Quote:
Originally posted by CamB
The article downplays the re-enlistment bonus with an anecdotal statement about soldiers re-enlisting because they want to stay.
|
As a guy who just signed a contract with the Navy for $100K (over 4 years), I can tell you straight faced that it isn't for the money.
Let me put this in perspective for you. On the one hand, we have the tangible benefits:
-Sub pay, sea pay, and the "nuke bonus," all of which comes to about $100K annual salary -- and that's for a department head, substantially responsible for one third of the submarine.
-Medical and dental benefits, as piped through a communist bureaucracy.
-Uniform, good for picking up ditzy chicks and WestPac Widows.
On the other hand, we have the costs:
-There is no such thing as "overtime." We're all salaried slave labor.
-We go underway on submarines -- months on end spent in complete isolation. Contact from family is the occasional "e-mail" (the technology isn't quite like what you're used to), food degrades rapidly after the first 2 weeks -- nothing is fresh anymore, and water supplies are limited, as we produce all of our own.
-Even when in port, we can be standing duty (spending the night on the boat, sleeping perhaps as much as 4 hours, all added together) as often as one day in every three -- and this is common.
On days when we're not on duty, 12-14 hour workdays are not uncommon.
-This life is obviously hard on families. Divorce rates among submariners are substantially higher (no figures off the top of my head, sorry) than among the general population. Children say things like "Mommy, who is that man you're sleeping with now?" when Daddy comes home.
-I could go on. The human cost of operating a submarine is fantastic.
While I don't have personal experience from Marines or soldiers, I'm sure a similar analysis can be done for them. Those of us who keep doing this aren't here for the money. The old quote goes like "If you enjoy the job, the money is plenty. If you hate the job, there's no way they could pay you enough."
Dan