Been a while since I posted here

[Torreyjs 64]

Welcome, Torreyjs.

You last visited: September 21st, 2007 at 02:29 AM

Just figured Id drop in and say hi and that Ill be lurking here again hopefully getting to know some people. I remember it well at least maybe it hasnt changed too much.

Last time I was here I was in college, now im in the AirForce stationed in Germany. And my internet is total garbage since we (i got married) live in a small village offbase way away from a town. I have like 400kbps download speed.

Anyways I like anime obviously- Ghost in the shell is what my wife and I enjoy the most. And I dunno hello again.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

guten morgan dude. hows the weather over there

[Pchan 5,162]

Yo, welcome back man.

[CabbitGirl 4,018]

welcome back

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Long time no see!

Do you read any manga? I recommend One Piece, Fairy Tail and Naruto.

http://www.onemanga.com/

[Trigger 250]

hey welcome back, i know what its like, i'm in and out too

[Torreyjs 64]

Hey guys no I dont read manga Ive never enjoyed it. I dont even like American comics outside of the newer Batman graphic novels.

Its been below freezing nearly 3 weeks straight here in Germany, it finally got above freezing and it rained instead of snowing -again- and it felt nice. Weve had a couple of feet of snow throughout the weeks here. Nearly every day.

If people would like I could answer your questions about Germany.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

What do they sell in the McDonalds in Germany? And what about German fast food? Is there a national chain like a Burger King or McDs?

[Torreyjs 64]

What do they sell in the McDonalds in Germany? And what about German fast food? Is there a national chain like a Burger King or McDs?

There are no dollar menus here, and I havent noticed a German only chain of fast food. Its all McDonalds and Burger king here. Fast food also for a meal for two can cost as much for two people to eat at a real restraunt. Luckily we have lots of fast food on base that isnt priced like the German chains are. Two double cheeseburgers at a German BK for example is 10 american dollars. On base its like 5 dollars. (no dollar menu on base though so its rough)

Most "chains" in Europe are American businesses that branched out.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Damn, thats costly. btw, are there malls in Germany? How about best buy or walmart? And do most people there speak only german? Or can you get by with only english off the base?

[Torreyjs 64]

Damn, thats costly. btw, are there malls in Germany? How about best buy or walmart? And do most people there speak only german? Or can you get by with only english off the base?

Id say 2 out of 10 german adults at best speak english, there are walmarts here somewhere Im sure but Ive never seen one. Bestbuy or anything like that, no. Im learning German anyways because I still have 32 months here until orders change and I plan or requesting a 24 month extension to stay here longer. I probably cant get by with just English if were talking about locally shopping or something like that, but if I were to go to a very popular German restraunt or business, most people have English down somewhat.

There arent malls here in Europe really. Most everything is just its own little store. We have a mall on bas . Im at Ramstein AFB, which has the largest BX/PX in the world here. BX/PX is what the airforce and army call the AAFES stores on all bases. AAFES is the Army and Airforce Exchange Service. Its a non profit group that basically runs micro walmarts on all bases. But ours here is as massive as super walmarts back in the states, and also has a mall in it, and car dealerships + Harley etc. Its very nice.

Also nice little bit of info. When ever anything is bought anywhere on any military base you pay no sales tax. Also, since I am not staioned in CONUS I dont pay any state or federal tax. Basically I dont get taxed a dime out of my salary and whenever I buy anything on base no sales tax either. Its a very nice bonus to pay when you think about how much I save.

Furthermore, whenever any American armed forces or their family buys stuff in the german economy (off base), for example, we have to pay the 19% sales tax they have. But if the sale is over 50 US dollar we can buy forms from the legal office, 4 dollars for ten, and fill those forms out with the receipt and get all the tax money back we were charged. So basically I get back 95% or more of the sales tax I am charged when buying anything thats not on base.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Damn thats a sweet deal. That mall on the base must be huge.

