Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with army

How much does it cost a Canadian to send mail to a US soldier in Afghanistan?

perpetualstroll — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:06:08 -0800

How much does it cost for a letter and/or a package to be sent from Canada to a US soldier deployed in Afghanistan? Posted for a friend:

My friend's being deployed to Afghanistan next week, and I want to be able to send him mail. So I need to know how much it's going to cost to do so. Now, this would be fairly simple if he was a Canadian soldier, but he's American. I've searched, and all I can find online is how to send from Canada to Canadian soldiers or from the US to American soldiers. Does anyone know how much it is to send a letter? And a package? I can't seem to find any information from Canada Post.

What is the military's stance on Celiacs disease in the service?

isopropyl — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:14:06 -0800

I'm considering enlisting but was unsure how a gluten intolerance would play into it all. I'm interested in the navy but any info would be great.

Medieval flash game

Petrot — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:26:16 -0800

Looking for a flash game from a few years ago that was a kind of top-down view of battles, where you set your army up in formation at one side of a grid, and command them to do different tasks. The enemy is at the other side of the grid. IIRC it was medieval-esque, but possibly as you progressed through the game, you might have traveled forward through time as well. An example of the genre - although not the game in question - is here (and screenshot here)

When were women Colonels first upgraded in rank upon retirement?

StickyCarpet — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:11:21 -0800

Military retirement policy: When did the US Army reverse it's policy of not upgrading women who served actively as Colonels to Brigadier Generals upon retirement? (They have always have done so for men). I know that the first woman General was 1971, but women were not automatically bumped up in rank at that time. I'm asking because my Aunt served as a Colonel, wasn't bumped up, was kind of pissed when the rules changed sometime after she retired. She's still alive, and I'm wondering if I can initiate an appeal to get her pay grade updated.

historic moment ?

sgt.serenity — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:28:45 -0800

has scotland finally featured as a country in drop down menus ? i stumbled upon this today - if you access the drop down menu, it actually features scotland rather than the uk, this is not something that i have ever noticed before - is this a new occurence or is it just a kind of two small countries helping each other out kind of thing ?

have we really seen a historic moment in the history of the internet ?
I've never seen scotland recognised as an independent country before, oh how it irked me.

Getting set for military fitness test

Clandestine Outlawry — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:48:34 -0800

Army entrance fitness test on Monday. What should I do between now and then? Monday morning, I'll be taking the basic physical fitness test for entrance to the Canadian Forces. The requirement for my age group is 19 push ups, 19 sit ups, a combined hand grip strength of 75kg, and an aerobic step test. I've been preparing for this for a couple of months. I'm quite worried about the push-ups and hand grip, since I've been struggling with push-ups and my last hand-grip reading (in early Dec) was just short of the requirement.

My recent regimen has been to do three sets of 30 push ups and sit ups daily, with a 5k run every other day (at about 6mph). Now that I've got just a few days left, what should I be doing, in terms of exercise and nutrition, to make sure I'm in the best possible shape on Monday morning?

The army's physical fitness guide is here (1.75MB PDF) if that helps.

Legal Harassment Filter: I'm being harassed by a soldier.

charles_farley — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:10:54 -0800

Who can I contact if I'm being harassed by a U.S. army soldier. I'm currently the victim of harassment by a U.S. army soldier. This person is clearly in violation of the harassment laws in my state. I've tried to resolve this problem amicably myself, and I've tried resolving this through a third party, to no avail. Who in the army can I contact about this kind of issue?

Books about the IRA and the "Troubles"

proj — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:20:08 -0800

What are the best -- in terms of compelling writing and in terms of comprehensiveness -- books about the "Troubles" between Ireland and the UK over the past 50 or so years? Bonus points if available on Kindle. AskMe produced some results on Irish history in general but not specifically the Troubles.

They get younger every year

svenx — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:30:04 -0800

Long-shot: I'm looking for an animated short from the 80's. It involves a very young boy who was accidentally drafted into the army, and nobody seems to recognize that he doesn't belong there. I believe it was on a collection of award winners from some film festival. Thanks!

