Catch 22

When I first read the book "Catch 22" in high school I remember thinking that there was no way on this earth that anything or anyone could be that screwed up.

Over the years I have discovered that in the Army at least, Joseph Heller would be right at home.

The most current event that has caused me exasperation and bewilderment is trying to re-set a password for a computer system.

Here is a re-creation of a conversation I had with the "help desk":

ME: I'd like to re-set my password.
THEM: Could you please tell me X,Y,Z and your basic pay entry date?
ME: My date is AAAAAA
THEM: That's not the date we show. Check your LES (Leave and Earning Statement)
ME: That is the date on my LES
THEM: That's not what we show.
ME: What do you show then?
THEM: I can't tell you.
ME: Then how can I fix this?
THEM: See your personell section.
ME: They have the same date I do.
THEM: Then I can't help you.
ME: How the hell am I supposed to do my job then?
THEM: It's not my problem.

So I sit in a combat theater with no access, to data bases that I need to do my job, borrowing computer time from another unit all because some clown in the states with a flow chart won't deviate one bit...awesome.