What is Your “Grass is greener on the other side” Realization when You Switched Branches or MOS?

SPC July Macias — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 15:27:39 -0500

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2023 7:26 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 19:26:33 -0500

The Air Force is a 180 degree difference from the Marine Corps.

Air Force - Better chow, living quarters, more lenient on regulations (uniform, boots, hair etc.) and the hours are more like business hours. Not a lot of military bearing like formations or drilling. But I did see a lot of dedicated individuals.

Marine Corps - Strict on regulations, more pride in appearance and military bearing. A lot of pride knowing the history of the Corps and maintaining that history throughout the years and generations. Not the best chow unless you are on a Navy base or ship. Earning the Eagle Globe and Anchor instills a great achievement and confidence in self worth.

I have always missed the Corps!

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Dec 22 at 2023 10:59 AM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:59:51 -0500

There was always something I saw in others the whole time I was in. People stationed somewhere they didn't like would always say if I got my orders to "some place" approved things would be better. I was stationed in Washington DC from 2001-2003 and people would complain that being at a fleet unit would be so much better. I get to a fleet unit and people complain that another Regiment would be better than where we were. People apply for Special Duty assignments saying it would be better there. Then you get there and somebody is complaining about going to the fleet again. Then you have people complaining that they wanted Aviation but got orders to a Ground unit. Or vice versa. It's a circular debate that never ends because some people are never gonna be happy. Usually the same people who are dirtbags that complain everyday while in Uniform but you see them complaining at the American legion canteen "I never should have got out". Same dude that as a veteran irons his jeans and wears a vet hat and maybe some other piece of random military bling like Calvary spurs, alice clip utility pouches or a web belt while in civilian attire.

I served 11 1/2 years before being medically retired and I served at 6 different duty stations and several schools in that time. Duty stations are what you make of them and generally the only thing that makes it good/bad is the command team and their influence. Everything else is pretty much the same.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Dec 23 at 2023 11:09 AM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 11:09:04 -0500

When I branch transferred to the Engineers and attended the first Active Phase of the Engineer Advance Course and they showed me my quarters for the school. An efficiency apartment with maid service. TDY Captains quarters at Ft. Benning were pretty marginal at the time and the permanent enlisted had better quarters than the Officer Basic Students. The Older Engineers were crying about leaving Belvoir, these were the best facilities and quarters I had seen in the Army. OK, Leonard Wood is out in the boonies, after they moved the Engineers there, the post facilities were great.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Dec 28 at 2023 7:37 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:37:35 -0500

I went from Aviation and Armor to Finance. I tell you this. Some of the support units have their own craziness to deal with. For example, gate guard and funeral details depleted the Finance soldiers, but we still had the mission to support the garrison and the community. The Brigade CO did not like me because I told him that finance operations would suffer if the unit was detailed out. Fortunately, I was able to talk to the garrison SGM who would bring the Finance CO under the command and control of the garrison.

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Jan 4 at 2024 4:16 PM

SSG Carlos Madden — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 16:16:20 -0500

74D to 38B. Got the new MOS for a deployment and quickly realized how much better the CA world was from the "regular" army units. Small teams, people leave you alone because while you're assigned to their unit, you're not "in" their unit, first line leadership was distant because of CA organization so your own unit left you alone which also allowed you to do your job with minimal oversight, units have better funding so you have better gear, it's officer heavy but that works in the favor of NCO's because there's always a LTC "Joe" you can count on to back you up, you're around a lot of SOC-types who go out and now in CA, and you can deploy to cooler places doing cooler stuff than the regular army.

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 17 at 2024 8:24 PM

SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 20:24:35 -0500

I switched from Army Guard to Air Guard. Went from sleeping on gym floors and driving for 3 days eating MRE’s to sleep in a tent for two weeks and shower 1. Deployed in 2003. Got treated like a prisoner for most of premob. Got treated like a child for 6 months. Though in my opinion still I was smarter than those in charge. How no one died is a miracle.

Switche to USAF, will I was at Keesler for school during Katrina, their leadership under pressure left something to be desired. My experience beyond that including multiple deployments is 1Mil better. Deployed to African countries for 3 Six month deployments and it was all 100% better than any experience in the army. Even though I was with Army Personnel. I watched them still being treated like a chain gang, and living in a tent. They had the audacity to tell me and my compadre they didn’t have room in tents for us. 6 months with full per Diem in Africa. Army that would NEVER happen. Photo in the tents Army was in an out pool side dinner location. The USAF has sent me to Hawaii 3 times, Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, France, Iraq, Kuwait and UAE.

Remember this is with the Air Guard. It’s harder to deploy as I’ve gone up in rank but my only quasi regret is when my first daughter was due I was offered mission of Antarctica. I turned it down and have never been able to get on it again.

