What that ish in work emails means, according to a linguist

What that ish in work schmelzglasles means, according to a linguistWhat that ish in work emails means, according to a linguistHow about we talk at 4ish on the phone? This is a simple question from a colleague that recently pulled me into a tailspin questioning scheduling, email language and the concept of time itself. As 4 p.m. rolled into 430 p.m., then stretched wider towards 5 p.m. without a callback, I had too much time to think. Lacking more information from my caller, I analyzed the caveat of ish more closely for clues. If someone writes that they will call at 4ish, I have taken that to mean that they will call within 15 minutes of 4 p.m. and not much later. 430 p.m. is my personal cutoff for a timely response. In this case, ish ended up meaning not that day, and I eventually rescheduled the call to a later date. But by then, I had received varying responses from people I talked to for advice on what kind of ish is acceptable in work contexts. I had a friend tell me that a blan ket statement of ish is okay if you work in the same office as the person. When you know you can reach the person physically, it takes the pressure off of both parties to be precise. You know that they are welcome to come on over to your desk. I had one colleague tell me that ish only gives you a 10-minute window to respond. Another told me 15 minutes. One asked for the formal definition. The wide range within the meaning of ish demonstrates how qualifiers in email language can lead to confusion for both parties. To clear the air, I talked with internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch to better understand the expectations within ish, and how employees can be more precise in their language.What your ish is communicatingWhen we add a qualifier like ish to our emails, we are giving ourselves the benefit of flexibility, potentially at the expense of the other persons valuable time.Ish runs into similar problems as words like about and approximately. All of these - both their strength and w eakness - is that they are poorly defined, McCulloch said. In some cases, they can provide plausible deniability. Well, I only said 4-ish. It can be useful for the person setting the time to talk. It can be frustrating and confusing to be the person on the other side. Personally, I am a poor multitasker. When I am waiting for an important call, I am in a state of involuntary idleness, useless at accomplishing anything else, worried that I will be roped into a call mid-chew, mid-thought, unprepared. I want the clarity of an exact time to be ready to chat. But everyone has a different approach to time at work, and when you do not want to make a hard call, you can sidestep an exact answer with a soft ish. Ish vindicates everyone, letting everyone feel in control. The downside is that it can open the door too wide to what is possible. McCulloch said that ish can be a reflection of different peoples attitudes towards life, and towards time management, and towards scheduling things. Ish can give the illusion of precision while providing a fairly big umbrella for different types of timing, she said.The language of email can be less of an exact science, more of an art of using the right statements to get your way. You can purposefully magnify or minimize the importance of your statements with strategic qualifiers. This is not just limited to a tacked-on ish. I think that a particularly ambiguous term is something like many or a few, McCulloch says. Many customers have told us that they have this problem. How many is that really? Maybe thats two people and you just think they are representative of a larger group of people. If you want a straightforward answer, you have to ask follow-up questions to clear up ambiguities. In my case, if I want to nail down a time to chat, I have to ask for it specifically when scheduling. Thats a lesson for me to take beyond my next email.

