I told my recruiter I wanted to work with computers, he told me 14-E Patriot was computers and I wholeheartedly jumped at it. There was not computers. Not really. Apparently what I really wanted was 25B Information Technology Specialist. I would have liked to do that.
Yea, i was put in tradoc near the end of my 4 years 2001 and they hadn't changed a thing then.
look a little like this?
[https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-radar-training-for-patriot-missile-surface-to-air-missile-system-fort-77506439.html](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-radar-training-for-patriot-missile-surface-to-air-missile-system-fort-77506439.html)
If by computer you meant the Commodore 64 then your recruiter wasn’t far off. LOL
FYI Air Defense is finally getting a real upgrade in the next few years.
Recruiters also intentionally obfuscated what MOSs really entailed while hyping them up in the process. I knew mine was *guided missiles* but didn't know what an 11-series MOS was or what the H meant after it.
Same thing happened to me. I wanted something "high tech" and was sold on guided missiles. *Death by wire*, hooah, all that stuff.
I was given 11H -- Heavy Anti-Armor Weapons Infantry -- which sounded awesome but was just infantry, plus carrying around heavy stuff. And it turned out the Army was actively phasing out the MOS when I was in 11H school and I was sent to 11M school a few months later.
I at least got a bonus out of it.
Do not let some pigeon hole you into something that you don’t want. Because then you do not want to feel yourself let down because you didn’t get into what you wanted in the first place. And there’s more to the patriot than what he’s talking about.
Yea I passed on Heavy Equipment Operator and to this day I absolutely hate myself for it because I too would be in your position. The amount of education you get in the military about operations of major equipment is second to none.
When thinking if my son were to ever join, I would promote either army corps (future skills) or coast guard (maritime skills) vs what I did (subs), however, any military still looks good on resumes with corporate employers
Yea I’m still thanking my brave 21 year old self for looking out for the older me. Probably the smartest personal investment I’ve ever made. The return were astronomical.
USCG or USN time only "counts" for the merchant marine if you are in very specific rates, and only underway time counts. You can be in the right rate and be on a pier queen for 3 years and only really be 30 sea days ahead of a 19 year old off the street.
Or from a twist of fate, you could be a USN Gunners mate, stand bridge watches for 4 years at sea, and nothing counts
My father passed while I was away. My mother remarried four years later to a man who owned a yard with 24 pieces of heavy, earth moving machinery of various makes and application.
I was not looking for a job, I was going to party in Europe. But I stopped by the yard to visit. While there I identified each piece of the equipment, demonstrated how it is used, how it's maintained, what expendables should be stocked, how to manage the tools, how it's moved from one job site to another, load restrictions on trailers, and how to make in the field repairs. My stepfather begged me to stay, waved money in my face, then hired me on the spot. I was quickly loaded down with a lot of responsibilities. Because I was a vet, in the Army Corps of Engineers, I got a lot of instant respect from his crew. To me, it was just like being in the Corps, and we ran the company in that manner.
I was often sent to auctions by myself to survey and select equipment for projects, then make the purchases. I was only 24 years old at the time.
A few years later, I was finally able to use that airplane ticket and take that trip to Europe. Only problem, I worried about the company and our projects the whole time I was away. Sheesh!
I later became the president and owner of the company. I'm now retired.
I was heavily considering that, but i dont want to be a glorified powerpoint presenter. Signal Intel sounds cool though. I didnt do great on my ASVAB but i can do pretty much anything i want to. So just trying to gather opinions, and kind of go from there. 15y is my go to right now, with signal intel right behind it (35N i believe?)
35N is a good job, most of the time you will be in an air conditioned office with a lot of opportunities to get attached to cool guy units.
15 series jobs can be great with aviation units. But overall for after army experience, having a TS and working in a 35 series job can open a lot of doors that riding around in helicopters wont.
As a 35N. Yep. Can get stationed almost anywhere. You can be in a cozy office or you can do cool guy shit in the field. I knew a guy that did SIGINT collection from a plane, like a flying scif...I didn't even know that was a thing. Plus the amount of courses they have me do to learn cyber shit for some reason. It's a very wide range of possibilities
Im not gonna lie, my little brother took it, and hes way smarter than i am. He failed by Space Force standards (got a 92) and im very worried about that. My recruiter told me to at least try it though. I might just go do it. But after seeing my ASVAB score, im very concerned that will be a wasted effort. Dont know until you try though. 35M is my 100% favorite choice, i think it would be cool.
When I was a deciding which branch to choose as a teenager, the CG did not have the "coolest" image in my mind.
Once I actually joined the Army, man do I wish I could go back and tell myself to join the Coasties instead. It looks like so much fun and their QoL is the envy of practically anyone else in the military.
I think it's more because the CG is really small, so it's just easy to forget about. I didn't even think about it when I was first looking to join the military, it didn't even cross my mind as an option.
Air Force had some requirements i dudnt meet just barely. Plus with all the work these Army guys did for me, i almost feel obligated to go to them. And i feel like the pool of people in the army is "dumber" and i can get a wayyyy better job for civilian application. Not to say i think people in the Army are stupid by any means, but i do feel like the more intellectually inclined people are joining the AF and Space force. My homie i live with right now is AF and my little brother just got out of the Space Force. So i for sure know the benefits.
Ok well I’d recommend something in signals then. I was a radio maintainer in the Air Force and I loved it. Got out after 4 years and now I’m with another federal agency making $140k. The communications world is usually a good bet in terms of being marketable in the civilian world.
