Posted on Mar 6, 2017
Given that I have spent my whole initial enlistment with the same unit, is it worthwhile for me to re-enlist?
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I'd like to re-enlist and continue to serve my country. The only down fall is that I've only been at Brigade level my entire first 6 years of enlistment and only know that type of work culture. I'm a 25B and I love my job and also hope to be a DS one day but I feel like it may not be worth it to re-enlist. The first 4 years of my enlistment consisted playing on my phone. No job or cross training.
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Re-enlistment
00G: Drill Sergeant
Re-enlistment 00G: Drill Sergeant
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 6
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Where to start?
First, yes it is worth it. Service comes with a cost, but it also has been rewarding. Making a difference for my Soldiers and the mission gives me far more pride than what I did at drill last weekend.
Second, for the love of all that is holy, GET THE HELL OUT OF BRIGADE. HQ units are where souls go to turn black and find new souls to consume. You will love being a Soldier far better if you can get out on the line, get dirty, and do Soldier stuff for a while. 25Bs don't get out much, so perhaps a reclass to another MOS is in order. There are plenty of opportunities out there.
Third, you need to invest in some self-development if your unit or NCOs don't seem interested. You won't get a lot of opportunities to set up a TACLAN in a Guard unit, so look for opportunities to support the facility, armory, or installation that you're on. Get permissions, certifications, and accesses and you will suddenly find yourself to be invaluable as Colonels bang their heads on their monitors trying to install a printer or get EES to work.
I love the Army and what I do, but it took me half a career to find my true calling and passion for putting on the uniform. It was hard to leave my comfort zone, but now I never look back.
First, yes it is worth it. Service comes with a cost, but it also has been rewarding. Making a difference for my Soldiers and the mission gives me far more pride than what I did at drill last weekend.
Second, for the love of all that is holy, GET THE HELL OUT OF BRIGADE. HQ units are where souls go to turn black and find new souls to consume. You will love being a Soldier far better if you can get out on the line, get dirty, and do Soldier stuff for a while. 25Bs don't get out much, so perhaps a reclass to another MOS is in order. There are plenty of opportunities out there.
Third, you need to invest in some self-development if your unit or NCOs don't seem interested. You won't get a lot of opportunities to set up a TACLAN in a Guard unit, so look for opportunities to support the facility, armory, or installation that you're on. Get permissions, certifications, and accesses and you will suddenly find yourself to be invaluable as Colonels bang their heads on their monitors trying to install a printer or get EES to work.
I love the Army and what I do, but it took me half a career to find my true calling and passion for putting on the uniform. It was hard to leave my comfort zone, but now I never look back.
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Well 2 things cross my mind. You say you spent more time playing on your phone. Does this mean you had no opportunities to cross train or you had no initiative to cross train?
I was with a single unit my entire enlistment, but I personally went to 9 different units to cross train and expand my experience. I did this of my own volition. If you are waiting for someone to tell you to learn something, your leadership might already give you up as a lost cause because of the lack of initiative. Maybe they're letting you play on your phone because they think you have no interest being a part of the organization.
The next thing I wanted to say is do you enjoy what you are doing? If you aren't enjoying yourself, then it's pointless to reenlist because a change of scenery doesn't mean things will get better. The whole "grass is greener" thing. But if you do want to stay in, put your phone away and cross train. Learn a new skill, get a new cert. Because when you get out, these are the things you'll put on your resume.
Playing on your phone won't look so good on a resume.
I was with a single unit my entire enlistment, but I personally went to 9 different units to cross train and expand my experience. I did this of my own volition. If you are waiting for someone to tell you to learn something, your leadership might already give you up as a lost cause because of the lack of initiative. Maybe they're letting you play on your phone because they think you have no interest being a part of the organization.
The next thing I wanted to say is do you enjoy what you are doing? If you aren't enjoying yourself, then it's pointless to reenlist because a change of scenery doesn't mean things will get better. The whole "grass is greener" thing. But if you do want to stay in, put your phone away and cross train. Learn a new skill, get a new cert. Because when you get out, these are the things you'll put on your resume.
Playing on your phone won't look so good on a resume.
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SPC (Join to see)
Cpl Goolsby- I apologize, let me clarify...yes, i did play on my phone but not literally for the first 4 years of my enlistment (I would be a complete shit bag and hope that they would have kicked my ass out) What I really meant was I wish we did more job and cross training. We had more downtime assisting other sections with their tasks and duties than we had really learning our jobs. The only reason I currently know my job as well as I do (25B- Information Technology Specialist) is because I went out and sought civilian employment.
I do enjoy what I'm doing..I find it actually pretty fulfilling! Some people think computers are too complicated or boring but I'm the opposite. Before i en-listed I knew nothing about computers..I knew there was a keyboard, mice and a screen...how to turn it off and on. Where to find MS Word and how to print and surf the internet. Since enlisting I've earned my Security+ and Network+ certs & I've obtained a pretty sweet IT job working for a hospital. I just wish my initial experience arriving at my first unit was different. They're all really great people and I have awesome leadership. We are currently cross training with the other jobs within my shop and I'm even learning more about mine..but will this be a lasting thing or will it fade out to where we're all back to square one. So that's my dilemma..if you need me to clarify anything lmk.
Thanks for you honest words..Keep it coming!
I do enjoy what I'm doing..I find it actually pretty fulfilling! Some people think computers are too complicated or boring but I'm the opposite. Before i en-listed I knew nothing about computers..I knew there was a keyboard, mice and a screen...how to turn it off and on. Where to find MS Word and how to print and surf the internet. Since enlisting I've earned my Security+ and Network+ certs & I've obtained a pretty sweet IT job working for a hospital. I just wish my initial experience arriving at my first unit was different. They're all really great people and I have awesome leadership. We are currently cross training with the other jobs within my shop and I'm even learning more about mine..but will this be a lasting thing or will it fade out to where we're all back to square one. So that's my dilemma..if you need me to clarify anything lmk.
Thanks for you honest words..Keep it coming!
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SPC (Join to see)
Thank you Sir! With 6 months left, I have a lot of prioritizing & re-evaluating to do.
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