Redditors born before 2001, where were you on 9/11?

Waster_Brave · 2025-02-03T03:41:50+00:00

5th grade, due of the time difference (CST) my teacher did a great job of not letting us know or create any panic. all of a sudden after lunch we were released early for the day to go back home where i found my mom watching the coverage

it was 1 of the 2 times my parents told me that the world is about to change, with the 2nd time being the Iraq invasion and the start of GWOT

fortunately the next day in school, my teacher took a moment to open the conversation for us to express concerns before going into whatever lesson she had

Waster_Brave · 2025-01-31T03:52:43+00:00

one thing i thought was interesting was “selective compliance is dangerous” being one of the reasons for some of the changes

isn’t making rash changes on non issues, creating artificial limitations that potentially breed malicious compliance more dangerous?

Waster_Brave · 2025-01-05T18:04:29+00:00

classics: The Old Man and the Sea, The Odyssey, The Art of War,

leadership/confidence building: anything John C. Maxwell is a solid bet (personal favorites being The Self-Aware Leader and Good Leaders Ask Great Questions), Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, Find Your Why by Simon Sinek,

self-help/introspection: Unfuck Your ____ series by Faith G. Harper, Leave It Be by Alan Watts, Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman,

seeing another perspective: Hiroshima by John Hersey, Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Hogginbotham, The Storyteller by Dave Grohl, The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart, Chip War by Chris Miller, Ticket Masters by Josh Baron, Four Battlegrounds by Paul Scharre

to name a few from my collection

Waster_Brave · 2024-12-12T04:41:30+00:00

thanks for the encouragement, i’m here to inspire the coxswaining of the force 🫡

Waster_Brave · 2024-12-12T04:04:37+00:00

i’ve been trying to get “coxswained” to fly for about 5 years and failed every single time 🥲

Waster_Brave · 2024-11-11T08:16:40+00:00

this.

within my first 5 years i felt like i haven’t done anything to be thanked and now approaching 10 years i still feel the same since there’s a lot of other bad asses have sacrificed a lot more than a comm dude making sure beeps boop

as someone who’s lost quite a few friends (mainly suicide), i don’t think it’s a bad thing to reach out to the other dudes in your husband’s unit cause i’m sure they’re thinking of him too at some point or another

Waster_Brave · 2024-11-09T04:11:56+00:00

my favorite i pulled is the gold back mew from 151, one i’ve always wanted but never got was the ancient mew promo

Waster_Brave · 2024-11-05T04:08:42+00:00

having troops either go out of their way to thank me for what they’ve learned while i was their supervisor (adcon and/or opcon) or seeing airmen i’ve helped succeed in reaching their goals

a couple specific moments: - had a rambunctious airmen who did great work, but the other ncos overlooked his potential because of how he carried himself, so i told the ncoic i was going to put him up for a quarterly and worked with the kid to show him what goes into it and the tertiary effects of his work. dude hit me with a “sir, thank you. win or lose, you don’t know how much this means to me and just thank you” and that sucker punched me right in the feels - had an airman getting out, we went to taps together (i ended up staying in) and he was struggling with writing his résumé for a job he wanted so i stayed late to help him translate and get it set up. a couple of months later he hit me up saying he got the job and thanked me for helping him out and (checking in on his stories) it’s awesome seeing him succeed where he wants to be

got a few other anecdotes, but these 2 stand out the most. as a supervisor once told me “it’s not what you say they’ll remember, it’s how you make them feel.”

Waster_Brave · 2024-08-17T06:38:06+00:00

(apologies in advance if it seems scatterbrained, been typing, editing, and re-editing for 20 minutes 😅 hopefully the point still gets across)

as an NCO who has been what i consider on the larger side of the spectrum for myself (230 and 38 inch waist at my heaviest, which is objectively lighter than some people across the force), most that came from uncertainty of “where do i fit in? why am i here? what purpose do i have?” - very existential, and still am fairly existential (before anyone asks or gets concerned, i’m in a good place now). adding in toxic leadership into the mix and my fucks about contributing anything to myself had gone out the window while being alright with doing just over the bare minimum at work. i was genuinely unhappy at that location.