Military Range Card

furtive — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:46:20 -0800

PseudoMilitaryFilter: Looking for a pdf of a range card, the kind you used to fill out while sitting in your trench, OP or whatever. So far the best I've found is this one (pdf), it's great but I'd like one that takes a full 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, or something like this British one.

Why? My living room window has a view of a half dozen mountains in a national park, a copse of woods, dead ground, a railroad and other interesting features. I've spotted mountain sheep 2,800m away without even needing to resort to binoculars! I figured it would be a fun idea to map out a proper range card for when guests come over.

Humorous Army Songs?

ubiquity — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:57:48 -0800

Help me find songs for a CD of humorous songs about the Army. My former stepdaughter has just joined the army reserves, and is heading off for six months of training at the end of the month. I wanted to send her off with a CD of humorous songs about the Army. Nothing too deep, nothing that might make her dwell on the possibility of being killed (like Country Joe's "be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box"). Here's what I have so far:

"Army", by Ben Folds

"It Makes a Fellow Proud to be a Soldier", by Tom Lehrer

"Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning", by Irving Berlin

"The Army Song", by Brecht & Weill

"Arthur McBride" (traditional song about the evils of recruiting officers)

I plan to close with "In the Navy".

Please include links to recordings or videos of the songs you suggest, or I probably won't be able to include them.

Should I join the Army?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:04:35 -0800

Should I join the Army? I'm 25, talented and looking for something exciting and purposeful to do with my life. Is it a good idea or am I being completely irrational? I have a good 1st class degree and have a well paid job working for a large bank in the city. But to be honest really I don't find the job interesting/exciting/rewarding.

I was exploring the armyjobs website and really liked the sound of becoming an officer either with the engineers or intelligence. However, it's such a massive departure from anything I have ever done, or even thought of before I don't think I'm quite ready to discuss it with my family yet, but need some advice.

Leaving my job and joining the army would mean taking a pay cut, leaving the London life and probably scaring my mother half-to-death.
It would be a complete change in my life. Is this really rational thinking?!

Has anyone else thought the same thoughts? Has anyone actually done it and made this kind of life changing decision?

Finally I'm 25, approching 26. Am I too old to start this process?

Many thanks for all advice.

Animal abuse during war time?

hammerthyme — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:02:37 -0800

Can you provide information on acts of animal abuse/cruelty taking place in other countries during war time? More inside... A recent, unlinked here, Youtube video involving a puppy in the desert of Afghanistan got me thinking about this question. A few examples (that I've creatively imagined) would be soldiers catching cats with their bayonets during WWI or lighting alive pigs on fire in Vietnam. Links will come in handy too. Thanks.

Current and former civilian DoD employees, are/were you treated as second class citizens?

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:11:58 -0800

Current and former civilian Department of Defense employees, are/were you treated as second class citizens? I've got a line on a well-paying job in my field in an area of the country I like. Only one minor issue: it's a civilian job on a US Air Force base. I'm former Army myself, but really didn't recall much, if any professional contact with civilians while I was a soldier. I realize that bases vary, and probably treatment of civvies varies according to what job they have, etc., but what was your experience? (This job is in a library setting, by the way.) Thank you.

Breaker! Breaker!

Drexen — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:50:19 -0800

I want recordings of people communicating over the radio, especially in a military or astronautical context. Gimme. I'm not looking for radio-show broadcasts. Recordings of police dispatchers, military transmissions (especially in the field), transmissions to and from spaceships, or ocean-going ships, airplanes... things like that, are all good. Heavy noise/distortion, jargon, and a sense of urgency (or emergency) are a bonus.

Ideally these would be available for free over the net, but I'd be interested in other options too. LiveATC is quite well-suited, but I need more! I'm looking for them partly out of curiosity/fascination, and partly to sample for music.

