Welcome to the Australian Defence. I'm waiting for when we get our first female casualty in combat for the clowns in charge to lose their shit here.
Anyone want get an over/under pool started on how many women will be dragged naked through the streets of Mogadishu before someone says "Y'know, this wasn't such a good idea?"
That's exactly what I don't understand, the Israelis have trialed having women on the front line during combat and found conclusively that it's a massive failure. Not to mention that the majority of women fighting for the right to be front line have no intention of ever being there but just want to be able to say they could go and do it if they wanted.
Tonight could potentially be the last night I sleep in my bed for 8-10 months. My predeployment workup begin tomorrow if the broken aircraft all get fixed and then get told we will not be returning after this workup, instead, just heading overseas. I do not see that 10% chance coming into effect for numerous reasons, and as a result, I'm expecting to begin workups on Monday and come back around the 8th. Then for all intents and purposes, begin deployment around the end of Feb. I will take lots and lots of pictures, I will fly safely, and I will come back in one piece, so don't any of you worry. Take care, TiB, don't you get too crazy without me.
I played the vet card today and got in contact with an alum from my school who used to be in the Navy. He works on the Street as an analyst, and took an hour out of his afternoon to talk to me. A door that I thought was closed due to not being an Ivy Leaguer or having a 3.7 GPA just got opened. I'm pretty damn excited.
So ETSing is the one thing nobody in the Army knows how to do. I start my terminal leave in April and am trying to do as much as I can as early as I can. Anyone have a good resource for information, good timelines, making good use of the VA, GI Bill help, or advice to make this process as streamlined as possible would me awesome. Much of what I've found is in VA legaleese speak and makes little to know sense. Also anyone who has gone from Active Duty to IRR/RC I have some questions about that process.
So for all of you people who decided to get out, has your military experience significantly helped you with finding jobs or just landing interviews? I know a lot of people bitch and moan that they don't learn a lot of skills to use on the outside while they were in (depending on the job of course) but I figure you could at least make up some bullshit about leadership and whatnot to put on a resume. I know the stats say its a tough job market for vets, but I figure a lot of people getting out are just bad at building resumes or interviewing because they've never really had to before.
Any info you find out, let me know too. El husband's ETS date is up in the air because of early out possibilities, but he will be going to school with the GI bill and we'll be buying a house (95% sure with a VA loan) so there is a lot to orchestrate from afar.
ETS'ed in Oct '11 through Jan '12 time frame. It would be best explained by the term breech birth and was painful for all involved. Two months out, your sole job should be running around taking care of your own stuff. If your unit still has you doing your day to day, you need to have a talk with them. If they are unsympathetic, now is the time to sham. You've given them your time. Now it is time to take care of yourself and your family. The choices you make now can have direct impacts on your benefits far down the line and correcting something through the VA takes years. First off, you probably need a good 3 months to do it correctly and get all your benefits. Make physical copies of all your necessary documents, get the checklist from your company, Bn, group or division, and all the departments you'll have to ETS from. Start gathering those documents and making copies. Hit up your S-1 at whatever level you have a friend or acquaintance at. They are your new best friend. Buy them things they like. They can prevent you from having heartache. Medical side: Make 2 full physical copies of your medical paperwork. Schedule your ETS physical now. With a VA doctor. Make a list of all your ow'ies. Now is not the time to be a hero, the thing you've been popping motrin for before morning runs needs to be noted and addressed either while still in or at some point while in the VA system. Do not trust big army/navy/whatever. Make a new best friend, a competent VA rep. If they are halfway decent, they'll be able to guide you through this with more up to date info. Key point here. It is not enough to have the injury. It must be written up by an approved medical source in your military records, with the correct language. Save you and your loved ones some heartache and take care of this now please. Personnel Records: Get everything up to date. ERB with all your awards, schools, deployments. Jump records completed if you did that. Check to make certain you have no IOUs with DFAS, which means physically going there and sitting down with them, not a phone call. Make physical and digital copies. Equipment: Print off your CIF list, go through your gear, and start