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So Remembrance Day is coming up. My poppy that I wear is pinned to me by the little Canadaian Armed Forces pin that I got because I find the damn things fall off otherwise. Most people who saw either didn’t understand the significance of it, didn’t care, or assumed it belonged to a family member (I look like I’m 12 if I bother with makeup rather then the just shy of 30 that I am. I’ve even had people ask if I’m even legal age to be working.)
Of course, along comes The Asshole. (Who judging by his full out American flag vest and American pins was likely American. Or really really loved the USA)
AH: You shouldn’t wear a military pin if you weren’t military. It’s disrespectful! (In snotty voice)
Me: I was military for 10years sir. I held an admin role when I turned 15 so that I could still be in school but when I graduated I joined the Army and passed my marksman and sharpshooter tests with ease before being fast-tracked through sniper training. I grew up in a military family and had been given training (not necessarily asked for) on a variety of military grade weapons at a very young age. (My family has been military too long and no longer understands what is considered ‘normal’ for an age range. I could strip a weapon, clean it, and reassemble it by the time I was 4. Couldn’t write my name though like I said, my family’s fucked up)
AH: you mean to tell me a four-eyes like you was a sniper?! *scoffs*
Me: When I was still with the military I used contact lenses so they wouldn’t get in my way. (Or lost) Unfortunately they like to fall out and now that I’m a civvies I just don’t care enough to deal with the extra hassle.
AH: Have you seen combat then? You telling me you sat on a rooftop by yourself and shot people?
Me: I was never ‘by myself’ as Snipers, marksman, and usually even sharpshooters act in pairs as it is a rather vulnerable position. My main job was to provide overwatch to those on the ground.
AH: but did you ever shoot anyone? Bet you didn’t.
Me: I served a decade in the armed forces in a time where the Canadians were still very much a part of Iraq/Afghanistan. (The best non-answer you can give)
Asshole’s order concluded so he couldn’t continue to harass me. And I know I shouldn’t listen to assholes like him who would probably wet himself on Day One (or be THAT person who shoots themselves in the foot giving a speech about gun safety). But for some reason idiots like that bug me. Yes I wear glasses. And guess what, I could probably outshoot you and your buddies. The point of glasses/contacts is to correct your vision so you aren’t looking down a scope and doing math on a blurry target. Yes I prefer glasses because it’s less hassle then trying to figure out if I got the contact out or if it fell out or if it’s still lodged in my eyeball and then putting it in a solution over night so it doesn’t dry out. Much easier to just slap glasses on.
The people who comment about how it’s just point and shoot are people who need to stop taking Hollywood at face value. There’s a ton of math done to ensure accurate results every time, a lot of it is mental (and honestly at this point mostly done without really thinking about it anymore). A head shot looks impressive in movies but I have a lot more respect for someone who can hit a target dead center that they have called out before hand. We once made cutouts of person with their fingers and other small details (instead of the usual general shape) and one guy I knew could call out a finger and the section of the finger and could hit that section in such a way that it was the only part that would go missing. To me that shows a scary amount of control. Not only in accurately but for accounting the radius that taking that shot encircles. Also, you can be a marksman and/or a sharpshooter and not be a sniper. You can’t however make it to sniper without one or both of those qualities.
I left because they kept trying to ‘promote’ me into officerdom (yes I know that’s not a word) and shuffle me into comms or intelligence. Both places I could probably have excelled at but had absolutely no interest in. As integral to the functionality of the Armed Forces regardless of branch both those areas are...I had zero interest. I actually snapped and told someone that if I was interested in chaining myself to a desk under annoying fluorescent bulbs that made my eyes sting all day, listening to adult children bitch whine and moan then I would have become a teacher in a college or university. They didn’t take kindly to that...probably shouldn’t have said that to an officer. Even if they did ask for an honest reason not to go to hell(training) for officers.
