>With that said, a lot of people get this idea that private companies will bend over backwards and care so much about you when you get out. That civilian life is a paradise. It isn’t. Private companies won’t give a fuck about you either, unfortunately, unless you get really lucky.
I'd say that about 50% of civilian companies make the Army look like a well managed machine. It is utterly devastating sometimes to see the levels of incompetence at private companies sometimes....For example: The average civilian company has a payroll accuracy of about 80%. That means if you work 5 days a week ... there is an average of 1 error every pay week.
You think leadership in the military is toxic? If you make the company money and don't break the law (too badly, or at least dont get caught) you can do whatever you fucking want to on the civilian side, companies wont do anything and dont care as long as money is made.
Generalization of course, some companies care .... but most don't. There is a reason depression, homelessness, etc are very prevalent among veterans... civilian side isn't the paradise you think it is.
EDIT
Example: I just had this conversation with my boss. I have a critical project that is due by 9am today (45 minutes ago). I have had my part of this project completed for two weeks, but I need a small portion from my boss before I can submit. This is the conversation I had this morning:
Me: Hey boss, I have the project ready to submit, just need to finish it up with that (piece boss supposed to send). Can you shoot that over to me?
Boss: I'll send it to you when its done
ME: Ok, thanks. As soon as I get that I'll submit it to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Boss: make sure it is submitted by 9am, corporate has been yelling about it
ME: Will do, I'll just send it without your piece
Boss: NO! it must have that in it, ill send it when i get done
Me: OK
9am
Me: Boss man, project is due, corporate just called
Boss: Submit it
Me: \*submits report\*
930am
Boss: WHY DID YOU SEND THE REPORT WITHOUT MY PART!!!
Me: You still haven't sent it to me and you told me to
Boss: i meant wait until i send you this part, im working on it now. now corporate is chewing my ass. thanks asshole
>It is utterly devastating sometimes to see the levels of incompetence at private companies sometimes
I've never gone on military leave where my payroll department didn't mess up my pay. Seven years ago this week I went on military leave. I had a co-worker with the same first name and same first initial of last name. They put him on military leave by mistake and stopped his pay since they didn't have orders on file for him.
That absolutely happens - and I experienced a similar dynamic in my civilian work - but you can also make adjustments in position, where you work, etc. May not be on a dime, but if you're unhappy, you can plan it out and adjust.
I'm still in the Reserves, but I'd say that's much less true for the military. You can do a lot of things right and still have some admin issues come out of left field with absolutely no recourse on your part other than everyone in your immediate vicinity acknowledging that's just the norm and you got unlucky.
Your pay statement is correct but not completely accurate. I’ve had my civilian pay messed up a total of 3 times the entire 12 years I was in the workforce. They fixed my pay instantly with no issues within a week or two weeks. Military has fucked my pay up 7 times in two years and taken massive amounts of red tape to fix. It’s not the same.
Individual experiences are not the norm.
Finance fucked my pay exactly once in 20 years, (overpaid me $5k for a re-up bonus) and the finance clerks were all, "while you could get a no pay due for two months and it'll be over, we'll do $500/month for 10 months, cool with you?"
My husband's pay was screwed up exactly once in the 15 years we were married - when his kid aged out of BAH coverage and instead of moving him from w/dep to single, they decided he didn't need BAH at all - he was a SGM, so it was fixed by the next paycheck.
Sorry your finance section sucked, but you're an outlier for pay issues.
Roughly comparable to what I'd be making if I had stayed active duty (after you consider BAH, BAS etc as part of income), maybe a little more.
If you aren't used to civilian life this might sound surprising: but I actually took a fairly significant pay cut to leave a job that was far more stressful than this one to come here. Worth it. Sure my boss is an asshat, but other than stupid conversations on teams and occasionally telling him he needs to go fuck off ... its a good gig. My boss isn't in the same state as I am, I see him twice a year.
As I said before ... if you make the company money you can get away with a lot of shit :)
My boss just torpedoed a project I have been working on because of her personal opinion despite the fact that it would deliver positive business outcomes.
Don't get the potential or prospect of making money confused with currently making money.
You can have an idea that has 100% chance of success and will make money hand over fist .... that might get torpedoed in the politics of the company.
But if you are CURRENTLY making the company good money .... the company will turn a blind eye to a lot of things. The trick is to be making money NOW ... then do whatever projects you want. When bossman says "hey stop that", you can push back or just outright ignore them. If you making enough money they'll get told to leave you alone.
Well a month and a half ago I was on staff duty, today I was standing in an OR with my surgeon I’m assigned to where I assist in the clinic.
Culture shock is real!
I always try to relate this. Private companies somehow give *less* of a fuck about you. It's a different set of bullshit. Some things are better, absolutely. Some things are worse.
Then, it's usually the person's own fault, marrying the wrong person, having kids for no reason, etc. Some people rely on the military so they can point at everything wrong with their life and blame something else.
Being barely competent, but also a double tax write off for the company (vet + disabled vet, since everyone can get a rating, or triple if the company counts combat vet) can save your ass during layoffs, though! I assume it’s more effective in smaller companies, where there’s less of us in the mix. Was tempted to pretend to be gay and Native American, with how hungry HR was once they found out I checked so many boxes.
Bro, people have no idea how bad private industry is. I’m in an EMBA program and 4 of my peers have been laid off since September. All were making great money, but the businesses had to make quarterly figures 🤷🏻♂️
Corporations demand loyalty and effort, but will toss you to the wayside at a moment’s notice.
It’s why I encourage guys getting out or vets I know to go the gov’t route. That’s what I’m doing (State level), and my job is safe, and I never stay past 5pm.
Edit: also, State work tends to pay better and often have better pension programs for equivalent fed jobs (though I’ve found that Fed gigs have more possibility of climbing the ladder). This is even more so for City/County work. Some roles for municipalities pay *crazy* $$$ for 8-5 desk work.
Yeah the benefits packages tend to be good too like health insurance. Plus the people who become truly well off don’t do it through 9-5 jobs they save and invest
You *can,* but it’s honestly expensive af.
Much better pension program where I’m at, though, and if you run the math it about evens out.
Edit: I also only did 5 years. There’s a common misconception that you can retire at 20, pull that pension, then *count* that 20 towards another fed pension. You get one or the other. People always say they’re “double dipping,” but they’re using that term wrong. To actually collect your military retirement + buy back 20 years of service is only possible in very rare circumstances.
there's no point in retiring from the military and buying back your time for a fed job. you'd lose your military pension. i served 13 yrs, and buying back my time was *very beneficial.*
I'll never understand people who say civi life is some paradise, I mean mostly the people who stay in the army and try to discourage people from ETS. Civilian life is just....life, except you're free again, and what you do is up to you. It's tough out there, but I'd rather be free than be in the abusive relationship that is the military. Unlike a lot of soldiers, I had a life, an adult life before the military, so I know what it's like, and I'm anxiously waiting to go back home, and be in peace again.
