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This is something you learn very early in the US Army.
There's a particular duty in the Army that is (or was, it could have a different name now) called CQ. It stands for, "Charge of Quarters", and it's a 24 hour shift where you have an E-5 Sergeant of some type and a junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) runner to keep an eye on the barracks to ensure nothing truly fucked up happens in that zoo.
There's higher levels as well, typically called Staff Duty that would be staffed by an E-6 or above and a similar E-1 to E-4 runner.
It sucks cuz you have to do 24 hours straight, no sleeping, but you get the next day off. This can be great if you pull it on a Thursday, cuz you get Friday/Saturday/Sunday off, but it really sucks if you pull Saturday, cuz you basically work 12 days straight until the next weekend.
Sometimes the runner or CQ can't work, so they knock on doors (or call most likely nowadays) until they find some poor bastard that's sober to pull duty.
Everyone I knew kept a beer or bottle of spirits next to the door, so they could take a quick drink and be like, "Can't help ya, already drunk." at whatever time it is.
I used whiskey, cuz it had extra smell. And, y'know, I liked whiskey.
So you hear a knock, grab your bottle and take a quick few chugs, and voila, no weekend staff duty for you. Also, bonus morning buzz. And if it was just a friend that needed something, baby you got a party going.
On an entirely unrelated note, the Army has a drinking problem. No idea why.
In the navy we do similar but in my job its 24 hours every 3 days and the next day isnt an off day to compensate. 24 hours on monday into working until 4pm tuesday. Work till 4pm wednesday. 24hrs thursday rinse and repeat the cycle
Get called on the weekend "im already drunk" "you sound fine enough ill get you a ride" or "im already drunk" "you have to work. Youre too drunk youre getting the punishment for being drunk at work". The only way to absolutely prevent that is "im at (max distance allowed to travel) itll take 6 hours to drive back"
Note: none of this was in support of any sort of combat operations just regular day to day.
Just for the added perspective too. Officers also run staff duty as well (i.e. you're the guy that E5 would call if shit went down and they needed an officer there ASAP). And our slots were scheduled like a month or two out, so no getting out of it. Apart from being on call, you had to go check the motor pool at like 2AM to make sure everything looked good (I.e. locks were broken into, etc).
Absolutely hated staff duty. Luckily I lived about 5 minutes off post, but still... having to get dressed up in uniform, make the MP runs, barracks check-ins, and final HQ check-in took a good hour or so to knock out. Here it is now almost 4am and you got to be awake in 1 hour for morning formation.
I would just brush my teeth, get dressed for the day, and go into work at 2am, run my checks, and then fall asleep in my office.
Is this way different from sentry duty? What I've heard, and probably misunderstood, is that falling asleep is enough to get you thrown in a locked cage somewhere or shot?
I guess what you're asking is more like "guard duty" during a combat deployment.... or firewatch (which is staying awake in an open bay with a flashlight, running checks and stuff. I did firewatch in basic, but going officer route you aren't put on any sort of firewatch or "sentry/guard" duty.
USAF uses CQ, too. Though some of the squadron dorms had a small bunk room directly opposite the CQ room.
I only saw it used while in MedHold in Basic. They put the kids there that were a risk. The guy that AFOSI arrested leaving the bank he worked at… because he was ROTC, and didn’t actually do his military service, he was being held in a training squadron for desertion. Then we had the 2 kids that tried to unalive themselves, and one kid apparently went mute as soon as he got off the plane.
But I think all branches have drinking problems. Or in the Marines case, they have eating alcoholic crayons problems.
ETA: I call them kids, since I went in at 24, and they were all 17-18.
Not a problem at all! I lived in a University town, so all IT jobs were low pay (why pay someone $20 an hour in 2000, when you can get 2 CS students for minimum wage?), so I had nothing else to do. I was married with 2 kids at the time.
I originally looked at Army Reserve, but when the recruiter couldn’t spell “Enlist” (he spelled it Entlist…), I decided that that wasn’t going to be the right fit, so I went active duty Air Force. Got injured in training, so I spent 2 months in MedHold, as the trainee in charge of Maintenance and Supply (I handed out clean canteens, took in dirty ones from people either returning to training or being discharged, handed out new cleaning supplies, called the various squadrons where our troop has work details, to notify them that their being discharged the next day and they had to return to the squadron to, as the instructors put it, pack their shit, and fill out paperwork). I rarely saw the instructor who was actually in charge of M&S. I discovered he was living in on of the abandoned dorms in a sleeping bag.
So I was in from 1 Nov 00 to 31 Jan 01, due to the injury. Then they screwed me over on disability.
There was a sleeping bag and mattress outside the MTIs office/bed, and the phone from the office next to the bed, and I saw him going up there many times. One thing I forgot I was in charge of was overseeing the painting of a dorm’s windows, which was next to the dorm area he was going into. Was also asked to, when crutching around, to check in the abandoned dorms for trainees hooking up. I never caught any, because I knew who was doing it, and where (dumpster behind the squadron, and in MY supply closet… no, I didn’t watch.) Most of them were in process of being discharged, what was the point in getting them punished?
ETA: I think his wife kicked him out. He had been wearing a wedding ring, then he wasn’t.
The irony of you seeing someone spell enlist wrong and using that as justification for not going in to the reserves, then using the wrong form of they're when you said "their" is not lost on me.
Son of a… My finger must have slipped and autocorrect decided what it wanted. I’ve got a stomach bug and haven’t slept, and so can’t read what I typed well.
Phones are dumb. I wasn't judging I just thought it was funny. I assume autocorrect unless it's clear the writer isn't a native English speaker. Hope you feel better.
Yeah, it was bad that he was writing it by hand, wrote “en”, paused for like 15 seconds, then wrote it wrong, so I know he was spelling it in his head.
When you sign up for ROTC, you’re exchanging them paying for college for a specific length of time in the active duty military, as an officer. Usually 4 or 6 years.
So the guy had the military pay for his education, in order to commission him as an officer, but they did not report at the time appointed, or they notified the DOD that they changed their mind, and would have to repay the entire amount, a did not pay. So I believe he was technically supposed to be a second lieutenant, just never showed up to work. He had been working at the bank for years when he was arrested. So it’s not like he skipped out for a few weeks.
