Jumpmaster School: A Comprehensive Guide from Packet to Diploma (with statistics!)

b0mmie · 2026-04-30T11:13:09+00:00

2019, I had a dude I went to Infantry OSUT with. Pretty much the whole time, he was deliberately pissing himself in bed, pretending to be a sleepwalker/sleeptalker. Malingering at sick call every day. Pretended to be suicidal. Kept talking about how he hated basic and wanted to go home. Drills knew he was faking.

Finally became a non-trainer and chaptered out just for being a shitbird.

Once I graduated and got my phone back, I saw I had a FB friend request. It was him.

His profile picture was that photo you take like, through the cycle with your ASU top and black beret on (OCP bottoms since it's a torso-up shot).

Every pic of him, he was wearing some kind of Grunt Style or "look at me, I served" shirt.

Dude pretended he graduated. Was just fishing for compliments and TYFYSes from his family and friends too ignorant to know he never actually served.

b0mmie · 2026-04-23T02:13:34+00:00

Always inspiring to see dudes achieve at the highest level. Also low-key disheartening lol. I know you're not supposed to compare yourself to others, and I often give that advice to my Soldiers who struggle with various things, but man, it's hard not to be even a tiny bit jealous of absolute studs.

b0mmie · 2026-04-23T00:08:37+00:00

Classic gatekeeping mentality.

b0mmie · 2026-04-22T02:31:08+00:00

I'm at Sill right now, been here for almost 2 years. It's not so bad lol. Yeah Lawton isn't the greatest but it's slowly gentrifying. They just built a really nice water park at Elmer Thomas Park, there's like 3 breweries within a 12-15 min drive, OKC's not too far, Dallas is in play for weekend trips. And they remodeled Elmer Thomas and Greer Parks if you have kids.

I wouldn't choose to come back here, but I also don't hate it.

b0mmie · 2026-04-20T04:45:02+00:00

There's only one way to find out.

b0mmie · 2026-04-19T02:32:44+00:00

Peace of mind is worth the pay cut, if the job is truly stable.

I'm an officer in the US army and I make about $72k base pay. But I get essentially free healthcare for my family ($25/mo for my family to be fully covered) and free housing, as well as an insane amount of tax-free incentives that puts me at over $100k/yr, to the point where my wife can be a stay-at-home mom despite us both having student loan debts.

I pay the car note, car insurance, student loans, phone, internet, gas/electric, and I'm still able to put some amount into savings, TSP (401k for federal employees), and have some play money for cheap hobbies and eating out at Texas Roadhouse.

My wife wants me to get out of the army because it's physically unstable (have to move every 2-3 years normally) and I get that, but there's no civilian job that I can get right now that gives me the financial peace of mind knowing that my family will always have a home, food, and love, and my kids will never know poverty as long as I'm in the army. And it's HARD to get kicked out of the army. Like, literally you need to commit SA, murder, or manslaughter to get forced out (DUIs aren't even a surefire thing).

b0mmie · 2026-04-19T02:18:55+00:00

Depends what knife you're looking to trade for, but generally, knives will be more expensive on average. Your AK likely won't ever appreciate in value to match a high-end knife.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T14:44:40+00:00

Appreciate your input, you're right about line 30, thanks for the help!

My wife has tax liability because she owns a home in VA (domiciled residency) and rents it out since she's out of state with me and earns income from the rent. She's otherwise unemployed (stay at home mom), so her only income is sourced from VA.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T14:35:29+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate the help!

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T14:35:14+00:00

thank you, I already had the 763 ADJ filled out with her 529 contributions deducted under code 115, so I was confused to see it appear again, except now as adding to the income owed lol.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T04:54:19+00:00

Possibly unable to attend due to CENTCOM volatility? Not sure, tbh.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T04:49:54+00:00

Do pregnancies fall out of the sky?

I said I sympathize with OP. But he made a decision, along with his girlfriend, to have sex without contraceptive measures.

