Army Communications

[Cheddar]

Just curious as to what its like.  When I was Airforce I was part of a deployable communication team- we would go out in the field and build a computer network from the ground up.  It was pretty fun, and we got all sorts of fancy gizmos to play with.  I am curious as to how it is in the green side.  Also, what are the general feelings towards members of other branches who "cross over to the green?"

[Merusk]

Feel like going back to Iraq then, do ya Ched?

I've known a few folks in Army comm over the years through various MMOs.  I'll see if I can track them down again if they're back/ alive.

[Xerapis]

what are the general feelings towards members of other branches who "cross over to the green?"

If you were a Marine, you made a stupid choice.  If you were anything else, you're a weak bitch who needs to learn what it means to be a man.

Also, commo in the Army?  Probably not building any computer networks.  We have separate geeks for that.  Army commo means setting up big stupid antennas in the middle of nowhere so you can retrans.  Or setting up big stupid antennas next to MI.  The commo guys were usually right next door to us intel weenies.  I wasn't impressed.  They were typically lazy, stupid, and disorganized.  And I noticed an awful lot of their people getting Article 15s.  When you see them cleaning the cracks of the sidewalk with a screwdriver while wearing full MOPP gear on a Saturday....yeah, they fucked up.  They seemed to do that a LOT.

EDIT:  Also, IRAQ!  Wouldn't you prefer that your spawn know their progenitor?

[Cheddar]

Just an idea I have been tooling around with.  I did a lot of Network Management and secure comm in the Airforce- but they are pretty much not taking any prior enlisted.  Army, on the other hand, is welcoming priors with open arms.  Was just curious as to peoples experience.

[Xerapis]

Get someone currently serving to connect you with someone actually doing that MOS and talk to them directly.  Find out what their average day is like.  Never believe recruiters.  Realize that you WILL go to the sandbox.

[Cheddar]

Get someone currently serving to connect you with someone actually doing that MOS and talk to them directly.  Find out what their average day is like.  Never believe recruiters.  Realize that you WILL go to the sandbox.

I know the drill - really at this point I am looking to hear stories from OTHER 25B's elsewhere - I got the straight dope from some local ones. 

[Viin]

Just an idea I have been tooling around with.  I did a lot of Network Management and secure comm in the Airforce- but they are pretty much not taking any prior enlisted.  Army, on the other hand, is welcoming priors with open arms.  Was just curious as to peoples experience.

Really? Did you try Guard or Reserve?

I also thought about switching to Army from ANG, but I would only do it for a rotor pilot slot... and I don't care to do basic training again, even an abbreviated one.

[Jimbo]

I did 2 basic trainings, the first one was fresh out of high school back in June of 1987, went to Ft Leonard Wood, MO for combined AIT and Basic as a 12 B, was assigned to a Combat Engineer Battalion in the Army Reserves (this was before the reorganisation of the reserves, guard, and active army...now the reserves have the combat support, guard is more combat units, and the active having it all.  At least that is what happened sometime in the 1990's when I was off being a blue suit-er.  In March of 1990 I got to switch to active Air Force, from what I hear, that was the last year the Air Force let prior service in, I'm not sure why the Air Force is so against taking prior service members.  Anyway, I still had to go threw a basic training, well it was like a show up and prove that you could march, make your bed, follow orders, and get your uniforms and were out in like 2 weeks (it was pretty quick, my Drill instructor...er TI [Technical Instructor? God the AF had a diffrent name if I remember too...] figured out I wasn't a fuck up and sent me on threw really fast).  Even though I was a med tech, I kept getting pulled to go help the SP's since I knew how to use a weapon...which was cool at times.

As far as going back to the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marines, I think all of them would take us Ched, but I think you would have to go threw basic training for each service (I think Navy was waiving that, I'm sure the Marines would, the only guys they let in without going to bootcamp are ex-Airborne qualified...and hell that could be wrong too...), tech school would be waived on a lot of ours since we had way better gear and training in the Air Force, just that we're pretty soft.