The difference is civi life *can* be paradise, and you are free to search it out as much as you’d like.
The military is a god damn lottery, with roughly the same odds as the actual lottery. And 95% of the time you don’t have any say if your numbers are the lucky ones.
Long way of saying it, but I 100% agree with what you said.
I was like you, had an adult life before the military and it was such a RELIEF to step out of the military. What a toxic cluster fuck it was. At least in civilian life you can leave if it sucks, in the military they literally own you. Enjoy your peace when you get out, you’ve earned it.
It's not paradise but no loser E-8 that just got done beating up his third wife is going to barge in your room on the weekend to give you a detail...
You people that make the military better than civilian life are the ones using the good drugs.
If op is dedicated to the Infantry, I'm assuming he loves the life but hates continuously getting screwed by them. If he goes SF it's an all around win. He's living a life better then the Infantry and getting treated like an adult at the same time.
As someone who just got fired because I’m deploying, and was promised by my bosses they would keep me even if I did deploy. Fucking cut the rug under me.
I did, it was me and two guys working together. Because it was in total under five employees I wasn’t covered. I told a bunch of our clients what happened when I left and they pulled out of the business thank god. Just sucks not being able to get a job since I have to tell them I’m deploying in a few months and BLC soon too.
I should tell the BBB now, no one told me to. I told my current unit but they’re in another state. They’re helping where they can, and I got in touch with the Jobs for Joes guy but I haven’t heard from him since December.
Truer words have never been spoken except maybe when Truman said he was gonna drop the bomb. They say the transition is hard and every single one of us thought “yea maybe it’s tough but I’m X, Y and Z in the Army so I can do anything.” You’re used to saying to your self, hey I have this task, I’ll just knock it out by noon such as finding a job that’s worth a fuck….it isn’t like that…like at all. Even government jobs are like jumping through hoops of fire on a blue moon feb 29th on a leap year somehow….AND I have 20 years of service with TEN in the fucking field in applying to. Crickets man…..crickets for days.
Definitely make an educated decision because if it wasn’t for that retirement and disability, I’d still be stuck in the worst job I’ve ever had in my life. That safety net to quit and fuck off is a god send. Now I just work a part time job that’s amazing and hang with my kids all day. It’s glorious….but you don’t just walk into that either.
That’s why Bragg isn’t available - because EVERYONE needs people. If HRC deems X and Y units needs people more desperately than Bragg, then they’ll force people’s options to X and Y.
Hawaii, for example, is also in need of people. It’s not that people don’t want to go, it’s that HRC would rather have all units at say ~80-85% strength rather than some 95+ while others are 70
Here now. We are hemorrhaging people and getting no new or incoming replacements. In a standard light infantry company we’ve gotten two new dudes in the past year. One was a PCS.
That being said, I’m sure it’s the same everywhere else atm.
Dude, after spending the majority of my years of the military in the 82nd, it's a revolving damn door for nearly *all* ranks. They always need bodies. You're being fucked around.
I know a guy in my unit (E4) that asked for Liberty from branch and they said there wasn’t any slots available for junior enlisted which I also find very odd since Liberty is the probably the most common duty station for us. Another girl was also supposed to get Liberty (branch said this in an email) but ended up getting Campbell when her projections came in.
>knife fights to get any admin work done
I feel this on such a deep level. It doesn't seem like a big deal but it's so demoralizing on a daily basis, if I don't reenlist it will probably be a primary reason why. I shouldn't have to send 4 emails that go unanswered over the course of months, talk to 5 different people and get yelled at for "skipping the chain" in order to get scheduled for a school that my leadership literally begged me to go to.
>talk to 5 different people and get yelled at for "skipping the chain"
This is one of the shittiest things about the Army. The person you're supposed to talk to ignores you until you talk to someone else. Then they're not happy you got what you needed; they're mad that you went around them. They never acknowledge *why* you went around them.
>Bragg is no longer in the system.
This may because I'm a few months from retirement, but the cynical me is like: "Did the retention specialist look for spots at FT LIBERTY?"
Ever hear of IG? The “it’s not an option anymore” line is laziness. It’s always an option. Go past that retention yuck. Get HRC. Get the BDE and DIV CSMs and commanders involved. Retention fucking your paperwork is not an excuse.
Especially becaue it's not easy to find dedicated Infantrymen nowadays. If they lose a motivated and trained individual due to some desk jockey fucking up some paperwork,that's a huge preventable loss.
The military would rather have attrition than too much loyalty.
It's a way of making sure the military cannot seize political power. It sucks for those who would stay and have no interest in takeover.
It's hard to do a coup if you're not in the military anymore. The separation of officers and enlisted is another systemic check against coups or similar power grabs.
You people neg rep hard but you know very well the Army doesn't do much to retain people.
You’re on this sub asking after MOS recommendations…and now preaching to us (people actually in the military and vets that understand these dynamics *MUCH* better than you do) about retention not doing their jobs because they’re trying to…let me check my notes real quick….prevent coups?
Dude, seriously, don’t enlist. We do not need people like you.
It's not intentional or even conscious. But an artifact of the system operating.
Nor am I saying it's the only reason. Things like just not wanting to pay, avoiding the paying of pensions, toxic culture are more direct reasons of failure to retain.
I've been doing considerable research, and I doubt you would deny the DD-214 is an oft-celebrated document.
You're also not the gatekeeper of who goes in and out of the military. If the brass in MEPS say yes, then I can get back to you in 3-4 years.
Even just at the recruiters office, I get the small scale "mistakes" in paperwork. Mistyped phone number on the paperwork. I'll just keep an eye on my dealings with HR. But are going to argue 42As and their officers always things right and is smooth operation as I expect you to?
Saying the system operates to prevent coups does not mean any actual enlisted are actual plotters of a coup.
I'm not calling anyone traitor nor is this related to any current politics. There is nothing in politics I find edifying.
Whether you advice is good or bad will have results in the near or far future.
And also, I've lived too much of a nonsense-free and soft life. I want something tougher and not friendly to me.
This right here OP. Get those BDE & DIV CSMs involved, that way they can do something useful and help a Soldier stay in and be retained.
I'm fairly certain that those two will help retention unfuck the paperwork.
IG is going to write a report on the Retention NCOs performance and force the honoring of the original contract even if it means getting the same terms put into the new contract.
Not necessarily. That last contract is voided, for what reason, we don't know.
We don't have the entire situation here. So many different things could have occurred that we don't know of. Look at OP's post history. A lot of history there with trying to get assignments and coming off assignments. Which there is nothing wrong with that. But it just goes to show that we don't have all the details in this one post. The error could be at the fault of the Counselor.... or something else entirely.
