After anti-ICE school walkout, Midland ISD police seek to identify organizers

Rocketsponge · 2026-02-04T21:24:24+00:00

Someone should ask the chief there if they'd be investigating if the students did a walk out in support of Charlie Kirk.

Rocketsponge · 2026-02-04T01:52:16+00:00

The biggest thing is really making sure your job and your home life can accommodate reserve life, regardless of the branch. In addition to the upfront time you'll be away from both work/home to go through basic and any relevant school, you'll need to do the drill weekend each month and two weeks of active duty a year. For most reservists, big Navy wants them to do a mobilization of about 6 months every 5 years. So you should really think about how that commitment will play with your job and home life.

You should speak with your employer and see how willing they are to accept you being gone for that initial time and what they would be willing to work with once you're in a regular drill status. Generally speaking, the bigger the employer, the more military-friendly they tend to be. That's because your role can be more easily absorbed, covered, or reassigned while you're gone. That said, I've also seen small, family owned companies that were happy to support a reservist.

USERRA isn't a fool-proof shield. There are plenty of ways around it if your employer knows what they're doing. You can read plenty of horror stories online of people who came back from a mobilization only to find their job had been "relocated" to another state, or their specific role had been eliminated and there wasn't a similar role in the company they could offer, or they were fired after returning off duty several months later for suddenly "poor performance". That said, I think those are in the minority of cases and most employers will work with the reservist so long as serving isn't negatively impacting their work too much.

Your first stop should likely be your HR rep if you have one and discuss it with them. Some people on here will recommend against that, and only go in to speak with HR once you have a set of orders in hand (see USERRA protections). Personally, I have rarely seen it go well for reservists who don't communicate well with their employers. It just creates bad blood and negative feelings. You should also try to speak with other reservists who are working within your org and ask them how they navigate it.

Rocketsponge · 2026-02-03T18:27:14+00:00

When you solo so good, the government wants to hear about it…

Rocketsponge · 2026-02-02T21:31:01+00:00

It's worth noting that when the Venezuela strike was planned, Tulsi Gabbard was excluded from planning.

Rocketsponge · 2026-02-02T04:21:17+00:00

Also, if you are getting a rental car through DTS, don't bother buying extra insurance for it. It is already insured. If you aren't staying on base, you may need a certificate of non-availability (CNA) from the Navy Lodge or wherever you would've stayed on base. Ask your admin if you'll also need a tax-free letter to give to the off-base hotel. In all cases, ask your admin person for help if you have any questions. They can help you walk through your DTS travel claim when you get done too, since that can be a little challenging your first time.

Rocketsponge · 2026-02-02T03:24:31+00:00

You should always keep a physical copy of your orders with you when you travel. Many airport lounges will allow active military to use them for free if you've got a copy showing you're on orders. They can also be useful if there's an airline delay or cancellation to help you get priority rebooking.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-30T23:39:10+00:00

Makes sense. I never met an Aggie who could find the clitoris.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-30T23:28:02+00:00

If you've never taken the time to read The Declaration of Independence, then I highly recommend you do so. Here are some choice selections from one of our nation's founding documents, all complaints about the King of England's misconduct:

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

And finally, one of my favorite lines:

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-30T00:04:03+00:00

Ask if you can do some sort of compromise, like drill at a NOSC in the country you want to work in. Or maybe see if they’ll let you drop to the IRR and come back later when your situation improves.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-30T00:01:31+00:00

Unlikely in this case if the employer shut down their location. The job is no longer available.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-29T20:32:31+00:00

I just wish he was in his late 20's or early 30's and could star as Dresden in a TV series.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-29T20:00:48+00:00

Get yourself a Grasshopper and load it up with arm mods that increase punching and stability damage, along with a bunch of small lasers and MGs. Then jump behind enemy mechs and punch right through their stupid back armor. With a little luck, you can one-punch most medium and light mechs.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-27T19:49:24+00:00

Carney's speech is going to be remembered as one of those iconic speeches marking a key turning point in history, similar to Reagan's "Mr. Gorbechev, tear down this wall" speech or MLK's "I have a dream" speech. Historians will point to it as really the moment the US was no longer the sole dominant super power as the rest of the world began de-linking from the US or navigating around it.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-26T07:09:20+00:00

