I’m not happy about this war. I’m distinctly unhappy about it in fact. You see, I’m what you might call a “situational pacifist.” I never look for fights, I try to avoid fights, and I actually run away from confrontation whenever possible.
When somebody attacks me and mine, however, I get positively beligerent.
When the events of 9/11/01 happened, I was stunned. On 9/12/01 I contacted a Navy recruiter. I then went through three months of crap just trying to get into the military. They wouldn’t take me, for the following reasons:[ul]I’m color blind.
My knees won’t hold up.
I’m too old.*
I have a “chronically recurring lumbar impairment,” whatever that means.
Then there was a load of crap about things where I don’t even know what they were talking about.**[/ul]
The “color-blind” thing I will concede, because I am, in fact, color-blind. The rest of that medical assessment is the rankest BS I’ve ever seen.
“This candidate is medically unsuitable for service in the United States Navy.” How, exactly, am I unable to serve because I have bad knees? I’m also not looking to be a pilot, so that “vision” thing seems to be right out, too. The other stuff, as I said, is incomprehessible to me. Recruits have to be perfect now?
So, who else tried to sign up and got turned down? C’mon, post your failings. Nobody will laugh, at least not harder than they will at me.
[sub]* I was 34 at the time. That’s long in the tooth, but within legal bounds.
** What’s an “our-prime” spike on an EKG? I figure the"EKG" thing should really be “ECG,” but that’s a different argument. What’s an “our-prime,” and what about it kept me out of the Navy? That’s what I want to know.[/sub]