Military Discount

[Imogene]

"Do svidonia," once ^___^

*blink, blink* You told them to "Go with God"? Why?

[smileyeagle1021]

*blink, blink* You told them to "Go with God"? Why?

isn't that a traditional parting line in russia?

[AmethystSquirrel]

On behalf of SANE military dependents everywhere, I apologize for the nitwits you dealt with. I'm a non-com wife, and I can assure you that most of us can read and do basic math (especially since most cell phones come with calculators these days )

I hate people who think that just because they or their family member is military, they are entitled to special deals. Yes, it's a nice perk when someone offers a discount. But shit son, don't bitch when the discount isn't as much as you'd like or not offered at all. Be grateful for what you're given.

I have to agree with you. As a dependent of active duty Navy, I appreciate the little perk of a discount, but I would never throw a fit about it.

Next time, you should be a brat and say "sorry active duty only"

[daleduke17]

Here is a question I have been wanting to ask, but keep forgetting to ask my military friends:

What is the difference between Commissioned Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer?

[Hobbs]

Here is a question I have been wanting to ask, but keep forgetting to ask my military friends:

What is the difference between Commissioned Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer?

A non-commissioned officer is someone who has enlisted; between the ranks of Staff Sergeant to Chief Master Sergeant.

A Commissioned Officer, between the ranks of 2nd Lieutenant and General, have recieved Commissions to serve within the military.

[RobertM]

I have memories of helping a couple of times at the Mildenhall Air Show and have had many American Servicemen and Women together with their famlies vist the heritage railway where I run a station on a volunteer basis and I can say without exception I have never met a more kind, helpful, professional group of people without exception they are a pleasure to talk to and deal with.

[Jack Doe]

Hobbs, that sucks. I just wish that dependants realized just how badly their actions reflect on their parent in uniform.

Juwl, Smiley: The traditional familiar Russian 'goodbye' is до свидания, which literally translates to 'goodbye.' It is pronounced daas't VIdonya.

Daleduke: What Hobbs said, but there's a lot more to it than that.

The difference between a "Non-Commissioned" Officer and a "Commissioned" Officer is a commission. The history goes back centuries, back to the early 10th Century. Back in those days, there were three classes of soldiers (generally.) Pesant infantry who were not professional soldiers, professional soldiers not of nobility, and nobles (knights, lords, stuff like that.) A professional soldier not of the nobility was called a sergeant (or whatever local equivalent there was) and was considered an officer for command purposes, but served without a "warrant" from the King. Officers (usually knights and members of the nobility) were commissioned by the King/Queen/Lord of the Realm to serve as a leader in the military.

Now in most modern Western militaries (all examples are specific to the United States, but equivalent to most NATO forces as well) there are, as in antiquity, three levels of troops. There are junior enlistedmen (privates, airmen, seamen.) Then there are non-commissioned officers (sergeants and petty officers.) Finally, there are commissioned officers (of various ranks and types, more on this later.)

NCO's are leaders of personnel at lower levels. Specifically, the grades E-4 to E-9 (E-5 to E-9 in the USAF) are considered NCO's, and are further sub-devided into "Junior NCO's" and "Senior NCO's." Junior NCO's (E-4 to E-6) usually command details of 4-10 persons, such as a fire team, squad, gun, tank, etc. They facilitate the first line of supervisory control over junior enlistedmen. Senior NCO's (E-7 to E-9) usually facilitate a superintendant or command liason position, or in some cases, stand in a command billet normally requiring a commissioned officer.

Among commissioned officers there are four levels, junior (or "Company Grade") officers, field grade officers, flag officers, and warrant officers. There are also two types of commissioned officers (line commission and direct commission.) Company grade officers are grades O-1 to O-3, and normally command small units (platoon to company size, small naval craft, or command departments on larger vessels.) Field grade officers are O-4 to O-6, and command larger units (battalion- regiment, brigade ((Army/Marine Corps,)) numbered flight-squadron-group ((Air Force.))) Flag officers are O-7 to O-10 and command senior billets (Division to Field Army, Wing to MAJCOM, or capital ship/fleet/Majcom.) These officers are commissioned by order of the President and by approval of Congress.

The final group of commissioned officers are "Warrant" officers. These officers are usually senior NCO's who have been promoted due to perceived technical or leadership ability, or because of a technical specialty outside of normal operational training (such as helocopter pilots in the Army.) Warrants are graded WO-1 to CWO-5. WO-1's are "commissioned by warrant" by their individual service secretaries, where as CWO-2 to CWO-5 are fully commissioned by the same standards and rules of a normal commission.

Finally, there are line commissions, field commissions and direct commissions. A line-commission places an officer in the line of command, requires them to command personnel, and enables them to assume higher command. I for instance, have a line-commission (reserve) and command my squadron's EOD flight. Should my CO be killed in action and no officers are senior to me, I would be required to assume command of the squadron.

A field commission places an individual into the line of command at a specific rank to fill a billet at a specific level. For instance, if I were killed in action, my colonel would have the option to promote my NCOIC (NCO-in-charge) to lieutenant to fill my spot until a permanent replacement can be found. Field commissions are full commissions, but will revert if not approved by Congress. Field commissions are very rare and most officers will not utilize this option.

Direct commission officers hold the rank and grade of an officer, but does not lead (or, if he/she does, commands a very specific and small group.) Individuals under direct commission serve in very specific circumstances which require extensive training and as such are granted the additional pay and priveliges of being an officer. Military lawyers, doctors, chaplains, criminal investigators (CID, NCIS, OSI,) or research scientists are normally direct commission officers. Again, they do fall under the command of line officers. For instance, an Air Force lawyer may hold the rank of lieutenant colonel by direct commission, but fall under the command of a captain with a line commission. In the case of hospitals, the usual hospital hiearchy normally falls into play (nurses-interns-residents-attending-chief of specialty.) As such, DC officers rely less on rank and more on position to determine who follows whom.

