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Now that I've hopped Armies and am enjoying the US Army, let me just say that "lol". At 68w AIT there are companies that have 450 soldiers. We do PT once or twice a week, despite waking up after three just so that the one or two PSGs can get time and do paperwork and admin before classes start, so PT is often cancelled. DFAC is .9 miles away, so out of 18 hours spent awake, we manage 7hrs of classes and three 10-minute eating sessions. I honestly would not have believed this poo poo to be true. It's like some weird fantasy on how to inefficiently do poo poo.
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Dec 18, 2016 04:41
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 15:05 |
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Fourth week just ended and I've done five PT Sessions plus one PT test! Goddamnit. 450 men is not a company. Best part is how three of these loving half-battalions hit the DFAC a mile away at the exact same time, making the average meal trip to be like 2hlurs or a bit more.
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Dec 18, 2016 04:48
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Yeah, I kinda miss the efficiency of Finnish BCT and job training. One Corporal for every squad, and platoon has a cadre instuctor Sergeant and Instructor LT, plus one conscript officer. In the US, the Drill Sergeants spend the whole day at the range working, and still we only shot 20-40 rounds each range day and sat around for 8-9 hours. Every training went the same way, actual training is 5-25 minutes of the day, rest is standing at formation and or getting smoked for not being still enough. Compared to Finland where if not doing the main activity, the corporals are running poo poo, showing poo poo, teaching lessons, doing other related instructions, going through questions and just all around being available. Instead of a small portion of s bigass Battery/Company doing something, everyone was learning all the time. We learned so much more non-stop during that 8 weeks. I don't wanna be all "blablabla but Finland this and that" but goddamn this has been retarded so far. Our MOUT lasted for 20 minutes during Basic, and then we had one assault on a compound, and it was led by the PG who has no clue. Afterwards we "conducted AAR" tjat the drat PG ran because DS was too busy dealing blanks to the other million soldiers PG concept is retarded during initial training. Soldiers need actual leaders. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Dec 18, 2016 |
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Dec 18, 2016 04:58
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I guess it at least half boils down to the fact that in a Finnish training unit, you have so many more NCOs available due to the conscript corporals and conscript officers being 24h available, un-paid labor on top of the cadre instructors.
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Dec 18, 2016 05:05
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Because now here, insane amount of time and effort is wasted due to the incompetence of PGs (not their fault though) and the overall disrespect and sluggishness in executing anything they want, instead of just having actual corporals running a tight leash each on their own assigned squad, doing the PT, handling their paperwork and admin, and squaring them away.
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Dec 18, 2016 05:09
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Flikken posted:I do believe you were warned this was a bad idea. Yeah I know lol. Honestly didn't expect this bad. In it for the citizenship and commission, so I'm still hooah!
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Dec 18, 2016 05:11
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Gotta hit the bed to enjoy my 5 hours of sleep, but two scenarios: Scenario 1: You are recalled to formation at the middle of the night. You have no clue why. You and nearly 400 soldiers get smoked by a screaming sergeant. You get a long speech about teamwork, and how weakest link is your strenght. And how you have to square your battlebuddy and help him to succeed. Nearly 400 soldiers look around, they have no clue who, why, or when. Or how. After 40 minutes, smoking ends as does the "inspirational" speech. Everyone goes back to bed without having any clue about anything. Shopette privileges and free time for tomorrow is cancelled to "teach a lesson". Scenario 2: A corporal flips the squad rooms bunks because one dude in the squad always has his bed unmade. Then he smokes the squad and yells at them. Squad now knows what's wrong and what to do, because they are just couple dudes and not a loving throng. And because the corporal has only a squad, eventually he learns by observation who the shitbags are and he fucks them up. This same thing happens in all platoons and squads, because each of them has their own leader who has time and effort to dedicate to his squad. Which one makes sense? It teaches a really lovely lesson to these young soldiers that it doesn't matter if they do everything that is asked, they still lose the privileges. So they start slipping because gently caress it, someone out of 400 guys is gonna do something every day, and there is no way to stop that. Constant collective punishment on such large scale is super weird, because most of these privates around me have no clue why. Hell, me neither. We just stand there with our half-shaved head because we were recalled from the barber, never any wiser on why. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Dec 18, 2016 |
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Dec 18, 2016 05:24
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mlmp08 posted:lmao I told him not to enlist for literal years and then told him there were other AITs that were cake with better pay. Hooah, Army Strong!
