lounge needs a military thread

9/11/2011 11:12:01 PM

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=377841&page=1

I made it 5 years ago when I was a silly E4

[Edited on September 11, 2011 at 11:30 PM. Reason : yea]

9/11/2011 11:30:14 PM

Question:

Has anyone tried to renew their tags while out of state? I tried to do it online and it said I needed to get my car inspected. I cannot just drive to NC to get my inspection as I am stationed in Washington state. I do not want WA plates.

9/11/2011 11:34:10 PM

you can do it via mail. i've never done it, though--think of how much a pain in the ass the NCDMV is when you're there in person, and then think about the futility of trying to do it via correspondence, haha.

if you are a NC resident, though, you need to change your state of residence to WA right now, though, so you can stop paying state income taxes.


also, NC might also be ridiculous about requiring a NC "safety" inspection before renewing your tags.

[Edited on September 12, 2011 at 12:53 AM. Reason : ]

9/12/2011 12:52:18 AM

you ain't gonna get nc tags renewed w/o getting your inspection first. been that way for a few years now. where have y'all been?

9/12/2011 1:29:30 AM

You can keep your home of record NC and still pay taxes to whatever state you're currently residing in. In fact, when you file taxes, state of residence can be whatever state you view yourself staying in when you get out of the military or retire.

I've learned this from those tax people.

9/12/2011 3:09:09 AM

My understanding, and what I've seen done in every case, is that once you get stationed in a state that has no state income tax, you change your legal residence (NOT your home of record, which you can't easily change) to that state.

In FL, the requirement was that you obtain a FL driver's license and register to vote in FL.

9/12/2011 11:27:11 AM

^this. Get a plate in that state and its now your legal residence for tax purposes.

9/12/2011 11:53:21 AM

I would call them, can't hurt.

When I was stationed at Polk I was able to get a through the mail renewal on my drivers license, but it required special action by the DMV. They may cut you the same deal on plates.

9/12/2011 12:04:26 PM

i would get the WA plates and claim tax exemption (if you havent already done so).

you can change your home of record when you reenlist.

9/12/2011 2:18:28 PM

btw, it's very important to change your home of record if you're planning on moving to a new area when you separate. Unless you retire, the military will only pay to move you back to your HOR or place of enlistment.

9/12/2011 3:57:04 PM

update:

Got up with someone at the DMV in Raleigh. Guy said you are military, we will give you an exemption. 58 bucks and you're good. All taken care of.

I did find out today that Washington state doesnt charge state taxes.

I would have to get a WA License and WA insurance? Do I have to get WA plates? I dont like the idea of having a front and back plate.

9/12/2011 5:14:04 PM

to not have to pay nc state taxes I would gladly put a tag on the front and rear of the vehicle.

9/12/2011 6:17:49 PM

What happened? NC was not like that before and now it's just bat shit crazy with taxes.

9/14/2011 6:48:47 PM

I got it taken care of. My mom is flying in tomorrow with my tags.

9/14/2011 7:02:59 PM

Quote :

"Not only that, when I made my intention on getting out clear, I was treated like a traitor for abandoning the military."

As I've learned over the past week or so, this isn't limited to the military.

9/14/2011 8:06:40 PM

^

I had an NCO tell me I needed to wait to get my surgery on shoulder for a duty sustained injury because I was potentially taking the surgery spot of someone who deserve it more (ie someone staying in)

9/15/2011 12:42:45 AM

Fuck that noise, if you need to have surgery then have it.

9/15/2011 12:45:29 AM

Oh, I did have the surgery, but seriously, statements like that were pretty fucking common among certain NCOs.

9/15/2011 12:53:21 AM

I laugh at people with that attitude towards people who are getting out. Mostly because I realize that people like that wouldnt survive outside the military. Its people like that, that also motivate me to get out!

9/15/2011 12:58:49 AM

LOL... it's nothing personal... It's a mind game, ok? Granted, my mind games aren't as dark as that, but I do them too. Eventually, you learn as leader that being upfront and straight with people won't always motivate them to do certain things. Being upfront and straight means that the guy you're talking to is going to be the same with you, but you know as well as I, that not all soldiers are upfront and straight, so you have to deal with them in the same way they deal with others... and if they ever judge you for it... well that's just the pot calling the kettle black.

