Oh boy tar, I've seen your posts. We could write a sitcom on this shit.
Haha For the past few years I've actually been working on a collection of interconnected satirical short stories based on my experiences in the Army. The process is very therapeutic.
Most of my stories of fucked up leadership that don't break opsec have probably been shared in these threads, but I can certainly relate.
I remember our company XO got an ARCOM for setting up the BN ball. A few years later some of us got ARCOMs for our actions in the Battle of Zarqa. :rotate: Confused (yet cautiously grateful) is probably the best description of our reactions.
Sat down with First Sergeant yesterday as part of inprocessing.
He says,"I know this company has a reputation for being jacked up, but I'm going to work on getting us back on line." He's been in the unit about as long as I have (3 weeks), and I thought damn, if you're just coming out and saying it, maybe there's some hope for us after all. My face twitched a little bit as he said it, I was trying not to smile.
Every WO and NCO that I talk to candidly says this place (and not just my Co) is so fucked up compared to stateside. My biggest fear leaving AIT was getting a shitty unit or first line NCO. Welp.
Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
edited February 2014
In lighter news, finding an apartment was easy. Already booked a place that's pretty close to Fort Benning. Second best part is that a buddy from Air Assault school reports for Infantry School a day after I report so we decided to be roommates. $600 a month with all utilities minus electricity with a $1200 BAH is a hell of a deal.
In lighter news, finding an apartment was easy. Already booked a place that's pretty close to Fort Benning. Second best part is that a buddy from Air Assault school reports for Infantry School a day after I report so we decided to be roommates. $600 a month with all utilities minus electricity with a $1200 BAH is a hell of a deal.
Currently 10 lbs over army standard. Might be able to pass tape, might not, my neck isn't very big and most of the weight I added on deployment went straight to my belly.
The last time I weighed this much, I dropped 15 lbs in 3 months almost exclusively through portion control, but this time I'm just holding even for the past month. Part of it is that my unit does really shitty pt, and it's hard to muster the willpower to work out for a second time in the same day even if the first workout was bogus. Another part is that this place is terrible and it's hard to hold onto motivation. Also, I'm on a temporary profile due to jumper/runner's knee and I can't do too much cardio at the moment. It's like a perfect storm of fat-soldierism.
Currently 10 lbs over army standard. Might be able to pass tape, might not, my neck isn't very big and most of the weight I added on deployment went straight to my belly.
The last time I weighed this much, I dropped 15 lbs in 3 months almost exclusively through portion control, but this time I'm just holding even for the past month. Part of it is that my unit does really shitty pt, and it's hard to muster the willpower to work out for a second time in the same day even if the first workout was bogus. Another part is that this place is terrible and it's hard to hold onto motivation. Also, I'm on a temporary profile due to jumper/runner's knee and I can't do too much cardio at the moment. It's like a perfect storm of fat-soldierism.
That sucks, best of luck to you. Don't do anything fucking stupid with it (like take it before PT tests or cardio, or not hydrate, etc), but I found pre-workouts helped boost workout intensity / length and well as being stimulants, so even when I went from doing primarily cardio to primarily lifting in Afghanistan, I still lost weight really fast. I was below my BCT weight, twice as strong, and substantially faster on top of it.
I feel you. I've never busted tape (and am under tape weight occasionally), but I gain weight super fast myself if I don't PT on my own in substantial quantities.
Petition your first line leader to allow you to do PT on your own because of your profile.
See how swimming affects your knee if that doesn't break your profile. A row machine could work as well if your one of your post's gyms has them.
Failing all of that, start lifting on your own to change your body composition and ignore your weight.
I was able to drop all of my extra KBR and MRE weight prior to redeployment by spending about 15 hours a week in the gym, but once you're back in garrison that shit is hard.
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
edited February 2014
I like how its been a month since I emailed that S1 from my ROTC BN and in that time it took her two weeks to send me a form to sign and its been another two weeks since I've heard anything besides a voice mail.
Also, for living at Benning. Should I just do all my grocery shopping at the PX/Commissary or should I continue my ritual habits of going to a Jewel/Meijers store for all my grocery needs? Part of me is eager to see the dependapottamus' at the Commissary, but I figure I have the rest of my career for that.
Yeah, going to check out the pool and buy some goggles today. On the bright side, the elliptical doesn't seem to bother my knee either (though I was going slow for most of the ~3 miles I did on it this morning). Hopefully the physical therapist can get my shit right before too long.
