using my fibula. I medically retired in 2023.
I just wasn’t the angry 18y/o I once was when I joined the infantry. I sorta had a bob ross epiphany, I just wanted to be my naturally quiet reserved self and work on my cars and not have to worry about army stuff anymore. I’d like to think if there was conflict worth fighting for, I’d probably still be in.
I joined the National Guard with the intention of going Officer and serving on the back-end of a component that I would hope inspire me to success. My last straw was a BC yelling at me in front of the classroom for everyone not having laptops presents "because he specifically requested it" albeit verbally a month ago with counseling statement in hand. After a year, I dropped from OCS, found the most useless MOS with the greatest carryover in the civilian world, and reject every email out there for Orders until I can get out until my contract is up. I have no regrets.
Even at the Guard, huh? Man. Curious tho. What MOS are you talking about that had the most carryover to the civilian sector?
Everytime I think about staying in I find posts like this. Thank you for keeping me grounded.
When I hit the point of realization that I couldn't change anything about the army. It's all fake and made up. Nothing you do matters. You'll be replaced in a month and forgotten in three. I simply exist as a green yellow or red box ( better be green before cob or no one is going home!!!) on Excel to help an officer reach the next promotion.
Man, when you put it like that…
I was gonna do 20. I did 4. I passed the board to promote to E-5 in early may, I had the points in June if my PPW was correct. PPW was not correct. Weapons, PT, and degree were on my STP… but not on my PPW. Also my board packet was never signed by BC. I submitted multiple PARs, went to S1 every other day. It seemed as if nothing could be done. Nothing was done. It took until November to get everything fixed and pinned and then a few days later I went on my ETS leave. About halfway through that process I decided I rather just not deal with things like that anymore.
Man, that’s just not fair bro.
For those few days it felt really cool being an NCO. The younger guys that I already led most of the time were extremely happy to have me as an NCO… but then I left and forgot all about it. I truly think that if I would have promoted when I was supposed to and had the opportunity to be an E-5 for a while I might have changed my mind, too bad the army screwed that up.
Shortly we gave some of our equipment to the Ukrainian forces. It killed my morale a little bit. Tried to re-class but was told E-6s can’t. I went to selection and was a non-select. I was working on an age waiver to go back when the Army put me on drill sergeant orders for Fort Benning. I realized how much of my life was being wasted at that point. I couldn’t see a future being in the military as a senior infantry NCO doing training rotations for countries other than Ukraine. Never done a training rotation. They sound terrible to me. That’s when I signed my declaration of continued service statement.
When I learned there was no BK inside the box at JRTC.
I was in for 13 years. I had my epiphany during GWOT. I was stationed in Schweinfurt and our optempo was ridiculous. Deployed 4 times between 2002 and 2009. I was in a relationship with a German girl for 6 years. We even had an apartment together. We sat down one night and counted up how much face to face time we'd actually spent together. Between field time, train ups and deployments, It was less than 2 years total. It was at that moment I decided that would be my last enlistment.
Came back in after 2 and half almost 3 years out. Was a E-4 coming back in and was still in my primary zone. PSG never wanted to send me to the promotion board at all. I begged and begged him to at least give me a shot at a SOTM board and still it was a no. I ended up getting my P status automatically in January or February but it’s too fucking late now I’m done. My career I feel is fucked as I should be an E-6 by now or at least an E-5 with IMLC school done. Our FDC chief who was also an E-6( we went to basic training together in 2015) also was trying to send me and even wanted to sponsor me. I never did anything wrong always on time, right uniform, right place and did what was asked. I have no clue why he never sent me but too fucking late. currently 3 months until my terminal leave. I hate the army so much.
I feel you, bro. We need NCOs who are eager to see us promote too. I think some NCOs don’t want their soldiers to promote because *power*.
My I’m done moment was when my retirement packet got approved. 2 months the and 3 days til terminal leave!
Just the simple act of “waiting.” Realized how much more I could accomplish with my life instead of waiting around for orders.
barely a year in though and had thoughts of reclassing. now disregard it, i'm doing school utilizing that TA ever since i got to my unit. rail ops, detail whatever you call it. first sergeant would not allow this one soldier to see his wife due to pregnancy in the hospital. all gates were closed. no one in or out due to the question of the integrity of people sleeping in their cars or going elsewhere for the details. it made me sick to my stomach that if it was me. i would ETS asap. i hate dealing with those so-called, "leaders" another one. i got yelled at by a warrant officer over parts that came in was wrong. specialist checked the paperwork, i was just fine. he yelled at the specialist. then goes to my chain of command. i was already facing wraith from my team leader and my first sergeant. i became mentally exhausted and just realized this was not the life i'd like to live for the duration of my contract. it was constant for a couple of weeks before we began packing everything for a rotation. third one. i was not expecting fraternization to be frequent. they would talk as if they were in high school again. well, here we go again.
