Foo - odd military question

Anyone else ever had three command sweeps in 7 days?
If I have to pee in another cup, I'm pouring it on the observer.
No one has even popped positive to my knowledge of any of these in the last 2 months.

Well at least I know I won't be getting dehydrated on the way home today.

dude i used to get pissed so much that i couldn't go without someone looking over my shoulder....3 in a week means someones come up hot and now they must really test....unless procedures have changed.....i lived next to a division testing nco and he shared with me what 100% really meant :D

but maybe the produres have changed since then....i would be curious to find out...

I've been reading some background message traffic about this and have a pretty good reasoning. I can tell you if you've got a smil.mil email addy, let me know and I can let you in on it. But likely part if it is based upon that Navy times article about the pilot smuggling XTC into Canada. One incendent that hits the press and there will be a P4 and testing will go up.

All fine by me really.. just a step in the day.

But really it all works based upon how often the coordinator uses the program, and the program is pretty random, I was cooridinator for a while, but dropped it for..

Something that didn't involve telling... very senior people to surrender thier ID card so that I could have very junior people watch them unrinate.

BTW, are you in a squadron over there? I saw a squadron pop up on JASS and was wondering if it was a decent place to work.

Yeah nothing is more uncomfortable then being forced to be with 20 otherguys around you and one staring over your shoulder at your military member. The worst is when they try to strike up a conversation. or offer to hold it for you.

BTW, are you in a squadron over there? I saw a squadron pop up on JASS and was wondering if it was a decent place to work.
I am in MALS-24, but I work side by side with all the p-3 guys. Who has an opening? VP-9 is the bestin my opinion, but vpu-2, vp-47 and vp-4 are all good

Yeah nothing is more uncomfortable then being forced to be with 20 otherguys around you and one staring over your shoulder at your military member. The worst is when they try to strike up a conversation. or offer to hold it for you.

well there is that other thing with the doctor & their finger...

I can't get the list back up to see who it is. I'm a few months from my window, so I'm watching and looking. Some options. I could stay in SD, but I'd still be on NASNI, and that would entail riding hte @#$#@ ferry every day which kills flexability on my ride.
NRD NY is out there (non recruiting) and Cleveland OH (considering it in a way)... Also Atsugi Japan which is kind of high on my list. Who knows..

You're USMC? Or avaition bastarded into USMC?

I can't get the list back up to see who it is. I'm a few months from my window, so I'm watching and looking. Some options. I could stay in SD, but I'd still be on NASNI, and that would entail riding hte @#$#@ ferry every day which kills flexability on my ride.
NRD NY is out there (non recruiting) and Cleveland OH (considering it in a way)... Also Atsugi Japan which is kind of high on my list. Who knows..

You're USMC? Or avaition squished into USMC squadron?

I can't get the list back up to see who it is. I'm a few months from my window, so I'm watching and looking. Some options. I could stay in SD, but I'd still be on NASNI, and that would entail riding hte @#$#@ ferry every day which kills flexability on my ride.
NRD NY is out there (non recruiting) and Cleveland OH (considering it in a way)... Also Atsugi Japan which is kind of high on my list. Who knows..

You're USMC? Or avaition squished into USMC squadron?

Aviation. AE shanghai'ed by the corps.

there was a nice incident when I was at Ft Carson: some dip**** packed 4 lbs of weed on a C130 that flew into the AFB nearby. The SPs called the guy and said he had something to claim. He went and got it, and then went to jail. They also had some Meth labs out there after I left. WTF?

BTW - it is really cute to see you two talk SQUID.

ha ha ha

Semper Fi

ooh rah

get some

is that better 165?

ha ha ha

Semper Fi

ooh rah

get some

is that better 165?

He was in the army Rancid. Now after reading that, log off and go do some work and try no to post anything else untill the taste of shoe has left your mouth. :)

Work?

no can do, my main purpose is to provide the military with urine apparently. Work is secondary

Hey,

You're in MALS-24? I used to write for the Hawaii Marine Newspaper. Ive done an article or two about your unit. Interesting. Im out now, though, thank god.

