Do you make friends or acquaintances at work?

LT Jessica Kellogg — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:22:59 -0400

Do you tend to have friends or aqitences at work?
The people I work with (at current and previous commands) are nice enough, but tend not to be people I would elect to spend time with outside of work.
I'm curious what your experiences have been?

Response by 1LT Nick Kidwell made Mar 20 at 2015 9:28 PM

1LT Nick Kidwell — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:28:22 -0400

I have a tendency to keep work at work, because I tend to be much different in my personal life than the majority of my co-workers.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Mar 20 at 2015 9:32 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:32:06 -0400

Some of the closest and life long friends I have were made on duty. Other Lieutenants from my first duty assignment, continue to be my friends. Let's face it, who else do you really have anything in common with? Don't need lots of friends, just need the right ones. FAT friends, faithful , accessible , trustworthy.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 9:33 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:33:23 -0400

Friends...at least at this duty station...picture just taken at Navie's house...

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 21 at 2015 12:43 AM

COL Charles Williams — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 00:43:55 -0400

Good question... I have only a few close friends, from my many years in the Army... I still have them to this day. I have many acquaintances. The friends are the ones, I know I can count on no matter what, and they are few.

Response by Sgt Karl Ford made Mar 21 at 2015 12:50 AM

Sgt Karl Ford — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 00:50:18 -0400

All my friends can spell aquaintance, and most of my friends are Marines!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2015 2:07 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 02:07:14 -0400

I love to network for acquaintances, floats around 1,000 people.<--Most of that is not Facebook. I can count my friends on one hand,none yet from the military. I keep to my dungeon -barracks rat-. Also I pay an extra 10$ per month on my plan to have a business phone to give out for most whom ask. If I do like you over time I will share my personal number. If not then whenever my ETS is near no matter it be 4 years or even 25 it will be cut off. Nothing wrong with making friends in the military. However the further you are from my chain of command the more likely we will interact on a more personal level. Do not take it personal while we are not deployed.Note There are many other perks to having two phones. Lose one,call yourself , get robbed the perp is not likely to think of the victim having a back up phone. One battery dies use the other and *67.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2015 3:24 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 03:24:35 -0400

I only have a small number of people I have met in the Army that I call true friends. What is strange about that is the majority of those people are complete opposites of myself as far as political beliefs, personal beliefs, or just the way they are in general. The one thing that we agree on is we respect one another's beliefs and opinions. True friends are very hard to come by.

I have a ton of acquaintances/buddies that I consider friends, just not true friends. If that makes any sense.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2015 4:13 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 04:13:08 -0400

Not to many friends at work. Most of the people around my age and rank don't like the same things I do. So the only thing we have in common is work

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Mar 21 at 2015 7:26 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 07:26:04 -0400

Mostly acquaintances. If I'm lucky, there'll be one or two people with whom the ranks, personalities and family situations line up enough to have a friendship. It's admittedly rare.

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Mar 21 at 2015 9:45 AM

1SG Steven Stankovich — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 09:45:46 -0400

Great question LT Jessica Kellogg. I have been in the Army for almost 25 years. I have a ton of friends and acquaintances. but only a small trusted few that I consider "trusted friends." These are the few that I know that I, or my family, can count on no matter what. These are the few with whom no matter what the distance or the amount of time since you have seen each other last, that when you are together, you pick things right back up without skipping a beat. My family and I are fortunate to have them in our lives.

Response by 1st Lt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2015 2:07 PM

1st Lt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 14:07:29 -0400

Currently at a CONUS remote station. The folks you work with are your friends and the people you hang out with because there's no one else!