someone explain the mindset of the military!!

Devbo RR · 03-21-2006, 10:04 AM

I know that there is alot of people in the military on this board, and i am trying to figure out if all the branches and the bases are all the same.
Let me explain some of my backround, I am a firefighter/EMT in the Air Force, I have been in for about four years now.
Ok someone please explain to me why i had a week of trainning in my chemical warfare suit, then i got sent to FL Tindal AFB for a week of chemical warfare trainning but in firefighter mode. Then i come back home and they are sending me to more trainning for chem warfare. This might sound stupid but i am trying to get ready for my deployment and all of you know how much crap that intales, they are not helping too much.
I could go on about some of my beafs about the military but i am going to save you from all of that. I mean no disrespect, the military has done alot for me like getting me a jump start on my career in the fire services. Well i guess what i am asking, Do all the bases run this way, the whole hurry up and wait?

Thanks for listening to me. lol

Jiggly · 03-21-2006, 11:44 AM

Hmmmm......

Moving this to the mil rider forums, but no clue bro

Devbo RR · 03-21-2006, 12:46 PM

ohh i am sorry i was not aware that we had our own page. Sorry about that

Jiggly · 03-21-2006, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devbo RR

ohh i am sorry i was not aware that we had our own page. Sorry about that

Word eh!

If it makes you feel any better at all my sister unit here at hill had to do a 2 week long ORE 4 weeks after post deployment from Iraq, no one really understood why. LOL

Blackduc · 03-21-2006, 02:50 PM

The deployment rotation has put a crunch on everything. The way it was for me when i was in was we were always getting ready to go somewhere else. Its just a fact of life in the military.

I can break down my entire military career but that would take awhile. Point is, you just overcome and adapt. I have been to some cool places for training and some absolute shitholes for training, and that is just in the U.S. not including the overseas stuff. You train for a reason, so that everything becomes not even second thought. Repetition is a pretty damn good form of training.

I remember doing a Double CAX/WTI which sucks. Gone from June to November being sent from one desert to another, then getting sent to Iraq a month after we got back. And that really isnt even pre-deployment stuff. The predeployment stuff lasts 6 months, Socex, Muex, etc. Then you go out on the boat for 6 months (If your lucky, all three of my boat deployments lasted at least 7 months each). Come back then 2-3 months later start the exercise rotation all over again.

We pulled some Green Berets out of Liberia on our way back from Iraq in 2003 and those guys hadnt been home in almost 2 years.

We used to have a saying Semper Gumby. Always flexible.

Keep your head up and remember the training is there to save your life. I couldnt wait for my turn on the tip of the spear, which was the culmination of all the training, exercises, etc.

Just my 2c

exmarinegrunt · 03-21-2006, 07:00 PM

Just the way things are bro. 90% of the shit they have you do won't make sense at the time. Before we deployed to Iraq in 03 it seemed like we were doing all sorts of pointless stuff but once we got there most of it suddenly made sense. And the thing with chem warfare it, do you really not want to be totally prepared? Even though it is unlikely at this point anything can happen you dont wanna be unprepared for that. Good luck on the deployment man.

AJExtreme · 03-22-2006, 04:58 AM

The way I look at is the military wants to protect its military investments (us), so they want to ensure that we are among the most highly trained military in the world. All the repetition helps so that when any situations arise, it is no longer a thought but more so like muscle memory. Plus the politics of the military have got so great on the top that they couldn’t go to the public and say we lost our troops because of lack of training.

Besides if you really think about it, the military is one of the best jobs in the world. I mean what other job gives you so much, (i.e. more training and the resources for training/education than you could ever know what to do with, we get paid to travel the world and experience different cultures, we get paid to stay in shape mentally and physically, we don't have to worry about lay-offs due to economic trends in the stock market, we don't have to worry about food, shelter, or any of the necessities of life, and so on). And it isn’t like the Vietnam era where the soldiers were getting spit on for there return home, instead we get praised for doing our job and for the most part enjoying it.

