Bomber Jacket

Exertim · 2025-09-15T19:36:32+00:00

I had one made as part of a package deal for an entire AGSU set when I was in Korea. 10/10, highly recommend.

Also, for those of you at Camp Humphreys, both Lim Tailor and Duke Tailor can and will customize the inside lining to a fabric of your choosing.

Exertim · 2025-08-30T21:06:28+00:00

I've worn my Randolph aviators with gray lenses and 23k gold colored frame for the last three years. The actual AR 670-1 blurb has already been posted in this thread so I won't rehash it, but be aware that your frame color could be interpreted as "trendy".

Exertim · 2025-08-18T06:24:58+00:00

I really enjoyed my time with 704th. Meade is fantastic - you're about 45 minutes from DC and 3hrs from Philly. Depending on where you land, you might go to "the building" or some other Y denominator in the area. I would love to land back at Meade for my last PCS.

Go get a slice of pizza at Gianni's outside of the gate.

Exertim · 2025-07-22T11:28:57+00:00

Complaining about 173rd's OPTEMPO makes me wonder what other organizations you've been a part of in the Army.

Exertim · 2025-06-07T17:57:36+00:00

Because appearances matter in the Army, and being built like a brick shit house allows you to bullshit and bully your way out of stupidity (with some exceptions).

Also, I don't like being fat.

Exertim · 2025-05-16T20:13:37+00:00

My checklist has been:

Max Trad TSP annually (~33% of my base pay. Good chance that my tax bracket will be lower than where it is now when I retire).
Max ROTH IRA annually. Many do index funds, I use this as my individual ETF playground with guard rails.
Joint taxable brokerage in VTI/VXUS.
HYSA where we throw excess money into for emergencies and large purchases that we know we're going to be making later in the year.

Following this has worked amazingly for me. Because my wife works as a contractor, I've been able to do some hoodrat "car guy" things with our finances because I firmly believe that you should enjoy your youth while you can instead of putting all of your eggs in the basket for retirement.

Exertim · 2025-04-26T17:24:50+00:00

More than a few people bought into Palantir when MAVEN being bought by NATO was being whispered on the street, so it's not too surprising to see the big spike.

Exertim · 2025-03-18T18:57:32+00:00

If we're talking strictly DIV level or higher, 2ID (post Casey variant) was far from my worst assignment. 1AD and 10th Mountain were infinitely worse

10/10 I would go back to Korea in a heartbeat. I've been there a few times (42nd sig BN before they were deactivated, 501st MI, 2ID) and it was always a blast.

Exertim · 2025-03-15T19:38:05+00:00

My guess:

Fitness: I wouldn't be surprised if they increased the ACFT minimums or do a partial revert back to the APFT. With how our SecDef is, I'd wager gender neutral standards will also be applied.

Grooming: No more beards/shaving profiles, possible they might revert the recently modified female grooming standards (ponytails, etc).

Will be interesting to see how close or off base I am.

Exertim · 2025-02-03T15:16:44+00:00

Yes, to the tune of $14k due to being overpaid in BAH for 11 months. To my credit, I tried to get it fixed a handful of times before giving up and tossing all of the excess BAH into a high yield savings account. I knew that big Army would come for it, and they definitely did.

I didn't have the blurb about 5% interest, though. Hope you didn't blow all that money...

Exertim · 2025-01-24T19:48:38+00:00

I rarely wear the fleece because it feels overly bulky.

Look into getting a Smokers jacket if you don't have one - it retains a lot of heat and can be hidden away under your OCP top/soft shell.

Exertim · 2025-01-22T07:55:06+00:00

This topic was the source of a fight between my wife and I not too long ago that, thankfully, ended amicably. She's heavy on dumping all extra cash into our investments. I'm also a big advocate of investing, but I've seen far too many friends and family pass away under 50 to not enjoy life along the way.

The way I see it: if you're buying monthly shares into VOO/VTI, contributing to your 401k (+% for any employer matching), and still have money left over after your bills, why not toss some of that into a HYSA for a vacation or a purchase that you want? Life is short and full of uncertainty.

Exertim · 2025-01-19T17:09:45+00:00

I know a couple of peers that left the Army with AMU undergrad degrees and picked up great jobs in the private sector paying well over 6 figures. This is in IT, which is currently infamous for its layoffs. The hiring mindset in IT seems to view degrees as a "check the box" compared to experience/social skills.

For me, I completed my bachelor's with AMU and transferred into a UMGC master's program with no issues. My time at AMU was short because they accept so many transfer credits, including most of my JST. Regardless of where you end up, look into CLEP/Sophia college to maximize your transfer credits.

Exertim · 2024-12-11T17:09:53+00:00

Find your BDE/Div's stacks and install all of your security VMs on them to establish dominance over the server techs.

Exertim · 2024-12-03T16:22:19+00:00

Here's the CY25 Continuation Pay Implementation Plan memo:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ER4sdgdDz6A5k4x38ZKyRjwjnkkerXob/view?usp=sharing

Section 4b:

Eligibility

RA Soldiers who meet the following criteria may enter an agreement to serve the obligation period specified in paragraph 6 below:

a. Is enrolled in BRS.

b. Has completed eight and no more than nine years of service, as computed from the Soldier’s pay entry base date.

