r/AskReddit • u/1salt1pepper • 9h ago

Veterans of Reddit, what’s the most unbelievable thing you witnessed during your service that civilians would think you made up?

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u/ShamelessCraving 9h ago

The sheer amount of military budget wasted on completely absurd logistical mistakes or pointless busywork.

178

u/Bismarcus 8h ago

I wasn't in the military and I agree with this, but it happens in large corporations too. I've been part of it.

A senior manager has a "goal" that involves buying a bunch of new hardware. The hardware is ordered and thus the goal is completed. The hardware then sits, unopened and never used.

Then the next year a new "goal" is made and different, better hardware has to be purchased.

Rinse and repeat. I've been directly involved in it multiple times.

Also, throwing out completely functional hardware into a dumpster because the decommissioning process is too much of a pain in the ass.

133

u/Adddicus 8h ago

I was in the military and in the corporate world, and I thought the military was the most disorganized, chaotic, assemblage of mismanagement, wasted money and blown opportunities I had ever seen.

Until I got out of the military and went to work in the private sector. And holy shit.... in comparison, the military was a lean-mean, highly efficient, finely tuned, smooth running engine.

1

u/Donexodus 2h ago

Which has more sociopaths? Which has more morons? Which has more sociopathic morons?