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TacticalNuke

TacticalNuke

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SAF Members,

I've decided to test out a new forum for discussing life after the academies and other topics that may not pertain directly to admissions or to a particular academy.

I appreciate any feedback.

Thank you for your time.

-TN
 
Great idea - that is what interests us! Thanks! We want to hear all the "day in the life of...."
 
OKAY...1st lesson


WHEN PCSing make sure to get to your garbage cans before they pack them...yes they will throw your bathroom garbage can with garbage in it into a box and tape it up:rant2: Not a pretty site 3 mos later after it sat in a warehouse! Also be ready to show up with a dvd controller, but no DVD player...don't get too attached to things, they miraculously seem to disappear...one guy at Mt Home showed up with a crate of rocks and nothing else...OUCH...also learn to pack your car like a puzzle and weigh it...dity moves make some good pocket change :cool:

2nd lesson

Always take the advance pay money and invest it...don't spend it and on a new tv.


3rd lesson

Don't buy the wheel cap...it is a great dust collector:shake:

4th lesson
MWR is a great source...Shades of Green at Disney, Chiemsee in Germany, and Hale Koa in Hawaii...use them!

5th lesson
If you travel Space A always have a back up plan

6th lesson
MAKE sure you know what your home of record initials are...we knew people that Acct & Fin put AK as AL...it took them forever to fix it :eek:

7th lesson
LOVE THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY...it is an amazing fun life as long as you are willing to roll with it.
 
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Pima said:
OKAY...1st lesson


WHEN PCSing make sure to get to your garbage cans before they pack them...yes they will throw your bathroom garbage can with garbage in it into a box and tape it up:rant2: Not a pretty site 3 mos later after it sat in a warehouse! Also be ready to show up with a dvd controller, but no DVD player...don't get too attached to things, they miraculously seem to disappear...one guy at Mt Home showed up with a crate of rocks and nothing else...OUCH...also learn to pack your car like a puzzle and weigh it...dity moves make some good pocket change :cool:

2nd lesson

Always take the advance pay money and invest it...don't spend it and on a new tv.


3rd lesson

Don't buy the wheel cap...it is a great dust collector:shake:

4th lesson
MWR is a great source...Shades of Green at Disney, Chiemsee in Germany, and Hale Koa in Hawaii...use them!

5th lesson
If you travel Space A always have a back up plan

6th lesson
MAKE sure you know what your home of record initials are...we knew people that Acct & Fin put AK as AL...it took them forever to fix it :eek:

7th lesson
LOVE THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY...it is an amazing fun life as long as you are willing to roll with it.
Click to expand...


I agree wholehardetly with all the above.. A couple of add ons to the lessons:

1st lesson - Wear your shoes while they are packing!! (learned the hard way... twice).

5th lesson - have 2 or 3 backup plans, and enough cash to buy a last minute ticket if needed. Give yourself at least 3 days on either end of the trip, and bring bath supplies in your carry on. Your other bags may end up on the pallet to Diego Garcia while you are on your way to Dover AFB.

The 7th lesson is the truth!! Enjoy all the challenges!!
 
The nice thing with government moves now....if stuff is damaged, it's refunded, and they don't own it. Do a ditty move for your valuable, pilferable stuff. Make sure you watch them as they back.

I've had a bad move and a good move.
 
Pima, such memories your post brings back.

To add to lesson 1 - watch them like a hawk! That college student hired for the summer rush WILL take the easy way out. Ever seen leather boots shipped in a box with wire coat hangers. Not pretty!

Ziplock bags! Great for all those little bits from desk drawers that just fall to the bottom of boxes.

Lesson 4 - Do use these facilities! Sad to say, Chiemsee has been closed. They consolidated everything at Garmisch in the Edelweiss Lodge, a very nice place.

Lesson 8 (my addition) - take half of every pay raise and put it into savings. Use those allotments to pay yourself first!

But Lesson 7 is the key! Learn to find the good side of wherever you are. There always is one. You must take responsibility for your own happiness. It's a hard lesson to learn, but makes life a lot more enjoyable.

It's been an amazing 25+ years. The opportunities have been amazing. I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Now I get to sit back and watch my daughter embark on her own version of the journey.
 
I absolutely love this thread and the whole idea of it!

Here are a couple questions from a mom:

On your Academy's Hundreds Night (or whatever they call it... the night you pick your future base): Is it better to choose a domestic base? I see lots of kids choosing bases in Europe. Other than travel accessability, is there any advantage?

Base housing: How good or how bad is it? Does it improve as one goes up in rank? Is one service far better than another in this regard? I have heard AF has the best housing - true?

Any advice for SA graduates marrying other SA graduates?
 
We called it billet night, and I believe, instead of picking a "base" you're picking a unit....aka.....

101st Airborne, CGC FORWARD, USS Fighting Sullivans..etc, instead of: Ft. Campbell, Miami, Norfolk...
 
