How do you recover from a particularly bad first impression?

So, here's my take. One has to consider who's opinion matters most...their peers today, their peers tomorrow, or themselves. For me, it was always the latter two. One great thing about life is that our circles of influence change... a lot. I don't correspond with many people I knew at twenty, and really not that many more that I knew at thirty. With each new group, you get a "new chance to make a first impression"... and hopefully, a better one. Those who really "matter" probably understand that already.

Still, we ourselves have to live with ourselves for always. I know my idiot moves at twenty-three, even if most others have "forgotten" them. However, I can look at my moves at thirty-three, and think, "not half bad"...and can look at myself today and think, "you've come a long way Baby!"

I entirely follow your description, believe me, my initial impression when I got where I was made yours look trivial by comparison, not to minimize yours. I did virtually everything wrong a newbie could possibly do, in fact, I quite literally invented new ways, seemingly going well out of my way to do it, that managed to offend active duty and civil servants alike, to am extent that I assure you quite literally beggared description. First, given your description, you quite clearly seem to have more than adequate documentation to show it's all real. That being said, and having spent 3 yrs in an Army ROTC unit as a cadet before going USAF OTS instead, you need to no fault yourself for life having intruded, which, unfortunately, life often has a way of doing, all too frequently. Svc life, I found, often spirals seemingly out of control, quite frequently, all too often taking on a lie of its own...now, given you've clearly, as you said, got proof, I most definitely wouldn't not do what the clinicians involved want, if only for the simple reason it:s their call, irrespective of whatever apparently dirty looks you're either getting, or merely thimking you're getting. Then, too, not doing what they wamt, even if staff and/or cadets alike might think you're being perhaps wimpish, could possibly only further delay healing of the surgical site, I trained to be an allied health doctor, though I'm total perm disabled now, we shut my license sevl yrs ago, as I became ill while in residency, however, I helped with numerous lower extremity cases, as part of my training, it was reqd even though I was only allied health, so believe me, I'm quite well acquainted with what healing times and processes are for such cases, most definitely. If your ROTC unit is mearmam active duty imstallation, I'd also see of you could explain the whole thing to chaplain staff there, amd ask them to intercede of you meed more help. Being clearly conscientious, I honestly think you !at be having a meedless guilt trip to so!e extent, aside from which, you actually got to deploy, which, though I volunteered to go, I never got to do, as I just became too ill, so I obv envy you having actually gotten to go. When I got where I was assigned, I was in a contractor group near my installation, where I was quite literally bored ou of my skull all day, so, even though that was a typical, normal initial assign!ent where I was, I maively, and stupidly, started looking for something else about three or four months into it. I actually found something doing serious science, not paperwork, yet still wasn't satisfied, managing to totally bollix that one up for about a year and half, till I finally got my head halfway screwed on right, and realized why I was there, which wasn't for my personal ambitions, but to help my unit, which was doing really importamt work, I just lost sight of my object, basically making myself look, on multiple occasions, like a total buffoon, so trust me, as I'd said, what seemimg problems you're having now are largely, given you can prove everything, I think mainly needlessly in your own mind, truly. If you illustrate, e.g., a willingness to spend time with cadets having any troubles in the program, I honestly think the problem you're relating, while no doubt real to you, I get that, will genuinely subside over time. I also just noticed, I gathered from your description at the end that you're actually in the program, I'd thought initially ou were staff in it, however, I saw you're apparently a cadet going through the program. Having had so !much exposure, before doing so, I further envy you, I was totally nomprior before ROTC or USAF OTS, the priors I trained with had FAR less aggravation adjusting...elaborate, if you can, what your major is, tour GPA is you'd be able, your coursework, your ambitions, gals, and objectives, I have an interest in such career/educ stuff...sorry for the initial confusion, when you'd said you'd joined the ROTC unit, I'd thought you'd meant as an instructor...did you get your assocs before going for your Bach? What MOS types or branch were you looking to do when you'd be done? Sometimes, I'm able to suggest things that others might not have considered, so, as I said, I'd be most interested in hearing more, no rush, whenever convenient, hope that was of at least all of some use and/or benefit, in any event.

Rough as it sounds, time is about your best bet. Keep performing to your full potential (without making your injury worse) as you have been, and hopefully they'll come around in time.

That's a heck of a run-in with Murphy's Law.