Yup...the Air Force. It was cool for a while but then as I grew in rank I saw a lot more bullshit that was shielded from me when I was younger and I just couldn't be a part of something and follow people who were morons. The war played a part as well, but that wasn't the main reason I got out. I didn't agree with it and when I returned from Iraq it just cemented my decision to get out. I had doubts long before then. It's a system very Orwellian now, when 6 or 7 years ago it wasn't so. Basically, it's the stereotypical thing of do what you're told, and even if you have a better idea, no one's going to listen to you because of ego and people who refuse to think outside the box. You're well respected if you don't cause people to think for themselves, basically, and that's why I wasn't so popular towards the end of my service. I basically showed all the younger troops what's real and what's not and what people are REALLY about in my unit and my career field, and encouraged them to follow orders, but walk that fine line and encourage others to think more outside the box and try to change the mindset.
Basically, you're considered a true leader if you follow what everyone says and do what you're told all the time. Whereas if I strongly believed in something or someone, I would put my balls on the anvil because everyone else were a bunch of spineless fake people only concerned about themselves. I didn't have anything to lose and I would never back down from any challenge or argument if I believed in the cause, no matter who the argument was with. This made me very unpopular with the higher ranking desk jockeys, but very popular with my troops. I let the upper tiers know that I didn't give a fuck about my rank or my reputation with them because their opinion means shit to me...they were all about getting that next rank and i let them know how much of a piece of shit they were, very subtly and with tact, but they got the point. I knew the younger troops had no one to turn to because no one else gave a shit about them, so I helped them out. Basically, I did what I was supposed to do, unlike the upper management who would try and undermine everything I did but could never have a case against me. They were transparent to me and I let them and everyone else know how fake they were. The last year of my tenure was pretty eventful. Never got into trouble or anything because I made sure they couldn't fuck with me. It was a big middle finger the last few weeks in the military. I see them occasionally now and they can't say anything to me. They all told me that I couldn't get out and live in another country, that I wouldn't find a job, etc., and I did it. I told them just because they're too weak to leave and get out in the real world doesn't mean other people are...that doesn't sit too well with them. But again, you gotta be smart with this shit and get your act together if you want it to work. Some people just don't understand that.
Did you have some kind of experience like this?
. I was glad when I got out after 8 and a half years.
