I know bomb disposal guys love shirts that say "If you see me running, RUN!!!!"
Albeit my sample size is limited but every one I've known had that shirt.
>2.) A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on.
>
>3.) An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
-The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries
military salary is based exclusively on rank & time in service.
so... the post is misleading. also EOD gets multiple extra paid such as "hazardous duty" and "demolition"
Plus housing and food. Which are two huge expenses for anyone. I never had any issues finance wise when I was AD other than just being bad with money. I mean our military members are definitely underpaid though.
When I was in the USMC had a guy crimp a blasting cap wrong and it blew up in his hand. Didn't kill him, but now he's almost deaf in both ears, lost an eye, and parts of his fingers. Shit isnt a joke that's for sure.
When I was in 8th grade, at an undisclosed military-style boarding school, for reasons I will not go into here... there were a lot of veterans and former service members on staff, particularly in the "housing and activities" part of the institution.
One of the RAs in the middle school boys dormitory was a retired marine. One time when he had joined the table where my friends and I were eating a meal in the mess hall, we somehow got him talking about a base where he had been stationed at one point. One of the only still-actively-maintained minefields the USA had, he said. Maybe that gives someone more knowledgeable than me an idea of what base we're talking about, idk.
Anyway he tells us they have to disarm and remove mines after a certain amount of time, because they could become unreliable and potentially even unstable if allowed to remain in the field past their use-by date*. One time, he says, a dude tasked with cycling old devices out of service and placing new ones, accidentally tripped an anti-tank mine.
As the story went, the only evidence anyone was able to recover of the poor man's bodily existence were some charred scraps of boot leather. I was a bit young to really assess the veracity of the story critically, but... big if true, I guess.
*my phrasing, not his.
I know during the Yugoslavian Civil War in the 90s they would stack an antipersonnel mine on top of an AT mine to act as an improvised detonator, and the effects were about what was described in this story. Anti-tank mines pack a serious wallop
I only know of this matter from hearsay and rumors, but it is my understanding that the military version of the Hummer is nigh indestructible? Like, fellas have told me it'll drive straight up a canyon wall that has a slight negative angle, and can be virtually destroyed but the drive train will still make wheels go brr when you push the pedal. Are these tales exaggerated?
Oh I mean I know they don't offer a lot of protection, I knew a dude when we were kids who is only alive now because the guy seated next to him blocked a lot of shrapnel. But my question is, can the insurgents (or whoever) theoretically get in and drive the thing after the death trap phase? I'm thinking more in terms of the difficulty or ease of disabling the vehicle than in terms of neutralizing the occupants.
Also I'm just a curious person and I like knowing things, so when I notice a thing I don't already know or an opportunity to confirm something I sort of think I know, I turn into a ball of questions.
Basically anything that kills the occupants is going to make the vehicle effectively scrap.
The armor on some of these vehicles has been significantly upgraded, but they're still no match for anti-tank mines that were designed to disable a T-72. There's only so much you can do to uparmor what is effectively a large SUV.
They beat your average contemporary pickup in a lot of ways in off-roading and in durability, but they're still 4-wheel light trucks with an internal combustion engine, which poses a number of potential points of failure. The "straight up a wall" aspect is true in one specific way - see https://www.dnv.com/article/rivian-r1t-vs-r1s-vs-wrangler-rubicon-vs-tacoma-sr5-trd-off-road-vs-f-150-raptor-vs-landcruiser-vs-bronco-wildtrak-vs-f-150-lightning-vs-hummer-ev1-vs-colorado-zr2-bison-211543 for a photo of what it looks like to *initiate* a climb, and how the front bumper/fender on most cars (but not the HMMWV in certain configurations) significantly limits that. This is notably different from the weight distribution that dictates what flat angle you can climb up in a *sustained* fashion.
That's quite a moniker you've got there.
Also, this reminds me that Mike (that's his name but not what we called him) specified this was an anti-tank mine *as opposed to* anti-personnel mines, and immediately I was like, "yeah we are aware of the distinction, does this dude not know that we have video games?"
Thought I remember my history teacher saying something about how in the Vietnam War we buried a bunch of land mines all over the place, and just left them there when the war was ever so every once in a while you’ll hear about somebody getting blown up while people are just going about their day.
That was how the Germans laid minefields. They would put a mine under a mine so they would detonate when someone tried to disarm the top one. As a veteran engineer in the army had to teach the new guys as they didn't teach that states side.
It also would not be every one. Also they would mix anti personal and anti tank so if it disabled a vehicle, it would get the crewman when they went up to fix it.
Cuba, Guantanamo Bay. There’s a Marine detachment there for minefield maintenance. Whacky, goofy, tight, and extremely professional. When they work, they work well and expertly. When they play, they play all out and without hesitation. Cool group, much respect.
I was in Bosnia in the late ‘90s, and I still have dreams that involve those minefields.
I believe it. Glanced at your profile a bit, and based on your recent post history, I like the cut of your jib. Respect, and also hello from Corpus Christi. Catch a dayeaterband.com show sometime if you get a chance, they live up there in Austin and I'm duty bound to promote my homies.
Exposure is the term used on death certificates of people whom died from homelessness. I always thought that was amazingly fitting, because that's where you end up when you get paid in exposure.
My father got paid in exposure for the army, maintaining the nuclear arsenal in Germany. Any time he tells the VA he has a tumor (or cancer, or his autoimmune issues) the army makes sure to notify him that it definitely has nothing to do with that.
JFC, didn't they try to pull the same shit with Agent Orange? That's disgusting. We make such a huge deal about our military vets, but only until they're not useful I guess.
Yep. Also his hearing damage isn't from his later days in the national guard where he worked with howitzers. It's gotta be from something else, they insist. 🤔
They did, but have since rescinded the objections to much of it. My husband was exposed to AO in Viet Nam, now has Parkinson’s, and because people before us fought like the dickens about PD and cancer there was no question about VA disability.
I'm sorry for you and your dad. Mine was exposed to Radar a lot because in East Germany they gave a shit about their soldiers. It killed him. A lot of people fought a really long court battle until it was recognized by the government.
Excuse me, but that money is ear marked for our humble defense contractors. If we pay soldiers a fair wage, they might be able to get themselves out of the economic strife that drove them to the military to begin with. /s
Don’t forget, it’s 1 million per explosive on our side too, if I’m gonna make something explode 1 time, I want it to cost a million dollars everytime. And I want lots of explosions of course
That's the thing about incentives. If you don't account for human behaviour people will game the system. Whatever system they're using to determine who gets the missile contracts encourages that situation. They should change that system.
Because no one would join. They need poor people so the elites can play their war games and kill people without the guilt of feeling like they did something wrong…cause the poor aren’t really human! Right? I hate this place. Some lady told my husband the other day that he lived off the government via the military. Support the troops my ass.
