Enlisted Military Ranks as one of the worst jobs

Discussion in 'Warfare / Military' started by Nightmare515, May 2, 2017.

  1. Nightmare515

    Nightmare515 Ragin' Cajun Staff Member Past Donor

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    http://taskandpurpose.com/enlisted-military-worst-job-rank-2017/

    This actually makes me laugh a bit. The military in itself is a stressful career choice depending on which job you have, some are worse than others and some branches are worse than others. But one thing can pretty much be unanimously agreed upon...being lower enlisted pretty much sucks....Well it USED to suck, these kids nowadays seem to be whining over nothing....

    I was enlisted in the Army for many years then I jumped ship and became a Warrant Officer. While I was very good at my job (awards and insanely fast promotions proved it) I decided as I approached the end of my enlistment contract that either I get a different job in the Army or screw this.

    I was in a Combat Arms MOS, which basically boils down to your life is miserable until you make stripes. This was before any of the rules were put in place to prevent NCO's from virtually skull dragging you across the parking lot for fun. Nowadays I think things are much different and "punishments" involve a set of 10 pushups while the NCO jokes with you. Or bringing donuts to work because you were late. Haha, yeah be late to formation back in my day....I DARE YOU. I'd rather the Squad Leader just cold clock me in the mouth and be done with it over the insane punishment smoke sessions that we endured back then.

    I hate to be that guy who is always like "back in my day". I'm sure there are plenty of Vietnam vets around here who would laugh at our smoke sessions and call them tame, but I mean seriously these kids nowadays have no real reason to complain. They can't even hurt you anymore...like at all. Screaming at you is considered harassment. Hell when I was enlisted I would walk into work for PT at 0500 and you'd hear NCO's tearing people apart and literally see a chair come flying out the door into the wall. So common that you just kept on walking as if it were background noise being glad you weren't that guy at the time.

    I walk around now and see the enlisted kids with their feet propped up playing on their smartphones half the day when there's no work to be done. Yeah let a Corporal walk by and see you not doing anything back when I was enlisted. Oh you're bored? Go grab this broom and sweep the entire 200 meter motor pool, and the rest of you bear crawl behind him until you switch places.

    If you got through an entire day without getting smoked or chewed out for something then it was a great day, and that mean you probably hid in the broom closet or something. Nowadays I don't think I've seen anybody get dropped for pushups in like the past 6 months...

    Being enlisted right now is not that bad...I mean at all. You live in a free dorm room that NCO's don't even inspect. You can trash the place for all they care. There's no more barracks inspections at 0430 every morning to see if you made your bed and mopped your floor. There's no 1SG barrack inspection every Sunday morning to drag everyones hungover ass out of bed and make them scrub the barracks clean at 0700. There's no grabbing 50lb chunks of concrete and running up a hill because "You looked as though you had nothing to do for awhile".

    They treat lower enlisted like human beings now....they barely even yell at Privates anymore....I mean at all. And this is the Army, I know damn well the Air Force isn't any worse than that.

    Stop crying kids. Seriously, your job is not that bad. You have virtually zero responsibility, you simply go to work and do what people tell you to do and go home. New generation I guess...making a kid do a set of 10 pushups once every 2 months is considered stressful nowadays...Oh how times have changed....
     
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  2. Toefoot

    Toefoot Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I did 23 years in the Army as enlisted and enjoyed my service, sucks and all....sometimes I was a REMF and other times I was was FEBA. 68W30.

    When I did retire from Uncle I knew it was my time, I could no longer relate to the newest members of our fine Military and ever changing policy. Could not go into barrack rooms unless I was invited or Healh and Wellfare....in most cases by then it was to late.

    I find it more stressful with my civilian job and all the dynamics it comes with. I hire young men and women now and out of 20 interviews maybe one might stand out as employable. Yes, my father and grandfather also claimed this notion that the young generation are ill equipped.

    Some truth to this.

