Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech • Hacker News Board

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#531

Post by notadev » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 1:32 PM UTC

tekknik wrote: post #429

giantg2 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"My favorite part of the article is dispelling the myth that in the military senior people bark orders, and don't ask for feedback, and subordinates dutifully carry out those orders. None of those is true. There is a time to "shut up and color" but that is by far the exception." Based on my limited knowledge, I think it's highly dependent on the leaders in the unit. I have a friend who always dreamed of being an nava…

> They are leaving due to the political BS of the organization and poor leadership by those in command. I have a brother-in-law (a chief) leaving 3 years prior to retirement for the same reason. Except it’s exactly the opposite. They’re not allowed to yell anymore, have a lot of limitations on punishment, and have to accept things like enlisted being late to work. They’re leaving because they think the military is on…

I was a Chief and got out at 16. They made me CMEO so instead of doing my job, I was handling Equal Opportunity and Harassment complaints, which are taken very seriously. When I was told of something, I had mandatory reporting timelines and had to send messages to big Navy, NCIS, etc. Nearly all of the complaints were from junior sailors who lacked the resiliency to withstand an ass chewing or were suicidal because their Chief made them work late correcting something they messed up. It was all very strange and it wasn’t worth the mediocre retirement pay. I am much happier as a civilian.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#532

Post by refurb » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 1:34 PM UTC

cassepipe wrote: post #330

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #74

My son was Army Reserve (US), did a tour in Iraq back in the day. He reported that Reservists didn't get the respect of regular Army, at least in his unit. They got shot at, shot back, did convoy duty, got blown up (twice). But somehow not 'real soldiers'. His unit got no commendations or promotions from the regular army base commander. He returned, still had enlistment period left, went straight to the Army Recruiti…

So he almost died in the unlawful invasion of a foreign country but his complaint is the he did not get a medal or a promotion ?

No post body was provided.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#533

Post by refurb » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 1:38 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #25

jmyeet wrote: post #14

So one of the things I like about Tiktok is you get exposed to something you normally wouldn't and it can be fascinating. One example of this I had an Air Force recruiter pop up on my fyp. This is obviously US-centric (as opposed to the article, which is the UK) but here are some things I've learned: 1. The difference between Reserve and Guard? Reserve is Federal, Guard is State (this was news to me); 2. Signing up f…

This isn't a positive. It is a tragedy that these services (education, healthcare) are difficult to obtain without military service in a supposedly developed country.

Reservists have normal jobs since they only report a few weekends plus 2 weeks a year.

People who can’t afford college or healthcare ain’t going into the reserves to get it.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#534

Post by refurb » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 1:40 PM UTC

saiya-jin wrote: post #305

pxmpxm wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "difficult to obtain without military service" This is factually incorrect - you literally can get $400k in education of your choosing at the tender age of 18, which is why we frequently discus articles revolving around student debt for degrees that don't pay anything. There isn't anything even remotely equivalent when it comes to money access of this sort (try getting a $400k mortgage with zero income and zero ass…

You can get mortgage of 400k USD, what a great thing to get when entering 18... Sorry guys but this is so fucked up from European point of view. And that poor people are pushed to enlist to kill innocent folks half around the globe just to be able to study is yet another level of fuckery. But at least you guys get some semi-decent medical insurance to live like a human being. For which we also don't need to pay (or v…

As a European you should be glad the US has a competent military since you’re clearly not up to job yourself.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#535

Post by notadev » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 1:43 PM UTC

pasabagi wrote: post #527

tekknik wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can’t stand waking up everyday because of your job then at some point mental health steps in. Since you’ve been there for 21 years, I’m sure you’ve seen the changes as well. Is the Navy the same as when you started? The crossing the line ceremony for instance. When I was in, they had to have permission to haze you. Nude mermaids are no longer on the certificates as well from what I understand. Many little thin…

> How does basic training even work now in this post yelling world? I was called “Porky the Pig” in basic. It forced me to exercise much more than threat of some fake arrest. As a non-military guy, this is what I've always found really nuts about military institutions. In normal life, people do an extraordinary array of difficult and uncomfortable things, and generally learn a whole lot for specific roles in their wo…

The point of bootcamp isn’t just for you to learn how to do this or that, it’s also about breaking you of your individualist civilian mentality and molding you into a soldier/sailor/marine/airman who can put the mission and their fellow service members above themselves. Being yelled at is negative reenforcement and quickly helps you understand your mistakes. Camaraderie also flourishes when you all hate your drill instructor. When you get out and join the real military, you often think back some drill instructors as the “stern but fair” types.

