Posted on May 11, 2018
What is the worst part about being a service member or veteran?
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I know that we are (or should be) proud of our service. I, like many, believe that my experience in the military made me a better person and is definitely something that I am glad to say that I had the opportunity to be a part of. That being said, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Although there are various positives that go along with having served, the world is not perfect and because of this, there are always negatives that come along with things. What is the worst part about having served or presently serving in the United States military?
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 188
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Stupid, arrogant officers who never respected Senior NCOs and it always meant someone getting killed or injured out: fuck officers
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Suspended Profile
My in-service rank belies my education and experience. That being said, unfortunately SSgt, you're not the first one to experience this, and you're most likely not the last. Case in point: just within the last couple of weeks, I read an article about the political side of promotions and discipline, and punishment, and the "little black book", in the military. If my memory serves me correctly, the story was about the Marine Corps, specifically, and even more specifically, the commissioned officer ranks. But, again, if my memory serves me correctly, enlisted ranks were also discussed. Said article came from http://www.military.com . Until fairly recently, readers used to be welcome to comment on the articles they published, but sometime within the last several months, they took that away from the readers....presumably because the exchanges between liberals and conservatives were getting more, and more, and more nasty....which included comments about the liberal leaning writers at the web site.
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Watching the country slide through complacency after the Cold War & then onto irrelevance in the wake of globalism, and recognizing that the US is an internally weak country that cannot/ can barely manage its affairs in the absence of an external existential threat.
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For me, I think it was when I and many others felt like our civilian leaders in the government didn’t have our backs like they should have. I will leave it at that.
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This has probably been said one million times or more, but, being a Vietnam Era Veteran, I find that most have little or no respect for veterans.
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The worst part? When you mention that you serve or are in some conversation and it comes up and now you are looked at by some as if the military was the 'only' thing you could do or the military is for those of lesser mental capacity etc. It is that perception by some rather ignorant, never been in the military folks. It is the hoops that you have to jump through to show that is not the case at all. That in most cases the military member had other options but chose the military as a way of life of just to get ahead due to the various benefits that were offered.
For myself it was the GI Bill and the Army College fund. Those were selling points in addition to all the rest, as College was out of my price range and availability at the time.
For myself it was the GI Bill and the Army College fund. Those were selling points in addition to all the rest, as College was out of my price range and availability at the time.
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SSG Brian G.
My 'favorite' - read that with heavy sarcasm - was when I was filling out an application and the person taking apps looked it over, snorted and commented "now you are out, looking for a real job." This from a jelly belly that looked like he would faint if he had to run across the room for a doughnut. I fervently wish that the average civilian could experience for one week what the average service member goes through and does.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
SSG Brian G. - I think my best one was when a professor asked me, after we got into a heated debate over the validity of standardized tests for college admissions, what my score was on the ACT. I'm sure the guy was attempting to prove that I just barely squeaked by to get admitted to the university; boy did that blow up in his face LOL
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COL John Power
I don't get aggravated by the comments of the ignorant. And college professors, for the most part, are ignorant of the requirements and rigor of military service. As for the rest of them, I could care less.
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For me, for my bachelor's degree, it wasn't my professors who were the problem as many of them were retired military themselves. For me, I was getting the reactions and treatment that all of you describe, from my classmates. For my master's degrees, it wasn't really an issue. At least, not that I could detect. But then again, by that point in time, I probably wasn't really paying attention to other people, either. But then as I re-entered the work force, (long story), it got REALLY bad!!! The irony is that the number one reason I got out of the Marines after one enlistment, was to go to college, and then back into the military as a commissioned officer. But that's a whole other story, and another long one.
The lack of basic human respect, even when you're squared away completely.
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Group fitness and the lack of individual accountability it needs to be something that is brought back to the fold especially the way we are promoting soldiers and recruiting them. Individual accountability first then blaiming the NCO when Soldiers continually fail and are not put out to much tolerence because it is too much work to do what you are supposed to do.
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I just recently saw in the military news, (like, just within the last month or so), that the military is re-examining all aspects of height and weight standards in preparation for major changes. The Army has also been working on new PFT's, and how to score them, but last I heard, nothing had received final approval yet.
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I'm sure there are a ton of things I could say that people would resonate with. But I'll approach this one a bit differently.
The worst part are the people who think that everything is, somehow, rainbows and unicorn farts outside of the military.
Yep, life can suck in the military. No doubt about it. But the fact of the matter is that life can suck EVERYWHERE and, in fact, it does.
Many of the things such people hate about the military, for example, happen to be the SAME things people hate about civilian life.
Like, having to show up to work all the time. Like dealing with *ssholes and idiots. Like not getting paid enough. Like not being able to take time off work when you need to. Like inept management and inept workers.
The list goes on and on.
Sometimes, it seemed like the worst part about being in the military was having to deal with people who hated being there in the first place (never mind they volunteered for it), who make every excuse to b*tch, moan, complain, and general be a PITA and a load on the rest of us.
I wish such people would simply get their act together, work to the best of their abilities, serve their time, and then get out and move on to something more to their liking.
The worst part are the people who think that everything is, somehow, rainbows and unicorn farts outside of the military.
Yep, life can suck in the military. No doubt about it. But the fact of the matter is that life can suck EVERYWHERE and, in fact, it does.
Many of the things such people hate about the military, for example, happen to be the SAME things people hate about civilian life.
Like, having to show up to work all the time. Like dealing with *ssholes and idiots. Like not getting paid enough. Like not being able to take time off work when you need to. Like inept management and inept workers.
The list goes on and on.
Sometimes, it seemed like the worst part about being in the military was having to deal with people who hated being there in the first place (never mind they volunteered for it), who make every excuse to b*tch, moan, complain, and general be a PITA and a load on the rest of us.
I wish such people would simply get their act together, work to the best of their abilities, serve their time, and then get out and move on to something more to their liking.
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The worst part for me, personally, was being forced out of the Service due to my Service Connected injury. The Navy did a royal screw up that cost me my career and my life. Actually, that the VA had a hand in that last part.
The ABSOLUTE worst experience was flying our Navy C-130 to the Air Base in Djibouti to provide an Honor Flight for a fallen Shipmate, whom I had never met. I had seen footage of such ceremonies, but never in person, let alone, directly participating in one. And there I was, for six hours, quietly starring at the Flag draped casket of a fallen Shipmate, right there on my cargo deck, only giving his his Chief escorting him Home, as supportive glance. Pure silence. Even the always present hum of 4 Hamilton props with their Allison powerplants, made not a sound. It was both awe inspiring and painful to the core, at the same time. An experience that I shall always remember, but desire never to repeat.
The ABSOLUTE worst experience was flying our Navy C-130 to the Air Base in Djibouti to provide an Honor Flight for a fallen Shipmate, whom I had never met. I had seen footage of such ceremonies, but never in person, let alone, directly participating in one. And there I was, for six hours, quietly starring at the Flag draped casket of a fallen Shipmate, right there on my cargo deck, only giving his his Chief escorting him Home, as supportive glance. Pure silence. Even the always present hum of 4 Hamilton props with their Allison powerplants, made not a sound. It was both awe inspiring and painful to the core, at the same time. An experience that I shall always remember, but desire never to repeat.
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