At least there's a delay before my next pt test due to my temp profile for the knee. Going to do swimming/elliptical/rowing 3 days a week (unless they end up aggravating my knee) and really work my ass off in the gym for push-ups and sit-ups. Was close to 100s on both of those before, figure no matter how bad my run is (never gotten below 73, but also wasn't injured), if I can bust out two 100s I'll be sitting pretty.
PS4:MrZoompants
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
So question regarding awards. Years ago I got a Reserve Component Achievement Medal (Reserve Good Conduct Medal), but I never got the memorandum for it because the S1 said she needed to make copies and put it on iPerms. Stupid me never bothered to get back on her for it. WIth me reporting to ABOLC next week I'm trying to get all of my paperwork and citations together for all of my awards, but I don't have anything saying I'm authorized the ARCAM. In the meantime should I just bother taking the thing off until I get something that says I can wear it? So far I can't get a hold of the Reserve Unit.
So question regarding awards. Years ago I got a Reserve Component Achievement Medal (Reserve Good Conduct Medal), but I never got the memorandum for it because the S1 said she needed to make copies and put it on iPerms. Stupid me never bothered to get back on her for it. WIth me reporting to ABOLC next week I'm trying to get all of my paperwork and citations together for all of my awards, but I don't have anything saying I'm authorized the ARCAM. In the meantime should I just bother taking the thing off until I get something that says I can wear it? So far I can't get a hold of the Reserve Unit.
I've never heard of anyone being like "WHERE'D YOU GET THAT ARCAM?!" and then asking to see your SURF right then and there. If anything, it would be for medals like the Purple Heart or Bronze/Silver Star. You really need that memorandum or citation though, and it needs that identifier code on it. If your unit doesn't have it then you might be SOL.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
So question regarding awards. Years ago I got a Reserve Component Achievement Medal (Reserve Good Conduct Medal), but I never got the memorandum for it because the S1 said she needed to make copies and put it on iPerms. Stupid me never bothered to get back on her for it. WIth me reporting to ABOLC next week I'm trying to get all of my paperwork and citations together for all of my awards, but I don't have anything saying I'm authorized the ARCAM. In the meantime should I just bother taking the thing off until I get something that says I can wear it? So far I can't get a hold of the Reserve Unit.
I've never heard of anyone being like "WHERE'D YOU GET THAT ARCAM?!" and then asking to see your SURF right then and there. If anything, it would be for medals like the Purple Heart or Bronze/Silver Star. You really need that memorandum or citation though, and it needs that identifier code on it. If your unit doesn't have it then you might be SOL.
I'm getting that feeling. I just feel dumb now because I have a bunch of photos with me having it on, but no paperwork to back it up.
People make mistakes. It just sucks when it's you on the receiving end.
Keep trying with the reserve unit. Don't give up. It sometimes takes a god awful amount of time for things to get taken care of administratively but it's always worth the effort of trying.
Dunno how it is with the Army. Air Force with the Good Conduct, it was usually a gimmie. Any paperwork you needed was to be in relation to removing the medal.
Also do you guys not a have a thing that holds all your medals awarded? We had the vMPF which was awesome (when it was up to date).
PSN: jfrofl
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
Dunno how it is with the Army. Air Force with the Good Conduct, it was usually a gimmie. Any paperwork you needed was to be in relation to removing the medal.
Also do you guys not a have a thing that holds all your medals awarded? We had the vMPF which was awesome (when it was up to date).
We have iPerms. I can't access my iPerms at the moment because it requires a CAC, but my HRC Reserve Record account has been working pretty well as a suitable backup. I noticed it had my DD 214 in there and my Air Assault memorandum in there, but no Good Conduct. I called them the last two days and caught a voice mail, but I'll keep calling until I get an answer. Best case I catch the unit on a drill weekend and talk to someone directly.
What Rads said applies in my experience. You could probably get away with wearing it. If you get called out, the responsibility ought to fall on your last unit. Otherwise the implication is you got an article 15 or something.
(Edit: In my opinion this is one of those many instances where the spirit of the rules are more important than the rules themselves. At least you're not fucking with your uniform and coloring in your butter bar with a black sharpie like and LT I had under my care. Guess what happened when it rained. Only with regards to equipment is doctrine black and white (ie it works or it doesn't), everything else is up to interpretation. However with tactics there's always a right and wrong answer, but it's a bit more complicated.
You're doing more than most 2LTs would by even concerning yourself with the paperwork. However, you oughtn't receive any reprimand for wearing in it unless your chain of command can prove that you got in enough trouble that you can't. Meaning that you should wear it to avoid the implication that you didn't get in trouble in while enlisted. Obviously you're not going to hide how long you were enlisted, which will imply that you were eligible for the award. Just my drunken two cents.)
