User Panel
Posted: 8/12/2005 1:59:47 PM EDT
I enlisted initially in 1998 in the Army. Served four years and after not seeing a goddamn thing.... I became spellbound by the whole "tactical ninja Coast Guard thing". Yes, for those who wonder - I am the USCG Walrus - "coo coo a chu"...........So I did serve over 6 months in Kosovo while shit was still fucking razy there. We showed up just after some little girl got shot 17 times with an AK47 and LIVED.......We had some dumbass ROE while in Kosovo and I never got to shoot any bad guys - only escort the fucking TMK - a politically correct version of the outlawed UCK.......Well.......I am now a tactical ninja.......seriously. heh......I have yet to shoot, or come close to, shooting anyone. We are the "tip of the spear" for the Coast Guard - which is pretty sad - nonetheless - we get some cool photo ops and get to deploy to some cool places. Since I joined the Coast Guard, I have had a free ride to Guantanomo Bay, St Mary's GA for the G8 Summit, Portstmouth VA for DOD purposes, Wilmington NC, Philadelphia, Groton,CT, NYC multiple times, and Boston for the DNC..........What am I missing here? The USCG does a good job of taking care of its people - much better then the Army - but I still feel empty - knowing that there is REAL serious shit going on overseas.
So, should I stay in for twenty years or?????? |
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Sounds like you're really craving the action. Maybe you should have joined the Marines? |
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if you leave someone must be trained fill your slot.
all of those jobs are needed and important. hell supply and cook remf's are some of the most important people in the army. no ammo , no food, no fight. never saw combat in the army but i picked up my share of casualties both civilian and military. i have no real desire to see any more. |
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Same here. |
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Just curious - I have no fucking desire to "make money" to win all kinds of exotic things like most people my age. I want to look back some day - when I am older - and say I did right.........regardless of what that may be - regardless of what fucked up memories it may ential. I went through USCG "A" School in March 2003 as the War on Iraq started. Myself along with two prior Army guys like me and three Marines watched as Iraq was invaded.And several of us asked seriously - WTF am I doing here!!.......Now granted, it sounds all great and innocent on TV - that aside, some of us felt we would be better off in a war zone then our current occupation of choice - and seriously questioned our career choices.......
Has anyone else ever been plagued with this dilemma?? I am going on 7 yrs in the military and unfortunately I have NOT seen shots fired - for my sake. Maybe I'm fucked in the head - I don't know - I don't care - I joined the military with the hopes that said contract would put me on the battlefield. Why didnt I reenlist in the Army? The extreme bullshit factor and I wanted to reclass to 45B which is btw a very lucrative MOS.....I would STILL love to go 45B........I got the skillz |
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Run outside and start shooting......right now.......... you will get your action there, it all depends on how long you live though.
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Thanks, but I am not looking for any random ass SRT, SWAT, or EMS action........I'm speaking strictly of those career objectives which I have set - unfortunately for me, my career objectives includes a) tangos b) Hadgis and c) Durka Durkas -----------so I have an exclusive market on camel humpers..... |
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I had a friend who felt the way you did. He joined the Army at 33 and volunteered for Iraq at 38, with an 18 month old boy at home. He doesn't regret it...he almost volunteered to go back, but didn't because of his family.
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If you leave you might miss out on some kick ass action. The military is a crap shoot, some never see the shit and others see more than their fair share. Either way you are honoring your country. God Bless.
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Very impressive - thats the kind of shit that keeps me proud - yet, on the flip side, I do many "homeland security missions" - some with secret service present in real way - etc - but no real action. A VERY important job at times but - I havent seen SHIT........ergo my issues.......I should be happy we havent seen shit - and I am - but I still feel like I somehow...........missed my calling in life.................................. |
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I've been in the Army about two years. I'm infantry.
I was recently told I got DA selected to be a recruiter. My first thought was.... I'm going to have to reenlist in order to ever get a chance to deploy |
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We appreciate your service (that goes for all of you!). Thank you.
Blackwater could be an option. Do a good job, make a difference, make some coin, and see some action. A co-worker's nephew is in Iraq working for them and loves it (trunk monkey). Course his mother and uncle don't understand it, some people won't. Some people do. One other thing...OOOHRAH! |
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Very well stated. I have heard of SEALs, SF, Rangers, DELTA,etc who have spent their entire careers training with few real world missions - only to stay on an adrenaline rush for 20 yrs - it SUCKS big time I imagine - but its the nature of the beast.........my unit has a serious mission - for homeland security on the maritime front we are "it" - that aside - we havent seen a damn thing. Which is GOOD for us and America. And yet, we train under the precept that we will get to engage the enemy in a firefight somewhere.......... |
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Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things.
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HEH :D I am not a Jedi - but I play a T.U.N.A. on TV.......