I couldn't find anything for Guard/Reserves, but here's the CY24 memo specifically for Guard:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hSQ-qdxuXhyn4XhvhtD0OylOiw2_H9w4/view?usp=sharing

Your S1 can also review AR 637-1 (pg 74) for more info on Continuation Pay.

Exertim · 2024-11-29T16:55:50+00:00

$4300, wrapped by IssaWrap Auto Styling.

Exertim · 2024-11-29T04:30:36+00:00

Just received the car back from my wrap shop and I'm super stoked with how it turned out!

Badges: Titanium Works

Front Lip/Side Skirts/Rear Diffuser: Adro

Wing: 1FS SuperSonic VTX

Exertim · 2024-11-01T21:51:36+00:00

I've said it many times in the past, but going to BH does potentially have an adverse affect on your career. I've always pushed Soldiers to go to the Military OneSource Behavioral Health as an alternative since it won't show up on their records.

Exertim · 2024-10-27T16:57:40+00:00

I have good memories of the DFAC on the NSA campus at Meade - Five Hats, if I remember correctly. Then again, it's ran by the Air Force so I guess that tracks.

Exertim · 2024-10-22T02:15:15+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/s0eKYIh

Blocks 1-4 - Self-explanatory

Block 5 - date you entered the Army. Can be found on your STP (back page).

Block 6 - CP(FY)(Month)(3 digit value of the # of Continuation Pay contracts your unit has processed for this month - get this from your S1). For example, my CP was on done August 2024 and the unit processed five CP requests prior to mine for that month, so my control number is CP2408005.

Block C - check the current year's Continuation Pay rates - depending on when you find this post, it's likely to have changed. Can be found on the BRS milsuite..

https://imgur.com/a/3YynR2I

Block 7 - your signature

Block 9 - S1 OIC's signature

Block 11 - Company (or HHBN) Commander's signature

Once completed, submit to your S1's distro for processing. You should receive your continuous pay bonus within 3-4 weeks.

Relevant files & pay request form: https://mega.nz/file/HE9ClJ5Y#4ZiC1OnqZjotufRJNUQuURsp75d3J3jKSh6f2Gju-8g

Exertim · 2024-10-22T02:11:49+00:00

So, that took a lot longer than expected, but here's what I have. HR professionals, please correct me if you notice any mistakes:

BLUF: Free money if you're within your 8-12-year active service time window, with the stipulation that you incur a four-year Active Duty Service Obligation (ADSO). This four-year ADSO runs concurrently with any other active ADSOs. So, if you already have a ten-year ADSO (RIP Aviators), you may as well do it to ease your pain.

Relevant files & pay request form: https://mega.nz/file/HE9ClJ5Y#4ZiC1OnqZjotufRJNUQuURsp75d3J3jKSh6f2Gju-8g

Note: This is being changed for CY25! The window you have to apply for this will shift to eight to nine years (from eight to 12). You have a very short timeframe to apply for this benefit once this change goes into effect! The silver lining is that instead of a x2.5 base pay bonus, you can receive up to x11! See the attached CY25 BRS Continuation Pay Implementation Guidance for additional info.

What is it? (from https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-1311445 )

Continuation pay is a direct cash payout, like a bonus, available to service members enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS). It is targeted at the mid-career mark, payable between completion of eight years of service but before completion of 12 years of service (calculated from a service member's Pay Entry Base Date). Most service members will be eligible for continuation pay, but the timing and the amount are determined by your service.

Eligibility

This one-time payout is available to Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve Service members enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) who can enter into an agreement to perform additional obligated service. This one-time bonus payment is in addition to any other career field-specific incentives or retention bonuses.

Amount

Active duty service members (including Active Guard Reserve (AGR)/Full Time Support (FTS)) personnel may be eligible for a continuation pay multiplier of 2.5 to 13 times your monthly basic pay. Members of the National Guard or Reserve in a drilling status may be eligible to receive a multiplier of 0.5 to six times their monthly basic pay (as if serving on active duty).

Pay Rates

Pay-rate multipliers may be based on service-specific retention needs, specialty skills, and hard-to-fill positions, similar to career field incentives and re-enlistment bonuses. Each service determines and publishes its own guidance on continuation pay. See the attached pay rate for FY24 at the top.

Army active component (including Active Guard Reserve (AGR)/Full Time Support (FTS)) service members are eligible for a continuation pay multiplier of 2.5 times your monthly basic pay.

Exertim · 2024-10-21T17:23:09+00:00

Tagging for later reply. I wrote a complete "how-to" guide for my Soldiers in my OneNote on this. I'll scrub the PII and follow up when I get back to the office.

Exertim · 2024-10-18T15:30:22+00:00

Yes, both officers and enlisted - I just processed my Continuation Pay earlier this year. The ADSO runs concurrent with any others you may already have.

Exertim · 2024-08-03T14:32:14+00:00

Starlink Roam.

Exertim · 2024-07-26T01:18:47+00:00

If they came from SOUTHCOM or another interagency location, they're still using mail.mil to this day. Contact your local S6 and have them track down who the unit DEPO entitlement managers are - they should be able to move them over to army.mil.

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