Posted on Oct 14, 2014
Why is it taboo not to love your time in the service?
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I am perplexed by the idea that everyone who put on the uniform has to love what they are doing. How is it that you expect everyone to be able to have the few goods override the many negatives? We all know that every day we lose great talent because they are unhappy with the work conditions, and no longer want to tolerate them. We speak about how we might be able to retain them if possible. I understand not everyone can retire from the military but like any other company shouldn't the Army be doing its best to retain as much prime talent as possible?
I learned a lesson as a child in school, "you do not have to love the job you have, but you have to do it to the best of your ability". In the military I learned, "if you don't like the way things are, get promoted and change what you can in your A.O., or get out and lobby for change from the outside".
Maybe this is a rant, but I have some real interest in knowing why it is so taboo for people when they hear you are not happy about your service as of yet, or your overall experience in general.
I learned a lesson as a child in school, "you do not have to love the job you have, but you have to do it to the best of your ability". In the military I learned, "if you don't like the way things are, get promoted and change what you can in your A.O., or get out and lobby for change from the outside".
Maybe this is a rant, but I have some real interest in knowing why it is so taboo for people when they hear you are not happy about your service as of yet, or your overall experience in general.
Service
Culture
Edited 10 y ago
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 12
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I don't think that it is taboo not to love all your time in the Service. I have had numerous times in my career where I couldn't stand the job I was doing, or the people I was working with/for, or the politics of a unit, or you name it. The thing that I learned a long time ago and it has been reinforced all throughout my career is that there will be bad days and bad times. The key is to learn something from them and move on. Never make a long term decision based on a short term problem. The good times that I have experienced in the Service far outweighs the bad times, but I think that you would be hard-pressed to find any Service Member who has experienced nothing but good times in their career.
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SFC (Join to see)
I love serving in this profession and will miss it terrible when the time comes for me to leave it. I've served with people that helped me become a better person and Leader; even if they weren't good people or good leaders. We can focus more on the bad and not on the good; but that's not fair. I have so many more good memories during my 16 years of service than bad ones, and that's what I love about my time in the Army!
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There is nothing at all wrong with not loving your time in service. We have ALL had periods of time where we, dare I say, hated it! In that respect, it's no different than any other job. It is, however, uncommon for veterans or service members to not be proud of their service to our Nation, a very big distinction.
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SPC Christopher Smith
MSG Wade Huffman I believe you have hit the nail on the head, I believe some people cross service happiness/tolernace with pride.
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Who ever said it was Taboo? I've known plenty of people who hated it....but very few that look back and STILL hate it.
I couldn't even begin to tell you how many people I saw who just gritted their teeth and came to grips with "I don't have to like it, but I DO have to DO it"....or even adopted the acronym "FIDO" as their personal mantra. (look that one up if you don't know it).
I'm sure that there were plenty of moments through my time in the Military where I didn't love it...the thing is, when I look back at it, I'm hard pressed to come up with one....in fact, looking back through the 20 years I've been out I can come up with a lot more in civilian jobs - and to compound that, those moments in civilian jobs didn't mean a damn thing to anyone except money. At least when it sucked in the Army, it meant something. This may not mean much to you now, but if you serve out your term and get out, someday it will.
I couldn't even begin to tell you how many people I saw who just gritted their teeth and came to grips with "I don't have to like it, but I DO have to DO it"....or even adopted the acronym "FIDO" as their personal mantra. (look that one up if you don't know it).
I'm sure that there were plenty of moments through my time in the Military where I didn't love it...the thing is, when I look back at it, I'm hard pressed to come up with one....in fact, looking back through the 20 years I've been out I can come up with a lot more in civilian jobs - and to compound that, those moments in civilian jobs didn't mean a damn thing to anyone except money. At least when it sucked in the Army, it meant something. This may not mean much to you now, but if you serve out your term and get out, someday it will.
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