Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post

amatlis · 10-17-2010, 21:34

Hey, just a quick message for guys coming from the civilian world to military. I think it's important to be aware that joining the military and going to selection and the Q course is not one big glorious adventure. It's a huge shock going from the civilian world where time is money and you are treated in a civilized way. One of the hardest adjustments for me is the enormous amount of time spent doing nothing, waiting for something to happen. I am so used to working hard to be productive during my day. In addition, you are constantly treated either like an infant or a prisoner. I came from a program management position in DoD, running multi-million dollar programs, to an environment where most SF cadre hate the 18-xray program, don't want you there, and treat you like a complete idiot and don't mind showing you how insignificant you are by having you standing around all day doing nothing. You will typically have no idea what's going on until the day something happens. If you have a family or significant other, you will not be given opportunities to see them, even when there's time, because it's too much paperwork to give you leave. While in hold periods between classes, you will be with cadre who consider it their mission in life to weed you out for any possible reason. Being in hold is a shitty existence where your time and efforts will be constantly mismanaged and your training will make no sense. You will experience certain cadre who apparently are placed in charge of you as a punishment. They will constantly play fuck-fuck games with you to convince you and themselves of the power they have over you, and you will listen to endless long speeches about how great they are and how you should be humbled just to be in their presence. You will listen to long speeches about all the things you shouldn't do while learning that your cadre have and still do those things which they claim shows lack of integrity and professionalism.

I just want people to know the other side of what you're getting yourself into so your're not imagining some illusionary, romantic path of glory. You will spend a lot of time thinking about how much you could be accomplishing with your life outside the army while you stand around doing nothing or playing stupid games. The actual classes and cadre who run them are good, but you will spend a whole lot of time before sopc and in between classes hating life. That's reality. I thought someone should say it.

Good luck Gentlemen!

10-17-2010, 21:34	#22
amatlis SF Candidate Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Arlington, Virginia Posts: 42	A Reality Check Hey, just a quick message for guys coming from the civilian world to military. I think it's important to be aware that joining the military and going to selection and the Q course is not one big glorious adventure. It's a huge shock going from the civilian world where time is money and you are treated in a civilized way. One of the hardest adjustments for me is the enormous amount of time spent doing nothing, waiting for something to happen. I am so used to working hard to be productive during my day. In addition, you are constantly treated either like an infant or a prisoner. I came from a program management position in DoD, running multi-million dollar programs, to an environment where most SF cadre hate the 18-xray program, don't want you there, and treat you like a complete idiot and don't mind showing you how insignificant you are by having you standing around all day doing nothing. You will typically have no idea what's going on until the day something happens. If you have a family or significant other, you will not be given opportunities to see them, even when there's time, because it's too much paperwork to give you leave. While in hold periods between classes, you will be with cadre who consider it their mission in life to weed you out for any possible reason. Being in hold is a shitty existence where your time and efforts will be constantly mismanaged and your training will make no sense. You will experience certain cadre who apparently are placed in charge of you as a punishment. They will constantly play fuck-fuck games with you to convince you and themselves of the power they have over you, and you will listen to endless long speeches about how great they are and how you should be humbled just to be in their presence. You will listen to long speeches about all the things you shouldn't do while learning that your cadre have and still do those things which they claim shows lack of integrity and professionalism. I just want people to know the other side of what you're getting yourself into so your're not imagining some illusionary, romantic path of glory. You will spend a lot of time thinking about how much you could be accomplishing with your life outside the army while you stand around doing nothing or playing stupid games. The actual classes and cadre who run them are good, but you will spend a whole lot of time before sopc and in between classes hating life. That's reality. I thought someone should say it. Good luck Gentlemen!
amatlis is offline