Aviation. AE shanghai'ed by the corps.

That's gotta be reeeeeell interesting.


BTW - it is really cute to see you two talk SQUID.

Only an Army tent puppy would call this "cute".

Put your hot pink plaid skirt back in the closet and get back to hacking into the walmart mainframe.

Aww...looks like William's been pciking up the soap. B-o-o H-o-o...

No worries about the the "oo-rah" - I'll take it as a compliment.

Hey Airborne - how far?
ALL THE WAY

tent puppy? that must be squid talk... i bet you think you look sharp in them bell-bottoms. and marine is an angram for 'muscles are required, intelligence not expected'.
as far as piss tests, i took one last week... and i'm in friggin' iraq. hard to score dope here. haji don't surf.
let 'em blow, let 'em blow... let the navy blow... from the east to the west, u.s. army is the best...

tent puppy? that must be squid talk... i bet you think you look sharp in them bell-bottoms. and marine is an angram for 'muscles are required, intelligence not expected'.
as far as piss tests, i took one last week... and i'm in friggin' iraq. hard to score dope here. haji don't surf.
let 'em blow, let 'em blow... let the navy blow... from the east to the west, u.s. army is the best...


:D

posts like this should come with a warning of not reading until done slipping coffee...

just curious if you come up hot in iraq what would they do?

i don't know. we had a bunch of guys come up hot in the weeks before deploying, thinking they'd get kicked out. what ended up happening is they were shipped out here with less rank and less pay. if you came up hot here, i suppose they would demote you and keep you working!
you are a member of the state, and the state needs bodies.

The command must know something they're not sharing. The tests can be expensive, maybe they just trying to get a point across.

Dave

I think this is one of the funnier threads I have read. Its like aolese for the military :)

not here... we have random tests, it seems, every week. I think a command sweep here would be painful; lots of people.

I've only been here (NWC) for a month now and my number hasn't popped up yet.

can you imagine waiting in a 400-man long line to whiz in one of two latrines? i can... it takes over twelve hours to complete. somtimes they think a company-wide or batallion-wide test is a good idea. top and the colonel can pee as they please, the masses have to wait and drink water in a cordoned holding area. ID-ten-tangos, methinks.

3 in a friggin' week?

We haven't had a mass Whiz Quiz in...about 5 months :eek:

Although, a coupe of our cooks decided it'd be a good idea to get hiiiigh beforehand. Good for them I suppose...someone else to get tagged for the s**t details.

tent puppy? that must be squid talk... i bet you think you look sharp in them bell-bottoms. and marine is an angram for 'muscles are required, intelligence not expected'.
as far as piss tests, i took one last week... and i'm in friggin' iraq. hard to score dope here. haji don't surf.
let 'em blow, let 'em blow... let the navy blow... from the east to the west, u.s. army is the best...

Marine: My Ass Rides In Navy Equipement.

As for the Army.. Well, yeah. What can I say? Obviously enlisting was a better option than Jail, right?
And what is a soldier anyway? Just a Marine who is afraid of getting seasick.

Which service is better?

Airforce: Corporate Military at it's best. Ever call an airforce base? First name basis all over.

Me: "Can I talk to the X incharge or billeting?"
AF: "That'd be Frank. 'Hey Frank? Phone call!"
Frank "This is Frank, hey, what can I do for you?"
Me "This is PO Karstens, I need the military POC for billeting."
Frank "That'd be me."
Me "Can I get your Rank and name"
Frank "Nah, just call me Frank."
Me. "ohhhh kay.. Frank, who's your superior?"
Frank "That's Lisa, Hey Lisa, phone call!"
Lisa "This is Lisa, can I Help you?"
Me. "Uh, Lisa, I need the Military point of Contact for billeting.."
Lisa "Well, Frank's in charge, but I'm his Sergeant".
Me. "Sergeant Lisa I have a few.."
Lisa "Call me Lisa, what's your name?"
Me. "Uh, Petty Officer Karstens"
Lisa "You're first name is Petty?"
Me. "No, we don't go by first names.. we go by rank."
Lisa "That's pretty unfriendly. I once had Capt that made us call her Capt."
Me. "Must be rough. Hey, is it Sergeant or Tech Sergant Frank? Tech Frank, right"
Lisa "No, but you can talk to Frank."
Me. "Sorry, I thought Frank was in the military"
Lisa "He is, but if you ask for Tech sergeant they won't know who he is."