Oh, here is something, the Fighter Wing in Terre Haute, IN is going from a F-16 Air Guard mission to an Intel Wing and Training Wing, we have tons of openings in comm, Intel, and security police.  If I wasn't a single parent with custody (which is why I gave up the military), I would have gone guard when I got out.  Oh, they would like prior service too, Air Guard is a little more freedom on recruitment than active duty.  What you could do is enlist in an Air Guard unit, then wait a bit, the put in a transfer to active duty if you really want it.  I'm waiting till my son is 18 and graduated from high school, then I'll sign up as a physician assistant, all of the branches (that have medical units) will take you up to age 55!  So if you become and nurse you could wait till you're 55 and sign up...

I wish I had my vision back when I was 18, having 20/200 and 20/400 fucked me out of ever getting to fly (to actually push the stick, not ride as a passanger...even if I'm shooting at people).  I do think the Air Force has a couple of really cool jobs to get into if you are fresh out of high school and want to try something, hell, if they had offered the Aerial Gunner as a slot back when I was thinking of what to do after high school, but I was swayed into trying to be the first officer in my family, so the Army Reserve won out.

[HaemishM]

Army, on the other hand, is welcoming priors with open arms anything with a pulse. 

FIFY.

I had a cousin that switched from Air Force to Army (he was never a pilot or anything). This was in the '90's, but he never spoke about any ill feelings towards switchers.

[Viin]

We have a lot of switchers from Army and Marines that end up in the ANG. No hard feelings, just the normal joshing you get when you are the only jarhead in the room or the only guy that says 'how-copy' on the radio all the time.

My unit works a lot with the guys from Terre Haute, now that we are taking their F16s. :)

[Murgos]

Marine enlisted is pretty tough on prior service.  When I was in you had to do Basic in it's entirety and then Basic Warrior Training  or whatever MOS training regardless of prior service and you could only come in at 2 ranks below your previous highest rank.  I was actually in boot camp with a guy who had been an E-8 in the Navy and left Paris Island as an E-6.  We actually didn't know he was prior service until just before graduation when we got our uniforms back from the cleaners with the rank insignias sewn on.

I only ever met a few people who were prior service before enlisting in the Marines but there was never any more hostility there than the usual jokes about Army Doggies or Squidley's.  Well, I had a roommate who was prior Navy for a while and I gave him no end of shit but that's because I was 19 and he was an ancient 28, the Navy thing was just something else to rib him about.

Honestly, I had been considering trying to take a reserve commission in the Navy, well, only to the point of looking at the online documentation anyway.

[stu]

Dude, you want to be Army Commo? Those guys are fags. If anything, SF Commo is the way. Better training, better re-up bonuses, and true professionals. Not that there aren't good people in Commo, but most of the ones I met were puds.

[Jimbo]

Viin you in the Atlantic City NJ Air Guard?  I thought that is where the F-16's went from the base near me.  From what I hear, the 181st might get a predator and global hawk mission, but hell that is all talk for now.

[Viin]

Colorado ANG, 140th. We have almost doubled the number of our F16s .. guess what that means for number of deployments we get to go on? Yay!

[NiX]

A bit different and I'm sure I'll get made fun of for this, but I've been thinking about joining the Canadian Military. They're on a serious recruitment drive, though I doubt that's a good thing. I know we don't have many Canucks on here, but are there any that have served?

[stu]

A friend of mine who is a U.S. Army crew chief worked with Canadian military and said they were great. When Canadian grunts unload from landed helicopters, they pick up their things and leave in an orderly fashion. When U.S. grunts unload from helicopters, they yell and scream and gererally trip five feet off the ramp because they are top-heavy with equipment. I guess that's the difference.

[Lantyssa]

A bit different and I'm sure I'll get made fun of for this, but I've been thinking about joining the Canadian Military. They're on a serious recruitment drive, though I doubt that's a good thing. I know we don't have many Canucks on here, but are there any that have served?

Join the Edmonton Navy!

[NiX]

Mall Security?

[Lantyssa]

Mini-sub operator.

[murdoc]

Edmonton just needs the military to move in and annex it. People there need to be shot for wearing sweat pants and dress shoes.

Or nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.