There's something about stories of time in the military that just really tick all boxes. For one thing, you have archetypical authoritarian figures aplenty who have a very real and absolute authority over their subordinates, the kind of power that a overstepping assistant retail manager or wizened doctor's office receptionist would salivate buckets over. The thing is, in this type of environment, you're going to be ordered to do things that you don't agree with or that just plain old don't make…

When a new team member joins, particularly if they are assigned a leadership position, they will probably try to introduce some sort of new and, in their view, creative rule that will simplify the assigned tasks and improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the daily routine. The soldier in the story below, together with his fellow crew members, have discovered the most effective way to get revenge on their superiors. OP serves in the Navy as a member of the attack submarine unit. They…

Every time we dine at a fine restaurant, we mentally prepare ourselves for the horrible moment when we get handed the check. No matter how prepared we think we are, our hearts skip a beat as soon as the bill lands on the table. The story below is of a young and daring teenager who thinks he can get away with anything. I guess it has to do with the naivety of children that lingers in our teens. To get back to the point, this young boy opted to invite all of his closest buddies to a fancy restaur…

There are surprisingly few stories we see shared online in this manner that have any real substance about them. Sure, they make for good stories and engagement for discussion, but one can never be completely sure that there's anything more to them than that. Well, that was until this story surfaced, a legendary tale of legendary status that spread like wildfire around certain corners of the internet and in military circles, owing to the fact that there was a lot of evidence pointing to the fact…

You can't command respect that you haven't earned, and just the mere fact that you're someone's superior doesn't mean you've earned anything. After all, there are plenty of people in positions of authority who have achieved that position for all the wrong reasons—usually because another person with a misunderstanding of leadership has granted it to them. You'll come across plenty of these authority figures in your life who wield their authority with impunity, demanding respect when they don't d…

It's no secret that petty power begets petty tyrants, but there's something about a petty tyrant who is very aware that they're not quite at the top of the food chain that causes exceedingly terrible behavior. For example, it's often that store managers are the chillest people in existence, being at the top of the immediate food chain with nowhere really else to go; they tend to take things as they come and are easygoing to subordinates. Meanwhile, assistant managers have a much higher chance o…

Gyms aggressively seek to enlist as many members as possible, seemingly with the hope that none of them will actually use the facilities provided. Instead, keeping members paying monthly to keep the gym's barcoded tag on their key ring like some expensive subscription-based accessory. They just as aggressively prevent you from ever canceling your membership, ensuring that the entire engagement unravels with the same clarity and certainty as riddling with a sphinx. It's not unheard of for gyms t…

There's no stronger way to learn something than through experience gained through repeated attempts and failure… and there's no better way to get this experience than through learning basic skills when you're a kid who is time rich and made of dang near literal rubber. So, you might think that growing up in a certain geographic area and spending lots of time outdoors would make you more qualified to make judgments about that geographical area than some random military officer. After all, there'…

Military kids can all agree that moving sucks. After packing up your belongings for the 15th time before you even hit 8 years of age, the whole process starts to become numbing and the idea of a forever home becomes more of a fantastical dream than a reality. However, for some army brats, their dreams come true when their parents get stationed in a long term, or even forever, location.

Hopefully, this sergeant will thaw out his attitude before the next time he asks for a favor from someone he has been treating like absolute garbage. It's really not that hard to be nice to someone—or at least decent—and deciding to hate them for a petty tribalist reason, like being a fan of a rival sports team or a member of another branch of the military, is downright insane. It's the kind of thing that works ok as a low-budget melodrama TV show plot or between two kids on the playground—but…

This military wife commanded her husband's soldiers to salute her and the stickers on her vehicle, which led to a little tom-foolery from the soldiers who maliciously complied with their orders (as grunts are wont to do.) As commenters have pointed out, what is it with the "Military Wife as an entire personality" stereotype? I suppose it's not an entirely unique phenomenon—people will build a personality around the darnedest things. I'm not preaching from a pulpit here; I do it too. If you had…

If there's one person you don't mess with… It's the person who is in charge of the books. This person has the capability to rock your world in ways that you really don't want it rocked. This was especially true in a time before the internet when there wasn't a thing called a “digital backup,” and often, backups weren't a thing at all. Even if the documents were important enough, were used, and did exist—they'd be at another physical location and would have to be mailed, which could take weeks .…

It's important to choose one's words carefully, especially when those words are the only thing standing between some thirsty grunts and their choice of drink after a long hard day. This is a classic instance of malicious compliance being executed, where the number of something has been specified, but the size of each item has not. Another instance where this same premise plays out might be a parent telling their child that they can have “just one” candy bar before the child returns with the lar…

Some people just can't be trusted with a single shred of power. As soon as they manage to find themselves with even a semblance of it, they don't hesitate for a second to wield it over every person they possibly can with a stupid fury. I wish that I could say that these people don't succeed but, based on the stories we see, that's often not the case. It's as if these people have never once stopped to consider or care about other people and the effect that their actions have on their lives. Let'…

When this US Army enlisted married a German bride, he insisted that they settle in his home country. He agreed to help with handling her immigration papers to the US, and after an arduous and drawn-out moving process, the two began their journey. Except the husband hadn't done any of the immigration documents, he had promised he would. “Little did I know, my ex-husband did not do a single bit of research or even did his part for my immigration process, and I wasn't able to set foot on the plane…

This military audio engineer was told by an outranking Sergeant Major that their help wasn't necessary for setting up a VIP ceremony. They did as they were told and "f-ed off" which led to the ceremony being a disaster.