No @#$ that was my coversation. 30 minutes of getting to know Frank and Lisa.

Hey William, it was guys like you that get all hung up on little customs and courtesies rather than crap that actually matters that made the military suck. Best units I ever trained with were Australian grunts that actually liked one another and were freinds, not hung up on rank or any of that. Much better than the crap we have going on these days.

he, i cant help it

"critical piss" :p

seriously though, sounds like either: some big-wig had his boxers ride up a bit much, someone heard something regarding substances, or someone got caught with something.

... First name basis all over...


All over William? Simply BS.

I got "tested" every freakin' month in Germany. Our unit was so small(30-35 soldiers) that they decided to do 100% every month. I guess Top thought it made him look good or somethin'. Of course, it gave the guys who drove to Holland all the time something to look forward to....

Piss tests are one of the many reasons I'm glad I'm out. That, shaving every day and wearing hats all the damn time! It's the little things that matter, really;)....

first name basis bothered me in the Army during duty hours.

i gotta go with 165. first name basis is for the national guard. they're all cousins and brothers in law anyways. call me sergeant or front back go. it's not an ego thing, it's not a power thing, it's not a conformity thing. it is how it has to be to get anything done. last thing i want is to say is, "excuse me, phil and dougie. would you please mind covering our six and supressing fire while we rush for cover? mmmm-kay. that'd be great."

i gotta go with 165. first name basis is for the national guard. they're all cousins and brothers in law anyways. call me sergeant or front back go. it's not an ego thing, it's not a power thing, it's not a conformity thing. it is how it has to be to get anything done. last thing i want is to say is, "excuse me, phil and dougie. would you please mind covering our six and supressing fire while we rush for cover? mmmm-kay. that'd be great."


yeah...that's because you're brainwashed into thinking thats how leadership works. Train with forces from some other country sometimes. Its amazing how much better than us they are. I was in the Marines and Im saying this.

i gotta go with 165. first name basis is for the national guard. they're all cousins and brothers in law anyways. call me sergeant or front back go. it's not an ego thing, it's not a power thing, it's not a conformity thing. it is how it has to be to get anything done. last thing i want is to say is, "excuse me, phil and dougie. would you please mind covering our six and supressing fire while we rush for cover? mmmm-kay. that'd be great."

i dunno, to me its all about respect and understanding that there is a time a place for everything. my commander called me by my first name as did most that knew me in the division, unless it was official business.

as to the ability to cover or direct fire if you're professional, that doesn't make the difference one bit if you lead by example and have the respect of those you lead, but there is a line that gets tested sometimes, but never in a critical situation....because i would have weeded those soldiers out long before that would have occurred....

Add:
http://www.dccourier.com/lambchop/

Rebecca "Lambchop" Reilly deserves mention here. Messenger, service member, and very cool person - now a Marine. Had the chance to met her in Chiacgo at a reading/release for her book.

I was in the Marines and Im saying this.
exactly
I have worked with other countries forces (Scotland, Colombia, Panama) and there are varying levels of interaction based on job responsibilities. Some used first name, but you could tell that they were not line dogs. Respect is an earned thing. When I moved to BN Scouts, we used first name when we were not in posture. In the woods, rank or last name. I did not want some Joe from the backwoods wlking in and calling me by my first name when I did not know him from Adam. Still applies today. It is geting to know someone and their abilities/personality. It took my about a year to get used to my PLT SGT calling me by my first name when I hit CPL.
But I know this varies from job to job and branch to branch.
My experience is all I can speak on, and it is what I know. Brainwashed? Hardly.

