Posted on Nov 26, 2014
Have you ever while on duty or off made decision/indecision that you regretted or nearly ended or did end your military career?
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I know this can be a touchy subject but I ask this in part as a learning tool for others. During our time and or careers in the military we all make at least one bad decision we regret.
Heres mine.
While stationed at Ft Polk I was the Shop Forman for the OPsGRP S4. I was the go to guy in group when it came to logistics and was in charge of 2 NCOs and 6 to 8 soldiers. A high visibility position with a lot of responsibility.
December 18th was my evening of infamy. Wife and I got a babysitter for the night on the first day of XMAS leave. We went to an XMAS party being held at our favorite watering hole in Leesville. After 2 pitchers of beer, my wife was drinking the hard stuff, we decided to go to our second favorite watering hole down the road. Needless to say, I got pulled over. I thought I was fine but the breathalyzer didnt. BAC.101. DWI. I humiliated my self badly on this one. My NCOIC had to sign me out of yhe MP ststion after being transferred from the local Police Department. He said nothing to me. Didnt have to, his look said it all.
I was permitted to continue leave but upon my return it started. I was late to a meeting I was not informed of but when I walked in the looks on my sections faces let me know that they knew. I was ashamed. I also didnt know what would happen to me. Well, I was stripped of my position
Counseled, recommended for article 15. Thought my career was over and embarrassed. I gave the safety brief prior to leave to the . Section and failed to abide by it.. I failed my soldiers.
While waiting for my punishment for almost 2 weeks I get informed by my Assistant NCOIC that I was getting lucky cause I wasnt getting an Article 15, I was getting moved to the OPFOR down the street.This shocked me. A second chance with no loss of rank or promotability! To this day I dont know how or why.
Needless to say I did go to court, paid fines, lost license, Community service etc. But on post I was blacklisted.
I did fine the first few monts inbthe OPFOR but then made another poor decision when taking my kids to school by not fully stopping at a stop sign. Arrested again and in front of my yoing boys. Embarrassed again. Got counsled again with no consequences. The final straw happened when I hot my licence back but not on post driving privileges. Got caught by my OIC driving my van away after an early formation. Well was supposed to get an Article 15 but who ever drew it up got the info wrong and I made my point to the BC on that one. Got out of thst one. By thst time I came downbon . Orders for Benning and had to bide my time. I left Polk with a request approved by the OPsGRP Commander to remove mebfrom the promotable list. Was alsobtold if had stayed I was going to go to the demotion board. Got lucky again. But yet didnt. My new unit didnt care what happened a polk its what I did at benning that mattered. I got my promotibility back a few months later but could never make the points for E6. I retired E5p.
Im thankful that I could retire but those 3 mistakes should have ended my career and put my family in hardship. I still have 1 year left on the 10 year misdemeanor charge on my record. Ive regretted my actions ever since.
A mistake Ill never make again. In this case to those still in. Dont be like me!
What storys do you have to telll?
How did things turn out for you or some one you know?
Heres mine.
While stationed at Ft Polk I was the Shop Forman for the OPsGRP S4. I was the go to guy in group when it came to logistics and was in charge of 2 NCOs and 6 to 8 soldiers. A high visibility position with a lot of responsibility.
December 18th was my evening of infamy. Wife and I got a babysitter for the night on the first day of XMAS leave. We went to an XMAS party being held at our favorite watering hole in Leesville. After 2 pitchers of beer, my wife was drinking the hard stuff, we decided to go to our second favorite watering hole down the road. Needless to say, I got pulled over. I thought I was fine but the breathalyzer didnt. BAC.101. DWI. I humiliated my self badly on this one. My NCOIC had to sign me out of yhe MP ststion after being transferred from the local Police Department. He said nothing to me. Didnt have to, his look said it all.
I was permitted to continue leave but upon my return it started. I was late to a meeting I was not informed of but when I walked in the looks on my sections faces let me know that they knew. I was ashamed. I also didnt know what would happen to me. Well, I was stripped of my position
Counseled, recommended for article 15. Thought my career was over and embarrassed. I gave the safety brief prior to leave to the . Section and failed to abide by it.. I failed my soldiers.
While waiting for my punishment for almost 2 weeks I get informed by my Assistant NCOIC that I was getting lucky cause I wasnt getting an Article 15, I was getting moved to the OPFOR down the street.This shocked me. A second chance with no loss of rank or promotability! To this day I dont know how or why.
