Came in as e5 from marines so no basic training but at school they pretty much leave you alone, at fort benning

Bases will be Carson, hood, bliss, Riley, Stewart, and at NTC, but don’t count on your dream sheet meaning a thing

Long hours, lots of field time, constant rotations, but if you enjoy that type of work it is fun

SSgt,

1. I would make sure you are prepared for the "culture shock" of crossing over from the Air Force. Like SGT Nichols said, I have seen both sides of Airmen who have accessed to the Army and either rose to the occasion or just counted down their days til they got out.

2. Basic training will most likely be at Fort Benning for you. The Army is all about saving money, so there's no reason to send you to Fort Jackson/Sill/Leonard Wood when BCT is already offered at Benning. From what I have come to understand, the Infantry guys are all on Sand Hill, and everyone else is spread out amongst the other training battalions. You will be housed with other prior service soldiers, and will interact sparsely with the new recruits. How you will be treated is really up to the organization you report to, but I'd be remiss to say that the Drill Sergeants won't necessarily keep an eye on you coming over from the USAF.

3. When it comes to Tank World, there really is no "Dream Sheet". Tanks require a lot of land to do what they do; so wherever you go, there will be a lot of nothing to accommodate their specific requirements. Fort Bliss, Fort Hood, Fort Stewart, Fort Benning, Fort Irwin, Fort Riley, and Fort Carson are all you have to look forward to stateside, with a stint in Korea if you're willing. I've never been stationed at Bliss as a 91A, but from previous experience I'd say it's the best base in regards, to equipment, location, and commands. Fort Stewart would probably be second, but I've never been there and I hear checkered things about the commands there. I'm currently stationed at Riley, I'd recommend you steer clear, and if you don't like the extreme cold I'd say the same about Carson. You may hear a total opposite while you're going through the pipeline so take it all with a grain of salt. Go where your heart tells you to, your head will tell you if you made a mistake very soon thereafter.


4. If you got the standard 3 year contract you're going to be overseas 2 out of those 3 years or stateside 2 out of those 3 years; and Deployments/Rotations are 9 months long. Train-ups will be long and tedious. Expect long hours in garrison as well in the field. If you're married/have kids, be up front with them about this NOW. I've never been in the Air Force a day in my life, but I can't imagine that what you do now will have a similar work/home balance. My first day as a 91A, we worked til 1:30 AM outside in the middle of a snow storm, just to give you an idea. Work never stops, as soon as you get 1 tank up, 3 more go down.

5. You should be a quick study though, I had a Marine helicopter mechanic who I reclassed with and he's one of the finest 91As I've ever met, and he's now my boss. Because of how complicated aircraft are you should be a natural since the tank runs on a turbine engine; and I can't imagine you'll have any problems reading schematics. All you have to do is put in the wrench time and you'll climb the ladder.

Good luck.

As prior service AF you may have to go through regular basic training, a shorter basic training refresher course, or you may get to skip it altogether. I’ve seen all three happen, but have only seen Marines get to skip it altogether. Basic training for most non-combat arms is most likely to be Ft Jackson, SC, but could also be Ft Leonard wood, Missouri; any of the other locations would be highly unlikely (but not impossible). I also went through a basic training refresher course at White Sands Missile Range, but I don’t think that option exists anymore. AIT was at Ft Knox, KY when I reclassed (prior service Army, my 3rd MOS). Prior service guys were treated the same (worse in my opinion) as brand new Privates, but I think that was just that chain of command. In general, prior service guys are treated more like permanent party in the Army. I went through that AIT with an AF aviation mechanic who deeply regretted making the change. CONUS bases would be Ft Carson, CO, Ft Hood, TX, Ft Bliss, TX, Ft Riley, KS, and Ft Stewart, GA. OCONUS duty stations would be 2nd ID South Korea (multiple posts), Germany (multiple posts), and Alaska. It’s important to note that there has been a constant reshuffling of units since I left so there may be other stations now. As far as Army life in 2020, I don’t have a clue. I’ve been out for a number of years now and I’m sure this pandemic bs has drastically changed things.