Navy bootcamp was surprisingly easy. You quickly figure out what they can and cannot do, how many push-ups you have to do before they’ll let you up, how long they can make you PT, etc. We still had people who couldn’t handle it and were sent home. It was probably for the best. The military isn’t always easy and it really helps to be resilient. If someone criticizes you for doing something stupid and accept that you did a stupid thing, or you can’t let it go, you may not get very far.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#536

Post by germinalphrase » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 2:05 PM UTC

causasui wrote: post #475

freedomben wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you gotta carefully choose the branch and the job yes absolutely. I'd even say "the job" is the most important part. There are Army jobs that are pretty good, and there are Air Force jobs that are pretty bad.

There's a saying in the Navy I was told from day 1 at the recruiter's office: Choose your rate, choose your fate. Your choice can be the difference between getting out after 4-6 years and easily making six figures, or struggling to find employment at $35k. Not to mention your lifestyle while in and other side effects of your service like PTSD.

Are there known “good” paths that lead to the former result?

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#537

Post by ramesh31 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 2:19 PM UTC

wolverine876 wrote: post #480

ramesh31 wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The flip-side is that with mandatory manpower for military adventurism, politicians and the military leaders who advise them have fewer reasons to temper their aspirations. That's not really true. Open democratic societies that still practice conscription like Israel for instance, have a much higher level of civic engagement and understanding of foreign affairs amongst the average people. The population is ultimatel…

While I hope that's true, and could see how it might be, how do we know it? Israel uses their military heavily, so I'm not sure it will provide a great example.

>Israel uses their military heavily, so I'm not sure it will provide a great example.

Take a look at their neighbors. When you're surrounded by people who are ideologically bent on your complete destruction, paranoia is no longer an irrational response.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#538

Post by causasui » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 2:20 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #536

causasui wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a saying in the Navy I was told from day 1 at the recruiter's office: Choose your rate, choose your fate. Your choice can be the difference between getting out after 4-6 years and easily making six figures, or struggling to find employment at $35k. Not to mention your lifestyle while in and other side effects of your service like PTSD.

Are there known “good” paths that lead to the former result?

For sure, speaking for the Navy (though I'm sure the same applies for the other services as well). Cryptologic/electronic/nuclear fields are all known to be cash cows after getting out. Granted, you need to score well on your ASVAB, especially for nuclear fields. But the ASVAB can be studied for and is probably the easiest of all the standardized tests someone that age may face in my experience.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#539

Post by germinalphrase » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 2:33 PM UTC

causasui wrote: post #538

germinalphrase wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there known “good” paths that lead to the former result?

For sure, speaking for the Navy (though I'm sure the same applies for the other services as well). Cryptologic/electronic/nuclear fields are all known to be cash cows after getting out. Granted, you need to score well on your ASVAB, especially for nuclear fields. But the ASVAB can be studied for and is probably the easiest of all the standardized tests someone that age may face in my experience.

Thank you.

Can anyone comment with regard to the Air Force?

Not asking for myself. I am a high school English teacher, and I am currently helping a young man with his application to the academy. He is committed to the Air Force either way, but I try to pass along any information that I come across (with the caveat, of course, that I don’t know what I’m talking about).

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#540

Post by qgin » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 2:40 PM UTC

mcguire wrote: post #388

qgin wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what it’s worth, currently you can get a mid-tier Obamacare / ACA health insurance plan for no more than 8.5% of your income. It’s a big jump to have a new expense of 8.5% for sure, but we do have that option now.

Does that subsidy depend on what state you live in? AFAICT, it doesn't apply here in scenic Alabama.

From what I can tell, Alabama has all the regular subsidies for ACA plans. What they don’t have is Medicaid expansion. The federal government offers states money to expand Medicaid to anyone making less than the minimum needed for ACA plans. Some states like Alabama have refused the money and continue to only offer it to specific subgroups of low income people, usually only after they spent 100% of their assets also.