I will be submitting my voluntary reclassify packet this week. Which path is best, 12B Combat Engineer or 19D Cavalry scout?

SSG (Join to see), depends what you want to do. Those are two totally different MOS's you are talking about there. There are a lot of different kinds of engineer units too, which provide a lot of different jobs for SGT's. If you are a 12B, you could be anything from a light sapper team leader or section leader, pounding pickets, laying wire, digging fighting positions, blowing stuff up or you could be a heavy engineer...doing the same thing with heavy equipment. You could also end up swinging a hammer in a construction unit or power and light. Depends where you go. As a 19D, you have one job...reconnaissance. You'd end up as a team leader or vehicle commander in a light, Stryker or armored cavalry squadron. Same job, different platforms. Engineers are supposed to fight as infantry when they aren't doing engineer tasks, but that's about 2% of their time. If engineers aren't being used in their primary job, something has gone wrong. Scouts are focused on reconnaissance. All the time. They aren't supposed to engage the enemy directly unless the mission calls for it...usually in the heavy units. I'd become a scout, but I'm biased.

Well, as a former 12B I'm a little biased. You'll do a lot of things similar to infantry. Nearly every post has engineer units so you can go anywhere. There are also engineer battalions in the middle of nowhere. My last year on active duty was at WSMR, NM. Training is hard and if you deploy to Afghanistan you'll be doing route clearance. Downside for NCOs in engineer units is that you will be dealing with a lot of arrests. Engineer battalions tend to top the blotter. Also, it a small MOS for combat arms, so points for promotion can be really high. I left active as a SGT, because I was waiting on points to drop from 798 for over a year. The positive side, you will eventually know a guy nearly everywhere you get sent. When I left Lewis for Korea, half of the squad I was given I served with in the 14th at one time or another. Same at WSMR, he'll even in the CANG I worked with soldiers I served with on active duty. So there will be a lot of continuity. Also, you're likely to be a squadleader immediately, because engineer units regularly have soldiers in positions above their pay grade.

I recommend 12B......but them I'm being biased as I once was a 12B