It has come to attention that prior service vets returning to active duty where their contract at MEPS states WTC & follow on to AIT are ending up in IET or BCT Basic training. My entire WTC class of 89 guys ended up in weeks 3-6 with the majority ending up in week four. (after we graduation WTC) There is no distinction between prior service and IET Booters. Examples include but not limited
1. Handed a set of clippers and being told to shave your head
2. Remove wrist watches and wedding rings
3. Reomve rank & any specialty badges
4. Combat patches also removed.
5. All electronic devices taken away until after AIT graduation
6. FIve minute pay phone calls every two or three weeks.
7. LIving in open bays with the privates
I thought that I negotiated my contract well enough at MEPS to ensure that something like this would not happen but it seems our contract is only a guide and TRADOC has loop holes to do whatever they want. WTC Beware

What class/when did you graduate? Where did you go for AIT?

Gratuated 9/15/09

You are in Infantry AIT. 11Bravo is an INTENSE MOS. There is a reason for doing this. The 11B Basic Training is more intense and MOS oriented towards MOSQ. You will benefit in the long run by this type of immersion. Yes it is a Pain in the Butt. I have trained AIT Soldiers that have attended Basic at Ft Benning. I see a big difference in the mindset as opposed from other bases. You are going to be a Leader amongst these Soldiers. Show them that you are like a duck and let it roll off your back. You may be leading these some of these SAME Soldiers into combat next year. They WILL remember how you handle your present situation. Be the NCO that you aspire to be.

I want to disclose that I posted this at my husbands request. I am not sure why this is posting under his name instead of my account.
Some Soldiers are furious but he is just letting it roll off his back and keeping his eye on his main goal.
Just seems to us like a waste of money & time to send these guys to WTC if they are going to be put in basic. I wonder what the point of WTC is in their situation. If they had been put in week one of basic ILO of five weeks of WTC then we would already be farther along in the training. I am sure this would make more sense coming from him directly but thank you the response you gave. He is a really positve hardworking man and I am SO proud.
Proud wife

I would also like to note that my previous post was my words and not his.
I do not like posting or writing about Army related things without his knowledge or permission so to speak.
I want to be an asset to his military career and not a liability.
thanks!

The only way around your husband losing all those perks is to join the Navy or Airforce. Tell him welcome to the Infantry. Make sure you tell him to keep his head up and stay focused on being a leader,not a whiner. His Army career started at WTC, his Infantry career starts NOW! You may want to watch what you post on here, his D.S. may get wind of it and make life a little more shall we say (uncomfortable) for him.

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

Thanks for the info Proud Wife. I can tell by your post that your are an asset to your husband as his support and encourager. "Behind every good man is a great woman pushing like hell!"
Bigtalikiller: I am thankful for her post and instead of advising her to watch what she posts I would say let us know that it's her, and post as updates/questions thus not to be confused as whining and that should save her DH (dear hubby). All respect to you BIGTALI You are great American.

thank you for your comments. I posted exactly what he wrote in the manner he requested.
It makes me laugh to think of my husband as a whiner. If you only knew him. My DH is superman but I will let him fight his own battles on here.
I am busy chasing around a little version of him. He agrees that toddlers can be more dangerous than grenade launchers.

I'm deployed to Iraq as 11B, I went to WTC and a part of Infantry OSUT; graduated OSUT less than 2 months prior to deploying.

There's a method to their madness. Everything they do during those weeks have a purpose... they'll tie these together at the end of the training during FTX. Everything they learn during those weeks has something to do with what they need to know as infantrymen when they deploy. They'll maximize their learning via full exposure. This includes living with the privates in open bay.

I lucked out and got my own room, kept my privilages, etc. But in hindsight, I would've learned more had I received the above experience.

It may suck while going through, but they'll be glad they had the experience when they get to their units, then deploy.

