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Rant

POSJ

POSJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Minot ND, Unfortunately
This is just me blowing off steam, you can reply negatively or positively:

I'm currently active duty Air Force and have been stationed at Minot AFB, ND for about 8 months now. I have never been treated so poorly for being in the military as I have been here. This station was my last choice of all the Air Force bases in the CONUS(Continental US). We moved down from Eielson AFB, AK 15 miles outside of Fairbanks. 90% of the Airman currently stationed here don't want to be here either, but we proudly do our duty and serve our country. The people from town flip their nose to us at any glance for only being stationed up here. I am not asking for pitty or praise. I only ask that you put yourselves in our shoes if you live near a base. Most of us would like to have been stationed back near our hometowns. Please treat the military the way you say you do. Don't put a flag on your car to say you are patriotic, treat those who are doing their time as you would want to be treated in a different town than you are use to. Don't refer to us by terms such as: baser's, wingnut's, etc. I'll get down off of my soap box for now, this is just a rant sorry.

Tyler
 
Thank you for serving Airman. I too was stationed at an ICBM base. I feel your pain about the locals saying Jetters and such. Although if you went to a town that did not have their airbase or military facility anymore, such as the Sawyer Airbase you would see that the town did not normally do very well for quite some time after they pulled out. The town people probably had a bad experience with some Airman who was doing something he/she shouldn't have been and has given the local a bad idea of what most of us are. I say look at it from their viewpoint. Would you want some guy from out of town running around painting your town? I wish you well at "Why not Minot where the snow can last all year" .Thats all from a fellow Disabled Veteran Airman.

:patriot:
 
Minot is every ones last choice of bases. I never had the pleasure of being stationed there, but from all reports it's not the most interesting place to live. If you would like to get involved with trying to improve the locals perception of the military, get with you First Sergeant and see if there are any opportunities for community service projects you could do. You get to improve community relations, and you get some good bullet points. Other than that, spend as much time with your family as you can, take some classes, etc. Let's hope your next assignment puts you some place you will really enjoy.
 
Sgtmack, I didn't go into detail much about stuff like that. My wife and I volunteer our spare time at the local Humane Society walking the animals, playing with them, and cleaning their cages. We are also fostering a black lab, and are volunteers for a Golden Retreiver Rescue foundation in the area. We also have a large relay for life team for the American Cancer Society. This is mainly my point, the base contributes greatly to the area in which they are built. We don't steal jobs from the local population and we put tens of thousands of dollars into the neighboring city's just by being here. I'm not really asking for much, just treat the local Soldier/Sailor/Marine/Airman as you would like to be treated.
 
a few moons back I was stationed in the UK; Sculthorpe RAF, detachment of Lakenheath RAF (my first choice - I know I am nuts) and it was mixed emotions from the "locals". The older people loved us because they could remember what the U.S. did for them but the young hated us. To make it worst I was in their country and we were just stupid American's.

Every time I see a bumper sticker with the my son/daugher is in the [pick your service] or my son/daughter is serving in Iraq, I want to stop them and thank them and their family for supporting this country.

Just remember in the back of your mind that the town would be devistated if the Air Force Base shutdown. I have back to Chanute AFB (only a few hours from my house) and the town is still going but it suffered and it still is not as prosperous as it once was. This is a hard time for all the military personnel and like the others I thank you for your service. Some of us are behind you 150% all the time. Remember us who appreciate and realize what you do for the town and the country.
 
Quit crying!

jk :)
 
thanks for serving man and tell them to f*** off if they don't appreciate what you are doing for them.
 
People from the Dakota (s) are a bit different as they are salt of the earth kind of folks.

Relax, you will get used to them, and visa versa.

As far as expecting special treatment because you have decided to join the services- get off your high horse kitty. Even though the base has a large impact on the local economy, and you feel you are special because you joined the services, you are a stranger to them and they will treat you accordingly until they know you better.

Ron
 
I don't believe I said I was on a high horse. I just said don't treat me differently because I got stationed in your hometown. Respect is a two-way street, if they want it they should give it aswell. I never disrepect anyone, every person military or civilian is refered to as sir/ma'am until they treat me like dirt for no reason.
 
In a uniform when I am at a reasturant....your meal is on me.

Least we can do.

Thanks man.

I agree with Ron on one thing....Dakota folkes are a little "off", kinda like the Madison, WI tree huggers.