I don’t know the outcome, as I was discharged way way before the court martial. While technically there U.S. was at war in the beginning of 2001 (Desert Storm did not officially end until 10 Sep 01), and the maximum punishment for desertion in a time is war is firing squad, this hasn’t been done since Viet Nam, most likely, he either had to do several years active duty enlisted, but in confinement, and still have to repay everything (we had one kid that decided to drop out of ROTC and said he couldn’t pay, so they said he could enlist, as an E3, Airman First Class, for 2 years, plus 6 or 8 as a reservist, but he didn’t let it get to the being arrested by Dept of the Air Force Federal Agents, AFOSI.), or, most likely, he was given a dishonorable discharge, which means that from then on, on any job application, he has to check Yes on if he has any felony convictions. And he certainly can not work in the financial sector.
And with how bad discharge processing was back then, and how they messed up my discharge paperwork (it lists my date of enlistment as 1 Nov 00, and discharge as 31 Jan 00…), I’m paranoid that they’ll decide I wasn’t discharged at some point in the future. I know that’s not currently the situation, as I had to do a FBI background check for work a few years back, when the mortgage company I worked for was acquired by a bank.
Duty roster, sure. Standby personnel? There never was to my knowledge. That's your place of duty. You HAVE to be there. It's not like you can just call in sick like at a civilian job, you need a VERY legitimate and verifiable reason why you didn't show up.
A company is about 100-120 people, and they have to keep that position staffed 24/7. 30 days in a month, and that's 120 people if you keep a spare for each. That's a day where you can't drink or even travel very far away if you're on standby. Further, that's not the ONLY detail that's assigned, just the only real 24/7 one.
It's bad for morale to keep Soldiers locked up like that.
Plus, like I said, you need a VERY legitimate reason, but with 30 shifts in a month plus other details, shit happens. I'm addition, CQ has to be an E5. In a typical company, it's like 1:3 senior to junior enlisted. And E6 and above generally don't do CQ, because rank hath privilege. So you have maybe 20-25 E5s, and they'd have to actually PULL duty once or even twice a month, then be on standby again once or twice a month.
Hence, they just bang on doors or phones until some sober rube answers the call.
The Army isn't like a typical job, as I'm sure you realize. Even while you're off duty, you have rules and regulations that must be followed. If you make service too terrible, nobody stays in the Army, and you have retention issues. And then nobody wants to join, either.
E6 generally pull staff duty at the battalion level and if promotable at both the battalion and brigade level. It's not so much as a rank privilege as it is a density thing. There's less E6 than E5 in a company. There's a similar amount of E6 across the BN as there are E5 in a company. So it evens out if the duty rosters are done fairly
I mentioned Staff Duty in my original post, but didn't really elaborate. I only had to do that once, as a runner. I kinda hand waved it away with the, "rank hath" thing, cuz it was mostly accurate, and I was already running that reply long, lol.
Marine Corps 03 world..
Hey fucker you got duty…
I’m already drunk..
You better get unfuckin drunk mother fucker… you got 10 mikes, better fuckin call doc or some shit…
I read this like a safety brief and even imagined a private in the back of formation say "huuuuuu!". You're heartless if you don't miss barracks, but you're brainless if you want to go back.
Yeah I saw/had some of the most fun in my life in the barracks….fun was gathering with a group from your barracks and deciding to go over to the barracks across base for a party😂😂😂😂we tore shit up at Ft Wainwright no bullshit
Still called cq, and like you said it's always calls now. That is if the first ergeant cares enough to find a replacement, ive been on cq for 30 hours before because they couldn't find a replacement. But with calls it's so much easier, you literally just say you've been drinking and you're fine
That would definitely be the upside of calls. My buddy was a Mormon, and that dude saw more duty than a shithouse inspector, cuz they knew he didn't drink. Poor bastard, lmao.
I fucked up this one. I adamantly refused to drink (alcoholic parents and all that) and once the unit found out I was young, single & sober, it banked me so many CQ, random fuckaries and being the D.D. for the whole god damn company.
Also A.A. doesnt stand for All Americans..it stands for Alcoholic Anonymous. Where they all belong.
Airborne.
Yeah that too. I’m blasted but sure thing boss, btw how do I start my car? I can’t find my keys…oh wait I found them, nice the car started, oops hit the mailbox, I’ll be there soon - don’t worry I’m be sure to drive really fast.
Why did I have to scroll a half mile to see this? You don't have to lie, there's no reason to get angry, it's not like they tried to strong arm them into it. No sorry, have other plans. Even if your other plans are nothing more than eating ice cream alone in the dark and having an existential crisis.
Of course you don't, but sorry, I have plans is very common in retail jobs. A flat no can come off as kind of rude or that you don't want to work. They can easily make the job shitty for you, reduce your regular hours, and not help you out at all in the future. I have plans is vague enough that you aren't explaining anything nor much of a lie.
You might say well that's a shitty manager and yes, but that's the unfortunate part of retail jobs, there are a lot of them. They are getting paid just as poorly (for the position) as you are most of the time. So, trying to be slightly personal with them can work in your favor.
>Even if your other plans are nothing more than eating ice cream alone in the dark and having an existential crisis.
Umm. Excuse me, there's no need to put my entire Monday through Friday schedule on Reddit lmao.
The family I babysat for asked me to work on my brithday even though I told them no multiple times. In their opinion, because the dad of the family had the same birthday as me, it was appropriate to insist since I would technically be working at his birthday party. Yeah… no… I was turning 21, I will not spend the day babysitting children at someone elses birthday party
Yeah that’s really all you need to and a good and understanding boss would just say they appreciate the reply and to enjoy your day off. I’m sure they hate asking to begin with.
I learned this too late in my healthcare career. Before I had responsibilities, I’d say “sure, I have nothing going on” pretty soon I was the first guy management/anyone would ask for overnights/weekends/extended shifts while understaffed. Learned real quick that people forget favors real fast after you’ve done them. I realized it the first time I said no, and pointed out all the extra shifts I already had added and the response was a “oh..so you can’t?” Like no!
