What a space cadet.
A US Space Force pilot was demoted half an hour late for a fitness class – because he’d been busy buying a new PlayStation 5 console, Task and Purpose reported.
The serviceman was due to attend the PT on December 1 at 11 a.m., but when his superior sent a reminder 30 minutes in advance, he replied that he was on his way home from his shopping trip to Target – and his house was 35 minutes away from his home . training, according to a written rebuke on the popular Air Force amn / nco / snoc Facebook page.
But it didn’t rattle the dedicated gamer.
“Yolo, PS5> letters of discipline,” the unnamed service member told Brass, according to the letter, using slang for “you only live once.”
The lighthearted response caused the unnamed serviceman to be toppled in rank from senior pilot to pilot 1st class, according to Task and Purpose.
“You were late to work and your supervisor insinuated that buying a PlayStation was more important to you than the disciplinary consequences of your actions,” the reprimand said.
“Your actions are an extreme departure from the professionalism expected of you as a member of the armed forces.”
It is unclear whether the pilot was actually able to purchase the coveted PlayStation console.
A spokesman for Space Delta 8 at Schrieve Air Force Base in Colorado, where the reprimand was filed, could not confirm the letter’s authenticity as an appeal is still pending, Task and Purpose said.
However, a base spokesperson told the outlet that the markup appears real.
The timing of the rebuke is also curious – it came just days after Space Force members beat US and UK military teams in a “Call of Duty” online gaming tournament.