I have almost 15 total and 11 active years and I'm seriously considering throwing it all away due to what Hagel and Obama and their cronie ass generals have created. I've spent more time in the last 2 years training how not to rape women and offend gay folks than I have how to do my job. Im over it. The leadership of the military at it's highest levels has sold out. I wish id done something else. At least id have a trade. Not much call for door kickers and trigger pullers these days. Oh well. Maybe it'll be easier once the women hit the ranks. We'll have lots of time to wait while they catch up.
I have almost 15 total and 11 active years and I'm seriously considering throwing it all away due to what Hagel and Obama and their cronie azz generals have created. I've spent more time in the last 2 years training how not to rape women and offend gay folks than I have how to do my job. Im over it. The leadership of the military at it's highest levels has sold out. I wish id done something else. At least id have a trade. Not much call for door kickers and trigger pullers these days. Oh well. Maybe it'll be easier once the women hit the ranks. We'll have lots of time to wait while they catch up.
All I can say blackpowder, is to at least thank you for being in. You and all the others. I went to a USMC recruiter during high school, and when they found out I was on insulin, he said, "Son, we would draft priests before you." So that went my shot. Branches of my family have been here since the 1500s, and made sacrifices from the Revolution on to what we have going on today.
As for door kickers and trigger pullers, I can only hope those skills won't be needed domestically.
I have almost 15 total and 11 active years and I'm seriously considering throwing it all away due to what Hagel and Obama and their cronie azz generals have created. I've spent more time in the last 2 years training how not to rape women and offend gay folks than I have how to do my job. Im over it. The leadership of the military at it's highest levels has sold out. I wish id done something else. At least id have a trade. Not much call for door kickers and trigger pullers these days. Oh well. Maybe it'll be easier once the women hit the ranks. We'll have lots of time to wait while they catch up.
I did 10 years enlisted to SSG/E6 and went Warrant Officer spending the next 11 years active and retiring a CW4. I hear you about being marketable as a combat arms guy, not likely. It was alot of BS and policy I didn't necessarily agree with but well worth it in the end. The switch from enlisted to Warrant was the best move I ever made, none of the enlisted BS games, details, additional duties, accountablity, etc and all of the privledges the regular commissioned officers received, including pay. Additionally, I didn't have to play nearly as many politics, although there were some, as the regular commissioned officers nor was I "over all responsible" as a commander when it came to the mission/troops. I did have command three times, but it was for three detachments with less than 20 troops each. My health care today is $480.00 a year, dental is $600.00 a year, and I get nearly $2500.00 a month to wake up on the 1st of every month in addition to what I get from VA in $$$$ and medical benefits.
Some advise... I was in the intelligence and security field, which has a civilian counterparts (GS) in all of the services and other DOD and national intelligence organizations. Most of my soldiers over the years were soldiers who reclassified, most former combat arms and made the switch to intelligence between the grades of E-4 and E-6. They too understood that they had to be marketable to do other things after the Army within the federal goverment or on the outside. I was one of the few who came in as an intell guy and stayed till the end. After retirement I worked as a government contract employee as a civilian for 4 years and have just accepted a GS-13 position as a full time government civilian. Find a military occupational speciality that has a civilian equivilent for the government and stay 20, then transition as a civilian (GS) doing the same work, for a bit more money plus your retirement.
My two cents...
