Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for July 06, 2010

Good for you, Mel. That should be about a 10% pay raise for you.

Becoming an E-5 means you are now an NCO and can actually boss some people around.

Long ago and far away, I was an E-5 in the Air Force. My ‘juice’ was very limited.

OOh I kove a Lass in uniform, and even better an NCO Hmmmm, Way to go Mel!

At last. Something good happens to Mel. She sure deserves it.

Why do these chicks call each other “Dude”?

You’d have to be feeling lucky to call one of them a ‘chick’ to her face!

Okay, it’s not a rerun.

I’m still a little puzzled, as the last time we saw Mel, the chaplain and CO had agreed that she needed a little break. Then, Monday, she was back on the fixit line like nothing had happened.

I think we have to assume that Mel had her break, while Duke was serving as BP spokesperson, and Zonker was dishing up, the hopefully non oiled crabs.

Women/girls have been calling each other “Dude” for quite awhile. I teach high school and have been hearing that in the halls for years.

I speak to readers of both genders when I say “Get used to it, man”, and “Don’t worry about it, son”.

I don’t get the references to Gary Trudeau and apartheid… I don’t remember seeing ANYthing that would connect him with apartheid, and he certainly doesn’t espouse racism of any kind in the strips I’ve read.

Everything on this particular storystream seems accurate, with the exception of the military chaplaincy, which Gary should probably have had reviewed by a (military) chaplain. But, hey, give him a break - the military chaplaincy is complicated if you haven’t experienced it.

GT feels good promoting promotion and where everybody loves promoting…plate tectonics…or something.

@halmilter7 — I suggest that you not feed the troll.

@wndrwrthg (off-topic):

I just saw your clever doggerel from yesterday (click on the tag, above, or use the back arrow). Your verse (?) comment is a welcome reminder that to take part in a comic forum like this is to play the clown–just like the cartoonist himself.

But you modestly leave yourself out. Let’s add a few more couplets to fix that:

Garry Trudeau’s honest fellas Never hide behind an alias. Watch how our ignoring buttons Quash those imbecilic put-ons And see how we, your watchdogs civil, Guard against moronic drivel.

As GT’s Roman precursor said, “Difficile est satiram non scribere,” which translates “We’re all fools, but some of us like to write about it.”

Now comes the after effect of the promotion as she is now her “bud’s” boss. Lookout for a split between the two.

Biggest “bennie” was getting out of a bay and into a room with a door. “Retired” as an E-5 after three years-

SGTSAUNDERS -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dude

GO MEL !!!

What fun. Hope you got the cash to pay the tailor to change your insignia by tomorrow. Oh, you don’t wear dress uniforms. You “guys” in the have all the luck. No dry cleaning bills.

I think her pay will increase roughly $35 a month these days, Joe… Not quite $10 a week…

@ Lewreader - The new issue BDU’s have velcro patches for name/rank/insignia… I will take her longer to run over to supply and pick the new rank patch up than it will take her to stick it on her uni…

And to the totally fictional character Mel, “Hooah!!”

landshark67 said, about 17 hours ago

Becoming an E-5 means you are now an NCO and can actually boss some people around

Obviously, Landshark67 was never in the army.

If you look at a current military pay chart, you’d see the pay increase is over $250, assuming she has over 4 years in the service, if over 6, close to $300 per month pay raise.

I can see why Joe divided by 12. My first year in the Marines (1964, starting Jan.4) my W-2 was something like $972 - that’s for the year!

Live in the barracks, eat at the messhall, no dependents, a ‘uniform allowance’ that kicks-in IIRC after the first year, and that’s all ‘play-money’.

Fortunately, my Dad reminded me to start putting a $20 allotment automagically into the Credit Union, and when I went on Christmas Leave from Memphis, I had something to spend (at Henry Radio, as it happened - a Drake 2B!)

That’s about right, pbarnrob, I think I made about $86/month as an E-1 in the USAF in 1964.