I went for an interview today with the Michigan National Guard for their Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. I had to drive about 100 miles to get there (one way). Once I got there, I was supposed to see Captain America (not his real name, obvs...but I must protect the innocent). I ask for Captain America and once I introduce myself and tell him we had a 10:00 a.m. appointment, his all-American face is oh-so-very puzzled. Like my name and the fact that we have an appointment doesn't ring a bell kind of puzzled.
Oh, I see we are starting off on the right foot, aren't we?
It gets better. He acts like he had NO FUCKING IDEA I was supposed to be there. I do the polite thing and tell him that if this is a bad time, I can come back (and trust me, if he had told me to come back there was NO WAY IN HELL I was coming back, considering it took me nearly 2 hours to find the place). I even resorted to showing him the confirmation email I received regarding our appointment. It's December 5th isn't it? So we do the interview.
Going into the interview, I was under the impression (from the recruiter) that the JAG Corps was in desperate need of lawyers. Speaking to Captain America -- who told me there are only 17 lawyers in the whole state, and only 2 of them are on "active" duty -- that despite there being buttloads of work to do, he really only needed lawyers who were experienced in litigation.
I have no litigation experience.
I also found out that "for sure", because, after all, Captain America doesn't want to "bullshit" me -- that if I were to join the JAG...I'd be deployed "overseas" (read: The Middle East) immediately after training, and that deployment would last one year.
FUCK THAT PEOPLE. I didn't like those odds.
So I pretty much bid Captain America adieu and went on my merry way back home. Only to be grilled by Husband for nearly an hour about how I should still consider joining. I FLAT OUT told him that there was no way -- hear me? -- NO FUCKING WAY I was joining when there would be a 100% chance that I would have to leave my daughter for one year. Nevermind the 6 months of training when I would be away. Want to know what his response was? Go ahead. Ask me. Please....
He said that I would be given leaves and that I would still see her.
That's when I had to crush his hopes of being married to a JAG Officer once and for all. FLAT OUT. And please don't get me wrong. I admire the men and women who serve this country with all my heart and soul. I'm just too old and too set in the ways of being with my kid where I want to sacrifice any more time away from her (the four years I spent in law school were enough time away).
Oh, and the best part of the interview? Captain America asked me if I had considered joining one of their other units -- specifically, the Human Resources branch. He mentioned this because all of my pre-law school work experience was in Human Resources. I told him, no, I was pretty much focused on legal positions, I mean, considering the schooling and the student loan and the fucking 2 years I spent trying to pass the goddamm Bar exam.
Seriously? WHAT THEE FUCK CAPTAIN AMERICA? You can't be serious? Dude, I look forward not backward. If I had loved HR that much, I would have stayed there instead of investing 7 years of my life and $100k into a legal career.
5 comments:
I grew up in a military family and my father was deployed for most of my childhood. My younger brother has 2 kids under the age of 3 and he has been deployed for 2 of those years (part of his deployments were during the pregnancies, but still...). He has missed the first few months of both of his childrens' lives. He'll never get that time back and he hates it. He returned from his 2nd deployment in September and has since taken a position that will guarantee that he stays stateside for the next few years. He's done well in the Army and it was a great choice for him to join, but he has had to make a lot of sacrifices. I hope you don't ever feel guilty for choosing your family over this. I'm so glad that you made the choice you did. Hopefully your husband will feel the same way, too.
I won't say I told you so. I'll only say I'm glad you're not considering this anymore. I also admire our men and women in uniform, but I couldn't handle it if you were deployed overseas.
Hey Gf - At least the guy was upfront with you about being shipped overseas BEFORE you joined! Now you can put this whole sorted thing behind you. And too bad about husband's response. You know how I feel about all that.
Hi...your blog is very cool. I'm brazilian, I'm still learning english and I like your space so much. It's easy to undestand somethings you write and I had fun...I 'll be here to reed you...thanks anda sorry about my poor english
That is assbackwards. Captain America is a loser.
Does saying that make me a Communist?
I'm okay with it.
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