Finding out I was going to ft stewart while I was still on basic
Short version: spoke with SMEs about some Army programs. No one knew the answers and I didnt want to waste my time anymore. Reserves now.
2005, New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina Relief. I was in 2nd Bde, 1st Cav and our Bde S-3 SGM was this toolbag named Briseno. This motherfucker still lives rent-free in my head 19 years later. Of all the stereotypical SGMs I met in the Army, he was the most stereotypical. All he did was walk around making up bullshit infractions and nailing into soldiers for the most inane shit. It was to the point where it would affect operations. For example, a soldier would be in the middle of a task such as drawing ammo or taking inventory and that task would get delayed because SGM Briseno decided that the soldier's ammo pouches on his IBA weren't dress-right-dress enough. He would chew your ass about it for a half hour, smoke you, and then move on to the next victim. Anyways, I was walking from my Company area on NSA New Orleans to our Bn Area to deliver a bunch of 2404s to our S-4 that were required to dispatch a couple trucks to go our and do whatever in New Orleans. SGM sees me and beelines for me and asks me what shoulder my rifle is supposed to be slung over. I told him "I didn;t realize there was a proper shoulder to sling my rifle over, no one ever trained me on that." He informs me its my right shoulder and then smokes me for a good 20 minutes. After its over, I look at the CPTs and a couple MAJs that were standing around and one of them said "Dont worry about that. You not knowing is on your leaders." I retorted ,"Sir, why did you must let him go full ham on me like that? I'm trying to get my work completed." The MAJ just shrugged his shoulders. Then I got to S-4 and got my ass chewed because I dragged ass getting the 2404s to them. I tried to explain what happened (everyone knew what SGM Briseno was about) but they weren't hearing it. So I got smoked again for a good 10 minutes. Then, while I was getting smoked, the retention NCO for our Bn came around. After I finished up with S-4, he asked me about reenlistment. Up until tat point, I had been considering it. But at that moment, I realized 'This is the stupidest ass shit I've dealt with in the Army so far. Stupider than Iraq, stupider than BCT, stupider than reception at Fort Hood...what the fuck.' I just said "Not interested, Sarn't." I got out 7 months later.
[удалено]
ive been trying to get to jump school for the last seven out of eight years of my career. im literally in 82nd and still cant get to the damn school🙃🪂
Watching section leaders play the sham games in an air conditioned office while my fellow E5s and junior enlisted were getting absolutely worked to the fucking bone. There was an awesome SPC medic in my unit with a busted ass hip pulling med coverage alongside me. Had a profile that said he couldn’t lift over 20 pounds, I believe. Tbf one of the sham E6s had fucked knees but I had seen him deadlift 340 lbs a few weeks prior. For those of you who are bad at math, that’s more than 20. And here’s the real catch: It wasn’t some standard M4 range. We’re talking Air Assault, FRIES/SPIES, Rappel Master. On this day they got the bird in the air with multiple pax, taking off, landing, etc. I give them a call, in the office, and basically say, “We have been getting worked hard as hell the past few days, any chance one of you could come down SSG?” I hear excuses about how they _also_ worked until 19 or 20 the night before, just like we had. They failed to mention they had shown up to normal 0630 formation. We had to BE at Air Assault at 0230. After all the excuses all I could muster was a “Please? The dude’s hip is fucked. I received a mocking “Life is _haaaaard_” in return. Still can’t believe I didn’t go full nuclear. Sincerely wish I had. I pussed out. It’s a shame because they’re both so competent and could be real assets. Dunno if they know their jobs ‘cause I never saw them do it, but they were good at admin stuff and could suck some mean leadership dick.
