Civilian tech support
So occasionally we have to call back to the United States to help troubleshoot some equipment for us. Obviously there is a time difference. I wouldn't think that's a big problem, since the tech support line is specifically for soldiers deployed overseas. And you know, there's a war on. Well, I made a mistaken assumption thinking that DoD's civilian contractors worked to support us in our mission. An excerpt from the phone conversation:
Me - (Description of the problem)
Civilian - "Sigh. Sir, do you know what time it is over here?"
I remember just being confused for a moment:
1. I thought the help line was 24 hours for a reason.
2. The vast majority of their calls have to come from either Iraq or Afghanistan.
3. I'm calling this guy at his workplace, where his job is to answer phones and troubleshoot problems. It's not like I woke him up in his bed at some ungodly hour. He's on the clock.
I didn't understand the senior NCOs' distaste for civilians until this deployment. I don't hate civilians - I just hate civilians who happen to work directly within the military bureaucracy.
Me - (Description of the problem)
Civilian - "Sigh. Sir, do you know what time it is over here?"
I remember just being confused for a moment:
1. I thought the help line was 24 hours for a reason.
2. The vast majority of their calls have to come from either Iraq or Afghanistan.
3. I'm calling this guy at his workplace, where his job is to answer phones and troubleshoot problems. It's not like I woke him up in his bed at some ungodly hour. He's on the clock.
I didn't understand the senior NCOs' distaste for civilians until this deployment. I don't hate civilians - I just hate civilians who happen to work directly within the military bureaucracy.
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