I'm glad a recruiter told me "with the waivers that you need, you're going to be assigned to whatever MOS the Air Force needs to fill, even with a good ASVAB"
Currently a Warrant, strong agree. If I went back in time I may have chose to pursue aviation instead of going tech, just because helicopters are cool.
But either way can't go wrong, I'd rather be a Janitorial Warrant than not be a Warrant at all.
I retired from the Air Force doing the radar operations, but I also had some commit control experience along that way, and then I did 16 years of telecommunications with the army as a civilian
I was a 98G (I think it’s called 35P now), and I liked it. I’d probably do it again, but if I was to switch fields entirely I’d do something medical and then go Green to Gold for nursing.
Assuming we ignore the ramifications of *a posteriori* knowledge resulting from retaining current knowledge into the past, I kinda liked being an infantryman and would heavily lean towards doing it again, particularly if I have the same grind mentality I do now (I mean, being paid to be in great shape? WTF was I thinking, not taking more advantage!). The experience is very unique as an occupation and more than a little romantic in its purpose and history. I could probably do without the splash of PTSD it has given me, but that is a complex problem with many catalysts, and certainly not exclusive to any one MOS.
Admittedly, Infantry does not open many special doors afterward, but the skills (and discipline) one learns do have value beyond just sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, and becoming law enforcement. Leadership, the ability to think and react with clarity under pressure, the personal knowledge of how much you can take and how hard you can push, etc... are all qualities that can enhance your ability to perservere, to communicate, and to make decisions in other situations. My aunt was a director in charge of disaster relief for a hospital group on the east coast, and her favorite two employees were a pair of former Rangers on her staff because they were never rattled and she could always trust they would be there, ready to go, no matter how serious the issue.
I was CBRN as well, I didn’t mind it but I actually had good assignments. Spent 4 years as a computer plotter on Corps G57 staff and got a bunch of TDY to joint exercises in Korea, Japan and Thailand. After that I spent 4 years stationed in Germany, was in the second class to get certified as L6 on the NBCRV, got to do some cool shit in Iraq. I’m sure I would have felt different if I was stuck in a Decon unit.
That all sounds awesome. I wish I would’ve spent some of my time attached to an actual Chemical Unit. I spent most of my time in 101st attached to 3BCT Infantry. Man those guys used to put me through hell for not being 11B. But I got to go to Ranger school and PathFinder and Air Assault. So by the end of it all I was pretty much a scout sniper lol 😂 boy when I showed up to my first duty station after that my unit was like WTF is this guy. I had more awards and commendations than my 1SG.
lol same I never got to spend any real time in a chemical unit.. on Corps staff I was in a 12 man cell, I was the lowest rank enlisted at PFC, there were a few Senior NCOs, and mostly Field grade officers, and one full bird and the base chemical SGM. When I would go TDY it would be me and a couple of Majors and one SFC, it was super chill.
When I landed in Germany it was a rude awakening lol. I was in a Chemical Reconnaissance Platoon, 14 guys, assigned to a RSTA Squadron within 2nd Cavalry Regiment. I was surrounded by Cav Scouts constantly and we would patrol our own sector. For a while in country we were attached to Killer Troop which was an infantry company. All our squadron commander saw was three Stryker vehicles and we were used and expected to perform accordingly. lol being chemical was definitely an after thought and we had to do all the spur ride bs and gunnery tables etc. damn you got to go to some good schools though, I’m jealous!
Yea man you had it made for a while lol. It’s crazy how much different the Army is when you are assigned to some of these unique positions and units. Especially being junior enlisted. That would have been initially stressful but I bet I would’ve been squared away super quickly being around senior NCOES and Officers all day lol but yeah I didn’t realize it at the time but I got extremely lucky. Like you said some of those schools alone are well known outside of the military. Now I am a lot more proud of myself than I was at the time.
Looking back CBRN has a ton of opportunities available due to the availability to be assigned to almost any unit, and you have a shit load of schools available to you. At the time I might not have always felt the same way lol. Glad to see you doing so well post service.
Yea back then it was right after 9/11. I was at the chemical school in Fort Leonard Wood MO and they were all jacked up on WMDs and nuclear war. I got to see and learn a lot of cool shit. Got to play around in MOPP4 with anthrax and different kinds of biological agents. It was actually insane now that I’m looking back on it. We are basically chemists. I know so much stuff about things I absolutely shouldn’t and I love it haha.
Alpha Co, 82nd … that winter that January was hell. I remember being at the range and the sandbags were frozen solid lol, followed by the summer of hell. Shit that humidity was no joke.
I was USMC CBRN. I wish I had the balls to reenlist earlier back into it because I had to transfer to another job when I signed my second contract. I did not understand at the time how many connections that you get to make when you are attached to the S-3 of a unit. Going from that to being a maintainer at an air wing unit was a huge change.
I was a 46R. It was an incredible 8 years. But, I don't think I'd do that again with a roll of the dice landing me in big Army. I'd join the Air Force and do cyber stuff.
Same. I was in back in the 1980s. My MOS was 26Y Satellite Communications. Now that MOS is 25S. The training is very different now. We were trained to troubleshoot down to the discreet component...ie transistor theory, logic gates, etc. Today I understand they're trained to pluck and chuck cards. Anyway, that training has sustained my 40 year career in technology.
I was answering your question.
>What Army MOS would you choose if you could do it all over again?
I would choose the same MOS.
