I realized graduation week of BMT that the military wanted us to cheat and lie. At the time, I didn't quite put it together that it was against our Core Values (Integrity first, Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do.) I did everything by the book, with the exception of leaving my hair in a bun and not washing it on a couple of occasions simply because I did not have the time, and given the circumstances, my TI wasn’t going to realize I didn't wash my hair—but he would notice if I arrived to class late. Apparently most of my flight had picked up on how to cut corners a lot faster than I did. I learned they were putting clean laundry right back into their sacks, because then they didn't have to fold it, which also meant they were getting docked on minor issues with their creases. There were other things they were doing as well. I was starving and simply sucked it up, but they had figured out how to hide PB without getting caught. I discovered that final week that our TIs didn't care, so long as they didn't catch you. Basically, if they didn't know about it, it didn't happen. It meant you were resourceful and got the job done- mission accomplished.
I didn't really internalize that lesson; I took it as a mind game of basic training and nothing more. It didn't change who I was or how I would carry out my duty. While I witnessed bull here and there, I was enamored with the wartime mission and the lengths our military would go through to keep our soldiers alive (a la non-FDA-approved Nova Lung…we’ll just take the patient to Frankfurt Hospital instead of a US installation so as to bypass -pun intended- the law.)
Yep, our govt will do anything…up until it involves things like burn pits or untested emergency vaccines. You can (allegedly) get written up for a sunburn for damage to govt property, but they can damage us, ruin our careers, and ruin their force with a bad decision like the Covid vaccine mandates, and somehow they expect everyone to still feel the same way I did about the military DoD when I was in Iraq saving lives.
I’m not really sure the point I was trying to make. I guess that the problem has always been there, it's just less of a problem or less obvious depending on the mission or context. The airmen, soldiers, etc are conditioned to simply a- follow orders and b- complete the mission. I can think of dozens of issues that all demonstrate the negative sentiment here, that were little nudges to my bucket.
Ah yes, the good old “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” philosophy. Funny you should mention peanut butter… I had a guy in my Flight who hid a container of peanut butter in his clothing drawer (the worst possible place to hide anything, since it’s ALWAYS inspected). His last name was Petty, and he was forever after known as Peanut Butter Petty. He got recycled two weeks.
I certainly acknowledge that there’s a place for rule-benders in the military—AFTER basic training. Once you know the rules and understand why they’re there, once you’ve grasped purpose and intent, and especially once you understand the consequences of miscalculation, THEN you need to be able to bend those rules when the situation calls for it. But that’s a skill for much more senior soldiers who understand the risk they’re assuming when they go against the book, and balance it against the necessity of mission accomplishment.
I think the broader point you’re making is that the military a) doesn’t reciprocate the devotion we give it, and b) is arbitrary about when it chooses to enforce the rules. And both of those factors are very much part of my own disillusionment. I’ve put up with a lot over more than two decades in uniform, but this was just too much. And, having lost my unconditional trust in the chain of command, I am now highly skeptical of everything they do and have done.
I realized graduation week of BMT that the military wanted us to cheat and lie. At the time, I didn't quite put it together that it was against our Core Values (Integrity first, Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do.) I did everything by the book, with the exception of leaving my hair in a bun and not washing it on a couple of occasions simply because I did not have the time, and given the circumstances, my TI wasn’t going to realize I didn't wash my hair—but he would notice if I arrived to class late. Apparently most of my flight had picked up on how to cut corners a lot faster than I did. I learned they were putting clean laundry right back into their sacks, because then they didn't have to fold it, which also meant they were getting docked on minor issues with their creases. There were other things they were doing as well. I was starving and simply sucked it up, but they had figured out how to hide PB without getting caught. I discovered that final week that our TIs didn't care, so long as they didn't catch you. Basically, if they didn't know about it, it didn't happen. It meant you were resourceful and got the job done- mission accomplished.
I didn't really internalize that lesson; I took it as a mind game of basic training and nothing more. It didn't change who I was or how I would carry out my duty. While I witnessed bull here and there, I was enamored with the wartime mission and the lengths our military would go through to keep our soldiers alive (a la non-FDA-approved Nova Lung…we’ll just take the patient to Frankfurt Hospital instead of a US installation so as to bypass -pun intended- the law.)
Yep, our govt will do anything…up until it involves things like burn pits or untested emergency vaccines. You can (allegedly) get written up for a sunburn for damage to govt property, but they can damage us, ruin our careers, and ruin their force with a bad decision like the Covid vaccine mandates, and somehow they expect everyone to still feel the same way I did about the military DoD when I was in Iraq saving lives.
I’m not really sure the point I was trying to make. I guess that the problem has always been there, it's just less of a problem or less obvious depending on the mission or context. The airmen, soldiers, etc are conditioned to simply a- follow orders and b- complete the mission. I can think of dozens of issues that all demonstrate the negative sentiment here, that were little nudges to my bucket.
Ah yes, the good old “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” philosophy. Funny you should mention peanut butter… I had a guy in my Flight who hid a container of peanut butter in his clothing drawer (the worst possible place to hide anything, since it’s ALWAYS inspected). His last name was Petty, and he was forever after known as Peanut Butter Petty. He got recycled two weeks.
I certainly acknowledge that there’s a place for rule-benders in the military—AFTER basic training. Once you know the rules and understand why they’re there, once you’ve grasped purpose and intent, and especially once you understand the consequences of miscalculation, THEN you need to be able to bend those rules when the situation calls for it. But that’s a skill for much more senior soldiers who understand the risk they’re assuming when they go against the book, and balance it against the necessity of mission accomplishment.
I think the broader point you’re making is that the military a) doesn’t reciprocate the devotion we give it, and b) is arbitrary about when it chooses to enforce the rules. And both of those factors are very much part of my own disillusionment. I’ve put up with a lot over more than two decades in uniform, but this was just too much. And, having lost my unconditional trust in the chain of command, I am now highly skeptical of everything they do and have done.
Yes, you summed up my broader point perfectly.