Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A LITTLE OF THIS A LITTLE OF THAT... PART 1

....AAFEES....

Government sanctioned monopoly... They are the only major company allowed to sell on military post world wide. To those not in the know... The PX and commissary are aafees run businesses. Other then the Pog scam they run in Iraq and Afghanistan I really have never had a problem with them... But now they are forcing all the little cheap Iraq shops off the bases in Iraq. The main target of aafees is the DVD shops. All acrossed Iraq you can get pirated DVD's that in some cases arnt even in theaters for 2 bucks a piece. These shops are extremely popular among soldiers. I would guess that movie time in Iraq occupies the majority of down time for soldiers. But aafees isn't selling any DVD's. At 20 bucks a pop and 2 months lag comparatively with their new movies, they sell next to none. So they decided to play the piracy card to force the military to stop the sales of their competitors so that they can force soldiers to buy their 10X more expensive products. They can claim all day long that their plight is legitimate and that piracy is wrong, but the bottom line is that these stores are cutting into their profits. Aafees has always claimed to be for the soldiers. But its clear that the soldiers interest take a far back seat to Aafess mission..... PROFITS.......... FUCK AAFEES.


.....IMPORTANT PEOPLE DOOR......

Through the course of contemplating this I think I've been able to identify a pet peeve of mine. Stupid rules for the sake of having rules really bugs me for some reason. Huh, imaging that. Rules are restrictions. The more restrictions places on a group of people the more opportunity you give them to do the wrong thing. Restrictions in my mind are directly correlated with stress, moral, and overall happiness with the situation you are placed. I've found that in situations with alot of little stupid rules the moral is way down among the people affected. Stress is way up, and no one is happy to be where they are. Contrary to that, when in situations where there are no little unimportant rules moral is high, the stress levels are considerably lower and most everyone is happy to be where they are. Now i understand the need for rules, but I think you need to balance the importance of the rule against it's effects.

SITUATION: In our CP we have two entrances. A front and back door. They both lead to the common area inside the CP. For the longest time everyone was allowed to come in and out of both doors to enter and exit the CP. After a crack down of sorts on our platoon, the back door to the CP was designated for squad leaders and above. That's 4 people out of the 30+ in the platoon that are allowed to use this door. At first this rule felt like any other rule that's spurs from an impulse pissed off rant. I figured the door would be off limits for a week or two, then everyone would slowly start using it again until everything went back to normal. Much like when i was a kid and my parents would impose a dumb rule that affected my day to day norms because they were mad about something else. After a while that rule went away. All it took was a cooling off period and the rule would dissipate. Well it's been like 2 months in this rule is still in affect. What bothers me is that it severs no legitimate purpose. All it does is make those who are allowed to use the door fell superior to those who arn't. It's funny cause when a lower then squad leader level soldier comes and goes through this door the important guys ( squad leaders and above ) actually fell slighted. They have a look on their face that suggest that your in some way challenging their superiority or that you in some facet are putting yourself on their level. It's amazing how insecure some people are. That is why i have dubbed this door the IMPORTANT PEOPLE DOOR, cause it makes those who can use it fell important. Bottom line, if my avenue of approach is from the back of the building, im coming through the back door. It's absolutely ignorant to suggest that i walk all the way around the building to come through the front door just to satisfy to parameters of this asinine rule. To date i haven't been called out by any of the important people for use the door but a couple of privates have corrected me for using it. "Sgt McNeil, that's a E-6 and above door.... We arn't allowed to use it".... [ I smile back ] "I know".


....TO BE CONTINUED.....

8 comments:

Mayhem At The McNeils said...

hub are you censoring your blog again??? i wanna know what that comment said-jerk!{wink wink}

As for AAFES...thats funny. they just caught on to the whole DVD thing now??? The Army has had troops there forever....

I LOVE that your such a rebel and use the door anyways, the my love!!! You should actually make a sign and tape it to the door that says IMPORTANT people ONLY! that'd be hilarious...then take a picture so I can see it! LOL

39 days tomorrow till your home.....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I love you and stay safe me love!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Common Man said...

Hi Mike.
Thanks for dropping me a line.
My email is 5riders09@gmail.com, if you ever want to chat...
Matt joined the Reserve. He's supposed to be training to be a drill sargent. But, he's pretty disenchanted with the Mickey Mouse crap that goes on in the unit he joined.
Only two of the DI trainees have ever been regular Army.
He's trying to transfer to a unit where he can be range cadre. He likes the instructing part, but doesn't like the yelling and screaming part of being a DI.
When I went through Drill Sargent school, they didn't teach the in your face stuff. That's something that developed as we got sick of dealing with stupid day to day bullshit. Like doors meant for important people only.
Great to hear from you, good to see that your well, and that you'll be home soon.
Stay safe, and drop me a line when you get a chance.

Anonymous said...

What if there's a fire or some other emergency? Is it ok to use the Grown-Ups door? Don't lose your mind over there. z

Marian said...

complete and total madness!

Mamabear said...

glad yer coming home. please stay safe. Came to you here from Dreadcows blog, appreciate your support of my son.

Just had to comment on yer beautiful family---such good looking little "minnie Me's" and of course your wife too.

God bless you and yours as you come home to the greatest place on Earth. Hope you have lots of time off to appreciate your family.

Mamabear

Anonymous said...

Hey,
It sounds like both rules are completely stupid. Obviously, AAFEES has profits only in mind, which is what you said. Is there any chance you can visit a market outside the wire where'd they sell bootlegs (like while on patrol, for example; yes, I know about the handover, and I imagine doing so (visiting a market) outside the wire would not be the best security choice, but hey, it's a possibility). Also, you ever bothered to talk to the squad leaders about the Important Door or are they all too enamored of it to care? You ought to do what your wife suggested: make a sign, put it on the door, photograph it. See how long it stays up!

Deborah said...

Michael, just wanted you to see this video. I think that there are a lot of soldiers who do not believe that the America People care about you. We Do Love And Appreciate All Of You...God Bless!!!
Aunt Bub

http://www.youtube.com/user/OathKeepersOK#play/all/favorites-all/1/9306gUTzUOc

membrain said...

Nught! Thanks for evrything you've done. The important door sign is a graet idea. Stuff like that happens when the Garrison bullshit factor rachets up.

I hope you plan to keep this blog up as a historical record.

Military blogs like your are unique in the entire history of the military.

I just about had a crap when Fobbits Need Icecream Too went blank.

Stay safe.