New to CSM (dark angels player) so why not just stick to my oath of moment roots to figure out this army, Abaddon with chosen, MOE with 10man legionaries in land raider, Haarken with raptors in DS MOP with the other chosen squad
CSM 2k (1995 Points)
Chaos Space Marines Veterans of the Long War Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Abaddon the Despoiler (295 Points) • Warlord • 1x Drach’nyen 1x Talon of Horus
Haarken Worldclaimer (90 Points) • 1x Helspear 1x Herald’s Talon
Master of Executions (100 Points) • 1x Axe of dismemberment 1x Bolt pistol • Enhancements: Eager for Vengeance
Master of Possession (70 Points) • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Rite of Possession 1x Staff of possession
BATTLELINE
Cultist Mob (50 Points) • 1x Cultist Champion • 1x Autopistol 1x Brutal assault weapon • 9x Chaos Cultist • 9x Autopistol 9x Brutal assault weapon
Legionaries (160 Points) • 1x Aspiring Champion • 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Heavy melee weapon 1x Plasma pistol • 9x Legionary • 9x Bolt pistol 8x Boltgun 9x Close combat weapon 1x Lascannon
Legionaries (80 Points) • 1x Aspiring Champion • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon • 4x Legionary • 4x Bolt pistol 4x Boltgun 4x Close combat weapon
OTHER DATASHEETS
Chaos Land Raider (240 Points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Soulshatter lascannon 1x Twin heavy bolter
Chaos Predator Annihilator (130 Points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Predator twin lascannon
Chaos Terminator Squad (185 Points) • 1x Terminator Champion • 1x Accursed weapon 1x Combi-bolter • 4x Chaos Terminator • 4x Accursed weapon 4x Combi-bolter
Chaos Vindicator (175 Points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-bolter 1x Demolisher cannon 1x Havoc launcher
Chosen (125 Points) • 1x Chosen Champion • 1x Accursed weapon 1x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 1x Chaos Icon • 4x Chosen • 4x Accursed weapon 2x Bolt pistol 2x Boltgun 2x Combi-weapon 2x Plasma pistol
Chosen (125 Points) • 1x Chosen Champion • 1x Accursed weapon 1x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 1x Chaos Icon • 4x Chosen • 4x Accursed weapon 2x Bolt pistol 2x Boltgun 2x Combi-weapon 2x Plasma pistol
Raptors (170 Points) • 1x Raptor Champion • 1x Astartes chainsword 1x Bolt pistol • 9x Raptor • 9x Astartes chainsword 9x Bolt pistol
Exported with App Version: v1.15.0 (38), Data Version: v397

Found this article after doing a quick deep-dive after this post from u/evilez:
https://www.reddit.com/UFOs/comments/1d33m4l/does_anybody_remember_what_podcast_this_was/
"Hello fine ladies and gentlemen! I remember listening to a podcast less than a year ago. The main subject of the podcast was UFOs (I think)... anyways the guest told a story that a congressman or senator wrote a bill that was against the CIA or going to defund the CIA, in the 80's... and shortly thereafter, someone broke into his home, dragged his wife out into the street and stuck a gun in her mouth and told her to kill the bill."
Some light Googling brought up this article about the history of the CIA, the OSS, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan's attempts at defunding the agency in the 90s.
Here's an article about that attempt brought by Moynihan published on the Carnegie Endowment Website on December 20, 2005.
https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2005/12/the-case-for-abolishing-the-cia?lang=en
Here's the New Yorker piece about all of this from October 3rd, 2022.

Spooked -- What’s wrong with the C.I.A.? -- By Amy Davidson Sorkin -- October 3, 2022

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/10/has-the-cia-done-more-harm-than-good
According to the article regarding the resuscitation of the OSS as the CIA immediately following Roswell and the Twining Memo:
"Many of its officers moved straight to the new C.I.A. Most consequentially, perhaps, four future directors of the C.I.A. were O.S.S. veterans: Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey."
Here's the New Yorker article in full:
"On January 4, 1995, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, of New York, introduced a bill called the Abolition of the Central Intelligence Agency Act. It had been a rough stretch for the C.I.A. The year before, Aldrich Ames, a longtime officer, had been convicted of being a longtime mole for Soviet (and then Russian) intelligence. Despite having a reputation among his colleagues as a problem drinker who appeared to live far beyond his means, Ames had been given high-level assignments with access to the names of American sources in the U.S.S.R. When the F.B.I. finally arrested him, he was in the Jaguar he used for commuting to work at Langley; by then, he was responsible for the death of at least ten agents. Moynihan said that the case was such a flamboyant display of incompetence that it might actually be a distraction from “the most fundamental defects of the C.I.A.” He meant that the agency—in what he considered to be its “defining failure”—had both missed the fact that the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse and done little to hasten its end.
He gave a diagnosis for what had gone wrong. “Secrecy keeps mistakes secret,” he said. “Secrecy is a disease. It causes a hardening of the arteries of the mind.” He quoted John le Carré on that point, adding that the best information actually came from the likes of area specialists, diplomats, historians, and journalists. If the C.I.A. was disbanded, he said, the State Department could pick up the intelligence work, and do a better job.
Moynihan was, in some respects, being disingenuous. As he well knew, even if his bill had passed, spies and spying wouldn’t have gone away. The State Department already had its own mini agency, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The Departments of Energy and Treasury each had one, too. The Defense Intelligence Agency conducted clandestine operations; U.S. Army Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, and the Office of Naval Intelligence kept themselves busy as well. The National Security Agency was nearly two decades away from the revelation, by Edward Snowden, a contractor and a former C.I.A. employee, that it had collected information about the phone calls of most Americans, but it was a behemoth even in Moynihan’s time. So was the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There were about a dozen agencies then; now, after reforms that were supposed to streamline things, there are eighteen, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (O.D.N.I.), a sort of meta-C.I.A. that has a couple of thousand employees, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. The Drug Enforcement Administration (which currently has foreign offices in sixty-nine countries) has an Office of National Security Intelligence. Four million people in the United States now have security clearances.
It can be hard to sort out which agencies do what; players in the espionage business aren’t always good with boundaries. Both the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. make use of satellite resources, including commercial ones, but there is a separate agency in charge of a spy-satellite fleet, the National Reconnaissance Office—not to be confused with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which deals with both space-based and ground-level imaging, or with Space Delta 18, the nation’s newest intelligence agency, which is attached to the Space Force. Abolishing the C.I.A. might do nothing more than reconfigure the turf wars.
[NOTE: both Sean Kirkpatrick and David Grusch worked for the NRO and at least Grusch worked for the NGA]
As the senator from New York also knew, a large proportion of the C.I.A.’s resources are devoted not to intelligence gathering but to covert operations, some of which look like military operations. In “Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence” (Princeton)—one of several recent books that coincide with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the agency’s founding—Amy B. Zegart, a political scientist at Stanford, writes that it’s “getting harder to know just where the CIA’s role ends and the military’s role begins.” Yet the agency’s paramilitary pursuits and related covert activities go back decades. They include the botched Bay of Pigs landing, the brutal Phoenix Program in Vietnam, and a long list of assassination attempts, coup plots, the mining of a harbor (with explosive devices the agency built itself), and drone strikes. These operations have very seldom ended well.
Moynihan’s bill had no more luck than another that he introduced the same day, aimed at ending Major League Baseball’s exemption from antitrust laws. In each case, people understood that there was a problem, but both institutions were protected by the sense that there was something essential, and perhaps authentically American, about them, including their very brokenness. A sudden turn of events can convince even the C.I.A.’s most sober critics that the agency will save us all, whether from terrorists or from Donald Trump. But, seventy-five years in, it’s far from clear whether the C.I.A. is good at its job, or what that job is or should be, or how we could get rid of the agency if we wanted to.
How did we end up with the C.I.A.? A familiar explanation is that the shock of Pearl Harbor made the United States realize it needed more spies; the Office of Strategic Services was formed and jumped into action; and, when the war ended, the O.S.S. evolved seamlessly into the C.I.A., ready to go out and win the Cold War. But that narrative isn’t quite right, particularly regarding the relationship between the O.S.S. and the C.I.A.
[NOTE: We know how ended up with the CIA. ROSWELL.]
The United States has always used spies of some sort. George Washington had a discretionary espionage budget for which he didn’t have to turn in receipts. In the early part of the twentieth century, the State Department had an intelligence-analysis unit, along with a cryptography group called the Black Chamber, which operated out of a brownstone in New York’s Murray Hill until it was shut down, in 1929. The Army and the Navy had cryptography and reconnaissance units, too. When the Second World War began, their operations ramped up dramatically, and, as Nicholas Reynolds recounts in “Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence” (Mariner), these units, not the O.S.S., handled most of the code-breaking. The problem became the volume of raw intelligence. The task of making sense of it and of turning it into something that policymakers could use went to an office within the Army’s military-intelligence division (or G-2), which, Reynolds says, produced “the country’s best strategic intelligence” during the war. That office’s work was directed by Alfred McCormack, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Harlan Stone and a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Many of the people he brought in were young corporate lawyers; the theory was that their training in plowing through mountains of documents made them ideal intelligence analysts.
William J. Donovan, who led and largely conceived of the O.S.S., was also a Wall Street lawyer, but one with an aversion to the “legalistic.” What Donovan envisioned was essentially an array of commando units that would operate stealthily and behind enemy lines. In practice, what he tried to build, according to a colleague, was a “private army.” His escapades often risked too much and gained too little. In late 1943, one of his own officers wrote to him that “the set-up has been incredibly wasteful in manpower and, except for a few spotty accomplishments, has been a national failure.” And it had produced “chaos in the field.” Donovan’s nickname was Wild Bill, but his staff called him Seabiscuit, after the thoroughbred, because of his tendency to race around, engaging in what was basically war tourism. In the end, though, the O.S.S. made real contributions, including through its contacts with the French Resistance. But Donovan’s complaint about D Day was that there was “too much planning.” Counterintelligence and strategic thinking bored him, and the O.S.S.’s analysis division was seen as secondary to its operations.
When Harry Truman became President, in April, 1945, he took a look at the O.S.S. and, in September, 1945, abolished it. About two years later, he signed the National Security Act, which established the C.I.A. (and the Department of Defense), but he didn’t want the new agency to be like the group Donovan had run. Instead, it was supposed to do what its name suggested: centralize the intelligence that various agencies gathered, analyze it, and turn it into something the President could use.
[NOTE: I tried doing some research after reading something yesterday about how the NSA was developed in 1952 under Project Sigma to try and decode "alien" communications. If anyone can offer anything, you'd be helping humanity.]
“It was not intended as a ‘Cloak and Dagger’ Outfit!,” Truman later wrote. He also had to deal with public apprehensions that he might create what a Chicago Tribune headline called a “Super Gestapo Agency”—which is why, in its charter, the C.I.A. was banned from domestic spying.
Reynolds’s book is the best of the recent batch, and the most readable. It does not retrofit the history of the O.S.S. around the assumption that the C.I.A. was the inevitable lead postwar intelligence agency. There were other contenders, including a version of McCormack’s office in the State Department—something like what Moynihan wanted. J. Edgar Hoover argued that “World Wide Intelligence” should be turned over to the F.B.I., with military intelligence subservient to him. In some alternative history, he might have pulled that off; by 1943, he was running undercover operations in twenty Latin American countries. And so things could have been worse.
[WHAT UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS WERE WE RUNNING IN LATIN AMERICANS COUNTRIES IN 1943.]
Donovan was an adept publicist, but what mattered most, in the end, was that he was good, or lucky, when it came to hiring people. Despite the “pale, male, and Yale” stereotype, the O.S.S. was somewhat more diverse than other units, and certainly more eclectic. Among its ranks were Ralph Bunche, Herbert Marcuse, and Julia Child. Many of its officers moved straight to the new C.I.A. Most consequentially, perhaps, four future directors of the C.I.A. were O.S.S. veterans: Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey. Each seems to have had glory-day memories of the O.S.S., which is to say that each, in various ways, was afflicted with what a general in Army intelligence called “the screwball Donovan effect.” Casey, who put a picture of Donovan on his wall, said of his old boss, “We all glowed in his presence.” Wild Bill lost the bureaucratic fight but won the personnel and mythology wars.
And, of course, the agency found customers and collaborators in the White House. There was no mention of covert action in the law that chartered the C.I.A., but Presidents—starting with Truman—began using it that way. One of the agency’s first operations involved meddling in the 1948 Italian election, to insure the victory of the Christian Democrats. The subsidies and outright bribery of Italian politicians, some of them on the far, far right, continued into the nineteen-seventies.
Almost from its creation, though, there was a sense that something about the C.I.A. was off. The split between covert action and intelligence gathering and analysis was part of it. The director of the agency was also supposed to be the leader of U.S. intelligence as a whole, but, invariably, the person in the job seemed more invested in preëminence than in coördination. That setup remained in place until the establishment of the O.D.N.I., in 2004, a move that thus far has mostly continued a tradition of trying to deal with the C.I.A.’s dysfunction by setting up ever more agencies, offices, and centers. (The N.S.A. was established, in 1952, in response to a series of cryptography-related failures.) “Legacy of Ashes,” Tim Weiner’s 2008 history of the C.I.A.—and still an invaluable overview—takes its title from a lament by Eisenhower about what he’d be leaving his successors if the “faulty” structure of American intelligence wasn’t changed. Since Weiner’s book was published, the ashes, and the agencies, have only been piling up.
Zegart’s “Spies, Lies, and Algorithms” aims to bring that history to the present. Zegart has served as an adviser to intelligence agencies, and she provides a decent guide to our current bureaucracy. Throughout, her book is clear and well organized—maybe a little too well organized, one feels, after taking in the “Seven Deadly Biases” of intelligence analysis, the “Four Main Adversaries” and the “Five Types of Attack” in the crypto area, and the “Three Words, Four Types” that define covert action. (The covert-action words, incidentally, are “influence,” “acknowledged,” and “abroad.”) Not a few paragraphs read like PowerPoint charts; contradictions are displayed without really being reckoned with. She observes that the balance between “hunting” and “gathering” seems off, but, in her telling, the fact that Presidents of both parties regularly turn to the C.I.A. for paramilitary and other covert tasks constitutes proof that doing so is part of the order of things. The impression she leaves is that if it all goes wrong, it’s because some checklist has been missed. One of the top priorities of U.S. intelligence today, she thinks, should be persuading tech companies to get with the program and help out. She moots the creation of yet another agency, to deal with OSINT—open-source intelligence.
In one chapter, Zegart provides a list of scandals involving spying within the U.S. by various intelligence agencies—notably the N.S.A., the F.B.I., and the C.I.A. “All of these activities violated American law,” she writes. “But that’s the point: domestic laws forbid this kind of surveillance of Americans.” How is that the point, exactly? She depicts the Senate’s 2014 Torture Report, which detailed profound abuses in the C.I.A.’s so-called black sites, as a they-said, the-agency-said, who-knows case. She turns it into a parable about the problems with Congress—suggesting that, although the committee structure may have needed rejiggering, the moral compass of those involved in the program of torture was just fine.
Another new volume, “A Question of Standing: A History of the CIA” (Oxford), by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Edinburgh, offers the insights of a more distant observer. He can be astute about how “false memories” of the O.S.S.’s accomplishments have led the C.I.A. astray. Part of his argument is that the agency has acted as if its influence depended on its standing with whoever is in the White House, thus motivating it to offer Presidents quick fixes that fix nothing. The net effect is to reduce its standing, and that of the U.S., with the public at home and abroad. But Jeffreys-Jones is prone to rash generalizations and pronouncements. He theorizes that, in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush’s national-security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, may have been susceptible to “war mongering” due to her status as “a descendant of slaves,” and that the working-class background of the C.I.A.’s director, George Tenet, made him more likely to vouch for the faulty intelligence on weapons of mass destruction used to justify the war. “Social mobility so often leads to conformity,” warns Jeffreys-Jones, himself the son of an academic historian.
During the Vietnam War, the C.I.A. had discouraging intelligence to offer, and, when successive Administrations didn’t want to hear it, focussed on being helpful by providing those supposedly quick fixes. That meant abetting a coup in 1963, spying on antiwar protesters, and launching the Phoenix Program, an anti-Vietcong campaign marked by torture and by arbitrary executions; in total, more than twenty thousand people were killed under Phoenix’s auspices.
Phoenix was run by William Colby, the O.S.S. alum, who was soon promoted to C.I.A. director. At lower levels, discontent about Vietnam fueled leaks. In December, 1974, the journalist Seymour Hersh told the agency that he was about to publish a story in the Times exposing its domestic spying. Whether in a miscalculation or (as Jeffreys-Jones somewhat breathlessly speculates) as an act of personal expiation, Colby gave Hersh partial confirmation. Amid the scandals and the Congressional hearings that followed, Colby angered some of his colleagues, and Henry Kissinger, by laying bare even more. It emerged that, in 1973, Colby’s predecessor had asked senior agency officials to produce a list of things the C.I.A. had done that might have been unlawful. The resulting document, covering just the prior fifteen years, was known in-house as “The Family Jewels,” and was almost seven hundred pages long.
The question of how much it matters who works at the C.I.A. is a perennial one. The influence of Donovan’s acolytes shows that decisions about whom you recruit can, in a formative period or at a critical juncture, make a big difference. But, once an institutional culture has become entrenched, it can be easier to see how the institution shapes the people within it than vice versa.
“Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage” (Putnam), by Nathalia Holt, comes at the question from a different angle. It’s about five women who worked for the early C.I.A.; three also worked at the O.S.S., and one, Eloise Page, began her career as Bill Donovan’s secretary. Holt is also the author of “Rise of the Rocket Girls,” about women in the early years of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and “The Queens of Animation,” about women at the Walt Disney Company. Her book contains fine material for a beautifully art-directed streaming series, with set pieces in postwar Paris, nineteen-fifties Baghdad, and nineteen-seventies Greece, where Page was the C.I.A.’s first woman station chief. It even has a framing device in the form of the “Petticoat Panel,” a working group of C.I.A. women that convened in 1953 to document their unequal pay and treatment. Holt quotes the transcript of the meeting at which the leadership of the agency summarily rejected their findings. Helms, the future director, says, “It is just nonsense for these gals to come on here and think that the government is going to fall apart because their brains aren’t going to be used to the maximum.” (In 1977, Helms was convicted of lying to Congress about the C.I.A.’s machinations in Chile.) What the book is not, unfortunately, is a coherent history of the C.I.A., of the era it depicts, or even of these women’s work.
Holt’s research does turn up evidence that Jane Burrell, one of her subjects, was the first C.I.A. officer to die in the line of duty, in a plane crash in France, in 1948, a fact that the agency itself apparently missed. Holt ends her book with a call for a star honoring Burrell to be added to the C.I.A.’s memorial wall. Of the hundred and thirty-seven officers represented there, she writes, forty-five died accidentally, the majority in plane crashes, meaning that Burrell’s case would be fairly typical. Burrell was on the return leg of a trip to Brussels, where she’d been sent to talk to war-crimes investigators about a mess the C.I.A. had created by relying on an agent who turned out to have worked with the S.S. and was now in custody. In that respect, too, Burrell, who had personally handled the agent, was typical of the C.I.A. (After Burrell vouched for him, the man was released.) The subject of the C.I.A.’s postwar relations with former Nazis—some of whom, like Reinhard Gehlen, it helped to install in West Germany’s new intelligence service—and with collaborationist émigré groups is, no doubt, a morass. Holt, alas, manages to make the story even more garbled than it has to be. In the end, she basically treats the whole sordid episode as a learning experience for the Gals.
The problem is that the agency doesn’t seem to learn much. Holt credits Mary Hutchison with helping to build a network of émigré Ukrainian nationalists. Beginning in 1949, the agency parachuted some of them (including one whom Hutchison apparently distrusted) behind the Soviet border, where they were quickly captured—and repeated the same procedure for a number of years. “Despite the catastrophe, the Ukraine operation would serve as a template moving forward,” Holt writes. “The C.I.A. had more success with back-to-back operations in Iran and Guatemala, where covert action was able to deftly oust leaders considered undesirable.” It’s odd to describe these coups as deft. One of Zegart’s handy lists is of the “unintended consequences” in Iran: “religious extremism, a revolutionary overthrow, the American hostage crisis, severed ties, regional instability, and today’s rising nuclear dangers.” Guatemala is still dealing with the violent legacy of the coup that the C.I.A. visited upon it. Then there’s the question of the intended consequences, which were, respectively, to elevate a shah and a military regime. Secret wars tend not to be so secret in the country where they take place.
It was, no doubt, frustrating for Hutchison when, a few years later, her colleagues on the Bay of Pigs task force failed to make use of her Spanish-language skills. But are we supposed to think that the whole misconceived enterprise would have gone off without a hitch were it not for the C.I.A.’s misogyny? One of Holt’s minor themes is that women in the C.I.A. were seen as more natural analysts than operatives—with analysis, in turn, seen as less manly, and less valuable, to everybody’s detriment. But she is more intent on showing that these women were also daring. The main point of “Wise Gals” is that it’s cool that women were in the early C.I.A., and therefore that the C.I.A. itself was cooler than we’d realized. Holt celebrates a big promotion Page got that afforded her access to the secret of a safe containing shellfish-derived poison. You don’t have to be pale, male, and Yale to be complicit in a bungled assassination plot, or, for that matter, a program of rendition and torture.
Why do so many books about the C.I.A. have trouble getting their story straight? It can’t just be the secrecy of the work itself, at least with regard to the earlier years, about which much has been declassified. (Much remains under wraps: Moynihan complained that classification created more than six million supposed secrets in 1993; Zegart writes that the number in 2016 was fifty-five million—not all of which can possibly have been critical.) The aura of secrecy, by contrast, probably does distort the judgment of its chroniclers. And the scope of the agency’s work is a challenge: it’s hard to write expertly on places as far-ranging as the Democratic Republic of Congo (where the agency initially planned to poison President Patrice Lumumba’s toothpaste, and instead ended up handing a quarter of a million dollars to Joseph Mobutu, the country’s future dictator, who facilitated the assassination) and Afghanistan (where the C.I.A. has had forty years of illusory gains and worse losses). But the biggest problem may be the agency’s own pattern of self-deception. Holt, for example, sometimes seems to go wrong when, rummaging through the archives, she gives too much credit to contemporaneous internal assessments of an agent’s or an operation’s worth.
In truth, the C.I.A. has had a “defining failure” for every decade of its existence—sometimes more than one. For Moynihan, in the nineteen-nineties, it was the lack of foresight about the Soviet Union; in the two-thousands, it was the phantom weapons of mass destruction, followed by torture and, in still evolving ways, by the drone-based program of targeted killings, with its high toll of civilian deaths. Barack Obama’s rapport with John Brennan, the C.I.A.’s director from 2013 to 2017, seems to have brought him to accept the view that the killing of American citizens abroad was acceptable, if managed prudently. The overuse of the agency on the battlefield is due not to a military-manpower shortage but to wishful thinking about the benefits of secrecy and of a lack of accountability.
It’s difficult to know, at this point, what the C.I.A.’s next defining failure—or, if one tries to be optimistic, its stabilizing success—will be. Donald Trump has had a complicated relationship with the intelligence community—increasingly capitalized and abbreviated to I.C.—which is presently conducting a damage assessment regarding documents with classified markings that he kept at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home. He might, of course, be reëlected, and have the C.I.A.’s tools at his disposal again. If the C.I.A. isn’t the place to turn for an expedient solution to foreign-policy problems, neither is it bound to be the place to turn for a solution to our democracy’s political problems.
“If you ask intelligence officers what misperceptions bother them most, odds are they’ll mention ethics,” Zegart writes. She quotes an official who complains that “people think we’re lawbreakers, we’re human rights violators.” She insists that “officers think about ethics a lot.” She portrays the agency as being filled with hardworking moms and dads who do a great deal of “agonizing.” No doubt she’s right. But if the C.I.A. keeps falling down all the same, something must be tragically amiss in the agency’s structure or culture, or both. All the talk of coups and assassination plots, Zegart worries, distracts people from understanding the C.I.A.’s more basic intelligence mission. In fact, the party most distracted by such activities—and by the military role it has taken on—seems to be the agency itself. ♦
An earlier version of this article misstated the numerical designation of the Space Force unit dedicated to intelligence.
Published in the print edition of the October 10, 2022, issue.