United States Selective Service System Facts

United States Selective Service System FactsUnited States Selective Service System FactsThe Armed Forces of the United States maintain their readiness through voluntary enlistment, but the law requires young men to register through the Selective Service System. This allows a draft to be activated if needed, as was used during the Vietnam War. That was the last time the draft was used in the 20th century Who Has to Register? Almost all male U.S. citizens, and male aliens living in the U.S., who are 18 through 25, are required to register with the Selective Service as imposed by the Military Selective Service Act Even non-citizens must register if they are not in the U.S. on a valid student or visitor visa or part of a diplomatic or trade mission. Selective Service does not collect or share information on immigration status. Undocumented as well as legal permanent residents must register if they came to the country before their 26th birthday. Dual nationals must register. If you ar e hospitalized or incarcerated, you dont have to register until you are discharged, if you are still below the age of 26. If you are disabled, you must still register if you can leave your home and move about independently. Transgender rules If you were born female and had a gender change, you dont have to register. If you were born male and had a gender change, you must register. What Is the Draft? President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which created the countrys first peacetime draft and formally established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency. From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means. The draft ended in 1973, and the U.S. converted to an all-volunteer military. Draft Lottery System The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a unique random calendar and number selection program for Selective Service. Using this random selection method for birthdays, each day of the year is selected by computer in a random manner, and that date is placed in a capsule and loaded in a large drum on a random basis. By the same method, numbers from 1 to 365 (366 for men bornin a leap year) are also selected in a random fashion, placed in capsules, and the capsules are placed into a second drum. One capsule is drawn from the drum containing birth dates January 1 through December 31. One capsule is then drawn from the drum containing the sequence numbers from 1 through 365 (366 if the draft will call men born during a leap year) and the date and number are paired to establish the sequence number for each birth date. This is done in full view of all observers, officials, and the media. Registrants with low lottery numbers are ordered to report for aphysical, mental, and moral evaluationat aMilitary Entrance Processing Stationto determine whether they are fit for military tafelgeschirr. Once he is notified of the results of the evaluation, a registrant will be given 10 days to file a claim for exemption, postponement, or deferment. The MEPs would then apply a classification to the inductee. Each inductee is classified based on his beliefs and circumstances, determining who is deferred or exempted. Draft Classifications Classifications are only applied once the draft is activated by the Congress and the president. At that time, inductees are assessed and can apply for exemptions, deferments, and postponements from military service. A man may appeal his classification to a Selective Service Appeal Board.Here is a list of some, though not all, current classifications and what they mean 1-A Available immediately for military service.1-OConscientious Objector4-FNot Qualified for Military Service due to medical reasons. For all the codes available to students, religious followers, or other reasons see official Selective Service Pag e. Future Drafts Highly Unlikely Under all but a very few circumstances, reinstating the draft would have a negative impact on todays military if any immediate impact at all.The draft is not a quick fix. Themilitary has been an all-volunteer service of highly-trained professionals who have committed to serving. During that time, the military has dramatically (and successfully) changed the way it trains and the way it fights.It would take 18 to 24 months to recruit and train draftees and form them into new combat units. With the military composed of volunteers, the services have been able to impose strict qualifications for duty. If the U.S. were to reinstate the draft and the military was forced to accept everyone regardless of criminal records, test scores, or medical qualifications, the armed forces would be larger, but less effective. And the cost would likely be prohibitive the U.S. military probably cannot afford to bring even a small percentage of our 18 to 25-year-old pop ulation into active duty.Mandatory service would add millions of men to the rolls of what is already the highest military budget in the world. They would have to be trained, fed, clothed, equipped and housed. They would at times require medical attention. Additional barracks would have to be built, plus married soldiers would receive housing allowances.

Marine Corps Special Reaction Teams (SRT)

Marine studentencorps Special Reaction Teams (SRT)Marine Corps Special Reaction Teams (SRT)By Cpl. Ryan Walker CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, Okinawa, Japan Outfitted in ballistics gear, a team of Marines slowly moves toward their objective waiting behind a protective shield for the command from their unit leader to explode through their entry point to arrest their suspect. Ten Marines from the Provost Marshals Office make-up such a team. The Special Reaction Team is specially trained to handle missions beyond the call of duty for basically trained military policemen. Were a S.W.A.T. team for the Marine Corps said Staff Sgt. Steven Rowe, commander, Special Reaction Team, Provost Marshals Office, Marine Corps Base. Our mission is to train, practice and rehearse for any situation, such as hostages, barricaded suspects, and felony arrests. A military policeman is selected to be a member of SRT after he completes an indoctrination, which is an evaluation of how quickly he can learn the units s pecial tactics, Rowe explained. Once they become SRT, we send them to SRT School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Rowe said. After SRT School, their training is endless there are so many schools we can send them to. As the only military SRT on Okinawa, the unit constantly trains to hone the tightly knit teams skills, often training six or seven days a week. Today were going over basic entry and room clearing, Rowe said. These guys do this a thousand times, and they know how to do it, but as a team, youre not a really well-rounded team until you do it a thousand times together. Once the Marines get into their building, either by kicking it in or using one of their many sophisticated breeching methods, they wait for the commands from the shield. The shield is the hall babo who runs the team, Rowe said. Hes the man up-front in ballistics from head-to-toe and can take a couple of rounds. I wear a lot more protection than the other team members, so my job is pretty much to get shot, said Cpl. Eddie L. Tesch, who serves as the SRTs shield. After receiving the command to enter a room, two or more Marines buttonhook or cross into the room to either locate their objective or ensure its clear. Once we dump into a room, we take it over as quickly as possible, Rowe said. With danger around every eckball, many men may not be fearless enough to be a member of such an elite squad. We expect to get shot in every structure, Tesch said. Around every corner, every angle and every door I think the bad guy is waiting for me. Thats how I psyche myself out, so when I turn that corner or open that door, Im ready to pounce on him. Though the SRT has not had a real-world situation to respond to for many years, that hasnt stagnated their training. We havent had a situation in years, which is good because we dont have those problems here, and we have more time to train, Rowe said. We also send our guys out to all the search and rescues here. Regardless of whether or not the Marines have had a real-world situation to respond to in recent years, the team considers themselves a group of elite Marines. We take pride in ourselves for what we do, Tesch said. Its just the pride of being the best of the best.