http://TacticalUnderwaterNaucticalAssasin.com |
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Talk to a few folks with those fucked up memories, who hit the deck everytime a thunderstorm comes through because they think mortars are incoming, and get back to us. |
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+1...Be careful what you wish for. The USCG is an important outfit. Your time will come. If you've been to all the places you mentioned and with the people you're with, SOMETHING will happen. Thank you for what you're doing! |
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you need to join the police force and take out some of these crack houses. you would get alot of action around here. just kidding you should be proud
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Thanks for your patriotism and support........for America's sake - hopefully that time never comes of course.....That aside, I will continue to question myself and my purpose here on earth as an American citizen. I have noticed that I am too high strung for the United States Coast Guard- I honestly am here to defend America at all costs. I won't even get into the fact that good Americans blundered on Sept 11th 2001 when a navigation error made USAF fail to intercept the second plane at the WTC........it happens ( I guess ) |
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I don't think a navigation error was involved - they just did not have enough time to get to the second plane, and had not been given the order (which came later) authorizing shooting down civilian aircraft. Everyone has a part to play. Coast Guard interdicts ships carrying all kinds of bad things being smuggled to Iraq and other places. If they didn't do their jobs, those items would be used to kill our guys on the ground, so your job IS important. If I recall correctly, 75 percent of deployed forces serve in the support role. The other 25 percent could not do their job without the 75 percent doing theirs. On a football team, there is only one quarterback, but he could not do his job without the others doing theirs, such as blocking pass rushers. But when the team wins, everyone on the team gets a ring. I'd think twice about looking for another position. If you are highly trained where you are at, you are functioning as part of your team. If you sign up with another branch, it may take a year or more for you to get up to speed functioning optimally in your new MOS, and the "team" as a whole would be weaker during that period. |
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Now I havent shot anyone, so take this with a grain of salt.
Could it be that you are wanting to prove something? I know when I enlisted I wanted to kill some people. I wanted to prove something. I went 03 and got Infantry. Then I got sent to a non-deploying station. Since I have been here, I have noticed a huge difference in attitudes of the Marines who had been there, and those that havent. Out of ones that havent seen combat, there was alot of stuff like "Hawaii is better then . . ." type stuff. (Same type of thing for us boots, 3rd Bttn PI type stuff) But out of the guys that have been over there, I hardly see any of that type of attitude. I know many worry wether they would chicken out, or are well trained enough. Could it be you are wanting to prove something? |
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Thats what I'm thinking of doing. I've thought about reenlisting... but with my luck I'd get DA selected to be a Drill Sergeant.... |
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Real heroes don't go out to shoot people, but to accomplish the mission, and to look out for their other team members. If killing is required, they do it, but do not necessarily like doing it (unless they are socio/psychopathic). It is part of the job, thats all. That shit will haunt you the rest of your life, if you aren't careful. I can understand wanting to seek vengeance for what happenned on 9/11, but the desire to simply go out and shoot people -- you may want to consider some self-examination there.
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When I have the urge to shoot someone I find Midol and Chocolate really help. Patty
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actually you have a great point. J_Smith if you want action, and alot of it go into Police work. You'll get more than enough. |
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+1000 |
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True........as much as I hate hippie fags........the 1,366 people at the World Trade Center ( Including an E7's mom I know of.......) were targeted. Targeted for being American. I have nothing but severe hate and discontent for all Arabs who approve and support attacks on America. |
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You been drinkin, son? |
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J_Smith,
Keep in mind that you are serving and fill an important role. Some of us cant serve for medical reasons... we'll never get to look back and be proud. So keep on truckin... wish I could do Coast Guard... - BG |
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You are doing what the government needs of you.
You should be proud of your service, I am. Sgatr15 |
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So, Basically your some kind of action jnunkie, who would rather take lives than help save them. If you can't have any pride in yourself and your service then turn HOMO and get out on a section 8 or something. I served in the USCG, and am damn proud of it. Get over your G.I. Joe fantasy and get back to your post.
Semper Paratus. |
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You need to chill. There are one HELL of a lot of people who join the military out of a desire to see combat and test their mettle. You sound like you've been pussified by our modern nanny-state into believing that's a bad thing. |
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I understand that your perspective is the old Coast Guard one - "We only save lives, we don't deploy, we don't kill, we just do SAR.....waaaaaaah my pussy hurts". They act like complete slobs and can't qualify with their ONE weapon - let alone an M9, M870, M16, M240B, and M2. I work with many people like this - they hate the military side of the Coast Guard. Most of them have only seen the Coast Guard in their time. There is an blatant difference between Coast Guard prior-service - and the fat slob who walks around half-dressed all day telling glory tales of Cape May, NJ while he eats a big twinkie. I didnt go to USCG boot camp. I went to Fort Sill - my Army training superceded my need to attend USCG boot camp. Newsflash - the world has changed. The Coast Guard does not fall under the Department of Transportation anymore. If you want to save lives, that's awesome - I have never been trained to be the great humanitarian - and I don't care to. Even Corpman are SUPPOSED to be able to shoot. My USCG unit does not do SAR - we do security - and its pretty goddamn boring at times. We are trained to shoot - we don't scrub ducks off or save baby seals. Maybe you don't like the MSST, TACLET, or other LEO programs. That's fine - a lot of people hate us for no reason - its not for everyone. I guess my perspecitive is warped from years of serving in the Army - where I was taught - I was part of the military. The military doesn't save lives as its primary mission - in case you were unaware of this fact. They fight wars. Maybe the USCG that YOU joined isn't the military at all - in your mind. If so, you are wrong. The USCG is changing for the better I think.......but I notice that MANY people in the Coast Guard are really pissy at the concept of doing law enforcement and military missions more. They are resentful of the Department of Homeland Security and all the new programs that have shot up since. The Army inspired me to do my best in spite of the BS- the USCG just makes me ask, What The Fuck. The USCG sucks at creating leaders - its promotion system is based on academic tests - not unlike the Air Force. It does not create any sense of strict disciple or military efficiency. Two totally different cultures - I guess the Marines and Army is there to make warriors - the USCG is here to make something entirely different. Just hope and pray to God that the USCG is never forced to engage in real combat - because lifesaving and stupid SAR drills will make our ass grass within a few seconds. Were you EVER a groundpounder?? Do tell - I sense you were NOT. |
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