These are my random musings. Hopefully they will be witty, insightful, and frequently updated.
How the Army screwed the careers of an entire platoon
Published on December 14, 2005 By singrdave In Work
I feel for my brothers back in Texas.

Especially SPC Nobody Special and other non-JUsers, who got out of the Army at roughly the same time that I did and have found little to no success in post-Army life. In fact, X-SPC is still looking for work beyond shade-tree mechanic and pizza delivery... oh wait, the pizza is his wife, LadyCleve. He recently has been posting that he's going back to the Army. Poor sod.

Meanwhile, I'm doing well. I've got a great job with the US Department of Defense, doing essentially what I (and the rest of them) was doing back in Texas for the Army. In fact, I got this job based on my prior military intelligence experience. I had been writing reports and performing analytical work since just after 9/11... that makes four years' practical intelligence experience, not including almost two years of language training in Korean. I also have been blessed with a nice house in a great Baltimore suburb, two decent cars... well, one decent car and one cheap piece of crap car. My bank account has seen better days, but hey, what can you do? I am enjoying civilian life and a continuation of my career in intelligence analysis.

I'll tell you what happened to them and why my story is different than theirs. It's the story of fairness. Or at least perceived fairness. Oh yeah, and being proactive.

Our unit was about 3 months out from Texas (November 2004-ish), still in Iraq doing what they do best, and all the linguists and analysts in our unit are back in Texas. I sent my resume to the National Security Agency, figuring two things: it takes a long time to get the government application process going, and the mission should be over next summer and I should be available by fall 2005.

Took about six weeks (late December 2004) to hear back from the Agency. They wanted to know when I would be available to fly out for an interview. I told them, maybe February... I would put in the leave request. I didn't make it any secret where I was going, and keeping it hush hush wouldn't have done any good. Because all that destination information would have to be on my leave request anyway. So 'they' knew where I was going. And by the time I got on my return plane from BWI, I knew I had the job. I got the acceptance call, and a letter in the mail a few days later.

(I know I'm going long way 'round the barn with this, here is the meat of the article... bear with me.)

After my trip was approved, the unit came down with an edict: no one is allowed to take leave for job fairs, interviews, or the like. If you want to job hunt, you have to do it on weekends. Yeah, right. How many job fairs are held on weekends? So that screwed everyone, except me.

Before you think that I screwed everyone in my unit, then please use this analogy: I was on point and tripped the wire to the mine. I set off the mine that killed all the guys behind me! I did not place the mine, I didn't arm it, either. All I did was misstep. In a similar way, all I did was try to make plans for post-Army life. That brought the hammer down upon people who hadn't gone that far yet.

It was done in the excuse of "fairness". It wasn't fair that guys in Iraq couldn't apply for jobs and go on interviews like I did. So a complete moratorium on leave for job hunting was upheld until July of 2005. After all our boys came home from Iraq and had separate-but-equal opportunities to find work.

But at that point, what good was it? It was two months before the people getting out were supposed to have found work and started it. We were all in Texas, and not really conveniently located for government contractor job fairs, which are mostly located on the east coast.

So a couple of people reenlisted. What else were they gonna do? They had to have a job.

Some of them moved to DC without a job, hoping that something would happen quickly. Or they were promised a good job... that never materialized due to budget constraints for FY2006.

A couple of people, like X-SPC, hung out in Killeen. God help them. And now X-SPC is becoming an Army guy again.

I honestly feel blessed beyond measure that my foresight got me here. I love my job and my lifestyle. I am very happy here, both professionally and geographically. I am so glad that I was proactive in my job searching. Can't believe that others were not afforded that same fundamental commom-sensical right.

Does that sound fair to you?

Comments
on Dec 14, 2005
Definately not fair! I don't think anyone blames you for tripping the wire, so please don't feel bad about it. You have been blessed. While others may not have been able to take leave, they still could have submitted applications long before they were out. Most of the soldiers were most definately screwed, though. We both have two jobs, btw. X-SPC mechanics days, while I work with Pre-K, and we both deliver pizza at night. Makes for long days.......
on Dec 14, 2005
Yeah, but my point is that had your hubby been able to go on interviews, look for work outside the Killeen metro area, miss work to do this stuff...

...you wouldn't have to be doing what you're doing.
on Dec 15, 2005
yeah, finding a job is a bitch. applied to a bunch online, got the "thanks for applying" e-mail and nothing. got a couple phone calls too.
" hey, IF we get a contract with the Government in the FUTURE ( I don't know when), we're considering you. Are you interested?"
Only had one actual interview for something that doesn't exist yet. waiting by the phone, waiting by the phone. bills, bills, bills.
Got offered a job for 42K on D.C. turned it down cuz I thought that it wasn't enough. but sometimes i think i should just buy a gun and move into an affordable crack house. waiting.
on Dec 15, 2005
Yeah, I remember a lot of NCOs and Officers who did everything they could to try to keep short troops from getting out. Everything from denying terminal leave, to making us go to the field right up until a week before our ETS date. I guess they figured that if they made it harder on the troops once they got out, more would either decide to reup, or come back in.

All it ended up doing was screwing a lot of good troops out of the benefits that Congress and the Pentagon had already set up.

I remember the first year after I ETS'd. It was really rough. The worst part of it was, I didn't want out in the first place... but well, the drawdown of the mid 90s made that decision for me. If I didn't already have plans (and the means) to go to college, I don't know where I would have ended up.

Officers and NCOs are encouraged to support their troops. This includes making sure they have what they need to succeed as soldiers. Since short timers no longer need advancement and military career advice, one of the best things a real leader can do for them is to help them get whatever they need to succeed in life after the military.

Of course, not all leaders are "real" leaders... and "set 'em up for failure" seems to replace the NCO and Officer creed all too often.
on Dec 15, 2005
applied to a bunch online, got the "thanks for applying" e-mail and nothing. got a couple phone calls too.
" hey, IF we get a contract with the Government in the FUTURE ( I don't know when), we're considering you. Are you interested?"


A lot of contractors haven't hired yet because the FY06 defense budget has not yet been passed. We're still on a month-to-month continuing resolution.