XFilesGeek wrote:
Fnord wrote:
XFG, whether or not I needed social skills is a moot point - I served, was promoted, and earned an honorable discharge, all without knowing that I had AS. You are right, though. The higher enlisted grades do require more social skills. So, except for the social politics, the environment was perfect for me.
Additionally, you were Navy. I was Air Force. The AF is the "touchy-feely" branch of the armed services. We were expected to be a lot more empathetic and social than our sister services. I've always figured the Navy was more hardcore on account of being much older.
The Navy gets more political the higher in rank you go - advancement was still merit-based; but a lot of it also seemed in involve knowing whose brass to kiss and when to kiss it. There was one CPO who seemed to have it in for me because I'd made E6 in six years, and it had taken him twelve. He even told me that he would not sign off on my quals if it meant that I made Chief in less time than he had.
I imagine that the Army, Marines, and Coast Guard have similar issues.
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