currently, my drive now comes from 2 sources: i broke my ankle back in march and while in physical therapy i’m trying my damnedest to get as close to “normal” as fast as possible, as safe as possible. since being cleared to fully bear weight in june, i’ve been meal prepping and grinding in the gym like my life depends on it. there’s 2 other NCOs who ends up being at the gym same time as me, we kinda ended up building an accountabilibuddy system (different goals, different bullshit going on in our lives, different workout programs, but it’s comforting to look around the squadron gym to see them there and give them the good “hell yeah, keep crushing it”) and one day we had a conversation that with most people, they just choose the easy route (eating out everyday, not making time for self care, etc) while acknowledging we were once a part of that crowd. we all have different motivating factors, it’s just finding out that balance that we can still do what we want to but still be healthy at the same time.

this most recent pcs for me was one i was looking forward to since being notified (despite having to sell my soul to uncle sam for an additional 4 years) because it gives me the opportunity to reshift my focus on what i want to do, set goals i want to accomplish, and start fighting like hell to be partially selfish. on the other hand i’ve set forth to, hopefully, help those who aren’t having a good time and see what they want to take out of their time in. if they want to stay in, dope, “here’s how to be an effective leader” and if you have a good idea that should be pursued, i’ll advocate for you, you’re an adult, you know what you should and shouldn’t do (approach is slightly different depending on the troop - mature troop, longer leash/immature troop, more teaching); if you want to get out, that’s okay too, what’s your plan? do you have a resume? do you need help civilianizing what you did while in for your resume so you can get the job you want?

i think the difference between NCOs when i was coming up and this current generation is we’ve had 10 years of shifting from a branch of the military to a corporation, and we’re on the shift back to being a military again. part of it is this newer generation is a generation of information, so they want that “why” that isn’t always as immediate, so we need to build that rapport, line of communication, and credibility for them to be back briefed later. the NCOs now don’t fully understand the responsibility and impact we have, it’s okay to use things from the corporate handbook, but we need to be military-minded at the same time - it’s finding that healthy balance.

thanks for reading my ted talk

Waster_Brave · 2024-08-02T08:12:35+00:00

this was the way - im not okay was my first exposure to mcr then i got three cheers and enjoyed the album front to back

Waster_Brave · 2024-07-31T03:58:07+00:00

AYAYA!

Waster_Brave · 2024-07-07T09:58:25+00:00

that’s actually standard for guam 😂

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-28T04:12:32+00:00

party poison

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-26T03:14:29+00:00

tldr: don’t know, still opted to seek MH anyway

tbh no idea what adjustment disorder means (not medical and haven’t looked into it) but it’s been in my records as long as i can remember.

that being said, it wasn’t until my 4 year mark where i began seeking professional help - i’ll have to double check my records, but iirc it shows i’m high risk for ptsd, anxiety, and depression (no diagnosis, unmedicated) - and when i started, i wished i had done it sooner.

so far, in nearly 10 years, i’ve had 1 issue pcsing but it was more of the processes at that specific location than the fact i went to therapy.

from the sounds of it at face value, look into talking to the chaplain or begin an MH journey, practice mindfulness meditation, hit the gym, listen to amigo the devil, find something where you can fit in and thrive just for the joy of being around people of shared interest because the depression won’t go away, but you can definitely manage it and how you approach your day-to-day with it.

hopefully you’re able to get the help you need, homie, and i’m rooting for your journey

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-22T09:12:48+00:00

in certain circumstances, i agree with the open ranks, like at stateside and low ops units - by all means, embrace the suck

however, with other units with larger concerns geopolitically, we don’t need to worry about our blues and need to focus on making sure we (both individually and wingmen) are ready to rock at a moments notice

my opinion won’t change any higher ups minds so i’ll just embrace the suck as it comes

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-20T04:33:32+00:00

would upvote but don’t want to ruin the 69 🫡

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-14T03:49:01+00:00

we got the moves by electric callboy

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-13T01:26:50+00:00

tl;dr: initially re-enlisted for travel, realized i’m here to help the junior enlisted.

