I remember something that happened just before I deployed to Iraq in 2005. I think it's kind of funny.
Whenever troops deploy, there's a small group that goes first. They set up stuff, I guess. I never volunteered for that group since I wanted to stay as long as possible with my family. One soldier, whom I'll call Sergeant Wilson, did volunteer. He also had a family, but volunteered anyway. He was that dedicated, I guess. Actually, he got promoted to sergeant while deployed, so he was Specialist Wilson before he left from Fort Stewart, Georgia. He was definitely a kiss-up and perhaps this was part of his strategy to get promoted.
Anyway, one day our little platoon office got a phone call. Actually, it was a walled-off section of a trailer, a cubicle. Each platoon had its cubicle within this trailer. There was a small conference room and of course offices for the first sergeant and captain (company commander). The cubicle was about 15 feet long and maybe 5 feet wide. There were only three walls.
Anyway, I remember being in our platoon cubicle with the platoon sergeant (an E-6). The phone rang, and-- I'll call him Sergeant Penn--answered the phone. I could tell from his body language and words that a creditor was on the phone. I heard Sergeant Penn say, "He's in Iraq," sort of huffily and indignantly, as though to say, "How could you be asking for money while this person, who is 100 times more patriotic than you, is serving his country and risking his life for you?" Penn (as most soldiers do) pronounced Iraq like "eye-rack" as opposed to "ee-rock." I do wonder what Penn would have said had the creditor said "Well, sir, just because he's in Iraq doesn't mean we're not going to get 'im." Perhaps the creditor had a snarly countenance, was dressed in a suit, and had beady eyes. I imagine Penn would have grown red in the face, perhaps dropped the f-bomb, and hung up the phone. Too bad, for entertainment purposes and a great story, it never got that far.
I agree that there is a mentality with some military members that the world owes them everything and shouldn't question their motives because of the sacrifices that they are making.
ReplyDeleteI happened to be able to guess which soldiers you were talking about from your platoon. :) The person in debt, for anonymity we can call him Sgt. Wilson........ was a friend of ours. His wife and I were very close. Their circumstance was not at all unusual. Many soldiers were in debt.
Service members are blessed to have all of their medical expenses covered, but the military pay barely meets a family's needs unless they are an officer, or aren't married with children. This family got into debt like so many others so that they could provide a good environment for their children. We barely made it on that pay. We had to pinch every penny to afford getting out of the military.
In defense of this Sgt. Wilson, he knew he wouldn't be able to afford getting out of the military. What you call a "kiss-up" was a man trying to do everything he could think of to help his family survive, including getting promoted so that they could handle the debt they incurred.
No organization is perfect, but the soldiers still make choices to fight for their country and leave their wives behind to tend for their young babes.
P.S. If you could trust a woman enough to run your household while away for a year and manage the children, surely she has earned the right to vote.
Good points.
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