Self Interview about Joining the Military Part: 2

What are you going to do in the ARMY?

--- My Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) is 68W (sixty-eight whisky is how it’s pronounced). A 68W is a Health Care Specialist (Combat Medic). I could do anything from being a line-medic, which is stationed with the infantry and goes out with them into combat, to being stationed in a hospital.

--- The above is an easy answer to what I’ll be doing in the Army. Much is unknown to me until I get through Basic Combat Training (BCT) and my Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and then get stationed with my unit.

--- The difficult part is telling people what I want to do within this MOS. What I would like to do and what I will be doing may or may not happen. What I would like to do, if I stay enlisted and not go into Officer Candidate School (OCS) after I finish my training, is be a line medic.

--- Within the MOS 68W there are several Skill Identifiers (SI’s). One of which is a flight medic. I would like to be a flight medic if I’m unable to be a line medic. There are qualifications you have to meet in order to even apply. You have to pass a physical screening, have served a minimum of one year as a certified 68W and have at least 24 months remaining in your service contract; just to name a few.

--- Let me preface these next sentences with, “I know I have a long way to go to meet these goals. However, they are my goals none the less”. My goal in the army is to meet all physical fitness requirements to do any job I choose. I don’t want to not be able to do something because I don’t meet the requirements. I want to not do something because I choose not to do it. What the recruiters and I are trying to get worked into my contract before I ship to basic training is getting me into Airborne School. Yes, that’s right… me, jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft. Another goal is to qualify for special forces/green berets. The only way I can make it into the Special Forces, because I’m color blind (according to the military), is going as a medic. This is one of the main reasons, not the sole reason, why I wanted to become a medic in the Army. Like I said previously, I want to have the option to do this not that I’m going to do it.

When do you go to Basic Combat Training? How long is BCT? Where is your BCT?

--- I ship out to BCT June 12, 2012. That’s two days before my 9 year anniversary with my wonderful wife. BCT lasts 9 weeks and 4 days. My BCT will be at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. It’s also effectually known as Fort Lost in the Woods because there is nothing but woods in this area. No cities, nothing. Just a lone fort. I guess people from the south would say it’s in the Boone Docks or in the Sticks.

When do you go to your Advanced Individual Training? How long is AIT? Where is your AIT?

--- I will go to AIT shortly after I graduate BCT. I’m not sure of how many days you have before you start but I think it’s a day or two after you graduate BCT. My AIT will last 18 weeks and 6 days. I will be at AIT for my daughter’s 5^th birthday. However, I don’t think I’ll be able to go home for Thanksgiving but I do believe we will have, what the military calls, Exodus for Christmas break. What this means is, to my knowledge, I’ll be able to go home for Christmas (Lord Willing!). But, I’ll have to return to finish up AIT. My AIT will be at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. San Antonio, TX to be more exact.

Self Interview about Joining the Military Part: 1

How long have you known that you wanted to join the military?

--- When I was younger, in middle school, I knew that our high school had a JROTC program and that I really wanted to join that and do JROTC in high school. However, when I mentioned this to my friends they all discouraged me and said, “Don’t do that! Those kids get made fun of”. For self preservation and not wanting to be ridiculed I didn’t join the JROTC and continued to play baseball instead.

--- I have wanted to join the military since I was 17 years old. When I was 17 I had a few friends that wanted to go into the military and one of them was going into the Marines. He referred me to his recruiter and that was the first time I actually considered joining the military. The recruiter even came over to my house and spoke with me and my father. The recruiter even took me to take the Armed Services Vocation Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). I spoke with my grandparents, mom, dad, friends and family about this decision and everyone, though it seemed, was completely against me joining the Marines. So, it was then that I decided to stop my pursuit all together and didn’t consider another branch of service. All the while, I would still have this strong desire to join the military. What I did next was what seemed to be a logical decision. I went to college to be a minister.

