Have notepad, will soldier?

Image from Army National Guard website.

I suspect the guy at the left is filling the job of "public affairs specialist" for the Army National Guard, a post I've seen listed by help-wanted aggregator Indeed.com.

You know how it is: You troll job boards -- even Craigslist -- to see what's out there or what you're not aware of. And the aggregators help out by letting you set up alerts for particular job titles and geographic areas for the wide help-wanted net they cast. That's why the "public affairs specialist" title keeps landing in my email every few months.

The first time I clicked on the ad, I felt duped: I thought there really was such a position available, as opposed to it being an enticement to join the reserves.

In fact, I had to read deep into the ad before it dawned on me that there would be more to applying for this job than submitting a cover letter, résumé and writing samples:

Job training for Public Affairs positions consists of nine weeks of Basic Training, where you’ll learn basic Soldiering skills, and up to 12 weeks of Advanced Individual Training at the Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Part of this time is spent in the classroom and part learning hands-on skills focusing on your Public Affairs specialty.

The advanced training at Fort Meade sounds interesting, but the basic stuff likely would be a tad tougher than a day at the gym. Luckily, although highly qualified otherwise, I can't meet the age requirements. (Phew!)