The army (well at least my unit) just dosen't care!!!

[gofast_ER 0]

Ok so we deploy sunday. We had a deployment ceremony today where they encouraged family members to come out. Well mine did. My mom, from california to louisiana. She can only stay a day because of her work schedule. So after the deployment ceremony (where they "prayed" that we would get to spend a lot of time with family before we left) we had to bring our duffle bags into the company. That was at about 1130 this morning. What have I been doing since than? Well playing online and posting here. Where is my mom? In her hotel room. Why? Because my unit refuses to release us. Even though I have been sitting around playing on my computer not doing CRAP! The whole freaking time I could have been spending with my mom. But no, why the hell should the army care. Were just ass holes they dont feel like wiping to them. Plain and simple. I am so tempted to just walk out right now but my dad and sister are here till saturday so I can't take the chance of not being able to see them. Im just sitting here...rambling on and on while I could be spending time with my mom. I definatly think that this time would be much better spent with her than bitching here. Thanks 488th. Thanks to the leadership that likes to do nothing but fuck us and our familys on a regular basis. Just....thanks. have a nice day.

And im sure this is a wasted post. Why the hell would someone want to read something so negative? Just want to vent my frustration and show to the ENTIRE FUCKING PLANET (well ok the entire dz.come planet) that I am truley doing nothing but wasting time when I should be with family. What not smoking in the barracks???? FUCK YOU im lighting one up right now.

I may not agree with what you have to say but i'll defend to the death your right to say it.

[JohnnyD 0]

First: THANK YOU

Second: Don't let the person you shoot in the foot be you.

[TrophyHusband 0]

remember this and bring it back up when you are asked why you don't want to reenlist. for now you just have to suck it up. i know it blows goats, but you aren't going to do anything to hurt the army. on the other hand, they can make your life a whole lot worse if you choose to be insubordinate. just play their game and before you know it, you will have an honorable discharge hanging on the wall.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[gofast_ER 0]

I know I know. It's just that....my mom is sitting in her hotel room just a mile or two outside of post waiting for me. She has to leave tommrow morning. I have been sitting in my room all day playing online because they aren't making us work but also wont release us. It's just to damn much bs. I don't get it!

and I keep trying to call my squad leader to find out what's going on but he isn't answering his phone. If I had any hair to begin with it would all be pulled out by now. Im losing my freakin mind here!

I may not agree with what you have to say but i'll defend to the death your right to say it.

[StreetScooby 5]

Maybe Army leadership has learned that releasing guys at this point causes single males to go drinking in the area, and that causes problems right before deployment?

I have no idea. I'm just trying to put myself in their shoes.

Thanks very much for serving our country. I appreciate the sacrifice you're making for all of us.

We are all engines of karma

[TrophyHusband 0]

as pissed of as you are right now, you will be over it within 5 minutes of being released. it is frustrating, i know, i've been there. this is just the way the military is. there's nothing you can do about it. you are likely right that the higher-ups don't care about your situation. they are also not making you stay just because they can. i really hope that they release you soon. just look at the big picture. its really not as big of a deal as it seams right now. hang in there. i hope you get released soon.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[ACMESkydiver 0]

"You're in the army now...you're not behind a plow...you'll never get rich...you son-of-a-gun...you're in the army now."

I still remember my daddy singing that to me when I saw him at my boot camp graduation.
Hold on, buddy. I don't think there's anyone that doesn't know how military leadership sucks ass (present dz.com military company excluded, of course! ).

Can you call your mom and at least talk to her on the phone?

They wouldn't let my husband off when they came BACK from deployment like they said they were going to, either. They kept them for HOURS, and I had some kinda important news for him...like 'You're gonna be a DADDY' kind of news.

My unit was cool most of the time, his was pissy, but now and then for fun they switched around.

Take care. Like Trophy said, it'll be all gone 5 minutes after they let ya go.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[popsjumper 2]

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Maybe Army leadership has learned that releasing guys at this point causes single males to go drinking in the area, and that causes problems right before deployment?

When better to cause problems?????

We caused problems...our saying was, "What are they going to do..send me to Viet Nam?"
(As we patently got blitzed and caused all sorts of problems on the local venues while waiting for deployment to...you guessed it - Viet Nam. They had us at Ft. Ord inside the chain link fences with barbed wire on top to prevent us escaping but you just can't keep a good soldier pinned down and the fence leaked like a sieve.)