But at the end of the day, if an assignment isn't available, IG can't make retention just put it on a new contract. There has to be a valid Retention Control Number on a valid reenlistment contract, for a valid assignment requisition. A lot of people and systems play a part in that.
A solution would be to have OP visit the Brigade Senior Career Counselor or Division retention office, who can look at what happened and advocate for the Soldier to HRC Retention team as they request to get the original option back. Or provide the full "why" in what happened if the Counselor wasn't at fault. Or send us a message so we can do the same.
Gonna shoot you a pm shortly. What I can attest to is that I haven’t done anything outside of what retention has asked me. My past assignment fiasco was an expired deros with no orders.
Fair enough, and that’s why I made sure to mention there is no issue with the history itself. Just more details are needed here.
Ultimately, we want you taken care of.
Still have a date. I’m not upset that the enlistment didn’t go through. Im seeing this as two working things. In order to not fuck myself, I’m keeping selection separate from my career until I merge them. Selection is the next step but I want to take advantage of the retention situation while I have the opportunity
Might as well see what reclass options there are at this point. Either move on (no problem there) or find a way to set yourself up for when you’re ready to get out.
Are you literate? If so, use that Post 9/11. ROTC is there if you want to try another set of Army bullshit.
You can even join the guard and keep crunchying once a month while you do.
As others have said, no matter how much you want it the Army will never love you back. The Army will never care about you as a person, you are a number on a spreadsheet. Individual soldiers may care and try to help you, but the Army as a whole could not give a shit less about your life or career.
Give what you must and take what you can. When the relationship stops being beneficial for you go ahead and move on, because if the relationship stops being beneficial for the Army they will sure as shit show you the door. If you can reclass to something that will help you on the outside that's a good way to stay in while still reaping long term benefits, if not then don't be afraid to put your own needs first and move on. It's a great big panzy ass world out here.
At the end of the day this is your life and you have to decide what's best for YOU personally. As long as you keep that in mind when you make these critical choices it's hard to go wrong.
OPINION: Common advice to an SM? Adapt and adapt hard. Unless you have some sweet nepotism on the outside for a job-place to live-money to do it, take a PCS: Alaska, Vincenza, etc. Won't hurt progression, will increase your value to the Army. Good luck, OP:)
I’ll do you one better.
Knew a guy who re-enlisted with like 3 weeks left in the military. The day he did it the retention NCO got arrested for stealing from the PX. Got removed from position (not many people were tracking outside of top leadership) so fast forward 1 month and soldier is told they are no longer in the army. Paperwork went into the ether I suppose.
Career Counselor here, hopefully I can clarify some of the errors.
Liberty/Bragg rarely have slots in the retention system for non-airnorne qualified infantryman. Branch has the ability to work around that by slotting and then either submitting your airborne physical to get you training en route, or if you submit an airborne volunteer statement the gaining unit can slot you when you arrive.
On the retention side, we have to go by what you currently have. When we build you in the system, it will show us those available assignments but it's on us to make sure you qualify for them. If you're not airborne, then what most likely happened is she built you, saw Liberty was available, but didn't verify that you need to be airborne, making you unqualified for the slot. The counselor now has to either renegotiate the contract, or cancel it altogether.
When she says "Bragg is no longer available", it means the only positions available you don't qualify for.
If you haven't closed everything out yet, go back and see if you can renegotiate to another option or another duty station.
I'm sorry this happened brother, but if you love what you do, don't let it stop you. Feel free to pm if you have questions.
Willing to bet she took a requisition that was AG templated for someone else and didn’t notice. Hard to believe they can’t make this right at HRC (if they even sent it up that far to ask).
Yeah, that's definitely a possibility too, especially if they're a new counselor and didn't catch the checked box. I'd try a val/reno before a full DUFE if HRC is willing to work with them.
>Bragg is no longer in the system.
Write an email to CSM up at 82D division. Include statement of intent, SRB, any useful documentation (NCOER, jump log, JM certificate, photo of dad in the 82nd).
Motivated soldier is a valued commodity.
Source : this is how I got to stay at one duty station for eleven years.
Just because the Retention NCO screwed up your paperwork doesn't mean it's the end of the road. If you can talk to the right people and push the correct buttons and oil the right gears you'll get what you want. I would start by open dooring your CO. And in the event that for some reason there really isn't a slot at Bragg (Sorry I will never call it Liberty) which as others have already stated is extremely unlikely, especially for an infantry slot, a slot can always be made by the right person you just have to find who that person is.
Here’s the thing brother. The only way you will have autonomy over your future is start a business. I was part time up in till 2012. PA Guard was always deployed.
Before the Guard I was in the Marine Corps. Worked on the base golf course and went to school for turf science and golf course management. I could never run a fertilizer and pest business till I got out.
I now have a thousand clients etc. it took a lot of time and hours but finally I have total control over my life.
Go to school. Find something you love and then work for yourself. If not try and find a small business that can appreciate you.
Elevate through your chain that you will not reenlist unless you get Liberty as that was already promised and your counselor had an error. Your CSM can likely make this happen for a location like Liberty.
There are ways to make spots open up to give you the reenlistment option for Liberty.
If that is what you want just be patient and hold your ground. You will get it.
How the fuck did the Retention NCO fuck up the paperwork. THAT’S THEIR ONLY JOB.
Some ways to work along this. The deal was for Bragg, slots open/close everyday. Until they can come back to you with Bragg, there is no deal. They will start sweating, because that gets briefed in Command and Shaft. The Brigade, Division, and Corps Retention NCO’s will also be learning about this. Your CSM should be VERY interested in what happened.
Hold out for Bragg. They still gotta meet mission. Remember “recruiting and retention is a major issue now”.
Good Luck!
We don't have all the facts with this situation. This is a very superficial explanation given. So, let’s do our best to not judge the situation based off a one sided account. Career Counselors do much more than this one action. And there is almost always an “and, if, or but” attached to just about everything we do. There are a number of reasons that can explain what happened, and it could be for better or worse of the Counselor. We don’t know.
And to provide a little more transparency, the Career Counselor IS the one briefing retention at Command and Staff, not the other way around. But if this happened at the fault of the Counselor, that CSM is likely to already be tracking without a C&S brief. You are right about higher echelon retention channels tracking though, so that means there are multiple levels trying to make this right, trust me. At the end of the day, Career Counselors are people. And if it was the Counselors fault, our field will do it's absolute best to make it right.
I have requested a DM so we can look into it. Main goal here is to get the Soldier taken care of.
Stop it just Stop it , you know that shit ain't true . Besides when's the last time your "so called " civilian / dept leader asked if you shaved huh ? When was the last time you were told to assemble a team at 16:30 to go scrub shitters , NOBODY cares about you the way The Army does -/S
Help us understand a little more here: You are walking away, because you couldn't get Ft. Liberty? Something I'm missing here? No other place you would rather be?
