Some MOS promote very slow and can be tempramental.
For example, the AT(I)s in the Navy promote very infrequently and an E-7 in that rate is very rare. As an example, when I was advanced in that rate to E-5, it was 1 of 1 for the whole Navy for that term.
Well, I was not old enough to be fully aware of it in the 80s and 90s… But as I got older in the 00s…
Take my anecdote for what it is. In 2005 at the breakfast table of our highschool cafeteria, I stated to my friends and peers at the table: "In the next 10 to 15 years, the U.S. will cease to exist as a nation."
I also had this cool idea for a book pertaining to an organization of prior black project workers/leaders who worked on projects classified and compartmentalized to the point the government lost track of what they were really funding and doing.
This organization also came out of the shadows in 2018 to play a pivotal role in the evolving civil war in the U.S. being fueled by China and corrupt politicians.
For a 16 year old… I think I did pretty fucking good.
So, yeah, when Q cropped up, that was the biggest 4d (you) in and of itself. To the extent I honestly question the nature of the reality I am experiencing. At some point, being right all the time makes you suspicious of the fundamental assumption that reality is based on mechanical rules and ambivalence toward the human perception. My experience is…. That I am often right even when I have absolutely no reason to be so. And this… Well, I can only operate on the knowledge and experience I have, so getting too ate up about it is pointless, but I entertain the possibility that 'nothing is as it seems.'
People always want vindication/validation for their beliefs. "I am right, you are wrong. My god is real, yours is fake."
Personally, I seek knowledge and understanding of the world I find myself in. I believe I am here for a reason. It may be as simple as I plugged myself into some kind of RPG in another dimension and forgot how to log out of the game - or something far more spiritually profound. Lessons and knowledge can be gleaned from everything and it is my belief that the divine - that is - the grand deity, process, and energy responsible for the concept of existence, itself, is revealed through that pursuit for knowledge and understanding.
What I see when I look at people pointing to a book and trying to say "this is good." And "this is evil" is no different than trying to point to an object or tool and declare it as good or bad.
There are people who wield scripture with all the wicked natures to be found and those who read the stars with the most sincere of benevolence.
If it was so simple as "this good" and "that bad" - then you wouldn't need a second coming of a savior, now would you?
I was rather omnovorous when it came to billetting. Personally, I wanted to go mustang and fly - but life events and opportunities not taken. I relied a bit too much on the idea that hard work would be recognized and rewarded. Naive in that regard. The institutionalization my generation was subjected to in school didn't exactly prepare us well for taking charge of our careers and spearheading new pathways for ourselves.
But those experiences taught me many things I would not have learned on a smoother course, so, there's that.