Obama: US Launches Military Action Against Libya

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Steinhauer said:
He was told that by everyone who served in the family. I remember an uncle of mine trying to explain to him that very thing (as you explained above).
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Sometimes we only hear what we want to hear, especially when our hearts are set on something.

He had his heart set on being a photojournalist. The recruiter told him that he would be eligible for classes right after bootcamp.
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I'm curious what year that was. When I was in there was no photojournalist rating. One was either a journalist or photographer's mate. Then, one could get further training and specialize in photojournalism but the rating wouldn't change. (I know because I attended the photojournalism course myself, in addition to the basic photography, feature writing and editors courses.) I know in recent years those ratings have been changed.

While in bootcamp, he was told he had to serve eight years on a nuclear sub before he could take classes to be a photojournalist.
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That doesn't sound right either. Once you are in the nuclear career path you normally can't get off unless you apply for a specialty that is even more critical. I can't imagine photojournalist is more critical than nuclear power engineer.

They didn't "technically" lie ... 8 years after boot camp is AFTER boot camp (just not right after).
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Unless it was on a written contract, it's worthless.

So, what did he end up doing?
 
TheOracle said:
Reported for inflammatory statements...
Oh wait, I'm not like *some* people here. :eek3:
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That is your prerogative. Seems that a simple lighthearted comment about my birthplace has given you the opening you needed to troll me relentlessly. Have at it.
 
Reba said:
Sometimes we only hear what we want to hear, especially when our hearts are set on something.


I'm curious what year that was. When I was in there was no photojournalist rating. One was either a journalist or photographer's mate. Then, one could get further training and specialize in photojournalism but the rating wouldn't change. (I know because I attended the photojournalism course myself, in addition to the basic photography, feature writing and editors courses.) I know in recent years those ratings have been changed.


That doesn't sound right either. Once you are in the nuclear career path you normally can't get off unless you apply for a specialty that is even more critical. I can't imagine photojournalist is more critical than nuclear power engineer.


Unless it was on a written contract, it's worthless.

So, what did he end up doing?
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I *think* it was 1992. I remember him mentioning photography - not photojournalism. He wanted to be a photojournalist. There was no way they would let him. He had to serve the eight years. He never attended classes for photojournalism. I guess you grow up a lot and your goals change, or .. they are changed for you. I don't really know.

He did take some classes when he got out for film making here in Atlanta. He also got to write a commercial for Hershey's. Everytime he talks about it, he says there was a contract and he was lied to.
 
My brother and I have never really gotten along when we were growing up. We had very few meaningful conversations. When he got out, we had one of those few meaningful conversations.

He told me the only reason he enlisted was because I could not. He said he served, because he knew I wanted to, but couldn't. I ended up going to college, he didn't. When he wanted to go, I could, he couldn't. Weird how life works that way sometimes.
 
Steinhauer said:
My brother and I have never really gotten along when we were growing up. We had very few meaningful conversations. When he got out, we had one of those few meaningful conversations.

He told me the only reason he enlisted was because I could not. He said he served, because he knew I wanted to, but couldn't. I ended up going to college, he didn't. When he wanted to go, I could, he couldn't. Weird how life works that way sometimes.
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:confused:
 
Reba said:
:confused:
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I was a Marine Corp Officers Candidate. When the recruiter for that program found out I was hearing impaired, I was told I could not enlist and would be disqualified. I checked with the Army, I was told the same thing. Same thing with Air Force and Navy.

Each branch told me to check with the other - they all said the same thing.

I finally met a deaf veteran at Gallaudet that lost his hearing in an explosion. He told me I should have thanked them.


edit to add: I was turned down for a Sherriff's Deputy Position for the same reason (added link to show how i am not the only one irked by this):

http://www.hrmorning.com/glasses-are-ok-hearing-aids-arent-would-be-cop-sues-for-discrimination/


I passed the four written adult exams - all were 100%

I passed the obstacle course in under 1 minute (time limit was 3 minutes)

I passed the background check but not the medical (I am hearing impaired - immediate disqualification).
 
Steinhauer said:
I was a Marine Corp Officers Candidate. When the recruiter for that program found out I was hearing impaired, I was told I could not enlist and would be disqualified. I checked with the Army, I was told the same thing. Same thing with Air Force and Navy.

Each branch told me to check with the other - they all said the same thing.

I finally met a deaf veteran at Gallaudet that lost his hearing in an explosion. He told me I should have thanked them.


edit to add: I was turned down for a Sherriff's Deputy Position for the same reason (added link to show how i am not the only one irked by this):

Glasses are OK, hearing aids aren’t: Would-be cop sues for discrimination | HR Morning | Your daily dose of HR


I passed the four written adult exams - all were 100%

I passed the obstacle course in under 1 minute (time limit was 3 minutes)

I passed the background check but not the medical (I am hearing impaired - immediate disqualification).
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I understand about your desire and attempts to serve. I just don't understand about your brother's reasoning.
 
TheOracle said:
<former sore subject> As was I. :/
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It definitely is a sore spot.

