Chicago - Can I just go home now?

Posted on July 13, 2007 7:24 AM | Permalink

Ugh! 12 hours left in Chicago.

I so want to go home.

I'm sick of reading this material and trying to cram study for a certification test that I really don't care that much about.

I'm far more concerned about the information I've received and the contacts I've made.

That's where the success of this trip really shines.

What sucks is that some of the people want to take the test early to get the hell out of here.

That means I could be sitting in O'Hare for hours and hours since my flight doesn't leave until after 6pm.

In other news, the... and I use this term lightly... "restaurant" here in the hotel is just the king of mediocrity. I ate dinner there last night and I totally regret not going to Chipotle again.

While trying to read my material and eat I had to listen to this military recruiter guy feed all kinds of bullshit to three 18-year olds.

Now I have absolutely nothing against the military but you all should know by now how much I hate marketing and marketing tactics. Hearing marketing platitudes spouted anywhere just drives me to want to skewer the manipulator.

This recruiter was obviously chosen because of his age and appearance but what was just awful about it was the way he was putting things into a skewed perspective, going so far as to use hip-hop slang and more or less was telling them that if they signed up the odds of them going to the Middle East were practically nil.

Such bullshit.

Troop deployment and soldiers being sent back to Iraq again and again after their tours are up has been so f'd up in this clusterfuck invasion that even these 3 kids have to know that this recruiter is spouting some major shit.

From the reports I've read, most of the branches have major issues with enlisting new soldiers and the Army is the branch that has been hit worse.

It was pretty sad that he had to resort to basically saying "you won't go to the Middle East if you enlist" when anybody should know that once you sign your life to the military you will go where they tell you when they tell you!

There was a brief time when I considered a career in the military but I would have likely been kicked out. It is virtually impossible for me to blindly follow any authority that has not earned my respect and that doesn't quite fit into the military way of doing things.

Oh well. I just wish people wouldn't lie or tell skewed possibilities to sell something, regardless of what they are trying to sell.

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7 Comments

Boy those kids are either really dumb or they've been brainwashed by the Transformer movie. Did the recruiter promise they'd get sabot rounds to fight the invading Decepticons?

I never believed recruiters when I was that age so hopefully they thought he was equally full of shit. I have friends in the guards and they may be redeployed since the current army tours are really stretched out already.

The whole conflict is getting really stretched out and patience is thin, the one thing they are asking for is more time, the one thing most of america really doesn't want to offer anymore.

Shame that such a conflict has to mare military service it is good for some people, but like you Nala I really don't fit in with authority without earning my respect. I'm too free thinking and ask too many questions.

You DO realize Chicago has a lot of interesting ways to kill 6 hours.

Not when you are stuck near O'Hare without a car carrying a suitcase and and huge side bag with 2 laptops.

My uncle was a 2 star general, but even he retired when he found out Rumsfeld was going to be SecDef. To this day, whenever he talks about Cheney (he served in the first Gulf War as an infantry commander) he shakes his head in disbelief that this is the same guy who was SecDef under HW Bush, because he wasn't "Darth Cheney" then. I don't blame the recruiter for being desperate, but lying through his teeth like that is unconscionable.

Frankly, at this point I'm sure most of the enlistees know (or are at least somewhat aware of) what they're getting themselves into. I was on a bus about two months ago and two kids up front were talking loudly about how they were going over soon, and also about what bullshit the war was. But the gist was that they felt the military was where they belonged.

I tried to join the Air National Guard in college, 1) to help pay for it, and 2) to get some "free" flight time (My major was Professional Aviation). This was back in the 90's when military funds were being cut and bases were being closed left and right. They were being VERY picky over who they accepted, just about any medical problem disqualified for you.

I got to MEPS and some cranky old doctor started asking me questions on my medical history and found out I broke my leg in highschool and still had a plate in it. That ended my physical exam. He told me I'd have to get it removed, wait six months, and I could try to enlist again. I was going to be married in six months and didn't want to go to basic as a married man so I said, screw it.

Now they can get people to sign up fast enough.

I'm not certain the kids are actually thinking that they could see combat.

The two kids I know (and by kids, I mean college-educated 21-year-olds) that enlisted this year seemed to shrug off any thoughts of potential dangers when asked. I'm not really sure, but to me, it seemed just a little odd.

To each his own, I suppose. I'm hoping they both keep in touch, provided they make it back alive.

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