Response by SN Kristi Kalis made Jan 17 at 2024 10:54 PM

SN Kristi Kalis — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 22:54:47 -0500

Going from the Army to the Navy was a huge shock. The senior enlisted in the Army were experienced, professional and earned respect. Unfortunately, they were still covering up rapes and other sexual incidents. The senior enlisted in the Navy were children who loved screwing off, playing pranks and had no honor. The Navy took sexual incidents seriously, though.

Response by SFC Bruce Smith made Jan 18 at 2024 10:24 AM

SFC Bruce Smith — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 10:24:13 -0500

I went from Cavalry Scout to Chemical, but it was short lived. I told my 1SG I’d rather get shot at and to send me back to the line. Don’t get it wrong, chemical is a good life with many options upon retirement. I just preferred scouts between the two.

Response by CWO5 Jeffrey Backus made Jan 18 at 2024 2:00 PM

CWO5 Jeffrey Backus — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 14:00:16 -0500

That green grass is a screen saver

Response by MSgt Keith Morreira made Jan 20 at 2024 4:19 PM

MSgt Keith Morreira — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 16:19:12 -0500

I was I'm the AF but fortunate to be in many joint commands and deployments. Got to experience all branches. Formed likes/dislikes for all.

AF has better housing and amenities. Lack of "Warrior" culture does cause many to be soft and harder to supervise. Also deployed AF bases were uptight and focused on things that didn't matter, making the deployment harder then nessasary.

Army was best to deploy with. They let you do your missions and did not mess with you in garrison. Had the best deployed chow hall's. Bureaucracy was bananas. Made it hard to basic support.

Marines displine and warrior culture made them the best to work with. They never fail to accomplish a mission. Quality of life sucks under marine command. No one should live like that.

Navy was a mixed bag of personalities, fun to be around. "Ship" culture not for me though.

Response by GySgt Tim Shea made Jan 22 at 2024 2:13 PM

GySgt Tim Shea — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 14:13:11 -0500

Went from Cherry Point, NC to Camp Smith, HI. The "grass" was very green. Bn CO kept me for an extra year. Very green grass! Then orders to Camp Lejeune, NC (to get poisoned). Grass not so green. Did lots of non-military stuff, but still not "greener grass." Company CO was a bumbling idjiot.
Ended up as a civilian. Looked back at "what if?" when I would have had 20, then 30. This year makes 49! Civilian grass was and is greener!

Response by SMSgt Brian Kearney made Feb 23 at 2024 2:02 PM

SMSgt Brian Kearney — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:02:39 -0500

Marines have the prettiest unforms but worst living conditions and treatment. USAF was the polar opposite.

Response by A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney made Mar 10 at 2024 10:12 AM

A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 10:12:07 -0400

Being USAF, I Never Had Any Complaints.. And I DID Switch AFSC's, But It Wasn't Much Different Than Civilian Life ~ Job Hunting Without Leaving The House...
And So Long As We're On This Subject; I Never Had A Single Problem With Going From Civilian Life Into The Military, Nor The Other Way Around.. I Changed Jobs Which Had Different Rules ~~
No Difference In Doing That Either.

Response by SSG Stephen Kimball made Mar 24 at 2024 9:59 PM

SSG Stephen Kimball — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 21:59:54 -0400

I went from Cavalry Scout to Quartermaster and starting as a Motor Pool Clerk. I retired through career progression as a supply sergeant who had rated time as S4 NCO, PBO and Battalion Supply Sergeant (Aviation is weird). Would I have wanted to stay in Armor? No, I became good at scrounging and paperwork. Retired SSG and got an NCOER rated as a CW2 which wasn't noticed until it got to DA. Made my day when I got fired by the CG because this SSG had more customers than his Warrant Officers had.

Response by 1SG Steven Malkowski made Apr 22 at 2024 1:20 PM

1SG Steven Malkowski — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 13:20:50 -0400

I started out as an MP, RA. We looked down on the "grunts". Went to an MP unit in the NG and would have stayed there, but I got an AGR position as a recruiter, 00E and learned the value of those in the AG Branch. When that stint ended, I got commissioned and became an Infantry officer and I loved it. I was proud to be a grunt then. I thought I'd retire in that MOS. Then after 14 years I reverted back to enlisted and switched MOS's again to 12B, Combat Engineer. What a gratifying challenge that was. I deployed once as an Engineer (performing some rewarding work for the troops). Upon returning, I fell into a 1SG slot that required an 11B5Z MOS, which I was qualified for based on my Infantry officer experience. I retired from that position. Bottom line is that each change, whether voluntary or not, presented new challenges and rewards. When people ask me what I did in the Army, I say I was a jack of all trades, master of none.