[OT] I'm Going To Enlist In The Navy

[spacecrime.com]

I just thought I'd throw in a few near-worthless civilian cents...

1. I'm really impressed by the number of nuclear techs and submariners who are around to post on this thread. I think this says good things about both EN World (cool, lots of smart military guys!) and the Navy (cool, lots of gamers!).

2. "Don't agree to anything until the contract says what you want it to" is <b>always</b> good advice, and it sounds like it's really good advice here.

3. Speaking as a lifelong civilian in his mid-30s, I kind of regret not giving the Navy a try when I had the chance. I know the work's hard and the compartments are small, but I think the experience would have been good for me.

This is the kind of thing you only get to do when you're young and you don't have a business and a family to take care of. There's a lot to be said for not letting this kind of opportunity pass you by.

best wishes,

 

[Cougar]

Damn Psion, that had me rolling. I had a decent amount of respect for you from your reviews and posts around the community (especially how you handled yourself with the FFE thing), but my estimation just went WAY up!

How about these:

Have your cook you a meal, but wait in the basement until she calls you up to sit. Then eat as fast as possible so you can go right to bed.

Every four days stay up for 24 hours, first by standing outside your house checking IDs or roving around inside looking under your sinks and at the thermostat. Then stay up all night charging batteries (I was a BCEF, UGH!). Then work a full day the next day or for a real treat, have it be one of your weekend days!

 

[Psion]

Well, to be fair, I didn't make those up myself, but I sure could sympathize with most of them.

But I'll try my hand at a few:

- Make a clipboard with a list of every device with a number on it in your house (VCR Time, DVD time, thermostat temperature, stove time, water heater temp, etc.). Every hour, on the hour, walk around and write down all the numbers.

- Don't buy normal paper or notebooks. By green cloth-covered books and write EVERYTHING in them.

- If one of your kids makes a mistake, tell all of your kids "liberty is secured" and ground them all.

- (mainly for subs) Make your family save up all their laundry for a week and stuff it in a bag. Then make them wash everything together. Finally, for that sub-smell, pour a cup of penzoil into every batch.

 

[Gallo22]

Well, I served in the Army for 8 years as a helicopter crewchief (Cobras and Apaches) and enjoyed most of it. Like any job there are good things and there are bad things about it. I served durning Desert Storm and went to Somilia (remember Blackhawk Down anybody?) Please note, I had left Africa before that incedent happened. I was lucky to serve 4 of my years in Germany and got to see much of Europe. After basic training and your MOS training, you get stationed at a post for a number of years, where, for the most part you live like most people do now. I got up in the morning, exercised (every other day), worked til 5 or 6 (sometimes later) then went home/barracks. My wife lived with me and we lived on the economy (in German housing) for a few years until government housing was available. A couple times a year we would go to the field (camping, playing army games) and work occasional weekends. When I look back on it, it was not that bad. Also, and perhaps the most important, I played D&D almost every week!! There were always people to game with!! I lived in Mainz and there was a gaming store that sold english printed rpg stuff. it was also easy to order stuff from the states.

Anyway...I learned alot about work ethic that carried over into my, now, civilian life. Basic things that many people/youth today don't care about. Like getting to work on time, not leaving until the work is done just because its 5pm, being honest, giving your best even if its just cleaning the dishes, and not just trying to get by. You will find that these basic qualities are employers are looking for right along side education. Because of this experience, and this experience alone, I now make a very good living as a paralegal.

Serving in the Army has help open many doors for me. I think this alone was worth the 8 years I gave my country. Just remember to get a job in the whatever branch you go into that will also help you in civilian life AND GET IT IN WRITING. This is very important!

Good luck!

Gallo22

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

A few more for the ground-pounders:

1. Once a year, take everything you own, put it out in the yard, count it, then put it back in the house.

2. When you wake up in the morning, check the serial number on every piece of electronic equipment you own. Do the same before going to bed.

3. Wake up 30 minutes before sunrise, jump in your car, start the engine, and sit there until your wife brings you breakfast.

4. Whenever it rains, sleep on the ground in the middle of the yard, under a poncho. When it's not raining, sleep on the hood of your car.

5. Read your books under a poncho, using a flashlight with a red filter.

6. One weekday and one weekend day a month, stay up 24 hours, wandering around the house checking lightbulbs. Try to arrange this so it occurs on a Thursday; take a long weekend and tell your boss you had "duty".

7. Paint numbers on your cars. Periodically change the numbers, for no good reason.

8. In the hottest part of summer, put on your thickest clothes and a Halloween mask, and go do yard work.

9. Fly a black flag in front of your house on humid days.

10. Eat all your meals in the backyard, standing up, off of paper plates.

 

[DWARF]

Umm...another possible con is, umm, dying? You know, cut down in hail of gun fire by a hopped-up American pilot?

That's if you're in the Canadian military...

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

As someone who has been drafted into the military, I must say that all those stories from people who joined it voluntarily are pretty fascinating...

 

[DerianCypher]

Hey Olgar,

If you don't mind could u send me an EMail at DerianCypher@(NOSPAM)Yahoo.com

(Delete nospam of course)

I have a few questions for you

DC

 

[Cougar]

I assume you mean mandatory government service some European countires have? I think it is a great idea. I wish we did it here, although I understand it will never happen. I absolutely hated my time in the service, but I am still proud of it and view it as a needed thing for a country's survival.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I assume you mean mandatory government service some European countires have?

Yup - Germany, to be exact (it says so to the left of my post below the picture... ).

I think it is a great idea. I wish we did it here, although I understand it will never happen.

I dunno. I don't want to sound like a whiner, but I am a 27-year old physicist, and I am sure that there are better ways of serving my country than working as a bartender in a pub for NCOs.

Like working in a R&D facility somewhere so that I can help getting our economy back on track...

I absolutely hated my time in the service, but I am still proud of it and view it as a needed thing for a country's survival.

Well, the Bundeswehr used to focus on homeland defense (in other worlds, preparing ourselves to fend off the Sovjet Hordes for long enough so that our allies could nuke us...). These days, Russia doesn't scare us nearly as much as the USA, so we tend to focus on new jobs, like peacekeeping. Approximately 2,500 German soldiers are in Afghanistan these days and are trying to prevent that nation from falling into chaos yet again...