Looking at your Military Career, what would you have done different? Challenge yourself more, go after tougher roles, save more money?

2023-07-30T04:10:02-04:00

My goal with this question is to present some lessons learned for our newer Veteran Leaders and help them grow from our trials and tribulations that we have learned over the years! I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's responses!

Response by LTC Eugene Chu made Jul 30 at 2023 4:14 AM

2023-07-30T04:14:06-04:00

My response of what I would do differently based on phases...
Active enlisted: Taken more college courses and education before Green-to-Gold
Active junior officer: Used more leave, explored more places, participated in more off-duty experiences
Reserve junior officer: Participated in more athletic events, partied more, gone to more clubs

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Jul 30 at 2023 7:20 AM

2023-07-30T07:20:06-04:00

There are a couple of things I would have done different. The first would be put more effort into taking college classes instead of always being the troop that stayed behind to make sure the mission was completed. Even as a civilian, I'm still falling into that trap.

The second thing I would have done was never married my (now) ex-wife. I didn't realize how much she was hindering my career until it was to late. I declined several career advancing specialty assignments because she wasn't happy with the change. In the end, it cost me a promotion and the opportunity to pursue even more specialty assignments.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jul 30 at 2023 9:40 AM

2023-07-30T09:40:48-04:00

Not much regarding the career specifically, I believe I lived up to the Army catch phrase then and now: “Be all you can be”.

The one thing I regret not doing for my support Team (Wife and kids) was to place special events on a calendar and tried to make myself more available to be there directly for them. Even when it was not mandatory I always found myself giving time to my Soldiers and their families more than my own.

The moral is: Do your Duty, don’t forget your responsibility to family. They were instrumental in my units moral and strength, while I tried they deserved more.

Response by Jeffrey White made Aug 2 at 2023 6:24 AM

2023-08-02T06:24:36-04:00

As for me, the best way to save more money is investing. Even if you are in army and afraid of investing you can use services of such company as finamp.io This company is providing advanced digital banking and e-wallet solutions.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Aug 6 at 2023 9:39 AM

2023-08-06T09:39:18-04:00

I really wish I had made my mind up earlier to actually make a career. Every single enlistment I did was definitely my last enlistment, until it wasn't. As such, I did not approach my career as a "career" until I was indefinite. Even then, the habits I had formed carried over into my "career" phase. This caused a few issues.

1) Every decision I made about assignments, schools, etc. was based almost entirely on helping my unit/ big Army, not on helping me. Not saying I would have changed a WHOLE lot about that, because I am a strong believer in selfless service. But I would have made those decisions a little bit more intelligently. Additionally, one of my biggest personal dissatisfactions with the Army was the folks who *did* make "career-minded" decisions always getting ahead, when those of us who made "Army-minded" decisions got left behind. I mostly just went along with what the Army asked of me - and was punished (in my mind) for it. If I had taken an active role and still chose those decisions, my career likely would not have changed - but my sense of agency would have. I would have known that yes, I was going to get promoted slower, but it was for a good cause. As compared to feeling like it was something that had been done TO me, it would have been something I CHOSE. Which makes a world of difference.

2) I had a tendency to run my mouth. If something was wrong, I would tell you, and I didn't care who you were. (I once made an on-the-spot uniform correction to the Division Commander. As a SPC. With his CSM right there.) Generally speaking, I used tact when doing so, but never diplomacy. I didn't play politics and despised those who did. I never intentionally burned bridges, but if the bridge was rotten, I did nothing to shore it up from collapse. And I was never all that worried about it because I was getting out in a year or three anyway. This attitude bit me in the butt more than a couple times. And even though I made SFC in 10 years, I retired as a SFC. Despite consistently being the "go-to- guy" to step into MSG and 1SG voids, I never got promoted to just actually be the guy.

3) My family was jerked around, to their detriment. Not only did we PCS a lot, but we did a lot of planning for "after I ETS" only to throw that planning away, time and time again. I never made the decision to re-enlist in a void. I always talked with my wife / fiancee. But it was still a rougher life planning cycle than it could have been.

4) I figured out the best legal "get rich slow" scheme far too late. I was always planning on going back to my home town when I got out - until I wasn't. Then I decided to go ahead and buy a home at my duty station. BAS covered mortgage payment plus utilities or rent plus utilities. If I bought the home, I would be building equity. And when I PCSed, I could rent it out and continue to build equity. I was only able to do that once before I retired, though. So I now own two homes, one of which I live in, the other of which basically pays for itself (I chip in about $200 / month to get it paid off quicker). In a couple years I will own the second hoe outright with no mortgage. But if I had started that from my second duty station (I was single at my first one), I would now own 5 homes scattered across the US, 2 of which were completely paid off.