Also, the guidon thievery on Army WTF moments. Had a friend who stole ranger bat's. Dude was a bad ass.
Also, getting an Article 15 doesn't proclude you from getting a Good Conduct medal either. I received a Company Grade along with my whole squad my first deployment. I actually got hit twice with the same Article 15. My Company commander made up one Company Grade with the max penaltys on it to try and get me to rat out my squadmates.
I didn't and he ended up drafting up another one with the minumum penalties (ie. everything was suspended and if I got in trouble again I would lose rank and pay)
Well both copies made it to finance. Even though the one with max panalties was not signed by myself or the CO. They hit me with both of them.
So I ended up losing rank and pay. When I noticed I took my CO and 1SG to Finance and JAG to get it fixed, but they were in the process of sending all their paperwork back to the states for redeployment. Once back to the rear my paperwork was no where to be seen, of course.
No biggie. I got all my rank back in less then 6 months.
Also during my TS clearance interview a couple years back they had no record of me getting an Article 15 at all. So that's something lol.
This was all back in 2004, so a long ass time ago.
TDLR., Wear your ribbon, you should eventually be able to track down your paperwork. The S-1 of the unit that gave you the award should have it. They are required to keep such paperwork for a year I believe.
" I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.”
― John Quincy Adams
Speaking of medals, anyone have experience with Honor Guard detail? The MSgt running it for the base (and is also the FSS superintendent) said that it sets you apart because volunteers get an achievement medal for every 50 details, and a commendation medal for being a Flt/CC. I don't really know what selection boards look at, but this sounds like a strange way to do it since it's not "job related" per se.
I did Honor Gaurd for a year while I was with the 25th ID in Hawaii. We did funerals on all the Islands and California/Oregon. I was part of the rifle team.
I don't even know how many funerals I did in a year.
What did I get for it? A CSM who couldn't pronounce my last name correctly even though I drove him to every funeral on the Island.
" I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.”
― John Quincy Adams
That sounds pretty awesome @Bloodycow
That number sounds a bit low Veritas, though things might be different on the O side.
Everything I had saw when I looked into it was an at grade medal for a tour, and a tour was about a year and you could do years back to back. There were different ways you could perform your service thing that year time frame (all at once, one week per month, etc.)
Edit: Rules are prone to be different from base to base and commander to commander. Your current base commander may love the shit out of honor guard, and wants to recognize those dudes.
Do it if you want to do it, not for the chest candy. And by that I mean, don't expect what they promise you.
Speaking of medals, anyone have experience with Honor Guard detail? The MSgt running it for the base (and is also the FSS superintendent) said that it sets you apart because volunteers get an achievement medal for every 50 details, and a commendation medal for being a Flt/CC. I don't really know what selection boards look at, but this sounds like a strange way to do it since it's not "job related" per se.
It's certainly a good way to get visibility with base leadership, if nothing else. That alone makes awards easier to come by/get upgraded.
I was on funeral detail for a month, not really the same thing as Honor Guard but kind of. It was the most fulfilling thing I did in the Army and I had a lot of fun too.
Also, getting an Article 15 doesn't proclude you from getting a Good Conduct medal either. I received a Company Grade along with my whole squad my first deployment. I actually got hit twice with the same Article 15. My Company commander made up one Company Grade with the max penaltys on it to try and get me to rat out my squadmates.
I didn't and he ended up drafting up another one with the minumum penalties (ie. everything was suspended and if I got in trouble again I would lose rank and pay)
Well both copies made it to finance. Even though the one with max panalties was not signed by myself or the CO. They hit me with both of them.
So I ended up losing rank and pay. When I noticed I took my CO and 1SG to Finance and JAG to get it fixed, but they were in the process of sending all their paperwork back to the states for redeployment. Once back to the rear my paperwork was no where to be seen, of course.
No biggie. I got all my rank back in less then 6 months.
Also during my TS clearance interview a couple years back they had no record of me getting an Article 15 at all. So that's something lol.
This was all back in 2004, so a long ass time ago.
TDLR., Wear your ribbon, you should eventually be able to track down your paperwork. The S-1 of the unit that gave you the award should have it. They are required to keep such paperwork for a year I believe.
Company grade NJPs tend to disappear once you get out of country or out of the company. The Field Grade ones will stick around, follow you, haunt you, and take all your time and money until you either do something worse or get out.
Howdy military thread. Been a while. But I'm depressed.
