i signed my life away and swore in today. ended up having to switch MOS from what i wanted, because i was kinda lacking in the security clearance department.  all of the infantry related MOS's were on hold for three months and being i waited a VERY long time to get in i took the bird in hand and went with a quick ship.

basically i had a choice between 13d (artillery), 19k (armor), and 21b (combat engineer).

i have no clue why but i picked tanker over the other three. i maxed the max height requirement at 6"2', am i going to be seriously uncomfortable?

would either of the other two MOS's have been a better choice and why?

any good news about the MOS i picked?  im 27 and entering as an e-3, and am hoping for the fast track.

basically im looking to deploy get to the front as soon as possible, with the best chance of seeing action and doing my part. it may sound stupid but its why i joined and what i want to do. was my choice the best of my  three options for that?


i ship january 17th to ft knox for OSUT.

Oh man! I remember that! I got married 3 hours later.
Its been 3 years and no regrets about either. I didn't get the MOS I wanted, 97e or b, Counter intel and interogator. I had to settle for another MOS in the Intel field. I don't have clearance problems!

I ahve no clue, but good luck stay safe and thanks for your service. get some!!

Quoted: I ahve no clue, but good luck stay safe and thanks for your service. get some!!

+1 remember if they don't move, just keep the pedal down.

Thanks for you service...I for one totally know what you were thinking and it does not seem stupid....I just wish I could join and do my part, but can't due to medical reasons.

Thank you again, stay safe, and come home well.

You will have a very frustrated, uncomfortable life ahead of you.  I expect to see you in the 1st CAV DIV on Ft.Hood soon...

Quoted: i signed my life away and swore in today. ended up having to switch MOS from what i wanted, because i was kinda lacking in the security clearance department.  all of the infantry related MOS's were on hold for three months and being i waited a VERY long time to get in i took the bird in hand and went with a quick ship. basically i had a choice between 13d (artillery), 19k (armor), and 21b (combat engineer). i have no clue why but i picked tanker over the other three. i maxed the max height requirement at 6"2', am i going to be seriously uncomfortable? would either of the other two MOS's have been a better choice and why? any good news about the MOS i picked?  im 27 and entering as an e-3, and am hoping for the fast track. basically im looking to deploy get to the front as soon as possible, with the best chance of seeing action and doing my part. it may sound stupid but its why i joined and what i want to do. was my choice the best of my  three options for that? i ship january 17th to ft knox for OSUT.

Your not gonna be a very comfortable guy at 74" and being a DAT.  I am the same height, and from what I have heard the Abrams has even less room then the BFIST (Bradley) which I feel cramped in.  I have honestly only gotten in an abrams once though, and I don't really remember anything except that it was cramped.

-Ben

RUN FUCKER!!!  RUN AWAY!!!

No, Im just kidding, youll be fine!  

And if you have problems getting into the drivers hatch or into the coupoula because of your size, Im sure one of your NCOs will 'help' you get situated.  with their boot

Serously, heavy armor is a great field.  I was an AAV crew chief, and if I could do it in the civilian world I certainly would.  Nothing like toolin' around in those big bastards.  I just didnt care for those idiotic wall locker inspections, formations every morning at 0530, ect.

I assume you went USMC, since you said MOS, right?  If your going in as a 27 year old LCpl you oughta have it pretty good.  My first crew chief enlisted at like 26, got to the fleet as a LCpl (if I remember correctly) and he had it real easy cause he was the same age as a lot of NCOs, Staff Sgts, and even some boot Gunnys.  Age plays a big part, and you will understand when you get there, just hang tough and youll be fine.  Remember, boot camp is nothing but a mind game, ok!

ETD:

Just saw you were going to FT. Knox.    Dirty Army dog!    
Just playing, youll actually have it even better cauz the army are a bunch of wussies.
 Youll do great, and the serious info that I put above still stands, everything else is just a little ribbing.  Youll get used to that too.  Be safe and remember there is nothing wrong with living to fight another day, but there are things worth dieing for; make wise decisions.

I'm 6'5 and a tanker. I know a couple of others who hit 6'4. (There are ways around the 6'2 limit if you know the system :-) )

The driver's hole might be a little uncomfortable, but not very. I'm all leg, so the gunner's seat is definitely the least comfortable for me, although it's really a relative statement, and I quite happily ran a few missions sitting there. Indeed, in order to manually operate the elevation handle, I need to move one leg behind me as if I were kneeling on my left leg. You may have slower loading times as a loader, if you're too tall, there's not enough room to 'flip' the round, but it's not a major issue.

I don't know if Arty or Engineers are any better or worse than tanking. I just know I love tanking, and so does pretty much every other tanker I know. We're sortof a culture to ourselves, I guess. (We're also theiving bastards, so watch your gear)

Good news about being a tanker.. Hmm.. Your weapon carries you instead of you carrying a weapon. Your personal load is restricted by how much room is on the tank, as opposed to how much you can carry on your back. In really cold weather, the exhaust makes a wonderful heater. A tank crew is about as intimate/close a gathering of soldiers as exists, since you're all in the same box, on the same intercom system with nothing to do but talk to each other for quite a lot of time. Lots of ways to play with the new guy. You get to call infantry types 'crunchies'

Bad news: Track maintenance. It sucks, it's dirty, and as the junior man, expect it not to be pleasant. Everything on a tank is heavy. Be resigned to training on tanks, then going to Iraq in a HMMWV. You might get lucky, probably won't. Infantry types will call you a DAT/CDAT.

