Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: DaveJ on December 26, 2012, 08:12:46 PM
-
Well, I'm finally entering active duty in the Army after commissioning through my university ROTC program in May. Making the long drive out to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma from Virginia and reporting in on 29 December for Field Artillery Basic Officer Leadership Course. Any vets- maybe some Field Artillery vets- out there with some sound advice for me?
-
Pull string, go boom?
Seriously, good luck in training.
-
Work hard...play hard :aok
-
Just do what you're told. Keep a good attitude and have some fun! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!
Thanks for serving!
:salute
-
Never volunteer for anything dangerous... except escorting the General's daughter to the Officer's Ball.
:salute for defending the the good ole US of A!!!
-
Just do what you're told. Keep a good attitude and have some fun! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!
Thanks for serving!
:salute
uuhhhmmm...."Just do what you're told"...not always the right option depending on the environment you end up in. just saying.
Although, DaveJ I applaud your commitment to your country and as a retired RCAF vet I whole heartedly put my heels together and salute you.
There is no better thing you can do to serve what is yours and you will carry that service with you for all of your life.
It is an Honour. (yeah...I know Canadian spelling and whatnot).
<S> Sir
(you might owe me a dollar, as that might be your first salute! ;) )
RTR
-
Listen to your NCO's :aok
They will train you.
Talk to and Listen to your Soldiers. Learn and get to know them.
Remember each Soldier is different, an individual.
BE the Platoon Leader, but remember not to step on your
Platooon Sgt. He's got more years in Army than you have on the toilet.
Always keep Troops informed!
Good Luck and :salute Sir!
:cheers: Oz
-
One thing I can say to a butter bar lieutenant is hook up with the staff NCOs and learn from them, you will gain a lot of respect from your troops if you talk to them not down at them. Remember they have more experience doing what they do than you do. Ask a lot of questions and don't be afraid to admit when you are wrong. When you are around the big guns let them show you what to do and remember to have fun.
Btw :salute from a USMC vet and thank you for what you do and what you are doing. Keep safe and return to the unfriendly skies of AH unless you are a nit.
CrazyLwn
-
Just remember that "danger close" depends on the size of the round/volley. ;) And for goodness sake don't say "repeat" over the radio unless you want more rounds downrange.
Have fun, and don't lose your sense of humor.
<== 11B prior to joining the Zoomies.
-
Never volunteer for anything dangerous... except escorting the General's daughter to the Officer's Ball.
:salute for defending the the good ole US of A!!!
Please take a note about this. Do NOT, I say again, do NOT volunteer to escort / date / spend time with the CG's daughter. Been there, done that at MY Officers Basic. Watched two other LT's, one Marine 1'st LT in his advanced course the other Army in his basic course sent back to their units early with a letter from one general to another general in their files because the daughter took offense to what they were saying in the O' club. Filling out sworn statements when you have less than 1 month in service is NOT fun.
Secondly what you saw from ozrocker is good straight stuff. Memorize it and do what he said.
As far as the school itself is concerned. Keep in mind that you are in school to learn the basics of your job. You know nothing at this point. When you graduate you will know something but for damn sure not everything about your job. You will be knowledgeable enough to be dangerous. See ozrockers advice again. Until you get your head fully into the game and know the rules let the Plt Sgt help you out as much as you can. Ask for advice then decide what to do. Do not become a first line supervisor, that is your Sgt's job and he WILL get pissed. Give direction, not instructions then inspect to see that it is done when your Sgt says he's ready.
This is important. Praise in public, loudly and frequently when deserved. Criticise in private, quietly when necessary.
If you have any idea that you would like to go full time then excel in the school. You may be given the opportunity to go Regular.
Keep your nose clean, your evaluations here mean a lot since this is the first time you are wearing the uniform for real. Screw up here and your career is toast. If you make a mistake, admit it and move on. Learning is about mistakes and what you do afterwards. As Patton said, always do more than what is expected.
-
Yea...listen to your NCOs is probably the best advice, unless you get some turd NCOs which are out there.
-
Good luck. Keep your ears open and your mouth closed.
-
Very good advise here. Especially about listening to the NCOs. Hope your time in Lawton is short.
If they ever want you to make trophies out of parade shells, make sure you don't use a hammer to do it.
13B
OOOOOOOSHAAAaaa!
-
As a Cannon Cocker Louie, (I was 11C) They'll try to get you to order bubble stop (to stop aiming sight bubbles
from going out of level :rofl). They might also try to get you to jump up and down on the back of a track to
test the shocks :rofl
Don't fall for it.
:cheers: Oz
-
As a Cannon Cocker Louie, (I was 11C) They'll try to get you to order bubble stop (to stop aiming sight bubbles
from going out of level :rofl). They might also try to get you to jump up and down on the back of a track to
test the shocks :rofl
Don't fall for it.
:cheers: Oz
Or send you to get a box of grid squares, spool of flight line, squelch oil......lol. My old man gave me a heads up before I left. There was one though that I thought they were trying to get me on that was real...lol. They wanted me to go get a "track jack", thought they were messing with me. They're used for bringing the ends of a track together so you can put the track pin in. We were in the M113's. Was GSR 17K from 1982-86.
-
Yep lol. I was on M106A2 lots. In 11/83-5/95 Track jacks are def real
:cheers: Oz
-
"Play anything, just play it LOUD"
-
:salute :rock
-
Earplugs. Double them up. Then put on external hearing protection. And a helmet. Then wrap sound deadening foam around your head and hold in place with duck tape.