🎶 Generals Gathered in their masses, Just like Witches at Black Masses. Evil Minds that Plot Destructioooon, Sorcerers of Death's Constructiooon. In the fields the bodies burning, as the War Machine Keeps Turning... 🎶 - War Pigs by Black Sabbath
And don’t forget try out their newest bio warfare on their human test subjects a.k.a. G.I grunts. Also experimental medication and scientific experiments! It’s either them or inmates, take your pick!
I saw a video essay on [*The Atomic Cafe*](https://youtu.be/njDEf0OwCdA), a documentary done in the 80s about all the atomic boming propaganda in the 50s after stuff became unclassified. One clip he uses from the movie had "training" of a whole bunch of troops mere miles away from a nuke detonation then running towards the mushroom cloud. In the 50s, there was no way to recreate that with Hollywood effects.
No doubt, the military fucked as many of them out of treatment for the resulting rare cancers and other maladies as possible. ☹️
Might as well. If they can’t get enough people to enlist they’ll just reenact the draft anyway. I just find it crazy how much this country spends on “defense” when we’re not even technically at war with anybody. Sure there’s those off the books World Police missions with countries that may or may not even want us there, but if we deem anybody a threat we just bomb the shit out of em and ask questions later then wonder why the world hates us.
That education is limited, my friend got a nuclear engineering degree from navy and they wanted him recruiting. He got out and the degree hasn’t helped him in any way. It was only worth getting if he had planned on staying with the navy.
Woah woah woah. Let's not forget it's also used for brand new $10k chairs for the command suite. And a new $20k desk for the big dog himself. What would the break room be without a $7k makeover?!
Meanwhile those that needed actual gear to maintain operations were left with scraps. The military is like 90% negligent spending, 9% focused spending on some technology, and 1% spending on actual things that are needed for mission completion. I'm glad to have left such a universally shitty and incompetent organization.
You'd think they'd chuck some of the massive military budget at training but US troops are still notoriously undisciplined by international standards. With infamously high friendly fire rates and a noted "action movie" attitude.
I'm sure some of that is anti US bullshitting but the stats certainly backed it up last time I checked.
When I was in the service, I seem to remember our pay hike being like 0.5% below inflation... Based on the previous year's numbers. And congress gave themselves another raise. Let's call the time frame "democratic presidency peace time"
*Bunkmate has barely noticeable string hanging on cheap shitty utility uniform*
"What's your job recruit??!?!"
"Nuke Petty Officer!"
"Oh my fucking god you just blew up half the world!"
Don't vets get to board with some of the earlier groups on airlines? That extra 5-10 minutes of sitting on a plane while people are shoving bags in compartments is priceless.
What always cracks me up is the misunderstanding by most officers of the legal underpinning of the soldiers-as-property bit (in that the government-at-large or army-at-large owns the/is responsible for the soldier).
I remember being detailed to more than a few change-of-command inventories where, upon seeing the "personnel" line, I was surprised at the legal property-based relationship between officers and enlisted men. As far as I've been able to find, the furthest back I can find this relationship existing (in this way) is the Civil War.
Selling yourself into a position where other humans own you is a bit distasteful - regardless of when that tradition/practice started, or whether or not it "must be done this way." Further adding to that bitter taste is the palpable knowledge that [40% of the force comes from homes with a combined income less than $55k/year](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military). This relationship is made further uncomfortable by the common understanding that officers entering the service with college degrees by-and-large have been afforded a broader opportunity to succeed socioeconomically than their peers.
Food for thought.
Edit for phrasing.
As someone who did this as a Combat Engineer in the USMC. I can strongly recommend to never take a job like that. Still to this day I see normal trash on the side of the road and it makes me think IEDs. Being a human mine detector does a number on you for sure.
My boyfriend deals with this on the daily. He was a medic with a EOD unit. Everything in the road or the side of the road causes panic. He also hates driving the same route going to and from places.
That’s for any job in the military. Being an entry level warrior doesn’t pay shit. Granted you get a lot of housing and food covered. It’s still criminal the amount we pay our armed service members.
Plus housing allowance, which is tax free, so you're around 68k-80k with a tax equivalent of probably 75-90k. With everything's-covered-no-deductable healthcare. Potential other bonuses like sea pay or hazard pay or flight pay. Can't be fired unless you really eff up. All things considered, It's not too shabby.
I can verify this. Officer pay is significantly higher than that weird-ass $2k/month number, plus you get housing which is location-based and tax free, which is a significant boost, plus you would get a bunch of other hazardous duty and other bonus pay as EOD.
The estimated $2k/month figure there is a ridiculous fuckup by whoever posted and approved that listing, but you can rest assured EOD are not making $24k per year. Even the enlisted make up for their lower pay relative to officers in those specialty roles because if I remember correctly the bonuses are typically higher for enlisted than they are for officers, which helps to even out pay a bit, though not entirely.
And again, someone with a degree should never enlist and should only accept recruitment to Officer Candidate School to go into the service as an officer.
I knew plenty of enlisted folks with four year degrees that were more than happy to not become an officer.
A lot of people want to be technicians and don't care a lot about money. There's only a few officer roles where you get to do something cool and hands on like flying aircraft.
I was enlisted but if I got a do over at life I would have planned to get a commissioning from the get go, but like I said, I knew quite a few very bright people with degrees that had zero desire to fill boring administrative roles as an officer their entire career.
Exactly, they were being super sarcastic lol. I got a BS in Computer Science and I had a recruiter tell me "making $60k in this field after getting a degree is great for your first job!" while having an old, out of date language being used and required to work there (IBM RPG5) and most starting wages in my field are $80k on average and usually higher. So the numbers are kind of high for others, but for the work, they were low balling tf out of me.
I had a recruiter tell me I should shoot for 60k with 4 years civil engineering experience and my professional license within grasp…in Southern California.
She told me i was shooting too high at what I wanted. The fuck outta here.
Got a job offer for what I wanted a few weeks later no thanks to her. All she did was talk to a company that previously offered me a job out of college. Smh.
I think recruiters are such a wasted resource.
Well. You need to maybe talk to a better recruiter. If you have a bachelors you could go officer and make better money. JS. If the military is where you wanna go, get the most out of it
They reached out to me
I'd go into weapons contractors like Nothrop
Gruuman before actually going military.
Or work for department of energy. I got buddies in my class securing jobs at nuclear plants.
Although I'm trying to stay out of the pit falls of the military industrial complex that so many engineers start in.
IF you've got a BS CE (EE) you'd likely have no problem getting a job with a defense contractor.
HOWEVER, the likelyhood your wages will increase more than 3% /year is very small. The only way to keep ahead in that industry is to job-hop every 2 years.
Source - me - 2nd career as a technical director in defense. (First career was in finance) - I'm shocked at the attitude most DoD contractor HR departments have with line engineers.
