I am a PS on my way to WTC 8NOV. I'll be going to Fort Gordon for AIT retraining for 4months. Can anyone give me any info on this mos? I come from a comm. background , AF Ground Radio Maintenance. The description of the mos 25q was kinda vague, so any info would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I second that. I am a prior service E5, MP and combat arms instructor trained, but this job was my only option. 25Q or 11X. So, I don't really have any idea whatsoever on day to day for the job, or anything. Any info would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Sheepdog, When are you going to Fort Sill?

Well, that's part of the problem. I have a ship date of 13 Nov for a class start date of 16 Nov. From what I understand, that will not be enough time to inprocess at Ft. Sill before going to WSMR. But I start AIT on 14 Jan.

Heading down to FT Gordon on Moday the 19th myself for 25Q. Not sure when classup is. Former Submarine electronics tech myself. Wish I knew more of the day to day as well as what to expect at AIT there as a prior service.
Anyone know what we can and cannot have as far as personal property(computer,TV, etc.) while there? For now just going with essentials and preparing other stuff for shipment if possible.

I think 25u is the best, you get a mixture of signal equipment and some computers. Plus there are lots of slots for 25u's in e6 e7 ranks. I am 25b and in our brigade we only have 1 e7 slot and 2 e-6 slots. With the addition of the signal company we have now the 25b situation may have improved.
25b is good for computers
if you are real smart go for 25s
I really dont think much of 25q and with most units going to jnn I would think the job duties may change or they will just drop the mos altogether. I have seen too many 25f's and 25q's end up doing force protection and convoy security because their slots were dropped.

I have Qs in my platoon, and they have an important mission with HCLOS which is integrated with JNN. The big problem right now with Qs is promotion. There are far too many SSG Qs, and they just are not getting promoted. It is not uncommon to have really good SGT Qs with 12-14 years TIS and they just can't get the points to get promoted.

quote:

Originally posted by nspreitler:
I have Qs in my platoon, and they have an important mission with HCLOS which is integrated with JNN. The big problem right now with Qs is promotion. There are far too many SSG Qs, and they just are not getting promoted. It is not uncommon to have really good SGT Qs with 12-14 years TIS and they just can't get the points to get promoted.

Thats strange. That is not my experience at all. Until recently 25Q's have almost always had fairly low cut off scores. If anything, the opposite is what I've seen in the last ten years that I was a 25Q(31R). No offense, but your platoon may be an anomaly. I know a few guys that got E7 by ten years.

quote:

Originally posted by BillSPrestonEsq:

quote:

Originally posted by nspreitler:
I have Qs in my platoon, and they have an important mission with HCLOS which is integrated with JNN. The big problem right now with Qs is promotion. There are far too many SSG Qs, and they just are not getting promoted. It is not uncommon to have really good SGT Qs with 12-14 years TIS and they just can't get the points to get promoted.

Thats strange. That is not my experience at all. Until recently 25Q's have almost always had fairly low cut off scores. If anything, the opposite is what I've seen in the last ten years that I was a 25Q(31R). No offense, but your platoon may be an anomaly. I know a few guys that got E7 by ten years.

In his defense, his platoon is not an anomaly. Points for SSG 25Q have been maxed out for over two years. Regardless of what the points were at when you were in strength management in the Army changes and so do the cutoff scores.

quote:

Originally posted by BeaufordBuddy:

quote:

Originally posted by BillSPrestonEsq:

quote:

Originally posted by nspreitler:
I have Qs in my platoon, and they have an important mission with HCLOS which is integrated with JNN. The big problem right now with Qs is promotion. There are far too many SSG Qs, and they just are not getting promoted. It is not uncommon to have really good SGT Qs with 12-14 years TIS and they just can't get the points to get promoted.

Thats strange. That is not my experience at all. Until recently 25Q's have almost always had fairly low cut off scores. If anything, the opposite is what I've seen in the last ten years that I was a 25Q(31R). No offense, but your platoon may be an anomaly. I know a few guys that got E7 by ten years.

In his defense, his platoon is not an anomaly. Points for SSG 25Q have been maxed out for over two years. Regardless of what the points were at when you were in strength management in the Army changes and so do the cutoff scores.