NTM

I'm 6'7"  I'd never last in Armor.  Anyways, the infantry crap is a straight up lie.  They'll always take people for infantry.  They just give the other mos's so that they get populated.

If your stuck in the 19 field you should try to get 19D, which is a cavalry scout, lots of  infantry type stuff, and it is a fast track promotion MOS right now.  Artillery sucks hard, but you could go that route and be a 13F, Forward Observer which can be cool and is also a fast track promotion MOS.  I expect that 19K will be a slow promoting MOS down the road because the Army is reducing the heavy componet of the armor community, however with the formation ofthe ARSs I would expect 19D to continue to be good.  13F is ALWAYS good for promotions because the FOs are always short handed.

i actually inquired about 19d, but no training spots were open.   i came in at a bad time, as the recruiters dont have the training spots for 2006 in their computers yet, and all they know is that infantry is full until next cycle when they call recruiting command.

i could have been manually entered into a training cycle but they showed me the regs on that and i would have lost my signing bonus and only been given my high grad bonus. my wife wasnt too hot on that idea, and i need to keep her as happy as possible for the time being because shes been really good about all of this so far.


i would love to switch to 19d or even an infantry MOS,   are there any chances of that happening during my enlistment or i have to wait until the next one?

at any rate, it took me over six years to enlist, and im quite satisfied with the fact that i am in period.

Well, yes and no on the promotion side.

For the units that are staying as tankers, the 19K promotion side really isn't all that bad. For example, you have only two E-2/3/4 slots to each E-5 slot. Two E-5s for each E-6. Two E-6s for each E-7.

Those are pretty good ratios, compared to pretty much any other branch.

Trust me Daemon.. once you start tanking, especially if you go to Iraq, you'll never want not to be a tanker! My driver in Iraq was a combat engineer by trade, never in a tank before mobilisation. He's been converted!

Yes, I know, some die-hard infantry types will refuse to convert. No accounting for taste.

NTM

Quoted: i signed my life away and swore in today. ended up having to switch MOS from what i wanted, because i was kinda lacking in the security clearance department.  all of the infantry related MOS's were on hold for three months and being i waited a VERY long time to get in i took the bird in hand and went with a quick ship. basically i had a choice between 13d (artillery), 19k (armor), and 21b (combat engineer). i have no clue why but i picked tanker over the other three. i maxed the max height requirement at 6"2', am i going to be seriously uncomfortable? would either of the other two MOS's have been a better choice and why? any good news about the MOS i picked?  im 27 and entering as an e-3, and am hoping for the fast track. basically im looking to deploy get to the front as soon as possible, with the best chance of seeing action and doing my part. it may sound stupid but its why i joined and what i want to do. was my choice the best of my  three options for that? i ship january 17th to ft knox for OSUT.

Have you lost your mind, bro?  I am proud of you for wanting to serve our country, and wish you the best of luck......but don't be in any hurry to see action.  It ain't like TV, man.  If you do get deployed and need any advice or help, I am just an IM away.

BTW, I did 18 months in Iraq..mostly in Al Anbar Province.

thanks for the advice, and im not knocking it in any way.  im very satisfied with the fact that i get to serve, and my MOS.   it almost didnt happen, and took 6 years of total bullshit and total commitment on my part to come together.

hey, the first time i went the only thing they had for me was "petroleum specialist".  i could have been refueling vehicles for the next 4 years.  tanker is great.

Quoted: Have you lost your mind, bro?  I am proud of you for wanting to serve our country, and wish you the best of luck......but don't be in any hurry to see action.  It ain't like TV, man.  If you do get deployed and need any advice or help, I am just an IM away. BTW, I did 18 months in Iraq..mostly in Al Anbar Province.

actually my parents were at the pentagon during 9/11, and ive been actively recruiting since before that. my mom had a nervous breakdown followed by an anuerism following the attacks.  

it took me 6 years total to get in, but it was something i had to make happen, no matter what.  let me put it this way, everybody that had the pleasure of reading my multiple-waiver packet decided that they were by far the largest and most complex waivers they had seen.  but im in now, so that doesnt matter.

i feel i have an obligation to serve and do my best to represent my family that was directly affected.  if there are soldiers seeing combat right now and i am able and of the capacity to be there as well, as i am, then i have no excuse to not be there.

Quoted: Quoted: Have you lost your mind, bro?  I am proud of you for wanting to serve our country, and wish you the best of luck......but don't be in any hurry to see action.  It ain't like TV, man.  If you do get deployed and need any advice or help, I am just an IM away. BTW, I did 18 months in Iraq..mostly in Al Anbar Province. actually my parents were at the pentagon during 9/11, and ive been actively recruiting since before that. my mom had a nervous breakdown followed by an anuerism following the attacks.   it took me 6 years total to get in, but it was something i had to make happen, no matter what.  let me put it this way, everybody that had the pleasure of reading my multiple-waiver packet decided that they were by far the largest and most complex waivers they had seen.  but im in now, so that doesnt matter. i feel i have an obligation to serve and do my best to represent my family that was directly affected.  if there are soldiers seeing combat right now and i am able and of the capacity to be there as well, as i am, then i have no excuse to not be there.

Outstanding....it makes me feel good to know that there are MEN out there still willing to do the part when their country calls.  Just don't get over there and try to go Rambo on the first bad guy you see.  By the way, wise decision to avoid the Fuels MOS!!!!!!!  I got sent to the "fuel farm" one day many years ago as punishment for being a bad Marine.  It straightend my young Lance Corporal ass right up!