Right now my ETS out of the Army Guard is coming up in two weeks. Trying to extend, but unfortunately I've turned into a fatbody. I got a six-month extension at my last ETS, but I'm still over on weight/tape...no excuses there, had a couple injuries, but it's mostly a combination of sedentary civilian desk-job lifestyle and depression. Meh. But got my company-level command to approve another six-month extension, and am feeling like I can actually get back within standard in that time frame...
...only to have my readiness NCO call and say brigade/state may not approve, because I haven't been enrolled in or taken their week-long fitness/nutrition class thing they instituted for overweight soldiers requesting extensions. Of course, I was enrolled, but my class fell during the government shutdown so it was canceled. Apparently this is a "big deal" and I may wind up not getting my extension because of it. So I guess I get to find out sometime in the next two weeks whether I'm still in the Army or not.
Whatevs. Was finally coming around to the idea of finishing my twenty (at fourteen now), but at the same time reserve retirement isn't the best and it seems like every drill weekend I'm missing things I'd rather be doing. Basically I'm fighting right now for the right to hang around with the armory with the guys and go drive tanks around a few times a year, because let's face it the money ain't all that either.
CSM then takes the time to address the platoon for improper gear beyond the wire including informing us that our UAVs have seen us without kevlars.... Our UAVs, that should be tracking enemy movement, are spying on us to make sure we always have kevlar / nomex gloves. OUR UAVS ARE.. you know what who cares.
Our battalion used UAVs to enforce our "speed limits" on patrols and convoys outside the wire. Adorable.
EDIT: More adorable is that apparently they didn't realize they could just, you know, look up the vehicle's speed on the BFT. At least I'm pretty sure that's listed.
The problem comes from trying to live two lifestyles and the leadership never having any real influence - or I should say never trying to have real influence in soldiers lives.
To me it was a choice - you can only choose to be one thing because trying to be both will kill your time and ability for the other.
Separation isn't a bad thing. It just means moving on. And what you're moving into can be a whole lot better than you expect.
What do you really want @mcdermott? There's always a way to stay in if you're motivated. I'm sure your commander can make a plea for you if you abuse the open door policy, and that will get a foot in the door. You just need to be the squeaky wheel.
I've got a great civilian career going, and it works well with the Guard. The loss of personal time sucks, but that's all. And really, getting in better shape is something I should be doing anyway.
Admittedly, if I wasn't already at fourteen, I'd bail. The last re-up got me tens of thousands of dollars, this one just gets me to twenty. But being back on tanks in a line platoon actually has me enjoying my drills again, so I was ready to go the distance.
It's my company commander that's pushing for me to stay, my company leadership seems to like me and want to keep me. I'm basically a the mercy of people that don't know me and don't likely care. However, with my chain advocating for me I have some hope.
I'll miss the unit. We're really kind of a family, and I like much of what I do now (I enjoy at least half of my drills now). But my ends meet without it, and I've got another pension I'm working on anyway. So it's sad, but it'd pass.
Nobody will fight for your case like you will. It may be worth it to ask for a sit down with your Brigade CO (or not, depending on his personality). Just a thought. Got anything to show your class was cancelled? Can you enroll in another?
Nobody will fight for your case like you will. It may be worth it to ask for a sit down with your Brigade CO (or not, depending on his personality). Just a thought. Got anything to show your class was cancelled? Can you enroll in another?
I guess the question is whether they can get me into an other within the six-month window. Maybe I'll shoot a call to my RNCO to see about contacting my battalion/brigade CO (as appropriate) to try and work it out. And I have email chains to show I was enrolled and then the class was canceled, yeah. Meeting with brigade might be doable, that's just across the water. Battalion would be harder, that's across the state. At least for a face-to-face. I'll work it.
It's amazing, to me, how much my attitude towards the Guard changed when I got reslotted. I was counting the days to ETS and dreading every drill when I was on the logistical side. Throw me back onto tanks (I started out, many moons ago, as a tanker on active duty) and I actually look forward to drill have the time. I'm getting paid to do shit most people would pay money to do. Shoot machine guns, tear up the countryside in a tank, camp out on the back deck, good times. And I really, truly missed combat arms.
I'm just a big guy. I guess? Or am I just a fatty? This shit really fucking messes with my head and self image. It just seems so easy for everyone else, I wish I were them.
I think I screwed myself by going to the gym over winter, in that my BMI is now 27 (has to be 25 to pass the weight test) AND I'm currently 12 pounds overweight. (I'm 5'9, so my target weight is 186). So right now I'm faced with the prospect of losing 10 pounds in 5 days or I get another Conditional Event, and this would be my second (first one was weight, surprise surprise) and once you get your second CE you're investigated for removal from the program.