Heres another question... what about tv? Do you get american channels? satellite tv? Or is everything in german with english subtitles?

[Torreyjs 64]

Damn thats a sweet deal. That mall on the base must be huge.

Heres another question... what about tv? Do you get american channels? satellite tv? Or is everything in german with english subtitles?

AFN brah - Armed Forces Network - Its only 10 channels but dont let that fool you. Basically Im going to try to explain how we get tv, its complicated.

We have 10 channels, sports, prime, pacific, atlantic, news, etc. Well those channels show shit in their category. Well for example the news, hypothetically speaking on times, oreilly 0900, olbermann 1000, rachel maddow 1100, beck 1200, etc. Every channel just shows a variety of everything from the most popular programming from the most popular channels. We get this for free. We just have to have a satelite dish set up and a receiver and register our receiver online with the DoD and we get it.

Now if your wondering how we get all sorts of programs for free, like LOST, NFL games etc, is because AFN agrees to not show or sell ads or ad space thats commercial in nature. We have commercials but ALL of them are made by the military. And our commercials are all basically information reinforcement. How to act, words to live by code of conduct, sexual assualt is bad, quit smoking we can help etc etc etc.

Now moving outside of AFN we can obviously get German tv but its an unnecesary bill since my wife and I dont speak or read german very well yet. But if we wanted we could have german cable yes.

Also most here probably have never heard of SKY satelite tv. SKY is basically what direcTV is to america for England. And SkY also has pretty much all the same things DirecTV would have but more british channels and such. That however is expensive since I want the HD. We will get it but not right now since neither of us watch a lot of tv. Its like 80-90 pounds a month which translates to what 120-140 Us dollar a month. And it also requires its own dish and receiver.

These are my tv options.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

are smokers confined to back alleys for their ciggy the way they are here? Many states have made it illegal to smoke in public, here it includes bars/restaurants and outdoors, and we have to be 100 ft from a no smoking area. (When I visit my sister in the hospital we have to walk and go stand out in front of the projects behind Uni to smoke). How do they tackle the 'smoking menace' over there on or off base? Can smokers still buy cartons on base let alone light up there?

How about illegal substance? Whats the drug of choice after alcohol over there? Is substance abuse causeing a shit ton o problems on or off base?

Is your upload/download restricted or monitored? Is it a German internet co supplying the base or is there some American co involved?

We're still trying to strangle don't ask don't tell, it was born out of a more racist/undereducated generation (our parents and grandparents) Most of the ppl I talk to under the age of 50 don't like DADT and think it needs to go. It really doesn't much matter to me who sticks what to who after the battle is won as long as they're both of consensual age and down with it. I dunno if you guys got to see this

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X83IdnqOSdk]YouTube- Adm. Mullen Blasts Don't Ask Don't Tell[/ame]

What's the buzz about it over there?

What shows do you like for American news politics entertainment etc?

[Torreyjs 64]

Lady your post jumps around a bit so here goes.

Any kind of drug legal or illegal that impaires you and isnt medical is illegal and if caught you can get into trouble. The only thing thats an exception is alcohol.

Smoking is allowed but not on base, and as far as I know this is true for all bases. That whole thing about smoking in federal buildings. Smoking however is discouraged because its known to slow your lungs down etc and for infantry thats a big deal according to our leadership. There is tons of stop smoking ads on tv since we dont get regular commercials but its not forced.

Dont ask dont tell was signed into being during the Clinton administration. My feelings on it are simple. Currently its illegal to be openly gay so dont do it, if that changes so be it. I dont discriminate at all but the legal parts of it I just follow the rules but I understand the argument of them being singled out for violence etc for their differences. But we said the same thing historically when we debated allowing women to join, allowing minorities to join, and finally segregating minorities. Historically speaking those that are gay being singled out shouldnt be a huge concern. Dont ask dont tell for the most part isnt a big deal today because the law has changed a bit. A third party CAN NOT be the sole reason for kicking you out. So basically someone snitching on you for being gay wont get you into trouble and will be ignored pretty much.