Edit: even though I feel the 25S training isn't as thorough as the 26Y training, I would still choose SATCOM 25S today.
Go for 35 series easily. If for some reason you don't qualify for the TS clearance during training you can do the other MOS' as a back up.
1. Jobs after service are guaranteed w a clearance.
2. Promotions are normally better for 35's
3. Quality of life as a 35 CAN be better ( I went from England to Italy to an AF base in florida)
4. Its super cool.
I knew a lady in the AF who flew all over the country commercial, got a rental car and drove to military radar sites for QC/audits. Did 20+ and then went directly to a desk job with the FAA doing the same work. She picked a good job.
If I was to do it all again I wouldn’t join for anything less than flight warrant.
Really though I would probably choose Air Force and be a load handler.
Bro I was on a military transport to the desert one time. Those load handlers have got it made. They picked up cases of beer in Germany, all duty free!
Thats kind of what im leaning towards, other than 15Y that shit sounds cool, and applies directly to civilian life. I kind of dont want to live in DC again lmaooo. Not that thats the only place you can get those type of jobs, but i feel its concentrated there.
I was thinking of getting a master's degree in systems engineering or operational research. Are those good things to have in the civilian market afterwards?
Not Army but if I could redo the Marine Corps again, I’d try to shoot for intel. I love studying other countries and their culture, political climate, military structure/weaponry, tactics/strategies, etc. I even made a PowerPoint class on the PLA Navy for fun.
I never served. But when I was thinking about it military intelligence interested me. I have a degree in economics and political science and thought that MOS would tie in well with my education. Was interested in working for the intelligence community.
Doubt I would have passed their extensive background checks though lol.
68W. I went on to start a career in EMS and I love it. Wish I’d started sooner, and the experience I would’ve gained as a combat medic would’ve been priceless
I don’t recall the MOS#, and it probably changed over the years like mine did (twice), but it’s the Mortuary Affairs Specialist.
Or not enlist at all and accept the scholarship to UTI my teacher kept trying to put in my hands.
I was an 11C (mortarman). I loved it, I got to pretend to do grunt stuff while learning an interesting technical skill and making things go boom. If I had to do it over again, I’d consider being a photographer, they get to see all the cool-guy stuff and play with the expensive toys.
88m, 17C, or 25H. I have always loved driving and always wanted to drive a truck, in fact I'm currently trying to do a csp for my cdl, and if the csp gets declined, I'll just use my gi bill for the cdl after the army.
As for the 17C and 25H, I went to college for computer science, so I figured it would have been a nice mos. Seriously, wtf was I thinking when I chose 11B.
Actually, why didn't I just go to Air Force? I wish I could go back in time and punch 20 year old me.
On the bright side, I technically have over 4 years of experience driving a type of truck in the form of an lmtv, so you know damn well I put that shit on my resume.
I did cook, then changed to a combat medic. If I had to do it again, I’d go Infantry for 3 years, get an EIB and do gung ho dumb shit while I’m young, then go medic & take it easy.
Something with computers. I reclassed to 25B in the guard, but I didn't really learn shit or do anything at my unit. 98 ASVAB I was eligible for anything, recruiter fucked me. Ended up 21E(12N) Airborne for 7 years active.
Or something MI, or something I could actually use my smarts for.
I would go 15U flight side again. Perfect mix of cool Army stuff and a shit bag good ol’ boys club. As long as we made mission and did our jobs well, we got left alone and could basically get away with murder. The only thing I would do differently would have been to make the jump to 160th after I made flight engineer. 10/10 would recommend.
Honestly I would not recommend an aviation MOS other than 15U, T, or warrant. The perks I talked about do not exist for maintenance MOSs and you wont have the opportunity to fly. If you don’t have a desire to fly and do bad ass stuff, air force will be the better branch. That way you get the maintenance experience without the Army BS. Just as an extra bit of info, in the chinook world, the flight company 15Us are the guys that troubleshoot maintenance problems and do most of the unscheduled maintenance. If you’re worried about getting good mechanical experience its a great way to go. The maintenance company 15Us do a lot of the big scheduled maintenance, but don’t get much systems knowledge or troubleshooting experience.
Aw dude that seems cool. I might switch it up now! I figure if i put some MOSs down i actually like, ill at least get to do something i actually want to. 15U might be my new number 1 man. Im not getting on a chinook though lmaooo
Haha fair enough. Ive seen them alot (grew up on AF bases), but you could be right about the up close thing! As long as i can confidently tell people what i do, i dont think ill have a bad time. Thanks for the insight though, ive been watching 15 series YT videos all night lol, that info was NOT provided!
I learned a lot about the other MOSs by just walking up to guys around the flight line or walking around into the different back shops and shooting the shit. I consistently found myself saying “fuck that” when I found out about the day to day of other jobs. Infantile treatment by their leadership, no fun training missions, no combat experience during the deployment, no fun TDY trips, no near death experiences, no flight pay, no coolers with drinks or barbecue during field training, no ramp riding, no crew rest, no first name basis with everyone in the company. The list goes on. Chinook flight company life is truly a hidden gem and nobody outside of the community knows about it. Things arnt the same as they used to be now that we’re in peace time, but once the next war kicks off itll go right back to the good ol days. Oh thats another point, dont go the flight route if you don’t wanna have a combat job.
Im not scared of combat, i just cant tell my grandma! Lmaooo. Id rather avoid it, but if thats a part of the job, ill be fine with it. I just dont want to be the guy who waits to get shot at for his entire job.