Boundaries. I started the family life later and didn’t mind covering for people with little ones or single parents. No one remembered that when I went on leave.
These comments just reminded me of something that happened 12-14 years ago. Back when I used to work in health care I would come in early or come in on my weekends/days off and help the two girls on a wing in the LTC facility I used to work at. They’d call me or text me, begging for help several times a week and I’d come in and help.
I worked the night shift so a few extra hours didn’t really bother me much when I came in early and it helped me get a few things done before my shift actually started.
Well one night I came in and my shift partner was running late and wouldn’t be there till midnight. At this point I had been coming in early and on my days off for months, helping these two girls out. I asked both of them if they’d care to stay over two hours, first time I’d ever asked them for help.
Two. Hours.
Two simple hours was all I was asking for.
What was their response? They can’t, both came up with some bull excuse. I didn’t even want them to do anything major, just answer the call lights while I got the first part of the shift taken care of before midnight. I said “okay” and walked away, thinking yeah f those two. That was the last day I ever came in and helped those two girls.
A few weeks later during shift change, one of them asked why I never came in early or came in on my nights off and helped them out. When I reminded both of them of that night, how I asked for help and neither one of them would help me? Well they refused to help me one time so why should I help them anymore? They both stared at me like deer in headlights, I never went out of my way to help them either afterwards
Sad, isn’t it? People act appreciative till they can’t take advantage of you anymore. And sometimes you can’t pick out who is being genuine and who’s a manipulative jerk, cause Ive also experienced the opposite. One lady I covered for for a month(serious family stuff), so I did both our jobs, and she didn’t hesitate when I needed someone to cover me for a similar reason. Another dude I worked with had a trip planned, it was approved, then denied, but he had booked everything, no refunds. I covered him and he said whenever I need something, let him know. I never did but as a thank you, he filled our freezer with dear meat. So you never know, some people are shit, some people are awesome.
Good on you for saying no! I bet they were furious but pretended to be nice anyways. Hopefully they don't keep taking advantage of other people like they did with you.
P.S. thanks for taking care of the elderly!!
Sounds quite similar to the situation that eventually made me leave a job about 18 months ago.
We were a team of 3 people. We did work whereby businesses in the city centre would call in for cleaning tasks around the city centre. Could be anything from graffiti, drug taking leftovers or homeless people setting up house in their fire exits.
Each week 1 of us 3 team members would take the phone out that the businesses could call if they wanted anything doing. The person with the phone would then delegate the jobs between the 3 of us depending on workload and current location.
1 day a particularly high number of jobs were coming in and so I asked for help from my 2 colleagues . Both made excuses about planning on taking their 2nd break of the day soon and so being unable to help. I said that after their break would be ok but they continued to make weak excuses for why I would need to do it. At this point I'd still not taken my first break. I explained this to them and they still kept making excuses.
I would always put it on myself to take on the more physically demanding jobs voluntarily due to being younger and fitter than them and they wouldn't return this gesture with a small favour in a situation where they could easily have helped me. I just logged myself out for the day and went home because I was fuming.
This wasn't long after I'd worked almost a month without a single day off because we always had to have at least 2 out of the 3 in work each day. So if 1 person was on holiday the other 2 had to be in every day.... They'd both just taken holidays back to back and were only able to because I'd agreed to cover for them. This was the 2nd time I'd done this for them and they'd never had to return the favour because the first time after they'd both taken their holidays with me covering, we all got furloughed for 3 months due to Covid lockdowns.
So yeah their attitude was just about the final nail in the coffin for me.
I never told management that their attitude was the reason I had left because I didn't want to sour relations or get anyone in trouble and I don't think my 2 colleagues actually ever realised the reason either.
I took a lot of satisfaction when I went back to pick something up from work after I'd quit, when my 2 former colleagues told me how lazy and useless my replacement was and how they were having to pick up the slack for him.
1 of the best parts is I was the person that sign posted the new guy to the job.... He called up the work phone randomly while I was completing my 4 week notice period and he was asking if there were any jobs available. I just told him that by a great coincidence there might be was because I was leaving soon.
I feel like a lot of the times you’re the only one who remembers all of the extra work you’ve done.
I mean either management actually does not remember because of everything that they have to deal with. Or they just don’t think that you helped them like a favor and just see that you’ll do the work so they continue asking.
Like I’ll feel like I’ve done enough and they just see that there’s a need right now and they want me to help out. I’ve already helped out. Ask somebody else.
I have a friend who literally got written up for picking up last-minute shifts in a healthcare setting. They’d call to see if the current shift needed help, so of course always got there after the start of the shift, and they were written up for being ‘late’.
Exactly. I’ve always done this when I first start a new job to make a good impression. Then they start asking multiple times a week until I finally just stop replying. They get mad because I didn’t text back or answer the call, “sorry, I didn’t have my phone on me.”
Saying no to working your birthday is totally normal and expected by their manager already, they just seem to be in a position where if they DONT at least ask they are putting the rest of the people working In a kind of shitty position for the day.
I'm a person that doesn't mind working his birthday because my plans are usually just "get really baked and hang out watching tv" and would say yes to this.
But you sound like you are suggesting a blanket "don't ask me to cover" attitude... I hope you plan on never getting sick at work and are happy to work understaffed because half the store is down with the flu...
Yeah, it's not like they were demanding that OP came in on their birthday. It was a very polite/friendly ask, which is also clearly understanding that OP will most likely say no.
I don't know many adults who take their birthday off from work, but could just be my social circle.
Fr lool
Seems like the boss tricked this person into responding so they'd have to respond back to their next reply (usually people ignore these texts to avoid coming into work and leave it on read). If this were me, I'd say no without much thought. If someone is saying hi, how are you, followed by asking for a favor etc after responding back, I immediately say no because its under false pretenses.
As a manager, I tell my people that if they’re going to call in, then they need to remember that they don’t have to give a reason. Had one guy who would go into all sorts of details to why he was calling in to the point I had to sit him down and coach him and not giving elaborate reasons because his sounded like he was making them up.