Airforce: Corporate Military at it's best. Ever call an airforce base? First name basis all over.

No @#$ that was my coversation. 30 minutes of getting to know Frank and Lisa.

ROFLMAO!!! My father, a career officer in the Air Force, would have loved that.

my brain is squeaky clean and has the fresh smell of pine-sol. yep, that's me, leading a pack of boot and uniform-wearing nazis that would all be in jail if it weren't for the military. that viewpoint makes me vomit. did you know the last book i read was 'a brief history of time' by stephen hawking, and before that was 'quantum psychology' by robert anton wilson? yeah, i'm a jarhead dullard, and so are my comrades who call me by last name. none of us have had a day off in 298 days straight now. we still have to eat mre's if we want to have food before dinner, which comes in thermos boxes on trucks from somewhere else. living like this takes fortitude. tempers flare and egos get bruised. without structure, the whole platoon would be brawling. oh, by the way, i was a member of multinational brigade east during KFOR rotation four alpha. shared living space with turks, aussies, brits, swedes, and finns. we share a post with the bundeswehr. these armies share a certain laid-back approach, their uniforms and hair are unkempt, they can grow beards, and share comradarie as well... but when it is crunch time, the rank structure is respected.

i dunno, to me its all about respect and understanding that there is a time a place for everything.

Pretty much my ideals.

#1.) Some people take the first name issue as an automatic sign of friendship.
And then, when they ask for something that can't or shouldn't be done: they're "hurt".


#2). Also, some people don't know when to turn first names off, and turn rank on.


Since I'm in the Navy, I'm in places where fun time is controlled. Out in town in a foreign port, first names are all good. Once we're back to the ship: it's time for buisness. It's not that I'm not out to make friends, but I'm not here to become best buddies.

I've had "friends" who were all about being first name basis and etc. Practically shove the "call me tommy" down my throat. Push came to shove in a bar in Tijuana (1994) and they were out running away for fear of getting thier ass beat. And this wasn't some stupid drunken brawl, this was one female shipmate who I watched get groped (as a distracter) while someone dropped something into her drink. When confrontation time came, and the people got to stepping, So and so "first name" and his "first name friend" took off like children. I'm no hero, but a few of us stepped in, intervened, and took out some characters who needed to be taken out. Those people I got to know on a first name basis. I had two ribs "unconnected" from that.

From then on I was (at the time) no longer a first name with them but "Petty Officer Third Class you can get the **** out of my face Karstens". Did I run to the MA/MP? No. But I sure as hell knew who needed a new first name.

To me, first name basis comes when you work long hours together, know that this someone is someone who can get the job done, will be honest in all casis, and isn't about some set up political organization. Not the "handshake nice to meet you your name is". And going by first name irregardless of rank needs to be done when not a lot of folks are around. I don't need/want any idea that there is favoritism or favor going around. If one senior person calls one person by the first name because their good like that, sure. But you don't do it in front of others, such that one person can ***** with a little justification.

Burlysurly.. I can see and understand that being friendly and all is important. You can say that I make the "military suck". But the people that worked for me and with me, they have a different point of view. I did nothing short of promote the **** out of the hard workers who went to task to get things done right and fast. While other people were having coffee, *****ing and calling eachother Frank, Joe and Mary, we took care of buisness. As a whole, people came to us to get **** done because we were proffesional, and accurate. Did I go by first name with my subordinates? No.

Everymonth when they kicked the **** out of any other section: I got out there in my DRESS WHITES and did a Bar B Que for them.. (with my own cash, my own grill, my own labor). Every quarter when time came to do Sailor of the Quarter: you bet I went to task. While people were shaking hands with "frank, Mary and Joe" and being all goddam friendly, I was there making sure the people that worked for me were getting selected, awarded and promoted for the work they did. They never called me William (in fact, thursday night it was funny, I met up with some and it took about an hour and a few adult beverages to shake the rank talk.. we finally did and we all got a pretty good laugh out of it.). But you can be dam ****ing sure they called me for advice, for help and to thank me. And I'd take all my medals and ribbons and throw them in the trash if it were any different. Truely, I did nothing but help them bring out what was already inside. There were some that I spent a lot of time with who.. just never could get up and run with it. But with only one exception, I never gave up on any of them.