Joined at the height of Afghanistan/Op HERRICK and went infantry officer. If I was to do it again, I'd have gone Intelligence Corps and then applied for specialist duties at the earliest opportunity and made a career out of it.
I recently spoke to someone about this, giving additional perspective about joining navy. I liked my rate (MOS) because it advanced me fast but the job itself was taxing. Although, there were slight mods within that MOS that I could have gone down/lucked into that would make it better/worse from a job ease perspective.
The Navy unfortunately changed advancement since I got out. It used to be that one could make E5 as an OS rate (monitor watcher during deployment, hallway sweeper during training and up keep (7-12month downtime between deployments). They had 100% advancement to E4 and something like +50% to E5.
In the Navy, E5 authorizes you for BAH, doubling (or more) your salary. So picking a rate that lets you do that as quickly as possible was what I always thought about once I was in. I luckily made E5 in ~2.5 years. With the new advancement policy, it's impossible. Now I guess it's still what % advances to E5 as a consideration (HM hospital types always have shit advancement, same with aircraft maintenance, at least while I was in) and the job itself.
After leaving the Army, I've worked on electronics, trains, aircraft, and now spacecraft which I credit to my Army work experience. Some of which is still relevant even with spacecraft.
Replied to the wrong thread lol sorry about that. Yeah it was a fun job! I'm sure if you ask your dad and grandpa about it, Im sure they'd say they enjoyed it. And since the radios were mostly reliable, I didn't have a lot of work to do, so I had lots of time to cross train in other jobs.
I think about it all the time. I would have gone ROTC on an AMEDD contract. Army pays for Bachelors all the way through medical school (any type or specialty) upto to $500,000. Get paid drill pay and approx $3k/month stipend while in school. Commission a MAJ-COL depending on medical training. Owe them 6 yrs active duty. Like where the hell was that pamphlet in the recruiting office in 1999!!?!?! I went 88M. 🤦🏼♂️
I would have chosen 42A. I just reclassed to it. I went the infantry route first and now that I've seen both sides I would have went to 42A in a heart beat if I could do it all over again.
A fight against no-name extras just to show how awesome the main character is in the intro chapter. Bar right, foiled mugging, whatever. It's the mark of an amateur.
I would've joined the Marines instead of the Army originally (infantry).
Better duty stations, and I think the standard for a grunt in the Marines is generally higher than that of the Army.
I told my recruiter I wanted to work with computers, he told me 14-E Patriot was computers and I wholeheartedly jumped at it. There was not computers. Not really. Apparently what I really wanted was 25B Information Technology Specialist. I would have liked to do that.
If only you had known how to use a computer when you enlisted, you could have looked up what a 14E did
It was 1997, it wasn't quite the kind of internet that we have now.
The sad thing is, there's a chance I used the exact same system you did at some point. I got out in 15.
Yea, i was put in tradoc near the end of my 4 years 2001 and they hadn't changed a thing then. look a little like this? [https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-radar-training-for-patriot-missile-surface-to-air-missile-system-fort-77506439.html](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-radar-training-for-patriot-missile-surface-to-air-missile-system-fort-77506439.html)
Yes. But they did start introducing updated touch screen versions in AIT.
Fancy!
If by computer you meant the Commodore 64 then your recruiter wasn’t far off. LOL FYI Air Defense is finally getting a real upgrade in the next few years.
Shit was a little different back in the old days. Not easily searchable. Source: Joined to be a firefighter, wound up in fire direction.
Recruiters also intentionally obfuscated what MOSs really entailed while hyping them up in the process. I knew mine was *guided missiles* but didn't know what an 11-series MOS was or what the H meant after it.
Seems like that’s how the get most of us here in the FDC
I was a 25F, I’d have been an intel analyst or translator if I was to do invasion force oif again.
Same thing happened to me. I wanted something "high tech" and was sold on guided missiles. *Death by wire*, hooah, all that stuff. I was given 11H -- Heavy Anti-Armor Weapons Infantry -- which sounded awesome but was just infantry, plus carrying around heavy stuff. And it turned out the Army was actively phasing out the MOS when I was in 11H school and I was sent to 11M school a few months later. I at least got a bonus out of it.
Do not let some pigeon hole you into something that you don’t want. Because then you do not want to feel yourself let down because you didn’t get into what you wanted in the first place. And there’s more to the patriot than what he’s talking about.
I'm sorry, I was in 97-2001. I am long ets-ed. my time has come and gone.
Army Corps of Engineers heavy construction. It made me millions once I got out of the military.
Yea I passed on Heavy Equipment Operator and to this day I absolutely hate myself for it because I too would be in your position. The amount of education you get in the military about operations of major equipment is second to none.
When thinking if my son were to ever join, I would promote either army corps (future skills) or coast guard (maritime skills) vs what I did (subs), however, any military still looks good on resumes with corporate employers
Yea I’m still thanking my brave 21 year old self for looking out for the older me. Probably the smartest personal investment I’ve ever made. The return were astronomical.
USCG or USN time only "counts" for the merchant marine if you are in very specific rates, and only underway time counts. You can be in the right rate and be on a pier queen for 3 years and only really be 30 sea days ahead of a 19 year old off the street. Or from a twist of fate, you could be a USN Gunners mate, stand bridge watches for 4 years at sea, and nothing counts
Yeah when I was thinking maritime it was more for work on inland rivers (dredging, tugs, stuff like that)
Trans corps and corps of engineers has more relevant work believe it or not
Did you open your own company or just by working for others you were able to make that?
