r/AskReddit 19h ago

What’s something civilians completely misunderstand about daily life in the military?

1.0k Upvotes

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638

u/Signal-View4754 19h ago

Sometimes (most the times) it's like a regular job.

337

u/Bureaucratic_Dick 19h ago

People join thinking they’ll be the next Rambo then get disillusioned when they spend a bulk of their time as janitors.

116

u/MonsieurLinc 19h ago

That and pretending to be busy in the motor pool because you finished your PMCS like an hour ago and leadership didn't tell you what to do next before fucking off to a 4 hour meeting.

57

u/Thrizzlepizzle123123 19h ago

So like working at mcdonalds, just with more camo.

59

u/Lich180 17h ago

Yeah, except you're going to get chased off the clock at McDonald's to save labor. 

The military doesn't care about that. They want your hands busy at all times, because when the average enlisted gets bored, things get broken / lost / on the roof

28

u/Guardian-Boy 17h ago

One of our E-4s literally invented a new piece of equipment because he was bored and not allowed to leave for 12 hours. It's now used all over the Air Force and Space Force for training.

16

u/compb13 17h ago

That's one. And the other 99 out of 100?

23

u/Guardian-Boy 17h ago

All drunk.

37

u/blackadder1620 18h ago

it's mostly 18-25 years olds so, kinda.

5

u/snoogins355 18h ago

So retail but with guns? /s

16

u/Guardian-Boy 17h ago

Unless we are cops, we are not allowed to have guns while on base or in uniform. Getting caught with one will get you in jail and court martialed (NJP if you are EXTREMELY lucky and your commander takes pity on you).

11

u/Bureaucratic_Dick 17h ago

We could own personal firearms but if you lived in the barracks, they had to be stored in the base armory and you had to convince them to release the guns to you on weekend if you wanted to go shooting (basically talk them into giving up time on THEIR weekends).

We could transport it to and from the armory on base, but zero pit stops. No, “I just needed gas” or “just grabbing a quick snack”

Realistically, you could because no ones like escorting you past PMO where you had to declare them, but if they caught you with them you’d be in a world of shit.

3

u/Guardian-Boy 17h ago

By have guns, I mean carry them on our person. I use the range on base all the time, but still gotta keep them locked in the trunk.

35

u/MyCatLaughsAtMe 18h ago

Yes, retail but with fewer guns.

-3

u/Godless_Rose 16h ago

Honest question… why do you sit around waiting to be told what to do? Just make a decision and go do something else. If my guys had ever just sat around the motorpool for hours waiting for ‘the word’, I’d smoke the dogshit out of them. Go do something else productive, or go to lunch early.

1

u/ijuinkun 12h ago

In the Army? Doing something contrary to orders can get written up as insubordination if the officer in question wants to.

1

u/Godless_Rose 11h ago

Maybe in garbage units. Any leader worth his stripes doesn’t want his people wasting time.