Having done my best to start at the lowest position they would allow and earn my rank I have a deep seated dislike for the majority of officers. I could have given my family history with the military asked for just about any position and be granted it provided I complete the training but I didn’t want that for myself.
That being said, I am still a lazy little fuck.
Of course, along comes The Asshole. (Who judging by his full out American flag vest and American pins was likely American. Or really really loved the USA)
AH: You shouldn’t wear a military pin if you weren’t military. It’s disrespectful! (In snotty voice)
Me: I was military for 10years sir. I held an admin role when I turned 15 so that I could still be in school but when I graduated I joined the Army and passed my marksman and sharpshooter tests with ease before being fast-tracked through sniper training. I grew up in a military family and had been given training (not necessarily asked for) on a variety of military grade weapons at a very young age. (My family has been military too long and no longer understands what is considered ‘normal’ for an age range. I could strip a weapon, clean it, and reassemble it by the time I was 4. Couldn’t write my name though like I said, my family’s fucked up)
AH: you mean to tell me a four-eyes like you was a sniper?! *scoffs*
Me: When I was still with the military I used contact lenses so they wouldn’t get in my way. (Or lost) Unfortunately they like to fall out and now that I’m a civvies I just don’t care enough to deal with the extra hassle.
AH: Have you seen combat then? You telling me you sat on a rooftop by yourself and shot people?
Me: I was never ‘by myself’ as Snipers, marksman, and usually even sharpshooters act in pairs as it is a rather vulnerable position. My main job was to provide overwatch to those on the ground.
AH: but did you ever shoot anyone? Bet you didn’t.
Me: I served a decade in the armed forces in a time where the Canadians were still very much a part of Iraq/Afghanistan. (The best non-answer you can give)
Asshole’s order concluded so he couldn’t continue to harass me. And I know I shouldn’t listen to assholes like him who would probably wet himself on Day One (or be THAT person who shoots themselves in the foot giving a speech about gun safety). But for some reason idiots like that bug me. Yes I wear glasses. And guess what, I could probably outshoot you and your buddies. The point of glasses/contacts is to correct your vision so you aren’t looking down a scope and doing math on a blurry target. Yes I prefer glasses because it’s less hassle then trying to figure out if I got the contact out or if it fell out or if it’s still lodged in my eyeball and then putting it in a solution over night so it doesn’t dry out. Much easier to just slap glasses on.
The people who comment about how it’s just point and shoot are people who need to stop taking Hollywood at face value. There’s a ton of math done to ensure accurate results every time, a lot of it is mental (and honestly at this point mostly done without really thinking about it anymore). A head shot looks impressive in movies but I have a lot more respect for someone who can hit a target dead center that they have called out before hand. We once made cutouts of person with their fingers and other small details (instead of the usual general shape) and one guy I knew could call out a finger and the section of the finger and could hit that section in such a way that it was the only part that would go missing. To me that shows a scary amount of control. Not only in accurately but for accounting the radius that taking that shot encircles. Also, you can be a marksman and/or a sharpshooter and not be a sniper. You can’t however make it to sniper without one or both of those qualities.
I left because they kept trying to ‘promote’ me into officerdom (yes I know that’s not a word) and shuffle me into comms or intelligence. Both places I could probably have excelled at but had absolutely no interest in. As integral to the functionality of the Armed Forces regardless of branch both those areas are...I had zero interest. I actually snapped and told someone that if I was interested in chaining myself to a desk under annoying fluorescent bulbs that made my eyes sting all day, listening to adult children bitch whine and moan then I would have become a teacher in a college or university. They didn’t take kindly to that...probably shouldn’t have said that to an officer. Even if they did ask for an honest reason not to go to hell(training) for officers.
Having done my best to start at the lowest position they would allow and earn my rank I have a deep seated dislike for the majority of officers. I could have given my family history with the military asked for just about any position and be granted it provided I complete the training but I didn’t want that for myself.
That being said, I am still a lazy little fuck.
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