DeMotivators

[Echo419]

[DrGonzo]

[green-lantern]

like a boss! lol

[green-lantern]

$15/hr for a cook in a fast food joint is ludicrous. It is a job for teenagers. If you're 30 years old and flipping burgers demanding a raise, you should probably reevaluate your life and find something else. There are countless other jobs that require basically no background skills that'll pay more.

THIS! good god people! If you are flipping burgers at 30+ you are a loser!

[onebadmollafolla]

The lowest form of humans. I present to you, Russia.

[IPD]

although to be COMPLETELY fair, military does get housing allowance and we do get tax-free for being deployed to combat zones. it's still pitifully low for an e-2/e-3 though.

Re Ukraine:
I'd heard that one of the separatists in Ukraine had boasted about shooting down a transport on his twitter account...then subsequently deleted it.... I wont' get into the classified realm, but yes, all but the most modern manpads aren't going to hit 30,000 without some serious help.

Re FB:
Deleting FB is uplifting in a way you cannot imagine. No more BS about "what does it mean" when you don't friend or unfriend someone. No more Zuckerberg-approved social-experimenting (think vault-experiments from fallout)--where FB manipulates your feeds to see how you react. No more getting pics of you posted/tagged without your permission. No more privacy settings changing more frequently than your high-maintenance ex GF changes her mind. And no poor judgment (alcohol related or not) causing you trouble with your peers/employer/etc. Welcome to reclaiming some of your constitutional rights.

moving on:

[sergechronos]

[NickS VR4]

although to be COMPLETELY fair, military does get housing allowance

Yes, but so do most minimum wage workers, living with their parents. What would be nice for the military is of they counted BAH and BAS as income, taxed it, and made it a part of your retirement benefits. Right now "20 years gets you 50%", after you cut out about 1/3 or more of your income.

Plus we aren't counting all the overtime you don't get paid for. I would work 55-60hrs/wk on a regular basis. Sometimes more.

[Vantage]

[IPD]

Yes, but so do most minimum wage workers, living with their parents. What would be nice for the military is of they counted BAH and BAS as income, taxed it, and made it a part of your retirement benefits. Right now "20 years gets you 50%", after you cut out about 1/3 or more of your income.

Plus we aren't counting all the overtime you don't get paid for. I would work 55-60hrs/wk on a regular basis. Sometimes more.

I agree. People bitch about the pension, but then you realize that for your average military retiree, that's MAYBE 2 grand per month--and the percentage of servicemembers who actually make it to retirement is a SMALL fraction of tht total number who serve. Frankly, I don't think "early" retirement after 20 years is unjustified...especially with the bass-ackwards mindest about our military shoving people to the door left and right.

In many European countries, full military pension comes at age 55. Unless you're an outright fuck-up, you stay doing your job until you hit 55 and then you're done. Makes sense to me. Keeps the knowledgeable people in their jobs, cuts down on retirement pensions, none of the "ripping my hair out wondering if i'll get promoted or hit HYT first" bullshit.

Unfortunately, I see the US military being run more and more like a business. The almighty dollar is more important than the quality being retained & trained, readiness, and retention. Hell, the only reason military pay has been on a bonus-freeze and annual pay raises are at a virtual standstill--is because our wonderful government has tanked the economy; so pretty much everyone in the military is stuck with the nagging notion that their prospects on the outside are VERY poor in many cases. Of course, that means more people want to stay in--and the military just keeps shoving people to the door.

I swear to god our military is seriously fucked up on the bureaucratic end. I keep telling myself "support and defend the constitution of the united states of america"...and that is the only means I seem to have left to stomach what I do and what I've become: a mercenary.