So, the dickheads in the other sections who wanted to be friends and joke around: they were ****ing over others and themselves. We were getting it done. The majority of us still keep in an informal contact with eachother. And we've taken our desire to build strong teams an accomplish the job decently with us and tried to install all this our current commands.

The military suffers from a bad image with the public often. This board is evidence of how badly we are viewed... If we don't project profesionalism to the public, they will lack trust. My Commander in Chief may be G.W. Bush, but in whole, I/we are responsible to the American Public, after all, that's who we're defending. I can deal with people hating GWB. I can deal with thier view that OIF is wrong, and thier strong dissent against it. But I won't be the one that acts like a spoiled kid who wants special favors and *****es about "the military sucks because Top doesn't call me Franky".

I find that very often when people are sooo focused on first name basis... they aren't concerned with much else. Like thier J-O-B.

I find that very often when people are sooo focused on first name basis... they aren't concerned with much else. Like thier J-O-B.

Odd, I found it to be exactly the opposite. That people so hell-bent over rank and "professionalism" were more concerned with coddling thier egos than getting anything of importance done. I dont understand how someone can be "focused" on first name basis either. People in other jobs arent. Theres nothing to focus on in such a situation. The units from the various other countries I trained with didnt seem to be too focused on it, but then again, the quality of their average soldier/sailor was above and beyond what the US generally brings to the table, so perhaps that's more a testament to their recruiting demographic.
I also find that public criticism of the military (like the kind found here) is both warranted and necessary in most cases, as there's nothing else to save the military and its people from its own agendas and ideologies. Remember who you work for hoss. The taxpayers, the voters, they have every right to criticize you, cut your funding or add to it if they deem necessary and you ought not complain about it, as their tax dollars pay your wages.

burlysurly, i sure am glad you got out. more power to you. just keep paying your taxes.
karsten- good rant. i'm with you there. i esp. like reason #1. though first name or not, it is often unavoidable. some play the race card. ah well, the work gets done either way. i play cards with my soldiers in the eves, but during the day they know what to do. stop loss/stop movement has had everybody locked down, i've done almost double the standard unaccompanied tour, and so has everyone else. we know eachother so well, but there are lines that don't get crossed when it comes to structure and discipline. the bad seeds have all been weeded out by now, and are spending their days shooting pool with surlyburly.

Odd, I found it to be exactly the opposite. That people so hell-bent over rank and "professionalism" were more concerned with coddling thier egos than getting anything of importance done..

I find those as well. But they are an all together different story. And really, when the overly proffesional rabble rousers show up, they don't really have all that much they need from me. So, they get sent on thier way.



I dont understand how someone can be "focused" on first name basis either. People in other jobs arent. Theres nothing to focus on in such a situation. .
When someone spends 5 minutes trying to learn the whole team's first names, and then another 20 minutes trying to chit chat about BS.. That's a waste.



The units from the various other countries I trained with didnt seem to be too focused on it, but then again, the quality of their average soldier/sailor was above and beyond what the US generally brings to the table, so perhaps that's more a testament to their recruiting demographic. .

I have not had much interation with foriegn military, other than a few pilots on the PEP side, and the occasional pilot from Egypt. So, I can't possibly know what they do better or not. But I will say that recruiting is on the up; the new folks I've seen coming in have higher ASVABS, a majority have some college..


I also find that public criticism of the military (like the kind found here) is both warranted and necessary in most cases, as there's nothing else to save the military and its people from its own agendas and ideologies. .
I'm here saying that I'm not going to be the idiot drunken sailor who crashes his car on the six o clock news and runs back and ask Frank to help him out. And then when punished walk around and ***** about how screwed up things are because of that action. We're speaking the same thing, really.