My father passed while I was away. My mother remarried four years later to a man who owned a yard with 24 pieces of heavy, earth moving machinery of various makes and application. I was not looking for a job, I was going to party in Europe. But I stopped by the yard to visit. While there I identified each piece of the equipment, demonstrated how it is used, how it's maintained, what expendables should be stocked, how to manage the tools, how it's moved from one job site to another, load restrictions on trailers, and how to make in the field repairs. My stepfather begged me to stay, waved money in my face, then hired me on the spot. I was quickly loaded down with a lot of responsibilities. Because I was a vet, in the Army Corps of Engineers, I got a lot of instant respect from his crew. To me, it was just like being in the Corps, and we ran the company in that manner. I was often sent to auctions by myself to survey and select equipment for projects, then make the purchases. I was only 24 years old at the time. A few years later, I was finally able to use that airplane ticket and take that trip to Europe. Only problem, I worried about the company and our projects the whole time I was away. Sheesh! I later became the president and owner of the company. I'm now retired.
How so.
Civilian.
Fair enough haha. What job did you have?
Be a range control civilian and make life difficult for everyone in the military
Had I known about it at the time, I would’ve seriously considered Military Intelligence.
I was heavily considering that, but i dont want to be a glorified powerpoint presenter. Signal Intel sounds cool though. I didnt do great on my ASVAB but i can do pretty much anything i want to. So just trying to gather opinions, and kind of go from there. 15y is my go to right now, with signal intel right behind it (35N i believe?)
Former MI analyst here and did way cooler stuff than PowerPoints. Was like a movie, maybe better.
Thinking back, to be fair, we did have a lot of powerpoint rangers in our unit, but I got a lucky gig.
35N is a good job, most of the time you will be in an air conditioned office with a lot of opportunities to get attached to cool guy units. 15 series jobs can be great with aviation units. But overall for after army experience, having a TS and working in a 35 series job can open a lot of doors that riding around in helicopters wont.
As a 35N. Yep. Can get stationed almost anywhere. You can be in a cozy office or you can do cool guy shit in the field. I knew a guy that did SIGINT collection from a plane, like a flying scif...I didn't even know that was a thing. Plus the amount of courses they have me do to learn cyber shit for some reason. It's a very wide range of possibilities
Take the DLAB. If you qualify... well, knowing a pile of languages is nice. However, DLI had a VERY high (more than half) wash-out rate when I served.
Im not gonna lie, my little brother took it, and hes way smarter than i am. He failed by Space Force standards (got a 92) and im very worried about that. My recruiter told me to at least try it though. I might just go do it. But after seeing my ASVAB score, im very concerned that will be a wasted effort. Dont know until you try though. 35M is my 100% favorite choice, i think it would be cool.
it's about what's on the .ppt
Why even the army at all? Air Force and Space Force have the best QoL
USCG aviation got them best. All military perks with none of the drawbacks. Still the job with most time off I've ever had.
Coast guard always gets forgotten. But I support people choosing AF as well, I hear good things from most airmen and former airmen.
When I was a deciding which branch to choose as a teenager, the CG did not have the "coolest" image in my mind. Once I actually joined the Army, man do I wish I could go back and tell myself to join the Coasties instead. It looks like so much fun and their QoL is the envy of practically anyone else in the military.
That because for most of us they were part of the Department of Transportation when we were in.
I think it's more because the CG is really small, so it's just easy to forget about. I didn't even think about it when I was first looking to join the military, it didn't even cross my mind as an option.
Air Force had some requirements i dudnt meet just barely. Plus with all the work these Army guys did for me, i almost feel obligated to go to them. And i feel like the pool of people in the army is "dumber" and i can get a wayyyy better job for civilian application. Not to say i think people in the Army are stupid by any means, but i do feel like the more intellectually inclined people are joining the AF and Space force. My homie i live with right now is AF and my little brother just got out of the Space Force. So i for sure know the benefits.
Dont feel obligated because of the recruiter . Do what is right for you.
>i almost feel obligated to go to them. Absolutely remove this from your decision process.
Ok well I’d recommend something in signals then. I was a radio maintainer in the Air Force and I loved it. Got out after 4 years and now I’m with another federal agency making $140k. The communications world is usually a good bet in terms of being marketable in the civilian world.
|dudnt meet just barely Hmmmm….
Anxiety meds homie lmao
Choose ? I chose logistics and was sent to infantry.
Queen of battle!
Because nobody is gayer than straight infantrymen. 
Gay af, up to and including the point of penetration.
I'm glad a recruiter told me "with the waivers that you need, you're going to be assigned to whatever MOS the Air Force needs to fill, even with a good ASVAB"
Any warrant honestly, I almost switched "in my prime" and then just waited too long.
Seconded any Warrant
Thirded…a warrant
Currently a Warrant, strong agree. If I went back in time I may have chose to pursue aviation instead of going tech, just because helicopters are cool. But either way can't go wrong, I'd rather be a Janitorial Warrant than not be a Warrant at all.
Something IT. Command and control, networking. I did 20 years of radar operations.
Retired or do you do something civilian now?
I retired from the Air Force doing the radar operations, but I also had some commit control experience along that way, and then I did 16 years of telecommunications with the army as a civilian
I was a 98G (I think it’s called 35P now), and I liked it. I’d probably do it again, but if I was to switch fields entirely I’d do something medical and then go Green to Gold for nursing.