If you still want to reenlist and you’re in your CSM’s good graces, use the Open Door and talk to him. The retention NCO works for him, so that fuck up will not go unnoticed. Give the old man a chance to work the outside the system for you. It’s literally the only thing they’re supposed to be good at.
You see how quickly the system moves. Give it 2 weeks and Bragg might open back up. If not, shop around until someone sends a hotline and gets a yes. The Army, for all it’s rules, is an arbitrary bureaucracy. The rules don’t matter only people’s interpretation and implementation of them. Someone at HRC slot you at Bragg. It’s a massive post with tons of 11-series slots. Guarantee you someone just started a MEB this week and they need a backfill. Just work the problem, stay persistent and you’ll achieve your dreams.
Career counselor here. I don’t know the whole story, but they should be able to fix it. If it’s not in the system they can send a hotline. Maybe you have a new career counselor and she doesn’t know this? I suggest you go higher in the retention chain of command. Go to the BDE Counselor. If they can’t help go higher to Division or installation depending where you are. This just doesn’t sound right. If you need help let me know.
I joined at 34.
I tell this a lot...
"Life isn't about what you expect but how you deal with it." I'm sure you took a bunch of lessons from your service. Regardless what happens, take it forwards. Life only stops when you give up. Take what you learn and apply it to the future.
Before you throw in the towel go talk to your BDE retention and your CSM. They might have a solution for you. They may also need to make a corrective action in regards to your Career Counselor.
That being said if you don't like the solutions they offer I recommend the reserves. You can reclass and go back active. There are reserve units in Germany. Good luck to you.
Brother I feel this post. I spent 6 years in and by the end of it I was so tired of getting fucked. It never stops from the Army. I was a stellar stud in my early years and wanted nothing more than to become an nco once I did I started to see more and more how little people gave a shit about you and your guys. There’s nothing you can change. Get out and do something you’re passionate about. You can find other things outside the army to make you happy
This is the time for going higher in the retention chain I’d command and going ti see the IG in their chain. They should reach out to HRC and fix it. And it can be fixed.
BOHICA, amigo. Is there any way to ju-jitsu this? Turn it to your advantage? Why do you want Bragg \[Liberty?\] anyway, got a house there? Is there an MOS change you could work to gain new opportunities in your life? If your units are such trash, maybe get to somewhere you might be more appreciated.
I always encouraged my Soldiers to not let the current f'd up situation stop them from their own goals. Hope you can find a way to beat or avoid the Green Weenie
I would seriously suggest you talk to your CSM. First he or she needs to know retention boned you, I got it it’s a mistake but that’s a HUGE mistake. Second CSM, have a way of cutting through HRC/Branch red tape from time to time.
Had that happen to a guy in my platoon. He was grounded and got stuck driving. Humvee broke down, convoy just kept on. The OC’s looked after him for 3 days cause the unit had no idea where they were, or that they were missing. Every time our PSG asked about him, he got told he was at X or at Y… finally an OC called out the CSM in the TOC.
Good times….
Yup. I honestly wasn’t shocked. Two years before, it happened to me. Not on the same scale, but almost a full day, we were left on the side of the road, pulling a water buffalo and the axle seized up. The safety guys called our unit and told them to send a recovery vehicle…
This like the same story as one of my buddy’s. He’s up for reenlistment in like 4 months. He’s an LS2 that was at my command and he told the detailer I’ll reenlist for anywhere but San Diego. Detailer gives him San Diego and then are surprised when he put in his intention to separate. Admin never fails to amaze me.
Welcome to the land of civilians. Green grass both literally & figuratively. Use ARMYCOOL, take time for yourself. Wear shorts to work, it's all up to you big cat
I had something similar happen to me years ago, when I was a young SGT - 11B. Reenlistment contract was fucked, I was guaranteed a school seat and then the Army decided to cancel that unless I was going to extend 2 more years. I told my sister and she call our Senators office. They called me and I told them what happened. Less than 24 hrs later I'm in the BDE CSMs office and everything was fixed. The CSM wasn't mad, he said he just told me he had wished I came and saw him first so he could have fixed it.
So here is my advice:
1. Go to Division or Post reenlistment and see if they can help you.
2. Go see your Battalion or BDE CSM using the open door policy to see if they can help you.
3. Call your Congress person and get them involved.
The 82nd was my favorite assignment!
Good luck!
Bro ive been a civilian for 2 years after a salty separation with the army, injuries, set backs, poopy leadership, all the army things and I'm going to meps on Tuesday to reenlist. Being a civ is not what every one cracks it up to be, but then again I just may just be a bad civilian
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>With that said, a lot of people get this idea that private companies will bend over backwards and care so much about you when you get out. That civilian life is a paradise. It isn’t. Private companies won’t give a fuck about you either, unfortunately, unless you get really lucky. I'd say that about 50% of civilian companies make the Army look like a well managed machine. It is utterly devastating sometimes to see the levels of incompetence at private companies sometimes....For example: The average civilian company has a payroll accuracy of about 80%. That means if you work 5 days a week ... there is an average of 1 error every pay week. You think leadership in the military is toxic? If you make the company money and don't break the law (too badly, or at least dont get caught) you can do whatever you fucking want to on the civilian side, companies wont do anything and dont care as long as money is made. Generalization of course, some companies care .... but most don't. There is a reason depression, homelessness, etc are very prevalent among veterans... civilian side isn't the paradise you think it is. EDIT Example: I just had this conversation with my boss. I have a critical project that is due by 9am today (45 minutes ago). I have had my part of this project completed for two weeks, but I need a small portion from my boss before I can submit. This is the conversation I had this morning: Me: Hey boss, I have the project ready to submit, just need to finish it up with that (piece boss supposed to send). Can you shoot that over to me? Boss: I'll send it to you when its done ME: Ok, thanks. As soon as I get that I'll submit it to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Boss: make sure it is submitted by 9am, corporate has been yelling about it ME: Will do, I'll just send it without your piece Boss: NO! it must have that in it, ill send it when i get done Me: OK 9am Me: Boss man, project is due, corporate just called Boss: Submit it Me: \*submits report\* 930am Boss: WHY DID YOU SEND THE REPORT WITHOUT MY PART!!! Me: You still haven't sent it to me and you told me to Boss: i meant wait until i send you this part, im working on it now. now corporate is chewing my ass. thanks asshole
That man is the supreme goober
>It is utterly devastating sometimes to see the levels of incompetence at private companies sometimes I've never gone on military leave where my payroll department didn't mess up my pay. Seven years ago this week I went on military leave. I had a co-worker with the same first name and same first initial of last name. They put him on military leave by mistake and stopped his pay since they didn't have orders on file for him.
>They put him on military leave by mistake So you just got free leave?
No. When they fixed him, they put me on paid leave (I get 30 days paid military leave a year).