I'm trying to deal with the shitty Post 9/11 GI Bill system right now. Does anyone know if there's a way to check how much you're currently going to be getting in MHA or book stipends? I need to know how much the VA says I'm supposed to be getting so I can find out if I need to appeal it before they screw with my life.
I'm trying to deal with the shitty Post 9/11 GI Bill system right now. Does anyone know if there's a way to check how much you're currently going to be getting in MHA or book stipends? I need to know how much the VA says I'm supposed to be getting so I can find out if I need to appeal it before they screw with my life.
The book stipend is up to $1000, annually. It's based on credits taken, and it's about $41 per credit hour.
The MHA is BAH at E-5 w/ dependents for the ZIP code of the school you're attending: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
If you're going to school half-time or less you won't get the monthly BAH (AND are not on active duty).
If you're school is all online, you're not active duty, and you're attending 100%: then the stipend is HALF of whatever the national average for the stipend is.
As far as finding out how much you'll be getting:
The eServices website will show you. It's a shit website, but if you go there, go to the past payments section (whatever it's called). Past benefits paid will show up here and as the month nears closer to completion, your next payment will show up. Usually, the week before you're expected to paid it will appear in the system.
I'm trying to deal with the shitty Post 9/11 GI Bill system right now. Does anyone know if there's a way to check how much you're currently going to be getting in MHA or book stipends? I need to know how much the VA says I'm supposed to be getting so I can find out if I need to appeal it before they screw with my life.
The book stipend is up to $1000, annually. It's based on credits taken, and it's about $41 per credit hour.
The MHA is BAH at E-5 w/ dependents for the ZIP code of the school you're attending: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
If you're going to school half-time or less you won't get the monthly BAH (AND are not on active duty).
If you're school is all online, you're not active duty, and you're attending 100%: then the stipend is HALF of whatever the national average for the stipend is.
As far as finding out how much you'll be getting:
The eServices website will show you. It's a shit website, but if you go there, go to the past payments section (whatever it's called). Past benefits paid will show up here and as the month nears closer to completion, your next payment will show up. Usually, the week before you're expected to paid it will appear in the system.
Call them up and they'll usually tell you directly. Beware of your current tier rate, because everything gets multiplied by that.
@Evigilant I've never heard of this eServices website after more than two years of using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and receiving certification letters every semester. Every GI Bill benefits calculator I've used has been wrong.
I'm trying to deal with the shitty Post 9/11 GI Bill system right now. Does anyone know if there's a way to check how much you're currently going to be getting in MHA or book stipends? I need to know how much the VA says I'm supposed to be getting so I can find out if I need to appeal it before they screw with my life.
The book stipend is up to $1000, annually. It's based on credits taken, and it's about $41 per credit hour.
The MHA is BAH at E-5 w/ dependents for the ZIP code of the school you're attending: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
If you're going to school half-time or less you won't get the monthly BAH (AND are not on active duty).
If you're school is all online, you're not active duty, and you're attending 100%: then the stipend is HALF of whatever the national average for the stipend is.
As far as finding out how much you'll be getting:
The eServices website will show you. It's a shit website, but if you go there, go to the past payments section (whatever it's called). Past benefits paid will show up here and as the month nears closer to completion, your next payment will show up. Usually, the week before you're expected to paid it will appear in the system.
Call them up and they'll usually tell you directly. Beware of your current tier rate, because everything gets multiplied by that.
@Evigilant I've never heard of this eServices website after more than two years of using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and receiving certification letters every semester. Every GI Bill benefits calculator I've used has been wrong.
Sorry, meant eBenefits. https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal
And VeritasVR is correct: benefits will be paid based off of your eligibility %. So if you're at 80% eligibility, you'll get whatever 80% of that amount is. If you have documentation that supports a higher eligibility, and you think the VA is in error, BE SURE YOU CONTACT THEM and make them aware of that. They will ask you to send them copies of the documentation to up your eligibility %. (Mine was 5 years after the fact that they found out I was rated higher, so 5 years of back pay was a nice hefty amount to come upon).
It's a long and slow road, but once it's all correct, it's not a bad chunk of change coming in every month.
@Dedwrekka I'd highly recommend stopping by your school's veterans' liaison office. They're usually staffed by knowledgeable veterans who can help you through the process. At least that was the case for my school.