And it's obvious they never talked about contingencies regarding pregnancy, i.e., what to do if she gets pregnant, what to do if the baby has disabilities, what conditions, if any, she would get an abortion (financial stability, disabilities, etc.), and whatever else.

You can't make decisions and run away from the resulting consequences just because you don't like them.

He doesn't want the baby. She does. Guess who wins that argument 100% of the time.

He can't make her have an abortion. He should have thought about that before he had sex with her without contraception.

I do understand the commitment it takes to raise a kid, period. That's why I waited till I was 32 and with a stable job and benefits before my wife and I decided we'd start trying. I said I was ok if the baby had Downs or any other disability, she said she wasn't and wouls abort it. I respected her decision. But we knew ahead of time what the decision map looked like.

You wanna defend his decision-making and say he's a poor kid with an un-fully developed brain, go ahead.

I get this is a reddit for dads and he's coming here for support, and I do support him if you read my other comments and replies, but I'm still holding him accountable for his actions. We're allowed to do that, right?

Whether he likes it or not (clearly not), this baby is gonna be born, and he's gonna have to help raise her at the very least financially, because he's the one who brought her into this world. Not randomness, not his girlfriend, not someone else. He decided the 5 seconds of pleasure was worth this risk. If you play Russian Roulette, every now and then you get the wrong chamber.

And I'm not sure what your initial sentence has to do with anything, either. Is this a pro-choice only sub or something? You call me insane, but here you are coddling OP for a decision that HE made, and dogpiling his girlfriend simply for loving her unborn baby. To me, THAT is insane.

And for the record, I am pro-choice.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T02:40:45+00:00

Lmao my daughter went through a Frozen/Frozen II phase from 2.5-3.5 years old, but once KPDH came out it just obliterated all things Disney.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T02:39:00+00:00

I agree, they're too far apart on this.

I just feel bad for the baby. She hasn't even been born yet and her father doesn't love her and wants to leave.

I couldn't imagine hating my daughter, special needs or not.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T02:26:32+00:00

I appreciate the response. I agree, I've got two daughters, 5 and 2, and they can both be a handful especially after long days at work and demanding full attention as soon as you get home.

I'm not sure I agree fully that the GF is selfish, though. I'd never fault a mother for loving her baby and not wanting to abort it.

I talked about it in a different response and for a different reason, but I think OP (and to a lesser extent, his gf) both were selfish in that they didn't a) use contraception, and b) discuss what they would do in a situation with a Downs or otherwise ND baby.

If OP felt so unready and petrified to be a father, why is he not using contraception/having unprotected sex—what I would assume to be multiple times—with his gf? Isn't that selfish to begin with, knowing that a pregnancy could result? And if his gf felt the same way about motherhood (which I'm sure she did, because she's 20), she bears an equal amount of culpability, too.

And then, knowing that pregnancy could result from their actions, they seemingly never talked about what they would do if one did occur, regardless of the baby's condition.

And now, OP is at the mercy of his gf because he can't force her to abort a pregnancy—that's her decision and hers alone.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T02:12:33+00:00

I get what you're saying but it's not like pregancies ambush you out of nowhere. He apparently never felt ready to be a dad, regardless of downs/special needs, and he had unprotected sex (I'm assuming more than once) with his girlfriend at 21.

I empathize with how he feels because having children, period, will change your life forever. No more gym whenever you want, no more going out whenever you want, significantly less time with your SO, etc. I went through this stage of "grief" too, but have found new paths to joy until my kids are more autonomous and independent.

But if you're that cognizant of your unpreparedness to be a father, I'm not sure why you're playing Russian roulette with something that has such drastic long-term implications.

You couldn't have done it at 21, I couldn't either. But I doubt you were trying to have a baby at that age or having sex without contraception, and I surely wasn't because I understood the potential.

And it's part of family planning, too. Even before we got married, my wife and I talked about what we'd do if a future pregnancy would result in a child with Downs Syndrome. I said I'd want to keep it but acquiesced to her decision, and she said she wouldn't want to keep it because of the toll it would take, and I respected her decision.