I am glad that you opened this subject, it will open the eyes of those who have forgotten what it is like to be in the military. I carefully read line for line in my contract and I am sure it is almost identical to your husbands. It clearly states that I "have a reservation" to attend 5 weeks at Ft.Sill and attend OSUT for 7 weeks and 2 days for a total of 12 weeks and 2 days of training. It also states that I may be required to attend full Basic. So basically I am guaranteed nothing. It also states that my MOS is not guaranteed. Being a veteran and knowing this when I signed, the Army can and will do what they want with you when they want to. If you attend and fail OSUT thay can make you a cook if they want. The only guarantee you have is your rank and the "chance" to obtain your desired MOS. Just like everyone who is so set on getting special forces in their contract. You are not guaranteed special forces, you a given a chance to become special forces if you qualify in OSUT. Same thing about Airborne, if you cannot run 2 miles in under 16 minutes, you are out. So remember what the first time was like, this is not our first rodeo. Like you said though, sounds like he has his act together, it is the other 88 that are ****ed off. Tell him good luck and you never know, 6 months from now, he could be my boss.

quote:

You may want to watch what you post on here, his D.S. may get wind of it and make life a little more shall we say (uncomfortable) for him.

I don't mean to get on your case BIGTALIKILLER, but I'm having problems with "watch what you're saying so the DS won't get on your DH's case" thing. I'm prior service and I have heard the saying "We're defending Democracy, not practicing it in the Military", but this is still America, not Soviet Union. I'm a proud American and I take my "freedom of speech" right very seriously. If I have something to say or complain, I will do it, regardless if others will take it a whining or a constructive criticism. And if some DS or SMA has a problem with it, fine, I will deal with the consequences. But I will not be quiet out of fear.
From the lady's earlier postings you can tell she was uneasy posting for her hubby. There is no need to scare her. Nobody can tell who he actually is, anyway...
Just my two cents.

Wife here, not Soldier. FYI
Too funny what someone said about the Air Force. My brother lives in a different world over in USAF and not because he's a Colonel.

Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer anyone about his WTC/Fort Benning experience thus far. He was calling me every day but not since Wed now. So I was in the know. His letters from basic are hysterical
He told me he would put the photo of his first basic graduation, wtc graduation and second basic graduation in a frame together.

MAXIMS42 I really appreciated people like you when I was a Marine. It was because of people like you we had somebody to do all the s**t details in our unit. I hope you plan on joining the Army soon, let's keep in touch. I will even let you know what unit I am assigned to so hopefully you will get assigned there too. Because as long as you are there we will have an automatic volunteer for the s**t details. On second thought, never mind. You may get ordered to do something in combat and decide you want to use your "freedom of speech" to complain. And while you are busy complaining me and another 39 soldiers die, because of you. Seriously though, I have to thank you for that whole "freedom of speech" in the military thing, I laughed for a good 10 minutes.

LMAO!LOL! LOL!
That was great! There may be a future for you as a Drill Sergeant. Can I call you R.Lee Ermy? (of the movie: "Full Metal Jacket")

I went through a similar situation in 1993. There were about 20 prior service soldiers reclassing into 11M. We even had one guy who was an 11C, and had jumped into Grenada with the 82nd. We started Infantry OSUT at week two. The Drill Sergeants treated us just like the brand new privates. We hated it, it sucked, it wasn't "fair" and we even had one guy quit and refuse to train. In the end though, it was worth it.

Part of the esprit de corps of the Infantry is the Fort Benning experience. I think any Infantryman who doesn't do OSUT at Benning is missing something important.

quote:

Originally posted by maxims42:

quote:

You may want to watch what you post on here, his D.S. may get wind of it and make life a little more shall we say (uncomfortable) for him.

I don't mean to get on your case BIGTALIKILLER, but I'm having problems with "watch what you're saying so the DS won't get on your DH's case" thing. I'm prior service and I have heard the saying "We're defending Democracy, not practicing it in the Military", but this is still America, not Soviet Union. I'm a proud American and I take my "freedom of speech" right very seriously. If I have something to say or complain, I will do it, regardless if others will take it a whining or a constructive criticism. And if some DS or SMA has a problem with it, fine, I will deal with the consequences. But I will not be quiet out of fear.
From the lady's earlier postings you can tell she was uneasy posting for her hubby. There is no need to scare her. Nobody can tell who he actually is, anyway...
Just my two cents.