I can't hear you, I'm in ARTILLERY
-
Earplugs. Double them up. Then put on external hearing protection. And a helmet. Then wrap sound deadening foam around your head and hold in place with duck tape.
I can't hear you, I'm in ARTILLERY
They make real nice ear pro for the military now since vets were complaining about them not supplying us any seeing that it's the only thing we can't claim from combat as far as injuries
-
Assymetric hearing loss might be a bit different. Halfway through my last deployment I noticed that my left ear doesn't work as well as my right ear anymore. After coming home it tested for a medically significant asymetric hearing loss. I don't know if they put down a cause but the general conclusion was that it was weapons training and other exposure during the deployment.
It has sort of evened out again after a full year back in the states but I got it documented in my medical records to add to the pile of injuries contributing to a disability judgement. It won't be much compared to my back injury and other injuries I've had in the last 22 years but every bit counts at tax time...
-
Well, I'm finally entering active duty in the Army after commissioning through my university ROTC program in May. Making the long drive out to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma from Virginia and reporting in on 29 December for Field Artillery Basic Officer Leadership Course. Any vets- maybe some Field Artillery vets- out there with some sound advice for me?
Brings back memories. I was sent to Ft Sill after being drafted many many years ago.
1. 2nd Louies should be seen and not heard:) Ok just kidding.
2. Pay attention to your NCO's. Most of them are very knowledgeable.
3. Stay out of the impact zone in Lawton. Its a pit.
-
Awesome :) My job has me working in an artillery bde ~ some of the best people in the world.
-
This is aimed at AF officers but some of it might apply.
10 things every Lt should know
1. There are not 10 things in this list. Don't get tied down by arbitrary labels and slogans. We put numbers to things to help us understand and manage large programs but make sure you know the real intent.
2. Buy a new hat every year whether you need it or not.
3. The map is not the terrain. The army explicitly trains to this idea but USAF officers often seem surprised to find out reality doesn't always match the map or the tech order.
4. Trust and rely on your NCOs but manage their activities. A smart NCO who finds a creative new way to get in trouble or deviate from his commanders intent is generally a reflection of your leadership, not a negative indicator of the NCOs character.
5. Treat every job and task as if it is the most important job in the world no matter how simple or menial. If a snacko can't keep the fridge stocked, any job struggle he has in the future will be perceived as laziness or incompetence.
6. Buy into your organization's traditions 100%. As with #5, nobody will trust you in combat if you can't be troubled to pass the conformity check during roll call.
7. Although UTTERLY ESSENTIAL to operations, career support personnel will often view anything you do to improve your own situation as a failure on their part. They will create regulations and policies ensuring that you can't do anything yourself and to help reinforce the resulting empires they build, they will blame "the regs" their own organizations created if they ever fail to provide the support you need. An operator needs support the same way a wolf needs deer. There is a vital symbiotic relationship there but the deer will vote you out of a job if given a chance.
8. If you are not cheating you are not trying. Fighting fair is for losers. Do not confuse this as an excuse to violate academic integrity rules. You'll get kicked where it hurts if you cheat in the academic environment so you need to find another way to win in that arena.
9. Corollary to #7 and 8: do not feel bad if you find yourself enjoying your efforts to bypass services or support function regs and policies. Playing by the enemies rules in combat will get you killed so view any opportunity to find loopholes in stupid rules as a training exercise.
10. Pick your battles. Think very carefully about falling on your sword over something nobody else cares about. For every one General Doolittle there were a hundred abrasive and argumentative people who got cashiered before they made their point. This doesn't mean don't stand up for your principles, but you better be right and it better be an issue that actually matters.
11. Don't miss suspenses. In most cases a 95% solution on time is better than the 100% solution a week late.
12. The squadron is where you build tactical experience. The USAF has a name for tactical experts: captain. If you want to get promoted, get out of the squadron once you master the tactics of your weapon system.
13. There is never a good time to get your masters done, get married, have kids, or take 2 weeks leave to visit your dream vacation destination. Start TODAY or you will find yourself left behind wondering what happened.
14. Push to go to school in residence if you have any desire to be eligible for promotion or command. Do not trust anyone who says you don't need to go in residence; they might simply be afraid to tell you to your face that they don't think you are command material. 99.8% promote rates don't lie, and THEY most likely went in residence.
15. That Colonel who insists that the powerpoint formatting be consistent throughout the presentation is not some nitpicking psycho from the staff funny farm. He is teaching you that if your presentation method is distracting, your message will be lost no matter how important it is. Rule #2 is how the average 2Lt will apply this rule.
16. When given a choice, choose the assignment that you will like and in which you can employ your skills and passions, not the one that will "set you up." You'll be forgiven the sin of enjoying your job if you excel at it and make those around you more effective.
17. Show an interest in the activities of everyone involved in making your organization work. Get out of the office and go in person to see what people are doing. One visit to one backshop can pay dividends for years. Corollary - if you over-G the aircraft, bring a case of beer to those fixing the plane and ask them to explain to you what they have to do to get the aircraft flying again. The amount of goodwill generated by that one visit will be hugely out of proportion to the time spent and the cost of the beer.
18. Leadership by email is a good way to ensure your people don't pay attention to you. Go to their workplace and find out what they're doing before you tell them to do something or change what they're already doing.
19. A smile and nod is cheap down payment against the day you need to ask a favor. Don't be a jerk to the people who enable you to do your job.
20. You don't have to push others down in order to stand tall among your peers, but some of your peers will see this as an easy way to achieve recognition early in their careers. Those who do this will either be despised and not make it very far, or will become Generals. Develop mental countermeasures against both outcomes or you will become bitter and cynical.
-
That's excellent advice :)