cleaning and painting it. Get with your supply buddy( you were nice to supply guys, right?, right!?) and they should be able to help you swap out gear that is missing or won't be accepted by CIF. If anything was stolen, it needs to be handled, now. Otherwise you could have your ETS delayed. Twice. Don't go this route. Outside the yard: Going to college? Contact the schools and VA reps there. Reserve Component/NG? Get a contact there, they'll be a great help if they are worth anything. If they aren't, maybe consider another component, unit, area. They should be happy to help you. Not treat you like a boot. Work? Get that resume updated. Maybe get on linked in. Use the resources the VA provides, but it is better to find someone in the industry while still military, ask them if you can take them to lunch, and just talk about their jobs and opportunities there. The lunch is not an interview, it is fact finding and networking. Ask for pointers on how to represent your service to their industry. As far as a resume, your shoot em up cool schools don't belong here unless the industry wants that. Work, again: I cannot emphasize enough how important networking is. If you like a company, an industry, a specific trade, contact people there as high as you can find. Even if you aren't qualified yet. Even if it is just a pipe dream at this point. Show interest, be well read on the current events which are affecting them. The goal is to make them your champion. VA loan and GI Bill: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book.asp</a> Read that, then contact the school/bank/whatever. There are two components to every VA transaction. What the VA needs and what the institution(school, bank, whatever) needs. You are responsible for both. The VA portion takes a long time to fulfill, usually, so plan accordingly. The other institution usually has representatives familiar with these programs which can help guide you, but you must know your benefit options, because they may guide you down a path which is not as good for you. Best I can do at 6:13 in the morning. So, if you have any questions, let me know. Oh. Thank you for your service. Go out and celebrate.
Sad that guy died, but there are so many who die and go unnoticed. I don't want to say he was undeserving of recognition, but I really wish what transpired would raise more awareness to the problem and doing something about it (like demanding the VA get their fucking shit together) rather than mindless hero worship while we completely ignore the other victim that I'm sure pretty much no one can even name. In other news since the chair force is undertaking steps to ensure there are no unprofessional materials anywhere to ensure everyone's pwecious feewings are intact someone ordered a crew to go through and remove all profanity off the wall of our squadron's hooch (bar). Basically they just went through and blacked out 20 years of history in case someone walks in and gets butthurt from reading the word "fuck" or "shit" or seeing a poorly drawn dick on the wall. It's cool, we'll just pretend like that shit never existed and we're a profanity free air force that is professional 24/7. Anyone who gets butthurt by a few words (not like there was any racist shit up there) or a dick drawing should be immediately kicked out of the military because they are in no way able to even indirectly assist in the killing of people, which is what we do.
Back when I was a boot, we got in trouble because we had anti-American North Korean propaganda posters on the walls in the back rooms. In retrospect, it was a little unprofessional, but it was fucking hilarious.
I'll be ETSing at the end of this year when I get back from Afghanistan. I love my job and my teammates, but it is time to go raise a child and start checking other things off the bucket list.
Ship sets sail for on my first deployment very soon and I should be gone for 8-12 months, hopefully not longer. I'll be doing a lot of joint operations with different European Military branches, humanitarian operations, maybe some evacuation ops, and lots of insert/extract of Marines. I'm also coming up on 500 flight hours which means that I will be up for the Aircraft Commander qualification. This means that I sign for the a/c and am responsible for the crew and all the decisions that are made aboard the helo; awesome responsibility, and tons of studying go into it. I can't say what ports we will be hitting because it's classified information, but I'll be around the Med a lot. A nice Mediterranean cruise to clear the mind and relax... Anywho, take care everyone, I'll try to be back around Christmas time, and thanks for all the support, I will be safe. I'll take a lot of pictures and post them when I get back.
Hell, I would've probably loved being stationed in Lackland. I was there for basic and tech training. Didn't get to see as much as I would've liked due to restrictions, but San Antonio was enjoyable. The base is huge and I'm sure you will find work rather quickly.
I'm pretty familiar with SA, I was stationed there for AIT at Sam, I've never lived there as a civilian though. Housing seems cheap. This is a good thing.