LineInTheSand said:
We called it billet night, and I believe, instead of picking a "base" you're picking a unit....aka.....

101st Airborne, CGC FORWARD, USS Fighting Sullivans..etc, instead of: Ft. Campbell, Miami, Norfolk...
Click to expand...

I can only speak to USMA...it is called "post night" usually held in early February. They pick a post not a unit (Ft. Lewis, Ft. Riley, Ft. Polk :eek:, etc).
 
I think it also deals with what CAREER FIELD they have selected / are chosen for. Obviously, flyers will attend flight school first, armor guys / gals attend Armor school, Sub guys go to sub school, etc. etc., etc....

Just some food for thought: It may have changed a little since I first started out (oh so long ago :frown:) but almost EVERYONE in my career field HAD to do an overseas tour sometime or other in their career, if not multiple times. Pima and I loved being stationed in England and Alaska (I know, I know, it's "officially" part of the US, but goodness gracious, it was so darn FAR from the rest of the family!). We're both glad we also did them when our kids were young (DS #1 and DD born in England).

Imagine, your young, a newly commisioned officer, possibly first married but maybe still single, and your new job is paying you to see the world! No kids, no family commitments on the weekends, nothing to hold you back as your "explorer side' kicks into high gear and you roam the surrounding areas Uncle Sam has sent you to. Heck, even doing this at 15 years in, with spouse and kids in tow, is an adventure (but granted, you can't just drop everything on a Friday afternoon and decide you want to go "explore" at the spur of the moment the next day. It's more of a Family Vacation!)

As to "advantage"? Well, like I said, everyone will HAVE to do this some time or another. Why not get it out of the way early. And also consider some of these places are "remotes", like Korea. (i.e. you're there for a year WITHOUT your family). Easy to do as a young, unattached Lt. A hardship to a Major's family that they had to leave behind for a year...
 
Right, because in the Army, they already branched....right WA?


So for USMA, it's "Post Night" and you're picking a post
for USCGA it's "Billet Night" and you're picking your unit.
Not sure what USNA calls it, but I believe they pick a unit too.
 
Good thread, awesome info i'm getting. But I don't get what was meant with the whole throwing out the bathroom trash thing, explain? I'm still not very familiar with military talk lol.

And I have a question similar to Fencer'smom: I didn't know that you got to choose your bases. Is this only limited by job? for example after you become a pilot do you still get to choose your base, or only where they send you?
 
Haha when you move, the military hires people to come in and pack your house

They usually pack athing they can get their hands on
Including like they said trashcans with trash still in them

What my family does is we completly empty one bedroom before the movers come, and put everything we dont want packed up in there.

Then we ttell the movers not to pack that stuff

Thats just my personal experience

p.s. whenever you move you feel like something is lost or missing from your last house, stuff wise
 
Sad to say, Chiemsee has been closed. They consolidated everything at Garmisch in the Edelweiss Lodge, a very nice place
Click to expand...
I learned to ski at Garmisch and swam at Chiemsee. What fun!

This advice probably has no benefit for anyone in the Armed Forces but -
if you are on leave and you get a 4 am phone call that your orders got changed and in two days you are going to Germany and not France - roll with it. Even if your household goods and car are en route to France and there won't be housing for 3 weeks after your get to Germany and your spouse and 4 kids are stuck in the American Arms.
 
USAFA2013: I know that at WP they pick their bases and it is based on your total GPA (MPA? I forget what it's called). I read about it in Absolutely American.
 
LITS is correct. At USMA they pick their branch in November. When they do post night it is by branch. If you branch infantry and are the top ranked cadet in that branch you get to pick your post first, second ranked infantry cadet picks second, etc. Each branch does their selections independent of each other. Class rank is a combination of your military, academic, and physical fitness grades. Brand new 2nd LTs will have several months of training to go through before they see that first post.

I only had to live through two military moves so I got lucky and didn't have the bad experiences some of you had. The first move we had been married only 3 months so we didn't have much to lose or break. Only one furniture item was broken and no trash was packed. :smile:

My son (now the cadet) embarrassed me in Garmisch by throwing his bottle into a public fountain.

Question: What two things do all Army wives come home from Germany with?

Answer: A cuckoo clock and a baby.

(True for me and for all our friends we knew in Germany.)
 
unitedstatesAFA2013 said:
Good thread, awesome info i'm getting. But I don't get what was meant with the whole throwing out the bathroom trash thing, explain? I'm still not very familiar with military talk lol.

And I have a question similar to Fencer'smom: I didn't know that you got to choose your bases. Is this only limited by job? for example after you become a pilot do you still get to choose your base, or only where they send you?
Click to expand...

It is limited by job. There are only 5 or so bases that a person going to pilot training can go to (Laughlin, Vance, Sheppard, Pensacola, Columbus). Some AFSCs don't have a base requirement, and those people often pick bases overseas like Rammstein or Yokota.
 
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