There's no stronger way to learn something than through experience gained through repeated attempts and failure… and there's no better way to get this experience than through learning basic skills when you're a kid who is time rich and made of dang near literal rubber. So, you might think that growing up in a certain geographic area and spending lots of time outdoors would make you more qualified to make judgments about that geographical area than some random military officer. After all, there'…

Military kids can all agree that moving sucks. After packing up your belongings for the 15th time before you even hit 8 years of age, the whole process starts to become numbing and the idea of a forever home becomes more of a fantastical dream than a reality. However, for some army brats, their dreams come true when their parents get stationed in a long term, or even forever, location.

Sometimes the only way to make sure a job is done (and done right) is to do it yourself… Even when that job is taking a sledgehammer to the department copier to ensure that it's well, truly, and undeniably broken—whatever it takes to get the pencil pushers off their butts and get something useful accomplished. This hardened division lead shared their story on Reddit's r/MilitiousCompliance subreddit, a community for sharing malicious compliance from within the military. They report that they we…

Hopefully, this sergeant will thaw out his attitude before the next time he asks for a favor from someone he has been treating like absolute garbage. It's really not that hard to be nice to someone—or at least decent—and deciding to hate them for a petty tribalist reason, like being a fan of a rival sports team or a member of another branch of the military, is downright insane. It's the kind of thing that works ok as a low-budget melodrama TV show plot or between two kids on the playground—but…

This military wife commanded her husband's soldiers to salute her and the stickers on her vehicle, which led to a little tom-foolery from the soldiers who maliciously complied with their orders (as grunts are wont to do.) As commenters have pointed out, what is it with the "Military Wife as an entire personality" stereotype? I suppose it's not an entirely unique phenomenon—people will build a personality around the darnedest things. I'm not preaching from a pulpit here; I do it too. If you had…

Most veterans do not want to discuss the details of their military service with random strangers, even if the person asking them questions about it also happened to serve. You'd think that a fellow veteran of all people would understand and respect this unspoken rule, but apparently redditor u/ WhatKindOf__ never got the memo. He recently asked r/amitheasshole if he was in the wrong for accusing a classmate of “stealing valor” simply because she seemed too “demure” to be a veteran and didn't fe…

If there's one person you don't mess with… It's the person who is in charge of the books. This person has the capability to rock your world in ways that you really don't want it rocked. This was especially true in a time before the internet when there wasn't a thing called a “digital backup,” and often, backups weren't a thing at all. Even if the documents were important enough, were used, and did exist—they'd be at another physical location and would have to be mailed, which could take weeks .…

It's important to choose one's words carefully, especially when those words are the only thing standing between some thirsty grunts and their choice of drink after a long hard day. This is a classic instance of malicious compliance being executed, where the number of something has been specified, but the size of each item has not. Another instance where this same premise plays out might be a parent telling their child that they can have “just one” candy bar before the child returns with the lar…

They're definitely going to make a bad action movie out of this next year...

Right in the feels

Very few of us know what it's like to control a giant metal tube flying through the sky at incredible heights and lengths. That is probably for the best, seeing how most people behave on planes. I'm no exception to this rule! After having heard it too many times, I can barely stay awake to listen to the pre-flight safety announcement. At least I'm not someone who takes my shoes off on the plane. Starting your career as a pilot isn't always glamorous. You might begin flying corpses across the co…

This military audio engineer was told by an outranking Sergeant Major that their help wasn't necessary for setting up a VIP ceremony. They did as they were told and "f-ed off" which led to the ceremony being a disaster.

Happy Veterans Day! November 11th is the day when we celebrate the men and women who have served The United States with the utmost grace and dignity. When I was in middle school, I played the songs of the branches of the military in the school band during the annual Veterans Day assembly. We played Semper Paratus, Semper Supra, Anchors Aweigh, Marines' Hymn, The Army Goes Rolling Along, and The U.S. Air Force. All of the veterans in the crowd would stand during their branches section. I mention…

It's often the case that the most effective soliton for an unreasonable demand involves following that demand to the letter. If you refuse to comply, you're likely just going to cause yourself even more annoyance and trouble, but if you maliciously comply, you have the added benefit of leaving the command-giver to either discover their error on their own or crash and burn in a blaze of glory. Either result will have the desired effect: Getting them off your ass. This is how it was for Reddit us…

Nothing receives a coordinated response quite like an overly-stupid directive, especially when that directive is passed by a superior who everyone already intensely dislikes. Usually, there has been a long road of headaches caused by micromanagement before the subordinates reach this point —so the superior has it coming. When you're in charge, it's important to be specific, fair, and rational with your commands, especially in the military — where following orders is incredibly important and dri…

Some people just can't be trusted with a single shred of power. As soon as they manage to find themselves with even a semblance of it, they don't hesitate for a second to wield it over every person they possibly can with a stupid fury. I wish that I could say that these people don't succeed but, based on the stories we see, that's often not the case. It's as if these people have never once stopped to consider or care about other people and the effect that their actions have on their lives. Let'…