What was your best/worst experience working in a joint environment?

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 12:58:30 -0400

This is not a post to flame anyone or another service. I am just curious to hear some experiences of others that have worked in the joint environment. What were some of the things that you were like wow that really works well or hell that is messed up! Thanks

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2014 1:02 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:02:44 -0400

Worst experience is dealing with "other service" raters who don't know how Army evals and awards work. I've seen CPTs have their career essentially ended because their Navy rater didn't fully appreciate that "fully qualified" vs "best qualified" is a death sentence. Navy has a jacked up rating system, where basically the most senior gets "best qualified", regardless of actual accomplishments.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2014 2:43 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 14:43:03 -0400

I fully enjoy working in a joint environment. I like learning new and different ways of doing business from the other services. As a soldier, I dislike when senior Army personnel run everything like the Army and can't adapt to the joint environment. Which tends to kill morale for the majority.

Response by SSG Steven Borders made Jul 9 at 2014 2:27 PM

SSG Steven Borders — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 14:27:44 -0400

Senior Chief, I love working on JBAB. I couldn't have asked for a better assignment. I literally work with all the branching including a few Coast Guardsman. I believe there are two here I have seen and met. I have learned a lot about the ranks/rates and also the different customs. I was surprised to find out that Females in the Air Force can where earrings in their ACU's. I learned that most Seamen don't stand at parade rest when talking to senior enlisted just to name a few.
I think it would be beneficial for all the service members to at least intermingle once in there career.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2014 7:42 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 19:42:52 -0400

Working with a team that had both myself, and senior enlisted Navy and AF guys in it and have someone walk in and say "Hey Chief..." and see 5 different guys turn around.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2014 10:39 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 22:39:22 -0400

It's the way all the services are going Senior. In the communities I get to work, train, and teach in it's imperative that we have a good working relationship with our sister services for several reasons. I love my job and one of the reasons I love it is because of the "cross pollination" we get, which ultimately increases our intelligence as individual's further improving our communities and services.

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Jul 22 at 2014 12:35 PM

MSG Wade Huffman — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 12:35:36 -0400

I only had one experience serving in a joint environment, and it was a bonus because it was joint/combined at RAF Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire, England. It was a fantastic assignment and I learned quite a bit from the US Air Force, Marines and Navy personnel stationed there, along with the RAF folks. The experience definitely made me a much more rounded NCO (although since retirement I've gotten even MORE round! LOL!)

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 22 at 2014 1:39 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 13:39:13 -0400

25 hour flight in the top deck of a C-5 with 127 joint personnel in support of a mission. Air conditioning failed and so did the toilet(s). Nastiest time I had spent in the military and there was nowhere to go.

Response by SSG Mike Angelo made Aug 6 at 2014 3:44 PM

SSG Mike Angelo — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 15:44:30 -0400

What works is inter-service sports, good communication plan.

What doesn't work...

.... is bad attitudes or people who will not share or don't play well in the sandbox with others.

Working with foreign military and interpreters....

In the US...be respectful and leave your swagger at home.

In the host nation....be respectful, leave your swagger and faddish t-shirts at home; blend in, learn the host nation's language and culture; customs and courtesies.

Keep a diary...you will be thankful that you did.
Some branches of service uses a standard duty log for hourly events.

Response by Sgt Andrew Pouliot made Aug 9 at 2014 9:24 PM

Sgt Andrew Pouliot — Sat, 09 Aug 2014 21:24:54 -0400

While deployed at FOB Shukvani in Helmand Province last year, I was with a Dustoff unit from the Michigan/New Hampshire National Guard. They were all a great group of soldiers, I was good friends with a Lt Ronan over there (one of the UH-60 pilots). We worked great together but had the worst conditions. Sometimes their medevacs would come in when we had flights and seeing those guys often cheered me up on a bad day. The environment sucked but at least we had a good group out there.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2014 5:10 PM

CPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:10:03 -0400

Watching AF scramble when a Navy Chief gets reffered to as Chief is always a hoot. Other than that worst I experience I had on an AF base was due to an E3 Squid kicking a rare cactus that was arizona's state cactus.

It also happened to be infront of a Higher ranking individual's base housing. (CO's I believe.)

Not a good day as a representative of the Navy.

Response by SGT A Scott made Mar 5 at 2018 2:51 AM

SGT A Scott — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 02:51:55 -0500

I spent several years at joint base balad Iraq. Air Force, Army and marines. I didn't mix much because of my type of job but during free time obviously walking around the base we'd bump into Marines and air force. Air Force never really said much or if anything just seemed to mix well with army but more so than others, Marines would come back from missions and obviously be geared up and hot headed. Passing by they'd push their chest out and after passing you they'd start with the comments and hoorah shit and basically try to get a rise out of us... Which they really wanted us to get upset back at them and fight. Because they love to fight. I had issues in the dfac in line, I couldn't be between two marines, they couldn't tolerate that, they'd have to push me back to fill the gap... All this was from the younger teens and early 20s marines or other branches. They're just hot headed and fired up every day

Response by Sgt Diane E. made Feb 4 at 2022 2:03 AM

Sgt Diane E. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 02:03:07 -0500

I was stationed in azors in that base Had Air Force navy and and Marines