by Ian Loft

Created on: March 17, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

Envy! I could not believe it all started from envy. Working for the military has its ups and downs yet as a career starting from the first job after leaving school and gained trade qualifications in the electrical industry, life was interesting. In time it seemed like a good idea to plan for the future and return to school to begin studying for a degree in engineering. After two years of preparatory courses I was transferred to a base close to where the university was located. It started off well but soon the unexpected began to undermine everything I worked so hard for.

Moving to another city with family is never easy yet in the military community most are used to the upheaval and new friendships are quickly formed. It did not take too long to fit into the new job and responsibilities, we soon began to meet new friends and life was good. We settled into our new city, new life and the time came to start the hard job of budgeting time between work, family, friends and university life not an easy balance but I was used to the study routine by this time. What soon began to happen took me by surprise, it was nothing I had ever experienced before and it almost destroyed everything I worked so hard to achieve.

My job was to operate and maintain the base emergency power station and a reorganisation shortly after I started work at the new unit placed me away from the workshop supervisors that were technicians, and my new supervisor was an administrative clerk with no idea about what my responsibilities entailed. Arguments soon started but I failed to realise something else was at work behind the scenes.

My direct supervisor was two ranks above mine, and our best friends at the time, unbeknownst to us were also very good friends with him. Trouble began slowly with questions demanding to know precise times I returned to work following lectures, more questions demanding to know where I was when in fact my lecture timetable was always available and soon became obvious my new supervisor was intentionally ordering menial tasks he knew would cut into time I required for class attendance. These jobs were invariably priority' and yet were little more than checking out a faulty light in someone's office five minutes before I was due to leave for classes.

The hammer fell one day when I returned to work and was met by a posse of guards with orders to escort me directly to my supervisor's office. I was placed under investigation for illegal absence because someone had provided information'

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