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[katiebear21 0]

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as pissed of as you are right now, you will be over it within 5 minutes of being released. it is frustrating, i know, i've been there. this is just the way the military is. there's nothing you can do about it. you are likely right that the higher-ups don't care about your situation. they are also not making you stay just because they can. i really hope that they release you soon. just look at the big picture. its really not as big of a deal as it seams right now. hang in there. i hope you get released soon.

converstation over but i agree. i used to dig in my nco's asses when they didn't have their shit together and kept soldiers waiting. i'd go out and release the soldiers and keep my nco's there getting shit squared away.

generally the problem is leaders who don't set clear goals and stick to the plan. failure is definitely on the leadership - who generally fail to think! unless they had a life like i did.

some of my nco's hated me - some of them loved me. i didn't give a shit either way.

edit: i appreciate your service. let us know if there's anything you need when you get there.

Katie
Get your PMS glass necklace here

[skydiverbrian 0]

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you will have an honorable discharge hanging on the wall

Does this really matter in the long run?

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[bozo 0]

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you will have an honorable discharge hanging on the wall

Does this really matter in the long run?

Yes....it sure the fuck does.

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[TheAnvil 0]

Good luck on your deployment. If you stay in, try to remember this goat-fuck and don't make the same mistake your leaders are should such a situation come about and you're in charge.

Hope you get to spend some time with Mom.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[jtval 0]

I'm surprised the army has deployment ceremonies at all.

The A.F. just gives you orders and off you go.
there is In and Out -processing to do but when someone gets back from a deployment the families are encouraged to meet them at the plane.

all of the time between they give you orders and you get on the plane is yours. if you wanna bring you fam in, so be it. It's on you to deal with your family and keep everyone happy.

couldn't your mom come up last weekend or a different time so you could spend timeat your leisure?

I normally don't allow the military to get in the way of my plans....I.E. If I know I'm deploying I do all the stuff BEFORE they have a chance to fuck me.



Good luck and stay strong

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[willski52 0]

I am pretty sure that you should not be bashing the Army, your unit, and your leadership onlne for all the world to see. Yeah, your getting a crappy deal. But grow up and suck it up. Your in the Army, act like it.

[katiebear21 0]

Wow, that's pretty harsh. This isn't AKO, this is dz.com. Let the kid vent. Shit.

I had worse sessions than this with my troops. Sometimes it just helps to say it out loud to relieve the pressure. I'm sure he's incredibly proud of what he's doing and wouldn't let his brothers down for a second, but what he went through today sucks and sometimes the leadership needs to hear it.

The funny thing is, the some of the same things that we hate about being a green-suiter binds us together. I sure as hell bitched about the countless hours I spent laying in the hot sun rigged in full cobmat equipment waiting around for an 800' jump that we all knew was going to get scratched; but, in the end sometimes that's what comaraderie is about.

Strange things...

Katie
Get your PMS glass necklace here

[Gawain 0]

Sounds like just about any unit in the Army sometimes. Prior to our deployment, we were reasonably squared away, and many times, our day was formation, PT and then out-of-there.

Now, we had our bad days too, resembling some of the crap you were describing. The key is to go on with the next thing in front of you, and hopefully, Thursday, and Friday give you the time you're seeking.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Zenister 0]

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I'm surprised the army has deployment ceremonies at all.

the Army has a long history of "Standing to Close to the Flag pole"

It has rather silly ceremonies for nearly everything.. ostensibly because "they" believe it builds Esper de Corps... but the reality is they generally do them because "we've always done them" even if it makes no sense to anyone still living and serving.

"Stop making sense, the Army doesnt pay you for it"
in fact it seems to be actively discouraged in many units...

anyone who wants to make their own decisions based on their personal timeline and desires..... shouldnt join the military

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[katiebear21 0]

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It has rather silly ceremonies for nearly everything.. ostensibly because "they" believe it builds Esper de Corps... but the reality is they generally do them because "we've always done them" even if it makes no sense to anyone still living and serving.

According to whom?

Coming from the 82nd Airborne Division who probably does just as many or more ceremonies than any other Army Division, they certainly have their purpose.

We put on a Division wide Retirement Ceremony every single month in the Division. Ask any one of those Paratroopers who have been to multiple combat zones and made tens sometimes over a hundred static line combat jumps in the middle of the night from 800' what it means to stand in that ceremony. The answer: THE WORLD! It's probably one of the proudest days of their lives or they wouldn't do it.

We do a All American Week Pass and Review every year. The entire Division, some 15,000 troops on the field at one time remembering what it was like in WWII when troops stormed across battlefields. That's what it's all about. Without the history, it means nothing. To me, it means everything..