That absolutely happens - and I experienced a similar dynamic in my civilian work - but you can also make adjustments in position, where you work, etc. May not be on a dime, but if you're unhappy, you can plan it out and adjust. I'm still in the Reserves, but I'd say that's much less true for the military. You can do a lot of things right and still have some admin issues come out of left field with absolutely no recourse on your part other than everyone in your immediate vicinity acknowledging that's just the norm and you got unlucky.
Your pay statement is correct but not completely accurate. I’ve had my civilian pay messed up a total of 3 times the entire 12 years I was in the workforce. They fixed my pay instantly with no issues within a week or two weeks. Military has fucked my pay up 7 times in two years and taken massive amounts of red tape to fix. It’s not the same.
Individual experiences are not the norm. Finance fucked my pay exactly once in 20 years, (overpaid me $5k for a re-up bonus) and the finance clerks were all, "while you could get a no pay due for two months and it'll be over, we'll do $500/month for 10 months, cool with you?" My husband's pay was screwed up exactly once in the 15 years we were married - when his kid aged out of BAH coverage and instead of moving him from w/dep to single, they decided he didn't need BAH at all - he was a SGM, so it was fixed by the next paycheck. Sorry your finance section sucked, but you're an outlier for pay issues.
Do you mind me asking how much you make at this job?
Roughly comparable to what I'd be making if I had stayed active duty (after you consider BAH, BAS etc as part of income), maybe a little more. If you aren't used to civilian life this might sound surprising: but I actually took a fairly significant pay cut to leave a job that was far more stressful than this one to come here. Worth it. Sure my boss is an asshat, but other than stupid conversations on teams and occasionally telling him he needs to go fuck off ... its a good gig. My boss isn't in the same state as I am, I see him twice a year. As I said before ... if you make the company money you can get away with a lot of shit :)
Can you call your boss and asshat and not get fired ?
My boss just torpedoed a project I have been working on because of her personal opinion despite the fact that it would deliver positive business outcomes.
Don't get the potential or prospect of making money confused with currently making money. You can have an idea that has 100% chance of success and will make money hand over fist .... that might get torpedoed in the politics of the company. But if you are CURRENTLY making the company good money .... the company will turn a blind eye to a lot of things. The trick is to be making money NOW ... then do whatever projects you want. When bossman says "hey stop that", you can push back or just outright ignore them. If you making enough money they'll get told to leave you alone.
Dilbert!
I can literally hear this as I read this and know that you are speaking with 100% accuracy.
Well a month and a half ago I was on staff duty, today I was standing in an OR with my surgeon I’m assigned to where I assist in the clinic. Culture shock is real!
I always try to relate this. Private companies somehow give *less* of a fuck about you. It's a different set of bullshit. Some things are better, absolutely. Some things are worse.
Yea, the only difference is if you stop giving a fuck about that company, you don’t have to worry about going to jail.
Life can get you just as stuck though.
Then, it's usually the person's own fault, marrying the wrong person, having kids for no reason, etc. Some people rely on the military so they can point at everything wrong with their life and blame something else.
Being barely competent, but also a double tax write off for the company (vet + disabled vet, since everyone can get a rating, or triple if the company counts combat vet) can save your ass during layoffs, though! I assume it’s more effective in smaller companies, where there’s less of us in the mix. Was tempted to pretend to be gay and Native American, with how hungry HR was once they found out I checked so many boxes.
Bro, people have no idea how bad private industry is. I’m in an EMBA program and 4 of my peers have been laid off since September. All were making great money, but the businesses had to make quarterly figures 🤷🏻♂️ Corporations demand loyalty and effort, but will toss you to the wayside at a moment’s notice. It’s why I encourage guys getting out or vets I know to go the gov’t route. That’s what I’m doing (State level), and my job is safe, and I never stay past 5pm. Edit: also, State work tends to pay better and often have better pension programs for equivalent fed jobs (though I’ve found that Fed gigs have more possibility of climbing the ladder). This is even more so for City/County work. Some roles for municipalities pay *crazy* $$$ for 8-5 desk work.
Yeah the benefits packages tend to be good too like health insurance. Plus the people who become truly well off don’t do it through 9-5 jobs they save and invest
but does the State count your military time?
You *can,* but it’s honestly expensive af. Much better pension program where I’m at, though, and if you run the math it about evens out. Edit: I also only did 5 years. There’s a common misconception that you can retire at 20, pull that pension, then *count* that 20 towards another fed pension. You get one or the other. People always say they’re “double dipping,” but they’re using that term wrong. To actually collect your military retirement + buy back 20 years of service is only possible in very rare circumstances.
there's no point in retiring from the military and buying back your time for a fed job. you'd lose your military pension. i served 13 yrs, and buying back my time was *very beneficial.*
You can double dip as a retired reservist. You just don't start collecting reserve retirement until you're (generally) 60.
Yeah, but that’s an exception. Retired AD guys always misrepresent their GS gig and retirement scheme
Applying seems hard. Dunno why. Yes ik this is an old thread.
I'll never understand people who say civi life is some paradise, I mean mostly the people who stay in the army and try to discourage people from ETS. Civilian life is just....life, except you're free again, and what you do is up to you. It's tough out there, but I'd rather be free than be in the abusive relationship that is the military. Unlike a lot of soldiers, I had a life, an adult life before the military, so I know what it's like, and I'm anxiously waiting to go back home, and be in peace again.
The difference is civi life *can* be paradise, and you are free to search it out as much as you’d like. The military is a god damn lottery, with roughly the same odds as the actual lottery. And 95% of the time you don’t have any say if your numbers are the lucky ones. Long way of saying it, but I 100% agree with what you said.
I was like you, had an adult life before the military and it was such a RELIEF to step out of the military. What a toxic cluster fuck it was. At least in civilian life you can leave if it sucks, in the military they literally own you. Enjoy your peace when you get out, you’ve earned it.
It's not paradise but no loser E-8 that just got done beating up his third wife is going to barge in your room on the weekend to give you a detail... You people that make the military better than civilian life are the ones using the good drugs.
Go SF. It's a different world.
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If op is dedicated to the Infantry, I'm assuming he loves the life but hates continuously getting screwed by them. If he goes SF it's an all around win. He's living a life better then the Infantry and getting treated like an adult at the same time.
Duh dude! Fort Bragg isn’t even a place anymore…this guy!
As someone who just got fired because I’m deploying, and was promised by my bosses they would keep me even if I did deploy. Fucking cut the rug under me.
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I did, it was me and two guys working together. Because it was in total under five employees I wasn’t covered. I told a bunch of our clients what happened when I left and they pulled out of the business thank god. Just sucks not being able to get a job since I have to tell them I’m deploying in a few months and BLC soon too.
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BBB is a private company that other companies can effectively pay for ratings from. "My civilian boss fired me because I'm deploying" is ESGR's lane.