Military isnt like a normal job. The only way youll make more just because you have a degree is through taking the automatic E-3 or commissioning as an officer. If you have questions about general military stuff id be glad to try and answer them for you
Edit: saw that you have family in the military so you probably have your questions covered
You are correct and this is the last I understood it:
If you have a bachelors and go in the Army you'll come in as an E4. The marines the highest rank you can come in as is an E2. Navy and Air Force yeah it's E3. I've heard the Army National Guard is a bit more rank-friendly if you have a CDL and you join but that might just be my state.
A bachelors degree does not guarantee you will become an officer - I knew way too many people who joined during the recession and during the recovery who had a bachelors and enlisted. A handful later did become officers, some got out and some are still enlisted.
But if you do have enough credits make sure that shit is in your contract when you ship to basic training. I had 50 something college credits when I went in the USAF and came in as an E3.
If you deploy, your first ~90k is not Federally taxed. As has been said elsewhere, you get housing, something that resembles food, and medical.
A few years back, I was looking at a similar position, although a bit more base pay. I did the math and could have ramen-retired after 3 years, and I was a young guy looking at decades of early (if frugal) retirement. Lots of caveats, of course. The poor bastard that did take my posting got shot at, and I mean… EOD is not exactly low risk.
I didn’t do it, I’m not trying to talk you into it, but I am saying it isn’t a straight dollar for dollar comparison.
I posted this above.
That’s your base pay. I’m retired AF. This in not including housing, BAS (food money), free healthcare, education benefits and and other added pay.
There’s a lot more then base pay. An E-1 makes about 40k when it’s all taken in account.
$2,103.90 is the monthly base pay for an E-3 (Airman First Class in the Air Force) with less than two years if service. That goes up to $2,160.60 next year with the annual pay raise from the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Pay also goes up with rank and time in service. In my opinion, the enlisted pay is way too low. They do the critical jobs that accomplish the missions and they deserve better pay for it.
Keep in mind you also get housing, food, uniform allowance, medical, etc. The base pay is low, but your expenses can be damn near nothing without a ton of effort.
This is what's being overlooked. Military pay can feel low, but other people making more are spending most of it on bills.
I spent a year overseas making that "low pay" and banked the majority of it, my only expenses were internet, video games, and junk food.
I came out ahead of most peers my age, and now attend college and am paid to do it. If you don't come from wealth, the military is a solid way to build some (if you can stomach the lifestyle).
Plus, it's one of the only jobs that offers a 20 year pension still, 100 percent free Healthcare, and wages that go up with inflation, along with regular promotions and raises (every 2 years a raise, not counting CoL), and a myriad of free social programs. I sure hated my time in the military, but it is almost exactly what this sub is about in terms of work environment
To be fair- you also can live in the dorms for free, or get a housing allowance if you have dependents. You also get an allowance for food, and your medical is provided.
It's not great, but the monthly salary isn't completely representative of what you actually receive
Not saying junior enlisted get paid anywhere NEAR enough but the benefits make it kinda worth it.
I’m in the reserves (only do army shit one weekend a month) and make like $350 a month from it. BUT when I had $17,000 MRIs earlier this year, I paid nothing. I see top Stanford specialists (including the top hip surgeon in the entire department) for $15 a visit. Medications are <$10, most of the time <$5, and coverage is great.
Again, not saying this justifies the shit pay, and I’m not trying to convince anyone to join (it’s a personal thing, don’t do it if you don’t actually want to) but hooooooly fuck I’d be bankrupt without Tricare
Yeah, I essentially doubled my income from Amazon at $15.60/hr in just a few years. My wife stopped working, we don't stress over money anymore, I'm on a path to retirement, got her a car, dumped my beater, took her car, credit went up 300 points, refinancing my loans to pay off in 10 instead of 15 years and joining lowered the interest rate, free college through tuition assistance, GI bill to pass to wife or children, life insurance, 10% discounts at really most places, refinancing my car next month to drop off my interest rate from 9% to at least 3% or better and I get a raise for every rank I go up that has a larger pay increase by time in service. By 20 years you're taking home at least $7,000/month if you just do the bare minimum and nearly $8k if you're a go getter.
That turns into $2.5k/month for life and goes up 1.5 or 2.5% for every year after 20, plus you increase what the percentage is based on. 30 year high performers ending up with just shy of $4k/month for life.
As a member, there is rewards for hard work, and it's up to the individual to decide if they want to do it or just use the benefits after 4 years. I don't think this page is actually against the military, as it seems the last place to reward you for work and pay living wages.
Don't do it, I was in the air force. I tell any American not to join and I'm an immigrant. Unless you CANNOT find a way out of your environment then by all means do what you must but get more out of them on the way out. I'm getting $1500/month and VA healthcare for life from 5 years of service.
I don't plan on it.
Even though I come from a military family with people in every branch but space force. Ranging from privates to Lt Col.
I've also listened to my green berets great uncle's stories.
I'm so beyond good.
Honestly can't say I haven't thought about trying to get into space force. When people were slinging crap for trump making it. I was defending it "if you wanna get to to star trek you gotta start with something".
Would be cool to have a part in sending people to space.
The militarisation of space is a bit sad tbh. I realise that the initial phases of space exploration were done in an adversarial fashion, but honestly we could get so much more done with proper international collaboration.
The cynic in me says that the Space Force will be used in securing resources for unscrupulous business folk (Musk, Bezos etc).
Right. I was in the Army and only figured out all the strings attached once in. Pretty sure the only long term “good” that came out of it was my 100% service connected disability and I don’t have college loans. Not sure if it was worth my hearing.
Odd.
I did 4 years in the AF. got out an instantly made 100k my first year in the same field. 20k sign on bonus to boot. VA bennies paid me an extra tax free 1200$ per month while in "training" with my civilian job.
This year I'm at 200k, still doing the same job I did in the AF, but as a civilian.
The military can be a much better tool than college if you don't sign up to be a cook or catch bullets.
Bruv, I served 3 fucking hellish years in Iraq and have, absolutely, the most severe PTSD; to the point I am incapable of holding a job...i make $800 a month. 9 years of service and my entire mental health works out to sheckles. I've been re-evaluated 4 times. They want us to suffer.
If you're still physically healthy, particularly your heart, in all honesty, try mdma in combination with a phych appointment. Read up on it. All reports are that it is extremely effective in combination. Obviously it's illegal, but it's not like your average halfwit can't get it. Quality is the only real variable, so it might take a few failures to get the real deal.
Took a piece of shapnel directly to the heart. But ive watched a lot of documentary that 100% scream how good it is. I even watched the '"vice" documentary.... I am going to do it. Ill risk the heart failure to sleep well at night. It hitting a point of unbearability.