Don't get me wrong, I bitch and moan about the countless hours of rehearsal; but, when I'm standing at attention, and the 82nd Freefall team jumps in our Nation's colors, and they march forward and stand for the National Anthem, there hasn't been a year that I didn't get goosebumps and a tear didn't well up in my eyes.

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anyone who wants to make their own decisions based on their personal timeline and desires..... shouldnt join the military

I make plenty of decisions based on my personal timeline and desires (AND I'm a woman so it's even tougher). Yes, I've made some sacrifices along the way but the men and women in uniform choose to make those sacrifices.

Hell, I'm sitting here in Z-Hills, getting paid, getting promoted, going to graduate school (9 hours a week by the way), and loving my life. Pretty fortunate, huh?!

You're entitled to your opinion but to me it seems a little narrow-mineded.

Katie
Get your PMS glass necklace here

[Icon134 0]

I have to agree that is a bit harsh... I'm an officer (in the air force not the army) and I understand where he's comming from...

keep in mind that gofast_ER is expecting to be gone for about a year and he won't see his family (mother, father, etc...) for that entire time. I'm sure he understands the importance of his job in the army but he also wants to spend this time before he leaves with the people he loves but won't be seeing for a very long time.

I'm sure his unit had some sort of reason for keeping them around (be it good or bad) but... hrm... I guess...

Of course I hope that gofast is spending time with his family at the moment...

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[gofast_ER 0]

Yup
I do understand the importance of my job. I also understand the importance of getting out july 19th 2008. They love to preach how much they love to take care of soliders and their family's. Well, that is a bunch of BS. Clearly obvious.

I may not agree with what you have to say but i'll defend to the death your right to say it.

[Zenister 0]

sorry been thru 30+ years of Military Ceremony as an observer, a participant and an honoree.

they are (generally) a complete waste of time and resources, both while they are ongoing and while they prepare for them. Imagine how much better average soldier would be trained if all the at time and effort were focused on ACTUAL TRAINING?

But i suppose having an entire Division break training to clean a parade ground makes sense? how about bringing out a Brigade to police the front gates so 'visiting dignitaries' wont see any stray trash on their way to someones retirement?? or better yet... the MILLIONS spend yearly on Parade grounds and Review stands instead of Equipment and Training... how many manhours do you think the military wastes ON PLANNING AND SCHEDULING ALONE for these Ceremonies..

and while i'd be REALLY interested in meeting anyone who can claim a one, much less "a hundred" Combat Jumps, i dont have any interest in watching them walk by in a Ceremony. You dont learn anything watching a parade, no matter how well dressed or organized... nor is there alot of value in having a significant portion of your unit practicing marching maneuvers (all for a change of command that could be accomplished far more simply and effectively by the CMDrs who are rotating. All so the same silly Ceremony can be repeated in just over a year anyway..) that have NO BEARING on modern warfare...

Tradition and Honor and the Ceremonies that go along with it certainly has its place... in an Honor Guard with a Ceremonial unit, or one made up of those who have chosen to participate (maybe they have alot of free time with no real pressing responsibilities, but who knows????)

I was once a Guidon in that Pass and Review..(being tall and being taught how to march at a young age sucks) and just like every other silly Ceremony i've been a part of, there was ALWAYS something else far more productive i could have been doing instead....both Professionally and Personally, but of course my time wasnt my own....

if you want to learn the lessons of history.. Visit the Locations, Read the accounts, TALK to the Vets..... watching/participating in a parade wont teach you any lessons at all...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Cudlo 0]

god i loved crawling around a parking lot with my company pulling 1/8" pieces of grass out of cracks because a 1 star was showing up.

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Glad you got to spend some time with your mom!

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[SWATcop 0]

Sorry Zenister I agree with Katie. I am a third generation Paratrooper and spent three of my seven years in the 82nd. They do a lot of ceremonies and still manage to train Joe better than any of the other two "leg" units I was in before that.

Kevin

Muff Brother #4041
Team Dirty Sanchez #467

[matthewcline 0]

So Katie forgot "equipment" in her post we all knew what she meant. So you never liked the ceremony you had to do, there are plenty who do and are proud of the unit they are in being recognized. Do some of the ceremonies seem self serving? Sure just like posting on dropzone.com can be self serving.

Oh and nice to meet you!

(I have a Combat Jump, Just Cause December 1998)

Good day! and Blue Skies!

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!