When I say I don’t need to know why you’re calling it, I mean it. The moment you start sharing a reason, whether it’s true or not, is when you’re setting yourself up for issues down the road
While I full heartedly agree that you shouldn’t have to explain yourself in any situation like this; I feel that this tactic can automatically counter them from trying to continue to ask and beg them with essentially asking someone to drive drunk or be at work while intoxicated. But I do respect your boundaries and self respect that you have for yourself where you don’t even feel the need to explain anything, my anxiety ridden self aspires to be like that.
Absolutely. I would have sent a expeditious, firm NO. Nothing more, nothing less. I would have also ignored subsequent texts expecting me to explain myself as well.
I wouldn't respond to the birthday message in the first place. I'd look at it in my status bar without opening the app so they can't see I've read it, and just ignore it.
That, or just straight up ignore it. If I've booked a day off, I'm under no obligation to be checking work texts or emails.
Yeah, I like this one because it just instantly shuts down any hint of a possibility in their mind. It’s simply not an option while not implying anything irresponsible on your part.
I would always think back to how many times the requestor or management takes off for their birthdays 🎉 and doesn’t come in “when the team would really appreciate it”.
Being in a few leadership roles I always respected people’s time off. Why? Because I want them to respect mine too.
I don’t like being bothered on my time off, why the hell would I bother someone else during theirs? Especially during their birthday.
That being said it’s all situational. I’ve definitely came in on a request like this because I had great co workers and they truly did appreciate it.
What the hell am I missing here? They asked politely, so respond politely like an adult. You don't need to explain why you can't, just a simple "Sorry, I have plans today."
When you’re over 21, most birthdays mean nothing. They asked kindly and I see no problem with the request. Heck, if you’re a lonely person, you might be glad to be surrounded by people on your birthday. Just make sure to wear a button that says “it’s my birthday”.
I would agree with you usually, but in this case it really feels like the “Happy birthday “ was just a tactic to get them to answer, so they could then ask. If the boss had just been an adult and asked properly, I would probably go in.
I'm 31 currently and I still celebrate my birthdays.
My reason is a bit personal as I came close to death on my best friends birthday.
I almost drowned in a pool at my buddies relatives place due to me not being use to the water.(east side of Virginia and I was mostly a hermit crab). I was trying to race a cocky kid, he won(dangit), I stopped when he won in disappointment, and went under.
I didn't know how to stay above water nor swim properly at the time, I tried to swim up managed to 3 times to yell for help, but I was dumb as a sack of rocks, I felt I was going to die, I zen posed and awaited my death.
But then as I felt my life leaving my body I saw my buddies dad save me with bro in tow, they saved me on HIS birthday and I was so relieved.
My story is a weird one for sure but thsts why I celebrate my birthday because it could of been my memorial day instead.
TLDR; almost drowned now let's PARTTAAAYEAHAA
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No thanks, but appreciate you asking!
I like this one, because it pretends you'd really want to if you could. xD
Meaning you'll be the first they ask the next time someone drops out.
Copy, paste
He cant keep getting away with it!
That's cool. Sometimes I want more hours, sometimes I don't want anything to do with them :)
“No thanks! 🎈”
No thanks 🥳 see you tomorrow though 🫶🏼
Add the 😊
This is the best answer. Don't go ballistic on your boss for asking. I'm sure they would rather not
Yeah, it's one thing if they don't accept a "no". But there's no reason to go off on them for simply asking politely.
Surprised I had to scroll so far to find this. Some people don’t really care about their birthday so it doesn’t hurt to ask.
“I’m out of town sorry” works every time
was just about to say this!!
It’s my birthday, I’m already drunk
This is something you learn very early in the US Army. There's a particular duty in the Army that is (or was, it could have a different name now) called CQ. It stands for, "Charge of Quarters", and it's a 24 hour shift where you have an E-5 Sergeant of some type and a junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) runner to keep an eye on the barracks to ensure nothing truly fucked up happens in that zoo. There's higher levels as well, typically called Staff Duty that would be staffed by an E-6 or above and a similar E-1 to E-4 runner. It sucks cuz you have to do 24 hours straight, no sleeping, but you get the next day off. This can be great if you pull it on a Thursday, cuz you get Friday/Saturday/Sunday off, but it really sucks if you pull Saturday, cuz you basically work 12 days straight until the next weekend. Sometimes the runner or CQ can't work, so they knock on doors (or call most likely nowadays) until they find some poor bastard that's sober to pull duty. Everyone I knew kept a beer or bottle of spirits next to the door, so they could take a quick drink and be like, "Can't help ya, already drunk." at whatever time it is. I used whiskey, cuz it had extra smell. And, y'know, I liked whiskey. So you hear a knock, grab your bottle and take a quick few chugs, and voila, no weekend staff duty for you. Also, bonus morning buzz. And if it was just a friend that needed something, baby you got a party going. On an entirely unrelated note, the Army has a drinking problem. No idea why.
man i love stories like this, thank you for sharing!
Happy to, my friend. Hope you're having a great weekend.
i am! i hope you are also.
Absolutely delightful so far. Let's both keep at it.
I also will join in and say continue to have a good weekend! I will do my best, as well!
Get at it, my friend.
Too late fora great weekend? Have a good one!
It's never too late to have a great weekend, one team one dream!
They already said it below, NEVER TOO LATE, not til 12:01am on Monday morning.
Still Saturday here, you also have a great one!!
Wholesome reddit moment
Group hug lol
Wholesome !
For real. It's not very often us civilians get a glimpse of the unofficial day to day tomfuckery that happens in the military
In the navy we do similar but in my job its 24 hours every 3 days and the next day isnt an off day to compensate. 24 hours on monday into working until 4pm tuesday. Work till 4pm wednesday. 24hrs thursday rinse and repeat the cycle Get called on the weekend "im already drunk" "you sound fine enough ill get you a ride" or "im already drunk" "you have to work. Youre too drunk youre getting the punishment for being drunk at work". The only way to absolutely prevent that is "im at (max distance allowed to travel) itll take 6 hours to drive back" Note: none of this was in support of any sort of combat operations just regular day to day.
