Any recommendations and suggestions for a new upcoming officer in the army reserve?

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:48:09 -0500

I know this question gets asked a lot but to be on the best of my potential what are your suggestions and recommendations for someone about to commission into the army reserve? I will be in a medical support unit (ground ambulance) and I am excited to work with my company.

Any skills I should sharpen on?

Response by LTC Eugene Chu made Nov 8 at 2019 11:05 AM

LTC Eugene Chu — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:05:30 -0500

List of suggestions is below. Some may be new, some may be reminders of old...

1. Time and calendar management. As a reservist, you will be busy with full-time civilian job or school along with part-time Army obligations. Make sure you plan out schedule to accommodate everything.

2. Physical fitness. Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is more complicated than previous APFT. Ensure you spend time at the gym doing activities that have applicability to test.

3. Financial management. Your reserve paycheck will help supplement, but is not normally the bulk of your income. Ensure that you can pay bills in order to live and perform required drill (i.e. rent, transportation, computer, etc.). Start saving and investing when you attain monetary stability

4. Fraternization. Be careful about relationships in Army Reserve. While I knew a few dual-military married couples, be careful that you do not develop a romantic relationship with potential subordinate or superior that could hinder you.

Response by SrA John Monette made Nov 8 at 2019 11:20 AM

SrA John Monette — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:20:35 -0500

listen to and learn from your NCOs.

Response by COL Carolyn Black McCartney made Nov 8 at 2019 11:22 AM

COL Carolyn Black McCartney — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:22:55 -0500

Emergency medical treatment

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 8 at 2019 1:23 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 13:23:47 -0500

- Be strong and humble
- Listen to your NCOs
- Try to give the soldiers maximum time to prepare
- Know TLPs and the OPORDs
- Learn your technical and tactical tasks
- Create a leaders book
- Teach the arm and hand signals to guide a helicopter
- Create a Mission Essential Task list.
- Define what are the traits of a good leader

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Nov 8 at 2019 4:05 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 16:05:06 -0500

Your profile is a little light on detail, so it's difficult for me to make specific recommendations, so here's some generalized stuff.

-You'll need to strike a balance between your personal life (family, fun, etc.), private sector employment, and military duties. Think through some of the decisions you'll need to make now so you can approach them with as many facts as possible in the future. For example, what will you do if your unit is selected for overseas deployment? Or what happens with your private sector employer if the Reserves offer you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for school, training, or reassignment.
-Pay close attention to what your NCOs are telling you. They often know more about the Soldiers and mission than you do.
-Ask respectful questions of more senior officers. They have a duty to help you learn your job.
-Mind what old school guys call the "three Bs", booze, broads and bucks. Any of these can undermine your integrity and sometimes get you into big trouble. "Booze" now includes alcohol, legal, and illegal drug abuse, "broads" covers illicit or prohibited sexual relationships, and "bucks" means management of both government and personal funds.
-Think twice and speak once. Before giving direction or stating an order, think about it. Once you've decided to give the direction, think about it again, then do it with confidence. Apply this to text messages, e-mails, written correspondence, and verbal orders.
-Don't sign it until you're satisfied it's right. The military is full of stuff you'll need to sign. Most of it you're never seen before. Read what you are asked to sign. Don't let impatient clerks push you into signing something you don't understand. This is especially true for personnel items and property accountability.

I wish you well!

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 8 at 2019 5:12 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 17:12:41 -0500

I can't add too much of anything else that hasn't already been said. I will say this, though. Get to know the 9-Line MEDEVAC backwards and forwards. Know it so well you start to call them in your sleep.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 8 at 2019 6:37 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 18:37:12 -0500

Be prepared to drink from a fire house. It’s amazing how much you don’t know until you start to learn and then you truly realize how much you didn’t know. Be prepared for a ton of online training. One weekend a month is a lie. It’s going to be more than that even if you’re not running one of the shops for your unit. Embrace it. Enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun.

Be ready to go to DCC (direct commissioning course) and be in good physical shape when you get there. They will not PT you enough to get you in shape. You will again feel like you’re drinking from a fire hose at this training. It’s 4 weeks at fort sill, but it’s a blast! I loved it!

Get to know your NCOs in your unit. Introduce yourself. Listen to them. They know their jobs. They know their people. They will make you or break you.

Being a reservist/guard member is amazing. It’s a lot of work and at times I feel like balancing a personal life, civilian job, and your duties as an officer/military requirements is much harder than just being active duty, but it’s a great break from everyday civilian life too. I love drill weekends and getting to go to trainings.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Nov 8 at 2019 10:42 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 22:42:19 -0500

This gets asked often: https://www.rallypoint.com/command-post/new-officers-listen-up

New Officers, Listen Up. | RallyPoint

As a newly Commissioned Officer, or as a Cadet aspiring to become an Officer, you may be asking yourself many questions as you get closer to leading your first Platoon. How will I rise to the challenge? How should I “come in”? The first thing you need to adjust is your mindset. Unless you have prior enlisted experience, you have to adjust to the fact that you will not be leading peer Cadets. Cadets are great and wonderful people. They are...

Response by CPT Scott Batz made Nov 8 at 2019 11:22 PM

CPT Scott Batz — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 23:22:32 -0500

Keep your employer informed of your training schedule. While the employer is required to support reservists by law. I had managers who looked at it like you volunteered and they did not care if I need to be off on a weekend UTA 5 or a two week drill. If they have the printed schedule well in advance makes this much smoother !

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 9 at 2019 9:54 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 09:54:11 -0500

Find a November Project fitness group near you!

Response by SPC Stewart Smith made Dec 9 at 2019 12:07 PM

SPC Stewart Smith — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 12:07:33 -0500

You will have a few handfuls of prior active duty personnel with you. The NCOs will have a lot of knowledge you can soak up. Be a sponge. Yes, you technically outrank them, but I assure you they know quite a bit more than you. Don't be "that guy" that flexes his rank every which way.