I should tell the BBB now, no one told me to. I told my current unit but they’re in another state. They’re helping where they can, and I got in touch with the Jobs for Joes guy but I haven’t heard from him since December.
Truer words have never been spoken except maybe when Truman said he was gonna drop the bomb. They say the transition is hard and every single one of us thought “yea maybe it’s tough but I’m X, Y and Z in the Army so I can do anything.” You’re used to saying to your self, hey I have this task, I’ll just knock it out by noon such as finding a job that’s worth a fuck….it isn’t like that…like at all. Even government jobs are like jumping through hoops of fire on a blue moon feb 29th on a leap year somehow….AND I have 20 years of service with TEN in the fucking field in applying to. Crickets man…..crickets for days. Definitely make an educated decision because if it wasn’t for that retirement and disability, I’d still be stuck in the worst job I’ve ever had in my life. That safety net to quit and fuck off is a god send. Now I just work a part time job that’s amazing and hang with my kids all day. It’s glorious….but you don’t just walk into that either.
Private sector just doesn't have incompetent assholes fucking up your paperwork constantly and yelling at you about it.
Am I the only one shocked that Liberty (fka Bragg) is not available?
Yeah hard to believe there’s no spots available in the 82nd, they always need people, everyone needs people right now
Yeah, something sounds off here. I've never heard of the 82nd not needing people.
when i made 7 in the 82d, they were overstrength in that grade, so i was special dutied to be Staff Duty NCO at XVIII Corps.
Were you just in charge of getting new privates barracks room while they in processed ?
That’s why Bragg isn’t available - because EVERYONE needs people. If HRC deems X and Y units needs people more desperately than Bragg, then they’ll force people’s options to X and Y. Hawaii, for example, is also in need of people. It’s not that people don’t want to go, it’s that HRC would rather have all units at say ~80-85% strength rather than some 95+ while others are 70
I mean, that’s fair. It makes the most sense to have everyone at 80ish% so they can just beef up their privates and 2LTs and be good to go
Here now. We are hemorrhaging people and getting no new or incoming replacements. In a standard light infantry company we’ve gotten two new dudes in the past year. One was a PCS. That being said, I’m sure it’s the same everywhere else atm.
I’m also shocked. I’m sure it would be different if I wasn’t already a 6
You talk to your local CSM? I can't imagine them not fixing this.
The 82nd needs 6s. You just have to ask the right person.
Dude, after spending the majority of my years of the military in the 82nd, it's a revolving damn door for nearly *all* ranks. They always need bodies. You're being fucked around.
I know a guy in my unit (E4) that asked for Liberty from branch and they said there wasn’t any slots available for junior enlisted which I also find very odd since Liberty is the probably the most common duty station for us. Another girl was also supposed to get Liberty (branch said this in an email) but ended up getting Campbell when her projections came in.
>knife fights to get any admin work done I feel this on such a deep level. It doesn't seem like a big deal but it's so demoralizing on a daily basis, if I don't reenlist it will probably be a primary reason why. I shouldn't have to send 4 emails that go unanswered over the course of months, talk to 5 different people and get yelled at for "skipping the chain" in order to get scheduled for a school that my leadership literally begged me to go to.
>talk to 5 different people and get yelled at for "skipping the chain" This is one of the shittiest things about the Army. The person you're supposed to talk to ignores you until you talk to someone else. Then they're not happy you got what you needed; they're mad that you went around them. They never acknowledge *why* you went around them.
>Bragg is no longer in the system. This may because I'm a few months from retirement, but the cynical me is like: "Did the retention specialist look for spots at FT LIBERTY?"
Imagine if that’s the reason why and OP is getting trolled
> Imagine if that’s the reason why and ~~OP is getting trolled~~ the retention NCO is a fucking moron
Fair thought and I get where you're coming from, but I can assure you that's not what happened. Base names are not updated in RETAIN just yet.
Ever hear of IG? The “it’s not an option anymore” line is laziness. It’s always an option. Go past that retention yuck. Get HRC. Get the BDE and DIV CSMs and commanders involved. Retention fucking your paperwork is not an excuse.
Especially becaue it's not easy to find dedicated Infantrymen nowadays. If they lose a motivated and trained individual due to some desk jockey fucking up some paperwork,that's a huge preventable loss.
The military would rather have attrition than too much loyalty. It's a way of making sure the military cannot seize political power. It sucks for those who would stay and have no interest in takeover.
Bro wtf are you talking about? Lmao
It's hard to do a coup if you're not in the military anymore. The separation of officers and enlisted is another systemic check against coups or similar power grabs. You people neg rep hard but you know very well the Army doesn't do much to retain people.
You’re on this sub asking after MOS recommendations…and now preaching to us (people actually in the military and vets that understand these dynamics *MUCH* better than you do) about retention not doing their jobs because they’re trying to…let me check my notes real quick….prevent coups? Dude, seriously, don’t enlist. We do not need people like you.
It's not intentional or even conscious. But an artifact of the system operating. Nor am I saying it's the only reason. Things like just not wanting to pay, avoiding the paying of pensions, toxic culture are more direct reasons of failure to retain. I've been doing considerable research, and I doubt you would deny the DD-214 is an oft-celebrated document. You're also not the gatekeeper of who goes in and out of the military. If the brass in MEPS say yes, then I can get back to you in 3-4 years. Even just at the recruiters office, I get the small scale "mistakes" in paperwork. Mistyped phone number on the paperwork. I'll just keep an eye on my dealings with HR. But are going to argue 42As and their officers always things right and is smooth operation as I expect you to?
Bro, seriously, don't join.
Bro, don’t join.
Saying the system operates to prevent coups does not mean any actual enlisted are actual plotters of a coup. I'm not calling anyone traitor nor is this related to any current politics. There is nothing in politics I find edifying. Whether you advice is good or bad will have results in the near or far future. And also, I've lived too much of a nonsense-free and soft life. I want something tougher and not friendly to me.
Every message you write reads like it was written by a schizophrenic.
> the brass in MEPS LOL wut?
This right here OP. Get those BDE & DIV CSMs involved, that way they can do something useful and help a Soldier stay in and be retained. I'm fairly certain that those two will help retention unfuck the paperwork.
Do not involve your current CoC. They will try to keep you, not to lose a good soldier. Contact the unit you want to go to.
As a fall back, the OP said they'd be willing to stay at Liberty.
What the hell is IG gonna do?
IG is going to write a report on the Retention NCOs performance and force the honoring of the original contract even if it means getting the same terms put into the new contract.
