What is the best advice given to you since enlisting? What's the worst advice given since enlisting?

Best advice:
Inspect what you expect

Be the last one to sit down and the first one to get up

If you want your team to move a pile of sandbags go pick up the first bag

Never ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself

Never pass off a Soldiers problem, stick with them till its solved.

Treat your Soldiers like you would want your child to be treated by their leaders

Don't leave the Army without taking full advantage of the TA and getting a free degree.

Every problem in the Army can be solved by finding the right banana to give to the right monkey to push the right button.

Worst advice:
Generally listening to your junior level peers about anything - always go to the source, the subject matter expert, in whatever area you have a question. Your peers, and often your immediate leaders, don't know a damn thing about reenlistment, transition, medical bills/Healthcare, complicated finance issues, reclass, MEB, assignments, compassionate reassignments, and any other out of the norm issue. Get into the regulation for the answers. They're only going to tell you what they heard from a friend of a friend who heard it from a PSG who heard of something similar ten years ago. Policies and procedures change constantly in the Army.

Other terrible advice:
You don't need to bring that much water, you'll only be out there a little while

You don't need to worry about TAP till your 90 days out from ETS.

Tricare will pay for one elective surgery

Call your Congressman or IG to complain when you don't get the answer you want (this is rarely the right answer).

Just ETS with your injuries and file your VA claim after.

Just push through the pain

You don't need to bring all that cold weather gear

Reclass to this MOS as a stepping stone to this job over here

Reclass to a job that you think will give you a good civilian career after the Army.

Best: you can learn leadership from both good and bad leaders..
- good leaders you copy what they do
- bad leaders you do the opposite of (I like this the most because I would never be the leader to my personnel that I had towards myself in the past.)
Worst: you don't have a say in x, y, z because you aren't a high enough rank.. self explanatory as to why thag is just wrong.

Best: Assist and Insist... Assist (enable) others in understanding and meeting the standard, insist they meet the standard.

Worst: Never volunteer for anything.