posted 09-19-2001 23:10            

So, after taking it up the ass when they let my ex-wife just walk away with my son, now after 13 years of loyal service, I'm being told "sorry, but we still need you around for we don't know how long." I'm a Korean fucking Linguist for Christsake here, I could understand if I was some special forces guy, or a jet driver. And (this is the best part) my continued confinement will involve me deploying to... NOWHERE!

posted 09-20-2001 11:35            

Waah.

posted 09-20-2001 13:12         

quote:

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Originally posted by InThrees:
So Grendel, you signed up for what, the paycheck?

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no, I think he signed up, and served 13 years of his life as a member of the military to serve our asses, and he'd like to finally retire with only a smattering of days left.

Despite what your feelings are on the matter, he *did* serve for over a decade, with the expectations that it would finally be coming to a close. Now if he was some kind of signee that served, lets say, about half his term, and wanted out before the shit hit the fan-that I can understand and disagree with.

I know that all this buisiness falls under what he signed up for, but if I was in his shoes I'd feel the same way. In fact, I'd be shaking in them, depending on my situation.

So in this instance, 'waah' yourself man.

posted 09-20-2001 22:21            

Yeah, I guess my basic gripes are:

1. "We had a deal."

2. "I'm not contributing to the cause."

As a Korean linguist, if there were North Koreans involved in this, and I'd be guaranteed that at the end of this, I'd be sitting in the capital of North Korea, perched on the golden statue of Kim Il Sung smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer, I'd say "When do I leave?"

BUT, I'm going to be sitting here doing bupkus for whatever operations we're doing and watching it go down on CNN just like most Americans. My presence here does jack for the cause and prevents me from being closer to my son.

UGH.

posted 09-21-2001 18:10            

I got orders to HT "A" school for reclassification as a Hull Tech, and after quite literally two hours on the phone alternately screaming, begging, pleading, whining, threatening, and crying like an ill-used ex-virgin, the only option that was grudgingly opened to me was to become a Mess Specialist instead.

So I learned to weld, and then spent the next four years being hated by real HTs and grinding their welds and sweeping the shop after them until I could get reassigned into what rare vaguely computer-related jobs were open to any rate, until getting transferred to a new command where the same process would begin anew.

posted 09-21-2001 23:27            

Still, I wouldn't be so quick to assume that a Korean linguist won't be needed, if it makes you feel better, Grendel.

posted 09-22-2001 05:07            

First term re-enlistment rates suck right now, especially for Korean and Arabic linguists. Reason being, there are very few places you can be stationed and most of them involve spending a lot of time away from your family. While in theory, "needs of the Air Force" and "You signed the contract" overrule any complaints you may have, the bottom line is that if your wife tells you "One more year away from us, and we're getting divorced", you're going to question your career choice.

So, to get them to reconsider divorce court and whatever other grief they have, they are promoting these kids in records numbers and offering them around $75,000 to re-enlist.

Mind you, this is someone who has been in the military about 3.5 years, and they're worth that much money to the Air Force. You know how much I get offered to reenlist (after 10 or more years)??

Zip.

Even though it takes ten years to effectively replace me, their feeling is "Well, you've done more than ten years now, so we've got you by the short hairs."

The collective leadership of the military has their heads up their asses, and this is but one example of how they have no fucking clue about what's really going on. Yeah, their in the business of fucking people hard, me included, so I'm not staying.

Unless of course they don't let me get out.

posted 09-22-2001 09:28            

I used to work at a restricted barracks, and it was usually more than half full of guys who deserted, often ten or fifteen years back, and finally cracked and came back to get NJP and do a few months' time so they didn't have it hanging over their heads any more.

Will somebody come looking for you? No. But your name will be out there... every time you get a ticket, or buy or sell real estate, or do anything else involving either law enforcement or a court, you'll be wondering "will they find my name and drag me back?" And they might - nobody's LOOKING, but your name IS out there in some databases if you run.

Most of those guys in the restricted barracks that had deserted were there because they cracked... but a lot of them were there because they got a ticket, or sold a house, or what have you, and the wrong person just happened to spot the name in a list.

posted 09-22-2001 10:11            

Never intended to, just saying...

posted 09-23-2001 10:22            

_sarcasmI bet that would work!_/sarcasm

posted 09-24-2001 20:15            

quote:

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Originally posted by grendelkhan:
That, like going AWOL, involves going to jail. And I prefer a metaphoric ass fucking over an actual one, if I have a choice.

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and that is the ONLY choice the army gives you.

also for the reenlisting stuff they think after 10 years you are a lifer cause now you are half way to your 20 which now gives you 40% of your base pay. it takes 30 years to get 50% now.

posted 09-25-2001 04:07            

No, the Air Force has now mandated that everyone who says that they are not reenlisting has to go to a "come to Jeezus" seminar called "The Right Decision". It kills me that while I'm trusted to make the right choices under pressure involving a $28 Million aircraft and its pilot, they think I've lost my marbles on this one.

And it came down today, it's official. FOr the next 30 days, no one gets out and after that they will probably hold all intelligence career fields for "the duration". They don't need me enough to offer me a reenlistment bonus because I'm over 10 years, but they need me enough to not let me go.

posted 09-25-2001 05:33            

quote:

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Originally posted by grendelkhan:
They don't need me enough to offer me a reenlistment bonus because I'm over 10 years, but they need me enough to not let me go.

WTFO???

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Hey, at least you don't have to stand port-and-starboard duty sections... be very, very glad you picked the day job Air Force, not the Navy.

posted 10-03-2001 13:34            

My estranged husband is an SP in the Air Force. He has never taken leave and his contract is over Jan 02. He was getting out early next month, but of course now they're telling him to stay put.

The worst for him is that he is probably going to be losing three months of leave or more.

Good news is that he got off his 44 man team in June, which he was on for 3 years. Good thing, because they are in Baltimore waiting to go to the Middle East.

A bitch for me because it's more expensive to get divorced from someone in the military than a civilian. So looks like I'm gonna be a military wife a lot longer than I had ever planned, as there's no way in hell he will file for divorce.

posted 10-03-2001 16:35            

quote:

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Originally posted by Tawny:
A bitch for me because it's more expensive to get divorced from someone in the military than a civilian. So looks like I'm gonna be a military wife a lot longer than I had ever planned, as there's no way in hell he will file for divorce.

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Are you nuts? You can get more - a LOT more - out of divorcing someone in the military than you can out of getting a civilian. Unk Sam bends 'em over backwards for you, all you have to do is strap one on and fuck 'em.

The only difficulty is serving somebody who keeps dodging you; but that has nothing, repeat, NOTHING to do with the military - and in fact, here again the military makes it easier than it otherwise would be, because if you can't successfully serve a military member you can serve his COMMANDING OFFICER.