What a lot of people dont know is dont ask dont tell is used as an enabler for early discharge. If I were to guess on those that get let go for being "gay" only 3 out of 10 are actually gay. The rest just go to their chain of command and lie about it to get kicked out. This is the largest reason why we havent cared to change the policy after it was signed in. It helps stop those that would be singled out for being gay if they are quiet about it, but more importantly keeping the rule in stops those from using it as an easy way out that wont seriously harm your permanent employment records in a negative way. We want to be able to punish those that quit early basically.

As far as internet censorship no its not limited but I live off base getting the same internet my german neighbors do. Its just a company making money. On base I know internet isnt free, and I assume thats monitored lightly for who knows child porn I guess.

Also since your a parent I thought you might find this interesting. The legal drinking age here in the fatherland is 16. This also includes any American's that are here. How it works is for an American if your 18 you can drink, regardless of what a parent would say etc about it. Its not 21 since we arent in CONUS. Also, if your child is at least 16 and you consent they can drink at 16 like the German people do. Its as simple as that. Smoking is still 18 though.

Also about smoking and Europe in general I myself am not too familiar with german laws on smoking. I know you cant smoke in building or on city streets so Id guess its similar to the states. But one major difference is here like when I landed in the airport in frankfurt for example, they have little rooms like very large phone booths, to smoke in that are sealed off etc inside of the airport. And its ok to smoke in those.

To answer your question on buying cigarettes its easy just walk into the bx, commissary or the little quick marts on base and buy them. Just show your military ID be old enough and you have what you came for. And they are super cheap too. Remember earlier I said we dont pay taxes on things we buy. Well products that get ass rape amounts of item tax like cigarettes get excluded since its on base so its generally cheaper. But I smoke maybe 1 pack a year since I never care to unless I drink a lot so I dont know how much cheaper it is.

Edited February 10, 2010 by Torreyjs

[Ladywriter 7,783]

sorry if my q's are random... I separated them with a space I'm a multi tasker so...

drink at 16 but no smoking till 18.... well at least the US isn't the only place with some bassakwards laws

Its no surprise ppl who have trouble conforming to military life would play the gay card to get out. That shit is defiantly not for everyone, but some people thrive living a very structured life, some people need that to succeed.

The dadt debate reminds me of the family guy ep where Stewie and Brian end up in the army and try to get out...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlIm-riMN6Q]YouTube- Family Guy - Democracy Kicks In[/ame]

Hey maybe you have the answer so I don't have to waste my time calling the recruiter. I know a kid who had felonies on his juvi record, served time and got his shit taken care of (until he got locked up again for a plethora of misdemeanors) I'm not sure what his current criminal standing is but I thought the military said no thanks to felons. I admit its been over 10 years since I last checked into that kinda thing so I'm wondering if that has changed.

[Torreyjs 64]

Felonies? Pretty much forget it, all branches are over staffed and cutting people, recruiters are having a great time now since they get so many apps and can be so selective on whos ass they have to kiss now, instead of just whomever walks in the door.

Any other questions?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

yer prolly wonder wtf kind of people I spend my time with all my drugs n felonies questions I'm big on social issues.

Has the economy tanking sent in a rush of new recruits? and you don't have to answer cuz it personal but what what made you sign up?

[Torreyjs 64]

yer prolly wonder wtf kind of people I spend my time with all my drugs n felonies questions I'm big on social issues.

Has the economy tanking sent in a rush of new recruits? and you don't have to answer cuz it personal but what what made you sign up?

Yes the economy tanking has attributed to recruitment over-saturation. Its natural. It happened in the 80s with raegan its happening again now. I joined over pride. Im a patriot. Thats all that matters. This will be my career unless it kills me or I get too severely injured to carry on.