A Rant Thread by Me

[Captain Venku]

So, first off, if this is in the wrong place, I am deeply sorry. I didn't if I should put this in Deeper Discussions or here, so I will let the Mods do their work because you all need to do your work anyways. *cracks whip* Someone had to do it.

SOOOooo, the rant.

As you all know, or at least the one's that know me, I was in the Air Force. Keyword, was. As of March 31, 2012, I was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force. No, I didn't see combat or get wounded. I was pinked slipped...or politely let go. I was discharged because Congress and President Obama believes that all the services are over budget. So, the Air Force let 80,000 service members go. It's not really new news. I think it was news back in March. But still, 80,000 people were discharged, most of which were first term Airman (like me. Airman are the lower ranks).

Let me tell you something about first term Airman. You go to basic military training, BMT for short. For some of you, like me, it was your first job and your first time away from home. You have your Training Instructor (TI for short), or if your in the Army or Marines, Drill Sergeant. You spend 8 weeks listening to this TI or DS yell and scream at you, telling you you're dumb or slow or not good enough (For Marines, it's 13 weeks. They have balls. And, the DS's in Marines can still beat you.) So, you start to think that the TI or DS is your drunken father that hates his kids (you and the sixty other morons that joined) and your mom left a long time ago. Pretty much what's it like...but with more push-ups, sit ups and thirty minutes of non-stop running (the fun part of the day), you march everywhere, you learn to shoot, they prick you with so many needles (worse part, my opinion, but the nurses are nice, and sometimes hot). You learn what it means to be an United States Airman, Marine, Solider, or Seaman. And you become proud of it. That TI that says that he hates you, tells you at the 8 weeks of hell that you are sharp, you look great and you made him proud to march with you at your BMT Graduation. And you become a new person. You look in the mirror in your blues (AF), Class-As (Army), the Marine uniform that looks awesome with the hat and the sword (everyone knows that one, its in every Marine comercail), or your whites (Navy, don't know what you call them), and you say to yourself, "I did it. I made it to the end." Then you think, 'I look sexy.' I did anyways. Thats basic, short version, anyways.

Then you go to Tech School, what we called it in the Air Force. Other services call them differently. It's where you go to learn what you are going to do in the military. Me? I spent almost a year in tech school learning how to work on F-15's and A-10's attack radar. All I can tell you. So, I spent a year of my two years training, basic plus tech school. After tech school, you go to your base, for me that was Eglin Air Force Base in beautiful Florida (around Pensacola, Florida). Funny thing was, I wanted to travel, annnd they send me back to Florida. Lovely. Anyways, guess what? All that training you have to do, you do more. And you know what else? You still have to learn about your job and get more credits in order to get a degree in your job, which mine was F-15/A-10/U-2 Avionics. I never got to that point. So any chance I had of getting that degree was gone when I left the Air Force.

When they let me go, I had all this training, but nothing to work on. I can't go to an airliner company and ask for a job because I don't have the avionics degree. People ask me that. 'Why don't you work for the airliners? You worked on jets.' Yes I did, but you still need a degree to show it. I don't have that. Yes, I still have the GI bill to pay for collage, but that only pays for 36 months of collage. When I use it, it's gone.

And this happened to a lot of first term airmen. Spent one or two years in the military, learning their job, only to be kicked out in a matter of months. Months of which are too short, and filled with outprocessing appointments, finding a replacment job, moving from where you lived, and several other things to even consider trying to get collage credits before you leave.

Granted, we might have been just a wee-bit. But I ask you, those of you who live in the United States of America (and if you don't live in the US but still want to answer, feel free. It's a free interent, for now anyway.), is there a price for freedom? Is it too high? And is it right to just kick someone out like that?

[Erel]

First and foremost let me preface myself by saying that I have mad respect for anyone joining the military. I have many friends who are in the military, fighting the good fight in their own way, carrying the flag just like our forefathers did during all the world wars. I do not claim to know half the things they and you went through but to hear one of my friends say: "I had to kill a child and the face haunts me everyday" well, it was more than just a bit of a chilling statement, it's a respect for him to even see him walking today with his son growing up to be a good man. And then of course there are some good friends of mine overseas getting shot at and then my not so 'serious' ones away from home in another state drinking their asses off but still away from their friends and family. All of them have told me of the hardships of being yelled at, scrutinized and made to feel like shit but in the end of it all they all said it was worth it because of what you just explained when you were able to see your reflection wearing one of the most inspiring attire. Some of course go as far as to say: "I'm finally doing some good for my country" or even a more prominent statement that I remember everyday: "My life is finally worth something".

