"you didn't know that?"

the past two weeks have been filled with sitting at a desk, looking over 201 files, getting my promotion packet together, taking several tests to be MOS qualified, and lurking every news website possible. i finally finished my last test, checked my AKO one last time and realized i had been denied a seat for WLC. i yelled for my sergeant to come over and he told me it was because of my ETS date...it had passed. well no shit, everyone knew my six years were almost up and i still hadn't decided what i was going to do yet. thats why i was going to continue drilling until i figured out what i was going to do (about six more months...and during that time i was going to get promoted and go to WLC in the spring). this is when my lovely sergeant informed me, that was a no go. he proceeded to tell me that...if i drill after my ETS date that i'm technically telling the Army i still have some interest in staying in and that i automatically have to continuing drilling for the next two years or i have to go into the IRR..."you didn't know that?" uhhh news to me. so with that statement i automatically said the following... "shut up", "what do you mean?", "are you serious?", "are you sure?", "you knew i was going to continue to drill until i decided if i was going to go into the Air Force or IRR...what are you saying to me?"
so i leaned on the door and thought... 1)well that promotion packet i just put in, now means nothing unless i stay in the army 2)im glad i just paid my school 600 dollars for my transcripts for my promotion packet because for some fucking reason financial aid decided not to cover part of my tuition for my last semester 3)i technically have been at my unit two days after my ETS date, does this mean because i showed two days worth of interest thats going to result into two more years in the army? (but if the "army" was there, they would see i was hardly interested and maybe just forget about those two days) 4)ok, so if i can get out of this...i have to join the Air Force in like two weeks or else my unit will process me into the IRR 5)IRR...don't really want to go there...i think 6)i need to talk to my commander and see if he would release me so i could join the Air Force 7)this would happen!

then i started laughing...i didn't know what else to do. my sergeant laughed (he didn't have the right to laugh)...another sergeant came over and told me that after six years i should at least have some idea as what i wanted to do. i told him no, thats not how i work.
i told them i had to go before jumping out the closest window seemed like the best idea and that i'd call with my decision.

6 by 2 equals...

you're screwed no matter what. my six years in the lovely Army are up December 27th! i should be excited and having a party, however...i'm stuck. i have two years in the IRR (individual ready reserve). anyone in the military knows how this is works now. when i joined my recruiter basically told me, those two years mean nothing...i wouldn't have to drill...they are kind of just there. well now those two years are fucking driving me insane. i can either go into the IRR and get harassing phone calls and emails, telling me i better get back into the Reserves or be deployed again. i'd also only have my GI Bill for college, which isn't a lot...i've used it for two years already. i wouldn't be able to use my tuition assistance or loan repayment program. actually i've also been told i wouldn't be able to use my GI Bill. i have no idea if this is true...every time i talk to my retention officer, i'm told something different and leave completely confused. if i decided not to join the reserves again, chances are i'd have to report to some MOB site within a couple months. great...another deployment or great...two more years in the army! or i can avoid all the harassing men and women who call themselves recruiters and reenlist for three years. if i reenlist, i get a 7500 dollar sign on bonus and have money for college. this also means the IRR time vanishes and chances are i'd be deployed again. by the time i'm done i'll be 26 years old with 9 years of the military under my belt (why did i join at 17?). OR...i can go into the IRR for a month or so, and then join the Reserves...if i do this, my "reward" is that i can't be deployed for those last two years. anyway you look at this...i'm going to be in the military for at least two more years...its just figuring out a way to do it and not be deployed again. OR plan 43942...join the Air Force Reserve. i could also collect a bonus of 7500 dollars, get more money for school and the one reason why i'm contemplating this is because if i did get deployed its only for 6 months...and its the fucking Air Force...but its the Air Force. i almost feel as though, i couldn't join...i'm Army. what the fuck is the Air Force going to do for me. but then again...if i happen to get deployed again do i want to be deployed for a year or six months. headache headache headache.


if anyone has any suggestions or stories...do tell.