I understand that and considered it. However two years of higher points does not create a huge surplus of 14 year E5's.

Transformation changed the status quo.. while signal platoons used to be filled with slots for 25Q SSGs, there is now not a single one. Many 25Q SGTs are being advised to re-class to continue their career progression.

I am a Q who has been in since 94. 25Q back in the MSE(Mobile Subscriber Equipment) days were the operators for the V-3's and V-1 shelters. Also for the TRC-170 Tropo shelters. We would set up 15 meter and in some instances, 30 meter mast antennaes. Usually when the shot was in, we were regulated to do every other signal MOS's job. Such as running cable, operating the switch if you were on a SEN team or guard duty. We were basically, in my opinion, the workhorses for the signal platoon because we did it all.

Nowadays with the JNN system, there really isn't much for us left to do. Currently, I am with a ESB deployed to Iraq and our battalion does have LOS's deployed to different FOB's and COP's along with CPN's and data stacks. Myself we have a LOS and a STT for my CPN. There really isn't too much for the Q anymore because everything is based on the 25B side of the house with the routers and switches.

As a 25Q, you will more than likely be on a CPN to operate the LOS or working with the 25S with the satellites. If not in those positions, then you'll be working on something else outside of your MOS. If I was you, don't choose 25Q. Go something else if you want to make rank. BillSPrestonEsq is right that 25Q used to be a fast track MOS. But that changed on Dec 04. How do I know? Because I went to the promotion board the last time I was in Iraq in October 04. I didn't make cutoff because I didn't have enough points. On Jan 05, the points went to 798 and they have been there ever since. In March, there was 6 people promoted to E-6 as a Q in the entire Army. 2 of them are in my company.

If you want promotion potential past E-5, go S, N, or U. Or go to another field in the Army till you get to E-6 then reclass back to Signal.

Sorry so long. Hope it helps.

Check this out. I can't explain any of this because the 25Q mos was my old 31m I think.
http://www.gordon.army.mil/sigbde15/

quote:

Originally posted by SigVet:
Check this out. I can't explain any of this because the 25Q mos was my old 31m I think.
http://www.gordon.army.mil/sigbde15/

And you are correct. I came in as a 31M, then got redesignated as a 31R. Now we are 25Q. All the same to me.

quote:

Originally posted by sgtp25q:

quote:

Originally posted by SigVet:
Check this out. I can't explain any of this because the 25Q mos was my old 31m I think.
http://www.gordon.army.mil/sigbde15/

And you are correct. I came in as a 31M, then
got redesignated as a 31R. Now we are 25Q. All the same to me.

Well I started as a 293.10 back in the 50's and they changed that to 31M and equipment you probably never heard of.
I also was an instrctor and Plt Sgt in the 31M course and retired as a 31Z in 1978. That's why I don't know anything about the current equipment.

My and hubby and I are both 25Q and he had to reclass when he reenlisted in february. I just got out a few months ago. He chose 25B, but yeah right now its not the MOS to be in for promotions and when he went to Iraq we mostly did convoy duty because he didn't have a mission. Its also one of the five MOS' identified to be primary for pulling people out of and placing them into recruiting duty and other DA selected missions. When they redid the MOS structure this was one of the MOS that didn't make out so well. Prior to the new MOS the points and promotions were great! But the army is working hard to resolve the issue of top heaviness, many many soldiers are being encouraged to reclass (like my hubby) and we lost a large portion of our battalion over the last year to recruiting duty.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: luvmy3,

Qs are kind of the do it all red-headded step children. AIT was a lot of LOS stuff. Germany had all that legacy stuff. Here on Bragg, we do CPNs, JNN, Data package, STTs. Its really where you go. I got tossed into a CPN class my first week here. My signal flow skills are weak as is, so I was lost in the sauce for a while. I think I got it now, but we dont actually do our jobs 9 times out of 10. I've been to cross training, NBC school, combatives school. Its like they are filling up our time with everything OTHER then MOS related training.
But as a Q, you have a crap ton of things that you can end up doing.

My son just enlisted as 25Q, he picked it...got a bonus for it, and now I read all of this and wonder if he made the right choice. What exactly does convoy duty do? If there is so much of a problem with 25Q, could they make him reclass?? I found reading these articles interesting.