--- My life growing up consisted of going to school, playing baseball, and going to church. Growing up I’ve always wanted to play baseball for the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately I gave up on that goal when I turned 16 and got a truck. When I got a truck, I got a job; logical choice. I continued to play baseball until I graduated high school but knew that the goal of being a MLB player just wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I knew I needed to make a decision about college. So I made another “logical” choice. I should go into the ministry. I’m a leader in the youth group and other than baseball and school; church is what I know best. I also thought to myself, “I should be a youth pastor! It’s so cool! You get to hang out with teenagers all the time and plan cool, fun trips like snow skiing and stuff”! Boy was I wrong! It took me to actually becoming a youth pastor (2003-2005) to find out that myth was wrong! I ended up going to the Baptist College of Florida(2000). I started as a Theology major and after a year and a half I switched my major to Church Music. I met my beautiful bride in the spring of 2002 and we were later married June 14, 2003. I was 21 she was 20! Other than surrendering to the Kingship of Christ, marring Jessica S. Foster was the best decision I’ve made in my life!

--- When I was in college I never really spoke to anyone (except Jessica) about wanting to join the military but the desire was still there. Because I was going to college for a Church Music degree I had briefly considered being a Chaplain but realized that’s not what I wanted to do in the military.

--- After I graduated college I got a job with the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island as a Valet Parker. I worked with James and Mark Byrd. Two great guys! James is the older of the two and he served in the Army. While working with him I always enjoyed listening to his stories and he was kind enough to let me pick his brain about the Army and his service in it. Mark is closer to my age, just a year or two younger. Mark and I hung out a lot outside of work. One day he told me he was joining the Coast Guard and had already talked to the recruiter. He suggested that I should go with him to the recruiter station in Jacksonville, FL and speak to the recruiter with him. I did. I even went and took the ASVAB again. After I took the test it didn’t seem the recruiter really wanted me to join. And because I felt like they didn’t want me I stopped pushing to join. I settled for continuing to work at the Ritz-Carlton. Please, don’t get me wrong! The Ritz-Carlton is the best company to work for and I’m proud to work for them. It’s just that I know I don’t want to work there for the rest of my life and stay with them as a career.

--- While working at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, after my friend Mark was shipped to Coast Guard Basic Training, either my mom or dad told me about a church looking for a music minister/associate pastor. I thought to myself, “I’m not sure I want to get back into the ministry just yet. But it would give me an opportunity to put my music degree to use and I can use this time to see if I should be a preacher instead”. However, I still had major reserves about going back into the ministry. So I spoke to my pastor Jackie Hayes and told him of this opportunity. He told me, “Well, you could always submit your resume and speak to the pastor and see where it all leads”. Long story short, I took his advice and ran with it. I submitted my resume; spoke to the pastor and then the music minister search committee. After that I lead a worship service on a Sunday morning and then that night I gave my testimony. They voted. I became their Associate Pastor/ Music Minister. While serving at this church, all the while working full time at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island as a Bell Man, I was still considering the military but was encouraged by others in the congregation that I should be a preacher. This is something I’ve been struggling over for a long time but I still wasn’t sure about it.

--- I’ve always been interested in languages. I did some research and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has one of the best Biblical Languages in the country. And, you know what? There’s a Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans. So there was another logical choice for me. I could go to school for a master’s degree and work full-time at the RCNO. The RCAI was going to be going into renovation in the fall (which for me as a bell man the tips would be slim to none and I would still be struggling to provide for my family). This made the choice even more logical. I looked into the jobs available for the RCNO. I found they had a bell man position available. After an application and three interviews over the phone they offered me the job. I took it and moved my family to New Orleans in hopes of starting a Masters of Divinity in Biblical Languages… It still has not come to fruition.

--- Over the past two years I look back and ask the questions, “Was this worth it? Was this worth the heartache, time and money spent to move my family to a place that’s unfamiliar and unknown to not even accomplish the goal I had set for myself”? To answer these honestly and shortly, the answer is a resounding yes. However, has these two years been tough, stressful and full of doubt at times? Absolutely! It has by no means been fun to deal with struggling to provide for my family on a single income budget. And I won’t even mention having to deal with some of the local people in this area of the world! But there are a great handful of local people that have been helpful and supportive to me and my family! Not everyone in this neck of the woods is a Lune! LOL! At least, this is what I have to keep reminding myself of.