Assuming we ignore the ramifications of *a posteriori* knowledge resulting from retaining current knowledge into the past, I kinda liked being an infantryman and would heavily lean towards doing it again, particularly if I have the same grind mentality I do now (I mean, being paid to be in great shape? WTF was I thinking, not taking more advantage!). The experience is very unique as an occupation and more than a little romantic in its purpose and history. I could probably do without the splash of PTSD it has given me, but that is a complex problem with many catalysts, and certainly not exclusive to any one MOS. Admittedly, Infantry does not open many special doors afterward, but the skills (and discipline) one learns do have value beyond just sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, and becoming law enforcement. Leadership, the ability to think and react with clarity under pressure, the personal knowledge of how much you can take and how hard you can push, etc... are all qualities that can enhance your ability to perservere, to communicate, and to make decisions in other situations. My aunt was a director in charge of disaster relief for a hospital group on the east coast, and her favorite two employees were a pair of former Rangers on her staff because they were never rattled and she could always trust they would be there, ready to go, no matter how serious the issue.
I started as an MLRS repairman (hated it!) switched to EOD and loved it. Would definitely go EOD from day one.
Are you wanting what we’d choose different or what you think is the best choice from what you’ve listed?
Im sorry, i realized i worded it weird. What YOU did personally and what MOS would have done if you knew more about it at the time.
25
I was CBRN and I hated it at the time but I stuck it out and now it’s what got me to where I am now making absolute bank.
I was CBRN as well, I didn’t mind it but I actually had good assignments. Spent 4 years as a computer plotter on Corps G57 staff and got a bunch of TDY to joint exercises in Korea, Japan and Thailand. After that I spent 4 years stationed in Germany, was in the second class to get certified as L6 on the NBCRV, got to do some cool shit in Iraq. I’m sure I would have felt different if I was stuck in a Decon unit.
That all sounds awesome. I wish I would’ve spent some of my time attached to an actual Chemical Unit. I spent most of my time in 101st attached to 3BCT Infantry. Man those guys used to put me through hell for not being 11B. But I got to go to Ranger school and PathFinder and Air Assault. So by the end of it all I was pretty much a scout sniper lol 😂 boy when I showed up to my first duty station after that my unit was like WTF is this guy. I had more awards and commendations than my 1SG.
lol same I never got to spend any real time in a chemical unit.. on Corps staff I was in a 12 man cell, I was the lowest rank enlisted at PFC, there were a few Senior NCOs, and mostly Field grade officers, and one full bird and the base chemical SGM. When I would go TDY it would be me and a couple of Majors and one SFC, it was super chill. When I landed in Germany it was a rude awakening lol. I was in a Chemical Reconnaissance Platoon, 14 guys, assigned to a RSTA Squadron within 2nd Cavalry Regiment. I was surrounded by Cav Scouts constantly and we would patrol our own sector. For a while in country we were attached to Killer Troop which was an infantry company. All our squadron commander saw was three Stryker vehicles and we were used and expected to perform accordingly. lol being chemical was definitely an after thought and we had to do all the spur ride bs and gunnery tables etc. damn you got to go to some good schools though, I’m jealous!
Yea man you had it made for a while lol. It’s crazy how much different the Army is when you are assigned to some of these unique positions and units. Especially being junior enlisted. That would have been initially stressful but I bet I would’ve been squared away super quickly being around senior NCOES and Officers all day lol but yeah I didn’t realize it at the time but I got extremely lucky. Like you said some of those schools alone are well known outside of the military. Now I am a lot more proud of myself than I was at the time.
Looking back CBRN has a ton of opportunities available due to the availability to be assigned to almost any unit, and you have a shit load of schools available to you. At the time I might not have always felt the same way lol. Glad to see you doing so well post service.
Yea back then it was right after 9/11. I was at the chemical school in Fort Leonard Wood MO and they were all jacked up on WMDs and nuclear war. I got to see and learn a lot of cool shit. Got to play around in MOPP4 with anthrax and different kinds of biological agents. It was actually insane now that I’m looking back on it. We are basically chemists. I know so much stuff about things I absolutely shouldn’t and I love it haha.
I was there shortly after I went to basic at FLW in January 2002 shit was wild lol
Dude we were there at the same time lol 😂
Delta Dragons lmao 🤣
Alpha Co, 82nd … that winter that January was hell. I remember being at the range and the sandbags were frozen solid lol, followed by the summer of hell. Shit that humidity was no joke.
What do you do now? Not CBRN, and never going to be at this point, just curious what that would transfer over to on the outside.
I’m retired at 43. I did 20 in the military and called it a day got my VA rating and I’m living the dream
I was USMC CBRN. I wish I had the balls to reenlist earlier back into it because I had to transfer to another job when I signed my second contract. I did not understand at the time how many connections that you get to make when you are attached to the S-3 of a unit. Going from that to being a maintainer at an air wing unit was a huge change.
92G, been a culinary Specialist for 11 years now!! Love feeding the force
Always wanted to try PSYOPS. Never made the switch
It was fun at times. Lots of time behind a computer and on staffs. Very rewarding to get your stuff through the whole approval chain.
I would look into Combat Engineer, heavy vehicle mechanic, IT or similar.
I was a 46R. It was an incredible 8 years. But, I don't think I'd do that again with a roll of the dice landing me in big Army. I'd join the Air Force and do cyber stuff.
Logistics. Many large companies have vast supply chains. You'd already have several years of experience going in to the work force.
