So, I was trolling through Fascistbook (when I really should be doing something more productive) and I suddenly came across this meme right here...
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| Good advice... |
And none of you will ever see me discuss any of these things ANYWHERE online, not even those sites/forums where I can use a pen name instead of my real one. There have been many too. Lord Publius is merely the most infamous. This has been standard operating procedure for many years.
This also got me thinking about some of the secret plans I have executed in the past. For example, when I left the Army in 2014. Some of my friends, associates, enemies, et al. thought it was pretty sudden when I announced my receipt of a DD-214 after I had already left my last post and returned home to NOLA. In actual fact, it was a plan that I put into motion during the summer of 2012.
Why did that happen at that moment? Well, I requested a meeting with my then 1SG, a dumbass named Alvin Hamilton. I don't give a shit about protecting the privacy of terrible leaders, especially when he's long retired and the incident happened almost a decade ago. Anyway, my intention was to inform him about the fact that I had Asperger's Syndrome. After a few negative experiences with him, I thought he was getting the wrong idea about me. That whole unit was beyond fucked up and it wasn't uncommon for dickhead NCOs to leave a soldier holding the proverbial bag so they could escape blame for their incompetence. What unfortunately happened in that meeting is that he used it as an opportunity to chew me out for 30 minutes. When he finished it all by saying 'I wish I had the paperwork to put you out of the Army in 30 days', I not only lost any hope for that job, I lost respect for the whole institution. It was clear that NO ONE in that unit above the rank of Staff Sergeant (an E-6) would be on my side or have my best interests at heart. And I didn't trust most of the E-5s and E-6s, either.
And no, this incident is not secret. It was mentioned in the (now infamous) '17 reasons why I left the Army' blog that my alter-ego published about 6 weeks after I became a civilian again. My then platoon sergeant SSG Keith Mortan (a good leader) was there with me and was just as flabbergasted. He also explained to the 1SG how badly he just messed up later that day. That shitbag excuse for a 1SG tried to do damage control the next day, trying to explain himself as some sort of half-assed apology. Unfortunately for him and the Army, it was too late. After that shitshow the previous day, I was done with the Army. No matter what, that 'career' that so closely resembled a bad marriage was going to end in a divorce and on my terms. I will NOT be disrespected.
Also, I won't stand for any kind of hypocrisy. Especially not the kind that involves some fat-ass 1SG complaining about my run times when I never saw that shitbag do even so much as ONE push-up. EVER. In all the time that I knew him. All this guy ever did (from what I could see) was make speeches in front of formations and then disappear into an office to shine a seat with his ass. Not exactly what you'd call 'leading from the front', is it folks?
And no, I don't give a shit if he had a knee surgery that put him on convalescent leave for a few months. He can still do some form of cardio and sit-ups, at least. That asshole was nothing but a damned politician in a uniform. Exactly the kind of CANCER that ruined the military and put it into its current sorry state.
So, for nearly 2 years afterward, I slowly but surely made the plans for my exit and future success. The results were generally positive. I had another career as an insurance adjuster lined up and waiting for me when I got out. That career was a shitshow too, but it did (barely) keep the bills paid while I fought with the VA for 3 years to FINALLY get my benefits. After that, I went back to college on the G.I. Bill. I hope that decision doesn't end up being a shitshow as well.
While waiting to get out of the Army, I bought a house back home in NOLA in 2013 as a rental property. NO ONE in the Army knew anything about it until I was going through my out-process and mentioned to some NCOs that I already had a house and other sources of income. I deliberately kept that from them and the unit because it wasn't their business. They also would have tried to make it their business, telling me that I shouldn't make big purchases when the Army might chapter me at any minute. Screw them all. The down-payment was made with the money I had saved from 3 years worth of Army paychecks and bonuses. The renters (who moved in about a week after the act of sale went through) paid the note on the house with their rent checks for the next 2 years afterward. Buying that house may have been the best financial decision that I had ever made.
When my renters moved out in December of 2014, I moved in the following month. That is what I had planned from the start. I wasn't all that interested in being a landlord. I was making sure that I would have a home somewhere at a future date. Thanks to the VA disability check that I now receive, I will never have to worry about how I'm going to pay for that house and my utilities, either. The American taxpayer has that covered for me, for which I am eternally grateful. Without them, I might not still have a home today.
And did anyone outside of my family know about these 'secret plans' of mine? Nope. Not a single one. And all I had to do to keep that secret from the world was simply to keep my mouth shut.
Also, I won't stand for any kind of hypocrisy. Especially not the kind that involves some fat-ass 1SG complaining about my run times when I never saw that shitbag do even so much as ONE push-up. EVER. In all the time that I knew him. All this guy ever did (from what I could see) was make speeches in front of formations and then disappear into an office to shine a seat with his ass. Not exactly what you'd call 'leading from the front', is it folks?
And no, I don't give a shit if he had a knee surgery that put him on convalescent leave for a few months. He can still do some form of cardio and sit-ups, at least. That asshole was nothing but a damned politician in a uniform. Exactly the kind of CANCER that ruined the military and put it into its current sorry state.
So, for nearly 2 years afterward, I slowly but surely made the plans for my exit and future success. The results were generally positive. I had another career as an insurance adjuster lined up and waiting for me when I got out. That career was a shitshow too, but it did (barely) keep the bills paid while I fought with the VA for 3 years to FINALLY get my benefits. After that, I went back to college on the G.I. Bill. I hope that decision doesn't end up being a shitshow as well.
While waiting to get out of the Army, I bought a house back home in NOLA in 2013 as a rental property. NO ONE in the Army knew anything about it until I was going through my out-process and mentioned to some NCOs that I already had a house and other sources of income. I deliberately kept that from them and the unit because it wasn't their business. They also would have tried to make it their business, telling me that I shouldn't make big purchases when the Army might chapter me at any minute. Screw them all. The down-payment was made with the money I had saved from 3 years worth of Army paychecks and bonuses. The renters (who moved in about a week after the act of sale went through) paid the note on the house with their rent checks for the next 2 years afterward. Buying that house may have been the best financial decision that I had ever made.
When my renters moved out in December of 2014, I moved in the following month. That is what I had planned from the start. I wasn't all that interested in being a landlord. I was making sure that I would have a home somewhere at a future date. Thanks to the VA disability check that I now receive, I will never have to worry about how I'm going to pay for that house and my utilities, either. The American taxpayer has that covered for me, for which I am eternally grateful. Without them, I might not still have a home today.
And did anyone outside of my family know about these 'secret plans' of mine? Nope. Not a single one. And all I had to do to keep that secret from the world was simply to keep my mouth shut.
Despite it all though, there are some folks out there, friend and foe alike, that still think my leaving the Army was a mistake. They're all so damned wrong they might as well get in the Front-Leaning Rest right now. Unlike Beijing Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, my exit was perfectly planned and executed. My only regret about leaving the Army in 2014 is that it didn't happen sooner. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
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