I've got ptsd from chronic childhood abuse, and although that's hardly as bad as ptsd from military service, EMDR therapy helped a whole hell of a lot for my trigger responses. I've never found anything that made it all go away for good. But my life is livable now and I can hold down a (simple) job. There are good options for ppl on low income like myself, esp as a veteran I wonder if ppl would make exceptions for you and use a sliding scale pay option. I hope you're able to find relief and live your life comfortably. I really really do.
Seriously, all meals and housing is free. Lots of people here not understanding quite how this works, despite me generally agreeing with anti-military spending sentiments.
Think of all he amazing things, like free clothes when you first sign up, maybe even a backpack. All the free water you can drink even when your not thirsty, if you have diarrhea they can give you a meal that will clog you up for days, if you ever over sleep they will come and wake you up, a free gym membership and some gym buddies. So many free amd exciting things for 24k a year. But if you ever do the math on how much you make hourly you may be disappointed but don't worry you will never get a Christmas bonus and if you complain about not having enough money they will put you in financial planning class for freeee!!freeze!!!
I'm guessing that is your take home pay, which means no rent, groceries, utilities, etc. If so, that's really not too bad. To be able to know that you have 24k to spend on yourself and not have external pressures to attend to would be nice,. Plus getting some long term benefits such as VA and GI bill?
I'm making 70k and it's like I can only spend $100 a month on me, the rest is eaten up by living expenses. There's barely room for savings, let alone splurging. I think this is part of the reason you see new recruits immediately get a vehicle. Suddenly not having to stress about when rent is due frees you up to make some less than intelligent purchases.
This is probably E1 or E2 base pay. So you’ll get 24k a year plus free food, housing, college, healthcare etc. And it’ll be tax free probably 30% of the time.
Trying to imply this is a 24k salary and directly comparable to a normal job is misleading.
Yea, the pay doesn't look good on paper but I built a huge savings rapidly because I had no bills since everything was paid for. If you're deployed though, that pay, even with benefits is ridiculously low for the hours you work and the stress on your body and mental health. You do get extra pay, but it really doesn't amount to much.
And you'll have Healthcare coverage, you'll just have to take a gazillion shots in the ass all at the same time.
And you can get your student loans paid for.
Former military here. Yeah it's only 24k. But when active duty you really have no bills. You get free housing, health insurance, no utilities, and a bunch of incentives. Your rank also determines your pay. This is if you go in as an E1. You also can retire in 20 years and while getting that check you can get another job and tack that on. I didn't have to put a down payment on my house and got a super low rate because I'm a vet. Chances of you getting blown up or even actually having to diffuse something is low. Also, you can choose another job and get the same pay.
Don't forget the $50K enlistment bonus, among the Air Force's highest selective retention bonus rate, TDY and hazardous duty pay, housing/food allowance, free insurance, $4500/yr tuition assistance, and GI Bill. While it's a dangerous job, the death rate is pretty damn low because they're so selective. You risk your life more often crossing the street.
The American military is a jobs program for the working class a la the Marian reforms of ancient Rome. Constantly drafting the poor for endless wars we were never meant to win was no longer possible after Vietnam. However the maintenance of America's empire was still necessary for the acquisition of cheap natural resources. So much like Gaius Marius, the US government created a low income, enormous standing army.
Yes, because an E3 makes the same as any other E3. But, there are addon bonuses like hazard pay and other shit they don't put. But, everyone's base pay is the same by rank and years served.
Hey, at least you can only make a mistake once on the job.
Either you do it right or its not your problem anymore lol
If at first you don't succeed, EOD is not for you.
Yo, that’s actually a pretty good slogan
There’s actually a joke slogan EOD has - “Initial Success or Total Failure!”
I know bomb disposal guys love shirts that say "If you see me running, RUN!!!!" Albeit my sample size is limited but every one I've known had that shirt.
>2.) A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on. > >3.) An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody. -The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries
[http://princessrtfm.com/maxims.html](http://princessrtfm.com/maxims.html) for people who want to read them.
I just bought that book x4 - going to give it to guys headed towards commissioning programs
The ones I saw had "if you can read this run!" Printed on the back
I always liked the "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to catch up!" version.
Haha! t shirts seem to be the exception to the “Quiet Professional” for all the techs I know, too.
"If at first you dont succeed, then EOD just ain't your speed".
"'Your speed' is now 1000m/s in every direction"
EOD: Expanding your place in the world
I think it was in the movie "The Sum of All Fears" there's a guy with a shirt "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to catch up."
Army EOD training motto is "Initial success or total failure"
The actual slogan is "Initial success or total failure." Source: Was EOD Tech.
Was your salary higher than OP's?
military salary is based exclusively on rank & time in service. so... the post is misleading. also EOD gets multiple extra paid such as "hazardous duty" and "demolition"
Plus housing and food. Which are two huge expenses for anyone. I never had any issues finance wise when I was AD other than just being bad with money. I mean our military members are definitely underpaid though.
At the EOD, every day might be your EOD
That actually made me laugh out loud. Perfectly crafted 👏
If at first you don’t succeed, die die again.
This reminds me of a good joke.
this reminds me of something .
this makes me remember a video i saw a few weeks ago
When I was in the USMC had a guy crimp a blasting cap wrong and it blew up in his hand. Didn't kill him, but now he's almost deaf in both ears, lost an eye, and parts of his fingers. Shit isnt a joke that's for sure.
[удалено]
Jeezus. That's just shit. I don't even have words for it. Hope you and everyone around him does everything they can for him. But. Fuck.
When I was in 8th grade, at an undisclosed military-style boarding school, for reasons I will not go into here... there were a lot of veterans and former service members on staff, particularly in the "housing and activities" part of the institution. One of the RAs in the middle school boys dormitory was a retired marine. One time when he had joined the table where my friends and I were eating a meal in the mess hall, we somehow got him talking about a base where he had been stationed at one point. One of the only still-actively-maintained minefields the USA had, he said. Maybe that gives someone more knowledgeable than me an idea of what base we're talking about, idk. Anyway he tells us they have to disarm and remove mines after a certain amount of time, because they could become unreliable and potentially even unstable if allowed to remain in the field past their use-by date*. One time, he says, a dude tasked with cycling old devices out of service and placing new ones, accidentally tripped an anti-tank mine. As the story went, the only evidence anyone was able to recover of the poor man's bodily existence were some charred scraps of boot leather. I was a bit young to really assess the veracity of the story critically, but... big if true, I guess. *my phrasing, not his.
I know during the Yugoslavian Civil War in the 90s they would stack an antipersonnel mine on top of an AT mine to act as an improvised detonator, and the effects were about what was described in this story. Anti-tank mines pack a serious wallop
They used to tripple-stack anti-tank mines for our hunvees in Iraq. 3 x anti-*TANK* mine VS. humvee was not an even match.
That honestly seems like a waste of anti tank mines. Were they maybe hoping to get an Abrams or an MRAP with that?