So my situation is I enlisted in the DEPS program with the marines with a ship out date of July 28th, Simple enough right? Well I was supposed to graduate high school before then, however I missed a lot of classes due to my mom being in the hospital and my little sister (15fF) still stuck in a wheelchair, my dad wasn’t present at the time as he fell I’ll then randomly dropped out of the picture- so now It’s gotten to the point where I’m at the end of the year with a lot of absences and 20 credits, where the state of Texas says I need 26 to graduate.
I’m not sure if there’s a way I can go about getting 22 credits, or if I can somehow recoup credits through online courses in the summer, but I want to ship out before the end of august.
To that end I wanna see what I can do to ship out in the marine corps with a GED, as I just can’t stay home at this point- I’m not financially stable and there’s so much back home that’s driving me crazy I don’t want to talk about.
I’d just like to know what can I do to still ship out in the summer?
For context I scored a 94 on the Asvab and I’m gunning for an 02 job, though I signed a DD contract which put me at 02 and 26 fields. Would a GED contract prevent me from earning those jobs? Would warning promotions be harder and could it stop me from shipping?
I have no other disqualifying conditions except I have ADHD but I haven’t taken any meds in years so I was told I could get a waiver for that easily whilst I was in Deps.
I’d like an opinion on this if possible.

Surprising someone with a thoughtful gift is a wonderful way to show you care, but it can be especially challenging when the recipient is upset. When that someone is your father, the stakes feel even higher. Whether he’s angry about something specific or just generally in a bad mood, here are some carefully considered approaches to giving your annoyed father a surprise present.
Understanding the Situation
Recognize the Root Cause
Before you even think about giving the gift, it’s important to understand why your father is upset. Is it work-related stress, a family dispute, or something else entirely? Understanding the root cause of his annoyance can help you choose the right moment and approach to give your gift.
Timing is Everything
Picking the right time is crucial. Avoid moments when he is visibly angry or preoccupied with something stressful. Look for a time when he is more relaxed, even if it’s a brief window. Early morning or late evening when he’s winding down might be more opportune moments.
Thoughtful Presentation
Personalize the Gift
A personalized gift shows that you’ve put thought into it. Whether it’s a customized item with his initials, a framed family photo, or something related to his hobbies, a personal touch can go a long way in breaking through his annoyance.
Write a Heartfelt Note
Accompany your gift with a heartfelt note. Express your feelings and appreciation for him. Sometimes, words can convey what a gift alone cannot. Let him know why you chose this particular gift and how much he means to you.
Approaches to Presenting the Gift
The Direct Approach
If you’re confident that your father will appreciate the gesture regardless of his mood, you might choose to give the gift directly. Approach him calmly and explain that you have something special for him. Your sincerity can help diffuse his annoyance.
The Indirect Approach
Sometimes, it’s better to leave the gift in a place where he will find it on his own. This could be his desk, his favorite chair, or another spot where he spends time. Include a note explaining why you left it there and how you hope it brightens his day.
The Mediator Approach
If you’re worried about the initial reaction, consider enlisting the help of a family member or close friend who can present the gift on your behalf. This third party can help mediate the situation and make it easier for your father to accept the gesture.
Creative Presentation Ideas
Surprise Gift Box
Create a surprise gift box with a small card on the outside saying “Open Me.” Inside, include not just the gift, but also some of his favorite snacks or a small item related to his hobbies. This can turn the act of opening the gift into a positive experience.
Hidden Treasure Hunt
If your father enjoys a bit of fun and mystery, set up a small treasure hunt. Leave clues around the house leading to the final surprise gift. This can add an element of excitement and take his mind off whatever is bothering him.
Memory Lane
Create a photo album or scrapbook filled with cherished family memories and moments that you’ve shared. This can be a powerful way to remind him of the good times and your close bond, making it harder for him to stay annoyed.
Choosing the Right Gift
Hobby-Related Gifts
If your father has a particular hobby or interest, a gift related to it can show that you pay attention to what he enjoys. Whether it’s a new tool for his workshop, a book by his favorite author, or gear for his favorite sport, such gifts can be especially meaningful.
Experience Gifts
Sometimes, the best gifts aren’t things, but experiences. Consider giving your father a gift card to his favorite restaurant, tickets to a game or concert, or a planned day out doing something he loves. Sharing an experience can create lasting memories and improve his mood.
Relaxation Gifts
If your father is stressed, gifts that promote relaxation can be particularly thoughtful. Consider a massage chair pad, a set of luxury bath products, or a subscription to a meditation app. These gifts can help him unwind and feel appreciated.
Handling Rejection
Stay Positive
Even with the best intentions and a well-thought-out gift, there’s a chance your father might not react positively at first. It’s important to stay positive and not take it personally. Understand that his initial reaction may be influenced by his current mood.
Give Him Space
If he needs time to come around, give him space. Let him know that the gift was given with love and that you’re there when he’s ready to talk or express his gratitude. Sometimes, people need a little time to appreciate the gesture.
Follow Up
A follow-up conversation can help smooth things over. After some time has passed, ask if he liked the gift and if it helped improve his mood. This can open up a dialogue and show that you care about his feelings.
Long-Term Relationship Building
Regular Acts of Kindness
Building a strong relationship with your father involves more than just one gift. Regular acts of kindness, whether they’re small gestures or more significant efforts, can help strengthen your bond over time. Show appreciation consistently, not just when he’s upset.
Open Communication
Encourage open communication in your relationship. Let your father know that you’re there to listen and support him. Understanding each other’s perspectives can prevent misunderstandings and reduce the chances of future conflicts.
Spend Quality Time Together
Spend maximum quality time together doing activities that both of you enjoy. Whether it’s a shared hobby, watching movies, or simply having regular meals together, these moments can strengthen your relationship and reduce tensions.
Conclusion
Giving a surprise present to an annoyed father is a delicate task that requires thoughtfulness, timing, and a genuine desire to make him feel better. By understanding the situation, choosing the right approach, and selecting a meaningful gift, you can help turn his mood around and strengthen your bond. Remember, it’s the love and effort behind the gift that truly counts, and over time, these gestures can lead to a closer and more understanding relationship.

Hello! So I have a couple questions because I don’t know anyone with a military background and I was wondering if someone could tell me what the process is like if I were to enlist as reserve? Training, contract, etc. Also is any branch “better” than the other? Or rather what is the difference between army vs airforce vs guard reserve? For comparison purposes. I would like to consider my options. And what are the benefits being offered for someone with my background? Currently I work full time as an RN, I’m not married and I have no children however, I’m not sure I would want to do this as active duty. I’ve always had interest in the military but I’ve never done serious research on it.

My study today was spent defending Jesus as a law-giver and law-keeper. I learned that Jesus' interpretations of justice and mercy were always in existence. We were not made privy to them because of our human frailty, and our hearts hardened by sin. (Matthew 19:8, Mark 3:1-5, Romans 5:13) Even now, the parables reveal things to us that we were not ready to receive when our Lord walked the earth. (John 16:12-15)
We're made in God's image. Every lesson of life we learn, makes us more like Him. As we grow spiritually, we leave behind logic that no longer seems reasonable. (Psalm 17:15, Matthew 10:25, 1 Corinthians 13:11-13)
Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, came to give us a greater, and more glorious law. (Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22, Jeremiah 31:31-34) Mankind was not ready to receive, much less live out, the fullness of the law when it was given on Mt. Sinai. Even now, we are being perfected and learning, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 1 John 2:27) Jesus explained, "I did not come to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill." He also explained how vital it is to keep the whole law. (Matthew 5:17-20)
Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, we are warned not to "turn to the right hand or the left" in keeping the law. (Deuteronomy 5:32, Deuteronomy 17:1, Deuteronomy 28:14, Joshua 23:6) It means not to do more or less than what it says. The way Jesus kept the law (including the Sabbath law) was a correction of the rulers' current practices. Jesus used scripture, creation, and divinely appointed miracles to show people that they were the ones in the wrong.
Most of the laws Jesus explained to us are more easily broken than the law of Moses. We are no longer even allowed to hate, much less murder. (Matthew 5:43-45, Psalm 139:21-22) We can only keep these laws by the power of the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts. God's Holy Spirit makes us people of truth and love.
All Jesus' corrections of the commandments were scorned in his day. Don't you find it strange that Jesus, the Author of Life, is constantly condemned for promoting life and love in the Bible? (Matthew 12:1-24) The Word of God says, "When my father and mother forsake me, the Lord shall take me up." (Psalm 27:10) Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, kept his promises, even on the Sabbath. (John 1:1, John 1:14, Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 40:8) This is the greatest complaint against him among our Jewish brethren today.
In this study, I learned that God has always worked on the Sabbath he gave us. (John 5:17, Mark 2:27) It was God that kept manna from spoiling and breeding worms every Sabbath day in the wilderness. (Exodus 16:24) Jesus used King David, and those who served in the Temple as examples and proof of God's will. We are to serve God and support life every day, including the Sabbath. I finished this study wondering if, "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years," was a literal statement. (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4) I hope that God will be finished making us into our final form when Jesus is ready for his Sabbath rest with his bride. (Psalm 95:6-11, Hebrews 4:1-12, John 3:26-36)
In Jesus' day, it went against Jewish tradition to fast on the Sabbath. Jesus' disciples did not have food to eat. They were not offered a meal by their peers. Instead they accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath because they made produce fit to eat by using their hands to take and rub clean the food God gave them. (Deuteronomy 23:25, Matthew 12:1-7)
I believe the only accusation anyone can have against Jesus is over whether or not he really was one with God. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus spoke the truth of who he was, and it cost his life. (Matthew 26:65, Isaiah 53:12)
I spent quite a bit thinking on this passage, where Jesus was nearly stoned to death before his crucifixion. The scene takes place during Hanukkah, which is also a time when fasting and mourning are not lawful... yet hate and envy seem to be allowed? No wonder we needed a Messiah to change our hearts! (Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34-37)
John 10:22-33 NLT
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father's name. 26 But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one." 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?" 33 They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."
How can anyone save people who can't discern between their friends and their enemies? How could people bent on causing death appreciate the life-supporting logic of Jesus?
Jesus' logic made sense to those who realized that "an eye for an eye" would make the whole world blind. They had learned enough about judgment to see their need for mercy.
It was God's love for mercy that drove him to sacrifice for us, Jews and Gentiles alike. May we show one another mercy, by resisting our judgmental, sinful nature. (Hebrews 12:2-4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hosea 6:1-6)
Acts 17:30-31 NLT

30 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead."

Scripture references:
Jesus' interpretations of justice and mercy were always in existence. We were not made privy to them because of our human frailty, and our hearts hardened by sin.
Matthew 19:8 NLT

8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

Mark 3:1-5 NLT

1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man's hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, "Come and stand in front of everyone." 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" But they wouldn't answer him. 5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

Romans 5:13 NKJV

(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Even now, the parables reveal things to us that we were not ready to receive when our Lord walked the earth.
John 16:12-15 NLT

12 "There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'

We're made in God's image. Every lesson of life we learn, makes us more like Himself. No person stays a child forever.
Psalm 17:15 NKJV

15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

Matthew 10:25

“It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!

1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NKJV

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, came to give us a greater, and more glorious law.
Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV

15 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

Acts 3:22 NKJV

22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV

31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- 32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Mankind was not ready to receive the complete law when it was given on Mt. Sinai. Even now, we are being perfected and learning, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit
**Deuteronomy 18:15-19 NLT - 15 Moses continued, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, 'Don't let us hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.' 17 "Then the LORD said to me, 'What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.
1 John 2:27 NLT - 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
Jesus explained that He didn't come to destroy God's Laws. He also explained how vital it is to keep them.
Matthew 5:17-20

17 "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to complete them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 "But I warn you--unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Scripture warns us not to "turn to the right hand or the left" from following God's commands. This means not to do more or less than what it says.
Deuteronomy 5:32 NLT

32 So Moses told the people, "You must be careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God, following his instructions in every detail.

Deuteronomy 17:1 NLT

1 "Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the LORD your God, for he detests such gifts.

Deuteronomy 28:14 NLT

14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

Joshua 23:6 NLT

6 "So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.

The way Jesus kept the law was a correction of traditions. Jesus used scripture, creation, and miracles to show people the truth.
Under Jesus' glorified laws, we are no longer even allowed to hate, much less murder. We can only keep these laws by the power of the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts.
Matthew 5:43-44 New Covenant: love your enemies, hate their sin.

43 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Psalm 139:21-22 Old Covenant: hate those who hate God.

21 O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you? 22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

Jesus' corrections of the commandments were scorned in his day. The Sabbath corrections were only well-received by those who knew they needed mercy.
Matthew 12:1-24 NLT

1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, "Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath." 3 Jesus said to them, "Haven't you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven't you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' 8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!" 9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?" (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.) 11 And he answered, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. 15 But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, 16 but he warned them not to reveal who he was. 17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him: 18 "Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. 20 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. 21 And his name will be the hope of all the world." 22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn't speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowd was amazed and asked, "Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."

Psalm 27:10

10 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will take care of me.

God keeps his promises, even on the Sabbath.
John 1:1, 14 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Numbers 23:19 NKJV

19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Isaiah 40:8 NKJV

8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

God has always worked on the Sabbath he gave us.
John 5:17 NKJV

17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."

Mark 2:27 NKJV

27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

Exodus 16:24 NKJV

24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.

The rulers of Jesus' day made Sabbath laws that conflicted for the poor. They falsely accused Jesus' followers of harvesting on the Sabbath when they legally took what God provided.
Deuteronomy 23:25 NKJV

25 "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor's standing grain.

Matthew 12:1-7 NKJV

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" 3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 "how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 "Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Some people say Jesus deserved to die for breaking the law. I know that Jesus spoke the truth of who he was, and paid for it with his life.
Matthew 26:62-65 NKJV

62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" 64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!

Isaiah 53:12 NKJV - 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus was nearly stoned to death before his crucifixion. The account takes place during Hanukkah, a time when fasting and mourning are not lawful... yet hate and envy seem to be allowed? We needed a Messiah to change our hearts!
John 10:22-33 NLT

22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father's name. 26 But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one." 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?" 33 They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."

Zechariah 12:10 NKJV

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

John 19:34-37 NKJV

34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

Jesus' logic made sense to those who had seen enough judgment to realize their need for mercy.
God's love drove him to sacrifice for us, Jews and Gentiles alike. May we show one another mercy, by resisting our judgmental, sinful nature.
Hebrews 12:2-4 NKJV

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Hosea 6:1-6 NKJV

1 Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. 4 "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth. 6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Acts 17:30-31 NLT

30 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead."

May God's truth and love permeate our lives and make us more like Him.

My study today was spent defending Jesus as a law-giver and law-keeper. I learned that Jesus' interpretations of justice and mercy were always in existence. We were not made privy to them because of our human frailty, and our hearts hardened by sin. (Matthew 19:8, Mark 3:1-5, Romans 5:13) Even now, the parables reveal things to us that we were not ready to receive when our Lord walked the earth. (John 16:12-15)
We're made in God's image. Every lesson of life we learn, makes us more like Him. As we grow spiritually, we leave behind logic that no longer seems reasonable. (Psalm 17:15, Matthew 10:25, 1 Corinthians 13:11-13)
Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, came to give us a greater, and more glorious law. (Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22, Jeremiah 31:31-34) Mankind was not ready to receive, much less live out, the fullness of the law when it was given on Mt. Sinai. Even now, we are being perfected and learning, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 1 John 2:27) Jesus explained, "I did not come to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill." He also explained how vital it is to keep the whole law. (Matthew 5:17-20)
Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, we are warned not to "turn to the right hand or the left" in keeping the law. (Deuteronomy 5:32, Deuteronomy 17:1, Deuteronomy 28:14, Joshua 23:6) It means not to do more or less than what it says. The way Jesus kept the law (including the Sabbath law) was a correction of the rulers' current practices. Jesus used scripture, creation, and divinely appointed miracles to show people that they were the ones in the wrong.
Most of the laws Jesus explained to us are more easily broken than the law of Moses. We are no longer even allowed to hate, much less murder. (Matthew 5:43-45, Psalm 139:21-22) We can only keep these laws by the power of the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts. God's Holy Spirit makes us people of truth and love.
All Jesus' corrections of the commandments were scorned in his day. Don't you find it strange that Jesus, the Author of Life, is constantly condemned for promoting life and love in the Bible? (Matthew 12:1-24) The Word of God says, "When my father and mother forsake me, the Lord shall take me up." (Psalm 27:10) Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, kept his promises, even on the Sabbath. (John 1:1, John 1:14, Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 40:8) This is the greatest complaint against him among our Jewish brethren today.
In this study, I learned that God has always worked on the Sabbath he gave us. (John 5:17, Mark 2:27) It was God that kept manna from spoiling and breeding worms every Sabbath day in the wilderness. (Exodus 16:24) Jesus used King David, and those who served in the Temple as examples and proof of God's will. We are to serve God and support life every day, including the Sabbath. I finished this study wondering if, "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years," was a literal statement. (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4) I hope that God will be finished making us into our final form when Jesus is ready for his Sabbath rest with his bride. (Psalm 95:6-11, Hebrews 4:1-12, John 3:26-36)
In Jesus' day, it went against Jewish tradition to fast on the Sabbath. Jesus' disciples did not have food to eat. They were not offered a meal by their peers. Instead they accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath because they made produce fit to eat by using their hands to take and rub clean the food God gave them. (Deuteronomy 23:25, Matthew 12:1-7)
I believe the only accusation anyone can have against Jesus is over whether or not he really was one with God. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus spoke the truth of who he was, and it cost his life. (Matthew 26:65, Isaiah 53:12)
I spent quite a bit thinking on this passage, where Jesus was nearly stoned to death before his crucifixion. The scene takes place during Hanukkah, which is also a time when fasting and mourning are not lawful... yet hate and envy seem to be allowed? No wonder we needed a Messiah to change our hearts! (Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34-37)
John 10:22-33 NLT
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father's name. 26 But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one." 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?" 33 They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."
How can anyone save people who can't discern between their friends and their enemies? How could people bent on causing death appreciate the life-supporting logic of Jesus?
Jesus' logic made sense to those who realized that "an eye for an eye" would make the whole world blind. They had learned enough about judgment to see their need for mercy.
It was God's love for mercy that drove him to sacrifice for us, Jews and Gentiles alike. May we show one another mercy, by resisting our judgmental, sinful nature. (Hebrews 12:2-4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hosea 6:1-6)
Acts 17:30-31 NLT

30 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead."

Scripture references:
Jesus' interpretations of justice and mercy were always in existence. We were not made privy to them because of our human frailty, and our hearts hardened by sin.
Matthew 19:8 NLT

8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

Mark 3:1-5 NLT

1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man's hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, "Come and stand in front of everyone." 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" But they wouldn't answer him. 5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

Romans 5:13 NKJV

(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Even now, the parables reveal things to us that we were not ready to receive when our Lord walked the earth.
John 16:12-15 NLT

12 "There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'

We're made in God's image. Every lesson of life we learn, makes us more like Himself. No person stays a child forever.
Psalm 17:15 NKJV

15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

Matthew 10:25

“It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!

1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NKJV

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, came to give us a greater, and more glorious law.
Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV

15 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

Acts 3:22 NKJV

22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV

31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- 32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Mankind was not ready to receive the complete law when it was given on Mt. Sinai. Even now, we are being perfected and learning, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit
**Deuteronomy 18:15-19 NLT - 15 Moses continued, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, 'Don't let us hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.' 17 "Then the LORD said to me, 'What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.
1 John 2:27 NLT - 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
Jesus explained that He didn't come to destroy God's Laws. He also explained how vital it is to keep them.
Matthew 5:17-20

17 "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to complete them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 "But I warn you--unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Scripture warns us not to "turn to the right hand or the left" from following God's commands. This means not to do more or less than what it says.
Deuteronomy 5:32 NLT

32 So Moses told the people, "You must be careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God, following his instructions in every detail.

Deuteronomy 17:1 NLT

1 "Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the LORD your God, for he detests such gifts.

Deuteronomy 28:14 NLT

14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

Joshua 23:6 NLT

6 "So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.

The way Jesus kept the law was a correction of traditions. Jesus used scripture, creation, and miracles to show people the truth.
Under Jesus' glorified laws, we are no longer even allowed to hate, much less murder. We can only keep these laws by the power of the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts.
Matthew 5:43-44 New Covenant: love your enemies, hate their sin.

43 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Psalm 139:21-22 Old Covenant: hate those who hate God.

21 O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you? 22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

Jesus' corrections of the commandments were scorned in his day. The Sabbath corrections were only well-received by those who knew they needed mercy.
Matthew 12:1-24 NLT

1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, "Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath." 3 Jesus said to them, "Haven't you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven't you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' 8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!" 9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?" (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.) 11 And he answered, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. 15 But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, 16 but he warned them not to reveal who he was. 17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him: 18 "Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. 20 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. 21 And his name will be the hope of all the world." 22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn't speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowd was amazed and asked, "Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."

Psalm 27:10

10 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will take care of me.

God keeps his promises, even on the Sabbath.
John 1:1, 14 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Numbers 23:19 NKJV

19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Isaiah 40:8 NKJV

8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

God has always worked on the Sabbath he gave us.
John 5:17 NKJV

17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."

Mark 2:27 NKJV

27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

Exodus 16:24 NKJV

24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.

The rulers of Jesus' day made Sabbath laws that conflicted for the poor. They falsely accused Jesus' followers of harvesting on the Sabbath when they legally took what God provided.
Deuteronomy 23:25 NKJV

25 "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor's standing grain.

Matthew 12:1-7 NKJV

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" 3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 "how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 "Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Some people say Jesus deserved to die for breaking the law. I know that Jesus spoke the truth of who he was, and paid for it with his life.
Matthew 26:62-65 NKJV

62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" 64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!

Isaiah 53:12 NKJV - 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus was nearly stoned to death before his crucifixion. The account takes place during Hanukkah, a time when fasting and mourning are not lawful... yet hate and envy seem to be allowed? We needed a Messiah to change our hearts!
John 10:22-33 NLT

22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father's name. 26 But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one." 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?" 33 They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."

Zechariah 12:10 NKJV

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

John 19:34-37 NKJV

34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

Jesus' logic made sense to those who had seen enough judgment to realize their need for mercy.
God's love drove him to sacrifice for us, Jews and Gentiles alike. May we show one another mercy, by resisting our judgmental, sinful nature.
Hebrews 12:2-4 NKJV

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Hosea 6:1-6 NKJV

1 Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. 4 "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth. 6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Acts 17:30-31 NLT

30 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead."

May God's truth and love permeate our lives and make us more like Him.

I enlisted in the army national guard back in November and had my ship date for July 17th. Things happened, got injured quite a bit. Now I have a broken ankle and get surgery in two weeks and will not be shipping out. I’m overall frustrated with everything and my recruiter’s suggestion was to not get surgery and ship out and go to medical and be on profile for the entire time in basic and ait. Which I don’t want. Or get surgery and loose my mos and go back through meps and go through that whole process again. And the more I sit here the more I feel like the guard is simply not for me and I don’t want to go through that process again. I explained it to some of my friends that are also enlisted and they told me I’m making a huge mistake that will mess up my entire life. Any suggestions?

Hi all. I recently just graduated with a bachelors degree in criminal justice. I am interested in law but would not necessarily rule out looking at other jobs to use with my degree. As of right now I have an interest in going to law school, but I also want to join the military. I have always wanted to join the military (preferably army or marines), and was just wondering what others with possible experience or guidance believe my best path would be. I have been looking into the 2 year enlistment program that the army is offering. I personally liked the job description of a combat engineer. My dad is a veteran, and I want to serve because many people in my family have served, and I would be unhappy if I ended this “tradition”. I want to serve in the military, and would also like time gain the experience in the military to possibly use with military law or something of the sort in the long-term future. I am interested in serving full-time with the two-year program (if this would be a good choice). I also do not know if enlisting or commissioning would be a better option, and I honestly do not know much about the ins and outs of comparing these two options. I would want my work environment to be more “military-like” as opposed to having a desk job. Is this stupid or the wrong way to go about it? Many people are saying that I would be making a mistake since I have a degree and am looking at potentially going to graduate school. I just have always wanted to serve but I feel like I would not be happy with myself if I do not do this at some point. Any advice? Thank you!

Mood
Quito
As Air Commodore Mora marched down the street of Quito with her soldiers behind her, she felt an immense sense of pride. She had made it, her whole life she had studied, worked the hardest, fought the fiercest, and never accepted less than perfection from herself to make her father proud. Now, having earned a military district of her very own, she knew he was smiling down on her.
The cheering of the crowds went unnoticed as with every step a memory flashed through her mind; her crying mother telling her that she wouldn't see her father again, being picked on by the older children in school, beating up the older children in school, long nights of studying, being told her studies had paid off and she could directly commission as an officer without enlisting first, being top of her class in flight class, winning top marks in combat exercises, in recalling her career she almost didn't notice she was approaching the review stand, she rendered her hand salute and almost cried when King Franco II and Supreme Commander Sanchez returned the honor
****
King Franco II smiled as he looked out of the stand, the parade was nice but his real source of joy was the people, his people, happily cheering for his soldiers, sailors, and airmen. His family had built this country, nearly fifty years ago his grandfather, Franco Peron, had managed to save the tumultuous country by establishing himself as king and creating a society based around order and defense. He knew his country was not perfect, the letters he received with complaints made this clear, but no country is and these letters were very infrequent and his trusted Supreme Commander, Ministers, and General-Governors were always quick to remedy the problems.
Franco II had been king nearly all of his life but still these little moments when he was out among the people were what he looked forward to most of all. His life was comfortable and he had every luxury he could possibly imagine. He still sometimes felt like he was missing something, he wanted to go out amongst the people, to celebrate with them but his advisors would not allow him, security they said. Franco II didn't understand this concern, his people loved him, but still Supreme Commander Sanchez was his most trusted advisor and close friend, surely he was just being over cautious, still he would wait.
Government of the Holy Kingdom of Argentina
King: King Franco II
The Monarch of the Holy Kingdom of Argentina is charged with ensuring the continued stability and Prosperity of the nation. His primary advisor in these tasks is the Supreme Commander.
Supreme Commander: Supreme Commander Pablo Sanchez
The Supreme Commander is the primary advisor of the King, the commander of the Armed Forces, responsible for all matters related to security, and delegated the day to day running of the country. The Supreme Commander appoints new ministers and general-governors of the various regions. Supreme Commanders are selected from among the Council of General-Governors by its membership and elevated from their service branch rank to that of Supreme Commander and return to their previous service branch rank upon resignation or replacement.
Ministers
Minister for Foreign Affairs: General Jose Cruz
Minister for Economy and Development: Air Marshall Pedro Sanchez
Minister for Interior and Culture: General Gloria Torrado
Minister for Security and Intelligence: General Luis Garcia
Ministers oversee vast bureaucracies staffed by military, former military, and civilian specialists in a number of fields.
Council of General-Governors

Title	Name	Rank
General-Governor Of Argentina	Frederico Custodio	Field Marshall
General-Governor Of Bolivia	Monte Zamora	General
General-Governor of Brazil	Esteban Marta	Field Marshall
General-Governor of Chile	Melosia Peguero	Sea Lord
General-Governor of Colombia	Amora Estopinal	General
General-Governor of Ecuador	Esperanza Mora	Air Commodore
General-Governor of Guianas	Roberto Espiritu	Air Chief Marshal
General-Governor of Paraguay	Erasmo Almas	Field Marshall
General-Governor of Peru	Juan Villafane	Air Chief Marshal
General-Governor of Uruguay	Cristobal Escudero	Field Marshal
General-Governor of Venezuela	Juan Cristobal	General
Supreme Commander	Pablo Sanchez	Supreme Commander

^{Names in italics represent regions currently illegally occupied}
General-Governors oversee the local administration of their regions with the aid of various local ministers, are the joint commanders of all military forces within their region, and select the Supreme Commander. They are selected from amongst the ranks of senior officers by the Supreme Commander with the advice of the current General-Governors. General-Governors of occupied territories do have a command and are generally former Supreme Commanders or otherwise respected and long-serving servicemembers.
Vital Statistics

Statistic	Quantity	Unit
Population	215,423,163	People
GDP(nominal)	14,727,244,903,912	USD
GDP per Capita	68,364	USD
Government	1	Absolute Monarchy
Royal Residence	1, in Lima	National Palace
Military Headquarters	11	National, Branch, and Regional
National Religion	Universal	Catholicism
National Goal	Total	Destruction of Brazil

Buenos Aires
Juan rushed down the dark street, avoiding street lights and listening for a patrol, his day of picking garbage for valuables had ended up being pointless, another night of sleep for dinner he thought as he rushed to his small apartment, the silence of the night
"Alto!"
The shout cut through the fog, Juan jumped, startled, looking back he saw two soldiers, he ran as fast as he could, with his lack of military fitness the soldiers caught him no problem, as on grabbed him and he heard the cocking of a gun, Juan stopped, raising his hands in the air, and turned to face the two men. He squinted through the darkness to try to distinguish their rank insignia, one was a private but he couldn't remember the other insignia, he wished he had paid attention in military science in school, if he had passed he would have a real job, a happy life.
"Military ID?" asked the man with the unrecognizable rank
Juan stood up straight and stammered "yo no tengo master specialist"
The men laughed lightly for a moment before the alleged specialist responded "Sergeant. Por que no?"
"Yo s-s-s-soy pacifist," whimpered Juan.
"Is that Portuguese?" The sergeant asked the private "I've never heard s-s-soy or pacifist in Spanish before."
"Maybe he's a spy," said the private, "he speaks such strange words and doesn't even know ranks, every Argentinian 3rd grader knows Army ranks!"
"I'm not a spy, I'm a pacifist! I don't believe in violence" Juan said in the strongest voice he could muster.
"How can you call yourself an Argentinian? a Catholic?" demanded the private
As Juan started to give a long, boring, pointless answer the sergeant interrupted "Maybe he's a sailor? They don't fight either. Can you swim?"
"I'm not a sailor, I'm can't swim, Jesus says to--"
Without waiting for a response that would only upset him more, the sergeant grabbed one of Juan's arms, following his lead the private did the same they began to walk him to the edge of the port.
"No! Por Favor!" Juan begged, screamed, and struggled, but the far stronger military men had no problem forcing him over the edge of the pier. Down he dropped into the dark water, "Brazilian, spy, pacifist... I don't know what is worst" laughed the sergeant.
Juan struggled to keep his head above water but as his head slipped under for the last time there was only one thought in his mind
"I wish I had paid attention in military science"

I don’t know how many follow or have read the books in this sub, but this is one of the most interesting things I’ve found after reading Rhaenyra being called “Maegor with tits” by the Green opposition.
This is all from the Internet. A click away from any phone.

Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought.
An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre.
Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as the Socratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.
There were four charges that were brought against Socrates. They were that he argued the weaker claim over the stronger claim, that he argue the physical over the metaphysical, that he was against the gods and that he was corrupting the youth.
Socrates was found guilty by a jury of 501 Athenians and was sentenced to drink a deadly poison, named hemlock. Many scholars have argued that the charges against Socrates were politically motivated and have understood his trial and conviction as an attack upon freedom of speech and an indictment of democracy.

The Last Moments of Maegor’s Reign, losing against a misogynistic society led by petty and ambitious nobles and against the Faith of the Seven, a religion that enforces gender roles and inequality between men and women.

By 48 AC Maegor's tyranny could no longer be borne by the realm. At Storm's End Aenys I's last surviving son, Prince Jaehaerys, put forth his claim to the throne, supported by Lord Rogar Baratheon, who was named Protector of the Realm and Hand of the King by the prince. Jaehaerys had two dragons on his side, his own mount Vermithor and his sister's mount Silverwing, against Maegor's Balerion. Grand Maester Benifer secretly escaped on a ship to Pentos. Ser Olyver Bracken and Ser Raymund Mallery, two of Maegor's Kingsguard, also deserted him. Lord Daemon Velaryon, the admiral of the royal fleet, and brother of Alyssa Velaryon was the first of the great lords to forsake Maegor, taking the royal fleet with him, and many other lords followed his example. The great houses of Lannister, Tyrell, and Arryn came out against Maegor and in the riverlands House Tully gave support to Septon Moon and Ser Joffrey Doggett, the leaders of the Poor Fellows.
Maegor called his banners in response, but few answered, giving Maegor an army of barely four thousand soldiers. Despite this, Maegor refused to surrender. At the end of the war council, Maegor remained behind alone in the throne room to brood. He was found dead the next morning by Queen Elinor, seated on the Iron Throne with his robes covered in blood and his wrists slashed. A spike from one of the swords on the throne behind him was impaled through the back of his neck. How Maegor died was never discovered. Some say he had been killed by Queen Elinor, others that he had been killed by a knight of his own Kingsguard. Yet others say he had been killed by a builder who escaped the slaughter three years earlier and desired revenge, and many believe that Maegor had been killed by the throne itself. Others believe that Maegor killed himself by opening his wrists on the blades of the Iron Throne.

The fate of Maegor’s loyal supporters.

Owen Bush was a knight of the Kingsguard during the reign of King Maegor I Targaryen. When Maegor suspected Queen Tyanna of the Tower of betrayal, he had Owen and his sworn brother, Ser Maladon Moore, bring her to the dungeons, where she confessed.
Maegor the Cruel gradually lost political support, resulting in a rival threat in his nephew, Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen. Two of his Kingsguard defected to Jaehaerys, and Maegor lost a third guard when Owen was found dead outside a brothel in 48 AC, his member cut off and stuffed in his mouth.
Maladon Moore was a knight from House Moore and a member of the Kingsguard during the reign of King Maegor I Targaryen. When the king suspected Queen Tyanna of the Tower of treason, Maladon and Owen were dispatched to seize the queen and deliver her to the dungeons, where Maegor was said to have slain her while Maladon was present.
After Maegor died in 48 AC and his nephew King Jaehaerys I Targaryen took the Iron Throne, Maladon was accused of being involved in the death of Queen Ceryse, allegedly restraining her when Ser Owen accidentally killed her. Maladon denied these charges, insisting she died of "shrewishness". While the charges were never proven, Maladon lost his head for his involvement in Queen Tyanna's death, of which he was guilty.
When Queen Tyanna of the Tower admitted to poisoning Queen Alys Harroway during her pregnancy, Tyanna promised the same would happen to Elinor. Tyanna was proven correct when Elinor gave birth to a stillborn abomination said to have been born eyeless and with small wings. Elinor was one of the two wives who survived the king, the other being Queen Rhaena Targaryen.
After King Maegor's death, Lord Daemon Velaryon proposed that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen marry Queen Elinor to reconcile with Maegor's supporters when a bride was being considered for the king, but nothing came of the proposal. After Jaehaerys's ascent, Elinor departed King's Landing dressed in the robes of a penitent. She visited her two elder sons at the Eyrie and Highgarden before retiring to her father's seat at the Three Towers with her youngest son.
Later, King Jaehaerys commanded Elinor to go forth and spread his Doctrine of Exceptionalism to the peoples of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as the goodness of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, becoming one of the Seven Speakers. Her queenly raiment became shabbier and more threadbare each day, and she eventually gave up all claims to nobility, becoming Mother Elinor at the great motherhouse in Lannisport.
House Rosby was one of the first houses to yield peacefully to House Targaryen during Aegon's Conquest, surrendering to Rhaenys Targaryen and Meraxes. The Rosby lands became part of the crownlands surrounding King's Landing. Lord Jon Rosby was named Warden of the Sands by King Aegon I Targaryen during the First Dornish War, but Jon was killed in the Defenestration of Sunspear.
Ser Rayford Rosby defended King Maegor I Targaryen during his trial of seven, but Rayford was slain during the fighting. Lord Rosby remained loyal to the king even as his downfall became certain, and was one of the last to see the king alive. In the chaos that followed the discovery of Maegor's body, Lord Rosby drank a cup of hemlock to join his king in death. His young son received forgiveness from King Jaehaerys I Targaryen at Dragonstone.
In 47 AC, King Maegor was dealing with the issue of his lack of heirs, despite having already married three women. Lord Daemon Velaryon, Rhaena's uncle and a member of Maegor's small council, advised Maegor to wed Rhaena, to unite their claims and prevent new rebellions, and to gain her as a hostage against any potential schemes of Dowager Queen Alyssa. Later that year, Maegor summoned Rhaena to King's Landing, and she did not defy him. At the Red Keep, Maegor married Rhaena in a triple ceremony, together with Elinor Costayne and Jeyne Westerling. As the three women were all widows of men Maegor had killed, they became known as the "Black Brides". Immediately following the wedding, Maegor declared Rhaena's elder daughter Aerea as his heir until he had sons of his own, while disinheriting Rhaena's youngest brother Jaehaerys in the same decree.
After Maegor’s death, discussion arose as to who had the better claim to the Iron Throne. There were some who suggested that Rhaena's claim, as the firstborn child of King Aenys I Targaryen and Queen Alyssa Velaryon, was the strongest. Her gender argued against her, however, and Rhaena herself had come to loathe King's Landing and its court. The claims of her daughters were argued for as well. If Maegor was to be considered a usurper, the true king would have been Rhaena's first husband, Aegon, who had claimed the throne before Jaehaerys had. As such, some suggested the throne should pass to one of his daughters by Rhaena, Aerea or Rhaella.
As time passed, Rhaena began to resent the fact that her claim to the throne, and that of her daughters, had been dismissed in favor of Jaehaerys, to whom she began to refer as "my baby brother". In addition, Rhaena begrudged her mother for promoting Jaehaerys's claim over her own.
Ser Walton Towers was granted Harrenhal by King Maegor I Targaryen in 44 AC after winning a melee in Lord Harroway's Town, but Walton died soon after from his wounds. Harrenhal thus passed to his eldest son. Lord Jordan remained loyal to Maegor during the king's wars, and Lord Rosby were the last to see the king alive before Maegor's death on the Iron Throne. Along with Lords Darklyn and Staunton, Jordan yielded the Red Keep to Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Rhaena, and Princess Alysanne Targaryen. The three lords were sent to the black cells, but were eventually pardoned by King Jaehaerys I after surrendering some of their land.
Jordan eventually died of a chest congestion. Harrenhal passed to Jordan's last surviving son, Maegor Towers, as Jordan's older sons had all died fighting for King Maegor.
Maegor's father, Lord Jordan Towers, was one of the last lords of the Seven Kingdoms who remained loyal to King Maegor I Targaryen. All of Jordan's sons died fighting in the king's wars, with the exception of young Maegor.
Maegor became Lord Towers after the death of his father due to a chest congestion. When King Jaehaerys I Targaryen began a royal progress in 53 AC to celebrate the new year, his first stop was to see the new Lord of Harrenhal, then only nine years of age.
Maegor was an impoverished lord who resided in the Tower of Dread with only a cook and three men-at-arms. Since the rest of Harrenhal was empty, King Jaehaerys settled his widowed sister, Rhaena Targaryen, in the Widow's Tower in 56 AC. Maegor and Rhaena eventually became friends, and she cared for his servants after Maegor passed away in 61 AC. Harrenhal was granted to House Strong after Rhaena passed away in 73 AC.
Maegor was sickly and poor.
Socrates speaks his last words to Crito: "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt". Asclepius was the Greek god for curing illness, and it is likely that Socrates' last words were implied to mean that death is the cure, and freedom of the soul from the body.
Asclepius, Greco-Roman god of medicine, son of Apollo (god of healing, truth, and prophecy) and the mortal princess Coronis. The Centaur Chiron taught him the art of healing. At length Zeus (the king of the gods), afraid that Asclepius might render all men immortal, slew him with a thunderbolt.
Zeus saw Asclepius & his medical skills as a threat to the eternal division between humanity & the gods. Asclepius met a tragic end when he was killed by a thunderbolt thrown by Zeus.
Socrates ultimately does not fear death because of his innocence, he believes that death is not to be feared because it may be one of the greatest blessings of the soul.
The reasons for Socrates not escaping when he had the chance the night prior; are made explicit before the Laws make their speech. Because escape defies the will of the Athenians, it requires stealth and bribery, shameful practices that are unjustified in the current situation.
Socrates Feared Democracies Would Elect Demagogues. The term arose in Greece in the fifth century BCE, right around Socrates's time, and is often used negatively. Socrates himself was extremely worried that the democratic format would give rise to a demagoguery.
Demagogues are political leaders who seek support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.
Modern demagogues include Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Joseph McCarthy, all of whom built mass followings the same way that Cleon did: by exciting the passions of the masses against customs and norms of the aristocratic elites of their times.

This is why Maegor and Socrates died. They challenged authority and lost. They were silenced by the powerful lords and by the elected council of Athens whom were given power by the common people.
They were “heroes”.
“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.
George R.R. Martin.
King Maegor had married all his brides and gave them Queenly status.

Jeyne was married to Lord Alyn Tarbeck. She was widowed when Alyn died during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye in 43 AC. Jeyne was pregnant when her husband died, and gave him a posthumous son a few months later.

In 47 AC, Jeyne was being courted by a younger son of Lyman Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock, when King Maegor I Targaryen sent for her to be wed to him. She married Maegor in a ceremony at King's Landing, along with Lady Elinor Costayne and Princess Rhaena Targaryen. As all three women had been widowed due to Maegor, they became known as the "Black Brides". The stories told of the wedding night claim that Jeyne was given a fertility potion by Queen Tyanna of the Tower, and either drank it, or threw it in Tyanna's face. After the wedding, Queen Jeyne's son was confirmed as Lord of Tarbeck Hall, and sent to Casterly Rock to be raised as a ward of Lyman Lannister.

Lord Edwell Celtigar, the Hand of the King, announced half a year after the wedding that Queen Jeyne was pregnant, and Queen Elinor's pregnancy was announced shortly afterwards. Maegor, joyful, showered both his wives with gifts and honors, and granted new lands and offices to their fathers, brothers, and uncles. Unfortunately, Jeyne's labor began three months early, and she gave birth to a stillborn child, monstrous, lacking arms and legs but possessing both male and female genitalia. Jeyne herself died soon after.
In 48 AC, Tyanna of the Tower confessed to having poisoned Jeyne's child in the womb.

Tinfoil theory.
At the end of Maegor’s reign, House Baratheon, Lannister, Tyrell and Arryn rebelled against Maegor. Maegor had sent the young son of his fourth wife (Jeyne Westerling) as a ward(hostage) to House Lannister. Then he sent the two eldest sons of his sixth wife (Elinor Costayne) as wards(hostages) to House Tyrell and House Arryn. When the great houses rebelled, Lord Daemon Velaryon, the brother of Alyssa Velaryon, escaped with the Royal Fleet and left King’s Landing.
Maegor called his banners to fight against the threat but they were too few and Elinor Costayne begged him to surrender to save her two eldest sons and the son of the long deceased Jeyne Westerling. He banned her from the council room and refused to surrender and his lords and him and Rhaena made battle plans well into the night. At the end of the war council, Maegor dismissed everyone and stayed alone in the throne room to brood.
The following morning, Elinor Costayne found the King dead, his wrists slashed and throat impaled on the back of the Iron Throne.
This is all hidden in the awoiaf wiki.
George is a better writer than we’ve given him credit for.
Please feel free to discuss and ask questions.

Hello, bere with me this will be long...
Backstory with my family; I (25y M) , grew up as a military brat with one brother and mom and dad. My dad was always gone during the first 10 years of my life in Iraq and Afganistan. Year long deployments usually , and when he returned home it felt really awkward and we didn't talk... just kind of avoided each other. I never felt like he really liked me or my brother all that much. I made me unsure of how to act around older men for a long time... But from the perspective of a kid I thought him and my mom were like any other parents.
I didn't realize how him being in and out of my life effected me and my brother until we were older and out of the house. Constant moving to duty stations, starting over every 3 years, and an emotionally absent father can take a toll on a young boy. As a result I became very socially awkward and with guys and especially girls. To the point were I physically COULD NOT look people in the eye. Perhaps because whem my father would get mad he would stare at me in silence with a look that pierced my soul. It took years to hold eye contact with anyone (any body else have that problem?). My family is very awkward as well , my mom usually spoke for most of us in social settings , I guess my brother and I took after my dad's quiet demenour.
For me my childhood was best spent AWAY from home , usually crashing and my friends houses for days on end. If I was home , we all just kind of did our own thing in separate room... never ate together, at most watched TV sometimes. I spend most of my time locked away in my room once school got out or until I saw my friends again, same with my brother
Fast forward to turning 18, I enlisted in the army and got out of the house. Strangley enough my dad cried he day I left for basic , I guess I wasn't expecting much more than a goodbye hug. But that lead us to start talking more often than I ever had as a kid , which was kind of cool and also a little strange to get used to. After about 2-3 years of developing the relationship we never had , one day I get a phone call...
I thought it would be like our normal "how's life"? Or monthly chit chat we started doing. But OH NO... this wasn't that. He calls me and were talking like normal and he says "I'm glad we could bond over the past few years, I'm sorry I wasn't always there for you". I said "me too. And don't worry I've delta with it already". And he said "glad to hear , now can I trust you with a secret?". Didn't know what to expect... I said sure you can. "I'm going to divorce your mom in a few months , once you and your brother moved out it wasn't the same and I'm not happy".
Just silence... , what the he'll can a 20 year old guy who just recently formed a bond with his dad supposed to say??
To wrap the story up , no.. I didn't tell my mom. I was frozen with keeping his trust and our bond , but also not wanting to be the one to tell her. In the end , she found out I knew the two months before it happened and hasn't been the same since. She used to the mom who was the life of the party , but now she cries almost evryday since it happend (4 years now). She said she hated me for the first year . So that severed me and hers relationship and were just now starting to recover from it. I barely speak to my dad now , maybe 1 or twice every 3-5 months... that bond when down the fucking gutter in the end lol..
On top of that , my dad moved back to his hometown where all his family lives. He told my brother he slept with like 12 women from dating apps (cool flex I guess) and is now engaged to a single mom with 2 teenagers. Apparently they go on vacations and hangout more than we ever did as a kid. Most days I really don't give a shit about any of it , but there's days (especially bad ones) were I consumes my thoughts and I feel like a piece of shit for never telling my mom and how his new family gets the dad I always wanted him to be. On top of if i had told her about the coming divorce, how things might have ended better. My dad also wants me to come visit and meet his new family eventually... fuck that... I'd be happy to never see them ever. So if you made it though all of that , AITA for telling my mom his plan?

My boyfriend (21m) and I (20f) have been together for almost two years. Recently he has decided to enlist in the u.s. army. It sounds fine but I have significant trauma from past experiences with the army. But the army changes people. I’m worried he’s going to come back and be a completely different person from whom I recognize. Being in the army or even wanting to be in the army is a serious dealbreaker for me because of the amount of stuff I’ve went through before. I want to make it work as he’s the only one I’ve truly cared for and I want to make it work. I just feel like it’s going to end and I’m going to be crushed. Any advice would be helpful. I can also answer any questions you may have

This is all from the Internet. A click away from any phone.

Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought.
An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre.
Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as the Socratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.
There were four charges that were brought against Socrates. They were that he argued the weaker claim over the stronger claim, that he argue the physical over the metaphysical, that he was against the gods and that he was corrupting the youth.
Socrates was found guilty by a jury of 501 Athenians and was sentenced to drink a deadly poison, named hemlock. Many scholars have argued that the charges against Socrates were politically motivated and have understood his trial and conviction as an attack upon freedom of speech and an indictment of democracy.

The Last Moments of Maegor’s Reign, losing against a misogynistic society led by petty and ambitious nobles and against the Faith of the Seven, a religion that enforces gender roles and inequality between men and women.

By 48 AC Maegor's tyranny could no longer be borne by the realm. At Storm's End Aenys I's last surviving son, Prince Jaehaerys, put forth his claim to the throne, supported by Lord Rogar Baratheon, who was named Protector of the Realm and Hand of the King by the prince. Jaehaerys had two dragons on his side, his own mount Vermithor and his sister's mount Silverwing, against Maegor's Balerion. Learning of her brother's claim, Queen Rhaena Targaryen fled from Maegor in the night, escaping on her dragon Dreamfyre with the Valyrian blade Blackfyre, and her daughter, Princess Aerea, adding a third dragon to her brothers cause. Lord Edwell Celtigar resigned his position as Hand and returned to Claw Isle and Grand Maester Benifer secretly escaped on a ship to Pentos. Ser Olyver Bracken and Ser Raymund Mallery, two of Maegor's Kingsguard, also deserted him. Lord Daemon Velaryon, the admiral of the royal fleet, was the first of the great lords to forsake Maegor, taking the royal fleet with him, and many other lords followed his example. The great houses of Lannister, Tyrell, and Arryn came out against Maegor and in the riverlands House Tully gave support to Septon Moon and Ser Joffrey Doggett, the leaders of the Poor Fellows.
Maegor called his banners in response, but few answered, giving Maegor an army of barely four thousand soldiers. Despite this, Maegor refused to surrender. At the end of the war council, Maegor remained behind alone in the throne room to brood. He was found dead the next morning by Queen Elinor, seated on the Iron Throne with his robes covered in blood and his wrists slashed. A spike from one of the swords on the throne behind him was impaled through the back of his neck. How Maegor died was never discovered. Some say he had been killed by Queen Elinor, others that he had been killed by a knight of his own Kingsguard. Yet others say he had been killed by a builder who escaped the slaughter three years earlier and desired revenge, and many believe that Maegor had been killed by the throne itself. Others believe that Maegor killed himself by opening his wrists on the blades of the Iron Throne.

The fate of Maegor’s loyal supporters.

Owen Bush was a knight of the Kingsguard during the reign of King Maegor I Targaryen. When Maegor suspected Queen Tyanna of the Tower of betrayal, he had Owen and his sworn brother, Ser Maladon Moore, bring her to the dungeons, where she confessed.
Maegor the Cruel gradually lost political support, resulting in a rival threat in his nephew, Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen. Two of his Kingsguard defected to Jaehaerys, and Maegor lost a third guard when Owen was found dead outside a brothel in 48 AC, his member cut off and stuffed in his mouth.
Maladon Moore was a knight from House Moore and a member of the Kingsguard during the reign of King Maegor I Targaryen. When the king suspected Queen Tyanna of the Tower of treason, Maladon and Owen were dispatched to seize the queen and deliver her to the dungeons, where Maegor was said to have slain her while Maladon was present.
After Maegor died in 48 AC and his nephew King Jaehaerys I Targaryen took the Iron Throne, Maladon was accused of being involved in the death of Queen Ceryse, allegedly restraining her when Ser Owen accidentally killed her. Maladon denied these charges, insisting she died of "shrewishness". While the charges were never proven, Maladon lost his head for his involvement in Queen Tyanna's death, of which he was guilty.
When Queen Tyanna of the Tower admitted to poisoning Queen Alys Harroway during her pregnancy, Tyanna promised the same would happen to Elinor. Tyanna was proven correct when Elinor gave birth to a stillborn abomination said to have been born eyeless and with small wings. Elinor was one of the two wives who survived the king, the other being Queen Rhaena Targaryen.
After King Maegor's death, Lord Daemon Velaryon proposed that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen marry Queen Elinor to reconcile with Maegor's supporters when a bride was being considered for the king, but nothing came of the proposal. After Jaehaerys's ascent, Elinor departed King's Landing dressed in the robes of a penitent. She visited her two elder sons at the Eyrie and Highgarden before retiring to her father's seat at the Three Towers with her youngest son.
Later, King Jaehaerys commanded Elinor to go forth and spread his Doctrine of Exceptionalism to the peoples of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as the goodness of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, becoming one of the Seven Speakers. Her queenly raiment became shabbier and more threadbare each day, and she eventually gave up all claims to nobility, becoming Mother Elinor at the great motherhouse in Lannisport.
House Rosby was one of the first houses to yield peacefully to House Targaryen during Aegon's Conquest, surrendering to Rhaenys Targaryen and Meraxes. The Rosby lands became part of the crownlands surrounding King's Landing. Lord Jon Rosby was named Warden of the Sands by King Aegon I Targaryen during the First Dornish War, but Jon was killed in the Defenestration of Sunspear.
Ser Rayford Rosby defended King Maegor I Targaryen during his trial of seven, but Rayford was slain during the fighting. Lord Rosby remained loyal to the king even as his downfall became certain, and was one of the last to see the king alive. In the chaos that followed the discovery of Maegor's body, Lord Rosby drank a cup of hemlock to join his king in death. His young son received forgiveness from King Jaehaerys I Targaryen at Dragonstone.
In 47 AC, King Maegor was dealing with the issue of his lack of heirs, despite having already married three women. Lord Daemon Velaryon, Rhaena's uncle and a member of Maegor's small council, advised Maegor to wed Rhaena, to unite their claims and prevent new rebellions, and to gain her as a hostage against any potential schemes of Dowager Queen Alyssa. Later that year, Maegor summoned Rhaena to King's Landing, and she did not defy him. At the Red Keep, Maegor married Rhaena in a triple ceremony, together with Elinor Costayne and Jeyne Westerling. As the three women were all widows of men Maegor had killed, they became known as the "Black Brides". Immediately following the wedding, Maegor declared Rhaena's elder daughter Aerea as his heir until he had sons of his own, while disinheriting Rhaena's youngest brother Jaehaerys in the same decree.
After Maegor’s death, discussion arose as to who had the better claim to the Iron Throne. There were some who suggested that Rhaena's claim, as the firstborn child of King Aenys I Targaryen and Queen Alyssa Velaryon, was the strongest. Her gender argued against her, however, and Rhaena herself had come to loathe King's Landing and its court. The claims of her daughters were argued for as well. If Maegor was to be considered a usurper, the true king would have been Rhaena's first husband, Aegon, who had claimed the throne before Jaehaerys had. As such, some suggested the throne should pass to one of his daughters by Rhaena, Aerea or Rhaella.
As time passed, Rhaena began to resent the fact that her claim to the throne, and that of her daughters, had been dismissed in favor of Jaehaerys, to whom she began to refer as "my baby brother". In addition, Rhaena begrudged her mother for promoting Jaehaerys's claim over her own.
Ser Walton Towers was granted Harrenhal by King Maegor I Targaryen in 44 AC after winning a melee in Lord Harroway's Town, but Walton died soon after from his wounds. Harrenhal thus passed to his eldest son. Lord Jordan remained loyal to Maegor during the king's wars, and Lord Rosby were the last to see the king alive before Maegor's death on the Iron Throne. Along with Lords Darklyn and Staunton, Jordan yielded the Red Keep to Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Rhaena, and Princess Alysanne Targaryen. The three lords were sent to the black cells, but were eventually pardoned by King Jaehaerys I after surrendering some of their land.
Jordan eventually died of a chest congestion. Harrenhal passed to Jordan's last surviving son, Maegor Towers, as Jordan's older sons had all died fighting for King Maegor.
Maegor's father, Lord Jordan Towers, was one of the last lords of the Seven Kingdoms who remained loyal to King Maegor I Targaryen. All of Jordan's sons died fighting in the king's wars, with the exception of young Maegor.
Maegor became Lord Towers after the death of his father due to a chest congestion. When King Jaehaerys I Targaryen began a royal progress in 53 AC to celebrate the new year, his first stop was to see the new Lord of Harrenhal, then only nine years of age.
Maegor was an impoverished lord who resided in the Tower of Dread with only a cook and three men-at-arms. Since the rest of Harrenhal was empty, King Jaehaerys settled his widowed sister, Rhaena Targaryen, in the Widow's Tower in 56 AC. Maegor and Rhaena eventually became friends, and she cared for his servants after Maegor passed away in 61 AC. Harrenhal was granted to House Strong after Rhaena passed away in 73 AC.
Maegor was sickly and poor.
Socrates speaks his last words to Crito: "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt". Asclepius was the Greek god for curing illness, and it is likely that Socrates' last words were implied to mean that death is the cure, and freedom of the soul from the body.
Asclepius, Greco-Roman god of medicine, son of Apollo (god of healing, truth, and prophecy) and the mortal princess Coronis. The Centaur Chiron taught him the art of healing. At length Zeus (the king of the gods), afraid that Asclepius might render all men immortal, slew him with a thunderbolt.
Zeus saw Asclepius & his medical skills as a threat to the eternal division between humanity & the gods. Asclepius met a tragic end when he was killed by a thunderbolt thrown by Zeus.
Socrates ultimately does not fear death because of his innocence, he believes that death is not feared because it may be one of the greatest blessings of the soul.
The reasons for Socrates not escaping when he had the chance the night prior; are made explicit before the Laws make their speech. Because escape defies the will of the Athenians, it requires stealth and bribery, shameful practices that are unjustified in the current situation.
Socrates Feared Democracies Would Elect Demagogues. The term arose in Greece in the fifth century BCE, right around Socrates's time, and is often used negatively. Socrates himself was extremely worried that the democratic format would give rise to a demagoguery.
Demagogues are political leaders who seek support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.
Modern demagogues include Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Joseph McCarthy, all of whom built mass followings the same way that Cleon did: by exciting the passions of the masses against customs and norms of the aristocratic elites of their times.

This is why Maegor and Socrates died. They challenged authority and lost. They were silenced by the powerful lords and by the elected council of Athens whom were given power by the common people.
They were “heroes”.
“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.
George R.R. Martin.
King Maegor had married all his brides and gave them Queenly status.

Jeyne was married to Lord Alyn Tarbeck. She was widowed when Alyn died during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye in 43 AC. Jeyne was pregnant when her husband died, and gave him a posthumous son a few months later.

In 47 AC, Jeyne was being courted by a younger son of Lyman Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock, when King Maegor I Targaryen sent for her to be wed to him. She married Maegor in a ceremony at King's Landing, along with Lady Elinor Costayne and Princess Rhaena Targaryen. As all three women had been widowed due to Maegor, they became known as the "Black Brides". The stories told of the wedding night claim that Jeyne was given a fertility potion by Queen Tyanna of the Tower, and either drank it, or threw it in Tyanna's face. After the wedding, Queen Jeyne's son was confirmed as Lord of Tarbeck Hall, and sent to Casterly Rock to be raised as a ward of Lyman Lannister.

Lord Edwell Celtigar, the Hand of the King, announced half a year after the wedding that Queen Jeyne was pregnant, and Queen Elinor's pregnancy was announced shortly afterwards. Maegor, joyful, showered both his wives with gifts and honors, and granted new lands and offices to their fathers, brothers, and uncles. Unfortunately, Jeyne's labor began three months early, and she gave birth to a stillborn child, monstrous, lacking arms and legs but possessing both male and female genitalia. Jeyne herself died soon after.

In 48 AC, Tyanna of the Tower confessed to having poisoned Jeyne's child in the womb.
This is all on the awoiaf wiki.
George is a better writer than we’ve given him credit for.
At the end of Maegor’s reign, House Baratheon, Lannister, Tyrell and Arryn rebelled against Maegor. Maegor had sent the young son of his fourth wife (Jeyne Westerling) as a ward(hostage) to House Lannister. Then he sent the two eldest sons of his sixth wife (Elinor Costayne) as wards(hostages) to House Tyrell and House Arryn. When the great houses rebelled, Lord Daemon Velaryon, the brother of Alyssa Velaryon, escaped with the Royal Fleet and left King’s Landing.
Maegor called his banners to fight against the threat but they were too few and Elinor Costayne begged him to surrender to save her two eldest sons and the son of the long deceased Jeyne Westerling. He banned her from the council room and refused to surrender and his lords and him and Rhaena made battle plans well into the night.
At the end of the war council, Maegor dismissed everyone and stayed alone in the throne room to brood.
The following morning, Elinor Costayne found the King dead, his wrists slashed and throat impaled on the back of the Iron Throne.
Lord Rosby was one of the last people to see his king alive and drank a cup of hemlock to follow him in death.
Lord Jordan Towers named his last son Maegor and died of a chest conjection after Jaehaerys’ ascension to the Throne.
Elinor Costayne left King’s Landing while donning the clothes of a penitent and eventually renounced all claims to nobility and became the owner of a Motherhouse in Lannisport.
Ser Maladon Moore was executed for his involvement in Queen Tyanna’s death whom had confessed to poisoning King Maegor’s wives.
Queen Rhaena was expelled from King’s Landing and her claim to the Throne was ignored because of her gender.
Ser Owen Bush was found dead in a brothel with his cock stuffed in his mouth.

If I go through college and use the 4 year Army ROTC scholarship, but then decide that I want to enlist instead, would that be allowed? Or would I have to still go officer?
I've heard that some people were able to do that, and was wondering if I could have that option.
(Not going to argue about how that would be a dumb decision, I'm just wondering if it's possible)

I'm only typing this because I believe there are people at Arrowhead who care about this game and want to make it great. I've spent countless hrs playing this game and I really do enjoy it (currently lvl 110, only saying this as support that I play the game A LOT) but it's starting to feel like fewer players are online. I like that this game is designed to be hard, but can we focus on perhaps making the game more enjoyable through removing nagging frustrations? These are a few of my humble suggestions:

• Can we have an option to disregard dropped primaries in game? I know what loadout I want and those dastardly primaries always get in the way when I am trying to pick up samples and gear. And because you throw a wall of bugs/bots at us every second, I've had several frustrating moment occurs when I'm trying to sweep in and make a play. Never have I picked up a primary and thought, "Gee, this is exactly what I wanted" and the only problem this has ever fixed is if a mate accidentally spawned in with the wrong loadout but that rarely happens and they will lose the primary they swapped after death and since primaries aren't marked on the map, they won't be able to find them again if they die.
• Can we improve the entire mechanic of picking things up? There are several times I am opening up a resource pod and there's a weapon inside that I want and the "pickup item option" will not be available. This will result in several minutes of coming at the pod from every angle and sometimes I'll have to stand beside it and look at it from such an awkward angle that the option will momentarily prompt for a split-second. Well you can imagine how problematic this can be when you are getting spammed with an exorbitant amount of bugs/bots from everywhere!
• Mystery holes? What are they and why do we even have them? I can't tell you how many times I'm being swarmed by packs of hunters and I jump to the side and inevitably fall into one of these mystery holes. Ya know, they are the ones you can throw a grenade into and cause an explosion which is basically useless (I only see them on bugs, I believe). And to make things worse any items you had before falling into this hole are now lost. If you are going to keep having these silly mystery holes, then can you at least give us some way to retrieve our gear? Let's throw a grenade in there and have it erupt, throwing all the items out or something. Falling into a hole when you have super samples is a feeling that I would not even wish upon my greatest enemies!
• Can we give priority to STIMming? This game has about a dozen wonky mechanics that need to be fixed, but in the meantime, you could ameliorate a ton of disgruntled players by allowing the STIM command to take priority. How many times have we had to endure an awkward falling sequence because we dove and landed on a rock or steep hill? Typically we are diving because we are trying to evade some bug or bot that is running us down and the 5-second falling sequence without the ability to STIM means we are toast. And look, this prolonged falling sequence triggers at the worst possible times, plus with all of the funky physics of the game, I will try to climb over a fallen bile titan and suddenly be flung across the map. Allow me to the ability to STIM while this is happening and I will be much more willing to forgive these problems because I can use the invulnerability of the STIM to negate the fall, therefore saving me a lot of hassle trying to run back across the map to get my gear when I have been wrongfully jettisoned across the map.
• Why is it when I call in a stratagem and/or resupply, the game thinks I want to climb these things instead of picking them up? Spoiler alert: I never want to climb on these vital components of the game that bugs/bots somehow instinctively swarm to even in the 6-13 seconds it takes for me to call them in. I need these vital resources to complete my mission, not to climb upon them so that I may appear taller like some failed politician.
• Who at Arrowhead thought that the exploding smoke pellets would add value to the game by hurling players when they explode? Well, they were wrong. Too often this creates scenarios where (again) you throw an army of bots at us and as we are trying to evade the sheer volume of crimson laser blasts hurling in our direction, but one shot strikes an unseen smoke pellet behind us and hurls us directly into a moshpit of Hulks and Devastators. The smoke pellets should be there to give us cover and obstruct the ridiculously broken mechanic of bot vision, but in most cases, it just serves as another random obstacle to frustrate us.
• Again, let's talk about Bot vision because there are absolutely not enough people at Arrowhead playing this game. I enjoy running bots more than bugs, but I can't tell you how many times I get completely bombarded with a litany of lasers from the other side of the map, piercing darkness, rain, and about every other obstacle that obstructs my vision but somehow not theirs. I believe blizzards are the only thing that stops their insanely broken vision. No amount of skill can save you on open terrain with any combination of 3 bots that are Heavy and Rocket Devastators. They always seem to sync their fire in such a way that you are completely pinned down and can't move. If you are going to give them such powerful weapons, then at least limit their vision.
• AA defense effect is horrible and should be removed from the game immediately! I've posted on this topic before so I'll curtail this rant, but people play this game because of the stratagems and limiting them as some lazy way of making the mission different only adds frustration and does not promote fun. If you added a new difficult level that gave Helldivers no weapons, no stratagems, and no armor and just asked them to run around and get massacred, how many people do you think would play it? Sure there would be a dozen streamers playing it to somehow win their parents approval or get likes, but no one would play it because it wouldn't be fun. I will say it again, we should have more stratagem slots. This past weekend, when he had free access to the new emancipator exosuit, that was fun and it felt like Helldiving! Even if I had to farm a ridiculous amount of samples to unlock a useful stratagem like orbital precision strike or eagle airstrike as always a part of my loadout at no stratagem cost to me, I would bust my butt to get that because it would add value and fun to the game, which should be the primary goal as you look at ways to bring players back.
• Can we have a use for medals and samples? I've unlocked everything in the game and I have no use for medals, samples, and requisition slips. I don't care what it is, but can I use them on something so that when I pick them up in-game it actually means something? Even if donating your samples and medals and slips give an infinitesimal amount of progress toward our major order, or we can use those in-game to replenish our exosuits, just give me a reason to collect these because being maxed out at 250 medals, 500 samples, 250 rare samples, 100 super samples, and 50k in requisition slips absolutely chokes the fun out of this game for me.
• Can someone revisit the hitboxes of Bile Titans and Hulks when it comes to Hellpods? Again, a unique feature of this game that brings enjoyment to the players is our ability to call in fallen comrades as weapons. Putting yourself in peril to help out your mates is the ultimate experience but I find it very inconsistent when trying to hit Hulks and especially Bile Titans. There are so many times that I put myself in harm's way only to somehow not kill a hulk/titan even though I went directly through them and I know that I am significantly more advanced than most casual players of the game. If people don't feel like they can contribute, they won't play. Especially since the pods are often restricted in mobility (and someone pls remind me why I unlocked power steering again because it doesn't work), please just do something that favors the helldiver for once and I promise people will like it!
• Speaking of chargers, they seem to have a new flair built in that ragdolls you after you have dodged them. I don't know if it is their legs widening after they stop but it creates many a scenario where you successfully run around a charger when it charges, it immediately stops, and then the side sweeping action of the legs when it stops ragdolls and mostly kills you. This didn't use to happen but it is very annoying to successfully dodge a charger and then still have it kill you.
• Suggestion: can we get the exosuits to eject us like the cockpit of a fighter jet when they explode? I don't run the mechs that often, partially because you can have this powerful yet bulky suit that can do everything right but somehow get destroyed by a charger that pops up behind you. But if that suit were to eject me and allow me to prolong my life, that would be a clutch feature for the game. But once again...and I know this is going to sound foreign...but it would create fun gameplay and awesome clips that people would post and it would inevitably influence new players to play the game. Have the cockpit eject into a hellpod that you can use to exact revenge on the menacing charger that destroyed your mech!

So I know this is a lot and thank you for reading. I'm passionate about this game because I really want to see it grow. Every time there's are updates, inevitably there will be grumbling about change, but I have seen a lot of my mates fall off this game. I personally like the challenge of the game but it does feel like every update obsesses on taking advantages away from the helldiver and that same isn't applied to the enemy. When two or three of these advantages occur, you take it in stride but when you play a good game and still get relentlessly hit with these unfair glitches it just turns players off. Anyway, I am rooting for you all because I love the game, but like all toxic relationships, you can only love something for so long as it continues to mistreat you. Keep the game hard but please remember that it should be fun first!

The Canadian Armed Forces do not have a monopoly on foolish leaders, sociopaths, tyrants, or people lacking emotional intelligence. They can be found leading large companies, directing schools, heading major hospitals, and even within the church, basically wherever they can climb the ranks. The Canadian Armed Forces are not exempt from this problem of toxic leadership. I would even argue that the Canadian Armed Forces, due to their strict and highly regimented nature, provide an environment conducive to toxic leadership.
For the first time on this blog, I took the time to interview several people in order to write this article. The process was easy: everyone wants to talk about their experience under a toxic leader. Through these testimonials, I tried to better define what is meant by toxic leadership. I also wondered what causes a leader to become toxic. Finally, I attempt to provide some solutions to eliminate this scourge.
Defining Toxic Leadership
Leadership can be defined as the art of influencing human behavior. There are formal leaders (those who have received « authority ») and informal leaders (those who have charisma or a natural gift for influencing others). There are positive leaders and negative leaders.
« A positive leadership attempts to maintain a friendly and warm working climate within the team in order to bring out the best in each of its members. Negative leadership, on the other hand, influences the members of his team through judgment, negativity, opposition, or disinterest in the project. » (source: HEC).
At one end of the positive-negative leadership spectrum is the toxic leader. What distinguishes them from negative leaders? In my interpretation, a leader becomes toxic when the unhealthy influence they have on their personnel has severe impacts outside the workplace.
The Dark Triad
Psychologists have identified three traits that make up the sinister « dark triad of toxicity »: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
The Narcissist
Narcissists need to see themselves as the best in everything. They don’t seek to elevate the people around them; they only seek to elevate themselves by belittling others. Despite this, they are convinced that they are good leaders, that they are humane. To convince themselves of their benevolence, they sometimes say good words to their staff. They do it because they keep what I call « the book of the perfect platoon commander » closely guarded. They have learned what they should say – « take care of yourself, seek a good work-life balance, it’s not a sprint but a marathon, you need to think about yourself too, etc. » – but they are fundamentally incapable of applying these fine principles. They are tyrants, their true nature remains. Narcissists don’t end up in therapy: they send others to therapy.
The intelligent toxic leader know that they need certain key people to achieve their goals: these are often their inner circle. To ensure their loyalty, they charm them, cajole them, they treat them like royalty. But these people can never leave the organization because they are responsible for the tyrant’s success. In the long run, they too must forget their dreams and ambitions. This is commonly called a « punishment for success ».
The Machiavellian
The Machiavellian leader – an adjective derived from Niccolò Machiavelli’s work « The Prince, » published in the 16th century – uses multiple stratagems to achieve their ends. For them, the end justifies the means entirely. They will not hesitate to regularly throw their colleagues or subordinates under the bus. Why do they target their peers and subordinates? Because they pose direct threats to their power; these are the men and women who could want to take their place or, worse, snatch away the position they covet at the higher level.
Machiavellian leaders tend to assess the people they work with very quickly. Like on the Tinder app, they quickly swipe left or right depending on whether they judge a person competent or incompetent, or rather, useful or detrimental to their goals. And they don’t spare those who swipe the wrong way. Some will even go to great lengths to ensure that those they consider weak or detrimental are not considered for promotion. They won’t hesitate to call their superiors about them to ensure they don’t have an equal chance compared to their peers. They engage in a real undermining, which is defined by actions carried out more or less secretly to destroy someone.
The Psychopath
« The personality traits associated with psychopathy include a lack of empathy or remorse, antisocial behavior, and being manipulative and unstable. It is important to note that there is a distinction between psychopathic traits and being a psychopath, commonly associated with criminal violence » (Source: MindTools). There are psychopaths in all armies, but generally, we do a pretty good job of identifying and eliminating them. Nevertheless, some leaders exhibit the personality traits mentioned above. When we think of a psychopathic leader in uniform, we generally think of a sergeant yelling in a soldier’s face, but it’s much more insidious.The toxic leader denigrates, belittles, plays on emotions, and erodes trust slowly. They don’t just shout once; they consistently rant. For those who constantly receive their insults, it’s death by a thousand cuts.
Beyond the character traits associated with the dark triad, there are other characteristics of toxic leaders. For example, some toxic leaders hide a significant lack of self-confidence under their tyrant facade. To mask their fear, they constantly yell, without realizing that yelling is losing one’s composure, a sign of weakness. They believe they are protected by a shell, but in reality, they wear a tactical vest filled with mines and grenades that sow chaos in the ranks. It’s not an armor they wear; it’s an arsenal.
In light of what we’ve seen, it appears that toxic leaders need to feel better than others, they need attention, they need to belittle, or even crush. In short, they don’t just break careers; they go as far as breaking lives.
Impact on the Organization
A toxic leader gets results quickly, which reinforces their belief that they are using the right approach. In the short term, the technique works, that’s undeniable. However, in the long run, they cause immeasurable damage, leaving behind what I call a « trail of destruction »: shattered careers, personnel in therapy, individuals completely jaded and cynical, and sometimes shattered lives. To quote a friend who is an officer, a toxic leader:

Another friend wrote to me that, during his deployment in Afghanistan, his superior « tested and broke his resilience. » These are strong words, coming from a senior officer in combat arms. We are taught everywhere to create an environment where subordinates can develop. Nevertheless, there are still leaders who seek to demolish those they deem lacking the necessary skills to lead.
Toxic leaders eventually establish an unhealthy climate within their team, a climate of « every man for himself. » This leads subordinates to experience anxiety and, sometimes, depression. Peers no longer take the time to inquire about the mental health of their teammates because there is no team spirit. Sometimes, there isn’t even a team. Like the leader who is the chief intimidator, some subordinates become bullies themselves. You quickly choose your side: the strong weigh down on the weak. Everyone says to themselves, « I won’t let myself be trampled on anymore; now I’ll be the one trampling on others. »
Why Are Toxic Leaders Sometimes Rewarded?
Why, knowing all this, are toxic leaders rewarded? Firstly, part of the blame must be attributed to the regimental system (or its equivalent in other services/environments). Regiments quickly identify their favorites, the chosen ones, those who will rise to the rank of general. These individuals are identified very early, even during training phases. Too often, those selected are the ones who speak loudly, have attitude, a big ego, in short, those considered to have « the look for the job. » Then, the regiment pushes them forward and, if necessary, sweeps their small missteps under the rug. What happens if the regiment is wrong? It still pushes forward because admitting you’re wrong is worse than pulling a candidate out of the race.
Toxic leaders are also pushed upward because they are generally effective, very effective even. With a toxic leader, you walk on eggshells. You strive to give 100% of yourself, especially at the beginning, because you want to avoid the ground suddenly disappearing from beneath you. But these leaders are not just demanding; you can be demanding without being a jerk. No, they don’t just demand; they break their personnel to a point of no return. They squeeze the fruit until the seeds and core are crushed.
In the long run, the entire organization loses out. Firstly, the toxic leader exhausts their personnel. Secondly, without necessarily rebelling openly, subordinates increasingly keep their good ideas to themselves. A good leader fosters ideas, while a bad leader believes they have a monopoly on good ideas. Over time, their staff engage in what I call « passive resistance. » Some will even go as far as sabotaging a project if they believe they can do so with impunity. The toxic leader thinks they are getting the most juice possible when, in reality, they are shooting themselves in the foot. Instead of seeing effectiveness in toxic leadership, the chain of command should realize that tyrants don’t think about common success; they only envision their own success. The institutional problem with this approach is that another leader will succeed the toxic one and inherit a completely drained and demoralized unit.
I am aware that much more is demanded of military personnel than civilians; in fact, it’s one of the few areas of employment where the ultimate sacrifice can be asked. I am also aware that troops must be toughened to prepare them for the brutality of combat, a concept called toughening. I believe strongly in toughening. It’s an essential process for creating fighters. Troops are toughened through training and exercises; the leadership model exercised during these trainings and exercises is necessarily tough, severe, and intense. But it’s possible to be very demanding without falling into abuse, denigration, and harassment. The line between severe authority and abuse is thin, but it exists, and one must always be aware of it. You can be feared and respected as a leader without being hated (for those who appreciate the teachings of Machiavelli).
How to Prevent Toxic Leadership
How can toxic leadership be prevented? Here is a non-exhaustive list:
Initially, supervisors who become aware of a toxic leader under their command must show managerial courage and take the necessary steps to restore the climate.
Conduct more psychometric assessments and 360-degree evaluations where subordinates are asked to assess leadership.
Assign caring mentors to promising officers and non-commissioned officers to help them develop suitable leadership styles.
Conduct organizational climate surveys to obtain employees’ perceptions and perspectives. These surveys address attitudes and concerns that help the organization work with employees to bring about positive changes.
Invest in personal development (soft skills) and raise awareness among leaders about emotional intelligence.
Bring in leaders from outside at various ranks (for example, a business leader becomes a lieutenant colonel), an idea from retired American General Stanley McChrystal that remains quite controversial but is worth considering.
Integrate unions into the ranks, as done by the police and some foreign armies, to prevent abuses and avoid rash decisions. Another controversial but certainly effective proposal.
Conclusion
When I went through my infantry officer training, I was instilled with this simple phrase: Mission First, Men Second. Toxic leaders only apply the first half of this motto. Fortunately, mindsets have changed over time. We now say Mission First, People Always. One of the undisputed « truths » of special forces is that « humans are more important than equipment. » We realized that humans were central to the enterprise and that they could break like a piece of equipment.
Once, narcissism was sometimes confused with efficiency and arrogance with leadership. Fortunately, times are changing. Trainings on diversity, harassment, and concerns about integrating LGBTQ+ members, for example, are being provided. In recent years, people have also become more outspoken. There is less hesitation to escalate abuses of toxic leaders to higher levels of command.
The more these leaders are eliminated, at all levels, the fewer bad role models are offered to junior officers and non-commissioned officers. There is hope.

The life and biography of Abe Simpson is a running gag filled with extreme contradictions and improbable stories, but I tried to piece it all together (mainly using material before Season 10) to create a timeline that accounts for Abe’s senility and simply realism. Leave your thoughts down below!
——-
1912: Born in New York City to Orville Simpson and Yuma Hickman Simpson. Abe recalls being born and raised in another country but this probably didn’t happen, so we will just assume his father was an immigrant from either England or Canada (In my opinion Canada is more likely). I choose 1912 as the Simpsons is set around 1995, and if he is 83 years old in the early seasons, he was likely born in 1912.
c. 1920: The Simpsons relocate to Springfield, Oregon (Although never confirmed to be Oregon, we can use many context clues to make an educated guess it’s Oregon).
c. 1927-1931: Abe attends and graduates from high school. He mentions being a professional athlete but this probably isn’t true, but I will assume he was on high school sports teams: namely the Baseball, Track & Field, and wrestling teams
c. Great Depression: Abe likely works many odd jobs during the depression. I will give him some benefit of the doubt to some of his claims as he very well was a shoe shiner, a night watchman, a farmer, and traveling salesman in this era.
c. Great Depression: Although he definitely exaggerates his athletic exploits, I will say he was an amateur wrestler with the stage name “Glamorous Godfrey”. He also claims to have been a Javelin thrower in the 1936 Olympics, but he was likely just a good javelin thrower who participated in exhibitions and traveling circuses, and at best may have received a U.S Olympic Team tryout invitation.
c. 1938: My guess is that Abe enlisted in the United States Army before WW2. This could explain why he was a Master Sergeant (highest enlisted U.S. Army rank in WW2).
c. WW2: Abe rises to the rank of Master Sergeant in “Flying Hellfish” unit of the U.S Army. He served in the European Theatre: probably from D-Day in June 1944 to VE Day in May 1945. As a Master Sergeant, he was the highest enlisted rank and would have served as a battalion senior NCO.
1944: The Night before the D-Day invasions, he conceived a daughter named Abbey with a British woman named Edwina.
1945- Early 1950’s: As he had no legitimate family and mentions serving in other branches of the military, my guess is he decided to remain in the U.S. Military following WW2. This could’ve involved him maybe switching services from the Army to the Navy or Air Force, giving his claim of serving in all branches some credibility. For whatever reason, he would end up being discharged from the Military in the early 1950’s. My personal theory for his discharge, which would have ended his goal of a potential career, was that he was a member of the Communist Party of America.
c. 1950’s: Using his G.I bill benefits, Abe bought land in Springfield and went into thr Farming Business.
1955: Abe would marry Mona Simpson, the mother of Homer Simpson.
1956: This year he would have two children. Herbert Simpson Powell: an illegitimate child of a carnival worker he had a one night stand with, and Homer Simpson: his legitimate son with Mona Simpson.
c. 1968: With the Vietnam War in full swing, this is when Mona Simpson would likely become a hippie, leading to her and Abe’s separation through her faking of death. Around this time, Abe’s farming career would end as his farm would be foreclosed by the bank.
1970’s: After retiring as a farmer, Abe went back to being a salesman, specializing in selling goods such as medicine.
c. 1980-1995: Homer mentions putting Abe into a retirement home as soon as possible, and this would have most likely have happened around 1980 when Homer is in his early 20’s and Abe is in his late 60’s. This brings us to present day-The Simpsons in 1995, where Abe is a seasoned veteran of the Springfield Nursing Castle.

(Long one. Sorry. TL;DR; I fucking love teaching and hate my salary for it.)
It's wild to me to say that. Over 20 years, starting 21, of teaching finished up today. That's just wild to me. Why?
Well, I'm Generation X. I grew up in an era where people had a multi-decade career or two and then retired. Having a thousand jobs like me was unheard of back then. My full resume is five pages.
I had my heart set on 20+ years in the Army before I got hurt and medically discharged. I loved that shit (Embrace the Suck!) and would have done it forever if they let me. Then I worked a series of part time and full time jobs. Security. Bar tending. Door to door sales. Yard supervisor for a roofing company. I hustled darts. Bouncer and doorman (and regular) at a strip club. Security again. Some day labor, which I didn't last long at. Worked as a cashier at an "Adult" toy and DVD/VHS store. (That was a wild job) At least ten other jobs I can't remember. During this entire time, I never made more than $20,000 a year.
Eventually, I made my way into college through a VA Vocational Rehabilitation program for disabled veterans. Although the VA provided a monthly stipend and my wife was working at Western Forge and I had a (VERY fucking small) VA disability check, I still had to work a few hours a week. So during my four years in college (a bit less actually) I worked a lot of jobs, some for weeks, others for a year or more. Some where half time, some where 3/4 time, but I was always full time in school. Together, we did a bit over $40,000.
Help desk. Lab monitor in college. More help desk. Internship in IT at an airline. More help desk. More IT. More consulting and contracting. Tier I support at an internet provider, who supported PC, Macintosh and LINUX (no one else could do that. Lol. Sorry, I was good and I like to brag a bit.) Eventually I graduated. I asked for a raise and promotion at the internet provider, and they denied it, so I gave my two weeks. I had put in over a year and was GOOD at it. I deserved it, so I would look elsewhere if they couldn't give it to me. I wanted to be a network engineer.
But I also had root access to everything, so I was escorted out 15 minutes later and paid two weeks severance. On to other jobs then.
In this order starting at $55,000: Technician on the NASDAQ stock market network upgrade for MCI/Worldcom (where I got fired after I 400 others got fired after they realized they could save more money paying out lawsuits, but not our shitstain boss who got promoted) to a cutting edge VoIP company that went out of business (just like Silicon Valley from HBO) to Ryder Logistics as a Project Manager making $100,000 a year.
Six figures. One of the last private companies in America to still offer a 20 year pension. Even as a contractor, AMAZING salary and benefits. All of my hard work had paid off. The Cisco certification I worked so hard for had paid off. My networking skills that got me the interview for this job paid off. I had MADE IT. I had so much money I didn't know what to do with it given our modest lifestyle. I was going to be with Ryder Logistics forever.
Then in 2000, the "tech market" took a MASSIVE dump. Hundreds of thousands of highly paid, highly certified and educated folks like myself were laid off. I was DAYS, just fucking days, away from being brought on permanently and taken of contractor status. Yay. I knew of a guy with a PhD who was stocking shelves at 7-11. So I'm out there competing with guys and gals with more education and experience, even though I had a great resume. And I couldn't find a damn thing even approaching half my former salary. Guys like me were a dime a dozen now, the vultures could afford to be picky.
I survived and provided for my wife and son by working a shit ton of various jobs. I would get up at 0200 and deliver newspapers and finish around 0600. Then I could home, shower, change and eat. Head into my first shift at work teaching at a college. Go home, nap, go back for night classes. Deliver pizza after work. Picked up consulting jobs on the weekends. Four jobs to support a wife and keep us from living in the woods - her grandmother took us in, but we were still "homeless" in that we had no place of our besides her basement. Eventually I saved enough to move us to Florida and buy a house, where I started teaching high school.
We lost it all. I managed to sell our house for a modest profit days before the bank took it and we were homeless. I had to sell my beloved (and rare) Harley 1992 Dyna FXDC. Eventually, I missed a mortgage payment, and things snowballed. The only thing we kept in the bankruptcy was our SUV, and only because I could barely make the payments on it.
I had to start over at $28,000 as a teacher. After over 20 years, I'm up over $55,000 now. My VA disability check is a lot bigger now. I'm grateful for where I am. But it is wild to me that I make so little after 20 years. I'm literally making the same (on paper) salary now as I did over 20 years ago, and I'm providing more value to society now than then.
Hell, it's wild to me that I did one thing for over 20 years. I know I've focused on money here, but yeah - twenty fucking years doing one thing.
ALL THAT TO SAY (sorry, I'm "lubricated" tonight) that I have never held a single job for more than two years other than my four years (a bit less actually) in the Army. Ever. And today I finished 20+ years. I'm going to be dean this summer for summer school. I'm interviewing for dean (WISH ME LUCK!) full time next year in a few days. I'm excited. I have a lot of great ideas about how to make our campus even more peaceful. I haven't interviewed for a job in a forever since I've been teaching (other than lateral transfers) so I'm a bit nervous. But I believe by boss is in my corner and I have a good shot. I hope so, because I WANT this.
I don't know what else to say. I love teaching. I love these kids, even the assholes. I want to do this for a while, even as I want to retire and take it easy with the old lady. But they keep sucking me back in. Lol. (Who gets that reference?) But I've said it before, without free, public education, our society will regress badly. One very proven way you make sure that a quality free, public education is provided is to pay teachers a good salary.
20 years. Holy shit. And even if I don't get dean, I'm teaching all 6th grade next year. That makes the year INCREDIBLY easy for me. The subject matter is easy, the kids are young and easy to engage and teach. And even though they are regular ed, I'll be teaching them the Advanced curriculum just like I have done for years with my 8th graders. They can do it, you just have to push them.
And I'll be all chill about it until another dean slot opens. The other guy is close to retirement so I'll have another shot soon.
I love you all. The editor started the process on my book this weekend he says, so hopefully I'll have revisions to make soon. Thanks for being here.

