Quote:Like a few of us have been stating over and over...it has become a common issue within the military. The official Air Force stance, at least what they tell the public, now leads them to back away from the policy they adopted in 2005 against religious reference in an official capacity. They are also loosely stating that a retirement is not truly official and at the discretion of the member. While that is partially true, it is very official in nature and if held, CCs must follow specific guidance set forth in Air Force Instruction 36-3203. The other service have similar regs. They will now do what they normally do and rewrite regulations/instructions to better muddy the waters. For those that don't know, the military likes to write regulations that are contradictory and includes a ton of grey area erring towards the side of the service, not the member.

http://www.stripes.com/flag-folding-figh...n-1.416145

So much this. I'm glad to know it's not just an Army thing. They will change what they have to in order for them to "look their best" so to speak, and it's ridiculous. I enjoyed my time in the Army and think it's a good career decision for those who can handle the life but they can be just as absurd with rules and regs as any other employer out there. Working for the government takes a certain mindset, to be able to suck it up and drive on and role with the punches at times no matter how ridiculous things seem.

 

Case in point, if you have ever read Generation Kill and/or seen the HBO miniseries, this is a perfect example of just how ridiculous things get. It was a book written by a Rolling Stone reporter who was embedded with a platoon of First Recon Marines at the start of the invasion of Iraq. Those who he was with said he painted a pretty accurate portrait overall of what went down even though he was a RS reporter, i.e. liberal. HBO picked it up and gave it the Band of Brothers treatment and stayed pretty close to the book from what I remember. A lot of the stuff that happened was just..... I can't even put the military acronym here or I'll get a warning. 

 

The military doesn't always get it right, and yes they even rewrite rules and regs to their advantage, but I couldn't think of a better military to serve in. 

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