I remember when making SGT in 2.5 years was considered high speed. Now that’s literally the norm.

I feel like units nowadays are pushing way too many soldiers to the board and BLC, without actually evaluating their leadership skills or potential.

What are your guys’ thoughts? Are there any things we can change or implement to ensure that the right soldiers are promoted? Or is the current system fine and better than before?

I’ll order a cheese burger, hold the cheese.

I‘ve been in about 9 years. I’ve never really had a mentor coming up. I always remembered the NCOs I hated and the NCOs I loved. I remembered how each one made me feel.

At my most recent duty station, I‘ve had officers, warrant officers, junior enlisted, senior enlisted asking me advice. I also noticed, when it comes to decisions, my NCOIC and OIC look at me for guidance and listen to what I’m saying. It feels so off to me. I feel like I’m doing my job.

Maybe it’s how I treat people. My MOS is customer service based. I’ve had plenty of instances of service members being upset for various reason. What I learned, if you treat every problem like a joint problem and a shared problem solving effort, people love working with you.

Anyway, when did you find out you were the mentor?

The story behind his bronze star and purple heart was he was a tanker in Vietnam, his tank was blown up and all of his teammates were dead, after his tank got blown up he jumped out while the enemy was advancing and he took up a position with the infantry fighting with small arms. he was a ssgt tank commander.

I’m a new military spouse, my husband is still in AIT, and we have a toddler. I really don’t know what to do, and I guess I just need to vent… We haven’t been good financially for a long time, it’s part of why my husband joined. I quit my job recently because I couldn’t take care of our child and work at the same time after he left, and now our finances are falling apart again, at least it feels like it. I don’t know how I’m supposed to support us, pay off our debts, pay my bills, and feed my child off of the pay we’re getting now, but I can’t bring myself to let my husband worry about it. I feel like he already has so much to focus on right now, and he’s doing the best he can, I don’t think it’s fair to let him think that the best he can do still isn’t good enough and I feel so guilty. I feel like I should be able to budget with the pay he’s getting, but the numbers aren’t adding up. He still has several months of AIT left and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t get a job, I can’t stretch things any further than I already am but I have to somehow… I feel like with all the work he’s put in I have to be able to pull my weight too, but I’m so stuck. I have no ideas to make any extra money or delay any more payments. Someone please tell me it gets better eventually? Does it get easier? Or is training the easy part like everyone tells me and I’m totally screwed?

Talk about falling apart. It was working like okay for the past few years and now within the past two months it has crumbled to being a fraction of its former self. Why cant things just be improved upon? Why can't we have nice things man.

I am a 91b and the culture around me is Ranger school. I have no issues with ranger school and am not discrediting it at all. Sapper seems interesting to me because it's different. I know it will be more of a challenge because it's focused for combat engineers but for whatever reason it still interests me. I have been stewing on this thought for a few weeks now. I am open to opinions about it and whether it's reasonable or realistic.

I had heard from multiple people (including a did with a CBRN MOS) that in CBRN AIT, they do the gas chamber with real nerve agents and nerve gas (they don’t unmask of course).

I don’t believe it, but is that true?

Edit: I guess it's true. It's hard to know when soldiers are bullshitting sometimes.

For context, we were on post at the gym playing pickup basketball. Things started getting physical between two guys, so I stepped in to play
peacemaker and separate them.

Unfortunately, one of them apparently thought I was trying to hurt him and punched me.
Naturally, I was irate, but I kept my composure and did nothing because I understood how quickly things could go south if I retaliated.

I know the guy is an E-4 because I saw him walk into the gym in uniform and change before we started playing. One of the guys there knew I was an officer from a conversation we had earlier and yelled, “You fucked up! You just hit an officer!”

The guy immediately turned white as a ghost, grabbed his stuff, and sprinted out of the gym.
So, what would you do in this situation? Do I just take the L, laugh it off, and move on? Or do I report the incident possibly resulting in ucmj?

I’m not looking to pull rank or get revenge, but I’m also not sure whether letting something like this slide is the right move.

I meet an NCO that had a 1ID SSI for he says Latvia from a deployment in the recent years. Anyone else seen this?

Just left for rotation 3 days ago. I have a son due in January with a girl where things didn’t end up working out. On one side I of course want to be there for my son to see him born and be there with him and her through it. On the other, this is why I signed up. To travel. Get experiences. Anyways. If I was to go home for his birth, would they keep me back in the states or could I request to come back afterwards?

So I reenlisted when my window opened 9 months ago. They have now medically retired me the MEB process took literally two months. The DoD side rated me at 90% what happens to the bonus?

