I was sent a PM on another forum about telling some military members to stop complaining and get back to work. This was my response:
To anyone and everyone:
I realize that you do not know me as well as some of the other members who have been on here for a while so I will elaborate on my comment, in effort to shift your paradigm.
I have been in the military for 6 years as of August, and yes I am a "lifer." I have been deployed twice and am looking forward to my next deployment with regard to my professional life, however since it will be my first deployment with a wife and child I am not looking forward to the emotional toll the job comes with. I guarantee you if you walk into any military facility and watch any size group of enlisted members complain about military jobs or life you will get one or more superiors telling them "Well if you guys have so much time to stand around complaining I guess we will have to find some work for you." I know it, and you know it. The civilian members who read this thread might not know it, and that's why I am posting this. I guarantee it 110%. It is the role of the junior enlisted to perform such tasks. Your purpose in the military is do work, and to pretend you like it. I came in as an undesignated Airman. I was fed to the worst AOC in the fleet (Ask anyone who served on CVN-72 and they will tell you that Chief John Michael Cortner was a draconian force not to be reckoned with) He has also since been busted down and processed out. I spent 17 hours a day busting my ass in a 6 sponson deep AWSE shop with no ventilation in the Persian Gulf. You think it's hot on the sun? The sun ain't got nuthin on the Gulf.
I learned that the best airman are the ones that keep quiet and work their ass off. I wanted something better for myself so I asked everyone in sight "What do you do and where do you work?" After a few months of that I found CATTCC (Carrier Air Traffic Control Center). It was then that I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Air Traffic Control is what I chose, and carrier ops is my bread and butter.
In summary, yes I have done my fair share of complaining about work. We all have. In reality, when we are done complaining, we go back to work like good airman, soldiers, marines and whatever else we call ourselves. At the end of the day we wipe the green slime off our wog faces, eyes still stinging from the 2.5 inch saltwater hose the flight deck hit us with while we lay face down on elevator three in the hot non skid. We perform our jobs well, and when our superiors walk by we wipe the sweat from our eyes, put our PPE on and whistle Dixie, all the while digesting cold tater tots and cube steak from Midrats. We protect the country, and by "WE" I don't mean full grown men and women. I mean kids. The guys repairing and launching F-18's and EA-6's are all 18-24 years old. The 30 years olds are wearing Khaki's and watching. If we get killed they replace us, and continue operating as central leadership. It's how things work. If they get killed we work until the works done, then we work some more.