So again, You have my mad respect. And I'm glad you joined; for what it's worth you have one person here for sure giving you props because there a lot of people who don't have the testicular fortitude that you have (This may sound like a cliche, but it was also a thought in my lifetime to join. I would've went Marines, but life didn't steer me that way, well that's enough about me, this is about you). So as for your questions, and I will try my best not to delve into too much political opinion or what I feel about the president because frankly I feel like your said inquires have a lot of heart and digging through political standpoint will be a bit less tasteful if we take that road. So, Freedom? There should never be a price for it, but unfortunately there is. And in this bleak times of our economic stability, the price is too high and sad to say there are a lot of casualties for the constant tremors of its foundation. Was it right to kick people out? Again not to dig into political standpoint but it's a painful subject to hear that there are cuts PERIOD especially when we are dealing with military, law enforcement, and teachers and there are more on my list but I'll keep it with the general consensus(Basing that demographic of consensus on this side of the neighborhood). There are a lot of areas suffering that in my honest opinion shouldn't be because some of these branches getting liquified are at utmost importance for a number of reasons to help our country function.

So again, for what its worth, I'm sorry you have to be a casualty for our economy's not so optimistic stance at the moment. I hope with all my honesty that you find some means to an end after such drastic change, which I know you will. You did adapt to military life I'm sure that perseverance you learned in BMT carries on. Again I'm proud of you man; head up and I know thing will work out as long as you keep on trying. After all, didn't you say push ups and 30 min running? Hell if you could be woken up by someone yelling at your ear because your buddy didn't hang his pants right at 4am in the morning then forced to run because of that, I'm sure you are resourceful enough to find some sort of means through all of this; which it's been about a month I'm sure you're already on the road.

[Captain Venku]

Working on it, I am afraid. I am currently unemployed.

[Zane the pure]

Well I personally am grateful for the will to serve, and I must emphasize we're proud of you regardless of discharge.

[Archangel]

I'm going to sound like a dick for most of this, but let me first start off by saying I respect you and every other "honorable" member of the military.

Let me first start by saying that you shouldn't take your GI bill for granted. 36 months of college of your choice is A LOT of money is you include room and board. This is something that I never had, and now I am 39,000 dollars in debt from student loans because of it.

Finding a job is period. I'm a teacher, and I have been having to bust my balls to find a job. just keep at it, flaunt your skills, stay confident, and I'm sure it will work out for you.

As for the military: like I said I respect you and a lot of the members of our military, but then again a lot of the people who join, join bc they don't know what else to do. Once they join, they think they are big shots, and they demand everyone's attention. In some cases, some I have personally, a soldier goes on tour, comes back and claims to have PTSD, just so they can be discharged, receive a pension check for life, and get free schooling, even though they know damn well they don't have PTSD. Funny how someone with this disorder can come home and participate in MMA fights only a month later.

Anyways....what I am trying to say is that 75% are good guys and deserve my respect, while the rest are a bunch of douchebags who simply joined to get the attention they never had in their childhood.....end of my own personal rant.

[Erel]

^I was trying not to touch on that subject because there are those, and I have met some. I was trying to keep it somewhat positive but I already had the feeling we weren't going to forget about this subject. There are always those who chooses to live off our hard earned tax money and so forth and so forth. There are a lot of us working our asses off while people (not just military discharge) who seems to have no qualms about using the free money.

But I am confident you will try your hand at getting a job and support yourself. Zack is right, that is a lot of money, and when you are on your feet, take it, get the education and stand even taller. Some of us never had that and as Zack stated, there are some of us who are in hell hole of a debt because we never had it.

[Claire]

Hm, replying to this thread when I don't know a damn thing about the economy or the military feels wrong somehow.

However, I think a country still in the midst of a war NEEDS as many soldiers/airmen/seamen/marines as they can get. Especially if they're the volunteering kind like yourself. I feel it's wrong to kick anyone out of the military, especially since there are so many repercussions to leaving without a good reason. More importantly, you wanted to serve, instead of being asked or invited to join. Unfortunately, life has a way of stabbing one in the back by denying them what they want. I'm sorry, man.

But look on the bright side, you left with more benefits than most people can say they ever had, as Zack and Erel said. I'm currently saving up for college and it's gonna take me a while, since I know for a fact that I don't have the mental capacity for the condescension encompassed in the training camps. I'm far too weak-minded to be yelled at someone like that, and I know I wouldn't last a day in the training camps, let alone actual combat. Anyway, I hope you get what you need.

[Captain Venku]

I only have the GI Bill, and only 70% of that.

Zack, I understand were you're coming from. I was one of those people that joined because I was lost in life. But, as in all jobs throughout the world, there are dickwads in the military. I joined because I always wanted to, I needed a job, and I liked the stablity over that of my home town. I was disgusted when I met people that just joined to go overseas and kill people, only in it for the glory. I hated them, because they were only in it for themselves. I joined for my family, my friends, and my fellow countrymen.

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