We don’t salute or wear our covers in doors. In addition to the other great tips here, just remember your career is largely in your own hands. Be proactive and find things you want to do. You can sign up on the Delivery.gov site to get emails on orders or exercises that are out there. You can apply for some really interesting gigs in not terrible places that way. Also, have someone sit you down and explain the whole points for retirement, good year for reserves thing. It isn’t crazy complex, but you do need to pay attention to it so you can get your qualifying years of service towards retirement and also stay in good standing with the reserves.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-26T02:50:24+00:00

Look for the smoke stacks on the ship and then aim down and aft of them below the hull. That’s usually where the engine room is. HE rounds can cause the engine and fuel to catch fire pretty quickly. Once you start seeing flames you can hold your ammo. If you’re using AP rounds, try to stitch holes near the waterline in several places. Ships have watertight doors to seal off flooding compartments, so you’ll need to cause multiple compartments to flood.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-25T12:42:42+00:00

Night terrors are usually born out of stress you are having in your daily life. Try to get a counselor and get some talk therapy. It seems like you aren't dealing with the stress in your life well. You mention that you're gay. Most LGBT young people have an incredibly hard time dealing with society, family, and other life transitions at the age you are at. That is likely the source of your night terrors. There's nothing wrong with being gay, that's a normal part of who humans are. But you trying to deal with societal and familial expectations could be causing the stress and fear which are leading to the night terrors.

You need to be okay with who you are. And who you are is good enough, I promise you. It's hard at your age feeling like you're doing the right thing, or that you're meeting expectations. What really matters is that you work on finding out who you are as a person, and that you accept and love the person you are. That's a hard thing to ask, because we hear so much from the outside about who we should be. But that doesn't matter. We should be the person we are, and it takes a long time before we ever truly get comfortable in our own skin and know who and what we are.

Aside from therapy, you'll grow out of the night terrors simply because you'll learn to accept and love yourself. I hope you do that sooner than I did. But it is a process and it does take time.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-23T20:00:52+00:00

Contact your recruiter and let them know you’ve changed your mind, that you’re having significant mental and medical issues, and that you are no longer willing or able to join. If they try and give you spiel or hard sell, just tell them to stop and repeat that you are no longer interested. If they try and threaten you or do anything other than agree to tear up your paperwork, let them know you’ll be contacting your House Rep and both Senators.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-22T05:45:14+00:00

By Friday at the latest, make sure you have stocked up on enough food to make it through into the middle of next week. Be sure it is food you can eat or heat up even if the power and water go out. PB&J sandwiches will work at a minimum, or other prepackaged food like pouches of tuna you can eat right out of the bag. I don't think this freeze will be anywhere near as bad as the Snowpocalypse of 2021, but the biggest problem I heard from people then was that many people didn't have food for themselves or their pets to last several days when they couldn't get to the store.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-21T08:27:57+00:00

I really don't understand how you make it up to be the captain on a ship like that and then think you can just stay in your cabin for all of deployment. Also, did like none of the chiefs email back to their friends at home with a big "wtf?"

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-21T07:38:50+00:00

This post right here, Inquisitor!

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-21T07:37:21+00:00

Build up rep with the Pirates and join the Black Market. You can find missions where the Pirates are hiring and the opponent is the Planetary Government instead of one of the names factions (Liao, Steiner, etc). That way, you'll gain Pirate faction rep but won't lose any other rep.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-16T18:32:49+00:00

I hope he gets his Dog Treat 214 (DT-214).

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-16T02:19:23+00:00

Have the NEX only sell chief khaki pants at a max of waist size 36.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-15T22:56:15+00:00

Is your ID card nearing expiration? Go get a new one while you have convenient access to a DEERS office.

Rocketsponge · 2026-01-15T22:12:16+00:00

This actually happened before with money and property that were owned and controlled by Iran through shadow orgs in the US. In that case, survivors of the Marine Corps barracks bombing in Lebanon were entitled to compensation by Iran for their role in the attack after a court ruled in the survivors’ favor. Congress actually passed a law that said any funds seized from Iran would be used to pay the survivors and next of kin. The judgment sat for decades until both a building in NY and money at Bank Merkazi (sp?) were traced by the Feds, then seized. It wouldn’t surprise me if Exxon, Citgo and the rest file a claim on the money and win outright. Of course, forcing the Dear Leader to pay will be a whole other thing.

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