I'm a CPT and my PCS time will be in May 2010 and want to transfer to a sapper unit that offers both Sapper and Ranger school slots. However, HRC nor the Engineer Career Counselor has a list showing the schools that each unit has slots for. A list of any unit that provide slots for both schools would be greatly appreciated.

Sir,

I'm currently with the 570th Sapper Co, 14th Enginner Battalion, 555th Eng Bde located in FT Lewis, WA. A large majority of the post is currently deployed freeing up all sorts of school slots, Sapper and Ranger being included.

We have priority for Sapper school (of course) but I know for a fact we have Ranger slots available too.

Let me know if you have any questions!

v/r

-SGT Sharry

Hey Sir, I dunno how long you have been in I.E. if you have been to advanced course yet, or your a new Captain, but I will tell ya to stay away from 1st Cavalry Divsion. I have served in this Divsion for over 6 years, and we have tried, time and time again to get a slot for Sapper School, but the Battalion Commanders seem to think that Gunnery, and Bradley track pads are more important than a few guys with Sapper Tabs. I myself am currently in Iraq serving on my 3rd tour with CAV.. and I re-enlisted just last week for the 57th Engineer Compay "rough terrain" down at Fort Bragg, NC. They are apart of 20th Engineer Brigade, 27th Engineer Battalion. My god, if I cant get a Sapper School or Ranger School slot there, then I might as well reclass and trade in my Castle for some Crossed Rifles. Just my 2cents..

SGT(P) Morgan

You're a freaking CPT- use some initiative and work with your branch manager to get the slots you want. You're not going to get them from a unit- when you're in a unit, you need to be doing your job (leading), not running off to schools.

If you haven't been to your CCC/OAC yet, that is more important than Sapper, Ranger or anything else.

FALightFighter,

I've been working with my branch manager. He is unable to get me any school slots. He said the only way to get them is from my next unit if they have slots available. He does not have a comprehensive list either of engineer units and the respective school slots they have.

I'm finishing up my command time right now and I'm scheduled for ECCC in January 2011. That's why I am trying to find out how to get some school slots. I've been in engineer construction units and TRADOC units my entire career and am trying to get on the combat engineer track. That's the reason I'm on this forum- using some initiative because my branch manager can't answer my questions to help me.

I'm finishing up my command time right now and I'm scheduled for ECCC in January 2011.

So...what your saying is that you are a Captain who is a Company Commander, but yet you have never been to the "Engineer Captains Career Course"??? I am almost positive that you have to have that course before you can take command. Where are you currently stationed at right now sir? And how long have you been in Command??

I'm at Ft. Knox as a company commander of a Basic Combat Training company. I have not attended ECCC yet, but I did attend the Pre-Command Course. I've been in command since April 09.

Aborn, what you are explaining is the way things usually work, but not always necessarily so. In my last BCT, we had maybe 8 out of 30 commanders that were pre-CCC CPTs.

Mrocs, you're completing company command, and you don't know how to get a school? That dog just don't hunt, brother. Are they going to let you go somewhere to command another company after CCC, or are they going to consider you branch qualified/KD? If they will let you, go to CCC, get assigned to a BCT, MEB or EN BDE. Most guys coming out of CCC have a chance to go to schools enroute- either the school or your branch arranges the slots. When you get to your unit, you'll work in the brigade engineer section (if your in a BCT) or on staff somewhere, first, while you wait for command. If you perform satisfactorily, you'll get a chance to command a real EN company in the unit. Oh, and in every unit I've been in, if a CPT said some crap about trying to figure out which units are where and had schools slots because he'd been TRADOC his whole career, he'd be lucky to get by with a little ridicule- more likely, he may never overcome his ignorance.

Right now, I personally would not put you in command of anything in my unit- the commander has to manage everything his unit does, and lead his troopers to execute it. If you can't even figure out how to apply for a school slot, how can you ensure that your unit has the required training (including schools requirements for certain additional duty positions), has a training plan the prepares them to fight and win in combat (you are going down range, sooner not later in this environment), plan operations to execute the mission while taking care of your troopers (ensuring that your patrols don't set patterns, monitoring enemy activity to develop techniques to counter developing enemy techniques, developing those techniques, training your platoons to employ them, etc)?

