Something's been bugging me about this conscription thing. The thing about not really fucking off for good after doing your time. Service obligations up till 40 didn't seem so bad in the immediate euphoria of getting the hell out of uniform but it sure is irritating now. mildly.
Point 1- The annual fitness test.
So the annual run and 8 nice body lifts didn't seem too bad while in uniform. Seemed like a good idea to keep myself trim and fit too. Totally didn't count on developing "os naviculares syndrome" or something like that during a friendly football game back in January. So i thought i'd rest the supposed sprain for a week and get back into my training routine. Turns out i couldn't walk properly months after. Dragged my own ass to the public clinic for a referral to the specialist around Apr/May. Specialist appointment secured in Aug, dingdong a few weeks and paid half a grand for MRI and followup, voila, doctor says rest your foot until it recovers. "How long?" i ask. "Dunno, maybe a year", he said. So i got the nice fella to write me a letter since defaulting on the annual test is actually an offence.
All well and good, till a check with the army turned up the unpleasant news that i'll still be charged with defaulting anyway since the doctor's letter does not cover at least 6 months of my test window. FYI, i sought medical attention in May and only got the diagnosis in Sep. Test window ends January, so i'm quite the defaulter as far as the rules go. Curse my unfamiliarity with the system, should have gotten the doctor to backdate it somehow. The only reason i can think of for the six month rule is to prevent malingering, but given the quirks of our nice healthcare system (took me five months to get a diagnosis), i think many genuine cases would run afoul of this particular regulation. Yes, i do think my case is genuine, thank you very much.
Of course, if i were willing to stump up the cash for a specialist in private practice, i could even get myself certified unfit for service forever, but that's a story for another time. One story i will tell, however, is of how my last CO was able to skip his test by producing a doctor's letter TWO WEEKS before his test deadline. No charge for defaulting. In fact he got around the rule which says promotions are denied to personnel who fail their fitness tests. Yup, he promptly got promoted to half colonel. Leadership by example it is.
Not all is doom and gloom though. There is a provision in the rule for people with more than 3 months MC coverage to be reviewed by a medical panel. I just need to arrange for it through my unit and hope i know some fuckers on the panel (joking). Once again, the onus is on powerless little me to prove my innocence. Fine. And don't get me started on how MCs issued later are magically less legitimate, or how inefficient it is for army doctors to have to review the opinions of their peers who actually HAVE WAY MORE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE. Ok, granted I did mention stumping up money for a private doctor's letter earlier but it still doesn't explain why MC's issued earlier in the test window are magically beyond reproach.
OR...
I can just hide my medical status, take the test, and fail it on purpose, GETTING PAID IN THE PROCESS. Actually i'll get paid by the hour when i go for compulsory remedial training after failing the test, which is actually hell of a hassle. I just find the idea of being paid for failure very amusing. Not that i'll go through with this, funny as the experience might be, since my ankle seriously can't take any of the high impact stuff. And did i mention it's a hassle?
Then again, if i remember correctly, there's a rule that says it's an offence to hide your medical status, so i'll be committing an offence whatever i do, short of getting cleared by the medical panel.
Yeehah! I'm an outlaw!!
Hell, writing this post is an offence, skipping the chain of command and all. Man, they think of everything when drafting those rules. Well, everything except poor old me.
That much said, i haven't actually found out what the penalty is for defaulting on the test, so maybe i'd just let myself get charged. Who knows, man. From the level of logic we've seen thus far, they might actually pay me for defaulting.
Nah.
Actually i'll probably clear the medical review. The medical corp has largely been reasonable in my experience. Just wanted to point out some of these wacky regulations that i never knew existed.
Point 2 - Reservist Training at Inconvenient Timings
Keeping soldiers up to date with new technology is fine. Calling said soldiers up for training during the local varsity exam season is not so fine, especially when almost every single man will be sitting for university exams. (Somehow the educational profile of the unit is such.)
Ok, i know national security is above personal interests. Yes i know we're wimps for not being able to juggle studies and reservist training (you'd have to admit though, that being physically in two places at the same time is some feat). And of course, i know we're a nation of champion whiners.
So let me do what i do best and whine, k? This is my take on the situation:
Is the training time-critical? No.
Could it have taken place at some other time? Yes.
Is there any apparent reason why that particular time frame was chosen? No.
Is the unit aware that most of the reservists called up are in local universities? Yes.
Is it reasonable to say the training officer has some idea of when the exams will be? Yes.
It's anybody's guess then why the timing was chosen. I'm not blaming the training officer, really. It's very easy to overlook something like that when the problem is somebody else's. Honestly, i might have done the same. Checking the varsity calender for possible clashes is quite easy to do. It does not come naturally simply because it is somebody else's problem. Perhaps the officer would be more mindful of such considerations after receiving feedback this time.
It does give the impression that the unit doesn't care though. Heck, someone from the unit could have just checked with one of us before the order was issued and saved the gang a whole lot of anxiety.
And i thought we were family.
