Long overdue SITREP

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PAhunter21
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by PAhunter21 »

Evening Gentlemen,

Just reading through my previous posts on this thread makes me smile. The advice and encouragement you guys have given me is pure gold. Its like you guys have been there before or something.... Anyway, I figured I'd give another update and maybe beg for some more advice as I'm looking down the barrel of my ETS date.

So as for the SITREP, not too much has changed since my last one really. Currently an Anti-tank/Goose team leader. It's a job I actually really enjoy and I'll be sad to pass it off here soon. Finally got the experience of taking a new private, training him as best I could, and sending off to Ranger School where he just graduated a few weeks ago. All credit to him (even if he did go through with the girls) but it does feel good to kind of have left a mark on the the unit that goes on through him. Nothing else really comes to mind of note so I'll commence with the begging for advice.

This June I'll be leaving sunny WA and heading to Houston, Texas with my wife for her to pursue her teaching career. My time in 2nd Batt was something I'll take with me for the rest of my life and leaving was not a lightly made decision. My wife has been one tough chick through all of the Army shenanigans I put her through and I owe her a chance at her dream like she gave me a chance at mine. So Houston it is for a number of reasons family, job offers, long hunting seasons you name it. With her career settled, I'm trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up myself. I'll be continuing my service with the Texas National Guard but that is part time of course. The idea of going into law enforcement is very appealing to me to kind of blend my military experience and college degree. So I guess I'm just asking if anyone has either made that jump themselves, knows someone who has, or really has any ETS advice at all. Like I said, most of you guys have all been there before so anything you can give me would be very much appreciated.
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by cams »

Good to see you here again brother. Sounds like you've mapped out a fair plan and I wish you and yours the best at your future dreams.

As a LEO for 20 yrs now, and seeing how drastically it's changed for the worse, I myself would not recommend this job to my enemy, never mind a brother. There is no longer the old perceived brotherhood of police officers, it's a sinking pirate ship mentality full of back stabbing, complete lack of leadership at any level, and politicians posing as command staff who care only about their own careers and pandering to the social media "perception" of how bad cops are.

You simply can't do this job anymore without having to answer to a list of people who have no idea what the job actually entails. And if they cry loud enough about it, you will lose the fight and be sued, fired or jailed. Or all three.

This is and has been my experience, and this has also caused the quality of LEO's to drop drastically because others see this and say "fuck this" you couldn't pay me enough to put up with that shit. Society wants to let the animals run free, fuck em, they'll reap what they sow.

My advice, be a fireman. Better pay, more time off, a LOT less bullshit, and everyone likes the Fire Dept because you save their shit, they don't cost them money in traffic fines, or take their loved ones away to jail.
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IEDmagnet
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by IEDmagnet »

I agree completely with Cams. I am 6.5 years from retirement, and I'm counting down.


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PAhunter21
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by PAhunter21 »

Dang thanks for the advice guys. I hadn't considered the fire dept I'll definitely look that way. Saying the brotherhood of most LE agencies has eroded away is a big red flag for me since that was something I was hoping to take with me from the army. The wife having a job already has opened up my options as far as how long I'll have to lock a job down so I plan to send out feelers in a lot of different directions. Well thanks for giving me something to chew on guys much appreciated.
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by cams »

Keep in mind that I'm in the Eastern Bloc States, and sounds like you'll be living/working in Free America, otherwise known as Occupied Mexico, which is probably a lot different environment and mentality. Check around your area for opinions as well, I'd hate to see you lose out on a job simply because of the difference in AO and attitudes.

Our administrations out this way have completely buckled to the BLM type groups and YouTube. They'd rather keep their fat paychecks as opposed to backing up their men and telling the idiots to get bent.

That said if I could do it all over I'd be a fireman. I got into this because it was the family business and cops/firemen around here just generally don't get along so it never crossed my mind and no one suggested it would be OK to do without being blackballed from
the family.

Even the old timers in my family tried to warn me away from being a cop for the very same reasons, that was 20 yrs ago so you can imagine how much
It's changed since then.

As far as taking back some type of brotherhood similar to Regiment, I had the same thoughts, but quickly found myself surrounded by the biggest contingent of legs I've ever seen. They steal from each other, rat each other out, and would cut each other's throats for a piece of 4 hour overtime.

It's a whole new generation of weak, entitled, easily offended and race/gay/illegal/everyone's got PTSD stress card carrying faggots.

See here, I tried to stay positive about it for even one post, and it went south almost immediately upon trying to describe it. We were societies first social experiment just like you're seeing with the military now, except we're 20-30 years deep. Trust me, it's failing badly.
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Rio Hato/AO Diaz CCT/Commo

"It is a heavy thing, to see a Father so strong in life, unable to rise."

