New Testingstan

Shit


[21:23:36] I've spoken with several vets, and a lot of reservists
[21:24:07] they said they had a great time, but they mostly warned me to quit being so sarcastic
[21:24:26] which is hard for me, since sarcasm is one of my coping techniques

You can't save'em all...

At least we can hope that he will fail the entry exams.


And at worst I'll just get back to him another day.

That might not be so good if he gets all emo about it...

Especially since he seems to be quite passionate about it, but what can I really do, heh ?


Talk. And listen. That's what I'll do.

I think I'm going to link him your blog, Aaron.

K.

So, Joining the army won't help with self-esteem and stuff? I thought completing basic was supposed to give you a sense of accomplishment and teach you discipline and stuff. Then again, someone who's attempted suicide probably doesn't need a drill sergeant yelling about how worthless he is. I'm very interested in this discussion because it sounds like this kid wants to join for the same reasons that i'm enlisting next summer.

It can be. If your a normal person, i came out of basic and my ql3 a confident and capable man.

This kid has a history of suicide, probably depression and being medicated. He has aspergers, meaning he's probably socially inept. The army is a very social enviroment which heavily encourages drinking, which will influence all those problems. Drinking makes it all worse, i was a hard core alcoholic for two years after I got out and i spent a lot of nights pissed off, depressed and damn near abusive.

All of that was done to a normal healthy guy.

hmm. If the army isn't for the socially inept, I might not do well there. Still, it isn't really something that I want to do, but I feel like it's something that I need to do. Dave did it, a bunch of other people I knew in high school did it, including one who served three years in Iraq and survived being blown up by an IED. I feel like if I don't enlist it means they're all stronger than I am. That they have something I don't.

Most of all, i'm tired of being so fucking weak. I'd like to be "army strong" as the commercials say.

Will they even accept anyone with a (presumably) diagnosed autistic spectrum disorder? I know the US forces don't.

Hopefully they won't.

Though in practice they may very well overlook it if they feel like it... What I'm reading online suggest that the recruiters feel it is more important to have someone, anyone sign up, than anything else - at least as long as they can plausibly deny they knew there could be an issue in the first place.

Not sure.

Matt, take karate or something. Your not weak because you chose to do something else, that weak/strong thing is marketing.

And as for "serving your country", you can do at least as much good by implicating yourself in the life of your local community, volunteer for associations, that kind of things.

And there's also the option of being a firefighter or something like that, if you want the "structure" and the challenging work environment.

Coast Guard, they make a difference.

Aaron wrote:Coast Guard, they make a difference.

In how much my drugs and eastern European slave women cost. Fuck the Coast Guard!

Kryten wrote:Will they even accept anyone with a (presumably) diagnosed autistic spectrum disorder? I know the US forces don't.

What? Yes they will. I'm diagnosed with both depression and ASD but the only reason I didn't end up enlisting and becoming a medic is because I met my fiance the day before I was supposed to sign the contract and backed out.

a lot of jobs can make a difference. like being a local bureaucrat might sound as lame as it gets

but imagine you're the person who's down on your luck for whatever reason and needs the government to help. you're probably going to end up talking to a local bureaucrat at some point and if he's an asshole or a nice guy can make a big difference to you.

i guess what i'm saying is it isn't necessarily just what you do, but also how you do it that matters

I don't know. I guess I just think I can do more good if I become a soldier next year instead of wasting god knows how long finishing school to become a teacher.

i don't even know how to respond to that

Theoretically speaking, by becoming a teacher you would help hundreds of people becoming productive citizens and member of society.

Darksi4190 wrote:I don't know. I guess I just think I can do more good if I become a soldier next year instead of wasting god knows how long finishing school to become a teacher.

Brandon, the guy is canadian iirc, our requirements are different.

You won't, we take lives, we don't improve them. Unless its the Corps of Engineers.

I once thought that, that we would make a difference, the only reason we did was because there was an ice storm in 98. Don't waste your youth and potentially the rest of your life, be a teacher. Fuck, a banker is a better choice.

If I want to finish school and become a teacher I'm going to need money anyways, and the Military's pretty good with that. I feel like it'd be an experience I wouldn't necessarily like, but that it would be good for me. Teaching me discipline, commitment, honor, and all that. I've been browsing the army's web site, and it looks really interesting. i'm leaning towards this right now.

Infantry?

If its what you want to do, best of luck.

I'll need a bit of luck to get in in the first place. I have a slight heart murmur that might disqualify me. I don't know if they still reject people for that.

Depends if they catch it.