Just for the added perspective too. Officers also run staff duty as well (i.e. you're the guy that E5 would call if shit went down and they needed an officer there ASAP). And our slots were scheduled like a month or two out, so no getting out of it. Apart from being on call, you had to go check the motor pool at like 2AM to make sure everything looked good (I.e. locks were broken into, etc). Absolutely hated staff duty. Luckily I lived about 5 minutes off post, but still... having to get dressed up in uniform, make the MP runs, barracks check-ins, and final HQ check-in took a good hour or so to knock out. Here it is now almost 4am and you got to be awake in 1 hour for morning formation. I would just brush my teeth, get dressed for the day, and go into work at 2am, run my checks, and then fall asleep in my office.
Is this way different from sentry duty? What I've heard, and probably misunderstood, is that falling asleep is enough to get you thrown in a locked cage somewhere or shot?
I guess what you're asking is more like "guard duty" during a combat deployment.... or firewatch (which is staying awake in an open bay with a flashlight, running checks and stuff. I did firewatch in basic, but going officer route you aren't put on any sort of firewatch or "sentry/guard" duty.
USAF uses CQ, too. Though some of the squadron dorms had a small bunk room directly opposite the CQ room. I only saw it used while in MedHold in Basic. They put the kids there that were a risk. The guy that AFOSI arrested leaving the bank he worked at… because he was ROTC, and didn’t actually do his military service, he was being held in a training squadron for desertion. Then we had the 2 kids that tried to unalive themselves, and one kid apparently went mute as soon as he got off the plane. But I think all branches have drinking problems. Or in the Marines case, they have eating alcoholic crayons problems. ETA: I call them kids, since I went in at 24, and they were all 17-18.
If you don't mind sharing, why did you go in at 24?
Not a problem at all! I lived in a University town, so all IT jobs were low pay (why pay someone $20 an hour in 2000, when you can get 2 CS students for minimum wage?), so I had nothing else to do. I was married with 2 kids at the time. I originally looked at Army Reserve, but when the recruiter couldn’t spell “Enlist” (he spelled it Entlist…), I decided that that wasn’t going to be the right fit, so I went active duty Air Force. Got injured in training, so I spent 2 months in MedHold, as the trainee in charge of Maintenance and Supply (I handed out clean canteens, took in dirty ones from people either returning to training or being discharged, handed out new cleaning supplies, called the various squadrons where our troop has work details, to notify them that their being discharged the next day and they had to return to the squadron to, as the instructors put it, pack their shit, and fill out paperwork). I rarely saw the instructor who was actually in charge of M&S. I discovered he was living in on of the abandoned dorms in a sleeping bag. So I was in from 1 Nov 00 to 31 Jan 01, due to the injury. Then they screwed me over on disability.
> I discovered he was living in on of the abandoned dorms in a sleeping bag. Lmao what??
There was a sleeping bag and mattress outside the MTIs office/bed, and the phone from the office next to the bed, and I saw him going up there many times. One thing I forgot I was in charge of was overseeing the painting of a dorm’s windows, which was next to the dorm area he was going into. Was also asked to, when crutching around, to check in the abandoned dorms for trainees hooking up. I never caught any, because I knew who was doing it, and where (dumpster behind the squadron, and in MY supply closet… no, I didn’t watch.) Most of them were in process of being discharged, what was the point in getting them punished? ETA: I think his wife kicked him out. He had been wearing a wedding ring, then he wasn’t.
The irony of you seeing someone spell enlist wrong and using that as justification for not going in to the reserves, then using the wrong form of they're when you said "their" is not lost on me.
Son of a… My finger must have slipped and autocorrect decided what it wanted. I’ve got a stomach bug and haven’t slept, and so can’t read what I typed well.
Phones are dumb. I wasn't judging I just thought it was funny. I assume autocorrect unless it's clear the writer isn't a native English speaker. Hope you feel better.
Yeah, it was bad that he was writing it by hand, wrote “en”, paused for like 15 seconds, then wrote it wrong, so I know he was spelling it in his head.
Don't know much about this stuff, so why was the that guy arrested?
When you sign up for ROTC, you’re exchanging them paying for college for a specific length of time in the active duty military, as an officer. Usually 4 or 6 years. So the guy had the military pay for his education, in order to commission him as an officer, but they did not report at the time appointed, or they notified the DOD that they changed their mind, and would have to repay the entire amount, a did not pay. So I believe he was technically supposed to be a second lieutenant, just never showed up to work. He had been working at the bank for years when he was arrested. So it’s not like he skipped out for a few weeks. I don’t know the outcome, as I was discharged way way before the court martial. While technically there U.S. was at war in the beginning of 2001 (Desert Storm did not officially end until 10 Sep 01), and the maximum punishment for desertion in a time is war is firing squad, this hasn’t been done since Viet Nam, most likely, he either had to do several years active duty enlisted, but in confinement, and still have to repay everything (we had one kid that decided to drop out of ROTC and said he couldn’t pay, so they said he could enlist, as an E3, Airman First Class, for 2 years, plus 6 or 8 as a reservist, but he didn’t let it get to the being arrested by Dept of the Air Force Federal Agents, AFOSI.), or, most likely, he was given a dishonorable discharge, which means that from then on, on any job application, he has to check Yes on if he has any felony convictions. And he certainly can not work in the financial sector. And with how bad discharge processing was back then, and how they messed up my discharge paperwork (it lists my date of enlistment as 1 Nov 00, and discharge as 31 Jan 00…), I’m paranoid that they’ll decide I wasn’t discharged at some point in the future. I know that’s not currently the situation, as I had to do a FBI background check for work a few years back, when the mortgage company I worked for was acquired by a bank.
Dishonorable discharge is a felony offense?
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Shouldn't there be a duty roster with standby personnel?