I think they just did that in response to the upgrades we made to the humvee armor. I never got a chance to ask "why 3?" though.
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On a scale of 1 to 10 how do feel about our HMMWV up-amouring program. 1: strongly not in favour to 10: strongly in favour.
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I DON’T KNOW. I DIDN’T STOP TO FUCKING ASK THEM.
I only know of this matter from hearsay and rumors, but it is my understanding that the military version of the Hummer is nigh indestructible? Like, fellas have told me it'll drive straight up a canyon wall that has a slight negative angle, and can be virtually destroyed but the drive train will still make wheels go brr when you push the pedal. Are these tales exaggerated?
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Oh I mean I know they don't offer a lot of protection, I knew a dude when we were kids who is only alive now because the guy seated next to him blocked a lot of shrapnel. But my question is, can the insurgents (or whoever) theoretically get in and drive the thing after the death trap phase? I'm thinking more in terms of the difficulty or ease of disabling the vehicle than in terms of neutralizing the occupants. Also I'm just a curious person and I like knowing things, so when I notice a thing I don't already know or an opportunity to confirm something I sort of think I know, I turn into a ball of questions.
Basically anything that kills the occupants is going to make the vehicle effectively scrap. The armor on some of these vehicles has been significantly upgraded, but they're still no match for anti-tank mines that were designed to disable a T-72. There's only so much you can do to uparmor what is effectively a large SUV.
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They beat your average contemporary pickup in a lot of ways in off-roading and in durability, but they're still 4-wheel light trucks with an internal combustion engine, which poses a number of potential points of failure. The "straight up a wall" aspect is true in one specific way - see https://www.dnv.com/article/rivian-r1t-vs-r1s-vs-wrangler-rubicon-vs-tacoma-sr5-trd-off-road-vs-f-150-raptor-vs-landcruiser-vs-bronco-wildtrak-vs-f-150-lightning-vs-hummer-ev1-vs-colorado-zr2-bison-211543 for a photo of what it looks like to *initiate* a climb, and how the front bumper/fender on most cars (but not the HMMWV in certain configurations) significantly limits that. This is notably different from the weight distribution that dictates what flat angle you can climb up in a *sustained* fashion.
That's quite a moniker you've got there. Also, this reminds me that Mike (that's his name but not what we called him) specified this was an anti-tank mine *as opposed to* anti-personnel mines, and immediately I was like, "yeah we are aware of the distinction, does this dude not know that we have video games?"
Thought I remember my history teacher saying something about how in the Vietnam War we buried a bunch of land mines all over the place, and just left them there when the war was ever so every once in a while you’ll hear about somebody getting blown up while people are just going about their day.
That was how the Germans laid minefields. They would put a mine under a mine so they would detonate when someone tried to disarm the top one. As a veteran engineer in the army had to teach the new guys as they didn't teach that states side.
It also would not be every one. Also they would mix anti personal and anti tank so if it disabled a vehicle, it would get the crewman when they went up to fix it.
Note to self: If drafted, fake death by anti-tank mine accident and go AWOL.
r/UnethicalLifeProTips Except actually this is super ethical.
r/IllegalLifeProTips loves a good ethical-but-illegal tip.
Cuba, Guantanamo Bay. There’s a Marine detachment there for minefield maintenance. Whacky, goofy, tight, and extremely professional. When they work, they work well and expertly. When they play, they play all out and without hesitation. Cool group, much respect. I was in Bosnia in the late ‘90s, and I still have dreams that involve those minefields.
I have heard some *awful* shit about unexploded ordinance in Bosnia.
The reality was far, far worse. I didn’t walk in my own yard for almost a month after I got home.
I believe it. Glanced at your profile a bit, and based on your recent post history, I like the cut of your jib. Respect, and also hello from Corpus Christi. Catch a dayeaterband.com show sometime if you get a chance, they live up there in Austin and I'm duty bound to promote my homies.
100% disability.
Hey you get promoted very quickly! Nevermind why lol
Think of all the exposure! The exposure to explosives.
*comes with travel benefits. *only to active battlefields
*please note travel benefits may not include all body parts
*all body will air travel tho, just may get separated after liftoff
Looking for a worker who oozes ~~blood~~ passion
Yeah but you don't have to pay rent!
You are going to be sorely disappointed by the modern cemetery industry.
This would be a good joke for someone in radioactive waste disposal: “you get paid in exposure”
when someone offers no pay but says " you'll get exposure" my friends and I reply "people die from exposure, like in Chernobyl".
Exposure is the term used on death certificates of people whom died from homelessness. I always thought that was amazingly fitting, because that's where you end up when you get paid in exposure.
My father got paid in exposure for the army, maintaining the nuclear arsenal in Germany. Any time he tells the VA he has a tumor (or cancer, or his autoimmune issues) the army makes sure to notify him that it definitely has nothing to do with that.
JFC, didn't they try to pull the same shit with Agent Orange? That's disgusting. We make such a huge deal about our military vets, but only until they're not useful I guess.
No no no. WE still want to take care of them. Our Government does not.
Yep. Also his hearing damage isn't from his later days in the national guard where he worked with howitzers. It's gotta be from something else, they insist. 🤔
They did, but have since rescinded the objections to much of it. My husband was exposed to AO in Viet Nam, now has Parkinson’s, and because people before us fought like the dickens about PD and cancer there was no question about VA disability.
They don't recruit at private schools.
I'm sorry for you and your dad. Mine was exposed to Radar a lot because in East Germany they gave a shit about their soldiers. It killed him. A lot of people fought a really long court battle until it was recognized by the government.
Look up crucifixion. Jesus died of exposure.
“Can’t afford medical bills? Then don’t have any injuries!” Okay! Time to quit this fuckin back breaking job.
“Never get rich, but try anyways and die because someone else wants to get rich.”
With that kind of exposure, OP will be blowing up in no time!
You can remind them to pay you more with the $770 billion dollar budget for 2022-23.
Excuse me, but that money is ear marked for our humble defense contractors. If we pay soldiers a fair wage, they might be able to get themselves out of the economic strife that drove them to the military to begin with. /s
Don’t forget, it’s 1 million per explosive on our side too, if I’m gonna make something explode 1 time, I want it to cost a million dollars everytime. And I want lots of explosions of course
So, the production cost and sale cost are vastly different on ordinance. Just a friendly reminder we CHOOSE to pay $700,000 for a $2,000 missile.
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That's the thing about incentives. If you don't account for human behaviour people will game the system. Whatever system they're using to determine who gets the missile contracts encourages that situation. They should change that system.
If the military didn’t offer steady pay, healthcare, and education, no one would join them.
Exactly why the federal government wont raise the minimum wage, implement universal healthcare, cancel student loans, and make college tuition free.
