Blunt comments below—Warning
Nice you defend her. I would rather wait for the facts to come out rather than, not to be too blunt, accept what some friend say she couldn’t possibly have done. We have all read and hear on the news after some nasty crime, the neighbors/friends/relatives of the criminal say, “she is such a nice person,” “she would never hurt a fly,” “she could not possibly done the deed, as she is such an angel,” etc. . .you get the point.
And regarding your assessment of the priority of the draw down, I would expect you to put your vocation as number one on the hit parade. Why? Because that justifies why some of your peers are getting axed while you see other, more deserving non-performers, staying in.
Fact is, draw downs happen and the effort is to ensure we keep the most fit (mentally and physically) people on active duty. Medical retirements or separations have processes and review board well before separation papers are drawn up. Nothing new there.
Finally, “Furthermore, we can enter as Captains and Colonels without even having been in the military. That being said, be sure to ask the next soldier you see with a prosthetic leg, how important was their doctor’s age when they got their leg blown off?”
Sheesh. . again not to be too blunt, but come one, really? You talk about entering active duty as a captain or colonel and then somehow tie that to age and invent some sort of straw-man to support your made-up point? Might as well ask, “Heck, be sure to ask the next soldier you see with a prosthetic leg, how important was their pilots age when he flew that CAS mission saving his life,” or “Heck, be sure to ask the next soldier you see with a prosthetic leg, how important was the fact the medic was a homosexual when he saved his life.”
Onto another point: In the medical field you are not officers in the true sense. Your pay-grade is exactly that, a pay-grade. Nothing more, nothing less, and in fact, much less than an officer that earned his rank through professional military training and out on the line leading men and taking the fight to the enemy. And because of Geneva protections, you can never be the SRO in any combat situation, from firefights to POW camp. You can’t LEAD, and that is what officer do in combat.
Because you came on active duty as a captain or a colonel means nothing. It especially doesn’t mean you are any better or more capable than any 2Lt on the line.
Bonuses and pay and all those goodies you brag on supports studies that prove most medical personnel, and a majority of women, enter active duty for those reasons (pay, tuition, travel, etc). This is in direct contrast to the major motivations as to why men enter active duty (to serve, patriotic duty, the challenge, etc). While in the Pentagon in the mid-90’s, the results of those studies made quite a stir because it required a whole new approach to recruiting.
Basically, what you said, and tried to justify, is you are “serving” because of base selfish purposes, i.e., what’s in it for me.
I expect you to rant/reply, and that’s okay, I promise to maybe read your reply. But thing is, I’ve said my piece and will move on.
Have a nice day.
——WARNING——ENLIGHTENMENT BELOW——WARNING——
I’m going to try and make this quick. You started out pretty strong with intellectual arguments and sensible analogies but then you drifted a bit when you allowed your emotions to take control. By the time you were done, I was convinced you knew little about that which you speak.
The connection I was trying to make between her age and rank was for the purpose of addressing the numerous comments that seem to link both citing they believe her incompetent because she was an “aged Captain” (i.e. implying she must’ve been demoted due to poor performance]. You see, generally speaking, an officer’s rank is relative to their age. In other words, while the AVERAGE 2LT’s are 22-27; 1LT’s 25-30; by the time the average officer turns 40, they “should” have earned MAJ... Susan is over 50 which mean she “should” at least be a LTC right? Wrong! (Refer to my first post if you’re lost). Long story short, the connection between her age and rank is very much comparative and relevant to this discussion. Is that a little clearer now or do you still not see a connection? Sorry, sometimes, the structure of my responses are NOT just limited to the feedback within The Free Republic.
Social Workers need to be equipped with night vision for the very same reason an 11B would, to see at the night. Duh! Believe it or not, all Army Social Workers don’t fall out of rainbows. You’d be surprise to know some of their backgrounds. I have a friend at Ft. Leavenworth who was Special Forces and is now an Army social worker; another who went from 1SG to 2LT (imagine that pay check). Would you believe it if I told you that I used to be a 19K and a 52D (they’re called something else now)? Would you believe it if I told you that not only can I land nav but I can also read aeronautical charts? We are issued the same equipment you are and are expected to learn everything you’re required. We zero, we learn combative, we get jump qualified (ask me how I know that) and on top of being a soldier serving soldiers, we have to stay well read to keep atop of our ever changing field.
My last thought and I’m outta here… Someone said a social worker “can’t be a leader”?! Dude/dudette, how old are you? If you’re under 25, I won’t be so harsh but if you’re any older, go shoot yourself in the pinkie toe. First of all, let me clear-up something. There are tons of jobs in the Army. Not everyone is recruited to kick-in doors but just for your enlightenment, Social Workers hold the rank of COL and run divisions just like the commander of the 3ID. Yes, you are right, we don’t command the cav, infantry, tankers, supply, mortars, etc. but it’s because we are specialists. Our job is to support them. The fact that we are officers compels us to lead. Being a leader isn’t always a “position”... at times, it’s by example, encouragement, mentoring and a lot of other touchy-feely words.
Look, it’s late and I have to get some sleep. If you reply, don’t say anything that may temp me to respond because I have so much work to do this week - LOL. Sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors.