Military pov letter | | Professional Resume Writing Services

Long story short I served 4.5 years AD in the Army. I’m now in the reserves, I was denied for mental health among other things. Upon entering the reserves I went to the VA after my wife threatened to leave me if I didn’t seek out help. I’ve been seeing a therapist through VAs community care. I was going to re-file but I don’t want to till I have an official diagnosis through the military. I’ve got an appointment with a Dr for a nexus letter and the DBQ. I’m just trying to cover all my bases before I resubmit

Hi all,
My husband applied for citizenship. When he went to the interview, the officer would not allow him to explain his posture as a conscientious objector based on religious beliefs. She would only allow him to say yes or no to her questions. She then says:"You did your military service in your country of origin, but you won't bear arms on behalf of the US. Is that right?". He tried to explain that his military service was 30 years ago and before he studied the Bible, but she cut him off and said: "Just answer yes or no."
We got his denial letter this morning. What can we do? Should we file an appeal?
Thanks!
P.S. This was the USCIS office in Baltimore.

Love languages
Wanted to ask iyong POV/ honest perception niyo
If you’re someone na love language mo is physical touch o kaya quality time, how would you take the advances/ efforts of someone na words of affirmation naman iyong love language? Be it from your SO or someone na nag confessed pa lang sa iyo or someone na binibigay lang niya sa iyo kahit walang kayo.
My love language ever since talaga is words of affirmation. Mahilig ako gumawa ng poem, blogs, letters and even made a story and a song. Pero most of it talaga never na-aacknowledge kahit binigay ko. Kaya most of it na set aside lang and probably would never see the light of the day na.

I am attempting to renew my cars registration online at the NJ DMV website. They send you a pin in the mail used as a security measure that you have to enter in order to renew your vehicle. This pin was lost, so I was prompted to request a new pin in the mail. The website asks for your plate number and your license number. I have an out of state license since I am military. It is a Colorado license. My license number doesnt work on the prompt thus not letting me order a new pin. When I type in my license number it shows an error saying "Enter a value of with 1 letter and 14 numbers or 15 numbers". There is not letter in my license number. They also do not let me make an in person appointment since I am able to renew online. PLEASE HELP

I’m new to Reddit, I don’t use it very often I just have it so I’m sorry if I’m not in the right sub page, if you guys think I should post in another page please let me know.
My bf(19m) left for basic and ait beginning of May and won’t be back until mid December, I’m also in the military and leave beginning of July and come back end of October. We have been together for over a year and we both have promise rings we gave to each other, we’re in a very serious, healthy, committed relationship and have both talked about marriage since it’s something we see in the long run.
Before he left we hung out a lot and I cried a lot, when he left I was okay and since then, I’m not sure how I’m feeling. I feel like we’re on a break? But we’re not, I feel like our relationship is on like pause and I’m not sure if it’s okay to feel like that because we’re not on a break. I’ve been writing him letters and sending them and I’ve gotten to call him for a couple of minutes on Sundays but that’s about it.
I’m scared that when he comes back we’re going to have to start from base 1 again, or like that he loses feelings for me because of how long we’ve been apart from each other, I’m not sure if I’m projecting, by no means have I thought about infidelity or anything like that, but I feel like my feelings towards him are on pause, I feel like everything having to do with our relationship is on pause and it’s a weird feeling. Even when I look back at pictures of us together I feel like it’s not real, like this past year and a half was just a dream or delusion.
If any couples have been in this situation could you please give me some advice? I really love this man and want us to be okay during this hardship in our relationship and just want to know how to deal with it. Or if anyone has an answer as in why I feel like our relationship is on pause I’d really appreciate that, I don’t know if it’s okay for me to think about it in that way. Any advice is greatly appreciated<3

This idea is explored in the article below:
https://chipstero7.wordpress.com/2023/05/24/is-baphomet-an-esoteric-representation-of-jesus-christ/
Quote from a bit of it:
One possibility is that the male aspect of Baphomet represents Osiris and the female aspect represents Isis. In the book ‘The Hidden Faces of Eve’, it’s said that the myth of Osiris and Isis does not alter in essence from Adam and Eve. In Kabbalah circles, Adam was originally an androgynous being they called Adam-Kadmon — consisting of male and female aspects — but was fractured into opposites during The Fall. ‘Adam’ being representative of humanity as a whole — we were all fractured. In the Gnostic and Hermetic school of thought — the goal of human existence is to merge these opposites (the female and male) back into one androgynous being to form an Adam-Kadmon. Adam-Kadmon is described as “divine light without vessels” and as a “composite of pure light” much like how Baphomet is described as being a representation of Astral Light. Professor Hugh Schonfield argues that the bearded male head referred to by the Templars is the head of Adam-Kadmon. In Hebrew, this head is denominated as Chokmah or Wisdom. Something similar was proposed by Pierre Klossowski in his book ‘Le Baphomet’, saying: “The Baphomet has diverse etymologies… the three phonemes that constitute the denomination are also said to signify, in coded fashion, Basileus philosophorum metaloricum: The sovereign of metallurgical philosophers, that is, of the alchemical laboratories that were supposedly established in various chapters of the Temple. The androgynous nature of the figure apparently goes back to the Adam-Kadmon of the Chaldeans, which one finds in the Zohar”. According to the Wikipedia ‘Adam-Kadmon’ page, Apostle Paul belived that “Adam-Kadmon is the pre-existent Logos, incarnate as the man Jesus Christ”. Baphomet’s connection with Christ and Adam also extends to the Baphomet sigil created 200 years ago which shows the names of Adam and Eve on one side with the name of Christ in Hebrew surrounding it. On the opposite side are the names Samael and Lilith. Éliphas’ depiction of Baphomet also included an upright pentagram, the same as the Adam and Eve Baphomet sigil below (which is surrounded by the name of Christ)
The connections between Christ and Baphomet are not widely recognized or agreed upon, but esoteric interpretations have been proposed. For example, in his book ‘Baphomet of Éliphas Lévi’, Abraxas Aletheia argues that Baphomet is an esoteric symbol of Christ, saying: “Contrary to popular belief, Baphomet is an image of an esoteric Jesus Christ created from a composite of alchemical, Kabbalistic and Christian symbols”. One such connection symbolically between Baphomet and Christ can be found in Baphomet’s caducous which matches the Christogram which is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for Christ’s name. One of Baphomet’s most recognizable symbols is the pentagram emblazoned on its forehead. The pentagram is commonly associated with Christ. In Christian tradition, the pentagram is seen as a symbolic connection to the five wounds of Christ. In certain esoteric traditions, the pentagram has been linked to the planet Venus, called the Morning Star or the Evening Star, depending on its appearance in the sky. This is of relevance, because Christ describes himself as the bright Morning Star in the Book of Revelation (22:16). One of the earliest connections between Baphomet and Christ can be found in the mythology surrounding the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order. Some have suggested that the Baphomet head that the Knights Templars venerated was the head of Christ. In her book ‘The Templars: The Secret History Revealed’, Barbara Frale says: “The last point raised in the indictment against the Templars concerned the secret veneration of an idol in the shape of a bearded head. There is clear evidence of the existence of image of Christ in the religious life of the order, as well as a mysterious cult devoted to the Sacred Blood”. Frale’s essentially suggesting that the Baphomet head was that of Christ. This same idea was the subject of the book ‘The Head of God: The Lost Treasure of the Templars’, by Keith Laidler.

so my bf (17) and i (17) have been together about six months. he's really sweet, i love his family and he's so good to me. he's been away at basic training for about two months, and we write each other every few days. his letters are always filled with sweet messages about how much he misses me and how happy i make him and he can't wait to see me again etc., and for the first month the letters i wrote him were similar. but lately i haven't felt any enthusiasm or excitement when i get a letter from him and i find myself not really caring for what he has to say, which makes it hard for me to write him back without feeling guilty. it sounds harsh, but i just don't love him anymore. he's done nothing wrong. his leaving for basic has given me space to think about my future life and how i want it to look, and i can't see a future with him in it where i'm happy. i'm having trouble finding the right words, but i'm scared to tie myself down to something so permanent and complicated as a military relationship at such a young age. i'm still growing up, and i feel like my relationship with him will stunt my growth as a person.
so... how do i end it? do i write him a letter and just try to explain to him how i'm not able to be happy in our relationship anymore? do i wait and tell him when he comes back? i don't know how to go about this. help!!

I am the OP and this is going to be a long and unique story.
Last year me 21M and my gf 20F both jokingly brought up the idea of a threesome. We have been together for almost 5 years and our relationship has always had a little of trust and respect. We never call each other names and we literally never fight or argue, it was perfect. Fast forward to the threesome, my gf ends up picking the 3rd girl to join us. The boundaries we set were to communicate if we didn’t feel comfortable with something and making sure that we both felt respected still with another person in the bedroom. We end up “hanging out” with this girl 3-4 times and of those times we had sex multiple times. It was mostly me fucking the girl and I wasn’t giving my gf much. My gf and the girl only really gave each other oral, I will admit that I did not handle this correctly and let a “shiny new toy” steal all my attention. I did not have any feelings at all towards the girl, purely just saw her as something that I don’t normally have and got too excited? I will admit that I was definitely too friendly and almost treating the girl like my own gf. My gf didn’t really express herself until everything had happened and multiple times at that. I put a stop to the threesome thing immediately. Over the course of the last year till now, my gf acted as if she was just hurt and was trying to heal. She said she felt cheated on, felt like the 2nd option, she felt like I threw her to the side for a new girl we just met. When I’d ask her about it I could tell she was hurt but she made it seem like she would be ok and just needed time. I always apologized but I now know that I never made it seem sincere because I truly didn’t feel like I had crossed any lines since we had discussed our ground rules before anything happened. Our life continued pretty normally or so I thought. I did everything I could to make it up to her.
Fast forward to this year, my gf tells me that she wants to take some time apart so that she can work on her mental health and heal because it hurt to look at me sometimes (she is mentally unstable and has had depression in the past/still does). I know I shouldn’t have let the threesome happen knowing that she’s not stable but I can’t turn back time now. I decided to snoop thru her MacBook last month and I find out that shes been texting a bunch of other guys. This is not like her at all which really shocked me.
This is where it gets interesting because it all unfolds in a week. I find out that she cheated on me behind my back. She downloaded dating apps early April 2024 and didn’t tell me she wanted some space until mid April. I didn’t think much of it, just not spending as much time together. In her mind she was trying to break up, it was not clear at all and those words never came up. She cheated on me Sunday, April 21. While I was at home taking her Biology Final Exam for her (I’ll get to more about this in next paragraph) on Tuesday April 23rd, I try to talk to her to see how she’s feeling and also bring her clean laundry as I wash and fold her clothes. It was on this day that she made it a little more clear that she wanted a clean full break and not just “some time”. On Friday April 26, I wrote her a very heartfelt letter about how sorry I was because I didn’t know how much damage I had actually done to her. I went to her place to drop it off and this was the same night I looked thru her MacBook and found her texts. I confronted her after she got off work, we had a very heartfelt conversation with lots of tears. The next morning was when she revealed to me that she cheated. She had cheated seeking revenge and to satisfy her emotions. At first I was upset but was willing to accept it because I had already brought up the idea a few times to even the score so long as she told me everything beforehand. What made me go crazy was the following weeks worth of lies. She told me she didn’t do anything at first when I first found the texts, then once she admitted she did something, she said she used protection, I just found out this week she lied and we had unprotected sex afterwards as well. She told me her friends that are bad influences, drove her there and they all went like it was some kind of road trip. She eventually confessed that her friends did not take part in it after I texted her friends. There were at least 6-7 major lies in the story and for something this serious, I think it’s just plain messed up to be lying. If I gave you a chance after finding out, why not just keep it straight.
Now some very important details. Our relationship is very much one sided and I don’t mind. I pretty much do EVERYTHING for her. I cook, I clean, do her laundry, I manage 4 companies, I take her places, she is absolutely spoiled beyond belief. When we first met at 16-17 years old, her relationship with her parents was not great and I spoke up for her which was scary asf for a 17 year old. I helped her gain so much freedom within her own Hispanic household. I gave her so many opportunities within my companies where she was making $40/hr doing 1/2 the work of a fast food worker. After the threesome incident, she was very upset and depressed and we are both in school so I picked up some of her slack and helped her get A’s in multiple classes. I took her to Japan, she bought so much stuff and we had a great time. I don’t know how else to say it but I literally do everything for her, if you can name it, I’ve done it. From my pov, I’ve given her my life. So many opportunities. I come from a little bit of money, upper middle class Asian family. We have a lot of resources and I always provide her what she needs whether it’s food or financial support. She comes from a lower class Hispanic family. I feel so betrayed that she would do this behind my back after I’ve done so much to change her life. I called her selfish, useless, and ungrateful. The only thing I ever asked from her was loyalty and respect, she can’t give me that anymore.
The situation currently: 3 weeks ago she was begging me to not leave and that she will work on herself to be better for me. She said I can do whatever I want, even sleep with other girls. I told her to kick rocks, I would not give up my body and dignity to my own emotions. I’m not as stupid as her. As of this week May 19, 2024. She is back on medication to control her emotion and she still doesn’t want me to leave, she keeps telling me that she still loves me so much and does not want anyone else. I wanted to wait a bit to see if she was begging out of panic and distress. Now she is much more calm and isn’t breaking down quite as bad, still crying and the feelings seem more real and painful rather than out of terror and panic. Here’s the kicker, over the last year since the threesome, she became very rude and mean towards me. I’ll spare the details but it was like if I bought her flowers, she’d throw them on the floor and stomp them out. I knew it was because of what happened and she was bottling her emotions. But this took a tremendous toll on me especially since I work a lot and my time outside of work is all with her. I sleep only 2-3 hours a night. I cheated on her twice with 2 different girls over the last year out of sheer stress and trying to cope with the treatment I was getting from her. You may ask why didn’t I just leave, why cheat. How would it have looked if the threesome incident happened, she became depressed and I just left? The alternative would be to stay and just suffer thru her verbal and emotional abuse. I felt trapped
If you read this far I appreciate you and hope you can give me some feedback. Let me know if I need to clarify anything or give more detail

I just received my decision letter after an ACE review (post in person C&P) for a migraine claim filed as PACT ACT presumptive which I now realize was wrong…decision pasted below. My migraines started when I was deployed to a TERA and I’m on the burn pit registry but I never was seen for them in service.
Since I am already service connected for tinnitus, so wondering if I should refile for migraine as secondary to tinnitus or appeal this one? —————/
Service connection for migraines.
To support a claim for service connection on a direct basis, the evidence must show three things.
First, it must show that you had an injury in military service, or a disease that began in or was made worse during military service, or there was an event in service that caused an injury or disease. Second, it must show that you have a current physical or mental disability, demonstrated by medical evidence. Finally, it must show that there is a relationship between your current disability and an injury, disease or event in military service. Medical records or medical opinions are required to establish this relationship. (38 CFR 3.303, 38 CFR 3.304, 38 CFR 3.400)
The evidence does not show that your disease developed to a compensable degree within the specified time period after release from service to qualify for the presumption of service connection. (38 CFR 3.307, 38 CFR 3.309)
The claimed condition is less likely than not (likelihood is less than approximately balanced or
nearly equal) incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. Rationale is
reviewing the veteran service records, any additional information provided. The veteran service
records indicate the veteran was diagnosed with migraine headache conditions around 2004. The
veteran was discharged from active duty XXXXXX 1993. There has been no chronicity established
while in service for any headache condition.
Service connection may be granted for a condition diagnosed after military discharge provided
evidence establishes that the condition was caused by service. Service connection may be
granted on this basis for a disability related to toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) during
military service if evidence demonstrates that the Veteran was actually exposed in service and
that a disease associated with such exposure resulted. (38 CFR 3.303, 38 CFR 3.304)
We considered whether your condition resulted from a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) in
service. (38 U.S.C. 1168, 38 U.S.C. 1710(e)(4)) The evidence of record shows participation in a
TERA
We requested an examination with medical opinion based on toxic exposure risk activity
(TERA). Your VA examiner notes that medical records from the veteran's primary care notes on
10/2004 endorse the veteran's diagnosis of migraine headaches. According to Mayo Clinic
(2023), the exact cause of migraines are unknown and there are a wide variety of contributing
factors that increase the risk of migraines including various environmental and genetic factors.
These include inadequate sleep, dietary factors, caffeine, alcohol consumption, changes in
barometric pressure, hormonal factors, and stress. Medical literature does not support a direct
causal relationship between migraine headaches and toxic exposure risk activities, including
exposure to burn pits, airborne hazards, or environmental toxins. Considering the evidence,
the veteran's diagnosis of migraines is less likely than not caused by indicated toxic exposure risk
activities in service.
Although the evidence of record shows participation in a TERA, the medical opinion provided
by the examiner does not show an association between your claimed disability and in-service
TERA. (38 U.S.C. 1168, 38 CFR 3.303)
There is no basis in the available evidence of record to establish service connection for
migraines. This condition did not happen in military service, nor was it aggravated or caused by
service. (38 CFR 3.303, 38 CFR 3.304, 38 CFR 3.306)
Favorable Findings identified in this decision:
You have been diagnosed with a disability. VA exam dated xx/xx/2024 shows a diagnosis of
migraine headaches.
Participation in a toxic exposure risk activity is conceded based completion of VA TERA Memo
dated 2/29/2024.
The claimed disability is a chronic disease which may be presumptively linked to your military
service if manifested to a compensable degree within one year of discharge as listed in 38 CFR
3.309 (a).
You have sufficient service to meet the minimum requirements for presumptive service
connection. Your DD 214 shows military service from xxxxxx to xxxxxx.
Your claimed issue became manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more following service.

I mean if we can’t have Sky, I’m sure most of us are fine with (hypothetical obscure 6-letter acronym for an AI made by a fictional tech genius who could or could not be a superhero, hypothetically) or an AI version of (hypothetical obscure three-digit number codenamed person’s obscure 1-letter codenamed tech consultant who possibly could or could not be characters in a film franchise potentially about an intelligence agency, maybe a military intelligence agency)
Sorry for the apparent gibberish. Just making sure this post doesnt get used in a future C&D or debate about actors if OpenAI decides to go such a route. lol. Imo the 50yo male butler and the obscurely-aged young female assistant ultimately have the same vibe. These archetypes have the same jobs in the real world, serving a person’s every whim and keeping a non-cynical attitude about it. They do the job for some typically normal reason. Other characters just don’t seem as natural or stereotypical? Don’t know how to explain. What are your thoughts?

So before I went to Marine Corps bootcamp, I met this girl and we were hanging out every week and I began to develop strong feelings for her. When I went to bootcamp, we sent each a few letters and stayed in touched. I’m now out of bootcamp but I only have 10 days of leave before I go back to training. I’m just really upset because I really really like her and I believe she has similar feelings but I won’t be able to see her often. We live in Michigan and my schoolhouse for MOS (military occupation) is in Florida. Should I tell her how I feel before I leave or never mention it?

Hello everyone! I am a female disabled veteran. I was illegally evicted (from my townhome I had lived in for 7 years) during Covid and despite having section-8 I cannot find a place to live. The eviction results in an automatic denial of every application I have submitted. I am looking for a private landlord who will rent to me.
For some background information (I will try to make brevity my strong suit): I was in the USAF for 8 years. My husband and I went in together on the join-spouse program. We had our first child 2 years later, then the military did away with the program because there were so many married couples enlisted. We got out, had our 2nd child 8 months later and soon afterwards, bought a house. I obtained my bachelor's degree in nursing, then worked as an RN for 28 years. We sadly were divorced after 21 years, and I have been my sole means of support since that time. I moved into my townhome in 2015 and had no issues until 2021. I severely injured my back moving a very large (298lb) patient off of the OR table, following an emergency C-section. I struggled with back issues the rest of my career. In February of 2020 I was laid off from my job as a corrections nurse due to Covid. I was on unemployment but still paid my rent on time every month. In June of 2020 I allowed my oldest daughter to move in with the agreement that she would pay 1/2 of the rent and utilities. This turned out to be a disastrous decision. She had struggled with SA since she was 15, but swore to me she was clean. She was addicted to heroin, couldn't keep a job, created drama constantly, and never paid a penny's worth of her half. She was often rageful, as was her son who visited frequently. They did damage to the townhome in the form of her bedroom door, which my grandson made 2 large dents in with his fists, and the bottom of the staircase, which my grandson pulled the bottom of the handrail away from the wall. Those 2 items were the only damage.
In March 2021 I applied, on the 1st day it became available, to Biden's federal assistance program for tenants in danger of becoming homeless. I notified the property manager, and requested that he send in the required paperwork from management to complete the application. He came over to talk with us and he understood the program. I had applied for SSDI in March of 2020 due to back issues, major depressive disorder, and emphysema. I could no longer perform my duties well as a nurse. Everything was fine until June 2021 when he was replaced. The new property manager was a schoolteacher who was a longtime friend of the owner. She admittedly knew nothing about property management. I first met her on the day I had just been discharged from the VA hospital. I had been in the hospital for 12 days, so I came home and was resting in bed when my daughter came to get me saying, "The owner and a new lady are at the door screaming." They were indeed screaming at me because May's rent had not been paid. I tried to explain the program and the fact that the previous manager knew about it. The law protected residents who had applied from being evicted. I requested an appointment for the following day so we could talk civilly. At this point, TN had only released 6% of the millions of funds available. Finally, my funds were released in September. All arrears were paid, and 3 months into the future were paid, with the option of 3 more months being paid if the tenant was still struggling to pay. When the complex accepted the funds, they signed a federal agreement which stated they could not attempt an eviction based on non-payment of rent, could not create a new lease, and could not harass the tenants (my daughter was on the lease, too). They broke all of these conditions, starting with asking ONLY ME to sign a new lease 3 weeks after receiving the funds. They were requesting me to pay pet deposits for my 3 pets, a dog and 2 cats, in an amount $100 over the normal amount, then get rid of the pets immediately. The pets had not done any damage. The new lease increased the rent by $300. They had already been paid for the rent with the federal funds. Immediately following this "new lease" they sent a letter to both of us, saying that the new rent had not been paid on time and we were being evicted. They would not allow maintenance to come repair things. I had requested 6x that they repair both upstairs toilets, which were leaking at the base, to the point that their were stains and leaking on the living room ceiling! They filed for eviction in January 2022. They only named me, knowing that all of the rent payments were done by me. The case was dismissed because they had filed before it was legal, due to the agreement. I asked the judge if it would be necessary for me to appear in court on the next date if I moved out prior to the date, but he said, "That would be a moot point. You cannot be evicted if you have already moved out." We DID move out before the next court date, but their management went to court ANYWAY, saying we were still there and an eviction was granted!! I looked into filing an appeal, but the cost to file was $695, and I didn't have the money to appeal.
Luckily, a place opened in a VA sponsored home for homeless women. My time is up here and I have applied to a multitude of properties but my applications are always denied, based on the eviction. I am working with a lawyer who has written a letter on my behalf, as well as a letter of recommendation from the program director. Still, I have had flat denials from every property.
The assistance I am requesting is names of property owners who will work with me. If any of you kind Redditors know someone, or ARE someone who would work with me, please let me know. I am out of time at the VA home and I have nowhere to go. I never pictured myself at 64 years old being homeless. Thank you in advance to anyone who can help. I have SSDI, as well as VA compensation, so my income is secure and reliable. I am desperate for a safe place to live.

Wanted a few opinions on this situation: moved out of a rental at the end of march and did a walkthrough where the landlord said everything looked great and we (my husband and I) were the best tenants he'd ever had. We only lived there 11 months (left 1 month early due to military orders). At the walkthrough, he said 'he didn't have the funds to return our security deposit because he thought he would have found a new tenant by then and would have given us their security deposit. We gave him nearly double the notice required to terminate a lease due to military orders. He said he had 30 days to get it to us. We moved away out of state.
31 days after we move out we receive a horrible letter accusing us of all sorts of things and saying we aren't allowed to break the lease so he's keeping the deposit. Unless he never hears of this again, he'll be charging us for various things (one is a retroactive increase in rent). The only thing fathomable that could actually be charged to us is he is claiming water damage from a wall ac unit and a months rent for not being able to rent the home due to repairs. The home was listed for rent and the listing updated every few days during the month it wasn't rented. He lowered the rent and the listing has been down now for about a week so I doubt he did any repairs but just couldn't find a tenant. 100% we had absolutely no knowledge of a leak from the ac unit. He is claiming the ac, wall, door, doorframe, and front porch light are all not repairable. The ac was above what should have been the front door but he lived in the garage of this house so we were basically not allowed in the front yard and used the back door as our front door and exited to the street behind the street this house was actually on. He put large plants and other of his items on the porch essentially blocking us from coming out as well. It's a very long story regarding our backwards house but essentially we did not use the front door at all, under 10 times in that year. We did clean the filter for all of the acs monthly (I have extremely severe asthma) and never noticed any water issues. There was no water on the floor or dripping. I have a picture from the day we moved out and in the picture there is no visible water damage. The ac was working on the day we moved out.
Before we moved in, he told us he was going to replace all 4 wall units. That didn't happen and he told us he was going to do it while we lived there and that didn't happen. All of the acs were horrible and we used to make passing remarks of how hot it was to the landlord. He eventually said he's not replacing them until the one above the door stops working completely. I also have texts from him saying that particular ac can't be turned down past 76 or it will break. He literally lived right below it and heard it running (it was on 76). Basically, I am certain there were problems with that ac and he was aware of it but I was not aware at all that it was causing water damage, if it actually was. I wish I had known because I would have insisted he replace it. I'm thinking he either did actually get around to replacing it and discovered it or is making it up.
I have contacted a lawyer to send him a demand letter but my husband is now worried about what if he does actually try to sue us? What if he decides to rip out the whole wall and sue us for tens of thousands? Doesn't he need to prove we were aware of this water damage? In his letter he stated he asked for entry into the house each month to service the ac but we denied him and broke the ac by never cleaning the filter in 12 months. He never asked us once to service the ac and entered the house on several other occasions, once to fix a plumbing issue and once to replace the dishwasher. Plus a few other times we invited him in. There is no clause in our lease saying anything regarding reporting damages, water damages, or we are responsible for maintaining the ac. My parents also came to stay with me for nearly 2 months while my husband was away and they are willing to write a statement that they never saw any water damage whatsoever. My husband doesn't want to send the demand letter at all because the letter we received we full of just bizarre untrue statements and he feels like he will make up a huge lawsuit. Even appearing for a lawsuit would cost us a ton in travel so we really don't want to get involved with that. I do want my deposit back but I feel like this water damage thing is totally made up or can't reasonably be blamed on us?

Hi Ya'll,
I recently graduated OCS and I have been bombarded myself in real life over what to expect with OCS. For context, I went from basic training straight to OCS, and even graduated with honors. From the time of writing this post, it has officially been a month since I graduated. So here is a list of common questions I get and I hope I can settle some anxiety for all of you future 2nd LTs.
Warning: The cadre at OCS does read these Reddit posts, so I won't be able to post answers to tests or events.

I haven't received a welcome letter or a packing list. Where can I find it?
- Fort Moore Officer Candidate School (army.mil) I would download and print the packing list and the ISAP. The ISAP acts more or less like a syllabus from college. It will give a rough understanding of the rules, regulations, and requirements for you to pass.
Is everything on the packing list required?
- Yes. Try your best to follow the packing list to the letter. It is almost entirely dependent on the cadre and of course, the weather does play a part in their decision making. Some things you'll find you didn't really need or use throughout your cycle. For example, my cycle didn't use 550 Cord almost at all, but I used it to build a hooch and secure sensitive items.
What if I don't have the required equipment on the packing list?
- When it comes to military equipment, try your best and bring what you can. I was never issued an IFAK before OCS or after. The cadre understands they have some coming from basic and those in-service. So if you have it, bring it. If not, bring it up to your cadre and they'll schedule time to get it issued to you.
Anything not on the packing list you recommend?
- I would recommend the following: hand soap, bathroom spray, travel vacuum, wet wipes, clipboard with compartment, pillow, very bright headlamp, multitool, and laminator. Hand soap because for some reason OCS had a hard time procuring it. Travel vacuum because you'll likely have 2 or 3 vacuums available to your platoon and having your own saves time. Wet wipes to dust everything down. Clipboard with compartment for Land Nav as you'll be running with maps, marker, protractor, and your points so its best to have something safe and secure. Laminator for your papers because its Georgia and your papers can get wet. The pillows at OCS have this weird plastic cover on so if you want a better night sleep, get a better pillow. The headlamp is just in case, some classes enforce the lumen limit while others don't, Land Nav is DARK so if you can find a lighthouse out there, do it. The multitool is just useful to have especially if you are out in the field.
Where can I find some things on the packing list I am missing?
- Luckily there is a company called Commandos who helped us out the entire time. They have an OCS purchasing list you can take advantage of. They even deliver that weekend at the footprint.
- Visit: https://commando-military-supply-9d5038.printavo.com/merch/ocs-packing-list/
I saw you can bring your laptops? Is it required for classes? Can I opted in for a tablet or iPad?
- You can bring a personal laptop primarily for recreational use after duty hours. OCS will provide you with a government laptop that you'll need to use your CAC to access. Tablets and iPads are not considered laptops and will be confiscated like a phone. If the majority of your class has issues with the government-issued laptops, then the cadre may allow the use of your personal laptops.
What is your day-to-day look like?
- Mostly on a non-physical or FTX event coming up you'll follow the following schedule: 0500 - wake up. First formation is at 0600, then you conduct PT until breakfast. After breakfast, you will head to the classroom and stay there until lunch, return and stay there until dinner. After dinner, it will be the end of the duty hours and you'll roughly have 2 hours for personal time.
What are the most important categories/test to focus on?
- Treat everything as important. Every test you do not pass can put you at risk of being recycled, and it is up to you to catch up. For example while everyone is studying for tactics, you'll be studying tactics and history if you failed history. So save yourself the hassle and take every test seriously. The big 3 recycle events have been historically, Army History (70% to pass), Land Nav (4 points or more to pass (day and night)), and the 4-mile run (need to run in under 36 minutes regardless of gender).
How many retests or chances do you get?
- You get 2 tries at everything before recycle. You get 2 tries again at the same test then you can be dismissed. For example: You are part of Alpha company. You failed history twice. You get recycled into Bravo company. You failed history twice again. You can be dismissed.
- If you happen to pass history but fail Land Nav twice, then you'll be recycled into Charlie. If you fail Land Nav twice then you can be dismissed.
What is a recycle? What does it look like in OCS? Can you get dismissed?
- A recycle is when you fail something twice and you get "recycled" into the next class. A recycle can occur for other reasons such as illness or injury. You can also be recycled for improper behavior or being "peered out". Every class starts up in a like a month (I heard they are changing that for even further out). So even though the cycle takes about 12 weeks to complete, if you get recycled you can expect more like 16 weeks or more. We had someone at OCS who has been with it for a year. If you get recycled for repeat offenses, or do something majorly bad such as breaking the law, then you can be dismissed.
What is being peered out mean?
- Throughout the cycle you are put into a platoon and then a squad. Your squadmates eventually all sit down and fill out a form to give to the cadre who is the weakest link in the squad. Usually, squads kick out the person they do not like. We had to kick out one person because they didn't mesh well within the squad and wasn't very kind. He would then get replaced with someone else who got peered out. Luckily after that one person got kicked out, the squad improved and we tried our hardest to keep it together. We still needed to peer someone out, but we kept tabs on them and invited them to a lot of our squad functions nonetheless as my squads grew to love and respect each other as a family.
- If you do get peered out, unfortunately, you get a spot report, moved to a different squad, and are at risk of being recycled if peered out again. Stay humble and help out whenever you can. I got the most respect from my squadmates as I stayed up late with them to help them with their STX lanes.
What is personal time like?
- You essentially use personal time to work out if the PT wasn't enough, clean yourself, and prepare for bed. Yes if you have time, you can contact family and friends (when you get your phones), and if you have the time, play games. I don't recommend playing games as it distracts you from the mission of graduating.
What are the different phases like?
- You are separated into 3 phases. Black, Blue, and White. You immediately enter black phase upon arrival with a tradition called "Gold to Black". Which is more or less a physical smoking session. During Black you are expected to run everywhere, not be able to drink coffee, have your phone confiscated (and given back on Sunday), and have less personal time. Blue you get the ability to drink coffee again, and you have your phones returned and used only during personal time. During Blue you get the ability to visit and explore the base (Fort Moore) and shop around. During White phase you get the ability to explore off-base (Columbus) and you get to wear civilian clothes. White phase if you leave off-post, you need to be in uniform, and on-base you can be in civilians.
Can you use your personal vehicle?
- Yes, but you can only drive it during White Phase
How can I keep in contact with my family during Black phase?
- I recommend that you download WhatsApp or some other social media on your laptop and have your family members on it.
Can I visit the gym on base?
- Yes during Blue phase you can visit the gym. Rules regulate that you leave the footprint in uniform and change into the appropriate PT uniform once at the gym and conducting PT.
What is the DFAC like?
- The DFAC is better than basic training and offers snacks like cookies, granola bars, ice cream, and soda. They have a salad bar and the usual cycle of foods. They do have a "short-order" line that serves fries, burgers, hot dogs, etc. To stay in physical shape, I recommend eating your fruit and a side salad every meal. Drink juice, Gatorade, or water only. I only drank soda and the burger after an intense physical requirement like a long run or a ruck march to regain my glucose and caloric levels.
Does Amazon deliver there?
- Yes, you can have other things delivered to the footprint. However, the Cadre are going to inspect it for food and other contraband. Just ask the cadre for the delivery address. It may take like 2 weeks for them to deliver it.
Any final advice?
- Be helpful and noticeable amongst your squad but try not to bring attention to yourself from the cadre. Take everything seriously and give yourself proper rest and proper nutrition. OCS is not hard, but it can be if you let it get to you. OCS is designed to test your competency, commitment, and character. I luckily had an amazing squad, and I had a blast with them.
Any advice on room cleanliness?
- Your rooms will always be inspectable. You literally leave the door open and cadre can enter whenever they please to inspect your room. Room inspections are always very strict and can result in spot reports. Some tips I did with my roommates were the following: Always help each other lock each other's lockers. If it is open the cadre will then see how much of a mess it is. My closet was 90% of the time never up to standard as it is hard to putting away everything nice and neat every single night. I also slept on the floor to not disturb my bed as any wrinkle can result in a spot report. I used an extra towel as a display in the bathroom and never used it, and I used an extra laundry bag as a display and never used it.

I want this to be an open forum so don't be afraid to leave any more questions below. If the answer you are seeking is not above, then write the question in the comments, and I will try my best to answer you before you are sent off. Best of luck, thank you for your service, and be the best leaders your soldiers deserve.

Ok yall we just found out my husbands w2 didn’t match what the irs had, so after having to verify and wait for a letter, we were told everything is ok. Then come to find out the end of April something told me to call and they told me about the withholding not matching. (Husband is military and was on drill orders assignment and then was selected to become an instructor) they had his drill pay stopped but we continued to receive it because we didn’t end up going there. Quaue the wrong withholdings.
I filed our amendment on the 2nd of May and it was accepted. I was told since we adjusted it to be less it won’t take long. But gosh we haven’t received any money and it’s been MONTHS!
Any insight? We had one amendemnt years and it took four months 😪
This year we filed 2/2 it was accepted 2/3 and we had to verify our identity.

Previous Entry
Writing these things has made me realize how different I sound these days. Back when all this started I’m not sure I even spoke English and I certainly didn’t speak like I do now but to be honest, I don’t remember. Trying to recall things to write has made me realize exactly how many little things I’ve forgotten over the years. The sights, the sounds, all those fade into the background of most events.
Even something as visceral as Archer’s basement still takes me a while to recall clearly. I wonder if it’s more than just my long life, we do age after all. I mentioned before that sunlight is not deadly to vampires like myself but very unpleasant, that and it makes us more normal. In the sun I won’t be as strong as I would be in the dark and by my assessment I age in the sun as well. Not any faster than a normal person but I do age, its why I don’t still look like that little boy stuck in Paris anymore.
I did spend quite some time in Paris before I left or rather, escaped. I’m not sure I ever would have left if not for the war. I didn’t have many friends there save for other… I’m not sure what to call them… entities? Whatever you want to cal it I had some friends in the more supernatural parts of the city. A vampire named Belle had become a sort of mother figure to me over the years spent there.
I met her by chance one night as I sated myself in an alley. I was ready to fight but she just laughed and flashed her own fangs at me, ridiculing me for being so careless. It was under her wing where I learned everything I know now about vampires. It’s where I realized not all vampires endure sunlight as well as I do, if anything that one trait is what’s most unique about me according to her. But thats not the story I want to tell on these pages tonight. I want to tell the story of lieutenant Marsh and the real beginnings of the organization that would become Chimera.
When war came to Paris that summer I was unprepared. I never expected the war to spiral out of hand so quickly or for it to force me out of my home. I was with Belle and a few more of her friends whose names escape me waiting out the worst of it and hoping things would blow over in the city soon. Obviously we were completely misguided, it was that sense of invulnerability again just the same as when I was a boy. The world was our playground and nothing could hurt us. It didn’t help that in some ways I really was invulnerable and it went straight to my head.
Only flashes of my memory from that day remain. I remember the nazi soldier kicking in the door and firing at Belle’s friends. I remember the screaming that abruptly ended in a single gunshot. I remember the trail of blood leading to her friends body where it lay staked to the ground in the sun. We heal fast, not instantly but much faster than a human. Put us in sunlight though, and we’re just as fragile as a normal person. It was the first time I’d seen someone with abilities like ours die and it made me feel mortal again for the first time in decades.
The rest of the day is a disjointed blur. Belle and I fled the city, I blank out on the specifics of it but we made it out with some difficulty. After that we hunkered down for the night in a rickety old shack. I remember wanting to push on through the day but Belle protested, she didn’t deal with the sun as well as I did. When night finally fell we fled to the coast and managed to catch a ship heading towards the United States.
The trip was unpleasant to say the least, neither of us made good stowaways. We weren’t living life in the lap of luxury before by any means but we lived comfortably. This was a far cry from what we were used to in Paris and the welcome we received was even worse. Apparently fleeing for your own survival is a crime, both of us were separated and sent to prison on our arrival to the states for stowing away on the ship.
That was the last time I ever saw Belle, I get letters from her every now and then but I haven’t seen her in person since. She does well for herself, works in D.C. as a sort of handler for the supernatural. Regrettably she does work with Chimera, says they have the best interests at heart for the supernatural but she doesn’t see what I see out here. She doesn’t know the part I played in its creation, what it really stood for in the beginning. Chimera tends to kill first these days rather than actually try to help or give the supernatural some kind of place in the world. I think thats why I haven’t been to visit her, I just don’t want to argue with a friend as old as her. Funnily enough I don’t think anyone knows she’s a vampire. I doubt they’d take that very well, she’d probably lose her position. They must have suspicions though because theres no way she’d be able to get letters to me without Baelen knowing about it. Every few months they keep showing up though and I always make sure to write her back.
Anyways I’m getting off topic, back to my story. I was in prison for months until an offer came my way, serve the rest of my sentence or enlist in the army and be a free man when I came back, if I came back. Of course I took the offer, I didn’t realize how suspicious that deal sounded at the time but it actually played out exactly as they said. I also didn’t have much of a choice in the matter either. It was hard to get my hands on any blood when I was almost constantly under watch and I could feel the effects it was having on me. I figured it would be best to get a change of scenery.
The next week I was off to training then not long after, we shipped out to the trenches and met the commander of the platoon I’d been assigned to. That’s the first time I met Lieutenant Johnson Marsh and what a man he was. That first day I was convinced I’d never see a smile ever again, the trenches were a horrible depressing place. But there Marsh was, laughing and smiling and just generally enjoying life with the rest of the platoon. He was either crazy or stupid, thats what my first thoughts about him were. I remember those clearly even today but I couldn’t have been more wrong. If anything he may have turned out to be one of the smartest men I ever knew.
The first few weeks were spent holding our position from the germans. It was brutal but I found I was a decent shot with the rifle I was given. Marsh on the other hand spent those weeks barking orders at us and keeping us in line. He never used a rifle like most of the soldiers used. Instead he kept a Beretta m9 with him at all times. That weapon was the only one I ever saw him use. I remember the name only because he was so found of explaining everything there was to know about the gun to me whenever I questioned him about it. You could immediately recognize the pistol as his by its strange grip. One side of it had a picture of an idyllic scene of a manor house in the middle of a sprawling field. The other had a painting of a woman, his wife I’d guess but he never actually told me if that was there case. He seemed to spend the nights staring with longing at each side of the artistic grip.
I’d never really had a family, even with Belle I’d always felt like I was a bit of an outsider. There was so much I didn’t know about how normal people lived. Even though I’d had friends in Paris we were always kind of hidden away in our own personal corner. There was this separation between us and normal life, even between the other supernaturals in the area.
Here I felt like I was part of something though. Sure I was still lost but so was everyone else, we could be lost together and Marsh would always set us straight in the end. There was something about the man, some piece of him that just understood what we were all going through. He expected a lot from us but he was never unreasonable and several times even argued with command on our behalf when ridiculous orders came our way. I actually wanted to serve with him. The rest of the platoon wasn’t bad but they’d all been given the same deal as me. They were all just there to get out of prison. I’m still not sure what Marsh’s story was, he always kept that to himself but any of us would’ve taken a bullet for that man.
Our first real assignment came maybe three months into my period of indentured service. Our platoon was tasked with rescuing a captured American scientist and capturing a German scientist. The scientists in question were Frank Smith and Stein Hoffman and no, the irony of those names is not lost on me, fits the two of them though. I’m sure doctor Frankenstein wishes he was successful as those two. But before those orders could be acted on we had to overtake a German trench surrounding the compound they were staying in.
That fight was bloody and we lost several good men in the chaos. At one point a trench gun was shoved into my arms and I launched myself into the German trench. I wouldn’t be surprised if ghost stories are still passed around of what I did that day. After I made my way over and into the German trench I lashed out with all I had. Moving with superhuman speed and lashing out with both the bayonet affixed to my gun and my fangs, I fell upon the Germans. They stood little chance as I tore into them and all by my lonesome I ensured we’d face no more resistance.