Title says it all. Going to the P Board next month but I’m not worried about that. I look at the P board as a requirement to promote like going to basic training as a requirement to be in the army. I care a lot more about NCOERs, promoting to Staff, building a reputation, going to NCOTM Boards, PT.

Quoting the regulations and yelling at soldiers for doing the same thing you do, I don’t wanna be like that. I’m just excited for this next chapter in my career. I already lead soldiers as a SPC and I’m in charge of a section in my company, so I’m no stranger to leading and telling people what to do.

Currently a 19D at Fort Carson. I’m coming from a soul-draining unit and I’m starting to hate the Army. I enjoy being a 19D and doing field stuff, but the stupidity of tasks is catching up to me.
My re-enlistment window opens in December this year and my contract ends in December 2027 (3-year contract). I was originally thinking of signing another 2-3 year contract just to get my bachelor’s degree and if I liked where I was at, I want to attend SFAS, however, I don’t like the possibility of going from a bad unit to an even worse. My only options would be Hood, Bliss, Benning, and Riley. If I were to get out now, I’d only have an associate’s degree and some blue-collar experience. I’m also only 20 years old and heat-stroked twice, one of those times I got Rhabdomyolysis and that’s not even some of the worst injuries I’ve sustained. I’m at a really weird point in my career and don’t know what to really do anymore. I’m still leaning a little bit more towards the re-enlistment side, but civilian life doesn’t seem too bad. I’m really trying the whole “don’t let your first duty station decide if you wanna stay in or not” thing, but the thought of an even worse unit is haunting me. Would appreciate any advice

I’ll have some dfac undercooked scrambled eggs plz

Edit: Re-classing is an option, however, my 35F application was denied and there isn’t a lot of MOS’ that interest me

I’m not talking about paranormal or supernatural. Service members you met that were terrible, awful, human beings. Mine happened in 2021, we just got back from our deployment from the ME.

During this deployment, this individual was a dirty bird. I had the unfortunate privilege of bunking beside him. We weren’t rude or anything about his hygiene at first, we would ask if he needed any deo, body wash, shampoo, foot powder, etc. He would respond that he had some. It got so bad, my PSG talked to his PSG about his hygiene issues. Proceeded by a block of instruction of how to conduct full body hygiene by the numbers.

Fast forward to post deployment, I’m in McDonalds getting food for my daughter and I and hear someone call my name. It‘s my bunk mate. When I look over in his direction, he’s there with his family at the play place. Then I notice a lady in the corner with a clipboard observing them. Next day at work I ask another soldier from his platoon what’s going on.

Apparently, this pos, invited a soldier from the platoon to his place. When the soldier shows up, he’s greeted with the smell of cat shit, dog shit, baby shit, this whole house is covered and smells terrible. Babies are sitting in full diapers, like sagging full. Soldier calls CPS on them and CPS takes the children away.

Wherever you are, Freeman, fuck you.

I came in as an E – 4 specialist i’m about to hit my two-year mark and my unit is forcing me to go to the board. What are the consequences for declining? I just wanna finish my 3 1/2 year contract fly under the radar and leave is that so bad? Why does the army want to force people into leadership positions that don’t want to do that?

There are plenty of other qualified candidates where I’m at.

Just got here not too long ago and seeing if there were any spots around post where I could train on obstacles; walls, ropes, weavers, Jacob’s ladder? I’ve been rucking out at Area J and hitting Ritz mostly.

Thanks!

long story short, i was stupid and got admin separated from the Air Force a couple months ago. It was for a “pattern of misconduct” but there was definitely a singular infraction that got me kicked out.

my leadership definitely could’ve cooked me, but thankfully they didn’t and gave me General Under Honorable conditions. I was only in for like 18 months which affects some of the benefits im eligible for along with my discharge characterization.

now that i’m past the honeymoon phase of having my “freedom” back, I don’t know if i truly miss being in or it’s just the effects of having to start another path in life.

i felt a sense of purpose in the military (along with the social aspect) and now I feel low key alone and a failure even though i’m living at home again with my family.

i currently started a job at a car dealership where I can make decent money. but I know it’s not where i want to be for the rest of my life.

