My two personal favorites out of the newest my brother has sent. The one with him sleeping is incredible!
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Meta
Wow!
This is what life is all about. “I love my mother, I love my father…I love my sisters too.” -smog
I thought that your brother had even more kids. I was thinking, “The fertility of this family!” HA!
Yea, I had a feeling the Austin seed was championship-grade – – – primarily the reason why I was so careful while in the Army (you know, rubber gloves, gasmask, etc)…when I got out, and even before, I schooled my brother up on what can and will happen if the boozin’ leads to sex with no rubber, especially if the girl’s private parts are a fertile valley of various free-range crotch diseases…
It’s difficult to find that right person, especially after being surrounded by thick-necked weirdos with disturbing porn collections…a couple years amidst that crowd, a smart person will finish their obligation and enter freedom with a lot of practical, real-world experience to fall back on.
That’s how it ended up for the both of us, and in the long run, whatever mistakes we may have made of course pale in comparison with how it would feel to have a son or daughter somewhere in Tuscon or Fort Worth…
Too many people I know ended up with biological baggage of one form or another, but who cares, right? The monthly payments are high enough to ensure they never leave the military, and if they die, the government got what they wanted out of them. And…they were able to experience a slice of parenthood, marriage…better than nothing I suppose.
That’s the #1 hook…’you HAVE to support your family, the one you didn’t come into the military with…how are you going to make that happen on the OUTSIDE? Have you kept up with medical costs, interest rates, etc…’
karl – I’m thinking of your decision right now – take heed to what the ‘people who’ve been there’ are telling you…share what you feel comfortable with, and know that this war will eventually end, followed by less of the same, maybe a Democrat will win in 2008. If that happens, you’d be a LOT better off.
Don’t underestimate the power of depression – I’ll elaborate later on (got to get to work)
Depression? I think it may be the post scholastic blahs. While in college you always have a goal, something to strive for, once out it is hard to find that.
The advice and shared experiences are definitely appreciated.
I didn’t mean now karl, I meant depression if you get a year into it and realize you rather hadn’t.
What did you major in?
The Denver market should have something for you…what are you interested in? What did you enjoy most in school?
I majored in Psych/bio, I have an interview with a pharmacutical company on Monday, who knows maybe I can design the next Viagra.
If I want to join the army this is probably the one time in my life when I will not be to encumbered.
‘If you want to join the Army’…I’d stick with trying to get your foot in the door somewhere in Denver. You’ve got a college education under your belt karl – I don’t believe that the military would advance your career in the long run at this point.
From experience, knowing how to do it in the ‘real world’ is something that’s not going to go away, even when you get out.
Military service ‘should’ be viewed in a society with as many opportunities as ours provides, as a means to an end OR a career. It’s when a seemingly enormous period of confusion and indecision strikes someone, like when they finish a long climb up a tall mountain, only to get sad thinking “what’s next?”
All that’s natural. It’s also the precise moment that a recruiter wants to find you. When you’re viewing a temporary state of mind as something bigger than it actually is (in the span of one’s life), decisionmaking becomes less about knowing yourself and more about the perception that you DON’T know anything about yourself or anything else, and need to go on a quest to search out these truths…
Those answers lie within, always – – – and the country needs a bioengineer just as bad as it needs another soldier. If you’re into that, it’ll be rewarding regardless of where you start out. If you’re not, then you’ll find something else. I bounced from one job title to another in the first 5 years of my career – from coordinator, call center manager, operations manager, business analyst – now I’m studying to be a software engineer…at the start of that 5 years, I didn’t have a clue as to what I’d want to do, but did have a good idea of what I DIDN’T want to do.
Now – – – you’ll have to face this same thing in your own life, whether it starts now, or when you get home from Iraq (if they ever let you leave once you are back)?
I don’t think mortar rounds will help you out with this as much as trial and error, building up experience, and maintaining a stronger work ethic than the person to your left or your right will.
Please keep us posted karl – – –
How did you like the call center? I worked for a bank in their call center for maybe 6 months. the health insurance was really good, especially for a part-time job.Being tethered to a desk was pretty stressful, seems like trying to manage a call center would be pretty difficult, at least most the people I worked with seemed pretty angry and unmanageable.
The highlight of my employment at the bank was my last night when a girl called in, she had like 10 overdrafts. so with fees of $30 per overdraft she was close to $300 in the hole. I waved all the fees, they let me leave a little early that night, I wonder why?
As for joining the army, it is something that sounds noble, which is strange given the fact that i disagree with the war. I got this quote from rawstory and I think it explains why I think people should join:
“It shocked me that the country was not mobilized for war,” said Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who retired after his stint as a commander in Iraq and became an outspoken critic of Donald Rumsfeld. He told The Wall Street Journal that “it was almost surreal” that the only time some Americans “think about the war is when they decide what color magnet ribbon to put on the back of their car.”
For the most part it seems that most Americans are just ignoring the people stuck fighting in Iraq. I don’t know why the idea of going over ther to be ignored by the SUV driving public is sounds appealing but for some reason it does. I guess it is the whole rooting for the underdog sort of thing.
From the guardian:
American veterans of the war in Iraq have described a culture of casual violence, revenge and prejudice against Iraqi civilians that has made the killing of innocent bystanders a common occurrence.