"A great civilization is not conquered from without
until it has destroyed itself from within." -W. Durant
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Buzz
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by Buzz »

I was a Fireman for 29 years; it paid well, with good insurance and benefits.
The hours (24 on 48 off) allowed for a side job to help support the family.
Over all it was a fulfilling experience, except for the last 8 years that I spent in administration.
There will be a fair amount of shitbirds that you will have to work with, but you won't have to see them every day.
You will have to interact with the scumbags of society, you just won't have to arrest them, instead you get to do CPR on them.

Cams is right, everybody loves a Fireman and hate the Cops. Sad but true.
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PAhunter21
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by PAhunter21 »

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I might get lucky and wrangle interviews and preliminary testing for both Houston Fire and Police Departments during my last leave here in a few weeks. I'll keep your guy's advice in mind during the process. Thanks again!
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by cams »

PAhunter21 wrote:Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I might get lucky and wrangle interviews and preliminary testing for both Houston Fire and Police Departments during my last leave here in a few weeks. I'll keep your guy's advice in mind during the process. Thanks again!
It's been a couple years but there was a member here that was/is a Houston Firefighter. Can't remember his screen name at the moment but I'll dig around today and see if I can find him. Could be a good reference/contact for you in that AO.
2/75 HHC C/E 89-92
Rio Hato/AO Diaz CCT/Commo

"It is a heavy thing, to see a Father so strong in life, unable to rise."

"A great civilization is not conquered from without
until it has destroyed itself from within." -W. Durant
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by cams »

cams wrote:
PAhunter21 wrote:Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I might get lucky and wrangle interviews and preliminary testing for both Houston Fire and Police Departments during my last leave here in a few weeks. I'll keep your guy's advice in mind during the process. Thanks again!
It's been a couple years but there was a member here that was/is a Houston Firefighter. Can't remember his screen name at the moment but I'll dig around today and see if I can find him. Could be a good reference/contact for you in that AO.
Sent an email about 2 weeks ago to the Ranger who I think works out there. Haven't heard back yet.
2/75 HHC C/E 89-92
Rio Hato/AO Diaz CCT/Commo

"It is a heavy thing, to see a Father so strong in life, unable to rise."

"A great civilization is not conquered from without
until it has destroyed itself from within." -W. Durant
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Jim
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by Jim »

Anything new and exciting?
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PAhunter21
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by PAhunter21 »

Sorry for the delay gents. Pretty much home from deployment, ETS, move across the country, all within a few weeks so been pretty busy. Managed to get my wife pregnant in that time too soooo expecting our first baby girl in January. Pretty psyched about that as well.

Officially got picked up for the next class for Houston PD starts the end of August. Pretty excited about it just to kind of have my future settled for the time being.
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by Jim »

PAhunter21 wrote:Sorry for the delay gents. Pretty much home from deployment, ETS, move across the country, all within a few weeks so been pretty busy. Managed to get my wife pregnant in that time too soooo expecting our first baby girl in January. Pretty psyched about that as well.

Officially got picked up for the next class for Houston PD starts the end of August. Pretty excited about it just to kind of have my future settled for the time being.
Excellent (if brief) SITREP! Will the Houston PD let you buy your years of AD for retirement purposes? Did you get any VA compensation when you ETSd?
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PAhunter21
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by PAhunter21 »

good evening gents,

Ranger Jim, I did not receive any VA compensation as far as a disability rating. I didn't even really try I mean I know I'm not broken at all. My brain says I should have fought for more but my heart just cant really accept it knowing that if anything I'm better off then I was before the Army. The only exception would be my hearing but that no longer gets a rating they tell me. I will be using the GI bill while I am in the Academy just to get some extra money while I'm here pretty much. Already have my degree and since I haven't done the required time to transfer it to my future kids seems to make sense to use it now. I would still have enough benefit left to chase down a masters someday if I ever felt the need. As for the retirement years, I was under the impression I could go for two retirements if I do the 16 more years with the nasty girls and 20 with the city of Houston. That was the plan anyway.

I'm enjoying the Academy so far honestly. Its like a super watered down version of basic training so far although I know the academic portions are coming. Even then, I get to go home to my wife and dog and away from the dipshits every evening and weekend so its not bad. A guy can take anything for 9 hours a day. My class is about 30 percent military so it actually is going pretty smooth so far.

I certainty still have my eyes open as far as other career choices. It's a paid academy so if I decide to dip out for some other field at some point in the future I haven't really lost anything but some time I guess. A big department like Houston seems like I'll hopefully have plenty of options to try out different things. Seems like If I cant find something I wanna do in Houston then LE most likely isn't for me.

So anyway, that's where I'm at for now. Sorry again for the late response gentlemen. Now that I'm a little more in a routine hopefully I'll stop falling off the face of the earth for months at a time on here.
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Re: Long overdue SITREP

Post by Jim »

Great SITREP. Going the ARNG/USAR route is a great idea if the PD permits it. The biggest advantage to military retirement comes at age 65 when you get TRICARE for Life, as well as MEDICARE. Yeah, I know it is a long ways off. but time flies when you are having fun. It has been a pleasure watching you mature over the past few years.
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