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
Well I'm leaving in less than 12 hours now. Starting to feel the nerves and the anticipation kick in. :O
I don't know why I'm annoyed at hearing the post-9/11 GI Bill referred to as "shitty," or even just the system as "shitty," but I am. It's a great benefit, and definitely better than what I had. The fact that the amount received will increase if your school is in a more expensive ZIP code is a fucking huge benefit; the cost-of-living in Seattle is actually one of the primary reasons I never bothered to switch to UW, because my full-time "old" GI Bill (plus Army College Fund) simply wouldn't have been enough to make that a reasonable financial choice. Housing in Seattle, or anywhere a reasonable commute from campus, was just too damn expensive.
For comparison, the current BAH alone for an E-5 without dependents in Seattle is more than the entire monthly GI Bill benefit I received (which was intended for tuition, books, and housing). And that was only five years ago, we aren't talking huge inflation since.
But yeah, getting everything figured out, how much you'll get, then getting it, then getting it fixed because you're not getting what you should...those are days I don't miss. I went a year and a half getting only about 75% of what I was supposed to because every idiot I talked to at the VA hadn't heard of the "2x4" program (two years active, four years guard/reserve, got you full GI Bill instead of partial, which normally required three years active). Got back paid, obviously, but still.
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Haha For the past few years I've actually been working on a collection of interconnected satirical short stories based on my experiences in the Army. The process is very therapeutic.
Most of my stories of fucked up leadership that don't break opsec have probably been shared in these threads, but I can certainly relate.
I remember our company XO got an ARCOM for setting up the BN ball. A few years later some of us got ARCOMs for our actions in the Battle of Zarqa. :rotate: Confused (yet cautiously grateful) is probably the best description of our reactions.
You didn't seem to be trying to one-up anyone to me.
Sharing stories like these are probably the best form of catharsis, in my opinion.
Although loud snarky comments in formation and scathing, passive aggressive responses in command climate surveys work pretty well too. :P
He says,"I know this company has a reputation for being jacked up, but I'm going to work on getting us back on line." He's been in the unit about as long as I have (3 weeks), and I thought damn, if you're just coming out and saying it, maybe there's some hope for us after all. My face twitched a little bit as he said it, I was trying not to smile.
Every WO and NCO that I talk to candidly says this place (and not just my Co) is so fucked up compared to stateside. My biggest fear leaving AIT was getting a shitty unit or first line NCO. Welp.
Adversity builds character, right?
PS4:MrZoompants
Banking half of your BAH is civilization.
almost literally.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
The last time I weighed this much, I dropped 15 lbs in 3 months almost exclusively through portion control, but this time I'm just holding even for the past month. Part of it is that my unit does really shitty pt, and it's hard to muster the willpower to work out for a second time in the same day even if the first workout was bogus. Another part is that this place is terrible and it's hard to hold onto motivation. Also, I'm on a temporary profile due to jumper/runner's knee and I can't do too much cardio at the moment. It's like a perfect storm of fat-soldierism.
PS4:MrZoompants
That sucks, best of luck to you. Don't do anything fucking stupid with it (like take it before PT tests or cardio, or not hydrate, etc), but I found pre-workouts helped boost workout intensity / length and well as being stimulants, so even when I went from doing primarily cardio to primarily lifting in Afghanistan, I still lost weight really fast. I was below my BCT weight, twice as strong, and substantially faster on top of it.
I feel you. I've never busted tape (and am under tape weight occasionally), but I gain weight super fast myself if I don't PT on my own in substantial quantities.
See how swimming affects your knee if that doesn't break your profile. A row machine could work as well if your one of your post's gyms has them.
Failing all of that, start lifting on your own to change your body composition and ignore your weight.
I was able to drop all of my extra KBR and MRE weight prior to redeployment by spending about 15 hours a week in the gym, but once you're back in garrison that shit is hard.
Also, for living at Benning. Should I just do all my grocery shopping at the PX/Commissary or should I continue my ritual habits of going to a Jewel/Meijers store for all my grocery needs? Part of me is eager to see the dependapottamus' at the Commissary, but I figure I have the rest of my career for that.
At least there's a delay before my next pt test due to my temp profile for the knee.
PS4:MrZoompants
I've never heard of anyone being like "WHERE'D YOU GET THAT ARCAM?!" and then asking to see your SURF right then and there. If anything, it would be for medals like the Purple Heart or Bronze/Silver Star. You really need that memorandum or citation though, and it needs that identifier code on it. If your unit doesn't have it then you might be SOL.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
I'm getting that feeling. I just feel dumb now because I have a bunch of photos with me having it on, but no paperwork to back it up.
Keep trying with the reserve unit. Don't give up. It sometimes takes a god awful amount of time for things to get taken care of administratively but it's always worth the effort of trying.