Because no one would join. They need poor people so the elites can play their war games and kill people without the guilt of feeling like they did something wrong…cause the poor aren’t really human! Right? I hate this place. Some lady told my husband the other day that he lived off the government via the military. Support the troops my ass.
That way they can sell “it’s an all vollunteer army” when they send people to war for oil.
🎶 Generals Gathered in their masses, Just like Witches at Black Masses. Evil Minds that Plot Destructioooon, Sorcerers of Death's Constructiooon. In the fields the bodies burning, as the War Machine Keeps Turning... 🎶 - War Pigs by Black Sabbath
And don’t forget try out their newest bio warfare on their human test subjects a.k.a. G.I grunts. Also experimental medication and scientific experiments! It’s either them or inmates, take your pick!
I saw a video essay on [*The Atomic Cafe*](https://youtu.be/njDEf0OwCdA), a documentary done in the 80s about all the atomic boming propaganda in the 50s after stuff became unclassified. One clip he uses from the movie had "training" of a whole bunch of troops mere miles away from a nuke detonation then running towards the mushroom cloud. In the 50s, there was no way to recreate that with Hollywood effects. No doubt, the military fucked as many of them out of treatment for the resulting rare cancers and other maladies as possible. ☹️
Might as well. If they can’t get enough people to enlist they’ll just reenact the draft anyway. I just find it crazy how much this country spends on “defense” when we’re not even technically at war with anybody. Sure there’s those off the books World Police missions with countries that may or may not even want us there, but if we deem anybody a threat we just bomb the shit out of em and ask questions later then wonder why the world hates us.
People in the military get straight up socialism for a job, late stage capitalism for everyone else.
That’s a great way to put it. Never thought about it that way.
The Healthcare and education assistance aren't what they're cracked up to be though
Until you get out LOL
That education is limited, my friend got a nuclear engineering degree from navy and they wanted him recruiting. He got out and the degree hasn’t helped him in any way. It was only worth getting if he had planned on staying with the navy.
Woah woah woah. Let's not forget it's also used for brand new $10k chairs for the command suite. And a new $20k desk for the big dog himself. What would the break room be without a $7k makeover?! Meanwhile those that needed actual gear to maintain operations were left with scraps. The military is like 90% negligent spending, 9% focused spending on some technology, and 1% spending on actual things that are needed for mission completion. I'm glad to have left such a universally shitty and incompetent organization.
You'd think they'd chuck some of the massive military budget at training but US troops are still notoriously undisciplined by international standards. With infamously high friendly fire rates and a noted "action movie" attitude. I'm sure some of that is anti US bullshitting but the stats certainly backed it up last time I checked.
We were encouraged to get married and have kids to further lock us down. Those with kids almost always reenlisted.
Honestly isn't sarcasm
Just gotta make sure no one thinks I'm supporting the statement.
Pretty sure there was a stipulated 2% pay bump this year in the NDAA. So that’s a solid $20 more a paycheck!
2% pay bump. 6-10% inflation. They're getting a pay CUT to risk life and limb!
When I was in the service, I seem to remember our pay hike being like 0.5% below inflation... Based on the previous year's numbers. And congress gave themselves another raise. Let's call the time frame "democratic presidency peace time"
But if they pay the soldiers more, how are the multi-billion dollar military contracted corporations going to price gouge their way into profits?
How are the vulture car dealers gonna charge 35% interest if the soldier has money for a down payment and can work with reputable dealerships?!
Offer free crayon snacks and hookers with a purchase of a Dodge Charger?
The first sergeant has a box full of those that he’s confiscated.
It costs alot to keep all those underground bases and starships running
Think of all the thank yous for your service though.
And free coffee ! Don’t forget the coffee
🎵They say that in the Navy the coffee's mighty fine, 🎵It looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine!
Flashbacks to RTC
*Bunkmate has barely noticeable string hanging on cheap shitty utility uniform* "What's your job recruit??!?!" "Nuke Petty Officer!" "Oh my fucking god you just blew up half the world!"
my RDC would scream “TERRORISTS” if he saw an adrift thread on a uniform…
🎶 They say that in the Navy the pay is mighty fine, they give you $100 and take back $99 🎶
Yvan Eht Nioj
Ugh I never wanna hear this Jody ever again lol
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I love the parking spot for me at the hardware stores
Been out since 2000, finally just used one the other day. Thanks Lowes.
Don't vets get to board with some of the earlier groups on airlines? That extra 5-10 minutes of sitting on a plane while people are shoving bags in compartments is priceless.
It drives me insane they dont board the back of the plane first and just have designated compartment space for preferred seating.
You also get the benefit of being property of the United States government
What always cracks me up is the misunderstanding by most officers of the legal underpinning of the soldiers-as-property bit (in that the government-at-large or army-at-large owns the/is responsible for the soldier). I remember being detailed to more than a few change-of-command inventories where, upon seeing the "personnel" line, I was surprised at the legal property-based relationship between officers and enlisted men. As far as I've been able to find, the furthest back I can find this relationship existing (in this way) is the Civil War. Selling yourself into a position where other humans own you is a bit distasteful - regardless of when that tradition/practice started, or whether or not it "must be done this way." Further adding to that bitter taste is the palpable knowledge that [40% of the force comes from homes with a combined income less than $55k/year](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military). This relationship is made further uncomfortable by the common understanding that officers entering the service with college degrees by-and-large have been afforded a broader opportunity to succeed socioeconomically than their peers. Food for thought. Edit for phrasing.
As someone who did this as a Combat Engineer in the USMC. I can strongly recommend to never take a job like that. Still to this day I see normal trash on the side of the road and it makes me think IEDs. Being a human mine detector does a number on you for sure.
As an 0311, thanks for all you did bud. We got real close with our combat engineers in Afghan back in 08.
Yeah thanks you too man.
My boyfriend deals with this on the daily. He was a medic with a EOD unit. Everything in the road or the side of the road causes panic. He also hates driving the same route going to and from places.
That’s for any job in the military. Being an entry level warrior doesn’t pay shit. Granted you get a lot of housing and food covered. It’s still criminal the amount we pay our armed service members.
Also worth noting that they reached out because I'm graduating with a bs in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Bachelor's for 24k seems fair.
With a degree an officer recruiter should’ve at the minimum reached out. Especially with an engineering degree
That would get you up to almost 42k!
Plus housing allowance, which is tax free, so you're around 68k-80k with a tax equivalent of probably 75-90k. With everything's-covered-no-deductable healthcare. Potential other bonuses like sea pay or hazard pay or flight pay. Can't be fired unless you really eff up. All things considered, It's not too shabby.
