Hurry up and wait can on fully be appreciated when you need to wake up at 5 am to stand in formation at attention for 2 hours. So please dont compare civilian occupations.
This is how things work in the army. The time of the event is 10:00 AM. Brigade level event so the Brigade CSM (Command Sergeant Major) tells all the SM (Sergeants Major) to have the troops ready and in formation by 9:30 AM. SM tells all of his First Sergeants to have the troops ready and accounted for by 9:00 AM so that everyone will be there for the 9:30 formation for the thing that starts a 10:00. Now the First Sergeants want to make sure the soldiers are on time so he/she tells all the Platoon Sergeants that they're going to have a company formation at 8:30 AM to make sure everyone is there. Platoon Sergeants have the squad leaders get their troops in at 7:45 AM because it's better to be early than late. Now all soldiers know you have to be at least10 minutes early or your late so they start arriving between 7:15 AM - 7:35 AM. Fast forward a bit and the event which was supposed to be at 10 gets delayed and now will start at 11;30 AM. Soldiers had to arrive 4 hrs early to an event.
This is literally all of adult life.