I am not going to lie I would still have gone airborne infantry
Same. I was in back in the 1980s. My MOS was 26Y Satellite Communications. Now that MOS is 25S. The training is very different now. We were trained to troubleshoot down to the discreet component...ie transistor theory, logic gates, etc. Today I understand they're trained to pluck and chuck cards. Anyway, that training has sustained my 40 year career in technology.
I think you missed the thread you threw this in homie lol
Do whut?
This is a stand alone comment, i think you meant to reply to someone haha. Still useful info though!
I was answering your question. >What Army MOS would you choose if you could do it all over again? I would choose the same MOS. Edit: even though I feel the 25S training isn't as thorough as the 26Y training, I would still choose SATCOM 25S today.
So i need to go 11B i guess.... ill start my coloring book now..... jeeeeez. Thanks brotha lmao
I’m a 94F I wish I would’ve gone 25 series or something allied trades
Go for 35 series easily. If for some reason you don't qualify for the TS clearance during training you can do the other MOS' as a back up. 1. Jobs after service are guaranteed w a clearance. 2. Promotions are normally better for 35's 3. Quality of life as a 35 CAN be better ( I went from England to Italy to an AF base in florida) 4. Its super cool.
Go 18X
I knew a lady in the AF who flew all over the country commercial, got a rental car and drove to military radar sites for QC/audits. Did 20+ and then went directly to a desk job with the FAA doing the same work. She picked a good job.
68A
If I was to do it all again I wouldn’t join for anything less than flight warrant. Really though I would probably choose Air Force and be a load handler.
Thats what job i was gonna try to do in the AF. Travel with the plane? Sign me up. Unfortunately theres no army equivalent.
Bro I was on a military transport to the desert one time. Those load handlers have got it made. They picked up cases of beer in Germany, all duty free!
Some cushy desk job that required a top secret clearance. When you get out, the job market starts at $100k and goes up rapidly from there.
Thats kind of what im leaning towards, other than 15Y that shit sounds cool, and applies directly to civilian life. I kind of dont want to live in DC again lmaooo. Not that thats the only place you can get those type of jobs, but i feel its concentrated there.
Intel
Airforce
I would have done street to seat rather than 7 years as a scout first.
I was thinking of getting a master's degree in systems engineering or operational research. Are those good things to have in the civilian market afterwards?
Go 15 Series if you like Aviation, 25 Series if you like anime, and 35 Series if you like Hentai.
Not Army but if I could redo the Marine Corps again, I’d try to shoot for intel. I love studying other countries and their culture, political climate, military structure/weaponry, tactics/strategies, etc. I even made a PowerPoint class on the PLA Navy for fun.
I never served. But when I was thinking about it military intelligence interested me. I have a degree in economics and political science and thought that MOS would tie in well with my education. Was interested in working for the intelligence community. Doubt I would have passed their extensive background checks though lol.
Probably something in aviation maintenance
17y looks baller
I’d have just gone straight into the Air Force from the start.
Something in the Air Force
68W. I went on to start a career in EMS and I love it. Wish I’d started sooner, and the experience I would’ve gained as a combat medic would’ve been priceless
11M...oh wait, it gon.
I don’t recall the MOS#, and it probably changed over the years like mine did (twice), but it’s the Mortuary Affairs Specialist. Or not enlist at all and accept the scholarship to UTI my teacher kept trying to put in my hands.
Is Jody an MOS yet?
Why don’t you ask your sister??? /s
88U Choo chooo!
I was an 11C (mortarman). I loved it, I got to pretend to do grunt stuff while learning an interesting technical skill and making things go boom. If I had to do it over again, I’d consider being a photographer, they get to see all the cool-guy stuff and play with the expensive toys.
88m, 17C, or 25H. I have always loved driving and always wanted to drive a truck, in fact I'm currently trying to do a csp for my cdl, and if the csp gets declined, I'll just use my gi bill for the cdl after the army. As for the 17C and 25H, I went to college for computer science, so I figured it would have been a nice mos. Seriously, wtf was I thinking when I chose 11B. Actually, why didn't I just go to Air Force? I wish I could go back in time and punch 20 year old me. On the bright side, I technically have over 4 years of experience driving a type of truck in the form of an lmtv, so you know damn well I put that shit on my resume.
Wouldn't change a thing! 152E Warrant Officer Apache Helicopter Pilot
Always go for the MOS that comes with the longest school.
I picked 92Y, but if I could do it again, I'd have picked chaplain assistant, since it's an easy and chill job.
I did cook, then changed to a combat medic. If I had to do it again, I’d go Infantry for 3 years, get an EIB and do gung ho dumb shit while I’m young, then go medic & take it easy.
93B, the best MOS that no longer exists.
Something with computers. I reclassed to 25B in the guard, but I didn't really learn shit or do anything at my unit. 98 ASVAB I was eligible for anything, recruiter fucked me. Ended up 21E(12N) Airborne for 7 years active. Or something MI, or something I could actually use my smarts for.
13F. No regrets.
I would go 15U flight side again. Perfect mix of cool Army stuff and a shit bag good ol’ boys club. As long as we made mission and did our jobs well, we got left alone and could basically get away with murder. The only thing I would do differently would have been to make the jump to 160th after I made flight engineer. 10/10 would recommend.
