Army Inefficiencies
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The army is geared for training people with a 6th grade degree,
With my Masters of Engineering it was very very boring for me,
This poem investigates their very poor use of my background,
Even after they sent me to 5 months training, I did often frown.
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Army Inefficiencies
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When I finished Army Basic Training, they asked me to go to OCS.
Officers Candidate School required an extra year for me to enlist.
I said no thanks, so I guess I’ll do what ever you think is cool.
They sent me to Avionics Communications Equipment Repair school.
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To Fort Gordon by special orders I was transferred to school,
For my Military Occupational Speciality (MOS) by the rules.
The training was 19 weeks long for a job in the Signal Corp,
So I settled in and studied to see what my future had in store.
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We marched to class every morning at about 8 AM in the day,
And sat in class rooms until 11:30 AM and marched back all the way.
We headed back to the school after lunch for afternoon classes,
Then marched back at 5 PM ready to head to town on our passes.
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Augusta, Georgia, was an army bus ride away from the base,
There was lots of bars and strip clubs in this army oriented place.
One night after I had visited one of those bars I got me a tattoo,
On my upper left arm when I was a bit more tipsy than I knew.
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I made friends with SFC Mason who gave me a Company job,
He called me “Hawg Jaw” so much I felt just like a big blob.
But I got out of KP and all other company duty all of the time,
So much so, that my friends thought this was a big crime.
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After 19 weeks of classes, most of us graduated with honors,
And they made me a temporary instructor while waiting for orders.
I worked in the Lab there teaching the new students in the class,
Then got my orders for Vietnam so I prepared my young army ass.
They sent me to a helicopter unit in Pleiku in the highlands.
It seems they didn’t even have a slot for my MOS, ain’t that grand.
The army sent me to school for five months and I can’t use it,
I told them if I don’t use my Avionics Speciality I will surely lose it.
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But they did not transfer me, so I had to find something to do,
So I volunteered to be the parts clerk for the helicopters crew.
I kept parts on hand to keep the helicopters running real fine,
Which meant driving across Pleiku for parts nearly all of the time.
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So the Army sent me to school for 1/4 of my short tour of duty,
At a tremendous cost to the American tax payers so moody.
And then couldn’t find me a place I could use my training to help.
Instead they ignored me, leaving me there on the Artillery Hill.
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This poor management of the Armies trained speciality soldiers,
Left a bad taste in my mouth for personnel issuing placement orders.
There has to be a better way to efficiently use trained personnel,
To their fullest potential rather than putting them through hell.
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By Bill
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Thanks for reading Army Inefficiencies,
Bill