On Oct 3, 10:58 pm, MightyJo...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
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>
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> Nope, Army is 9 weeks for "generic" basic training (Ft. Jackson, Ft.
> Leonard Wood, etc.) and Combat Arms still do OSUT. Not sure if
> Infantry is 12 or 14 weeks, but my son went through Armor OSUT at Ft.
> Knox and it was 14 weeks.
I think infantry OSUT is also 14 weeks, then. It was just so
annoying, like crud between your toes, that one day blended into the
other.
> While I didn't think it was "easy," it wasn't as tough as I thought it
> was going to be. A lot of the Mickey Mouse **** got on my nerves, but
> all in all, it was a good experience. The one thing I remember was
> being tired *all* the time. They woke us up at 0400 and ran us ragged
> until 2200, then there was an hour of fire guard some nights. I spent
> the whole 8 weeks feeling like I never got enough sleep.
You know, I don't think I ever got enough sleep even after Basic! I
was also usually cold, hot, or hungry. But the one thing I remember
about Basic was being aggravated, and the one thing I remember about
life after Basic was being always tired. I don't think it was all
physical, too. Something about that life just kind of wore me out.
I'm not sure what it was, because the annoying crap was just Basic
(though in concentrated doses, LOL), but I felt really tired most of
the time...as soon as we weren't doing anything physical, I felt like
going to sleep!!
> Don't know about the other services, but the Army will guarantee you a
> school. But, they don't guarantee you'll be working in the job you
> were trained for. I saw qualified helicopter mechanics working in the
> supply room, SIGINT specialists with foreign languages and Top Secret
> clearances working in the mailroom, ADP (computer) specialists driving
> trucks, etc. The Army guarantees you training, but they put you to
> work where they think they need you.
Hmm, interesting distinction; I'd never noted that at all! Still, it
would be to the Army's advantage to get the most out of a recruit, and
if that recruit's trained for avionics, it would be to the Army's
advantage to assign him appropriately.
Desk jockeys driving trucks on a generally tem****ary, even if extended
or periodic, basis: that I could see, though, especially in a wartime
situation like Iraq right now...I understand some of the logistics
folks are doing convoy guard duty, LOL! I also read (in Army Times,
of course), that Basic has been revamped as a result....
> My son was 18 when he signed up, and wanted to be a Cavalry Scout (the
> Army's equivalent of Recon). They had no slots, so he took Tanks
> instead. If he's going to be in the ****, I'd rather have him riding
> around in a tank then running out in front of them.
Indeed. I don't think we've heard of too many casualties from Armor.
I think even logistics personnel have sustained more casualties than
tankers! Good for him. Though I don't know how anyone could stand
confined spaces like that for hours on end...especially since a lot of
soldiers don't mind farting in your face...that was another eye-opener
(not to mention the nose) -- people had a lot of bad habits. It
sounds silly, but I was shocked by that kind of stuff.
> Ever see our band uniforms?
"Our"? You mean the Army's?
Not too bad, though the Marines, they look like a proper military
marching band. The Army, I don't know why they adopted that Greyhound
bus driver look after WWII.
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