Geoff has finally managed to cajole his way into the Army. He is canceling his co-op work and starting ROTC next semester, joining for 2 more years after he graduates in June 2008. Short of poisoning him and causing him to have a massive asthma attack, there is little I can do to change this course of events.
I’m happy for him in that he’s found a way to do what he wants to do in a way which will make him happy. I am… somewhat less than thrilled that he’s risking his life in a war started for the sole purpose of expanding presidential authority, but it’s his choice.
My advice to him was this, “Negotiate your position up front. Tell them you’ll join but you want to come in as a Major. Now, in the back of your head, be prepared to take Captain or something. Do they still have Sergeant Major?”
“Dad…They..”
“I’m just saying! It much harder to negotiate after you’ve signed a contract. Do the work up front. You wont regret it it”
“No Dad. I will be a second Lieutenant. That’s how it works”
“Screw that! That how it works for other folks. Negotiate now!”
“No. It’s non-negotiable”
“Really?”
“Yes”
“Oh. Then we’ll go with plan B. I’ll get the paper work started”
“No! What’s plan B? What paper work? No! No!”
“You can’t say ‘No’ before you hear the plan!”
“I can with your plans Dad”
“I’m not sacrificing my only son to presidential power-grabs…”
“Fine! Fine! Not again with this! What’s your plan?”
“It’s simple! We’re going to change your name!”
“No!”
“ You’ll like it, it’s very clever!”
“No!”
“Very clever…!!”
“Colonel Powers”
“I told you I can’t be a Colonel! I’ll be a lieutenant.”
“Yes!, but yout first name will be Colonel! They will call you Lieutenant Colonel Powers! Then later, Major Colonel Powers, then Colonel Colonel…”
“Dad! No!”
"Why not? That one guy chnages his name to Optimus Prime for Christ's sake!"
"... you have a valid point but ..."
“Oh! Wait! Forget that! I have a better idea! We’ll change it to General Relativity! That works even better!”
We debated this pros and cons’ of this a while longer. The name change will not be occurring immediately, but I am still hopeful.
8 comments:
Nice movie reference. Sorry to hear about your son, but, you know, he knows what he's getting into.
Okay, he doesn't, not really.
You know what the diff between a 2nd Lieutenant and an E2? The E2 has been promoted once.
Yeah, I know. I just want him to be happy.
And alive.
not necessarily in that order.
I'd still like to see him in oak leaves though
You think that this war is a power grab? Sorry, but you couldn't be more wrong. I was there the first time. I would like to hear why you hold that opinion sometime...
Actually, no. I thinkthe power grab was more opportunisitic than planned. I do think there is enough evidence to conclude that the Bush Administration planned to go to Iraq from Day 1, but I don't actually think they planned to get into the mess they did. I think they simply failed to plan at all.
Also, on this topic, I think if we want to win in Iraq, if the President were committed to the country instead of just his party's election fortunes, he'd be calling for a draft. We face the choice of either withdrawing now and stop throwing good money after bad, let it collapse and clean it up later, or going in massively, and actually fixing the problem.
However, a draft is political suicide for either party and neither will do it. Hence, I am anxious about sending my son into a situation which is, in it's current state, unwinnable.
Ummm... I think you need the mama's permission to change his name. Hubert Humphrey is still a possibility, I guess .... or Thor. ....
I don't know that the military addresses people using title and first name tho (unless you're Forrest Gump) so YOU need to change your last name. (I already did.)
Maybe you could just get him a cat.............
Feeling the need to weigh in here...
I did not join (or leave) the army (and serve nine years) because of the name on the presidential masthead. I served because I felt a personal duty to serve my country, to serve the people, and for the personal and professional development I received. Should your son serve long enough to command a company size unit, he will have had more responsibility before the age of 30 than many corporate vice presidents.
One constant throughout our history has been its armed forces. Presidents come and go, but the army will always be there. I served for three presidents (Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton) and none of my career decisions were influenced by the person holding the office.
And while I served at the behest of the president, it was the congress that paid the bills. If you want this excursion to end, then elect a congress with enough hair on its cojones that will pull the plug.
It's like the old saying, if you don't like the weather, just wait awhile. Your two best assignments were the last one and the next one.
"I did not join (or leave) the army (and serve nine years) because of the name on the presidential masthead. I served because I felt a personal duty to serve my country, to serve the people, and for the personal and professional development I received. Should your son serve long enough to command a company size unit, he will have had more responsibility before the age of 30 than many corporate vice presidents."
Completely agree.
I may not have made my thoughts clear here, instead dipping down for a helping of snark about the president:
1) I have no problemm with anyone, including my son, joining the Army. As I have said to him, if this is his career, I expect him to do well. In different circumstances I could easily see myself in the service.
2) I agree about the opportunity for responsibility. Once you have made a few decisions which could result in people being killed, everythign else asssumes its proper persepctive.
3) My *only* objection to this really is based on my fear that I could lose my only child in war I never agreed with.
As I have said to him, if he gets killed, I am going to make Cindy Sheehan look like a GOP campaign booster. I figure that ought to scare him enough to make him think about ducking.
Your concern as a parent is understandable. My mother felt exactly the same way. And certainly a part of me would to, except my personal experience allay those fears. Mostly.
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