[Rine]

Great explanation, Jack Doe. I typically thought that commissioned officers have to go to school and NCOs, well, enlist.

My mother was a Chief Petty Officer (E-7) when she retired. She still works with the military and her civilian rank is like GS-12 or 13 now.

@Hobbs, I meant really nothing by my comment; I just don't like generalizations or people that look down on enlisted members of the military or their families. Both of my parents were enlisted members of the military (my father was honorably discharged after 14 years) and they worked just as hard as the COs.

I think I get like this because one of the kids that I used to go to school with when my family was stationed up north was a commissioned officer's kid and she was such a snot about it, even though my mother was pretty high up in the ranks. She made fun of the nco kids because we had to live in lower grade housing than she did. Very sore spot.

My parents raised us to never ask for a military discount because other people needed it more than we did. Besides, we always shopped at the Commissary and NEX and things are very cheap there compared to civilian groceries. I very rarely took advantage of having a dependant's card...I can think of one instance when I used it to get a lower rate on movie tickets at a civilian movie theater. I guess it depends on the parents on how the kids act...it was very hard being a military family--there wasn't a lot of money to go around, even with free housing and healthcare. Still, we never wanted much and didn't go after discounts just because we had the "special card" as my sister used to call it.

And about the foreigners in the military...my father teaches on base and he teaches ATC. He routinely gets folks like Bulgarians, Italians, Romanians, Jamaicans, Koreans and so forth. I guess anyone we are friendly with, we are willing to train. *shrugs*

[Belari]

Personally, I feel guilty asking for a discount. I'm not in the military, my husband is. Why do I get special favors for his accomplishments? My mom thinks I'm crazy. She points out that I moved across the world to hang out by myself while my husband risks his life in Iraq and therefore I'm entitled to cheap crap. But honestly, I disagree. I moved over here to be with my husband whom I love. That he's in the military is his thing not mine. But that's the difference between me and EWs. (Not saying that using a mil discount makes you an EW. Expecting special treatment for someone else's accomplishments does.)

[wanderingjoe72]

The only time I ever bothered with the military discount was when I was in uniform and it was offered or I was making a large purchase and it would be a nice break. Other than that, I preferred not to cause a hassle for whoever was cashing me out.

The military has people from all educational levels. Some are able to get by on basics alone, then again, they may never advance in their careers. Then again, we had plenty of people with us that had no common sense, but could do their job better than anyone.

Families are hit or miss. You get such a wide cross section that you get as much suck along with the good.

[KrytenKoro]

They were wrong in their calculations, but so were you - they ended up getting only a 2% discount.

Of course, that's assuming you told them the total with tax, and weren't rattling off a string of numbers that they don't actually have to pay. I assume you guys do have a 7% sales tax or so, so maybe the math is correct, but the story doesn't really seem so much against them the way you told it.

I know I've been in a similar situation - I was trying to buy a 20$ item from a Target that was nowhere else in town, and the only one they had there was extremely beat up. I asked for a discount, and the final price took off all of 40c - much less than the two dollars a normal 10% discount would go with, and less than the then-current sales tax of 6% would indicate.


On a different note - military benefits are traditionally extended to families because the whole family has to pay a cost for the military member being in danger, and not having a civilian, well-paying job. It's specifically meant for the entire family to use - especially since the soldier will likely benefit from whatever is bought.

[elysia]

Having overheard SC's little observation about 10% being at least $3 or $4 dollars, I may have quipped, "Yes it is! Of thirty or forty dollars!" But then again I would have had to weigh that small satisfaction against the strong possibility the dumbass wouldn't understand anyway and get riled and stay and give you more crap instead of leaving.

[ASM826]

% of anything

We're used to base10, and the reason for a 10% discount is the ease with which a quick calculation can be made in base10. 10% of 14.99 (in base10) 1.49, making the purchase price $13.50. If there was then a 7% sales tax applied, the total cost would be $14.44.

The same logic applies to any base numbering system from base2 on up.
So, 12% of a number can be found by moving the decimal point when using base12 numbering. 8% in base8, and so on.

[Chromatix]

Actually, that's not quite correct.

In base-12, moving the decimal point gives you a twelfth of the total - which is is 8.33%.

In base-8, moving the decimal point gives you an eighth of the total - which is 12.5%.

But this assumes you're still defining the percent and writing it down in decimal. If you define and write it in the relevant base each time... guess what, it comes out to 10% again.

[M47]

They were wrong in their calculations, but so were you - they ended up getting only a 2% discount.

Of course, that's assuming you told them the total with tax, and weren't rattling off a string of numbers that they don't actually have to pay. I assume you guys do have a 7% sales tax or so, so maybe the math is correct, but the story doesn't really seem so much against them the way you told it.

I know I've been in a similar situation - I was trying to buy a 20$ item from a Target that was nowhere else in town, and the only one they had there was extremely beat up. I asked for a discount, and the final price took off all of 40c - much less than the two dollars a normal 10% discount would go with, and less than the then-current sales tax of 6% would indicate.


On a different note - military benefits are traditionally extended to families because the whole family has to pay a cost for the military member being in danger, and not having a civilian, well-paying job. It's specifically meant for the entire family to use - especially since the soldier will likely benefit from whatever is bought.

Although I do appreciate your comment, I have to point out that 10% was taken off every item and as per Texas State Law, the sales tax was then added to that price (sales tax is 8.125% in our area). State law reads that, "No business may pay the tax for the consumer..."