The US military is now involved in at least three separate investigations into its own soldiers’ conduct in Iraq that may illegally have led to the deaths of Iraqi civilians. It is widely expected that more incidents will be uncovered. The most serious is the alleged massacre of 24 civilians in the Sunni town of Haditha by a unit of marines. The victims included women and children who were shot after a roadside bomb hit a convoy and killed a US soldier.
Last week it was revealed that two more incidents have also been under investigation. The first is the death of 11 Iraqis during an American raid near Balad in March. The dead included five children. The second inquiry involves seven US marines and a sailor in the death of an Iraqi civilian near Baghdad in April. It is believed the man was dragged from his home and shot before an AK-47 and a shovel were placed next to his body to make it look like he was an insurgent.
Some American veterans have expressed little surprise at the latest revelations. ‘I don’t doubt for one moment that these things happened. They are widespread. This is the norm. These are not the exceptions,’ said Camilo Mejia, a US infantry veteran who served briefly in the Haditha area in 2003.
Maybe the army is not such a good carreer move.
You’re right about most of the people ignoring what’s going on in Iraq, and the general is certainly right for saying it’s unbelievable that the public wasn’t asked to sacrifice anything.
Contrast this with WW2, and what you’re saying here about the nobility of enlisting rings true. Many of the sons and daughters whose parents fought in that war or a previous one, felt the same way that you do now about Vietnam, but that’s when the tide shifted.
It was known to a generation that came before ours that to enlist means that you might end up with the short end of the stick, regardless of what kinds of heroics showed up on your service record. A veteran unable to work a job that will pay for where they live, is just as poor and hungry with or without a bronze medal, silver star or purple heart.
Indeed – when you return, life is still about figuring out how to make 30 years of mortgage payments, how to keep your children fed and healthy, etc. Some who didn’t join are able to use both of their arms and legs…say you’re not. Military service or not, the playing field remains the same in the long run.
If you enlist in the Army, what you’re signing up for isn’t nobility, but a JOB. That’s how you have to look at it. You’ll be paid salary at a set rate, whether you work 50 hours in a week or 100 – when you’re hurt or sick, pressure will come at you from many different directions to ‘suck it up and drive on’ – for 4 or more years, this is what you have. A low paying job with benefits you’re never out of the field long enough to enjoy, and ZERO choices when it comes to what you want to do.
When you get out, you’ll have a low home mortgage interest rate (will you have the 20% to put down for a deposit on the Army’s dime? with what they pay you, not likely) – you’ll have a VA hospital that cannot turn you away (though they can make you wait for 5 hours before seeing anyone) – you’ll have coorespondence from the government sent to you that could mean ‘recall’ ‘new benefit’ AND/OR ‘your personal information was stolen, please cancel all credit cards and change your bank account information’
It’s a job, karl. Just like any other job, only without any of the ‘workers-rights’ laws to protect you. It’s a stacked deck.
Ultimately though, if you don’t believe in the war…the Army is a bad place to be right now.
Chris, just to clarify on your last paragraph, the home loan you speak of doesn’t guarantee any interest rate, however does allow new home buyers to avoid having to have a down payment along with no PMI, which is a considerable benefit and definitely a key advantage to the program.
Secondly, I know every experience is different, but I have nothing but praise for all the VA facilities out here in the Midwest, good service and a willingness to help is all I have received. I am sure you can find horror stories wherever you go, but on the other hand I cannot be the only satisfied customer.
Lastly the personal information kick could have happened anywhere, and it does, quite a blunder though.
Btw, check your messages at home.
I got the message – I can’t manage a phone call when I’m alone w/ both of the boys.
You’re right about the home loan – I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactally, but I knew that veterans got a deal. Maybe it’s life with kids, but the marathon that this life can be in America doesn’t really start making sense until later on. The concept of ownership is not hammered into the minds of kids by the outside world, and I don’t remember getting any training on how it all worked while I was in the military.
To be honest – I really think the benefit should go a lot further, with no interest loans for the first 10 years, paid by a tax on wages for however many veterans qualify. Give an approved loan to a veteran so he/she has a leg up, and let the country show it’s appreciation by paying the interest on it for 10 years. Why should a soldier who lived with a roomate in barracks for years, fought in a war…why should this person have to pay rent and start where just about everyone else does?
The benefit you get out of the military is really more what you make of it, and in terms of the war, luck…you and S.R. are two people I know who certainly did educate yourselves and take advantage of what’s available. As right now, college money is available for people with GEDs, making the 30-50K offered not as crucial as it was ten years ago. Say a soldier comes home with post traumatic stress and can’t concentrate…what could they make better use of, college money or a no interest mortgage?
At least with the latter, children can be raised somewhere, and veterans can focus on the ultimate challenge upon reentry into society…paying the bills! And maybe when they die, something to pass down.
On the VA facilities – it’s definitely a mixed bag. Paul from South Carolina who used to post here shared some horror stories his brother experienced (20 year vet), and I’m sure you remember the story you told me about the air force guy you drove with who was told by a VA doctor that his medical history was a figment of his imagination.
The personal information thing is indicative of how piss poor the organization is functioning today as a whole. Uniform health care across all VA facilities is another symptom…it’s a ragedy operation (as my drill sergeant would say).
Nick, who took the pic of Evan sleeping? That one’s my favorite.
Alaska state land sales
Well, veterans do get a special deal when purchasing state (and some of the boroughs as well) land. If you were ever thinking of moving up north…
Mat-Su Borough – my neck of the woods
Wife needs computer, I’m outta here.
The GI Bill was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It ran out with a year to go on my degree, but whatyya going to do?