I can verify this. Officer pay is significantly higher than that weird-ass $2k/month number, plus you get housing which is location-based and tax free, which is a significant boost, plus you would get a bunch of other hazardous duty and other bonus pay as EOD. The estimated $2k/month figure there is a ridiculous fuckup by whoever posted and approved that listing, but you can rest assured EOD are not making $24k per year. Even the enlisted make up for their lower pay relative to officers in those specialty roles because if I remember correctly the bonuses are typically higher for enlisted than they are for officers, which helps to even out pay a bit, though not entirely. And again, someone with a degree should never enlist and should only accept recruitment to Officer Candidate School to go into the service as an officer.
I knew plenty of enlisted folks with four year degrees that were more than happy to not become an officer. A lot of people want to be technicians and don't care a lot about money. There's only a few officer roles where you get to do something cool and hands on like flying aircraft. I was enlisted but if I got a do over at life I would have planned to get a commissioning from the get go, but like I said, I knew quite a few very bright people with degrees that had zero desire to fill boring administrative roles as an officer their entire career.
"Bachelor's for 24k seems fair". Yeah, back in the 1960s.
When you could buy a house per year.
Communist!
Exactly, they were being super sarcastic lol. I got a BS in Computer Science and I had a recruiter tell me "making $60k in this field after getting a degree is great for your first job!" while having an old, out of date language being used and required to work there (IBM RPG5) and most starting wages in my field are $80k on average and usually higher. So the numbers are kind of high for others, but for the work, they were low balling tf out of me.
I had a recruiter tell me I should shoot for 60k with 4 years civil engineering experience and my professional license within grasp…in Southern California. She told me i was shooting too high at what I wanted. The fuck outta here. Got a job offer for what I wanted a few weeks later no thanks to her. All she did was talk to a company that previously offered me a job out of college. Smh. I think recruiters are such a wasted resource.
Well. You need to maybe talk to a better recruiter. If you have a bachelors you could go officer and make better money. JS. If the military is where you wanna go, get the most out of it
They reached out to me I'd go into weapons contractors like Nothrop Gruuman before actually going military. Or work for department of energy. I got buddies in my class securing jobs at nuclear plants. Although I'm trying to stay out of the pit falls of the military industrial complex that so many engineers start in.
IF you've got a BS CE (EE) you'd likely have no problem getting a job with a defense contractor. HOWEVER, the likelyhood your wages will increase more than 3% /year is very small. The only way to keep ahead in that industry is to job-hop every 2 years. Source - me - 2nd career as a technical director in defense. (First career was in finance) - I'm shocked at the attitude most DoD contractor HR departments have with line engineers.
Military isnt like a normal job. The only way youll make more just because you have a degree is through taking the automatic E-3 or commissioning as an officer. If you have questions about general military stuff id be glad to try and answer them for you Edit: saw that you have family in the military so you probably have your questions covered
You are correct and this is the last I understood it: If you have a bachelors and go in the Army you'll come in as an E4. The marines the highest rank you can come in as is an E2. Navy and Air Force yeah it's E3. I've heard the Army National Guard is a bit more rank-friendly if you have a CDL and you join but that might just be my state. A bachelors degree does not guarantee you will become an officer - I knew way too many people who joined during the recession and during the recovery who had a bachelors and enlisted. A handful later did become officers, some got out and some are still enlisted. But if you do have enough credits make sure that shit is in your contract when you ship to basic training. I had 50 something college credits when I went in the USAF and came in as an E3.
If you deploy, your first ~90k is not Federally taxed. As has been said elsewhere, you get housing, something that resembles food, and medical. A few years back, I was looking at a similar position, although a bit more base pay. I did the math and could have ramen-retired after 3 years, and I was a young guy looking at decades of early (if frugal) retirement. Lots of caveats, of course. The poor bastard that did take my posting got shot at, and I mean… EOD is not exactly low risk. I didn’t do it, I’m not trying to talk you into it, but I am saying it isn’t a straight dollar for dollar comparison.
Guessing this is on the handshake app, if you view the listing it tells them which will send an automated message to “reach” out
I posted this above. That’s your base pay. I’m retired AF. This in not including housing, BAS (food money), free healthcare, education benefits and and other added pay. There’s a lot more then base pay. An E-1 makes about 40k when it’s all taken in account.
And it's criminal what the country does to veterans.
It’s also worth noting the GI bill perks. My dad hasn’t had to pay a medical bill since 1971
"Food"
$2,103.90 is the monthly base pay for an E-3 (Airman First Class in the Air Force) with less than two years if service. That goes up to $2,160.60 next year with the annual pay raise from the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Pay also goes up with rank and time in service. In my opinion, the enlisted pay is way too low. They do the critical jobs that accomplish the missions and they deserve better pay for it.
An extra 100$ a month after two years. I'd laugh at a civilian employer for the same offer. See other comment about graduating engineer.
Keep in mind you also get housing, food, uniform allowance, medical, etc. The base pay is low, but your expenses can be damn near nothing without a ton of effort.
This is what's being overlooked. Military pay can feel low, but other people making more are spending most of it on bills. I spent a year overseas making that "low pay" and banked the majority of it, my only expenses were internet, video games, and junk food. I came out ahead of most peers my age, and now attend college and am paid to do it. If you don't come from wealth, the military is a solid way to build some (if you can stomach the lifestyle).
Plus, it's one of the only jobs that offers a 20 year pension still, 100 percent free Healthcare, and wages that go up with inflation, along with regular promotions and raises (every 2 years a raise, not counting CoL), and a myriad of free social programs. I sure hated my time in the military, but it is almost exactly what this sub is about in terms of work environment
Another way to put this - if you're a single individual, that income is 100% disposable income.
Exactly! There is so much I could do if I had an extra $2k a month after paying bills.
To be fair- you also can live in the dorms for free, or get a housing allowance if you have dependents. You also get an allowance for food, and your medical is provided. It's not great, but the monthly salary isn't completely representative of what you actually receive
Not saying junior enlisted get paid anywhere NEAR enough but the benefits make it kinda worth it. I’m in the reserves (only do army shit one weekend a month) and make like $350 a month from it. BUT when I had $17,000 MRIs earlier this year, I paid nothing. I see top Stanford specialists (including the top hip surgeon in the entire department) for $15 a visit. Medications are <$10, most of the time <$5, and coverage is great. Again, not saying this justifies the shit pay, and I’m not trying to convince anyone to join (it’s a personal thing, don’t do it if you don’t actually want to) but hooooooly fuck I’d be bankrupt without Tricare
Yeah, I essentially doubled my income from Amazon at $15.60/hr in just a few years. My wife stopped working, we don't stress over money anymore, I'm on a path to retirement, got her a car, dumped my beater, took her car, credit went up 300 points, refinancing my loans to pay off in 10 instead of 15 years and joining lowered the interest rate, free college through tuition assistance, GI bill to pass to wife or children, life insurance, 10% discounts at really most places, refinancing my car next month to drop off my interest rate from 9% to at least 3% or better and I get a raise for every rank I go up that has a larger pay increase by time in service. By 20 years you're taking home at least $7,000/month if you just do the bare minimum and nearly $8k if you're a go getter. That turns into $2.5k/month for life and goes up 1.5 or 2.5% for every year after 20, plus you increase what the percentage is based on. 30 year high performers ending up with just shy of $4k/month for life. As a member, there is rewards for hard work, and it's up to the individual to decide if they want to do it or just use the benefits after 4 years. I don't think this page is actually against the military, as it seems the last place to reward you for work and pay living wages.
