r/army

👀 🤨🧐 People with 4+ years what would you do differently?

Just a lighthearted question here. Ive been out a while, retired now and when I was active anyone in a bad mood, or angry had a "case of the ass" I dont hear that in the civilian world. Im just wondering if that's still a thing. We used it regularly, is this something that's still actively used Military slang?

I’m joining the army at 27
I’ve been homeless most my life and struggling to make ends meet
Am I making the right choice?

Im currently rounding out my first year serving as a Operations NCO in the Defense Attaché Services. Before I joined the unit I knew absolutely nothing about the program (Ive been a 25B/25Z for the last 19 years it was never brought up for us) and i know many are in the same boat. So. What are your questions?

Probably overthinking this one, but I got an email today to sign my SEAM record. No big deal, signed it as I should. Here is where it gets crazy:

BLUF: First line leaders are responsible for conducting OCIE layouts with Junior Soldiers SGT-PVT.

This has never been a thing ever in my Army career, in fact, when I got to this unit, I signed a memo that verified I had everything (For SGT and above)

It just rubs me the wrong way that I, an NCO, am being called a Jr Soldier.

ill take a Chipotle bowl with extra chicken and a diet Coke.

one day i got into a fight at school and ended up gettin jumped at the end as they were pullin us apart i got poke in the eye with a pencil. So we went to the office and i was in pain ,got to the nurse i tell her my eye hurts and it painful to open(felt like my eye came out) she eventually gets my to open it and theres a floating thing(looks like a germ under a microscope)she tells me its normal
Ever since my vision has gotten worse and worse but the reason i asked is Basically my friend got to mep and from what he told me he got disqualified because he couldn’t hear.

The one that made me think, “That’s dumb,” was the policy about rolling your socks. Once they were rolled, the opening at the top had to be a certain number of inches apart.

The other one was, why are we paying for a haircut when you're policies are require and pretty much are making us to do it.

You should enjoy what you do. You should be proud of the work your doing and you should find meaning in it, it’s how you are going to make it a career. But it should not be the thing that gives your life meaning. A lot of people in the military that want to be successful makes it to where the Army has to be their identity or the army needs to fulfill them. It seems like without the Army their life falls apart. I feel like your job is not who you are. You need things outside of work. Relationships, hobbies, health, or family. Different goals, personal goals outside your career. Things that will still exist whether you are in the Army or not. People get hurt, people get chaptered, you can lose your career. If your entire sense of purpose is tied to your job you are giving something outside your control way too much power over your actual long term happiness. By all means find fulfillment in the work you do just don’t expect work to fulfill your entire life

[supprimé]

Probably doxxing myself on my alt, but I have so much shit on my chest so i’m just gonna send it.

Just came back from an eleven month deployment to a mostly empty house, a link to an online divorce website in my email, my 6 year reenlistment bonus entirely spent, and a rear d unit deep in the middle of course correcting it’s issues to the point i’ve inherited some myself.

BH is booked until october and i’ll be pcs’d by then, the two times i tried the MFLACs they were out for the day. I know i could schedule an appointment or use military one source, but it was already tough putting myself out there three times.

I’m lucky to be looking at a mostly (after she took and spent all the money) amicable divorce and it’s being filed as with no children because i never adopted my step daughter(hopefully no child support or alimony)I need my portion of papers to come in so i can run in by legal and see how much room for getting fucked there is.

Cleaning out closets full of my step daughters school projects and throwing away trash that’s been molding for months while I was pulling long shifts and taking TBM and drone attacks just fucking sucks.

I know it’ll get better, and i know eventually i’ll get everything i have to do done, but right now clearing my unit and installation, final outting my house, figuring out how sort the best way to do hhg without ending up paying tons of money i don’t have for a hotel while i wait for leave to start.

I’ve been back for just under two weeks and i don’t feel any closer to actually solving my problems.

I’ll take some of the original orange chicken from panda and a coke light.

Soldiers at a Georgia combat engineer unit can get official time off to play the new “Grand Theft Auto” game when it drops this fall — if, and only if, they sign up for more years of service.

The offbeat incentive is being offered to soldiers by the commander of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, according to a memo circulated on social media that was confirmed by Army officials.

According to the memo signed by Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson, the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion commander, soldiers in the unit who reenlist between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14, 2026, will get a “special 4-day pass” that is “specifically designated to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game “Grand Theft Auto VI” (GTA 6).

The dates of the four-day pass will be coordinated between soldiers and their chain of command but it will align with the game’s official release, the memo states. According to Rockstar Games, the maker of GTA 6, the game will be available Nov. 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox gamers. The “Grand Theft Auto” franchise is among the most popular video game series of all time, with an open world format that combines mafia and crime-world-related missions with side quests of carjackings and causing general mayhem behind the wheel.

The offer illustrates an issue local commanders face in getting soldiers to reenlist. While Army-wide bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars are often available for soldiers considering reenlisting, local commanders have few options they can offer to close the deal with soldiers in their formations. Though options like extra time off or chances to attend training schools are often used as enticements, sometimes local career counselors have to get a bit more creative.

Army officials said the engineer battalion’s new counselor pitched the idea to the command team as something that “speaks” to younger soldiers and that could kickstart the unit’s drive for its fiscal year 2027 reenlistment goals, which begin in October.

“The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to reenlist,” Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson said. “The command team thinks eligible soldiers are more aware that they are in their window for reenlistment and engage their leadership and the career counselor earlier to see what is available.”

Army officials said 20 of the 130 eligible soldiers in the battalion had taken the Army up on the offer as of Monday and signed up for between two to six more years of service. The reenlistment contract option is open to the entire engineer battalion, which is made up of soldiers in engineering, signal intelligence, human resources and medical specialty jobs.

I’m an active duty soldier, about two years in, and I have an appointment with my provider next month. I’ve been wanting to get evaluated for ADHD as I think I may be undiagnosed from childhood. My older brother was diagnosed with it as a kid and my mom had a bad experience with him on medication, so I think she may have just decided to leave me undiagnosed. For those who’ve gone through this process as an active duty soldier, what did it actually look like? Is it the right move to start with my PCM or should I go to behavioral health? I heard BH is more for mental crisis help and suicide/homicide prevention. Should I expect to be evaluated on post or referred to a civilian provider? This is the first time going to my provider for something like this and I just want to know if I’m doing it right or if theres a better avenue to take. Thanks! 🙏

I was halfway into backing into a parking spot when another driver opened their door and scraped the side of my car.

They were very apologetic and when the MPs came they admitted fault and even said “OP was halfway into the spot, I wasn’t looking and opened my door”. MPs didn’t even ask my side of the story and gave my a ticket for “unsafe backing” 🫩.

Update: Ticket was voided a day later due to my ICE complaint.

I was stationed at Fort Drum from 2015-2018, and in mid-2016, after returning from Afghanistan, I realized how easy it was to just drive up to Canada for a weekend. Kingston became a regular trip for me, and eventually I made it out to Toronto too. Looking back, some of my favorite memories from my time at Drum came from those weekends. Made some memories that will last a lifetime.

Any other Fort Drum soldiers have any good or nostalgic Canada stories?