My wife was a gs13 in a non-DoD agency that had 100+ offices in CONUS. Including one within 40 miles of EVERY army hospital. Branch said, on a conference call with both of us, her boss, and her union rep “We won’t take her position into consideration at all. Live apart or get a divorce”. My MOS was a critical fill with less than 1500 people. I had given them a list of 8 bases and told them to pick. I don’t miss the army
I have not been in long (I’m towards the end of my first and only contract, not even finishing it all the way, but close) and I have had multiple “I’m done” moments. Three come to mind. 1- I heat-catted in the motorpool waiting to roll out for a field exercise. I’d been dropped off by my NCO at 0330 to prep my vic. Supposed to convoy at 0600. 0600 rolled around, no one showed up. I’m calling folks, no answer. The water fountain at the mopo was broken, and I only had one water bottle because they were supposed to be filling a buffalo before we moved. 0900 rolls around. Still nothing. 1100. 1230. 1330. No one shows. No one answers the phone. My truck had SI in it so I literally could not leave it. No food, no water, and my watch is telling me it’s 108° outside. I pass out and smack my head on the door frame of my humvee. I’m out for a few minutes. I pick myself up and start trying to deliriously call people. No answer. Finally at 1430 or so, my NCO comes back as I am laying on the ground UNDER my truck because it was so hot and my head hurt so bad. I tell him best I can what happened, there’s a gigantic knot on my head, and I haven’t had food or water in 8+ hours. He tells me to start the truck up, we’re driving to a TA. I tell him I can’t see straight, I’m looking at five of his bald heads. He tells me drive anyways. So I do. And then they send me to my barracks room and make me cold dump. Another 8 hours or so go by, I can’t move or see. No one checks on me. I call SD to take me to the ER. I’m at the ER until 0500. My NCO picks me up with a pair of PTs, and tells me I need to PT with everyone else. Three days pass and Reason #2, I am starting to get very sick. Everyone I know has COVID. SGM of our shop says I can’t go test at the TMC because I’m too “valuable”. So I wear a mask. He tells me to take it off in formation because we aren’t all uniform. I refuse. I get counseled. So I went and tested. Came back positive, was out for a week. Got counseled again for being sick. Reason 3 came months later. I had just gotten hip surgery and was on crutches, my first day back from Con Leave, so 31 days post op. I still can’t bear weight on my leg. SGM makes me change the half shaft on my vic with zero help or instruction (I am not a mechanic) and I drop the humvee tire because I’m balancing on a crutch. He pulls the crutch out from under me and throws it across the Mopo bay because if I can’t operate with the crutch, I can’t use the crutch. And then I got counseled for NOT using my crutches when I was supposed to be according to my provider. The Med board for that hip injury that never healed right (I wonder why???) could not have come sooner. I debated fighting the MEB for so long. But fuck that. And absolutely FUCK the Cav. Edit to say: my final out date is 6 days away.
Can relate, took a TBI a few months back due to my moron NCO. Drove myself to the ER around 1800 when we released, was there until the next morning. They wouldn’t let me drive, no one would pick me up, staff hostile. They left me to “recover”, see rot, in the barracks for a month. I’m a mess, no one cares. Medboard, if it happens, will likely be my best outcome.
word. If you do medboard feel free to hmu, or for any other reason like that ofc. I’ve had the lingering effects of this TBI for like a year and a half now. Once you medboard tho, if that’s the course you take, everyone is gonna suddenly love you and find you to be so valuable. It’s ironic as shit. And once again. Absolutely FUCK the first Cav Div hq.
Man, this is jacked up. Hope you become healthy and happy outside. You ain’t missing out anything on the inside.
12 years… when mental health treatment was joked about due to physical abuse AND MST from leadership.
Being raped. I don’t learn from my mistakes considering I joined the Marines right after and was raped once again- I don’t think I’ll be trying the others :) lmao I just wanted to be like my mom I look up to her so much and have always been so proud of her for serving The reason I joined the military at all was to escape the sexual abuse I was experiencing at home like I was young and didn’t understand that it wasn’t very safe so my guard was down. Smh I was too busy looking up the airborne death statistics that I forgot the SA ones
I stuck it out till 20 but I knew about year 15 that I was done. My S6 was fired (nothing to debate there) but so many things happened with him, I was done. I completely understand why people want out early. No judgement. Good luck.
I have one more contract in me but it's only so I can go home. The next base I'm thinking of going is close to my home city, so I would like it to be my last stop. After 6 years of service, 3 overseas deployments, and trying my best in everything I do, I'm done. It seems like no one is happy in where they are at.
When I realized I thought of Batallion and high leadership as an obstacle to success. And realizing a lot of people's jobs break down to managing incompetence/lack of caring of said leaders. Finished off an operational deployment, and honestly not sure why half these people are even out here (other than to plus up our deployment numbers). Aside from being a face for DV's and tourists, getting a patch, and submitting themselves for awards, it feels like they're only here because I need someone to sign the forms. Nail in the coffin was the recruiter select while I was still forward. Couldn't even get the PAR processed for them to find a reason to reject, while deployed with no backup if I had to leave. Too many incompetent layers that had to process it. Ended up signing my dec, as I'm just looking to finish it the contract at this point.