Not necessarily. That last contract is voided, for what reason, we don't know. We don't have the entire situation here. So many different things could have occurred that we don't know of. Look at OP's post history. A lot of history there with trying to get assignments and coming off assignments. Which there is nothing wrong with that. But it just goes to show that we don't have all the details in this one post. The error could be at the fault of the Counselor.... or something else entirely. But at the end of the day, if an assignment isn't available, IG can't make retention just put it on a new contract. There has to be a valid Retention Control Number on a valid reenlistment contract, for a valid assignment requisition. A lot of people and systems play a part in that. A solution would be to have OP visit the Brigade Senior Career Counselor or Division retention office, who can look at what happened and advocate for the Soldier to HRC Retention team as they request to get the original option back. Or provide the full "why" in what happened if the Counselor wasn't at fault. Or send us a message so we can do the same.
Gonna shoot you a pm shortly. What I can attest to is that I haven’t done anything outside of what retention has asked me. My past assignment fiasco was an expired deros with no orders.
Fair enough, and that’s why I made sure to mention there is no issue with the history itself. Just more details are needed here. Ultimately, we want you taken care of.
Probably nothing, but people love saying “Call IG”.
I mean, sounds like he has a contract. It's on the army to honor it.
Sounds like you should get out and join the ROTC at the college of your choice, commission, and come back and blast that shop for incompetence.
Send us a message please.
The hero we needed
Unless you’re trying to get to North Carolina for personal reasons; Vicenza is better.
Go to SFAS.
I mean looks like he was going to by his post history? Just go be a GB, OP
Still have a date. I’m not upset that the enlistment didn’t go through. Im seeing this as two working things. In order to not fuck myself, I’m keeping selection separate from my career until I merge them. Selection is the next step but I want to take advantage of the retention situation while I have the opportunity
happy cake day!
Might as well see what reclass options there are at this point. Either move on (no problem there) or find a way to set yourself up for when you’re ready to get out.
Hey, /u/yesthatpao is at liberty this week. Is it true there’s no more spots to be able to retain a Soldier? Please advise.
Doing God's work
Are you literate? If so, use that Post 9/11. ROTC is there if you want to try another set of Army bullshit. You can even join the guard and keep crunchying once a month while you do.
As others have said, no matter how much you want it the Army will never love you back. The Army will never care about you as a person, you are a number on a spreadsheet. Individual soldiers may care and try to help you, but the Army as a whole could not give a shit less about your life or career. Give what you must and take what you can. When the relationship stops being beneficial for you go ahead and move on, because if the relationship stops being beneficial for the Army they will sure as shit show you the door. If you can reclass to something that will help you on the outside that's a good way to stay in while still reaping long term benefits, if not then don't be afraid to put your own needs first and move on. It's a great big panzy ass world out here. At the end of the day this is your life and you have to decide what's best for YOU personally. As long as you keep that in mind when you make these critical choices it's hard to go wrong.
OPINION: Common advice to an SM? Adapt and adapt hard. Unless you have some sweet nepotism on the outside for a job-place to live-money to do it, take a PCS: Alaska, Vincenza, etc. Won't hurt progression, will increase your value to the Army. Good luck, OP:)
I’ll do you one better. Knew a guy who re-enlisted with like 3 weeks left in the military. The day he did it the retention NCO got arrested for stealing from the PX. Got removed from position (not many people were tracking outside of top leadership) so fast forward 1 month and soldier is told they are no longer in the army. Paperwork went into the ether I suppose.
Career Counselor here, hopefully I can clarify some of the errors. Liberty/Bragg rarely have slots in the retention system for non-airnorne qualified infantryman. Branch has the ability to work around that by slotting and then either submitting your airborne physical to get you training en route, or if you submit an airborne volunteer statement the gaining unit can slot you when you arrive. On the retention side, we have to go by what you currently have. When we build you in the system, it will show us those available assignments but it's on us to make sure you qualify for them. If you're not airborne, then what most likely happened is she built you, saw Liberty was available, but didn't verify that you need to be airborne, making you unqualified for the slot. The counselor now has to either renegotiate the contract, or cancel it altogether. When she says "Bragg is no longer available", it means the only positions available you don't qualify for. If you haven't closed everything out yet, go back and see if you can renegotiate to another option or another duty station. I'm sorry this happened brother, but if you love what you do, don't let it stop you. Feel free to pm if you have questions.
Willing to bet she took a requisition that was AG templated for someone else and didn’t notice. Hard to believe they can’t make this right at HRC (if they even sent it up that far to ask).
Yeah, that's definitely a possibility too, especially if they're a new counselor and didn't catch the checked box. I'd try a val/reno before a full DUFE if HRC is willing to work with them.
>Bragg is no longer in the system. Write an email to CSM up at 82D division. Include statement of intent, SRB, any useful documentation (NCOER, jump log, JM certificate, photo of dad in the 82nd). Motivated soldier is a valued commodity. Source : this is how I got to stay at one duty station for eleven years.
>Bragg is no longer in the system > >... > >I’ve given up 2 serious relationships because of the dedication I give the infantry. Bro.
Just because the Retention NCO screwed up your paperwork doesn't mean it's the end of the road. If you can talk to the right people and push the correct buttons and oil the right gears you'll get what you want. I would start by open dooring your CO. And in the event that for some reason there really isn't a slot at Bragg (Sorry I will never call it Liberty) which as others have already stated is extremely unlikely, especially for an infantry slot, a slot can always be made by the right person you just have to find who that person is.
First time getting fucked?
Nah man, that’s why I’m on the way out. It’s a consistent ass fucking every admin step of the way
Here’s the thing brother. The only way you will have autonomy over your future is start a business. I was part time up in till 2012. PA Guard was always deployed. Before the Guard I was in the Marine Corps. Worked on the base golf course and went to school for turf science and golf course management. I could never run a fertilizer and pest business till I got out. I now have a thousand clients etc. it took a lot of time and hours but finally I have total control over my life. Go to school. Find something you love and then work for yourself. If not try and find a small business that can appreciate you.
Drop a JSOC application
Sometimes fuck ups like this can lead to new and exciting adventures. Army is going to Army you over any chance it gets. Semper Gumbi.
Elevate through your chain that you will not reenlist unless you get Liberty as that was already promised and your counselor had an error. Your CSM can likely make this happen for a location like Liberty. There are ways to make spots open up to give you the reenlistment option for Liberty. If that is what you want just be patient and hold your ground. You will get it.
Federal Civilian Employee is waiting for you on the outside...
[USAJOBS.gov](https://USAJOBS.gov) See you on the other side.
Get out and enjoy life. Apply to Border Patrol if you want to actually do some cool guy stuff (not training).
How the fuck did the Retention NCO fuck up the paperwork. THAT’S THEIR ONLY JOB. Some ways to work along this. The deal was for Bragg, slots open/close everyday. Until they can come back to you with Bragg, there is no deal. They will start sweating, because that gets briefed in Command and Shaft. The Brigade, Division, and Corps Retention NCO’s will also be learning about this. Your CSM should be VERY interested in what happened. Hold out for Bragg. They still gotta meet mission. Remember “recruiting and retention is a major issue now”. Good Luck!