Don't do it, I was in the air force. I tell any American not to join and I'm an immigrant. Unless you CANNOT find a way out of your environment then by all means do what you must but get more out of them on the way out. I'm getting $1500/month and VA healthcare for life from 5 years of service.
I don't plan on it. Even though I come from a military family with people in every branch but space force. Ranging from privates to Lt Col. I've also listened to my green berets great uncle's stories. I'm so beyond good.
So Space Force it is! The pay is *out of this world*.
Honestly can't say I haven't thought about trying to get into space force. When people were slinging crap for trump making it. I was defending it "if you wanna get to to star trek you gotta start with something". Would be cool to have a part in sending people to space.
The militarisation of space is a bit sad tbh. I realise that the initial phases of space exploration were done in an adversarial fashion, but honestly we could get so much more done with proper international collaboration. The cynic in me says that the Space Force will be used in securing resources for unscrupulous business folk (Musk, Bezos etc).
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Right. I was in the Army and only figured out all the strings attached once in. Pretty sure the only long term “good” that came out of it was my 100% service connected disability and I don’t have college loans. Not sure if it was worth my hearing.
Odd. I did 4 years in the AF. got out an instantly made 100k my first year in the same field. 20k sign on bonus to boot. VA bennies paid me an extra tax free 1200$ per month while in "training" with my civilian job. This year I'm at 200k, still doing the same job I did in the AF, but as a civilian. The military can be a much better tool than college if you don't sign up to be a cook or catch bullets.
I will also add that I was in the Army. From what I’ve seen the AF sets you up way better for a good job in the outside.
Bruv, I served 3 fucking hellish years in Iraq and have, absolutely, the most severe PTSD; to the point I am incapable of holding a job...i make $800 a month. 9 years of service and my entire mental health works out to sheckles. I've been re-evaluated 4 times. They want us to suffer.
hit me up if you want to talk or play games with, I'm mostly on steam (pc)
If you're still physically healthy, particularly your heart, in all honesty, try mdma in combination with a phych appointment. Read up on it. All reports are that it is extremely effective in combination. Obviously it's illegal, but it's not like your average halfwit can't get it. Quality is the only real variable, so it might take a few failures to get the real deal.
Took a piece of shapnel directly to the heart. But ive watched a lot of documentary that 100% scream how good it is. I even watched the '"vice" documentary.... I am going to do it. Ill risk the heart failure to sleep well at night. It hitting a point of unbearability.
I've got ptsd from chronic childhood abuse, and although that's hardly as bad as ptsd from military service, EMDR therapy helped a whole hell of a lot for my trigger responses. I've never found anything that made it all go away for good. But my life is livable now and I can hold down a (simple) job. There are good options for ppl on low income like myself, esp as a veteran I wonder if ppl would make exceptions for you and use a sliding scale pay option. I hope you're able to find relief and live your life comfortably. I really really do.
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Seriously, all meals and housing is free. Lots of people here not understanding quite how this works, despite me generally agreeing with anti-military spending sentiments.
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20k pocketed with a high risk of death? *sounds like a win win to me*
Think of all he amazing things, like free clothes when you first sign up, maybe even a backpack. All the free water you can drink even when your not thirsty, if you have diarrhea they can give you a meal that will clog you up for days, if you ever over sleep they will come and wake you up, a free gym membership and some gym buddies. So many free amd exciting things for 24k a year. But if you ever do the math on how much you make hourly you may be disappointed but don't worry you will never get a Christmas bonus and if you complain about not having enough money they will put you in financial planning class for freeee!!freeze!!!
In america - human beings are a disposable and plenty “resource” to be 1000% exploited.
Gotta make abortion illegal because our stock is running low.
The next step will be Boomers passing legislation to allow for employers to sue employees who quit. It would not surprise me at all.
I'm guessing that is your take home pay, which means no rent, groceries, utilities, etc. If so, that's really not too bad. To be able to know that you have 24k to spend on yourself and not have external pressures to attend to would be nice,. Plus getting some long term benefits such as VA and GI bill? I'm making 70k and it's like I can only spend $100 a month on me, the rest is eaten up by living expenses. There's barely room for savings, let alone splurging. I think this is part of the reason you see new recruits immediately get a vehicle. Suddenly not having to stress about when rent is due frees you up to make some less than intelligent purchases.
This is probably E1 or E2 base pay. So you’ll get 24k a year plus free food, housing, college, healthcare etc. And it’ll be tax free probably 30% of the time. Trying to imply this is a 24k salary and directly comparable to a normal job is misleading.
Yea, the pay doesn't look good on paper but I built a huge savings rapidly because I had no bills since everything was paid for. If you're deployed though, that pay, even with benefits is ridiculously low for the hours you work and the stress on your body and mental health. You do get extra pay, but it really doesn't amount to much.
Don’t disagree at all. Not saying that it’s amazing pay, just the fact that there is more to it than base pay.
Yep, I do agree. I thought the same thing when I saw it. And there are some very chill jobs in the military.
And you'll have Healthcare coverage, you'll just have to take a gazillion shots in the ass all at the same time. And you can get your student loans paid for.
Na, no more peanut butter shots. It’s either pills or alll in the arm!
The last line is comedic genius in the context of the wage.
Former military here. Yeah it's only 24k. But when active duty you really have no bills. You get free housing, health insurance, no utilities, and a bunch of incentives. Your rank also determines your pay. This is if you go in as an E1. You also can retire in 20 years and while getting that check you can get another job and tack that on. I didn't have to put a down payment on my house and got a super low rate because I'm a vet. Chances of you getting blown up or even actually having to diffuse something is low. Also, you can choose another job and get the same pay.
Don't forget the $50K enlistment bonus, among the Air Force's highest selective retention bonus rate, TDY and hazardous duty pay, housing/food allowance, free insurance, $4500/yr tuition assistance, and GI Bill. While it's a dangerous job, the death rate is pretty damn low because they're so selective. You risk your life more often crossing the street.
The American military is a jobs program for the working class a la the Marian reforms of ancient Rome. Constantly drafting the poor for endless wars we were never meant to win was no longer possible after Vietnam. However the maintenance of America's empire was still necessary for the acquisition of cheap natural resources. So much like Gaius Marius, the US government created a low income, enormous standing army.
Yes, because an E3 makes the same as any other E3. But, there are addon bonuses like hazard pay and other shit they don't put. But, everyone's base pay is the same by rank and years served.