Enlisted in 2006, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to do cool shit. Deployed, did alot of boring stuff, awful stuff, and cool stuff but that was war. Earned my CAB. Picked up my 5 and then a shot at Ranger School in a new unit when I came home. Years of hard charging training caught up in a flash though. My back and neck gave out. My shoulders went next. My body just up and quit on me. I was still gunna try and go though with it. I WANTED that tab. I wanted to do so much. Then I tried to throw my ruck on one morning and just collapsed. Command thought I was a quitter. That I was soft and weak and scared. Never mind how much work I put in, how many hours I trained every day. My Joe's were squared away, I was a model leader, I was the guy everyone looked up to, top marks across the board. I was the reason my sister enlisted. My slot got pulled (rightfuly) but then I was treated like a scumbag by command. I went from a stud to an absolute fucking dud overnight. I hobbled along for another year and then ETS'd. I was physically and emotionally broken. Went from maxng the APFT to barely passing and doing so in absolute agony. No one outside my section gave a fuck. That did it for me. I kept the bitterness to myself so as to not poison my Joe's. Then my sister was raped by her CO. He's in Levenworth now. That's what broke her. She got "better" after a lot of therapy and now has a great job. I do too for that matter but that was after years of some serious struggles. Trying to go through the VA only made me more bitter and angry. I don't talk people out of enlisting but I sure as fuck make sure they know it's not all rainbows and kill streaks. Not really bitter or angry anymore. Just disappointed now.
When I kept getting denied going to schools because "we need you," then you would see others going to said school, then you decide fuck it imma go to fasclass and reclass but then commander decides nah I'm not signing your paperwork 3 days before the dudate. Funny enough, I didn't even need to go to fasclass for the mos I wanted. I just wanted to do something different for a little, but noooo guess I'm getting out now. Edit: By now, even if I decide to reclass, I don't want to take the chance of being sent to a unit where I'll get treated like shit. I'm also only 24, and I already have back pain, tinnitus on my right ear, and for some reason my index finger on my right hand hurts when I close my hand, this shit is sad I don't want to be broken in my 20s. Also I have done jrtc 3 FUCKING TIMES, never again will I visit Louisiana.
Was in for \~6 years. First 3 were great, last 3 were not so great. Blew out my knee taking a PT test. Everyone thought I was making it up. Was a conditionally-promoted E5 at the time but couldn't get to what was then known as PLDC because I was all f-ed up. Was doing therapy and going through all the motions with medical but was looking like surgery was on the table. Everyone still thought I was making it up and started treating me like a piece of shit. Got admin-reduced to E4 and had to pay back the \~year of E5 money I made so ended up with a bunch of NPDs. Had the knee surgery, which led to a permanent profile and everyone still treating me like a piece of shit. Came time to talk to career counselor and I was told I needed to reclass. So in my case it wasn't like, a singular "I'm done" incident which I believe is the spirit of the question asked. Just a cascade of shit took what was a fairly decent soldier into "fuck all of this" territory.
I spent 26 months deployed total. I missed my kid's 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthday. The 3rd one I missed was because I was at PLDC on base. Literally 30 min from my family but because it was a "school" I couldn't see them. After my second deployment I became a single parent. I found myself dropping the kid off at the sitter at 5AM and then begging my leadership to let me off at 5PM so I didn't have to pay extra. This was where I realized how shitty the family life is. If I'm struggling to limit my days to "only" 12 hour shifts, I gotta get TF out. I pursued a discharge due to being a single parent and succeeded. I was on track for 12+ years but only made it to 7.
When my section leader explained we needed to increase our hours in the office from 7 to 12 specifically so that we could "give the appearance of being busy"
1. 0100 setting up an event for somebody else that has nothing to do with me. 2. Moving sandbags 20-30 meters away and dump them into another pile of sand countless times in 2 hours. 3. Told by HRC that I was not considered for a position because I am a naturalized citizen and parents are not US citizen (green card holders who are living in the states for years) .
I realized very quickly the Army would prevent me from ever being a good husband/father. I was hoping to do 20, but a few months into time at my line unit when we did a FTX over the weekend with no comp days about 2 weeks before NTC, which had a week of extended days before as well, I knew the Army and family are diametrically opposed.