Marsh was the first over into the now silent trench, I’m glad it was him because I’m not sure anyone else would’ve understood like him. I was holding the German officer to the trench wall, fangs buried in his neck as I fed when I heard footsteps behind me. I dropped him and turned to see Marsh staring questioningly at me. I must’ve been a sight to see, blood dripping from my mouth and covering my bullet torn uniform. Marsh steadied himself for a moment and shouted back to the rest of the platoon,
“Boys hold up a second! Just get down and stay up there a minute won’tcha!”
All of a sudden he took a step forward and a well mannered grin took its usual place on his lips.
“Though You didn’t care for sauerkraut J.?”
The joke stunned me, I fully expected him to shoot me then and there, put me down like the abomination I must’ve looked like to him.
“Lieutenant I…”
But Marsh raised his hands to cut me off.
“Command’d probably want me to shoot’cha, hell maybe I aught’a but I don’t think it’d be right. You seem decent, little odd sure but you’ve got heart, I see it in the way you look out for the boys. Plus I always figured there was some’n off about you. The way you stay out’a the light always seem a little faster and stronger than anyone got the right to be just didn’t figure it’d be…. That.”
Marsh told me pointing to the punctures in the officers neck.
“Thank you lieutenant, Could we keep this between us though sir?”
“Drop the formalities J. Jesus! We’re all friends here.”
“I just don’t want the others to know, they may not be as understanding as you.”
“No can do, but you can tell em’ yourself. Alright men, get on down here!”
In all my years I’d never had to explain myself to anyone up until that point. I guess that day my number was up but I never knew just how understanding people, normal people could be. I’d always lived around the supernatural in Paris, didn’t interact much with the normal people I saw in the streets every day, I didn’t have to. I’d always assumed there was a reason for that but in the moment I realized there wasn’t, not really. I’d just avoided normal people because I feared what they’d think if it came out that I wasn’t like them.
Of course There were some of the men that objected to… what I was. Most of them took after Marsh though. They didn’t really care what I was, I’d proven to them I was a good person and thats all that mattered. I just wish they’d been right about me back then because the truth was I still hadn’t learned to care, not really. Even the ones who objected came around eventually and that night Marsh finally came clean to me about why exactly he was so accepting.
According to him he’d always assumed there was more out there, things beyond human that lived on the fringes of society. Even he always thought he sounded crazy. I was the proof he needed to convince himself he wasn’t. Marsh also told me what we were really doing with the scientists. Both Frank and Stein researched the supernatural, their projects were as secret as secret could be. Marsh’s interests and theories, as personal as he tried to keep them showed up in his file somewhere. The higher ups had handpicked him for this mission because of it. The official story was that Frank had been captured but in reality he defected to further his own research with a like minded individual. Our mission was really to force Frank back into the fold and take Stein along with him.
The more he talked the more I could tell his heart was fully committed to this mission and the final assault tomorrow. I’d never seen someone so… alive. In my extremely long life I don’t think Id ever felt that kind of conviction myself. So I promised him I’d have his back tomorrow no matter what.
Morning broke and with it our assault began. Intel on the German defenses was shoddy at best but we never expected what we’d actually run into. At least three times our number acted as guards so a distraction was in order to give us a window of entry. A few of the men would handle the distraction “however they saw fit” to quote Marsh. Then Marsh and I would make our way into the compound itself and the rest of the platoon would cover us.
For what its worth most of the plan went off without a hitch. A tremendous explosion signaled Marsh and I to press the advantage and rush the confused soldiers that lay in front of us. Some actually turned and ran from me, apparently word of my stunt in the trenches yesterday had spread quickly. The rest of the platoon followed behind us but then our luck ran out with the roar of an engine.
An honest to god panzer tank rolled out of a tunnel we hadn’t seen that ran under the compound and turned its barrel towards us. I almost didn’t hear the blast from how slow time seemed to move. But move it did as the explosion of the shell’s impact scattered bodies left and right. The shell impacted behind us but the sheer force of the blast threw Marsh and I to the ground, knocking us unconscious.
When I slowly came to my eyes couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A man dressed in red priestly robes with a matching red top hat was walking between the bodies. When he approached one that groaned out with agony he’d kneel down and whisper things I couldn’t hear to them, after that he’d snap his fingers. sometimes the person he was talking with would disappear other times they would fall silent and sometimes it didn’t appear that anything happened at all.
Just the sight of the man terrified me and I wasn’t sure why. It was an instinctual reaction, the second I lay eyes on him I froze up and ice cold fear crept its way up my spine. When people accuse me of being the devil this man is who I think of. Even today I’m not sure what it is he does or why. What I do know is that he never looks the same. I’ve seen him appear as male, female, even as an animal on a few occasions but I can always tell. The second I’m near him no matter what he looks like the same old feeling comes over me.
Once my vision had finally focused in on the man he seemed to notice without ever looking at me. I blinked and suddenly he was there, kneeling over me.
“Would you like to live.”
He rasped down at me with a voice that seemed to boom around me no matter how quiet it must’ve actually been. I felt like a child again, staring at Archer for the first time. I’d never really had to fear death before but here I was, sure I was about to meet my end right here. In all honestly I wasn’t injured all that bad, I probably could’ve survived with or without this man help. But something told me that if I said no he’d make sure I would die right here.
“Ye…y… yes”
I stuttered out, barley able to form the words through the pain that stabbed throughout my body.
“You will be my instrument for one night at a time of me choosing.”
The man replied. I stayed silent as I stared into his eyes, trying to determine if the sunglasses he wore were tinted or if his eyes really did burn with an infernal red light. The man cocked his head as if waiting for a response to his question. I’m not sure if question was the right word though, there wasn’t much of a choice for me.
Looking back there was always a choice, maybe I could’ve survived on my own merits, found another way. In the years to come I’d wish I just said no, even if it would’ve cost me my life. But thats not what happened. I nodded and the deal maker snapped his fingers. As soon as he had dark clouds flooded the sky and blocked out the sun, allowing my body to begin repairing itself. The man moved on to where Marsh’s body lay and probably made him the same deal as I felt my body healing. Despite that, my consciousness faded again as I strained to try and hear what the man would say to Marsh.
We never actually discussed the man at all. Not then and not in the years since. Maybe that was all an unspoken part of Marsh’s deal. Maybe both of us just wished that man was nothing more than a waking dream, a vivid hallucination. Whatever the case neither of us ever mentioned that man to each other.
The next time I woke up I was chained to a table next to Marsh. We had been captured and brought before the very scientists we were here to apprehend. There were guards around but they all seemed to be waiting for some kind of order. I was certainly surprised when that order came in perfect English, even more surprised when the order was to let us down so we could talk.
Frank and Stein ended up being quite reasonable people. The two let us stay in relative comfort in the compound as long as we agreed to stay and leave them to their work. That was all the convincing it took for me. I understand that the men I’d served with were all dead and that these two were in some way responsible. Maybe that should’ve bothered me more, today it certainly would’ve. Back then I didn’t think the same way, they accepted me for what I was but only briefly, only out of respect for Marsh. What did the lives of people I’d known for so short a time really matter? Writing this now just makes me realize how cold I was before, I didn’t care for anything beyond myself. I’d made no efforts to find Belle since we were separated and how long had I known her, 100 years, more? I may have pretended I cared but when push came to shove I simply tried to make sure I survived.
Marsh wasn’t as cold as me, in fact he almost immediately reached for where his pistol should’ve been when he was unchained. It took Frank, Stein, and myself weeks to convince him that helping would be the right decision. He didn’t like it at first but little by little I think the scientists grew on him. The guards I’d seen our first day here seemed to thin out the longer we stayed. Wether that was a gesture of trust or simply because they were needed for more important duties I don’t know but it certainly eased Marsh’s mind.
