I just enlisted as a 13B, anyone in this MOS? Can I get some insight? What to expect? How to prepare? Pros and cons of the mos? Thanks.

I have been a 13B on active duty and currently a 13B in the National Guard with a Paladin unit.  I love it.  Active I was both mech (M109A6 Paladin) and towed artillery on the M119.  If you get with a light unit, Air Assault is a possibility.  It is hard on your back and ears but well worth it.  Not much different that preparing for basic, just get in shape now.  In the National Guard in my area, 13B MOS is pretty full right now and E-5 and above promotions are difficult.  

Hearing is over rated.

Roger that, especially when you get to play with these....

Active or Guard?

Well.  Was 13F available?

When I was a 13F every civilian that heard my job title thought I was a fire fighter lol [BD

If you can change go aviation.

I loved being a 13F but no outside skills.

Guard

What state, or better yet, what type of howitzers does your unit have?

WA state. Not sure about the Howitzers.

Well i can tell you how it goes  from  on  active duty side ,  if your Heavy (as in M109A6)





-1st off  if you  thought where going to be better off/safer  as a 13B than 11b  you're mistaken  


-You probably wont do your job   and you will be trained and tasked to do infantry work  most of your time in the Army


-if your heavy , You will be stuck as in the motor pool fighting your vehicles trying to make them act right.  At some point you will get confused  as to weather you enlisted as a track mechanic or a cannon crew member. The point is Maintenance is not fun


-Your Peers will be  the dumbest American Citizens you've ever seen in your life , too the point to where  they are dangerous to themselves and others.


-my advice to you in basic  is to shut up and Listen  and respect your peers no matter how stupid and immature  they are.


-the scores you  need for the PT test are all over the internet   test yourself  and make  sure you can pass before you ship out.





I was a 13B in Germany  from 2007-2010  .  We had  M109A6s    while I
was there  We really  didn't do much artillery stuff    when we did it
was  just to check off the box to say that we where qualified to shoot  
bigger guns (as much army training is now a days)The bulk of are
training  was Infantry stuff  Raids , Force protection, convoy
operations .  
My unit deployed in 2008  ,we didn't shoot or mess with  The Paladins
the whole deployment. Since we have been at war for a while , most  
Soldiers and NCOs aren't really up to snuff on there arty stuff (at least
from where I was standing). the emphasis has been the motorized Infantry role  for the past 8 years.





anyway its good thing you went into guard, I wouldn't wish that crap on anybody


Now i am Cav Scout and its not much greener on the other side.



 

My first two mos picks were 19D and 11B. My recruiter AND MEPS both told me there wasn't any open positions is WA state for those two MOS's at the time. I did want active as well but the army wouldn't allow some things on my criminal background and NG would.

If the string breaks, just tie a knot in it.

Ha. I'll remember.

The upside.....

You're almost GUARANTEED to get disability for hearing loss when you get out.  The downside I'll pose in a question to you...."IF you don't decide to make a career of it...what job in the civilian sector requires the skills of an artillery gunner?"  I can't think of any.  That's something to take into account.  

Just my $0.02  

Good luck

I don't know, that is the last thing I'm thinking about. My main reason for joining is that I'm bored.

The US Army is not a trade school.  Judging by the fact that the OP's first choice was infantry or cavalry, I think he is looking to go kick Haji's ass.

Also be prepared to be called a gun bunny or a tampon puller.  

That said, I miss being combat arms...


On a more serious note, on teh Guard side, rank progression was much greater as a 13B than with any of the other MOS's, within a FA battalion.  Live fire MUTA's were fun, and AT was a blast.

I don't ship until July 18th.

Hardest part is the PT test, everything else is easy. Just hope you get assigned to Delta Battery 1-78.

Why is that?

You don't put projo humper on your resume'. You put intagibles like, leadership, decision making, counseling of subordinates, management of personnel, ability to work long hours in a high stress environment, etc. Those are the sellable skills.

ha, you get to go to Fort Sill. You will love it.
I was Fox Btry, 1/19 FA.

Is that sarcasm or will I actually have fun?

bored ?.......................   how old are you dude ?



 

24 why?

what time of the year are you going?

I ship July 18.

Artillery are the Universal Soldiers. When big Arm needs more Infantry, MPs, convoy security, FOB defense etc, they call the artillery.

That's what I'm hoping for.

Its gonna suck when they need somebody to actually be artillery and the institutional skill set ain't what it used to be.

Everyone does that shit. Not just artillery.

In both the Army and Marines the 13 and 08 series MOSs were the hardest hit with provisional and in lieu of missions.  It was just one of the largest MOS groups and since it was not a maneuver force, it could be retasked as a maneuver or security force

Yeah but not as well.



13 series is a combat arms MOS and usually needs less train up and generally has a better combat mindset. YMMV.