The Golden Rule has never been more applicable... unless the NCO you have doesn't know what the hell they are doing...

[Edited on September 15, 2011 at 3:21 AM. Reason : a]

9/15/2011 3:19:49 AM

On a separate note, has anyone had to deal with the VA for a service connected disability?

9/15/2011 11:58:42 AM

no, but they give you disability based on your disability rating. Some things are very apparent claim for disability and some things are difficult to claim.

One thing is for sure, make sure your medical records are straight and recorded BEFORE you leave the service.

9/16/2011 5:56:28 AM

^ this!

and make sure everything is documented as service related and that you didn't have it before you went into service.

9/16/2011 10:41:02 AM

http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2011-09/naval-aviation-culture-dead

Short answer: yes.

The culture is broken. I hope those motherfuckers are happy now.

9/21/2011 6:26:10 PM

I agree with, and have seen examples of, most every point in that article.

9/21/2011 7:38:27 PM

The military is a drinking culture; however as societal disdain has risen (DUI, PI), the military has tried to act like service members are aren't doing that shit. The result is the zero-tolerance BS you see now, in all facets of operation not just drinking. I think as the wars wind down, and the ticket punchers move out, you may see a change.

9/24/2011 10:30:53 AM

^^^ I've got a former Seahawk driver in my unit and he goes on and on ad naseum about how awesome Naval Aviation is and I have to remind him that he left the Navy in the early 90s and most people I've talked to would agree with that article's assessment.

The Army is the same way, if not worse since Soldiers get drunk in US towns while Marines and Sailors get drunk in foreign towns. A few years after I graduated OBC at Fort Sill, the (devoutly Mormon) schoolhouse commander there put all strip clubs and bars off limits. Sure, you could go to Applebees and have a beer, bur bars were verboten.

Quote :

"Have you thought about reserves or National Guard?"

I made the jump from Active to Guard and I would strongly recommend finding out a lot about the unit you are going to before you switch. The commissioned officers in my unit are significantly weaker than Active officers and their incompetence has been the bane of my existence for this entire deployment. Having to deal with guys who have been E4s for 15 years and think they know it all just because they've been around can be a bit frustrating too.

I also find myself with far less free time to myself once I've completed all the commitments to my day job and to the Guard. Granted, I'm an aviator and RC pilots have the same flight minimums as AD component, so that is different from a lot of other branches, but I went 4 months last summer without a single 2 day weekend. I love flying but that still blows.

I'm eyeballing ways to get back onto AD but, except for a few narrow avenues, the Guard has me by the nuts for another 4 years.

11/3/2011 9:11:53 AM

Quote :

"Having to deal with guys who have been E4s for 15 years "

If you had said nothing but that... I would have understood immediately.

11/4/2011 12:10:42 AM

Quote :

"The military is a drinking culture; however as societal disdain has risen (DUI, PI), the military has tried to act like service members are aren't doing that shit."

I was thinking about that, and I think part of it has to do with the fact that, as fewer and fewer people have been in the Armed Forces, they tend to have less understanding of Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. Instead of a 60 year old WWII vet in the 1980s going, "yeah, I remember when I was a dumbass private like that" you've got 60 year old ex-student-deferrals with no concept of what it is like.

11/21/2011 3:38:30 AM

well the army has been going progressively forward in deglamorizing alcohol. It's not part of a lot of military functions anymore. Then again, it's been like... who gives a rats ass.

I can go drink all night with my commander and we'll keep it cool but share at least some beers and some hilarity, then on Monday morning, He calls me sergeant, I call him sir and we don't talk about those nights.

Need to separate the professional from the personal. Great guy, great boss, good times.

11/27/2011 12:01:33 AM

any of you guys use promotive? i figure it may be useful being that it is xmas time, although it is way to easy to spend money there. and hey, i figure i might as well throw a referral link out there

http://www.promotive.com/invite/andrewm48

/buy an ad

12/2/2011 12:50:59 PM

I bought a shitload of stuff off promotive this past deployment.

Vertx makes some pretty sweet range pants, bought a SOG tomahawk, about to hit up a Suunto heart rate monitor.

12/3/2011 6:35:58 PM

Excellent link, I used it this weekend.