Also do you guys not a have a thing that holds all your medals awarded? We had the vMPF which was awesome (when it was up to date).
We have iPerms. I can't access my iPerms at the moment because it requires a CAC, but my HRC Reserve Record account has been working pretty well as a suitable backup. I noticed it had my DD 214 in there and my Air Assault memorandum in there, but no Good Conduct. I called them the last two days and caught a voice mail, but I'll keep calling until I get an answer. Best case I catch the unit on a drill weekend and talk to someone directly.
(Edit: In my opinion this is one of those many instances where the spirit of the rules are more important than the rules themselves. At least you're not fucking with your uniform and coloring in your butter bar with a black sharpie like and LT I had under my care. Guess what happened when it rained. Only with regards to equipment is doctrine black and white (ie it works or it doesn't), everything else is up to interpretation. However with tactics there's always a right and wrong answer, but it's a bit more complicated.
You're doing more than most 2LTs would by even concerning yourself with the paperwork. However, you oughtn't receive any reprimand for wearing in it unless your chain of command can prove that you got in enough trouble that you can't. Meaning that you should wear it to avoid the implication that you didn't get in trouble in while enlisted. Obviously you're not going to hide how long you were enlisted, which will imply that you were eligible for the award. Just my drunken two cents.)
Also,
I didn't and he ended up drafting up another one with the minumum penalties (ie. everything was suspended and if I got in trouble again I would lose rank and pay)
Well both copies made it to finance. Even though the one with max panalties was not signed by myself or the CO. They hit me with both of them.
So I ended up losing rank and pay. When I noticed I took my CO and 1SG to Finance and JAG to get it fixed, but they were in the process of sending all their paperwork back to the states for redeployment. Once back to the rear my paperwork was no where to be seen, of course.
No biggie. I got all my rank back in less then 6 months.
Also during my TS clearance interview a couple years back they had no record of me getting an Article 15 at all. So that's something lol.
This was all back in 2004, so a long ass time ago.
TDLR., Wear your ribbon, you should eventually be able to track down your paperwork. The S-1 of the unit that gave you the award should have it. They are required to keep such paperwork for a year I believe.
― John Quincy Adams
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
I don't even know how many funerals I did in a year.
What did I get for it? A CSM who couldn't pronounce my last name correctly even though I drove him to every funeral on the Island.
― John Quincy Adams
That number sounds a bit low Veritas, though things might be different on the O side.
Everything I had saw when I looked into it was an at grade medal for a tour, and a tour was about a year and you could do years back to back. There were different ways you could perform your service thing that year time frame (all at once, one week per month, etc.)
Edit: Rules are prone to be different from base to base and commander to commander. Your current base commander may love the shit out of honor guard, and wants to recognize those dudes.
Do it if you want to do it, not for the chest candy. And by that I mean, don't expect what they promise you.
It's certainly a good way to get visibility with base leadership, if nothing else. That alone makes awards easier to come by/get upgraded.
I'm man enough to admit that.
― John Quincy Adams
Company grade NJPs tend to disappear once you get out of country or out of the company. The Field Grade ones will stick around, follow you, haunt you, and take all your time and money until you either do something worse or get out.
Right now my ETS out of the Army Guard is coming up in two weeks. Trying to extend, but unfortunately I've turned into a fatbody. I got a six-month extension at my last ETS, but I'm still over on weight/tape...no excuses there, had a couple injuries, but it's mostly a combination of sedentary civilian desk-job lifestyle and depression. Meh. But got my company-level command to approve another six-month extension, and am feeling like I can actually get back within standard in that time frame...
...only to have my readiness NCO call and say brigade/state may not approve, because I haven't been enrolled in or taken their week-long fitness/nutrition class thing they instituted for overweight soldiers requesting extensions. Of course, I was enrolled, but my class fell during the government shutdown so it was canceled. Apparently this is a "big deal" and I may wind up not getting my extension because of it. So I guess I get to find out sometime in the next two weeks whether I'm still in the Army or not.
Whatevs. Was finally coming around to the idea of finishing my twenty (at fourteen now), but at the same time reserve retirement isn't the best and it seems like every drill weekend I'm missing things I'd rather be doing. Basically I'm fighting right now for the right to hang around with the armory with the guys and go drive tanks around a few times a year, because let's face it the money ain't all that either.
Our battalion used UAVs to enforce our "speed limits" on patrols and convoys outside the wire. Adorable.
EDIT: More adorable is that apparently they didn't realize they could just, you know, look up the vehicle's speed on the BFT. At least I'm pretty sure that's listed.