We don't have all the facts with this situation. This is a very superficial explanation given. So, let’s do our best to not judge the situation based off a one sided account. Career Counselors do much more than this one action. And there is almost always an “and, if, or but” attached to just about everything we do. There are a number of reasons that can explain what happened, and it could be for better or worse of the Counselor. We don’t know. And to provide a little more transparency, the Career Counselor IS the one briefing retention at Command and Staff, not the other way around. But if this happened at the fault of the Counselor, that CSM is likely to already be tracking without a C&S brief. You are right about higher echelon retention channels tracking though, so that means there are multiple levels trying to make this right, trust me. At the end of the day, Career Counselors are people. And if it was the Counselors fault, our field will do it's absolute best to make it right. I have requested a DM so we can look into it. Main goal here is to get the Soldier taken care of.
You’ve earned your pay today!
LMAO she had ONE job. And she fucked it up.
Stop it just Stop it , you know that shit ain't true . Besides when's the last time your "so called " civilian / dept leader asked if you shaved huh ? When was the last time you were told to assemble a team at 16:30 to go scrub shitters , NOBODY cares about you the way The Army does -/S
"LIBERTY" was probably there in the place of BRAGG and she was like, "Whelp, I don't see it anymore. Tough luck pal."
Help us understand a little more here: You are walking away, because you couldn't get Ft. Liberty? Something I'm missing here? No other place you would rather be?
Just remember, you signed up for this shit so enjoy The Suck . It will make you a better leader -/S
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Taking it personally?
And the Army wonders why they have a retention problem...
Drop a packet to anything. Better then lamenting for 20 years just to realize you’ve served mediocrity, at best.
If you still want to reenlist and you’re in your CSM’s good graces, use the Open Door and talk to him. The retention NCO works for him, so that fuck up will not go unnoticed. Give the old man a chance to work the outside the system for you. It’s literally the only thing they’re supposed to be good at.
You see how quickly the system moves. Give it 2 weeks and Bragg might open back up. If not, shop around until someone sends a hotline and gets a yes. The Army, for all it’s rules, is an arbitrary bureaucracy. The rules don’t matter only people’s interpretation and implementation of them. Someone at HRC slot you at Bragg. It’s a massive post with tons of 11-series slots. Guarantee you someone just started a MEB this week and they need a backfill. Just work the problem, stay persistent and you’ll achieve your dreams.
As someone who spent their whole career at Bragg, why the FUCK would you wanna go there????
Career counselor here. I don’t know the whole story, but they should be able to fix it. If it’s not in the system they can send a hotline. Maybe you have a new career counselor and she doesn’t know this? I suggest you go higher in the retention chain of command. Go to the BDE Counselor. If they can’t help go higher to Division or installation depending where you are. This just doesn’t sound right. If you need help let me know.
Move up the retention ladder a bit. They are willing to make a deal.
I joined at 34. I tell this a lot... "Life isn't about what you expect but how you deal with it." I'm sure you took a bunch of lessons from your service. Regardless what happens, take it forwards. Life only stops when you give up. Take what you learn and apply it to the future.
Before you throw in the towel go talk to your BDE retention and your CSM. They might have a solution for you. They may also need to make a corrective action in regards to your Career Counselor. That being said if you don't like the solutions they offer I recommend the reserves. You can reclass and go back active. There are reserve units in Germany. Good luck to you.
Retention fucked me too, so I went and used my GI Bill. I should have thanked them for sending me to a better career!
Brother I feel this post. I spent 6 years in and by the end of it I was so tired of getting fucked. It never stops from the Army. I was a stellar stud in my early years and wanted nothing more than to become an nco once I did I started to see more and more how little people gave a shit about you and your guys. There’s nothing you can change. Get out and do something you’re passionate about. You can find other things outside the army to make you happy
Say you do get out Do you have a viable plan to financially maintain your current lifestyle?
This is the time for going higher in the retention chain I’d command and going ti see the IG in their chain. They should reach out to HRC and fix it. And it can be fixed.
High performers often forget that it is easier to fight these battles when someone else is fighting for you. Go see your CSM.
BOHICA, amigo. Is there any way to ju-jitsu this? Turn it to your advantage? Why do you want Bragg \[Liberty?\] anyway, got a house there? Is there an MOS change you could work to gain new opportunities in your life? If your units are such trash, maybe get to somewhere you might be more appreciated. I always encouraged my Soldiers to not let the current f'd up situation stop them from their own goals. Hope you can find a way to beat or avoid the Green Weenie
I would seriously suggest you talk to your CSM. First he or she needs to know retention boned you, I got it it’s a mistake but that’s a HUGE mistake. Second CSM, have a way of cutting through HRC/Branch red tape from time to time.
The unit abandoned me at an ntc rotation, imagine what’d they’d do in an actual wartime scenario. Lol.
Had that happen to a guy in my platoon. He was grounded and got stuck driving. Humvee broke down, convoy just kept on. The OC’s looked after him for 3 days cause the unit had no idea where they were, or that they were missing. Every time our PSG asked about him, he got told he was at X or at Y… finally an OC called out the CSM in the TOC. Good times….
Lmao sounds about par for the course, the greatest of times you could say
Yup. I honestly wasn’t shocked. Two years before, it happened to me. Not on the same scale, but almost a full day, we were left on the side of the road, pulling a water buffalo and the axle seized up. The safety guys called our unit and told them to send a recovery vehicle…
I hear ya
This like the same story as one of my buddy’s. He’s up for reenlistment in like 4 months. He’s an LS2 that was at my command and he told the detailer I’ll reenlist for anywhere but San Diego. Detailer gives him San Diego and then are surprised when he put in his intention to separate. Admin never fails to amaze me.
Drop a packet. Do something bigger.
Go to the next higher retention office
Have you considered SFAS or POAS? There’s a good chance you will stay in NC if you get selected.
First time?
Welcome to the land of civilians. Green grass both literally & figuratively. Use ARMYCOOL, take time for yourself. Wear shorts to work, it's all up to you big cat
I had something similar happen to me years ago, when I was a young SGT - 11B. Reenlistment contract was fucked, I was guaranteed a school seat and then the Army decided to cancel that unless I was going to extend 2 more years. I told my sister and she call our Senators office. They called me and I told them what happened. Less than 24 hrs later I'm in the BDE CSMs office and everything was fixed. The CSM wasn't mad, he said he just told me he had wished I came and saw him first so he could have fixed it. So here is my advice: 1. Go to Division or Post reenlistment and see if they can help you. 2. Go see your Battalion or BDE CSM using the open door policy to see if they can help you. 3. Call your Congress person and get them involved. The 82nd was my favorite assignment! Good luck!
Bro ive been a civilian for 2 years after a salty separation with the army, injuries, set backs, poopy leadership, all the army things and I'm going to meps on Tuesday to reenlist. Being a civ is not what every one cracks it up to be, but then again I just may just be a bad civilian