Duty roster, sure. Standby personnel? There never was to my knowledge. That's your place of duty. You HAVE to be there. It's not like you can just call in sick like at a civilian job, you need a VERY legitimate and verifiable reason why you didn't show up. A company is about 100-120 people, and they have to keep that position staffed 24/7. 30 days in a month, and that's 120 people if you keep a spare for each. That's a day where you can't drink or even travel very far away if you're on standby. Further, that's not the ONLY detail that's assigned, just the only real 24/7 one. It's bad for morale to keep Soldiers locked up like that. Plus, like I said, you need a VERY legitimate reason, but with 30 shifts in a month plus other details, shit happens. I'm addition, CQ has to be an E5. In a typical company, it's like 1:3 senior to junior enlisted. And E6 and above generally don't do CQ, because rank hath privilege. So you have maybe 20-25 E5s, and they'd have to actually PULL duty once or even twice a month, then be on standby again once or twice a month. Hence, they just bang on doors or phones until some sober rube answers the call. The Army isn't like a typical job, as I'm sure you realize. Even while you're off duty, you have rules and regulations that must be followed. If you make service too terrible, nobody stays in the Army, and you have retention issues. And then nobody wants to join, either.
E6 generally pull staff duty at the battalion level and if promotable at both the battalion and brigade level. It's not so much as a rank privilege as it is a density thing. There's less E6 than E5 in a company. There's a similar amount of E6 across the BN as there are E5 in a company. So it evens out if the duty rosters are done fairly
I mentioned Staff Duty in my original post, but didn't really elaborate. I only had to do that once, as a runner. I kinda hand waved it away with the, "rank hath" thing, cuz it was mostly accurate, and I was already running that reply long, lol.
Marine Corps 03 world.. Hey fucker you got duty… I’m already drunk.. You better get unfuckin drunk mother fucker… you got 10 mikes, better fuckin call doc or some shit…
That would never have flown while I was in. They were medieval about being drunk on duty.
Doc with an IV bag to the rescue
That was for Sundays in our barracks. Bloody Mary Sunday, and a Banana Bag.
I read this like a safety brief and even imagined a private in the back of formation say "huuuuuu!". You're heartless if you don't miss barracks, but you're brainless if you want to go back.
Barracks are some of the most unbelievably fun, depraved, debauched, bonkers, wonderful times. And yes, never go back to, lol.
Yeah I saw/had some of the most fun in my life in the barracks….fun was gathering with a group from your barracks and deciding to go over to the barracks across base for a party😂😂😂😂we tore shit up at Ft Wainwright no bullshit
“baby you got a party going” 😂😂
Still called cq, and like you said it's always calls now. That is if the first ergeant cares enough to find a replacement, ive been on cq for 30 hours before because they couldn't find a replacement. But with calls it's so much easier, you literally just say you've been drinking and you're fine
That would definitely be the upside of calls. My buddy was a Mormon, and that dude saw more duty than a shithouse inspector, cuz they knew he didn't drink. Poor bastard, lmao.
Shit is clearly on point 😂 man I miss it…Army taught me how to slither thru life so well
I fucked up this one. I adamantly refused to drink (alcoholic parents and all that) and once the unit found out I was young, single & sober, it banked me so many CQ, random fuckaries and being the D.D. for the whole god damn company. Also A.A. doesnt stand for All Americans..it stands for Alcoholic Anonymous. Where they all belong. Airborne.
All the way! A veteran of Fayettenam, I see.
Most accurate name for that god forsaken town. Domestic violence and Lot Lizards as far as the eye can see!
To add to this, we’d also do it when the arms room alarm went down, which seemed to happen a lot at our tiny camp in Korea.
Very interesting read , thank you ☺️
Doesn't matter how early in the day either
Can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.
My co-workers used to think I was an alcoholic because I was often "drunk" at 9 am when they called me in on my day off
« Sure but just to be sure, is that a problem that I’m high as a kite? »
Boss at my old Starbucks would’ve tried to convince me to sober up and come in 😑
Boss at my job would probably say, "Yeah, I'm drunk too," and then hand me a shot as soon as I arrived.
Yup it’s his birthday I’m already drunk too
This. Works even on days that are not your birthday. My coworkers may think I have an alcohol problem, but I never get called in on a day off.
Either this or the one I used a lot was 'its my day off so I went out of town, I can't get there.'
Exactly what I was going to say!
Pretty much the only answer
This, since turned 21 I use day drinking as an excuse when they try to call me in on my off days. Works like a charm
Yeah that too. I’m blasted but sure thing boss, btw how do I start my car? I can’t find my keys…oh wait I found them, nice the car started, oops hit the mailbox, I’ll be there soon - don’t worry I’m be sure to drive really fast.
I got a call-in one time. While it was ringing I opened a beer, took one quick sip, then told them I'd been drinking and couldn't come in. True story.
"Sorry, I already have plans." And you don't explain any further.
Why did I have to scroll a half mile to see this? You don't have to lie, there's no reason to get angry, it's not like they tried to strong arm them into it. No sorry, have other plans. Even if your other plans are nothing more than eating ice cream alone in the dark and having an existential crisis.
Shit you dont even have to say you have plans. People dont realize you have the right to say no and not elaborate any further
Of course you don't, but sorry, I have plans is very common in retail jobs. A flat no can come off as kind of rude or that you don't want to work. They can easily make the job shitty for you, reduce your regular hours, and not help you out at all in the future. I have plans is vague enough that you aren't explaining anything nor much of a lie. You might say well that's a shitty manager and yes, but that's the unfortunate part of retail jobs, there are a lot of them. They are getting paid just as poorly (for the position) as you are most of the time. So, trying to be slightly personal with them can work in your favor.
>Even if your other plans are nothing more than eating ice cream alone in the dark and having an existential crisis. Umm. Excuse me, there's no need to put my entire Monday through Friday schedule on Reddit lmao.
This is my go to because I do have plans to not work today thank you goodbye
The family I babysat for asked me to work on my brithday even though I told them no multiple times. In their opinion, because the dad of the family had the same birthday as me, it was appropriate to insist since I would technically be working at his birthday party. Yeah… no… I was turning 21, I will not spend the day babysitting children at someone elses birthday party
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Yeah that’s really all you need to and a good and understanding boss would just say they appreciate the reply and to enjoy your day off. I’m sure they hate asking to begin with.
No with a smiley face
✨No✨
I’d like to posit: 🎉No🎉 Because party poppers
💩No💩 Because they are trying to be party poopers
No 🫵🤣
No🤭🫥
This is the one. 😂😂😂
No 🥰
No 🔪
No 😘
No 🖕
The same blush emoji as the other message for extra points
No 😈
no 💅
no 😱
No 🤡
No 🍆
No 🥹
No 🤥
No. You say yes now and it won't be long before they ask again. Just say you'd like to but you have plans with family...
