Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Another Rant

Well, I did finish my packing and got down here to my duty station on time. (I fit all the stuff I need in my duffel and a medium suitcase...pretty good, huh?)
Of course, my pay is still messed up and I only got back on duty yesterday. (I should be getting about $1000 for housing and food per check, but I'm only getting $3.20 in my next paycheck...sort of a big difference.) Luckily, the guy that handles my pay knows and is fixing all the problems. Plus, I was supposed to shoot the M-16 today, but the class was too full, so I've got to go back. sigh!
I was talking to one of my superiors about some of the jobs I might end up doing over there. One of them was outside the wire (outside the base limits), which is always more dangerous. As this guy was telling me about it, a nearby guy piped up and said he'd volunteered for that job. He said it sounded like a lot of fun, but he's not eligible for any of the spots doing that. Which makes me wonder....this is not the first time that I've heard a guy talk about a dangerous job being cool. Is there some kool aid they're feeding the guys or is that just testosterone??? I mean, of course, I'll do whatever I'm assigned to because that's what I signed up for (sort of), but I'm not looking for a job where I can see how much the M-16 really jams when you shoot it multiple times in a row. Granted, none of the guys that have made comments about the cool jobs were eligible to do them, so maybe it's just the idea that sounds attractive. I just can't imagine what these guys are thinking, though. I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything if I haven't gotten to shoot in combat, but it seems like some of the male military population thinks they've missed out on combat. Anyway, just my observation for the day.

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