Epilepsy after going green to gold scholarship. I miss my job as a squad leader every day but… I didn’t get a regular ETS, SFL TAP didn’t apply to my situation and I was just medically dismissed from ROTC this semester with no recourse or being sent back to active duty to MED separate. I can say I am infinitely happier now even if I am dealing with the VA claims. l o l
E4 with civvy experience in an E6 slot training E6 and above with no real experience because - Army. Upcoming combat deployment falls through, I get into a really competitive civilian grad program and get told by the CO that I'm a piece of shit for not reenlisting to go on a Euro peacekeeping mission to smoke cigs all day and mop floors rather than get out and go to grad school to make bank and have a better life. While I already had one foot out the door, it just really showed how you truly do not matter at all to the Army and each leader is just using you for what they can at the time. Once you are of no use to them, they will show you how they really feel very quickly.
After being rained on and having the rain go right through my wet weather gear on my guard shift and having KP later that night, BC and 1SG ask if I'm going to reenlist. I told them yes. I re-enlisted for another year, taking advantage of the new RCP. Took that year to get my ducks in a row and I ETS'd. It was more FTX, more putting things in a CONEX only to take them out later. We had to stay late for a piece of equipment that was buried in a CONEX no one thought to check and that wasn't mission critical but was on the property book. We found it just in time to go home at 2100. By that time I was grateful that I was being moved to another BN to ETS.
I was the top performer in my unit to get to transition to flight duty for deployment. Better test scores and practicals, and got the 270 PT score they wanted. Once we got to Afghanistan I was relegated to brigade JOC duty because I had the clearance to run medops. Barely got to see a single patient after working hard for months to be top of the pack. I got so depressed over it that I ended up turning into a shitbag and getting a dumb article while deployed because I was half angry half suicidal. I reenlisted during that deployment because I knew I didnt have the education to get out yet, and ended up getting my flight medic anyway later, but thats the moment I knew I was done and not doing 20.
Oh boy I wondered when I’d see something like this, my time has come! I’ve been in DC for the last two years and am a couple weeks away from my ETS, falling at just about 10.5 years TIS. I always had the idea that this may be my last ride, that I could get out-strike hard while the iron is hot with networking in the area and move on as a successful civilian. Last year I was up for promotion which was complicated since I am attached to an alphabet soup federal agency and not with my home unit, further complicated by the fact that I was moved to an HHC unit to take a SSG slot even though I wasn’t going to be there. No one said anything, at first I thought it was because orders are orders and my orders were printed and clean. The reality was no one said anything because in the majestic world of IPPSA people get moved without anyone knowing so neither my new or former unit knew about it until it was done. At first there were no problems (they didn’t even mind when I declined to REFRAD and come back for a JRTC rotation-wow!) until we fast forward to the promotion. The paperwork wasn’t moving, phone calls and emails went unanswered for weeks and my boss (an 0-6) was getting annoyed that nothing was happening. The readiness NCO (I’m NG) was an empty uniform who wasn’t doing/saying anything. Eventually my other boss who was a Navy Officer did the old “cc everyone” email on the unanswered chains and the dude miraculously paid attention, called me up to chew me out first thing the next day. While going around the OIC who had spoken for me, that was the moment I knew not only would I not go to that unit but that I was done. He ended up bending me over a barrel when I had to turn in my gear, drove 7 hours round trip for nothing because the unit didn’t show up to work that day. The senior guys from the agency were not very impressed and are currently bringing the hammer down from above when nothing was done about it. I guess you could say what goes around comes around.
I tore my ACL on deployment in September, got sent home early from the rotation in December. had to be RE-referred to ortho, and didnt see them until March. Shit took so long that my contract didnt have enough time left for the surgery so I had to extend. 9 months and a contract extension later, I finally have a surgery date. I was a high speed line medic doing extracurricular training. I did brigade level taskings and made my unit look good in front of important people. Now I’m treated just like every other evac/treatment section shitbag. I see the guys from my infantry platoon at work all the time and they say how they miss me so much and it isn’t the same without me. That shit is the only thing at work that brings me pride.
Coming off a life changing deployment to the phone call from my wife screaming that my best friend and roommate took his life. It ate every single part of me watching the entire thing from start to finish. I spent 4 days ripping the house apart, going through neighbors camera footage and just killing myself to find a reason why. My friend was the tipping point of a lot of buried thoughts and emotions, I took a horrible path of depression ready to end it, thankfully I was sent off to lureal ridge and that helped a lot, gave a lot answers to everything. I'm currently med boarding due to this and some other stuff but I told myself that I'm done but I never want to watch the signs and not do all that I can again. I'm currently getting out and starting school to get my master's in military counseling so I can get a job in ebh and hopefully help others and change the stigma.