Posted: 2/8/2009 10:55:30 AM EDT
| What is everyones opinion on infantry mos'? Is it better to join the army for something such as mp, uav operator, tank driver etc? For a 20+ year career would an Infantry officer be a good pick? |
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If I could go back 10 years I'd have gone to college first, I'd have been an Infantry Officer in the Corps. There's a saying in the recruiting field, "all the dump ones want to fix air planes and all the smart ones want to be grunts", I don't know what you would rationalize the Officer Side to. The Infantry certainly has it's dumb trigger pullers and it's Rambo like machine gunners, most of the grunts are skinny pimply faced white kids, but the plain truth is there is nothing more complicated or simple in the military. Fire and Maneuver isn't simple, the battle field changes just like a high tech video game, bullet sponges vs direct action heroes. Wrapped around all of it is a Platoon Commander and his Platoon Sgt. The enlisted side is great, but I never got the chance to go to college between field ops, between tours in Iraq... I'm not crying over it either, I could have gone to night school, could have done online courses, hell I guess I could be taking a class right now instead of screwing off on ARF. I've lived the dream as a Squad Leader, a Platoon Sgt and stepped to the dark ness for a while as a Team Leader.
Read the book "One Bullet Away" by Nathan Fick - some of it is a little exaggerated, but Boot Camp and OCS have a way of seeming alot worse than they actually are at the time. It's a good description of the horror and pride assumed by leading men in combat. There would be no Army or Marine Corps with out Infantry men. The Marine Corps Prides it self on what's called the MAGTF, Marine Air Ground Task Force, which is putting all the MOS's that are combat arms together to pin point and destroy anyone who gets in the basic trigger pullers way... that is what an Infantry Officer does, leads his men to danger, and coordinates Artillery and Air Assets to clear the objective. |
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What are you trying to accomplish in your military career?
I'm a former 11H, now 11B and secondary 31B. Do what you are good at and comfortable doing, so that those under you don't have to suffer under someone who is attempting to do something outside of their comfort level. There is somewhere in the military for those willing to put the effort into it, but not everyone is cut out for Infantry, any more than everyone is cut out for Ranger, SF, Delta, etc. Be honest with yourself in judging your abilities and desire. |
| When I was growing up all I wanted to be was a soldier so Infantry was a natural choice for me. As has been stated Infantry is not for everyone so it really is a personal choice you will have to make for yourself. Just choose a career field that you have the most interest in. |
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When I JOINED the Army, back in 1969, I enlisted as Infantry. If my memory serves me correctly, I was 11B40. That number sticks for some reason. Yes, I was regular Army. I'm just an old man now (some would say), but this old man has one thing to say: To all of you that go in harms way, God Bless You!
Happy Trails! |
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Everyones purpose for joining the Army can be different. Every young person I talk to about it I tell two things. Enlist for the least amount of time, because if you like it you can reenlist and if you decide it's not for you, then you can get out. And the second is to pick something you can use when you get out. That way you have some kind of skill set that you can use to support yourself/family when you get out.
Thats just my opinion anyways. |