So, the lad is now assigned to 2nd Batallion, 34th Armor. He was going along just fine in good ole Fort Riley...until they found out he wasn't going to re-enlist.
That's when all the trouble started.
He asked for leave so that he could attend the biggest family party his mother's side has had in ten years: his great-grandfather's 90th birthday. Everybody in the entire family, from all over the country, will be there...but not HIM. No real reason to deny leave, but he got word from a friend in the front office that his name and leave request came up, and the decision was made on the basis of his re-enlistment choice.
Yesterday, during a training evolution for his new position as a gunner on the company CO's Humvee, with no explanation and no ceremony, he was re-assigned on the spot as a dismount on a Bradley crew. It was generally known that his preference was to be a Hummer gunner and that he HATES the Bradley, and he thinks that, once again, he was re-assigned based on nothing more than his declination of re-enlistment.
They're just messing with him, as only the Army can do. He's been a good soldier, but for a lot of good reasons, he wants to do something else now. He actually WANTS to go to Afghanistan, so it's not like he's turning down re-enlistment to get out of a combat deployment (which likely wouldn't work, anyway: they're just going to extend his enlistment by six months so that he'll go for the year his unit will be in Iraq). His unit is assigned to go to Iraq, which is WAY safer than Afghanistan these days, so it's not like he's trying to avoid danger.
Kids, hear me: if you're thinking of joining the Army, give it another thought. They LOVE doing stuff like this to you.
That's when all the trouble started.
He asked for leave so that he could attend the biggest family party his mother's side has had in ten years: his great-grandfather's 90th birthday. Everybody in the entire family, from all over the country, will be there...but not HIM. No real reason to deny leave, but he got word from a friend in the front office that his name and leave request came up, and the decision was made on the basis of his re-enlistment choice.
Yesterday, during a training evolution for his new position as a gunner on the company CO's Humvee, with no explanation and no ceremony, he was re-assigned on the spot as a dismount on a Bradley crew. It was generally known that his preference was to be a Hummer gunner and that he HATES the Bradley, and he thinks that, once again, he was re-assigned based on nothing more than his declination of re-enlistment.
They're just messing with him, as only the Army can do. He's been a good soldier, but for a lot of good reasons, he wants to do something else now. He actually WANTS to go to Afghanistan, so it's not like he's turning down re-enlistment to get out of a combat deployment (which likely wouldn't work, anyway: they're just going to extend his enlistment by six months so that he'll go for the year his unit will be in Iraq). His unit is assigned to go to Iraq, which is WAY safer than Afghanistan these days, so it's not like he's trying to avoid danger.
Kids, hear me: if you're thinking of joining the Army, give it another thought. They LOVE doing stuff like this to you.
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