Seasonal Allergies Immunotherapy
Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
Link to Comment Chain
Currently in the process of reenlisting as a prior service who was chaptered out in AIT for SI. Submitted and turned over all my paperwork to my recruiter and awaiting MEPS. My recruiter said this is the longest part of the waiting game from his experience. How long should I be expecting to wait realistically? I would ask my recruiter but I feel like I've bothered him enough over the past few weeks lmao. - Thanks!
Link to Comment Chain
Hey guys l need some advice so i'm gonna get straight to the point. I am 20 and a junior in college. I ship in June and i have 3 Mos choices so far. 19D, 11b and 19k. Which do y’all recommend?I'm hardworking and not lazy so yeah. I am joining for many reasons but one of the main reasons is travel. Would I get to do tha much? Thank you
Link to Comment Chain
Hey guys, I enlisted with an airborne contract that has my first assignment at Fort Liberty. How likely is it that I get assigned to the 82nd?
Link to Comment Chain
Weight loss
I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
Link to Comment Chain
Army National Guard recruiter says at MEPS you can choose from several dates to start basic. Is that accurate?
If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
Link to Comment Chain
I've got 4 years active and 3 years guard under my belt and I've always put in to my tsp to get the match. I know you need 8 years to keep the matching, but my unit has drained what little motivation I had left for the army, and I've decided I'm done. I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out if there's any option that will help me keep my tsp matching besides a 1 year extension. I doubt the IRR counts towards 8 years, and from what I understand, the inactive guard is simply a pause button. So instead of pushing me to 8 years, it's just delaying my 7th till next year or something. I'm also wondering if a future federal job would contribute to that 8 years or if it has to be all concurrent. Thank you for any help or any resources or links yall can send me to figure this out.
Link to Comment Chain
I was wondering if I could join the army with depression, anxiety, and OCD. All diagnosed. I have no suicide attempts or anything like that, no inpatient care either. All of these are somewhat mild and manageable, and I haven't been on any medication. But that was another concern of mine, if I was to get on any medication, would that disqualify me? Thanks a lot.
Link to Comment Chain
Im currently a senior in high school trying to enlist in the army since December but I’m at a loss of what to do. I took the asvab scored a 61 but autism came up on my records from when I was a kid. I had to get a full medical Record for meps then they wanted my pharmacy record and now they want some more records my recruiter made me sign a form for my old doctors to get it from them about a month and a week ago. I called him the earlier this week and he said he Kentucky or Kansas (I didn’t hear him well and forgot) doing some training I honestly just don’t know what to do I’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks and I probably have a month after that before my parents kick me out any advice?
Link to Comment Chain
Hey all, I wanted to get some insight on whether you all think I would be able to enlist with Crohn's. I've seen online that it's generally marked as an "unwaivable medical condition" but sometimes goes on a case by case basis. My IBD is very mild, I honestly forget that I even have the damn disease because it doesnt effect my daily life at all. I have it managed by taking an 8-week biologic but have gone on extended breaks from it before due to insurance reasons (roughly 2-3 months without any meds) and had no flare ups or any issues of the sort. However, my doctor is thinking of switching me to a daily pill (Rinvoq). I don't have any food sensitivities like a lot of Crohn's patients have (caffeine, alcohol, dairy, etc.) and have never had any surgeries nor does my GI doctor think i'll ever need one. I wanted to enlist for a 17C contract as im already in college for tech anyhow, I'm not sure if that would effect my standing. However, dream MOS is 18X but I figure that may be tougher to get by a recruiter. Any advice or thoughts? Army has been my dream forever and I don't want to have to give it up, so I'd really do anything haha.
Link to Comment Chain
I have 2 non violent felonies from 2011 and PTD from 2022 for possession. I've been upfront and honest with my recruiter. He sent me to test today and I scored 63 on Asvab and GT of 113. Is there a chance for me? Thanks in advance. 30 and in great health and shape.
Link to Comment Chain
What bases would you do bmt if your in cyber security and aviation mechanics?
Link to Comment Chain
I ship out in a week. Went to meps and signed in March. Can I change my MOS? Or is it too late ?? I want something language related because I’m fluent in Arabic (already passed DLPT)
Link to Comment Chain
For anyone that has done OSUT at Fort Moore, how long does it typically take before they’ll tell you where your FDS is?
Link to Comment Chain
I have read a few horror stories where someone enlisted with X,Y, or Z in their contract, but after basic they where told something else and could not confirm the original. For example, someone claims they had a specific location through Option 19, only to later be told they are going somewhere else.
My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
Link to Comment Chain
Is phone use in BCT only delegated to calls? Also does phone use depend on what phase you're in, like, red phase 20 minutes, blue 30 minutes? Going to jackson
Link to Comment Chain
Not the best time to swear in, waivers
I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
Link to Comment Chain
I have an AAM and 3 COAs which S1 has been tracking for months but which have yet to reflect on my PPW. Do I have any recourse?
Link to Comment Chain
my recruiter says that I can't get option 4 in my 35W contract but I really want to be airborne as a 35p/m so I have a higher chance of having my skills be put to use. Can i put in for airborne at DLI or AIT? what is the earliest I can do this and how would I go about it? I just went through the normal MEPS process not the airborne physical fyi
Link to Comment Chain
Is a bonus worth choosing the Army over the AF?
In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
Link to Comment Chain
I'm joining up rn and working with a recruiter. We've got my waivers and everything. Pretty much just have to pick a job. For background I was an IET separation back in 2009. From what I've read and what me and my recruiter have gone over I am glossary non-prior service. I could have sworn I read (albeit a while ago) that business rules did not apply to GNPS, so I should be free to pick my MOS. However, I talked to my recruiter earlier today and he wants me to sit with his 1SG and go over the job options available for prior service. Am I wrong and I just get what I get?
Link to Comment Chain
Please help!
I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
Link to Comment Chain
My MOS is 68W, I'm shipping out in June and I'm taking the OPAT in a couple of weeks. I'm 5'2 and 115ish pounds. I'm pretty fit. My biggest worry is the standing long jump. I want to pass the OPAT with flying colors and keep my MOS. Is there any advice or tips y'all can give me?
Link to Comment Chain
I’m looking to graduate and enlist in a month but can’t decide on what MOS I want. I think 11B because I don’t want to individuate and do army shit or 68W but I’m not sure if I can get advanced combative training or other schools I want. I want to do something that’s “high speed” and meaningful while working my way towards Ranger reg. Is the 82nd Airborne a good pathway to that? How is civil affairs? Can you enlist directly into it while being active duty?
Link to Comment Chain
Thinking about reenlisting to army with 8.5 PS in USMC. Been out < 5years. Will I have to repeat AIT if I keep my same MOS? I know this is the wrong channel for USMC feedback but also considering going back there if it would mean not repeating AlT. Thanks in advance!
Link to Comment Chain
Hi everyone! I’m a high school student planning on joining the military. I’m Muslim, so I want to be sure that whichever branch I join is accommodating to Muslim needs. If it changes anything, I’m planning joining through the ROTC route.
My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
Link to Comment Chain
i’m a current nasty girl and i’m looking to transfer to Active duty. i understand i need a conditional release in order to sign a new contract and need my G-1 to sign off on it. i’m looking for info on the process from someone who’s gone through the process.
Link to Comment Chain
What are the odds of getting a waiver for ulcerative colitis? I was EPTS’d out in march 2023 after being diagnosed while I was at 30th AG. My GI said I was in remission as of jan of this year. I take 4 Lialda pills a day and get an entyvio infusion every 2 months. I feel perfectly fine now though. Scored a 74 on the asvab.
Link to Comment Chain
Medical record
In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
Link to Comment Chain
So my recruiter told me that I have to get a lease first, but the thing is, is that we don't have one with our landlord. It's more like an oral lease and he's a slumlord who never tries to communicate with any of us. That being said, my recruiter then said that I should find a lease online and edit it to where I state that I'm paying the rent to my sister instead (who has a valid ID) He also stated that my sister and I have to go to a check-cashing place to get it notarized. Is this all ok to do and will the BHA be approved? Also if it's approved, does this mean that the rent we pay which is $1,365.50, is going to be paid for while I'm away and how exactly??
Link to Comment Chain
Can I enlist if I have a Mexican highschool diploma? (I am american, just finished highschool in mexico) And don't have a address in the USA???
Link to Comment Chain
I am thinking of finishing up my bachelors and joining as an officer, my question was whether it was possible or not to guarantee mos 17c in the army if I join as an officer.
Link to Comment Chain
I just got told that I cant enlist for 2 years after my waiver got denied for a history of depression. I stopped feeling depressed last August but got officially cleared into remission in February. I was told theres no point in a consult and the most I can do is reach out to a congressman. Other than reaching out to a congressman, is there really nothing I can do?
Link to Comment Chain
Questions about Virginia National Guard
I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
Link to Comment Chain
im thinking of joining as a officer and going into ocs, what is the best branch for a well paying civilian job after completing my service, for context my major right now is relg studies plus maybe bio.
Link to Comment Chain
I leave for Future Soldier Preparatory Course for the fitness aspect on the 21st, has anyone gone through it recently? There’s not a whole lot of information on it online, I was just wondering what it’s like, and what to expect. Do you get issued all of your gear since you will be going to bmt after? What is reception like? Any and all information and tips is greatly appreciated!
Link to Comment Chain
So my husband is going to meps next week. he has 2 different sets of scars on his left arm. He works at a mobile home plant building houses. One was from when he got caught on a nail so it's a little deeper looking and another was from some sheet metal at work. He didn't disclose it to his boss because he works on a line and it would've put his team behind so he just put some bandaids on it and went about his day and cleaned it up when he got home. This was about 1-2 years ago. What is his meps experience going to be like? They aren't self harm obviously but we've heard horror stories about the doctors at meps not believing people and DQ them. He honestly forgot about telling his recruiter and his recruiter has already sent in all his medical history and got him scheduled for meps. Should he still go ahead and tell his recruiter or just wait and disclose it at meps?
Link to Comment Chain
Should i go in as 17c or try my luck at ocs?
Link to Comment Chain
I'm currently in process Enlisting in the Reserve, while holding an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, with some side education in programming. While I am working towards my bachelor's degree, I'm looking to pick an MOS that will help my career, or at the very least, be interesting. I don't remember my scores, but my Recruiter told me whatever I pick, my score won't be the limiting factor.
Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
Link to Comment Chain
25D or 35T I just wonder which MOS would be better for career. I am really interested in IT. I know 25D is not entry MOS. Let’s say you meet requirements for both MOS. If you stay as enlisted side, what would you recommend?
Link to Comment Chain
I’m heading to ait now at fort Moore for 91M do I get my phone and am I in a dorm how is that like
Link to Comment Chain
Hi all,
I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12B and 12D: I have a soft spot for these despite knowing they don't translate into the civilian world. But in my heart somewhere is a wild child that wants to test my physical prowess and wants to blow things up. I do know my knees and lower back will hate me for picking this.
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Link to Comment Chain
Is the 09m program ending at the end of may?
Link to Comment Chain
How does one secure a religious exemption before basic training? My recruiter said we would talk about it down the line but it’s getting down to the wire and I’d rather it not get forgotten.
Link to Comment Chain
Hi my duty station is at JBLM I’ll hopefully be there around May of 2025. I still have too go through basic and AIT but I was hoping that I could get some info about the barracks and hopefully get in touch with some of the people that are getting stationed/ already stationed There that are aviation, specifically 15Y. Thank you
Link to Comment Chain
How can i improve my chances of success after the military?
I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
Link to Comment Chain
Hello everyone,
I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
Link to Comment Chain
I’m reenlisting at the end of this month (was NG but going active). My husband is also active and I was wondering how likely is it that I can be in the same battalion as my husband? I know married couples aren’t supposed to work directly together but would that still be considered “working together”?
Link to Comment Chain
Hi All, I'm 23F graduating college with my bachelor's in international relations at the end of July. I speak intermediate Spanish and would be open to learning more languages. I am looking for a mos that doesn't restrict me to behind a desk or sitting on my ass all day. I was thinking of something intelligence related. I would appreciate any advice/help.
Link to Comment Chain
So i have hemorrhoids right now and I go to MEPS monday. I have a Drs visit from about 2 years ago where she prescribed me the cream to use. The cream says to only use it when you have hemorrhoids. I still have the cream. Will I pass MEPS if I bring that the Dr visit. or should I get a new one the day before? It's Saturday so my recruiter won't answer.
Link to Comment Chain
So I enlisted on Friday. (25H) and I ship to BT in August. I’ve made my mind up before enlisting that I was going to make a career out of it. So now I’m here before you all to ask… what’s some advice you could give someone looking to do 20. Like what’s steps would you take if you could go back to make the most of your Army career? I remember my dad who served in the navy would always say “choose your rate choose your fate” and I think I started off on the right foot. Any suggestions to help make the correct steps in my new career path?
Link to Comment Chain
Going back in. Needing some suggestions on different MOS.
So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
Link to Comment Chain
Already signed my contract but I really really wanna change my MOS by the time I ship out for BCT in mid-July, what would be the best way to approach and ask my recruiter to change my MOS? The one that I want is really in demand (19K) so maybe that might help?
Link to Comment Chain
Background: Greencard holder, 6yr+ experience in IT field. No degree. Married.
Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
Link to Comment Chain
I want to enlist as a 19D Wont be for a year or so still but trying to do my research and evrything and make sure this is what i want, So far it looks like it is but i have a couple of questions that i need answering before i decided to enlist. 1. as a 19D with 19C coming will 19D still be manning Bradleys 2. What are my chances of being assigned to a cav unit i really dont wanna be assigned to an infantry or god knows what else 3. Am i able to enlist as active at 17?
Link to Comment Chain
Is it hard to get a self harm waiver? It happened one time three years ago. My recruiter is pushing for it now
Link to Comment Chain
I'm going to MEPS this week and I was told that the Job I'm really interested in (12w) is rare and to not get my hopes up. I'll be doing research about some other jobs, but if I really want that job should I just wait for a slot to open up or go with alternate choices?
Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
Link to Comment Chain
Vision Waiver Acceptance Probability
So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
Link to Comment Chain
Is there a list of all the different Options in contracts? Like Option 40, Option 4, Option 19, etc?
Link to Comment Chain
In the process of renegotiating my contract before shipping out and I'm seriously considering 19K (M1 Armor Crewman). Recruiter told me that anyone can volunteer to go to airborne school at BCT and I really want to go airborne but it seems like 19Ks don't really do it as much as other MOS's. Is it true that i will have the opportunity to volunteer myself for airborne school at basic? If not, how can I attend Airborne or any other specialized school as a tanker?
Link to Comment Chain
Leaving for BT in 2wks. First stop Ft Lenwood and then ft sill for AIT. Then off to Ft Drum for my 1st duty station. Can anyone offer insight on what to expect at each location/stage? 13F if it matters. Much appreciated.
Link to Comment Chain
Just reserved mos 88L Water craft engineer.
Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello, I’m in ROTC right now but I’m about to go to CST. I have been looking into branches as much as possible and am pretty set on ADA but I wanted to ask if anyone here has been on a HIMAD or SHORAD deployment that can give me some insight on what it’s like, more specifically SHORAD but I do want to hear both sides.
Link to Comment Chain
Joining the army
hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello, I'm currently a high school senior who is interested in joining the ROTC. I've reached out to ROTC recruiters in the colleges that I will be attending however, they never picked up their phones nor responded to their emails after multiple attempts. I've also scheduled appointments with them only for them to not show up multiple times. I've also called the army and they said they would have someone call me but they never did either. I was wondering if anyone could help me get in touch with an ROTC recruiter as I got a few questions about the Army ROTC as well as the process to proceed.
Link to Comment Chain
Can you go to an maritime academy before your service then get it paid when you join? Can you take maritime academy while active duty?
Link to Comment Chain
What are possible first duty stations for Army officers out of ROTC by MOS?
Link to Comment Chain