u/Ok_Machine_4756

fresh MST3 here. to those MSTs who’ve been in for a while, why did you stay enlisted instead of choosing to go warrant or officer candidate school/direct commission? besides the obvious benefits and hurdles of commissioning (higher pay but competitive requirements to get accepted), what other reasons made you stay enlisted for your career?

do MSTs maybe remain more “operational” in comparison to their maybe more office/paperwork-bound officer counterparts (MSSR, MSSD, Prevention/Response officers)? do you personally feel like you’d get more satisfaction from the enlisted life of environmental protection vs the officer side?

thank you