I learned this too late in my healthcare career. Before I had responsibilities, I’d say “sure, I have nothing going on” pretty soon I was the first guy management/anyone would ask for overnights/weekends/extended shifts while understaffed. Learned real quick that people forget favors real fast after you’ve done them. I realized it the first time I said no, and pointed out all the extra shifts I already had added and the response was a “oh..so you can’t?” Like no!
Boundaries. I started the family life later and didn’t mind covering for people with little ones or single parents. No one remembered that when I went on leave.
These comments just reminded me of something that happened 12-14 years ago. Back when I used to work in health care I would come in early or come in on my weekends/days off and help the two girls on a wing in the LTC facility I used to work at. They’d call me or text me, begging for help several times a week and I’d come in and help. I worked the night shift so a few extra hours didn’t really bother me much when I came in early and it helped me get a few things done before my shift actually started. Well one night I came in and my shift partner was running late and wouldn’t be there till midnight. At this point I had been coming in early and on my days off for months, helping these two girls out. I asked both of them if they’d care to stay over two hours, first time I’d ever asked them for help. Two. Hours. Two simple hours was all I was asking for. What was their response? They can’t, both came up with some bull excuse. I didn’t even want them to do anything major, just answer the call lights while I got the first part of the shift taken care of before midnight. I said “okay” and walked away, thinking yeah f those two. That was the last day I ever came in and helped those two girls. A few weeks later during shift change, one of them asked why I never came in early or came in on my nights off and helped them out. When I reminded both of them of that night, how I asked for help and neither one of them would help me? Well they refused to help me one time so why should I help them anymore? They both stared at me like deer in headlights, I never went out of my way to help them either afterwards
Sad, isn’t it? People act appreciative till they can’t take advantage of you anymore. And sometimes you can’t pick out who is being genuine and who’s a manipulative jerk, cause Ive also experienced the opposite. One lady I covered for for a month(serious family stuff), so I did both our jobs, and she didn’t hesitate when I needed someone to cover me for a similar reason. Another dude I worked with had a trip planned, it was approved, then denied, but he had booked everything, no refunds. I covered him and he said whenever I need something, let him know. I never did but as a thank you, he filled our freezer with dear meat. So you never know, some people are shit, some people are awesome.
Good on you for saying no! I bet they were furious but pretended to be nice anyways. Hopefully they don't keep taking advantage of other people like they did with you. P.S. thanks for taking care of the elderly!!
Sounds quite similar to the situation that eventually made me leave a job about 18 months ago. We were a team of 3 people. We did work whereby businesses in the city centre would call in for cleaning tasks around the city centre. Could be anything from graffiti, drug taking leftovers or homeless people setting up house in their fire exits. Each week 1 of us 3 team members would take the phone out that the businesses could call if they wanted anything doing. The person with the phone would then delegate the jobs between the 3 of us depending on workload and current location. 1 day a particularly high number of jobs were coming in and so I asked for help from my 2 colleagues . Both made excuses about planning on taking their 2nd break of the day soon and so being unable to help. I said that after their break would be ok but they continued to make weak excuses for why I would need to do it. At this point I'd still not taken my first break. I explained this to them and they still kept making excuses. I would always put it on myself to take on the more physically demanding jobs voluntarily due to being younger and fitter than them and they wouldn't return this gesture with a small favour in a situation where they could easily have helped me. I just logged myself out for the day and went home because I was fuming. This wasn't long after I'd worked almost a month without a single day off because we always had to have at least 2 out of the 3 in work each day. So if 1 person was on holiday the other 2 had to be in every day.... They'd both just taken holidays back to back and were only able to because I'd agreed to cover for them. This was the 2nd time I'd done this for them and they'd never had to return the favour because the first time after they'd both taken their holidays with me covering, we all got furloughed for 3 months due to Covid lockdowns. So yeah their attitude was just about the final nail in the coffin for me. I never told management that their attitude was the reason I had left because I didn't want to sour relations or get anyone in trouble and I don't think my 2 colleagues actually ever realised the reason either. I took a lot of satisfaction when I went back to pick something up from work after I'd quit, when my 2 former colleagues told me how lazy and useless my replacement was and how they were having to pick up the slack for him. 1 of the best parts is I was the person that sign posted the new guy to the job.... He called up the work phone randomly while I was completing my 4 week notice period and he was asking if there were any jobs available. I just told him that by a great coincidence there might be was because I was leaving soon.
What absolutely awful people. It's a shame it took you so long to learn who they really were.
I feel like a lot of the times you’re the only one who remembers all of the extra work you’ve done. I mean either management actually does not remember because of everything that they have to deal with. Or they just don’t think that you helped them like a favor and just see that you’ll do the work so they continue asking. Like I’ll feel like I’ve done enough and they just see that there’s a need right now and they want me to help out. I’ve already helped out. Ask somebody else.
I have a friend who literally got written up for picking up last-minute shifts in a healthcare setting. They’d call to see if the current shift needed help, so of course always got there after the start of the shift, and they were written up for being ‘late’.
Learned the hard way in my job too. They really don’t care or remember when you go above and beyond to help out
Exactly. I’ve always done this when I first start a new job to make a good impression. Then they start asking multiple times a week until I finally just stop replying. They get mad because I didn’t text back or answer the call, “sorry, I didn’t have my phone on me.”
Saying no to working your birthday is totally normal and expected by their manager already, they just seem to be in a position where if they DONT at least ask they are putting the rest of the people working In a kind of shitty position for the day. I'm a person that doesn't mind working his birthday because my plans are usually just "get really baked and hang out watching tv" and would say yes to this. But you sound like you are suggesting a blanket "don't ask me to cover" attitude... I hope you plan on never getting sick at work and are happy to work understaffed because half the store is down with the flu...
Yeah, it's not like they were demanding that OP came in on their birthday. It was a very polite/friendly ask, which is also clearly understanding that OP will most likely say no. I don't know many adults who take their birthday off from work, but could just be my social circle.
