What is a typical day like in the Army when your not deployed I guess youd call it. If your a mechanic or cook I know you fix or cook things but what about infanty, tankers or air crew? You cant shoot, drive tanks and fly all day, can you? In fact I always had the impression those people dont even get to train all that often. So what do they do, clean toilets and make the bed? Work out? March around? Free to do whatever? What?

For aviation, normal day would be PT in the AM, then breakfast, then report for work, unless you were flying a late mission. Once at work, you do what needs to be done. Flights, maint, planning, maybe working on ground support stuff, training, whatever. Some days you just sit around and bullshit. If its slow, you can go get uniform stuff you may need, or haircuts etc. IN the afternoon you go home, or back to the barracks.


Aviator

So many variables on where you are stationed and what your job is.  I was a 19D stationed at Ft Bliss.  Most of my time was spent in the motorpool when we weren't in the field.  Either doing maintenance, cleaning, or just acting busy.  Spend a lot of time on guard duty, or pulling CQ duty when you aren't in the field.  But we spent a lot of time in the field, and a lot of time getting ready to go the field or cleaning up after you get back from the field.  A typical work week while at base was M-F 6am -5pm,  if you didn't have guard duty or something like that.

go train for next mission, paint rocks, cut grass..........go on leave.

Like you said it depends upon your MOS (job).

I am a Staff NCO, I get to tell people to paint rocks, cut grass.

Paint rocks, whats that mean?

Quoted: Paint rocks, whats that mean?

What it sounds like. Paths are often lined with rocks. They need to be painted white again once in a while....


Aviator

it means paint rocks

funny part is even stuff you use to love becomes dreaded like I use to love going to the range as a civilian, now if you told me I would have to qual on a M-16 tommorow I would be like Awe shit.

Way back in '89 this is what it was like in an Armor/Cav unit.  Somehow I doubt it has changed much.

0600 formation for PT until about 0700.

Off for chow until formation at 0800

The days work is announced.  Details are formed.  If you are enlisted then you get put into a detail of about 8 guys, out of which maybe 3 are interested in working. The rest spend their day "shamming"  (the art of seeing how much work you can get away with NOT doing)    The detail might be tasked with loading trucks, washing tanks, working on tanks and tracks, Setting up ranges, Guard duty, etc.

Alternatively, you might be under the direction of your Platton sgt, or Staff sgt. (tank commander) Mostly hanging out at the motor pool fixing your tank for the next deployment.

Other days you might have classes and qualifications..  PT, Mine clearing, radio proceedures, range quals. etc

Off at 12:00 for chow

Report for formation at 13:00
Off at 16:00 or 17:00

When the workload is light, 3 and 4 day passes are fairly common.

The work load changes daily and differs from unit to unit.
The officers and NCO's have a lot of discression on how they fill in your day.

Literally, paint some rocks. Lining a walkway to a building that houses a BN, or maybe even the motorpool.

I usually follow the same routine, early up, PT, eat, work, eat, work, repeat every day. Work depends on the tempo or if there are any missions coming up, you know green yellow red type of crap.

EOD: PT, office/paper work. Training if you're in a squared away unit. Range work on a good day.

Even though it's said the peacetime mission is the same as war time that's aload of shit. Yeah, you do the same things in terms of EOD work... blow shit up... but the op tempo is so drastically different that it's hardly comparable.

Funny how a lot of you KNOW about painting rocks. I always thought it was retarded.

I go to PT at 0500
Be at work 0700 Formation
Lunch 1200-1300
Training 1300-1630
1700 dismiss

typical day in my unit was

wake up

do PT

S S and S

eat breakfast

square away your squads living area, rooms, hallways, stairs, bathroom, laundry room etc. wax floors

morning formation

do training of the day

eat lunch

more training

get smoked again for more stupid shit

get released for they day or go eat and go back to training

get away from barracks so that the drunk sgts can't smoke you for entertainment


training varied greatly, could be shit like marching practice, weapon pm, rappelling, patrol teqniques, fast roping, shooting, blowing shit up, driving, equipment inspections, maintence on shit, classroom teaching, fieldcraft, weapon orientation, medical classroom, play sports like football, wrestling etc


before I got out they  sent me to an ACR unit day was A LOT easier

wake up

easy PT

S S and S

eat

Sleep for hour or so

go to work in supply room

pretend you have to go somewhere and take the duece and half off roading through all sorts of shit with the other supply guy

go eat at better mess halls on base, like the hospital

go play video games

go hang out in supply room some more

go see what guys in armory are doing across the hall and play with weapons

last formation

get drunk

Quoted: typical day in my unit was wake up claim to do team PT, sleep S S and S eat breakfast square away your room morning formation play video game eat lunch random formation about nothing hide and sleep eat dinner whine about when you are going to get off wait around claims of formation at 1800 whine some more formation at 2045 get off, do same thing you were doing before you got off, except with alcohol involved.

I fixed it for Marine Corps post deployment time


I was only in the rear with the infantry for 1 month total. I was deployed my first two and a half years, got back, was with my new unit a week, went to Iraq, got back, went to MOUT town to instruct. But the month I was there, that was our schedule, I didnt train once with them haha.