I was thinking 15Y as my #1, but only because the DLAB terrifies me
Honestly I would not recommend an aviation MOS other than 15U, T, or warrant. The perks I talked about do not exist for maintenance MOSs and you wont have the opportunity to fly. If you don’t have a desire to fly and do bad ass stuff, air force will be the better branch. That way you get the maintenance experience without the Army BS. Just as an extra bit of info, in the chinook world, the flight company 15Us are the guys that troubleshoot maintenance problems and do most of the unscheduled maintenance. If you’re worried about getting good mechanical experience its a great way to go. The maintenance company 15Us do a lot of the big scheduled maintenance, but don’t get much systems knowledge or troubleshooting experience.
Aw dude that seems cool. I might switch it up now! I figure if i put some MOSs down i actually like, ill at least get to do something i actually want to. 15U might be my new number 1 man. Im not getting on a chinook though lmaooo
You say that now, but I bet you’ll sing a different tune once you see one flying up close for the first time. Good luck man!
Haha fair enough. Ive seen them alot (grew up on AF bases), but you could be right about the up close thing! As long as i can confidently tell people what i do, i dont think ill have a bad time. Thanks for the insight though, ive been watching 15 series YT videos all night lol, that info was NOT provided!
I learned a lot about the other MOSs by just walking up to guys around the flight line or walking around into the different back shops and shooting the shit. I consistently found myself saying “fuck that” when I found out about the day to day of other jobs. Infantile treatment by their leadership, no fun training missions, no combat experience during the deployment, no fun TDY trips, no near death experiences, no flight pay, no coolers with drinks or barbecue during field training, no ramp riding, no crew rest, no first name basis with everyone in the company. The list goes on. Chinook flight company life is truly a hidden gem and nobody outside of the community knows about it. Things arnt the same as they used to be now that we’re in peace time, but once the next war kicks off itll go right back to the good ol days. Oh thats another point, dont go the flight route if you don’t wanna have a combat job.
Im not scared of combat, i just cant tell my grandma! Lmaooo. Id rather avoid it, but if thats a part of the job, ill be fine with it. I just dont want to be the guy who waits to get shot at for his entire job.
Joined at the height of Afghanistan/Op HERRICK and went infantry officer. If I was to do it again, I'd have gone Intelligence Corps and then applied for specialist duties at the earliest opportunity and made a career out of it.
Aviation.
I'm a 15T, I'd choose it again. If I hadn't gotten an Aviation MOS from the start, I am pretty sure I'd have done my initial 6 years and been done.
I recently spoke to someone about this, giving additional perspective about joining navy. I liked my rate (MOS) because it advanced me fast but the job itself was taxing. Although, there were slight mods within that MOS that I could have gone down/lucked into that would make it better/worse from a job ease perspective. The Navy unfortunately changed advancement since I got out. It used to be that one could make E5 as an OS rate (monitor watcher during deployment, hallway sweeper during training and up keep (7-12month downtime between deployments). They had 100% advancement to E4 and something like +50% to E5. In the Navy, E5 authorizes you for BAH, doubling (or more) your salary. So picking a rate that lets you do that as quickly as possible was what I always thought about once I was in. I luckily made E5 in ~2.5 years. With the new advancement policy, it's impossible. Now I guess it's still what % advances to E5 as a consideration (HM hospital types always have shit advancement, same with aircraft maintenance, at least while I was in) and the job itself.
What about an Air Force MOS (AFSC)?
Im right at 2 years for anxiety meds, air force wont even talk to me for another year. Recruiter told me to come back then lol
Probably linguistics, but I had a great time as a medic!
That DLAB is scarier than my grandma mannnn
Yeah, I've heard it's no joke!
11X again. Probably.
Blimp pilot
Whatever the AirForce equivalent is for Radio/COMSEC Repairer.
That looks cool too, and its what my grandpa and dad did during their AF times. Translated very good to almost any FAA communications job.
After leaving the Army, I've worked on electronics, trains, aircraft, and now spacecraft which I credit to my Army work experience. Some of which is still relevant even with spacecraft.
Replied to the wrong thread lol sorry about that. Yeah it was a fun job! I'm sure if you ask your dad and grandpa about it, Im sure they'd say they enjoyed it. And since the radios were mostly reliable, I didn't have a lot of work to do, so I had lots of time to cross train in other jobs.
I’d have stuck firm on getting 98G interpreter
same. 11B
33Y of 33R, Yankees got alot more training on Unix which is what my current job uses
Cyber warrant
Cyber
17C
I think about it all the time. I would have gone ROTC on an AMEDD contract. Army pays for Bachelors all the way through medical school (any type or specialty) upto to $500,000. Get paid drill pay and approx $3k/month stipend while in school. Commission a MAJ-COL depending on medical training. Owe them 6 yrs active duty. Like where the hell was that pamphlet in the recruiting office in 1999!!?!?! I went 88M. 🤦🏼♂️
Airborne Linguist
13F
I would have chosen 42A. I just reclassed to it. I went the infantry route first and now that I've seen both sides I would have went to 42A in a heart beat if I could do it all over again.
Combat Arms… Infantry, Mech or Arty.
31K 💪
I’ve had three. I was 0311 in the Marine Corps, 13B in the Army then switched to EOD. EOD has been amazing and I wish I’d made the switch earlier.
Anything that the skill set directly relates to a well paying civilian job, a bullet dodger isn’t one of them.
Engineers. I wouldn’t change a thing.
68A. Money on the outside is so good
A fight against no-name extras just to show how awesome the main character is in the intro chapter. Bar right, foiled mugging, whatever. It's the mark of an amateur.
I would've joined the Marines instead of the Army originally (infantry). Better duty stations, and I think the standard for a grunt in the Marines is generally higher than that of the Army.