Army Filter: Calling all 25B's

Davaal — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:05:50 -0800

I'm about to reenlist and reclass as 25B - SYSOP analyst. I probably qualify to skip advanced individual training at the army signal school. should i? I'm former active duty ARMYand my service has been up for 4 years now. I'm contemplating reenlisting and reclassing to 25B - SYSOP. With my current civilian position, I could prolly be exempted from school. I know someone who did that and I have access to the same recruiter. But being allowed to skip the school doesn't mean that I know everything taught there. Anyone out there been to the 25B school? Can you give me details of the life and what you learned exactly? Do you use the skills you learned in a civilian field? all responses are welcome. i already know that school for reclass is different. I basically want to know if going to this school will benefit me in my civilian life. does it prepare you for cert examinations? Can the experience help me in my persuit of a better job? second question: IT professionals and manager types, how do you look at Army Signal school grads?

No contact with a friend in Iraq for a month, normal?

wukkuan — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:16:37 -0800

A friend of mine's boyfriend left for Iraq a month ago, and there has been no contact since he arrived in Iraq. Is this normal? And is there any way to get any more information on him?

Where to buy MRE?

Cosine — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:52:18 -0800

Where to buy M.R.Es in Canada? Does anyone know of a place in Canada (preferably Vancouver) where I can purchase US Army M.R.Es (Meal, Ready to Eat)? I've heard so much about them in the past few years and how edible they are I'd love to give them a try.

Should I buy fancy underwear? WHAT KIND?

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:24:45 -0800

Besides the glaringly obvious, what might a soldier home on leave like to do? My boyfriend (we're this couple, and he has graciously agreed to put that particular discussion on hold until he lives in this country again) is coming home on leave from an unpopular war, soonishly.

I live in LA. He will be flying in and spending a bit over a week with me before flying off to visit his parents and then going back.

I'm kind of freaking out about it. I like him very much, and I'm really excited to see him, but I also haven't seen him in quite a while now, and I feel weirdly shy.

Also, I don't know what the hell I should prepare for. Should I stock up on DVDs? What kinds? Would he want to catch up on Heroes? It's a really long trip: will he want to sleep as soon as he gets here? Should I not plan anything (even dinner) the first day? Should I buy a lot of meat and charcoal in case he wants to be manly and grill?

I'm trying not to freak out at him, of course, and he's said very polite things about how he'll just be happy to sleep in a nice bed with nice sheets, not get shot at, etc. But I'm sure there must be some things soldiers home on leave like to do. (Besides the obvious ones.)

Basically: I want to be supportive. I want him to leave my house relaxed and happy. I want him to go back feeling like he had a good leave, and like he's got his head right to face the next few months until he gets to come home.

Also, I want to learn the magic trick of not crying when I say goodbye, whatever that is.

I may be seriously overthinking this. Should I just buy a lot of milk and cereal and plan on not leaving the house for five days?

(Ack, see, now I'm overthinking that, becoming convinced that I'll be all over him and he'll go "You know... a man comes home from a war... he doesn't want to be pawed all the damn time like he's a piece of meat...")

SEE? I'm a wreck. Help!

PS: I hope I don't need to say this, but please don't be a jerk about the unpopular war part. I'm not excited he's there, either.

PS part II: The discussion being on hold doesn't mean that we don't like each other or anything. It's complicated. Someone has to give up a career for it to work out, so we're still figuring out the puzzle.

Lumpsum Options

roundrock — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:32:04 -0800

TaxShieldingFilter: The feds want to keep me in the service and give me $35K...and I want to keep as much money as possible from the tax coffers. So, I'm in the Army and they, as you can imagine, are having a hard time keeping Captains in the Army. I love the Army and plan on staying in for a career anyway. With that being said, I want to put as much as the money as possible in a retirement or tax-favored account (less a shopping trip for my wife). It's my understanding that I could put $15,500 into the federal Thrift Savings Program (TSP) and then $4K each into a IRA that I create for my wife and I. We each have a R-IRA (but haven't contributed this year). What are my options? Thanks!

Help me figure out what this movie was!