On another note, does anyone somewhat resent being asked how much longer you have until you can get out . . . I get moderately annoyed at the presumption that I don't enjoy what I do, not sure why.

1/8/2012 4:06:12 PM

This is the first time I've read this thread. It's interesting to me because my brother was active duty enlisted in the army from 1991-1997 and was in the 160th Night Stalkers. He mentioned a lot of the same types of things: "all the good people I knew were leaving and the new people sucked" "there got to be too much little day-to-day army bullshit" "budget cuts were changing things."

It seems like this is a natural thing that happens after you've been in for a while. I say that having no personal military experience.

1/8/2012 5:12:41 PM

It's not just the budget cuts that kill the military, it's the piss poor appropriation of funds. A Flag officer will retire to get a cushy private job at Defense Contractor X so that his buddy (an active duty Flag officer) can make sure Contractor X gets the job at an inflated cost.

When you have that combined with stupid programs, ideas, etc that just don't pan out it leaves very little money for the actual mission so you get guys that are supposed to fill multiple billetings because of low manning. This leads to frustration and the desire to get out.

1/8/2012 5:23:54 PM

Quote :

"On another note, does anyone somewhat resent being asked how much longer you have until you can get out . . . I get moderately annoyed at the presumption that I don't enjoy what I do, not sure why."

Yeah I do, because the people that say it do in it such a manner like they're asking how long you have till you're out of prison. Like you got drafted or something and didn't make a choice to be there.

1/10/2012 6:17:32 AM

I haven't gotten that yet... and I've got about 1 1/2 to choose.

1/15/2012 4:04:40 AM

Quote :

"think of how much a pain in the ass the NCDMV is when you're there in person, and then think about the futility of trying to do it via correspondence, haha."

I just noticed this . . .

I had a royal pain in the ass trying to get mine down when I was down at Rucker. Every time I called one office, they shuttled me off to another office from the DMV to the state environmental office to the state air quality office . . . all because Alabama doesn't really give a shit if your car will even run. I finally got the answer I needed after 6 weeks for chasing rabbits when I called one day and a very nice young lady answered the phone, told me to fax the information to her office and she would process it immediately.

I had my tag renewal in the mail that Friday. It turns out that the state was shut down for snow that Monday and she happened to come in to get some work done. Lesson learned? Only call the state when no-one is supposed to be in the office. That'll filter out all the fucktards and leave you with someone who does their job.

1/15/2012 5:01:46 PM

Geez... You'd think people were getting fired due to economy... I wonder if sheer incompetence has something to do with it too.

1/15/2012 5:04:02 PM

I thought you married a wealthy lady, just become a stay at home dad....

1/15/2012 7:40:23 PM

Quote :

"I thought you married a wealthy lady, just become a stay at home dad...."

thats what im going for

1/15/2012 7:45:38 PM

So my DD214 is screwed up, missing a couple ribbons/decs (nothing important, just random bs ones) and my foreign service time is inaccurate by about 2 years. It has my rank correct as well as my campaign ribbons. Should I bother trying to fix it?

1/15/2012 9:43:52 PM

I would. You never know if/when it may be important.

1/16/2012 12:06:50 AM

Yes, make sure your DD214 is as accurate as possible.

1/16/2012 12:11:43 AM

Anyone know off hand how to fix it?

1/16/2012 12:14:31 AM

If you're still on base then go to S1. Otherwise your local VA office might be able to help.

1/16/2012 12:15:57 AM

I'll give them (VA) a call Tuesday. A quick google search says fill out a DD-149 and mail it to...someone?

On a similar note, I'm eligible for a free dental exam since I didn't get one before I got out and my DD-214 reflects this, anyone know how I get that? I plan on calling the VA tuesday for answers, but figured I'll ask here in lieu of being on hold for an hour

1/16/2012 12:19:19 AM

The DD-149 is used to apply for correction of military records. You should go ahead and do it. If you decide to do it later for some reason or another, it will be more difficult. The form has a place on it where you put the date when you noticed the error. It is best to get copies of all supporting documentation together and submit it all at once. You do not want to have to send additional information in later. Decisions can take up to 12 months. So, the sooner you get it sent in the sooner they can issue the DD215 to correct your DD214.

If you have trouble getting through with your question about the dental exam, PM me and I will call and get the info for you.

1/16/2012 11:09:12 PM