:D

Rev
 
x2 Rev. My wife and I were at a Mexican rest. in Vandalia the other day and there was a serviceman eating there. I told his waitress to bring me his check and not say anything to him about it except it was "on the house". She looked at me like she didn't understand what I was doing.

POSJ-Thank you
Take care, Hoss
 
Rev, Hoss I have gotten one meal paid for in my career and it amazed me. It was about a week after I got out of Basic/Tech School and went back home on recruiter assistance. I'm from the S.F. Bay Area and people are a little clouded there about what the military does. An older couple paid for my whole tables meal and I really couldn't believe it. The only thing I would ask is give them a chance to thank you in return. Of course you are already being plenty generous and that is your choice. I don't feel like I need my meals paid for by any means but it is the act of kindness that is appreciated. Thanks to you two and the others who support the military day in and day out.
 
BlkXJ21 said:
x3 Rev & Hoss; POSJ - God bless you for serving this country in ways most people will never understand.
Click to expand...



hey you forgot this :us:
 
Rev Den said:
In a uniform when I am at a reasturant....your meal is on me.

Least we can do.

Thanks man.

I agree with Ron on one thing....Dakota folkes are a little "off", kinda like the Madison, WI tree huggers.

:D

Rev
Click to expand...

The Madison tree huggers almost had me falling out of my chair.:roflmao: Any time I see a member in the military I thank them. I too have served my time and would do more if I had not been injured beyond reenlistment. When I'm out and about the military are the elite, meals should be payed for by me. Anyone willing to put their life on the line for my freedom is more then deserving the little help I can give them. I have a brother in-law who is shipping out soon and all I can think of is what I can do to ease the burden on him. :us:
 
No tree hugging here...

It's just that my attitude for people who signed up for a JOB is different than that of those that Volunteer their time for an altraistic cause. It's the difference between a paid Fire Fighter, and a Volunteer Fire Fighter. One does it because it is a Job and affords them the opportunity for advancement; the other only as a service to their community.

My advice for POSJ remains the same. You are a stranger who is a short term resident and they owe you nothing. So can the attitude and learn to get along with the locals, or decide to take offense at every thing you consider to be a slang term for Service folks there.



Ron
 
Last edited:
Zuki-Ron said:
It's just that my attitude for people who signed up for a JOB is different than that of those that Volunteer their time for an altraistic cause. It's the difference between a paid Fire Fighter, and a Volunteer Fire Fighter. One does it because it is a Job and affords them the opportunity for advancement; the other only as a service to their community.
Click to expand...

Tell that to our troops sleeping in a dirt hole, who haven't seen their family in 15 months and have watched their friends killed by an IED or sniper fire. Each one of us IS a volunteer: nobody forced us to join.

Attitudes are contagious though. Who's to say if since you don't want to be there, the locals read that from you and that's causing the reaction? Or servicemembers have been the cause of many problems in the area?
 
kunaji said:
Who's to say if since you don't want to be there, the locals read that from you and that's causing the reaction? Or servicemembers have been the cause of many problems in the area?
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying but I don't think, in my opinion atleast, that I give off those signs. I bought a house here because I don't mind the area or the weather. As I said it wasn't even on my list of places I would have liked to have gone but I am trying to make the best of it.

Ron -
I don't ask for praise or anything paid for by any means. And I don't think that I know of a Military member that expects anything in those forms. This job barely pays the bills we don't do it because you get rich off of it. When I joined in 2004 I left an area where the median home price was $849,000. I now live in an area where the median home price is $121,030. If you think the majority of people are doing it just for a job and money your views are completely clouded.
 
POSJ said:
Ron -
I don't ask for praise or anything paid for by any means. And I don't think that I know of a Military member that expects anything in those forms. This job barely pays the bills we don't do it because you get rich off of it. When I joined in 2004 I left an area where the median home price was $849,000. I now live in an area where the median home price is $121,030. If you think the majority of people are doing it just for a job and money your views are completely clouded.
Click to expand...

No, the majority of people enter the Service right out of HS. It's their first real look at the world, and their first job. They go in, they pay their dues, and they leave richer for the experience, and training. There are large bonuses for joining and money toward college tuition. If you stay in, a E6 m W1 or O1 makes what I do currently a month, and the health care is free. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos249.htm#earnings

If you are trying to run a household off one income, you will run into the same exact problem when you get into the private sector as the mean income in the US is $30K and you will have to pay for everything. That's why most civil households in the US have two incomes.

Ron
 
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