The problem comes from trying to live two lifestyles and the leadership never having any real influence - or I should say never trying to have real influence in soldiers lives.
To me it was a choice - you can only choose to be one thing because trying to be both will kill your time and ability for the other.
Separation isn't a bad thing. It just means moving on. And what you're moving into can be a whole lot better than you expect.
What do you really want @mcdermott? There's always a way to stay in if you're motivated. I'm sure your commander can make a plea for you if you abuse the open door policy, and that will get a foot in the door. You just need to be the squeaky wheel.
Admittedly, if I wasn't already at fourteen, I'd bail. The last re-up got me tens of thousands of dollars, this one just gets me to twenty. But being back on tanks in a line platoon actually has me enjoying my drills again, so I was ready to go the distance.
It's my company commander that's pushing for me to stay, my company leadership seems to like me and want to keep me. I'm basically a the mercy of people that don't know me and don't likely care. However, with my chain advocating for me I have some hope.
I'll miss the unit. We're really kind of a family, and I like much of what I do now (I enjoy at least half of my drills now). But my ends meet without it, and I've got another pension I'm working on anyway. So it's sad, but it'd pass.
I guess the question is whether they can get me into an other within the six-month window. Maybe I'll shoot a call to my RNCO to see about contacting my battalion/brigade CO (as appropriate) to try and work it out. And I have email chains to show I was enrolled and then the class was canceled, yeah. Meeting with brigade might be doable, that's just across the water. Battalion would be harder, that's across the state. At least for a face-to-face. I'll work it.
It's amazing, to me, how much my attitude towards the Guard changed when I got reslotted. I was counting the days to ETS and dreading every drill when I was on the logistical side. Throw me back onto tanks (I started out, many moons ago, as a tanker on active duty) and I actually look forward to drill have the time. I'm getting paid to do shit most people would pay money to do. Shoot machine guns, tear up the countryside in a tank, camp out on the back deck, good times. And I really, truly missed combat arms.
I'm just a big guy. I guess? Or am I just a fatty? This shit really fucking messes with my head and self image. It just seems so easy for everyone else, I wish I were them.
I think I screwed myself by going to the gym over winter, in that my BMI is now 27 (has to be 25 to pass the weight test) AND I'm currently 12 pounds overweight. (I'm 5'9, so my target weight is 186). So right now I'm faced with the prospect of losing 10 pounds in 5 days or I get another Conditional Event, and this would be my second (first one was weight, surprise surprise) and once you get your second CE you're investigated for removal from the program.
The book stipend is up to $1000, annually. It's based on credits taken, and it's about $41 per credit hour.
The MHA is BAH at E-5 w/ dependents for the ZIP code of the school you're attending: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
If you're going to school half-time or less you won't get the monthly BAH (AND are not on active duty).
If you're school is all online, you're not active duty, and you're attending 100%: then the stipend is HALF of whatever the national average for the stipend is.
As far as finding out how much you'll be getting:
The eServices website will show you. It's a shit website, but if you go there, go to the past payments section (whatever it's called). Past benefits paid will show up here and as the month nears closer to completion, your next payment will show up. Usually, the week before you're expected to paid it will appear in the system.
Call them up and they'll usually tell you directly. Beware of your current tier rate, because everything gets multiplied by that.
@Evigilant I've never heard of this eServices website after more than two years of using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and receiving certification letters every semester. Every GI Bill benefits calculator I've used has been wrong.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal
And VeritasVR is correct: benefits will be paid based off of your eligibility %. So if you're at 80% eligibility, you'll get whatever 80% of that amount is. If you have documentation that supports a higher eligibility, and you think the VA is in error, BE SURE YOU CONTACT THEM and make them aware of that. They will ask you to send them copies of the documentation to up your eligibility %. (Mine was 5 years after the fact that they found out I was rated higher, so 5 years of back pay was a nice hefty amount to come upon).
It's a long and slow road, but once it's all correct, it's not a bad chunk of change coming in every month.
For comparison, the current BAH alone for an E-5 without dependents in Seattle is more than the entire monthly GI Bill benefit I received (which was intended for tuition, books, and housing). And that was only five years ago, we aren't talking huge inflation since.
But yeah, getting everything figured out, how much you'll get, then getting it, then getting it fixed because you're not getting what you should...those are days I don't miss. I went a year and a half getting only about 75% of what I was supposed to because every idiot I talked to at the VA hadn't heard of the "2x4" program (two years active, four years guard/reserve, got you full GI Bill instead of partial, which normally required three years active). Got back paid, obviously, but still.