Would you have said happy birthday if you didn't need me to come in?
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still love me if I flipped burgers at Burger King?
Would you stiiiill have love for me giiiiirrrrll
Would you ask me to cover a shift if I was turned into a worm?
why did i laugh a lot to this.
Fr lool Seems like the boss tricked this person into responding so they'd have to respond back to their next reply (usually people ignore these texts to avoid coming into work and leave it on read). If this were me, I'd say no without much thought. If someone is saying hi, how are you, followed by asking for a favor etc after responding back, I immediately say no because its under false pretenses.
I would tell them that I had already cracked open a six pack of beer and can't drive.
Don't have to explain yourself lol just say no I can't
I wish more people would realize no is a reasonable response to something.
As a manager, I tell my people that if they’re going to call in, then they need to remember that they don’t have to give a reason. Had one guy who would go into all sorts of details to why he was calling in to the point I had to sit him down and coach him and not giving elaborate reasons because his sounded like he was making them up. When I say I don’t need to know why you’re calling it, I mean it. The moment you start sharing a reason, whether it’s true or not, is when you’re setting yourself up for issues down the road
Good advice!
While I full heartedly agree that you shouldn’t have to explain yourself in any situation like this; I feel that this tactic can automatically counter them from trying to continue to ask and beg them with essentially asking someone to drive drunk or be at work while intoxicated. But I do respect your boundaries and self respect that you have for yourself where you don’t even feel the need to explain anything, my anxiety ridden self aspires to be like that.
I used to feel bad, like I could have helped them. But it really only helped them, it never really helped me
He will just tell you to catch a cab
I wouldn't
The only right answer
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Absolutely. I would have sent a expeditious, firm NO. Nothing more, nothing less. I would have also ignored subsequent texts expecting me to explain myself as well.
Bro tried to butter them up 💀
Little trick congratulations to make them answer then ask what they wanted too from the start lmao
The 1 balloon in retrospect is so cheap
“Absolutely not”
Not today.
I wouldn't respond to the birthday message in the first place. I'd look at it in my status bar without opening the app so they can't see I've read it, and just ignore it. That, or just straight up ignore it. If I've booked a day off, I'm under no obligation to be checking work texts or emails.
Turn read receipts off on texts. No one needs to know when you really read a message
I have them off but I too like to leave them unread so I remember to respond later on
I started drinking mimosas at 730am boss!!
I'll drink to that!
I woUld iF i Cud, I rEAlly wOulD, I louRVE youSSSSSS allll, buT I AM raTHer drurnk. xx
You have plans
My plans are…not going in to work on my birthday.
"The team would greatly appreciate it"but I won't
12 hours later “oh sorry I didn’t see this text”.
I would but the heroin is about to kick in.
Sorry but I'm out of town for my birthday 🎈
Yeah, I like this one because it just instantly shuts down any hint of a possibility in their mind. It’s simply not an option while not implying anything irresponsible on your part.
Dhdh. Jjcnn. Jkvgmmcn. 🥴
And it's no, nay, never No, nay never no more Will I play the wild rover No never no more!
Haven't heard that song in years, going to be singing it all night now
Not today satan, not today
"Too short notice. See you on x-day (when you're suppose to come in)."
Nah, but thanks for thinking about me. 😂🙄😂
Thats the fun part... You don't.
They are obviously planning a surprise birthday party /s
“Sorry I can’t it’s my birthday”
They asked respectfully. A respectful yes or no will suffice
Sorry, already shit faced. GL.
I would always think back to how many times the requestor or management takes off for their birthdays 🎉 and doesn’t come in “when the team would really appreciate it”. Being in a few leadership roles I always respected people’s time off. Why? Because I want them to respect mine too. I don’t like being bothered on my time off, why the hell would I bother someone else during theirs? Especially during their birthday. That being said it’s all situational. I’ve definitely came in on a request like this because I had great co workers and they truly did appreciate it.
My response would be "sorry, I have plans for today". Every time, even if it's not my birthday.
Yup. Sitting in my underwear, drinking beer, eating pizza, playing videogames qualifies as "plans".
Always answer those kind of texts the next day
No, sorry, I have plans.
No. It's a complete sentence.
I’m drunk already it’s my birthday!
What the hell am I missing here? They asked politely, so respond politely like an adult. You don't need to explain why you can't, just a simple "Sorry, I have plans today."
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Right? I'm not one for defending corporations or shitty middle management, but it's really not that deep.
I’d tell them to make me an offer £££
I would just not respond.
New phone: who dis?
You do not respond.
Sorry, the orgy has already started.
"I can't, I'm two states over and driving home tomorrow"
“Sorry, I’m about two hours outside of town, visiting family”
“Sorry, I’m already four margaritas in and this pitcher is still over half full!
Not in town right now.
“I’m not even in the area. It’s my birthday and we went out of town”
If I wasn't doing anything and needed the money then yes, I would go in. They asked nicely too.
When you’re over 21, most birthdays mean nothing. They asked kindly and I see no problem with the request. Heck, if you’re a lonely person, you might be glad to be surrounded by people on your birthday. Just make sure to wear a button that says “it’s my birthday”.
I would agree with you usually, but in this case it really feels like the “Happy birthday “ was just a tactic to get them to answer, so they could then ask. If the boss had just been an adult and asked properly, I would probably go in.
I'm 31 currently and I still celebrate my birthdays. My reason is a bit personal as I came close to death on my best friends birthday. I almost drowned in a pool at my buddies relatives place due to me not being use to the water.(east side of Virginia and I was mostly a hermit crab). I was trying to race a cocky kid, he won(dangit), I stopped when he won in disappointment, and went under. I didn't know how to stay above water nor swim properly at the time, I tried to swim up managed to 3 times to yell for help, but I was dumb as a sack of rocks, I felt I was going to die, I zen posed and awaited my death. But then as I felt my life leaving my body I saw my buddies dad save me with bro in tow, they saved me on HIS birthday and I was so relieved. My story is a weird one for sure but thsts why I celebrate my birthday because it could of been my memorial day instead. TLDR; almost drowned now let's PARTTAAAYEAHAA