As for rights that so many people say we loose that isn’t necessarily true. If you do something wrong in the military you get in trouble, if you do something that is wrong in the civilian side you get in trouble. I mean basically all the military asks of us is to do our job, be of good moral character, and set the example of being clean cut and professional.

just my 2c

Aaron

Devbo RR · 03-22-2006, 10:10 AM

All of you make real good points, i understand that they trainning is needed, but the funny thing is that i have been to 4 places now and we didnt even carry our stuff. We kept all of our shit in the fire station, now i have been to some cake walk deployments so that might explain it but i have also done a tour in Iraq and heading to Afgani so i donno.

daytonaguy · 03-28-2006, 05:19 PM

They're prepping you for worst-case scenarios. On paper on some politician/generals desk, it looks good. In the real world, however, it's a bunch of crap that we have to go through to apease the all-knowing beurocrats. And yes, virtually every branch of America's military has adopted the "Hurry up and wait" mindset.

fiveninerzero · 03-28-2006, 07:53 PM

"cover your ass" it's what the military is all about, a million training squares to fill and supposedly safety is "first" so when the congressional inquiry board looks into the incident and asks "were they trained?" or "was safety protocol followed?" the big wigs will have something to show for to wash their hands of responsibility.

To answer your title question, if I knew the answer to that I would be commander-in-chief

Akheloce · 03-31-2006, 02:35 AM

The reason the chem stuff went back and forth was that someone had blocks that had to be checked to prepare X number of people for deployment. They dont care what you just did, just that they want to keep their spreadsheet all green. If they asked everyone (especially in the Air Force) "who has a special circumstance?" You would see 300,000 hands raised at the same time. Just understand that they are trying to keep track of 366,000 airmen's training, and sometimes, you might just have to do something more than once.

JaiBird · 03-31-2006, 03:42 AM

When i was in the Army, I saw my wife about 1 of the 1st three years of marriage total. Trained, trained some more, went to war, came home and trained some more. Our gear wasnt back yet. It was get out of the military or get divorced, still dont know if i decided right. (miss those days now.)

stephygee · 03-31-2006, 05:32 AM

Instead of asking your original question, try asking yourself the flip side: why am I training when I'm in country? Shouldn't I have done this prior to deployment?

The answers to both those questions is exactly what you're doing now...training prior to deployment so that you can react instantaneously to chemical warfare situations if/and/or when they occur during your tour. As the old saying goes, "the time to train is before you need it."

I've been deployed to Iraq for a year and thankfully I've not had to pull out my chem gear, but I still make it my business to read my Airman's Manual to keep my training fresh in my memory, as well as perform routine checks on my gear (mask). Complacency kills.

Good luck on your deployment.

ryu954rr · 03-31-2006, 04:10 PM

When I was still in the Army training for a position with the 5th Special Forces Group all we did was train doing the same stuff OVER AND OVER AND OVER. I just kept telling myself what my father Major Huddleston used to say... "Prior planning, to be effective, must be done ahead of time"

Sweat in training so you don't bleed in battle.

zogorion · 04-03-2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devbo RR

I mean no disrespect, the military has done alot for me like getting me a jump start on my career in the fire services. Well i guess what i am asking, Do all the bases run this way, the whole hurry up and wait?

Thanks for listening to me. lol

Dude, you're attitude seems a little jacked up to me. CW training is an integral part of the pre-deployment process. WTF would it be for if not deployment? I don't think you're going to get gassed in NC. If you think all that training is getting in the way of the paperwork you need to fill out before you leave, I think your priorities aren't in order. I know the paperwork is not your choice, and it is necessary before you'll get the greenlight to go back to the box, but get as much training as you can, because it just might save your life. Being a firedawg, and a rider, you should know that.

P.S. Why do you think everyone who has any experience with the military knows the saying "hurry up and wait"? Because that's the way it is.

But don't worry, only 2 more years and you can get out and start your career in the BS-free world of "fire services."