I merely observed the scientists most of the time until Stein asked me for a sample of my blood. It didn’t surprise me that he knew what I was but for obvious reasons I was hesitant to give it to him, especially considering what I’d seen so called doctors do with vampire blood. Eventually he wore me down and I gave let him take a sample just to shut him up. After that I became more involved in their research though not by choice. They had me showcasing my abilities and tested the effects of sunlight on my blood. On a few rare occasions Stein even injected it into other prisoners that were brought in, something I put a stop to very quickly. T
hat sample of blood is why Frank and Stein are still around today. Somehow they managed to isolate whatever part of my DNA allows me to age so much slower than a normal person. They took that and spliced it into their own DNA against my recommendations. The crazy thing was it actually worked. Sure they had a newfound appreciation for rare steaks but beyond that I didn’t notice any of the effects that combining vampire DNA with your own would usually have.
As Marsh and I assisted the scientist’s research however we could we both came to the realization that they needed each other to function. Stein lacked a moral compass and was prone to suggest unethical or risky procedures, sometimes going so far as to carry them out without informing Frank. Frank on the other hand preferred caution in everything he did and sometimes I noticed him personally taking and shredding requests Stein had written for test subjects, hazardous materials, or samples from supernatural entities. The two kept a very delicate dance of checks and balances. Stein ever the daring mad scientist and Frank always playing the role of overly cautious genius.
Marsh and Frank got along extremely well near the end. The two would be up at all hours of the night as Frank explained what kind of things really existed in the world. Marsh always shared these ideas of a world where the supernatural and the normal could live together and I think Frank shared that vision. It wasn’t possible, still isn’t but treating the supernatural as something other than monsters couldn’t possibly be a bad thing. I think thats where the idea of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs really came from, those talks Marsh had with anyone who would listen.
Overtime one of our favorite conversations was what we would do when the war was over and we could leave this compound. Stein wasn’t sure he would, if his research wasn’t going to a man who’d simply use it to cause more conflict he wouldn’t mind staying. Frank wanted to return home, if that was even possible and he asked if Stein would join him. Those two had also become close friends through our months in the lab. That checks and balances relationship they had made them basically inseparable. Marsh’s answer surprised me though, he said he wanted to get out of the military and start a program, something to help the supernatural live closer to normal lives. At least keep tabs on them so that the quality of their lives might improve. I was stunned, I couldn’t believe he’d throw his career away just to chase this pipe dream of his. I didn’t even know Marsh was concerned with that kind of thing. I didn’t have an answer of my own so I said I’d join Marsh and help with this program idea of his. Actually, even Frank and Stein seemed to agree with Marsh’s way of thinking. Little did we know the war would end less than a month after our talk and we’d all get the chance to actually put Marsh’s little idea to the test.
Once the Americans had come and discovered the compound pretty much abandoned aside from us we were all taken prisoner and shipped back to America. We were all interrogated and they either heard what they wanted to hear, or decided anyone we’d talk to about our experiences would assume we were just crazy. We were released back into society under constant surveillance. They even gave us a sizable home in D.C., it was certainly bugged to its core but thats exactly what we wanted.
Through the next year we used Frank and Steins knowledge and my supernatural nature to track down entities all over the country. We made sure that everything was discussed and planned out in the house. That way however was listening knew exactly what we were doing and how successful it was. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows though, some entities would rather we didn’t know about them. Others were naturally aggressive but some we were actually able to help.
Our escapades as a group of four didn’t last much past the first year. Mostly because our master plan of using the bugs worked perfectly. Ol’ uncle Sam had been listening in and wanted his chance at calling the shots but it meant we became a legitimate organization, the BSA. Technically the acronym was already taken but no one ever complained and Marsh never came up with anything better.
We spent 4 years doing everything we could to improve the lives of supernatural beings everywhere. Not every one of our endeavors was a success but we did some good in the world. One such project was blood banks for vampires. While the blood that gets donated is used for transfusions and the like some was put into cold storage for the BSA. That got distributed to vampires who had come to an agreement with us to stop hunting humans for blood. Some vampires were even selected for jobs at these blood banks, under the supervision of BSA agents of course.
The more human supernaturals like werewolves, vampires, and succubi even used us to find jobs in the world. We made in roads for the supernatural in daily life because of it. Werewolves would use their strength for government construction. Vampire’s long lives made them excellent archivists or history teachers because they actually been there for those events. A succubus’s ability to understand and control someones emotions and reactions made them excellent therapists and conflict deescalation specialists. Those are just some of the fields we managed to get the supernatural involved in. While they usually had to hide their natural they were wildly successful.
Everything went well until that fourth year when I first met Baelen. He was headstrong from the beginning, the powers that be were grooming him for leadership. He was everything they wanted, he followed orders and didn’t question things to much. In short, he was the perfect solution to the inconvenience the four of us caused running the organization as we saw fit. But baleen had a mean streak, he didn’t want to protect the supernatural so much as he wanted to put them in their place. Unfortunately a lot of the research we provided had scared pretty much everyone above us who had never even entertained the idea of the supernatural until now. That meant Baelen’s ideas of monitoring and segregating the supernatural population were popular. So popular that suggesting culling their numbers to keep them in check and under the thumb of the BSA was an idea they actually entertained. That sentiment caught on and our orders became more and more militant.
Every time we disregarded them to do things the way we had envisioned the consequence grew steeper. Eventually Frank, Stein, Marsh, and I just couldn’t stand to see what our BSA had become so we left. We couldn’t do anything else to stop what was coming from the inside, no point in going down with the ship.
After that Baelen quickly ended up heading the whole operation. He still took orders directly from government officials and when the BSA became part of homeland security it became Chimera division. Why they chose such a stupid name I’ll never know but the organization was a shadow of its former self. Before we looked out for the supernatural, tried to help. Under Baelen Chimera just exists to monitor the supernatural and “correct” any issues uncle Sam decides to have with them. They’re glorified enforcers that don’t give a damn how the supernatural actually have it. That’s not to say some good people don’t work for them, people like Belle and even Marsh’s own daughter as far as I’m aware.
It sickens me to think I was a part of it though, for all the good we did maybe it would’ve been better if Johnson Marsh’s pipe dream would’ve stayed just that. I can do a lot but I can’t change the past so I guess we’ll never know. A while ago I heard that something had happened in a little nowhere town out in New Mexico. Pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth. The only reason I even heard about it was through Belle’s letters. Apparently Chimera had to do some huge cover up job and decided it was better if the town just never existed. Maybe I should go myself and see if I can’t piece what happened together. Could be that someone else out there has it in for Chimera and is a whole lot more direct about it than me. I’m just imaging it was some runaway experiment Frank and Stein got up to. I wonder where those two ended up, I’ll have to check up on them sometime. This journal writing is digging up a lot of memories for me but thats probably a good thing. Write them down before I forget again. I think that’ll be all for today then, why do I keep addressing these like someone’s reading them? Not much point to that is there?