I am in a "storytelling" mood this morning, so please bear with me ;) A couple of weeks ago, some very important people, to me, lost their home in a house fire. They are a senior married couple. He served in Viet Nam and has two purple hearts as well as a lot of other medals. They were destroyed in the fire. In the years I have known him, I never saw him cry. He began to cry when he realized all of his photos from his Viet Nam buddies were destroyed. He also had a model helicopter, obviously military, that was damaged. The way he kept looking at it told me it meant something deeply personal to him. He was not worried about his medals.

Now .... these people are very close to me. I go "check up" on them and see how they are doing. He threw me a surprise birthday party at his house a few years ago. We watch football together .. etc. He has never ever told me about his Viet Nam experiences, he just talked about how he visits his buddies and what they do now.

When I saw the way he looked at that helicopter ... I can't describe it. I wanted to find a way to secretly sneak it away and have someone restore it for him. The way he looked at it sent a message that replacing it would mean nothing. So, I set about to do just that. When he was surveying the damage to his house, I took some pictures of it. I then went to another forum that I frequent, told the story and asked what the helicopter was, and if anyone knew if it could be restored.

I was amazed .... there was a forum member that was a combat medic in Viet Nam that has helped me through this step by step. He asked me to call him a couple of nights ago on VRS and we had about a 2 hour conversation. He explained to me why that specific helicopter meant so much to my friend. He knew without having to know him, because he experienced much of the same things. During the conversation, he told me some of his experiences, and the interpreter started to choke up and had to swap. The second interpreter could not interpret the conversation when it started to become vividly gruesome. She swapped. The third interpreter was absolutely awesome.

Even though I now understand, somewhat, why that helicopter meant so much to my friend, I will never fully and completely understand because I did not experience what they did. It was a model of the Huey helicopters used during that war. That helicopter was their lifeline. According to the combat medic, Viet Nam soldiers saw things from that helicopter that no human being should ever have to see.

Anyways, the helicopter is being sent off to a person he knows that said they could give it a full restoration. I know it isn't much .. but its the least I can do for my friend.
 
That was a very kind thing you did.

But you don't have to be a member of the military to connect with someone. There are other ways to serve this country, my friend.

I've been barred from military service, CIA, FBI, etc etc because I'm deaf in one ear. I was obsessed with flying in high school. I wanted a pilot's license sooooo bad. Private lessons were pretty expensive. Service was out of the question.

After high school, I looked at some aviation colleges, but I really didn't want to be a commercial pilot or a crop duster. Just wasn't my thing.

Luckily, my love of history and writing took me down the political science path and I got really involved in politics...then after graduation, I decided that instead of being a pollster (regretting that decision now--pays so fn well) a la Marlee Matlin's character in West Wing, I would rather teach and be home with my son more.

Because of my epilepsy and HI, I got into the brain science behind language...my first job in a school was as an assistant in a SPED school...I was fascinated...it all evolved and turned out well. Even with my Social Studies license, I prefer being with ESL students.

Still, I get a little *boo* feeling whenever I think about what "could have been".
 
TheOracle said:
That was a very kind thing you did.

But you don't have to be a member of the military to connect with someone. There are other ways to serve this country, my friend.

I've been barred from military service, CIA, FBI, etc etc because I'm deaf in one ear. I was obsessed with flying in high school. I wanted a pilot's license sooooo bad. Private lessons were pretty expensive. Service was out of the question.

After high school, I looked at some aviation colleges, but I really didn't want to be a commercial pilot or a crop duster. Just wasn't my thing.

Luckily, my love of history and writing took me down the political science path and I got really involved in politics...then after graduation, I decided that instead of being a pollster (regretting that decision now--pays so fn well) a la Marlee Matlin's character in West Wing, I would rather teach and be home with my son more.

Because of my epilepsy and HI, I got into the brain science behind language...my first job in a school was as an assistant in a SPED school...I was fascinated...it all evolved and turned out well. Even with my Social Studies license, I prefer being with ESL students.

Still, I get a little *boo* feeling whenever I think about what "could have been".
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I wanted to be a pilot too.

Deaf Pilots Association

we can still do it :) A few years ago, a friend who is a certified instructor took me up in his plane and let me fly around. Yes, lessons are expensive. I am saving up for ground school and yet another friend offered to give me lessons for the price of gas (still expensive). He gets more flight instruction hours so it benefits him too.

I was a student ESL teacher at Gallaudet for the English Language Institute. The students there did not know ASL so it was a bit of a challenge.
 
My mother (the moron) told me I couldn't be an astronaut (every kid's dream!) because I was female. Not true!

Ahh...in the 90s...female military pilots were becoming more common...so in 1998, my guy friends in the military thought it was pretty cool...of course, I didn't even THINK unilateral deafness would disqualify me! When I came to that realization around 16 or so, I was like, OH FUCK THAT. Yet it didn't occur to me that it could hinder secret service duty!

balls.
 
TheOracle said:
My mother (the moron) told me I couldn't be an astronaut (every kid's dream!) because I was female. Not true!

Ahh...in the 90s...female military pilots were becoming more common...so in 1998, my guy friends in the military thought it was pretty cool...of course, I didn't even THINK unilateral deafness would disqualify me! When I came to that realization around 16 or so, I was like, OH FUCK THAT. Yet it didn't occur to me that it could hinder secret service duty!

balls.
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LOL - yeah, being a spy would have been cool :giggle:
 
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