DMan — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:19:56 -0800

I saw a very strange and interesting-looking movie on I *think* Showtime yesterday at about 4-5 PM. It involved Russians. Any ideas? I was watching TV yesterday, and a very strange movie came on. I came in on the tail end of it, and so I don't know too much about it. I believe the channel was Showtime (I really don't know, because, and I'm being serious, the hotel had about 4 channels marked Showtime. I didn't watch long enough to see commercials or anything). It was about 4-5 PM Central time. Here's what I do know:

It involved an army that was dressed completely in white, possibly because the setting of the movie was snow and ice. A general talked about how they were going to go fight or something, and then they all ran and got in armored trucks that looked exactly like the tanker trucks that you see on the road every day. Escorted by more soldiers on snowmobiles, they proceeded to start driving across a massive expanse of ice. Eventually it cut to a scene of a war planning room, and an enemy general sent some planes that dropped bombs on the trucks. A small car with 2 guys in it was driving around near the trucks too, and it was apparently an enemy because someone in one of the trucks started shooting at it. The bombs caused the ice to crack, and literally every truck (and the men inside) sunk into the cold water. Someone involved was Russian, because a few of the credits at the end mentioned people as being "Russian so-and-so" and etc.

I know that's not much to go on, but if anyone has a clue what this movie might be, I'd be very interested. Bonus points if you can tell me what it's about. Thanks!

How to get a retired Vietnam veteran back up in a Huey UH-1?

mistsandrain — Thu, 31 May 2007 11:30:33 -0800

How to get a retired Vietnam veteran back up in a Huey UH-1? My father flew helicopters in Vietnam- he was an army captain. He has not, to my knowledge, maintained any sort of military contacts since his return and completion of service decades ago.

The only times my father even mentions his military/ war experiences is in the context of his deep appreciation of piloting these helicopters. I would love to be able to give him the gift of flying in one again (I would guess he is probably way too rusty to actually pilot- and is surely unlicensed to do so.)

Any thoughts on how I could pursue this? I imagine some of these hueys are still running/ in use somewhere?

I have no military contacts and very little military knowledge.

Were in London would I be able to see a bearskin-wearing wearing foodguard of the Household Cavalry?

barbelith — Mon, 14 May 2007 07:14:41 -0800

Where in London would I be able to see—and get a decent photograph of—a bearskin wearing footguard of the Household Cavalry? I need to take a picture of a soldier wearing one of the traditional British uniforms and a bearskin hat. There's an example of what they look like on Flickr here. I need to use the image in some artwork, and as a result don't want to use someone else's copyrighted image and would like to take the picture myself. However, despite roaming around all the obvious areas in Central London I have not stumbled upon a single one. Any help in locating them would be very much appreciated.

Ethnic minorities in the British Army

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:28:06 -0800

Advice needed on joining the British Army for ethnic minorities (Chinese in particular). Any servicemen on AskMe? I'm considering enquiring about joining the British Army (officer or soldier, I haven't decided yet). I'm a commonwealth citizen of oriental descent, graduating from university this year (having lived here for most of my life). I love and owe this country a great deal, and this is one way I've been considering of paying it back.

My question is this: is there much room for a person of my ethnicity in the Army, or am I simply walking into the lion's den? I want to make it clear that I'm not talking about the usual sort of hazing or robust language. That stuff doesn't bother me in the least, especially if it's for the purpose of motivation (for example, I don't consider MP Patrick Mercer's remarks remotely inflammatory or controversial, let alone racist or worth losing your job over). Rather, I'm worried about serious physical abuse or bullying.

I'm not insinuating that the Army or the British in general are racist (I know they're not). But I do think that in every society certain ethnic groups are perceived as more threatening than others (not unfairly, I might add). I just want to make sure I'm not sticking my head into places I'm not wanted. If there are any MeFites who have served/are serving and can offer advice, I'd be incredibly grateful.

Help me give informed consent about being an Army wife.

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:08:51 -0800

Help me give informed consent about being an Army wife. Ridiculous amounts (Caveat: this is really long! I get totally rambly. Sorry. I'm working this out as I go along, man.)

I’m an early-thirties girl in a serious, long-distance relationship with a late-thirties career Army officer.

He would like us to get married.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to say yes, and the larger part of me feels really good about this choice: I love him; we’re a really, really good fit – sexually, emotionally. We find each other hilarious, and we just really like each other. I want to have his babies. He’s excited about knocking me up. We have dovetailing thoughts on how marriage and parenthood ought to be approached. On matters of opinion and preference – religion, politics, whether tuna sandwiches should involve pickles or not – we either agree or are fine with disagreeing.

