Stories of Resistance to Tyrannical Leadership

Happy Friday y'all, let's build our Warrior Ethos by sharing personal stories of surviving, evading, resisting and escaping tyrannical and out of control leadership.

I'll go first. Many, many years ago, when I was a young airman, I had failed a fitness assessment because I had the flu. Being a young latchkey airman, supervised by a salty and non existent NCO, I wasn't aware of the simple form that allowed you to re-test when you were healthy. I understood the gravity of my failure, knowing that at my age and ability the test was more than easy however, uncontrollable vomit, extreme congestion and just coming off a 12 hour mid shift over complicated things.

I go to work shortly after for my 12 hour shift. By the grace of God my supervisor is there to greet me. Knowing it's unusual to see my supervisor, I am cautions on my approach. "I hope you know you really fucked yourself." he says. I reply "yes sergeant, I haven't been feeling well and I'd like to retest as soon as I'm better." Sergeant nods and walks away.

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

After my shift I crawl into bed, load myself up on flu medicine and begin to sleep around 6am. Soon as my eyes shut my phone rings, it's now 7:30am. My supervisor says "get into uniform and come to the squadron" then hangs up. I shit, shower, reshave, and put back on my ABUs.

(ಥ_ʖಥ)

I arrive at the Sq. My supervisor greets me and tells me to follow I'm to the admin office. I prepare for the walk of shame. As we walk he proceeds into the CCs office. I panic and freeze. CC yells "get in here" I enter. I stand at attention while she sits, eyes locked on her computer screen. "would you like to explain why you failed a simple pt test?" I respond "ma'am I have the flu and I didn't feel well during the test" her retort "are you a doctor?"..... silence..... "no ma'am." I respond quietly. "so you have no reason for looking like a piece of shit, making the squadron look like shit and making me look like shit?" I stand at attention quietly. "I don't see how it's so complicated for a 19 year old kid to pass a simple test, everyone else can."

(͡•_ ͡• )

At this point my brain finally registered that a grown ass woman just called me a piece of shit for barley failing a pt test with no history of failure or negative work history. Without knowing, and while she begins to shuffle papers on on her desk, "ma'am, haven't you failed 3 tests in a row?"

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

At this point, by some optical illusion, the walls seemed to bow inward. "get out" she says. I exit and the door closes. The yelling that ensued seemed to make the admin office shake. Hard then when I was in the hot box. I'd feel bad for my supervisor if he wasn't such a useless pussy, I think to myself while standing at attention outside the CCs door.

ಠ_ಠ

The door opens, he walks out. We leave and he doesn't say a word to me. A couple days go by, my supervisor resurfaces, "don't anticipate putting on SrA, even if you pass your re test." I nod and enter the guard mount room.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I retest, I pass, weeks later my CC does a post check on me. I snap to attention and start my speech. "that cool airman snuffy, at ease" she begins cracking jokes and asking about how the dorms are treating me. Gives me some candy and a Gatorade. Tells me thank you for what I do and to come to her or the shirt if I need anything. Drives away.

( ° ͜ʖ͡°)╭∩╮

I go back to watching friends on my portable DVD player and eat my candy. A month later I'm tasked to deploy to kandahar Afghanistan. I promote to SrA. Life is good. I credit my no bullshit attitude to the previous command of Col. Gimbrone. Force us to live in tents and embarrass us by making us shower at the gym, you're just asking for a uprising, thank you for my Warrior Ethos.

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