--- Because the past two years have been a struggle for me and my family it has put me in a situation where I realize I have some serious choices to make. Stay with the Ritz, look for another career, or go full fledged into the ministry because the way things are going I cannot support my family with the little income I get for working a job that any high school or college student could be doing. Now granted, there are no high school students in the position I’m working but, it doesn’t take a degree to be a concierge or be hospitable to guests. With those three choices I really considered the ministry but I just couldn’t bring myself to submit my resume for a ministry position. So, I went with option/choice two, I looked for another career.

--- The Lord knows I put my wonderful, gracious wife through a lot of stress over the last eight years of our marriage especially, when it came to trying to figure out what I was going to do to support our family. We have had MANY conversations about what I should do career wise. I have struggled with this ever since before we were married. It wasn’t until this past summer when I decided I’m going to lay everything out on the table one last time and have her help me with finding a career for which I was best suited. I told her all of the jobs I have always wanted to do from flying planes to being a cop, from being a doctor to being a charter boat captain/shrimper as my father is and take up the “family business” (which by the way, I’ve always felt like I should have been more involved in). But with all the jobs we talked about she said, “Ryan, the one thing I could see you doing is being a paramedic. You always handle stress very well and you’re really level headed when something bad happens”. And from that day forth I started searching into paramedic schools. I’ve always been interested in the human body. When I was in high school I elected to take anatomy/physiology. And in college I elected to take, one of my favorite classes in college, Anatomy/Physiology of the Vocal Mechanism; a class I wasn’t required to take. With all the searching for a paramedic school it brought me back to the reality I faced as to why I’m not in seminary working on a master’s degree: I can’t go to school, work a full-time job, support my family, and spend time with them. So, in October 2011 I decided to take one more shot at the military conversation with my wife. She responded, “Ryan, I’ve told you before, do what you want. I will support you in whatever you do. I just want you to make up your mind and DO SOMETHING!” So from that conversation last fall I began the process of the pursuit to join the military.

How to Tip a Door Man

The Door Man:
A person who is in charge of the flow of vehicles in the driveway, hailing cabs, and loading and unloading guest vehicles. A lot of times this is the first person you encounter when arriving on the driveway of a hotel. This is who you will be giving your valet claim ticket to if you haven't called ahead for your car to be brought around. The door man is normally the person that gets yelled at when the valets haven't brought the car around after a "reasonable" amount of time.

How much to tip:
Because the door man wears different hats you will want to tip him according to the job he does. For hailing a cab and opening the doors for you and your party members, any where from $2-$5 is sufficient. If multiple cabs are needed because you have a large party, you should tip at least $5 per cab. You will want to hand the door man the tip right before you get into the cab while he's holding the door open for you.

When you arrive to the hotel the door man will greet you by opening your door for you (most of the time). After the greeting he will begin to unload your luggage onto a bell cart. After unloading the vehicle and making sure you have everything he will park the bell cart and escort you into the hotel (most of the time) and introduce you to the front desk agent. A great time to tip the door man is when he's handing you your valet claim ticket and your luggage claim ticket. You should tip the door man $2 per bag. The valet claim ticket you will (most of the time) hold on to it throughout your entire stay at the hotel because it will be the same numbers used for your car. If the door man gives you the luggage claim ticket make sure to get that into the hands of the front desk agent or into the hands of a bell man after you check into the hotel.

My 2 Cents:
The door man is also the guard of all those pretty cars parked on the driveway or on the side of the driveway. Those cars on the side of the driveway are the cars that have either been called down early for guests on their way to the drive or personally parked there by the door man. There is only ONE way to have your car parked there permanently throughout your stay. And that way is tipping very good! I'm not talking about $5 every time you come and go from the drive. I'm talking about $10-$20 dollars coming and going. (OK there are other ways like getting a bad scratch on your car when a valet was driving it. But seriously who wants to go through the pain of that? You could however, go to the establishment often and befriend the door man and because you would be considered a regular who is a good tipper, they would park your car on the side for you. But those are pretty much the only ways without tipping very well!)