The smaller part of me is going “OMGWTF?!?”

What’s giving me pause is not the fact that he’s in the Army, per se. I don’t have political issues with what he does. I am not preemptively terrified about his safety. I’m a largely upbeat, not-anxious girl, and I’m okay with being apart from my partner for long stretches.

He thinks I’d be good at being an Army wife, by which he means: I’m cheerful and naturally happy, I’m independent, but I also really like to be the person in the support role. I think he’s right about that part of it.

But I’m also from a liberal-hippie California background. I’m not a registered Democrat because sometimes I vote Green (BITE ME.) I’ve lived in big cities all my life. I’m a writer. I drive a hybrid. I like to go to indie-rock shows and I shop at pretentious organic farmer’s markets.

…also, I’m not as much of a jerk as that makes me seem, I swear. I mention those things because my concern, in thinking about marrying the dude, is not about the… political or philosophical differences between my life and his. It has more to do with the social/community aspects.

I think I have a pretty good sense of what it will be like to be married to him, but I’ll also be sort of married to the military, and I have no idea what it would be like to be an Army wife, particularly the specific variety of Army wife I’d be with him.

The dude works in a very, very male-dominated environment. The only ladies are the wives and girlfriends of the soldiers in question. On my visits, he’s introduced me to various couples and families, and my perception is that this is a pretty gender-segregated and often quite formal environment. The menfolk work in this tremendously macho setting, and the wives… are referred to as “the wives”. They have book clubs. The commander’s wife apparently has teas.

I’m actually okay with this. I think. I’d just like to know what I’m getting myself into.

As a bachelor officer, the dude is not the best source of information on what goes on among the families and wives. Frankly, I suspect he’s as mystified by “the wives” as I am. On his suggestion, I’m reading The Army Officer’s Guide, which is interesting, and would be really useful. If I wanted to be an Army officer. (Bless him.)

I’ve thought about asking his best friend’s wife, but I’m aware of a certain amount of “OMG HOW DO YOU HANDLE THIS LIFESTYLE?!?” judginess in my attitude, so I’d really rather get my head around this before I ask real women for tips.

I’ve flipped through a few other books directed toward military wives, and found them unhelpful. I don’t need advice on how to throw a formal tea. I just want to know what my day-to-day life will be like if I say yes.

I’m looking for ANYTHING that accurately portrays Army-wifeness: personal experience, memoirs, advice books, novels, blogs, etc etc. I’d be especially pleased with anything that’s sort of bright and funny and sarcastic, and approaches military life from an outsider’s perspective. The memoir-type books I’ve looked through struck me as not-terribly-smart. (Sorry.)

I’m asking this question anonymously (mostly because I don’t want it connected to my published stuff) so I set up an email address – omgarmywife@gmail.com - if you have questions or wanted to mention something not-in-public. I promise to keep whatever you might like to say in confidence.

But since I can’t publicly respond to follow-up questions, here are some more factoids:

*He’s not going to leave the Army, I don’t want him to, and I wouldn’t ask, any more than he would ask me to stop being a writer.

*Our marriage will be more complementary than equal, in terms of our careers. Part of my job will be to support his. I’m okay with this, and being a writer makes it a lot more feasible, but I’d like more information on it before I commit.

*Living together before marriage isn’t something I’m willing to do. I guess I could temporarily move near him and scope things out for six months or something, but geez, at some point I’m still going to have to take a leap of faith, you know?

*This is going to sound kind of dumb. Um. But as a pinko-hippie Californian, I have certain expectations of pregnancy and childbirth. How likely am I to find a midwife and a doula in Georgia?

I guess the above is actually symptomatic of the main thing I’m wrestling with: will I find People Like Me on an Army base in the South? (…that totally makes me sound like a judgmental jerk. Sorry. I’ve never lived in the South, or on an Army base, and I don’t know. I’m trying to learn! Help me!)

Finally, if you have a lot of anxiety about FASCIST POLICE STATE and the military and things like that, that’s fine, but I hope it’s clear from my question that I’m not asking your feelings about the military or Iraq in general.

Thank you!