FALightFigher,

I know how to register for a school. I send my drill sergeants to school all the time (BNCOC, ANCOC, Combatives, Rappel Master, etc.). My question is specifically how to find a unit that has both Sapper AND Ranger slots. My current BN nor BDE has those slots available. Like I said previously, I haven't been in a unit where I've had the opportunity to attend the schools. With my command time ending in May 2010 and CCC starting in January 2011, I'm trying to maximize those 8 months. I don't know yet if my command time will be considered as me being branch qualified or if I will have to do another command after CCC. My branch manager is still researching that question.

The branch manager is great on helping me with follow-on assignments, advanced civil schooling, fellowships, etc. but he has no idea what school slots the various units have. My BN CDR has been unable to give me guidance and my S1 had no idea either. I am aware of CCC offering some slots, between 0-8 per class after graduation. However, I don't want to rely on that. Whatever happened to the expression that there is no such thing as a dumb question. I'm asking because I DO NOT KNOW and nobody else I've talked to has answers either.

I love your faith in my abilites. I find it kind of funny that my BN CDR has personally told me I'm the strongest company commander he has. My drill sergeants have personally told me that I'm the best company commander they have ever had and they've asked numerous times to see what I can do to extend my command time to be with them longer. My 1SG even commented during my last quarterly counseling with him that he was glad to get a high-speed commander. When I was a platoon leader in OIF 1, I was selected as the BDE representative for the Grizzly Award. On my second deployment to Iraq, I was personally selected by the BDE CDR to teach the follow-on BDE about convoy ops and route clearing SOPs as a train-the-trainer. To me, that means I know what I'm doing when it comes to TTPs and TLPs. By the way, I also have an Afghan rotation worked in there when I was enlisted. I'm on this forum to seek help on an admin item that nobody seems to have an answer for either. If you're not here to help, just to ridicule, don't respond.

Well, that makes a little more sense. We're getting the whole story, now.

Any MTOE EN unit should be able to get Sapper and RGR slots- in fact, your BCT unit SHOULD be able to get the slots (at least RGR) if they work at it a little bit. Who is the BDE Schools NCO?

You will be assigned to either the EN school or your current command for the eight months you are talking about, so they will have to send you to school. Some other unit, that might get you after CCC, is NOT going to send you to school. Your two possibilities are your current unit (who can send you to RGR, at least- I don't know about Sapper) or the EN school.

I hope you are right about your abilities- obviously your BN CDR, 1SG and DSs have a better grasp of them than I do. Re-read your posts from the perspective of a dis-interested FG officer, and I think you'll see what I mean.

Good luck.

Not to hijack your post Sir...but you didn't seem interested in what I had originally posted...clearly I have issues with being substantial/relevant etc otherwise this situation wouldn't bother me in the least... but that's another story !!

I'm currently the schools/training NCO/OPS Sergeant/Clerk/Coffee maker etc... for my Company (The 570th Sapper Co.) As jacked up as our BN is we're looking for some decent leadership (decent being a vast improvement over our current CoC) hopefully they (he) doesn't read these forums...he'll be gone soon regardless!!

Our BN schools NCOIC and OIC are throwin school slots left and right at us...no joke we're trying to fill Air Assault slots and it's not easy like it normally is (they are hard to come by, but all the IN units from FT Lewis are deployed, so us lowly EN SM's get a crack at the schools for a friggin change.), when you have an unspecified # of slots available...well its more difficult than it sounds. Like I said originally we've got Ranger slots as well as Sapper slots...you're basically guaranteed to go as an 03 CPT-type, it sucks but ya'll get the slots first generally (RHIP I know this) it's a clear fact in my CO too out of the 20ish SM's (it stands for Service Member fyi!) that finished the "Sapper" trainup only one NCO an E6 SSG type and a PL (a good PL though so im not hatin on this fact). The rest of the SM's who finished the trainup and performed well enough that they might actually pass "Sapper School" should/will go in the springtime.. Same time as the Ranger slots open up hopefully I can gank one for myself. I love being a 12B but there's something about that Ranger Tab that the Sapper Tab won't bring!!

Sorry in advance for going off on a tangent but I'm fairly inebrieated (Spell check) as it's a four day weekend hooah!!

v/r
-SGT Sharry

Gorilla,

Sorry about the delay. I wasn't blowing you off. Working 20 hour days here in Basic Training land makes it hard to get non-work related items completed. The 14th EN BN is actually one of my top choices for my next duty assignment. Plus, living there would sure beat Kentucky. Your previous BN CDR (LTC Helmlinger) seemed like a pretty high speed CDR. You don't sound too excited about the way things are running right now though.