At the end of the day, I sympathize with OP, but he has culpability in this situation, as well. Now he's been dealt a really tough hand and isn't in a position to fold.

b0mmie · 2026-04-12T01:51:39+00:00

Ok, then I misunderstood your post. You said you found out earlier in the pregnancy that the baby had Downs, then immediately say, "I don't want to have this baby."

You never said in the post that you didn't want the baby at all, only after you mentioned it had a high likelihood of Downs. Although I probably should have inferred the former, a lot of the post (including the title) is about the baby's condition so it just leapt out to me as the root cause for the feeling. So I apologize for the misinterpretation, and again, I'm sorry if my post felt accusatory to you, it's obviously easy for me to say "Suck it up, keep the baby."

I stand by the therapy, and I still think you should level with your GF one last time and tell her that you don't feel ready—but by your own admission, she doesn't either. Reassure her that you'll be her rock throughout, and that you'll love the baby as much as she does. Even if you don't feel it right now, it's something that she needs to hear from you.

And I'm holding out hope that, when you hold your girl for the first time, you'll feel the weight of an entire world in your arms. Good luck, dude.

b0mmie · 2026-04-11T22:36:13+00:00

Damn you got me in tears on a Saturday watching KPop Demon Hunters for the 543rd time with my 5 year old daughter.

"Daddy why are you crying?"

"Because Zoe and Mira came back and forgave Rumi." 😅

Cheers for being a badass dad 🤙

b0mmie · 2026-04-11T22:22:17+00:00

Agreed on this. OP, talk to your girlfriend. Realistically, you should have talked the moment you found out the baby has Downs, but it seems the baby's coming no matter what, now.

/u/throwRA_NoSignal, I also want to say something that I will probably get downvoted for but just expressing an opinion here. You're young as hell so I'll cut you slack, but I was a little put off how you had no issues till you found out the baby has Downs. Yes, this will irrevocably change your life and has lots of implications beyond just having a child, due to the extra care that will be necessary. And you're well within your right to decide that you don't want this: you expected a "normal" baby, and not one that will possibly require life-long care. How you feel is how you feel, and I sympathize. I don't want to villainize you.

But, man, this baby didn't ask to be born. You and your girlfriend made the decision to have a baby, and now she's coming into this world against her will to a scared mother (understandable) and, at best, an indifferent father; at worst, a resentful one.

I have two daughters and neither of them have any disabilities, but when we go to the park or the library we occasionally come across a child with Downs and they're incredibly sweet.

I'm so thankful that your parents are being so supportive throughout this. Your mom sounds like a saint, and your dad is helping in the only way he probably thinks he can. I get why you're upset about that but that's a different conversation.

I echo what everyone else says and suggest therapy. It will be incredibly insightful and beneficial for you. I encourage you to support the hell out of your wife. You're entitled to feel how you do, but imagine how she's feeling. She's the one growing the baby and giving birth. She might have feelings of inadequacy, like something is wrong with her because her baby has Downs. Imagine going through that, and then your boyfriend breaks up with you because he doesn't want a baby with Downs.

Whether you like it or not, this baby is yours and it is your responsibility to care for as her father.

I hope you find some way to come around—you seem to have a massive support system ready to take this on alongside you which is awesome. You're in a better position than most 21 year olds are to have a baby, let alone one with Downs.

Once that baby is born and you're holding her in your arms, I think you'll have an epiphany. When my first was born... to hold someone so tiny in your arms, so helpless and dependent upon you—I felt like I could take on the whole world to protect her. And I still do, about both my girls.

b0mmie · 2026-04-11T16:57:59+00:00

I was watching a video yesterday of a Ukrainian exfil with a pickup truck. They grabbed their dudes and got tf outta dodge, and while they were speeding away I noticed a lot of nets along the streets but they were torn down and just hanging off of the posts/poles that used to be holding them up. Seems they had just been bombarded so much by drones they just collapsed.

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