    Wonder if the Army still has a worm pit?
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
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  3. VietVet

    VietVet Well-Known Member

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    I enlisted when they offered a 3-year enlistment. The recruiter tried to talk me into 4 years - "If you aren't gung-ho, why are you enlisting?" I countered with, "Well, if I like it, I can always get more, if I don't like it you won't let me out early."
    They tried to get me to re-enlist - offered me $10,000 bonus if I re-enlisted for 6 more years. I laughed. That was in 1969-70 when that was a good chunk of money, but for the best 6 years of my life? Nah.

    However - You have free housing, free meals, free medical, free dental, put in 20 years and retire at 1/2 pay - put in 30 years and retire with full pay.
    I understand from talking with other guys that the Air Force was no worse than many jobs. In the Marines you could find yourself under command of some real sadistic idiots.
     
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  4. Nightmare515

    Nightmare515 Ragin' Cajun Staff Member Past Donor

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    And that's what I try so hard to "understand" I guess. My father said our generation was screwed and I sit here saying this upcoming generation is screwed so I guess it's all relative. We always seem to keep on chugging along I guess.

    I will say this, the Army has changed quite a bit over the past decade or so. There is A LOT of "political correctness" type stuff that goes on now. I too have a difficult time relating to many of the younger kids coming into the service but I do my best to mentor many of them the best I can. I often tell them stories about the way things were when I was in their shoes as a Private and it tends to be a huge shock to them. Many of them simply couldn't fathom living in a world like that. During this past deployment when I'd hear them complaining I would try to talk to them and let them know that it could be much worse. Unfortunately I often times start with the whole "back in my day" thing but I explain to them the horrible living conditions and misery that was deployment as a ground pounder during the height of the War on Terror. So when they would complain about the shower trailer running out of hot water I would kindly explain to them that having a shower trailer in itself was a god send, and much better than having no shower trailer, or running water, or getting a proper shower once every 3 or 4 months.

    I usually get responses along the lines of "Sir **** that I'd never be in the Army during those times" lol. So I think they understand how good they have it but to them it's all relative. If you've never been deployed before then having to share a hard stand building with a roommate with slow internet speed and luke warm water showers probably sucks. But if you've been deployed before living in a tent on bunk cots with 30 other dudes and no running water and halfway broken AC then luke warm water showers in a shower trailer after your Facebook page takes longer than normal to load isn't really that bad.

    It's all relative. But I will say this, and even these kids are admitting it to themselves. They wouldn't have made it "back in my day". New breed of Troops being recruited nowadays. For better or for worse I suppose...
     
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  5. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Lawyers. Lawyers. Lawyers.

    Rich snowflake boots get offended by a DS and their parents sue the Army so many times that we have EO officers, Safety Briefs about "what not to say around women", the weirdest psych evals...This is what happens when civilians get involved with the Army.

    Biden spoke at Benning and said he wanted to create a "positivity zone". A POSITIVITY ZONE? WTF IS THAT! My grandfather would have rolled over in his grave
     
  6. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    I reached 6 years in the USMC then got out.

    10 years is the point of no return.

    Yet I had friends who went 10 years and still got out.

    Everyone who can should do some time in grade (in the military).

    It teaches you great skills and endurance.

    The main thing I learned was leadership and how to organize people and how to chop up any job into smaller pieces so that it can get done.

    The other main thing I learned is that there is nothing on this Earth that I cannot kill.

    :D
     
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  7. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    The military (here having the meaning of Army, Navy, USMC, USCG, and USAF) all need lawyers.

    It is surprising how many bad eggs join up and then require UCMJ punishment.
     
  8. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well we get "bad eggs" because a lot of these kids can't hold down any other job. They can only fight. Naturally, you have these kids who grew up in a trailer park and never had discipline and they end up getting tons of art 15s.

    But they also tend to follow orders well, and are easy to train, which is the point
     
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  9. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    Thank you all for your excellent service during your own watch on duty.