Remember:

1. Make sure your doors are unlocked when pulling onto the drive way. You don't want the door man trying to open locked doors.

2. Make sure you clean up all of your trash in your car. You don't want to arrive and have all of your trash spilling out your car when the door man opens it for you. I once saw a door man walk to the back and grab a very large trash bag and started to clean out this couples car because there was so much stuff spilling out of the car onto the driveway.

3. Make sure you have everything when you leave the car in care of the valet. For example: sunglasses, cell phone, computer, etc. Those are the most requested things for the valet and door men to retrieve from parked cars. Make sure you tip the person who gets it for you too. $2-$5 will be enough most of the time. If it is of high value and you need it immediately tip them more.

4. Anytime someone performs a service, tip them. And tip them more if you feel they went above and beyond to meet your request.

5. The door man is a professional packer. He will ask you if you want anything close to you in the car like a purse of computer bag. If you say, "No." he will pack it into the back. Let me remind you again, he is a professional packer. Please, do not begin to tell him how to pack every bag. If there is something you want on top because you don't want something to be smashed let him know. He will find a way for everything to fit into your car neatly and nicely. Just because you figured out the jigzaw puzzle (after 25mins. of trying) for your 25 bags, ski's, coolers, and beach toys before your 18 hour drive doesn't mean he won't be able to do the same in less than five minutes. The door man packs cars, trucks, and SUV's everyday on the job. He's a professional, let him work.

6. The door men may or may not be pooling their tips. You should tip the door man when you check-in to the hotel. And you should tip him when you check-out of the hotel (when he begins loading your car is a great time to tip him).

How to Tip

My 2 cents worth:
This post will help you be either a good tipper or a great tipper. If you tip less than what is suggested in the following posts you will be considered a bad or poor tipper by the people in the service industry who are and have been assisting you.

Always carry cash. If someone provides a service for you, you should tip them. Your tips may and should vary as you encounter different levels of service. The basic/good tip will be noted in following posts. However the rule will fluctuate because of service. If at anytime you think any individual has gone above and beyond their normal line of duty, the individual has pulled strings in order to make sure your requests have been met, or just provided exceptional service you should tip more than what's suggested. And similarly, if the level of service that was provided poorly you should still tip, but tip the minimum.

You should assess the situation before tipping the minimum. Most of the time the bad service might not be under the tipped employee's control and you should still, even with poor service, tip the normal amount. Here's why: During valet service, if the driveway is backed up and full of people waiting on cars and you see every valet running and working very hard and you have been waiting a while for your vehicle; its not the valets fault and you should tip him normal amount. During bell service, if you've been waiting in your room for your luggage and wondering whats taking so long for the bell man to get there and you have the luggage claim ticket in your pocket or purse; it's not the bell man's fault. He didn't know you had luggage because you have the claim ticket. Again, not the bell man's fault. You should tip him/her the normal amount. There are more examples of bad services that people receive from dinning in a restaurant to service from a concierge that just aren't their fault or under their control. You should always assess the situation before tipping the minimum.

Tipping a manager? Please don't. Managers are paid very well by their salaries. Managers will have different name tags than hourly employee's. Either their name will show a first and last name or just a first name. You'll know because the majority of people will have a different name tag on. If you feel you've received exceptional service from a manager, write a note to their manager. This is the only time writing a note to a manager to tell of exceptional service without tipping is acceptable.

Not at anytime is saying, "Thank You so much!" considered a tip. This seems to be a common misconception of people around the United States. Some people must really believe that the employee assisting them MUST pay their bills in "thank yous". Because, I've heard some pretty sincere thank you's from people for service that I've almost literally moved "Heaven and Earth" and received just a very sincere "Thank you so much", "'at a boy!" and "you're the best (insert job position here) we've ever had!". People and specifically people in the service industry do not pay their bills with stacks of "Thank You's!". Could you imagine giving your power company a note saying, "Here's 150 thank you's I've received from my customers this month! That should pay me in full for this month and next"? Or, to your landlord a stack of "'at a boys" for next month's rent?