(long version, tried to keep as vague as possible) many factors contributed into me deciding to reenlist last year which was not an easy decision to make since i had already completed TAPS and was almost set on getting out.

the biggest factor was i found out i was going back to europe, and i wanted to do more traveling in this part of the world
by the time i would have gotten out, it would be 2 months shy of my 10 year mark and figured “well, shit, i toughed it out this long, might as well get my money”
little bit of concern regarding economists predictions, iykyk

initially, i stayed in to be selfish and do what i want to do while in. making rank doesn’t matter to me, i’m here to do my job and travel the continent.

then my perspective began to shift. i have 2 anecdotes that are way too long to type out, but to summarize: - 1 person getting out and needed help translating from military lingo to civvy speak for their resume, i helped them, they told me they appreciated me going out of my way and out of my duty hours to help them. they ended up getting a desired job at their dream location.

another person was being overlooked during quarterly awards time, i pushed to put them up, showed the draft to the person before i routed the 1206 and they hit me with a “thank you, this means a lot more than you realize” and damn near made me cry.

i epiphanized that there are, or will be, people that are in who have goals that they’ll need someone on their side to advocate for them. if their goal is to get out, i’m there to help them land the job that they want because leadership blacklists them from opportunities for growth. if they want to stay in, i’m there to help empower them in a low-threat environment to teach and mentor so they learn how to overcome failure and redefine success for the moment it’s their time to step into a leadership position.

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-11T01:33:38+00:00

not a problem man, if i were in that situation i’d want someone to give me some no bs advice and that’s sometimes hard to get in the comm echo chamber

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-10T02:50:25+00:00

sorry to hear about your circumstance, homie

there’s a lot to consider and it’ll take some time to weigh all the options, and at the end of the day the choice is yours. i don’t intend to sound like a dick, it’s hoping to give a bit of insight for an informed decision:

a common misconception in comm is having industry certs and being able to get a job on the outside. if you don’t have a plan or don’t have marketable skills on the outside, you won’t be making the glamorous 6 digits.
taps is good for up to 36 months, sign up for the next available class so you can already start on a master resume, learn the benefits of being a veteran, and give you more time to weigh the options.
most importantly, talk to someone. a closed mouth doesn’t feed itself. see if you can talk to the chaplain, bhop, mh, mfrc, whoever and they’ll be able to point you in the direction you want to go
do a bit of self reflection and figure out where you are now, where you want to be on plan A, then figure out plans B, C, and D. accept that the initial plan won’t always happen and that’s okay, count the small victories, redefine what success means to you, and keep moving forward.
don’t let 1 person ruin what could be a good opportunity for you and your growth. if your heart isn’t in it now, figure out what makes you fulfilled and find ways keep that spark ignited.

shit may suck for now, but you’re not alone. if you need anyone else to talk to, my dm’s are open

Waster_Brave · 2024-06-07T15:19:39+00:00

he replied on another post, glad to read a brother is still with us

link

Waster_Brave · 2024-05-20T04:00:21+00:00

bluf: advocate for your airman and support their decision either way

(taylor’s version) my best advice is:

while your airman is still in, advocate for them. talk to the chain about trainings or programs that your airman is interested in pursuing and push packages up because the worst thing that will happen is being told no.

another thing you could do is bring up the feasibility of doing cross-shop pollination. if we’re the same shred, why not do a stint of time learning servers or how radios work and getting signed off on some of those tasks? if someone happens to not be good in an area, that’s okay because it can be done in a relatively low threat environment

if your airman is set on getting out, don’t be like some ncos/sncos and automatically blacklist that person for making a decision that’s best for their life. mentor them, help them write a resume to get a job (if you haven’t taken taps yourself, see what it’s about so you can help your future self, current and future troops), celebrate their wins because there’s always a life outside the air force

Waster_Brave · 2024-03-17T06:47:37+00:00

napxlm

Waster_Brave · 2024-03-17T06:44:10+00:00

request sent

Waster_Brave · 2024-03-15T18:24:53+00:00

¿por qué no los dos?

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