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Dec 18, 2016 05:26
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To the contrary, the same shitbags talk in formation, are out of ranks at morning, and keep their cellies on them at class. Because lol, at "fall in", the ones who made it on time get the poo poo smoked out of them, and then when the fuckups finally arrive, we just march away onto the day. I guess the theory is that we'd go square our buddies away and motivate them, but in reality the shitbags will just tell those people to go gently caress themselves. And hell, why wouldn't they, they didn't even get into actual trouble. The most infuriating part is to witness that shitbag behavior that is clear product of the lack of supervision that one or two sergeants can provide overthe huge formation. The same kind of actions would've never flown in Finland, because good luck being a shitbag in front of a NCO when there is only 11 guys beside you standing there. Here, from second rank onwards, it's loving clown show nonstop. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Dec 18, 2016 |
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Dec 18, 2016 05:37
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Also ones with good EMT Class GPA get hosed up because they are not "setting their battlebuddies up for success". Yeh, I could see the theory in a team of 8 guys or so, where two dudes are failing. Then you help out your buddies and adapt and overcome. But gently caress me. What a loving lesson to teach these soldiers who actually care and put effort in here.
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Dec 18, 2016 05:46
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mlmp08 posted:It's prettty easy to have one NCO watch 11 soldiers when your army is the size of the average American middle school, Vaha. I'll grant this one. And the fact that you have a pool of conscript NCOs and junior officers to tap into that are not only unpaid, but widely available, and present 24h because for for the 362 day conscription time those motherfuckers only go home on weekends, helps a poo poo ton. I have a finnish friend, an ex-Leopard Crewman, who is now in 194th AR BdE, at Benning, in 19k OSUT. His observations and complaints are pretty much in sync with mine, so I don't feel as crazy or worried that I had nostalgia goggles on. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Dec 18, 2016 |
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Dec 18, 2016 05:50
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Jaguars! posted:Vak's experience just helps confirm a theory I'm working on that the US army is in fact not just retarded, but uniquely retarded amongst nations. So for non-US Army cap: PG is a "platoon guide", and it's one of the privates who has to "lead" the platoon, plus all squads have "student squad leaders", and a "student first" leads the company. They are all just clueless privates who are on the same level of military life as their peers, and they are confused, and get nothing done in time and nobody respects them because these are privates. They just yell "pleas be quiet" non stop and say "at close interval dress right dress" everytime they see a NCO. Some of them are like "senpai notice me" and yell at a completelely silent formation to "lock it, have some discipline" when a NCO walks close. Compared to the Finnish Corporal who is still a concscript, but is an actual NCO with actual power and authority, and thus able to get poo poo done with his privates. And his orders aren't questined non-stop. Not only can he do the movement and admin part more efficiently with less people and more authority, he also can teach the soldiers poo poo on how poo poo works.
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Dec 18, 2016 13:28
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Some of my PSGs tell that when they went through, it was chill. Released 1630 on most days, and next time they had to be somewhere was 0600 PT. We are up at 0330-0400 depending on the day. (PT test or some dental appointments are 0245 wakeup), and get released at 1940ish for a 2000 bedcheck that lasts for 30-40 minutes with one sergeant checking 350 CACs, keys, and names. Lights out at 2100.
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Dec 19, 2016 02:10
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Which one of them?
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Dec 24, 2016 03:51
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 15:05 |
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Goons help me. My wife's wisdom tooth is killing her, and trying to figure out how to use the MetLife dental coverage, Tricare Dental Plan or whatever, that I signed up for in Reception at Basic, I learned, after talking to the Tricare lady, that "someone didn't finish the process" and that it wasn't active, and it wasn't deducted from my paycheck. I signed up again for it right away, and paid the first payment, plus signed up for autodeduction from my paycheck. She said the coverage begins in February 1st. Except, my wife is like, dying. The tooth is not even visible, and the quotes I'm getting from dental clinics are like 1500 or more dollars. It's a hellalot money for us right now, and while I can spend it right now, is there any other choice? There's no way for her to use the Charleston Air Force Base or Naval Weapons Station dental clinic for an emergency, for example? I've tried looking for help, but all the TriCare people seems equally lost with me. I don't want my wife to writhe in pain, but I'd also like to not take a huge chunk out of our future house downpayment. And gently caress you Reception, I was told the reason for Reception is to get our finances and benefits in order. And now I don't have that dental care that she needs.
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Dec 29, 2016 02:15
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