Disenfranchised members

[Fader]

I recall joining the army, with a little convincing from a friend of mine, because it had been a childhood dream of mine to be a soldier.

Basic was fulfillment of that dream, and I had impressions after basic that even being a reservist would be continuation of that dream. In retrospect, it wasn‘t. I was too new, too stupid, and too immature (perhaps I still am).

My 3‘s totally destroyed my notion of what being a soldier, especially a Canadian one entails. I concluded that the differances between a reservist and a regular forces soldier and a reserve soldier are enormous.

For me, I realized the reservist soldier gets what he puts into it, but is free to put in as little or as much as s/he wants. However, being a team effort, there‘s always people who put in the bare minimum, and people who put in as much as they can. Normally it ends up being that the ones putting in alot carry the ones putting in next to nothing.

I think I carried a few people, and was carried by a few people. But after my 3‘s, I realized that I could have put in half as much effort, dedication, and hard work and I probably would have gotten the same amount out of the course as I did putting in as much as I did.

I think this year, going on my 5‘s I‘d go in, with the mentality of minimalism; that being, put as little into it as required to avoid getting a blade in my back or the back of my course members. No more, no less.

I think this could be described as being disenfranchised. Not having a passion for the job, so much as having a desire to get my next pay check and go home.

I want to know, especially from long term members who‘ve been long enough to know what it‘s really like both reserve and reg force, what they think about this.

Thanks

 

[SpinDoc]

I think what you just described could be attributed to almost every other setting in life, not just the military. The bottom line is that there are people who are lazy and will take advantage of people who has a lower tolerance of the fear of not having a task done. School, civilian work, etc... you will have a few people who are "switched on" and a few who are "hanger ons".

Whether or not the military, Regs or Reserves, has a higher percentage of the latter is up for debate...

 

[Fader]

Thing is, a lot of the crap that went on during my 3‘s no civilian employer would tolerate without severe repercussion. I thought before going, that the military especially would be more keen to eliminate some of them. Substance abuse, sexual discrimination, blatently obvious alcoholism, insubordination, dangerous levels of incompitance, intentional damage of property and material. I thought the military was supposed to be a well disciplined, organized fighting force, not a bunch of unprofessional, immature little kids running around with expensive equipment.

 

[Pikache]

Well, I don‘t know what kind ****pumps you‘ve been running into, but being military does not automatically correct your flaws. You‘re still human.

Though I‘m wondering where you saw insubordination? Frankly most people I‘ve worked with don‘t put up with that crap.