Needless to say I did go to court, paid fines, lost license, Community service etc. But on post I was blacklisted.
I did fine the first few monts inbthe OPFOR but then made another poor decision when taking my kids to school by not fully stopping at a stop sign. Arrested again and in front of my yoing boys. Embarrassed again. Got counsled again with no consequences. The final straw happened when I hot my licence back but not on post driving privileges. Got caught by my OIC driving my van away after an early formation. Well was supposed to get an Article 15 but who ever drew it up got the info wrong and I made my point to the BC on that one. Got out of thst one. By thst time I came downbon . Orders for Benning and had to bide my time. I left Polk with a request approved by the OPsGRP Commander to remove mebfrom the promotable list. Was alsobtold if had stayed I was going to go to the demotion board. Got lucky again. But yet didnt. My new unit didnt care what happened a polk its what I did at benning that mattered. I got my promotibility back a few months later but could never make the points for E6. I retired E5p.
Im thankful that I could retire but those 3 mistakes should have ended my career and put my family in hardship. I still have 1 year left on the 10 year misdemeanor charge on my record. Ive regretted my actions ever since.
A mistake Ill never make again. In this case to those still in. Dont be like me!
What storys do you have to telll?
How did things turn out for you or some one you know?
Posted in these groups: 
Misconduct
Misconduct
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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Are you posting drunk? lol. The words started mixing together in your post....
Back to your question....
Sort of. I caught an E9 in a string of lies which were affecting my job quality. As a young E5 I felt the need to correct all injustice in the world...and I took it to the commander. They let the chief move units and covered up his breaches. I had other subtle consequences, stuck on undesirable shifts and jobs, leave denied (even when my child was born), which ultimately made a transition to the Air Guard look really good. It affected my career. Being right didn't matter. It embarrassed the unit to have the Chief called out for his breaches of integrity, I paid the consequences for potentially embarrassing the unit. I found out later the Chief and Commander attended church together, hunted together, and were good friends.
When you get older...you learn better which battles are worth staking your career over. A chief trying to play the role of a "big shot" wasn't worth the black mark on my active duty career. Senior ranks are political, something junior ranks don't always realize.
Back to your question....
Sort of. I caught an E9 in a string of lies which were affecting my job quality. As a young E5 I felt the need to correct all injustice in the world...and I took it to the commander. They let the chief move units and covered up his breaches. I had other subtle consequences, stuck on undesirable shifts and jobs, leave denied (even when my child was born), which ultimately made a transition to the Air Guard look really good. It affected my career. Being right didn't matter. It embarrassed the unit to have the Chief called out for his breaches of integrity, I paid the consequences for potentially embarrassing the unit. I found out later the Chief and Commander attended church together, hunted together, and were good friends.
When you get older...you learn better which battles are worth staking your career over. A chief trying to play the role of a "big shot" wasn't worth the black mark on my active duty career. Senior ranks are political, something junior ranks don't always realize.
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SGT(P) Harry Clyde Jr.
Thanks for sharing.
Wasnt drunk during the post:)
I dont have a computer at home so I use my smartphone. Unfortunately most of my posts and comments are like that. Its not an Iphone so no autocorrect.
Thanks for pointing it out though:)
Wasnt drunk during the post:)
I dont have a computer at home so I use my smartphone. Unfortunately most of my posts and comments are like that. Its not an Iphone so no autocorrect.
Thanks for pointing it out though:)
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Well there was story I was told by a guy in my Basic/AIT platoon that could of been taken as confession, that I never told anyone about. There several stories like that through that time, but that had to be the most extreme one I heard while at Basic/AIT, there were times I thought I joined the wrong branch. Don't know why I never went to tell anyone about this, mainly because at the time, I didn't want to believe him, and even if I did, I didn't think any information I could give would help anyone bring closure. Also there was that conflict of growing up, not being tattle tale, and in the Military taking care of your own. Now that I have Asperger's I understand why I have trouble with this conflict at times. Not proud of not telling anyone, and I don't really remember this PFC name. Maybe I should look in making things right there...
