Most intriguing non-finance job

Link_REDev:

Isaiah_53_5:

mfog:

What jobs intrigue you most outside of core finance posts?

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Good friend of mine went 75th to Tier 1 (although hasn't confirmed it) - so fucking jealous. Doesn't help nearly 6 of my friends have gone SF.

That's awesome. Its cool you know the terminology. The general public wouldn't recognize Tier 1/2 assets, but just "SEALs", etc.

That's all I wanted to do when I was 18 ... to become a Tier 1 asset. I researched each program and felt CCT was the best. They trained Tier 2 assets and had a Tier 1 group, the '24'. The training pipeline is the most extensive for CCT/PJs and it looked really cool. One of my instructors was a Tier 1 asset. His nickname was "The Machine".

I was a real gaudy mofo in the program. I paid for it and usually had to do extra PT for my jokes or antics. I never did them if they would impact my team (like make them do PT), only if it could fall straight on me. Sometimes my team lead did get shit for it and he would get pissed at me. He was a hardass former Marine DI (http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1950) - he's a good guy though I mean, he just got on me about all kinds of shit. One thing that he got mad about was we had to stencil our names on our brown shirts, but we had like these shirts everywhere, just stuffed in drawers and in non inspectable locked places if we needed one quick.

So one day we changed uniforms (we were changing all the time - they just fucked with us - they'd put us in Blues and we would do pushups and workout in blues or something). I had a fresh brown shirt, but in my haste stenciling half dead/asleep, I actually left out a letter on my name. I could have grabbed a dirty shirt (which is fine sometimes as they just throw us in the mud again), but did a quick stencil with an arrow on the shirt and the letter missing. hahahaha. Then stood in line for inspection. Man, my instructor lost his shit. He was laughing so hard. He wasn't even mad. I thought I was going to get more crap for that, but he thought it was so funny, that I could wear that shirt around if I wanted to without paying for it/PT/infraction. But, my team lead wasn't thrilled.

It became an ongoing joke though. When we started the first official course, we had to do these leadership teamwork training exercises. Like solve puzzles and stand on each other to cross a point or something. We had this USAFA grad who was leading (he was a trainee too - water polo guy). He would read the instructions and proceed with a plan. I was an E1 so generally didn't say shit. He was a butter bar (O1), but the ranking guy. We passed a few of the trials to our instructors approval (they were just standing, observing) and hit an impasse and were just sitting there for 20min or something to the point that we had to to PT for not doing it fast enough. I finally thought I solved it so said the plan to the LT so we could get out of the exercise/pushup position and it worked. We hit another roadblock on the next one and he just turns to me and was like "what do you think, 'Brainiac". lolol. Then that nickname stuck hard through the rest of the training program. The instructors started calling me that too and when we went TDY to the next phase, my new instructors would say that when I did very intelligent or very stupid/odd shit.

I didn't make the program though. I failed a test in Air Traffic Control school and was told I had to wait another 2 years to try out again. I never quit though. I went straight to military school and then to finance after that.

I ran into a Tier 1 asset last year at my gym (this guy https://www.keesler.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/363168/combat-c…). I was on the heavy bag and it was going everywhere, and he just came up and started holding it. Never met the guy. He looked like a marine to me. Nice dude.

But, I said 'oh are you in the Marines or something'? He said "no, Air Force." I was like - "oh yeah, CCT right?". He was like, "yeah out of Pope." I said "oh ok nice, you're in the 2-4". He was like "yeah, who are you???". I went into the service right after him (8 months) and we knew a lot of the same people. Our instructors during that phase and also people who were trainees who he served with on deployments. But, its interesting, he said to me - overall, he wished he gone the route I did - to get a degree and then into finance.

I brushed that off and was like no - your stuff is so badass though. But, he told me a lot of the work in the higher ranks is just research/mission planning/PPT slides to brief and stuff like that. I think he misses being an E4/E5 on the field. All roles on the enlisted side or officer side eventually come to a desk. Because much like finance, they are valuable assets at risk. You're not going to put an O7 in harms way and usually by O5, time on the field is limited (my brother was still doing jumps with his SEAL team at O6, but just training exercises). Which is why it is so bat shit crazy when Stan McChrystal (O10) is jumping in foxholes next to bullet catchers (infantry). I think that Rolling Stone article back in the day captured this well - some infantry dude looked to his left and said "its fucking Stan McChrystal!!". haha

We had a lot of Tier 2 assets come directly into our program though. We had a force recon guy, Navy SEAL, Army Ranger - and some other competitive programs like we had a Navy Search and Rescue swimmer. All these people transferred to the USAF for the program. Most lost stripes to switch services. The Search and Rescue swimmer was a Navy Reserve E7 and they changed his rank to USAF Active E4. Fuck. He bitched about that at least once a week. He's say - "Sooo I'm not even an NCO in this branch of the military...fucking bullshit." lol. Also, do you know how odd it is do see the SEAL trident on USAF BDUs or even more odd, USAF blues --- its soooo weird looking. Also, its odd to be rolling around in the mud with a rucksack or something and then stand up to see your fellow trainee with a SEAL trident already on his uniform. Is like... ummm ok... training again? I think he got out of the SEALs, then wanted back in, but decided to go through this program for some of the training (HALO school, Army Combat Diver). He was 30 and slightly out of shape (like in really good shape, but not really really good shape). So when we were assigned to do a meeelion pullups until our hands started bleeding, he would say "but, I'm 30, I'm not young like you guys". I think the Army Ranger was the same age, but was a beast and defied the laws of nature, so he'd just glare at him in these moments. The mix of people in training is pretty funny actually.

That schoolhouse in the first phase of training was like a freaking Church though. You respected it so much and in the heart of the schoolhouse, like the blessed sacrament, is the sacrifices that others have made for the country. There is a room with AF Crosses, just lined on each side by CCT/PJs, their name, act a description of the act of valor. How inspiring. This is the room where when the PJs finish Indoc, they get their ascots (sounds weird, but is really badass). It used to be a joint Indoc, but they split it up.

But, every time you leave the schoolhouse, you hit a sign and say "Hooyah Never Quit". I was thinking about this today and in relation to the Jocko thread and his inspiration to many. The mentality of saying "Never Quit" is quite large. I think a USMC saying is "Failure is not an option." In life, we think of the many excuses of why not to do something, after we have already set on the path to do it. The Never Quit mantra exposes two things about a mission or task or journey in everyday life: a) Do not start things you are not going to finish b) Do not quit something you have set to finish.

Obviously, there are extenuating circumstances, but to have the mindset is to set yourself up for success. Also, these guys are an employers/MBA schools dream. They make things happen.