Sorry for the lack of posts, but…

The Boss is gone, the swamp is full and alligators are plentiful.

Her daughter completed Vet School a few weeks back and is now at her intro to wearing a uniform as a veternarian. It has been rewarding to be able to pass on the gouge about detailers (or as you Army people call them: Career Management Advisors or some PC thing like that…Flesh Peddlers does it for me..), how to see where the “extra” money is hidden in enroute schooling PCS orders, advice on stuff like “you better hit the road and break in those boots, because some sergeant is gonna have a ball yelling at Officers like you soon,” who to talk to to get storage authorized for a longer period than routine for free, etc, etc. You get the point…

I did hose the new Captain over a little: I showed mom the DoD site with pay scales, complete with BAS/BAQ/VHA lists for her PCS area. I also read the PCS orders and showed mom where another $100/month propay will show up on the LES. Thanks to the Race for the Moon, a small calculator quickly did the math and suddenly, the request for a new laptop wasn’t looked upon so kindly, not for someone instantly making O-3 pay with 4 Yrs/0 Months… 🙂

You know, it has been a few conversations like that that have helped smooth out some mis-understandings and complete (not in a bad way) ignorance of the system. I grew up around the military, as the son of a civil servant who liked to travel. Naturally, most places we lived had significant military presense. I was “schooled” from way back, along with becoming a pin cushion at the Sand Point Naval Air Staion clinic at the ripe old age of 7 years old.

Rasing my hand and putting on the uniform didn’t hold a lot of basic mysteries for me. I now live were there are a very small percentage of military people. The kids don’t have too many places to go to get the day to day simple stuff, which has become second nature to vets, even if it was only a 4 year hitch.

Take a moment to help out that new kid heading off to boot camp, or OCS, or ROTC, or the Academies. Give them a few groups on the real stuff that makes a difference in getting in the groove quickly. Gouge is good…be generous with it.

Thanks to Mudville Gazette Open Posts!