Another time there was E-6 who was PCS, he came back to the barracks a little light up at 3:30 A.M. He decided it was his duty to come to my room, knocking on my door loudly, finally my roommate let him in because he was being obnoxious. This Staff Sergeant was Squad Leader in our Platoon, but wasn't our Squad Leader, well anyway he goes on for 20 minutes telling me what waste of space I am, and I am sandbagging, and what not. Using Fuck and it variation in every sentence. All the while, he shouting, and these barracks have very little insulation so the entire wing on our floor and am sure third floor were away. After I thought he had gotten enough off his chest, I turned over in bed looking at him tell him, "Shut the FUCK UP, and to go to bed, it was ENOUGH!" He wasn't too please, and he had served in the Army that believed in wall-to-wall counselling, and he his jaw dropped in civies, and fist clinched as he was making his mind up what to d next. That is when the CQ open the door to the room to pop in. He had been standing outside, he had guess it was time for him to intervene before it went any further. The E-6 left the room, and nothing more came of it, except little ribbing from my Team Leader who room was down the hallway. The E-6 tried to dog me the next day, but my Team Leader, Squad Leader who lot of time was acting Platoon Sergeant, and Platoon Sergeant who was acting Platoon Leader, along with few other NCOs who knew about my broken Right leg, still dealing that, that led to this confrontation. They would either come distract him, or claim that they needed me for some detail. The worst part was the last month was the damage to the respect he had done with the members of his Squad who lived in the barrack who heard his rants, many of them knew, some of thought I was sandbagging too. I wasn't sandbagging, all I ever wanted, was to find out what was going on, and what we could to either fix it the situation with my right leg/ankle/foot or make it more bearable so I could perform my duties. I guess that was too much to ask as E-2.
Another time there was E-6 who was PCS, he came back to the barracks a little light up at 3:30 A.M. He decided it was his duty to come to my room, knocking on my door loudly, finally my roommate let him in because he was being obnoxious. This Staff Sergeant was Squad Leader in our Platoon, but wasn't our Squad Leader, well anyway he goes on for 20 minutes telling me what waste of space I am, and I am sandbagging, and what not. Using Fuck and it variation in every sentence. All the while, he shouting, and these barracks have very little insulation so the entire wing on our floor and am sure third floor were away. After I thought he had gotten enough off his chest, I turned over in bed looking at him tell him, "Shut the FUCK UP, and to go to bed, it was ENOUGH!" He wasn't too please, and he had served in the Army that believed in wall-to-wall counselling, and he his jaw dropped in civies, and fist clinched as he was making his mind up what to d next. That is when the CQ open the door to the room to pop in. He had been standing outside, he had guess it was time for him to intervene before it went any further. The E-6 left the room, and nothing more came of it, except little ribbing from my Team Leader who room was down the hallway. The E-6 tried to dog me the next day, but my Team Leader, Squad Leader who lot of time was acting Platoon Sergeant, and Platoon Sergeant who was acting Platoon Leader, along with few other NCOs who knew about my broken Right leg, still dealing that, that led to this confrontation. They would either come distract him, or claim that they needed me for some detail. The worst part was the last month was the damage to the respect he had done with the members of his Squad who lived in the barrack who heard his rants, many of them knew, some of thought I was sandbagging too. I wasn't sandbagging, all I ever wanted, was to find out what was going on, and what we could to either fix it the situation with my right leg/ankle/foot or make it more bearable so I could perform my duties. I guess that was too much to ask as E-2.
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SGT Michael Glenn
PV2 Abbott Shaull: No that was not too much to ask, I have seen many soldiers treated like this and quiet honestly, that E-6 needed a foot up his ass. There is a difference between a slug always collecting P-3's to avoid duty and a soldier who just had a bad stretch of luck. Im not familiar with the entire situation preceding this event and dont really care, he had no right to even approach you under those circumstances and say ANYTHING to you, its known as overstepping his authority, I believe thats why nothing was ever said to you about your comments to him. These are the kind of Leaders that need to be relieved of their duties and relieved of their rank. I had a PLT SGT that was the same way, we had a falling out once and he did his best to belittle me and try to burn me every chance he got but couldnt because I always had my duckies in a row.he wound up being relieved and was sent to BN HQ to be a lackey for his Friend the CSM while he waited on separation.He was a slug and I told him this many times infront of his so called bro's. One incident involving me having to go to where he worked and he tried to throw me out of HIS office to which I responded that it was the Army's office and not his and to shut up and set down before he hurt himself.I wasnt worried about reduction of rank because I was being medically discharged and the Army has regulations set forth the keep commands from lowering any soldier in pay grade while on such a status. He will always be in my eyes a worthless piece of crap unworthy of the rank he wore.
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Never piss off a narcissist... The truth doesn't matter if they are persistent enough. Sooner or later, someone will believe...
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