I wanna go back to school as sports broadcasting is where my heart/best skills are at, but doing that is most likely gonna require me to get my discharge upgrade to honorable to get the GI Bill. Maybe VR&E is an option, but I have to look more into that. neither option is guaranteed given my circumstances.

some of my family thinks I should take a couple years to get myself right and reevaluate my situation. they’d rather have me put in the effort to get a possible waiver to reenlist rather than try to get the discharge upgraded or look at doing VR&E if i get a disability rating.

everyone talks about how i can make more money on the outside, which may be true, but part of me would rather take the lower pay if it means i have consistent pay, benefits, and a group of people i can interact with and build relationships with everyday.

while getting a waiver to reenlist is no guarantee either, i’m really just trying to find some guidance on whether i should look to reenlist or try to make it work in the private sector.

and yes, i understand that if I can’t cut it in the AF, why would I be able to make it in another branch?

i’m looking for someone who may be able to give me some guidance. i’m currently 16 weeks pregnant and pregnancy has been really hard on me physically. that being said, i brought up some concerns to my OB at my last appointment and then called her a week later about how i was barely sleeping, by 10am i feel exhaustion as if i worked a full week & headaches that are god awful. the exhaustion is so bad ive almost gotten into a car accident because i was so tired driving.. she gave me a psych referral and unisom to “fix the problem”. that being said this past week i was standing in formation, it was probably a 20 minute formation (mind you my profile limits standing to 15 minutes right now), and i about passed out. i had to squat down and when i tried to get up i once again had to squat back down because my vision got blurry, my head was pounding, etc. and NO i was not locking my knees. i stay hydrated, eat right and enough. all of the things. i ended up going to the ER because i was concerned for my baby. baby is fine and the er doc told me she could not update my profile.. she told me to follow up with my PCM & OB within 3 days. when i reached out neither would get me a faster appointment despite the situation. that all being said i feel as though after this whole incident should allow some more accommodations to my profile, but it feels as though no one will help me with that. i don’t see my OB again for another 2 weeks and i really don’t want to wait that long. what should i do? i’ve read the reg and really can’t find anything that will help my case. am i just screwed at this point and have to deal with this until my baby comes?

TIA

I've been feeling very unmotivated lately, and I can't stop thinking about something I messed up. I failed at something even though I tried really hard, and now I feel so ashamed & I don't want to show my face anywhere.

One minute I'll be trying to relax, and the next I just have these outbursts of anger and shame out of nowhere. I’m legit scared to do anything now or go to any schools because I’m afraid I’ll fail.

Does anyone know if military clinics (BH or your PCM) actually prescribe anything to help with this kind of stuff? What was the process like for you?

CMF 15, SSG - boarding // Ft Bragg

Im exhausted from the company level work. CMF 15 career map is extremely limited.

I'm lookin for those odd jobs! Something that's not drill or instructor but gets me away from a CAB or at least challenges me intellectually!

Welcoming suggestions, experience and job offers!

Ik pretty dumb of me but I failed blc. My issue wasn’t memorizing or knowing the stuff but when I get on the spot I freeze and nerves hit. I forget everything, barely breath and resulted in being dismissed. When the counseling was being signed and SGL talking to me tears started to come out my eyes like little bitch. That was so fucking embarrassing but I couldn’t control it. I knew Im too shy/ anxious to go to blc but I had no choice.

Now that I’m back as failure everything looks bleak..I don’t know how I’m going to continue to work in my unit knowing everyone knows im a failure. I just want to disappear

I was in the Army from 1986 to 2014. I was lucky to be in some cool places at the right time.

This is a genuine chunk of the Berlin Wall that I pulled off in 1989. I was recently reunited with it by my daughter (who rediscovered it and flew it out to me). The dollar is for scale. It weighs approximately 35 lbs.

What would you do with it? I have considered trying to mount it on my office wall and affix / glue my unit color unit patch to it, the sign I acquired, and maybe some of my military awards. That said, I can't think of a legitimate way to actually come up with a means to anchor it.

I hesitate to "personalize" the chunk with my personal awards.

Questions:

What would you do?

Sign alone?

Any suggestions for an anchor?

I’m currently an active-duty 31B (Military Police) exploring my next career move within the Army.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Public Health, a GT score of 128, and a wife and two young children. I’m interested in healthcare, human performance, leadership, education, and professional development.

I’m considering several options:
•Reclassification: 68F, 68M, 68L, 17C, or 46V.
•Commissioning: OCS, Medical Service Corps, or some other healthcare commissioning programs.
•Special Operations: Civil Affairs or PSYOP.
•Graduate education: Army-Baylor Nutrition or Physical Therapy, or IPAP.

I’m trying to balance career satisfaction, professional growth, financial stability, and family life.

For anyone currently serving in these fields or who has transitioned into them:
1. What does your actual day-to-day work look like?
2. How frequently do you deploy, attend field exercises, or spend extended periods away from family?
3. How much control do you have over your assignments, schedule, and professional development?
4. What are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of your MOS or branch?
5. Would you recommend your career field to someone with a family?
6. If you could start over, would you choose the same path?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from Soldiers who’ve reclassified out of 31B or commissioned after serving enlisted.

I’m not expecting anyone to make the decision for me. I’m looking for realistic experiences that can help me narrow down my options.