Remember who you work for hoss. The taxpayers, the voters, they have every right to criticize you, cut your funding or add to it if they deem necessary and you ought not complain about it, as their tax dollars pay your wages.

I believe I said the exact same thing, hoss.

I don't know. I've been under some real winners before and seen some good people get out because they didn't like the BS. I took the challenge to try to do decent work and help people despite idiots. And I can understand why some people get out. So, Burlysurly probably had a decent reason to get out. I know I have my days when I want to quit and play other places.

burlysurly, i sure am glad you got out. more power to you. just keep paying your taxes.
karsten- good rant. i'm with you there. i esp. like reason #1. though first name or not, it is often unavoidable. some play the race card. ah well, the work gets done either way. i play cards with my soldiers in the eves, but during the day they know what to do. stop loss/stop movement has had everybody locked down, i've done almost double the standard unaccompanied tour, and so has everyone else. we know eachother so well, but there are lines that don't get crossed when it comes to structure and discipline. the bad seeds have all been weeded out by now, and are spending their days shooting pool with surlyburly.

And what exactly makes me a bad seed? That I have a different view of how things work based on my experiences? That I wanted an 'actual' education? Get off your high horse thinking that boys who stay in are somehow better than those that get out. That's part of the crap line of thinking that I disapprove of.

i just don't like your attitude, son. er, hoss. scrolling through this thread, i found numerous references you made to the military being some kind of farce where people who can't hack it in the real world (due to stupidity) are drawn to. personally, i am one who is ETSing as a noncom, much to the army's chagrin. i am going to finish my education. i seem to be the only one (in the army) who has a grasp on calculus, can explain electron orbital patterns in quantum mechanics, and calculate the vector of a charged particle in a gaussian flux. i realize i don't belong here. but i am not going to bad-mouth this system. it serves a unique purpose, and many people have found their niche pursuing careers here. it is a socialist, totalitarian hierarchy, a slow-moving beuraucracy, and a reform institution to some, a home to others. some people find peace and balance in this environment. i have nothing but the deepest respect for those who do, it is a thankless job, and an honor to be a part of.

i just don't like your attitude, son. er, hoss. scrolling through this thread, i found numerous references you made to the military being some kind of farce where people who can't hack it in the real world (due to stupidity) are drawn to.

Really?

Please post these referances. I looked back over the thread and didnt see anything of the sort.

Personally, I see the military as necessary and adequate in its current state, though I think there is always room for improvement, esp. when you yourself say its a "thankless job". IMO, it does not have to be, and it could be alot more positive, less manipulative toward its people and more effective if things were done differently. Im no hippy, and Im very proud of the things Ive done, but Im very ashamed of some of them too. Im ashamed of what alot of the military does every day in this world.

I'll give you some examples.

Ever heard of Pattaya Thailand?

Why dont you let your wife go alone to the E-club?

Want to hear the stats about sexaul assaults on female enlisted military members? How about more than 50% bub?

What is the common stereotype about women soldiers/ Marines? ... and further have they earned it? Dont answer that out loud because you know its ****ed up.

...and you, as a soldier, can probably think of 100 things I dont want to mention here that you know goes on in every barracks and base. God knows you've seen somebody completely demoralized, threatened, demeaned and cast aside because they were weaker, fatter, slower or heaven forbid, GAY!

Are these symptoms of the military lifestyle or the demographic recruited to in the first place? I understand that discrimination is needed in some ways to weed out the weaknesses and make our units better overall, but the things that go on are simply inhumane. The leadership at the top is either blind, doesnt care anymore or thinks its ok what goes on.

And so you say you're not going to bad-mouth the system? So am I to assume you think crap like this is ok? Its not. Not at all. There is messed up crap going on that regular people, who finance the whole shindig (dont forget that) NEED to know about. Cause its their money and their military. I dont care if you know quantum physics, if you cant see that some things are obviously ****ed, you dont know a freakin' thing.