That made me laugh.

What is so funny IronErik? I am thinking about adopting his "freedom of speech" theory when I get in. I am going in as an E-4 and I want to be a private again. It should definately work.........LOL

quote:

Originally posted by maxims42:

quote:

You may want to watch what you post on here, his D.S. may get wind of it and make life a little more shall we say (uncomfortable) for him.

I don't mean to get on your case BIGTALIKILLER, but I'm having problems with "watch what you're saying so the DS won't get on your DH's case" thing. I'm prior service and I have heard the saying "We're defending Democracy, not practicing it in the Military", but this is still America, not Soviet Union. I'm a proud American and I take my "freedom of speech" right very seriously. If I have something to say or complain, I will do it, regardless if others will take it a whining or a constructive criticism. And if some DS or SMA has a problem with it, fine, I will deal with the consequences. But I will not be quiet out of fear.
From the lady's earlier postings you can tell she was uneasy posting for her hubby. There is no need to scare her. Nobody can tell who he actually is, anyway...
Just my two cents.

I can see it now.....an early trip home!!!!

BoatsBM1

Just as expected from all you "veterans", what you took out from my post was "he's a complainer, he doesn't follow orders". It's not about not following orders. Obviously the initial poster finished successfully WTC/OSUT and again, obviously, he followed orders because he's on his way to his unit. The point I was trying to make is that you don't have to have a sheep mentality in order to be a good soldier. When you see something you think might be wrong (as a waste of time or money), you should mention it. Maybe someone with clout and in a decision making position (again without a sheep mentality) will notice and correct it. Nobody ever got killed because a member of a team "complained" they're running low on ammo, their HUMVEE have no armor or this batch of mortar rounds are duds. People died when everybody kept their mouths shut when they found something wrong (Boats I expected you to know what I mean if you ever served on a ship). I don’t think brown-nosers and sheep should have a place in the military. They should stay on the Capitol Hill.

As far as people laughing, it's the least of my problems. Like before in my military career, I spoke my mind when I thought it would be of any use and guess what, I never ended up s**t details for it. S**t details are something we all went through when we were newbies or low in rank. The difference is that some people will pull their weight and do it, while others will try to slide out of it or assign it to others. By the way, Bigtalkiller, fair treatment and respect are among the things taught in the leadership schools, but oh, so few of us practice it. But I guess respect is first taught at home and if that lesson was skipped, no formal school can teach . I always wondered why some NCOs can't get a free bear during liberty with their troops, much less respect...

DS's job is to teach the newbies the necessary military skills and weed out those mentally unable to withstand combat situations. Good DS's put out good soldiers, who are proficient in their skills and can think for themselves in difficult situations. The others put out "rocks" that get killed in the first contact or get arrested for killing civilians or abusing their wives. I doubt this is what this Army needs.
You don't always make them tougher by screwing with them nor smarter by teaching them to "suck it up and shut up". You make them dumber or make them hate you, the outfit they're in and hardly wait to get out.
R. Lee. Ermey played a character and "Full Metal Jackets" was a movie. Thanks for making my point cotrooper. What happened to Sgt. Hartmann at the end of boot camp?

Getting back to the original issue, freedom of speech is a concept that most of people in the world respect. It's not questioning or disobeying orders, nor complaining. It's having the courage to voice your opinion even when that opinion might not be popular with the average crowd. What is disturbing to see is people that are joining an outfit that is supposed to protect such freedoms have so little respect for them. Makes me wonder what is really motivating you to re-join. Lousy economy, want to "blow s**t up", kill terrorists? Come on, that's infantile. People like this never made it. Section 8 was the end of their careers.

I hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers here. I will re-join the military after three years of rest and recovery. Bigtalkiller, I will be at WTC January 22nd and maybe we'll meet there to exchange some ideas. If not and if I understood you well, I hope I will never serve in the same unit with you. I would want you watching my back. Take what you will from this lesson.