Not at anytime is writing a note to a manager, in substitution of a tip, to tell them what a great employee they have working for them is considered OK. Writing a note should be done if you've encountered exceptional service but you should also tip the individual. In my experience when people write notes to managers or general managers about the employee that assisted them, the employee is just patted on the back for a job well done. And again, you can't pay bills or buy groceries with "pats on the back".

And last but not least if you're in any doubt at what you should be tipping, just ask. You will get, most of the time, one of two responses.
1. They will tell you it's up to your discretion. (in this case, tip what you think they deserve and maybe a little more.)
2. They will tell you their average tip or what people normally tip. (in this case, tip the amount that's normally given and then more if you think the service was above average.)

Cheers! And don't be afraid to take care of the people that take care of you!

How to tip a Valet

Tipping the Valet:
The Valet is the person who parks your car when you arrive to your destination. And the person who brings your car, from where the previous person parked it, to you when you're ready to leave. You will want to tip the valet at least $2.00 every time the valet parks your car and another $2.00 when he brings it to you. You should tip at least $5.00 every time the valet brings you your car if you didn't tip anything when the valet parked your car.

My 2 cents worth:
Sometimes valets will pool their tips. The rule to pulling tips will vary. But the idea and concept is pretty simple to grasp. Pooling tips means that all the valets share their tips. If 5 valets are working and valet 1 has $10.00, valet 2 has $30.00, valet 3 has $15.00, valet 4 has $10.00, and valet 5 has $35.00 at the end of the designated time frame, each valet will receive $20.00 each. Which means the pool gets divided up evenly. One great reason for the valets to pool tips is because it keeps them from fighting over who parks a car and who brings a car from the garage. Because some times people only tip when the car is brought to them and not when its parked. Also, sometimes people just don't tip at all. To clarify, some people don't tip when the car is parked or brought to them. These people are rude and impolite... and a few other adjectives I'll refrain from using.

Calling Ahead for your Car:
Sometimes people will call ahead to have their car brought to the driveway so it will be waiting on them to depart. These guests sometimes to do this to avoid waiting for the valets to bring the car around or for other reasons like running late for a dinner reservation.

My 2 cents worth:
If you do this make sure you tip more than whats been suggested to tip. The reason to tip more is because you have asked them to skip ahead of other people who are bringing their claim ticket in person and waiting on the vehicle in person while the guest who called ahead has their vehicle in the driveway clogging it up and slowing down service. Also the valet that brought the car down and parked it on the driveway could have been bringing a car down for a guest that was waiting and get tipped for it. When you arrive and the car is waiting for you because you called ahead, ask for the valet that brought your car around and hand him the tip personally. And my 2 cents worth says you should be tipping at least $10.00 if you call ahead for your car to be waiting when you arrive.

My 2 cents on Common Courtesy when using Valet Parking:
1. If you call ahead and see your car parked on the side, don't just walk to it and get in. Make sure you speak to a door man or valet and show them your claim ticket. I'm sure you'd hate to get your rental car confused with another person's and take theirs instead of yours. (oh, yes, that's happened quite a few times because of impatient people.)

2. Be patient and plan ahead.

3. NEVER tip a valet or anyone coin change! There are several things that they will do with it. Sometimes they will let it slip through their hands and let it hit the ground and spill everywhere to let everyone know you're tipping change (quite embarrassing). Other times they will refuse to take it for several reasons. One of the main reasons is because it jingles in their pockets and if other people hear it jingling, they too will get the misconception that its OK to tip coins. And last but not least, and not limited to, of their response is to accept the coins and then proceed to toss/throw them into the lovely fountain of the establishment wishing to never get coin tips again.

4. If you arrive to a place that has mandatory valet parking, DO NOT argue. Just get out the car and let them park your vehicle.

5. When staying at a hotel and you see a valet charge or parking in the garage fee, do not assume under any circumstance that any of this money is going to the valets. Some of it might be going to them to pay their hourly rate, of less than minimum wage, but that's all. Valets make their living on tips.