    I take infinite pride that I put my life on the line so that we all could continue to speak English (not Russian, Chinese, Japanese or German) and vote every 2 years.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
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  10. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Also the lawyers I was referring to were the lawyers of rich kids parents
     
  11. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Perfect comment about it sucking till you get the stripes. Having to empty the crappers on a deployment, or stirring the crap as it burns, or building OPs, flipping trucks...etc. All stuff you do as an E1-E4
     
  12. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I served in the "crotch" 69 - 71. After my tour of duty in the Nam I was assigned to the 5th MAB, at Camp Pendleton, Back then the military wasn't a married military like today. There were a few who were married and lived off base they were called "brown baggers."

    There was one corporal who was married and lived off base in Oceanside. One morning he had car problems and showed up for morning formation 15 minutes late.

    Reduction in rank from corporal to lance corporal. One month forfeiture in pay and restricted to the base for thirty days was his punishment. He got of easy.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
  13. Hoosier8

    Hoosier8 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well AF Vietnam era vet here. Had it made. SAC underground headquarters and never went TDY and that was two tours. Now they treat them like babies compared to then and then basic was a 6 week joke.
     
  14. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    Eh, everyone knows the Army is run by the E-4 Mafia. It's the perfect rank. As a Specialist you seem like you know what you're doing to privates, so when NCO's tell you to do something, you can pass it off to them, plus, you aren't really responsible for anything.

    There are a lot worst jobs than being Military enlisted, but of course, that depends on what your MOS/Specialty is.
     
  15. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    E4 mafia makes it worse! "Let the mafia take care of it" is a common response from anyone with stripes
    In garrison, it's a lot like a regular job for the most part. With the exception of weeks of in the field training, pt, formation..etc.

    Combat MOSs have very boring garrison time.

    You get really good at washing trucks and cutting grass with an E tool
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
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  16. VietVet

    VietVet Well-Known Member

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    Another JarHead! :eek:

    I often think of where I'd be if I could've just gone to boot camp out of high school, and then go to college. I think I'd have really become something, because when I got out of boot camp, I felt there was nothing I could not have done. The rest of my enlistment I just looked for ways to beat the system and avoid trouble.
    I really think a year or two of compulsory service is what the country needs.
     
  17. PinkFloyd

    PinkFloyd Banned

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    The military can be an excellent choice and I found, what you put in is what you get out. I'll never regret my time in service. Thanks to all of those that served, no matter for how long or which branch. For me: FLY NAVY!
     
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  18. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    There are lots of jobs in the military so there is something that everyone could do, from office pogue to walking point.

    The physical standards to get in are really high though and a lot of kids are rejected.

    Semper Fi.
     
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  19. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    The really bright ones go into aviation in one form or another from aircraft mechanic to fighter pilot.

    Fair winds and following seas, Sailor!
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
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  20. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    We practiced the old kindergarten game of "capture the flag" only with a desert theme to it.
     
  21. PinkFloyd

    PinkFloyd Banned

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    Same to you! :flagus:

    [​IMG]
     
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  22. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    Called Spec-Four in the Army.

    In the Navy the E-5 or Petty Officer 2nd Class does most all the work.

    In the USMC it is the E-3 Lance Corporal.

    I can't speak for the USCG or USAF because I was never around them much.

    This means the Navy gets the slow learners while the USMC gets the fastest ones and the Army represents the golden mean.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
  23. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    Here is an even more stunning aerial view of the ship I served on -- CV64 Connie: CV64 AREAL.jpg
     
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  24. VietVet

    VietVet Well-Known Member

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    That's what the motivation platoon is for - that and those overweight.
    I remember one guy in boot camp - nice guy, but overweight and soft. He got sent off to motivational platoon and came back a few weeks later trim and fit. He said they were woken up early and were pointed to a big pile of sand and told - before you get breakfast, that pile of sand has to move over there. After breakfast, pile got moved back before lunch, then again for dinner....
    It worked.
     
  25. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I remember when a Marine Lance Corporal (E-3) was the coolest rank to have. No real responsibilities but enough to keep you from the **** details.

    Today a Marine Lance Corporal is nothing more than a glorified PFC.
     

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