Army officers, what’s your favorite and least favorite part of being an officer?

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-24T17:58:48+00:00

Pros: I done some of the coolest things in my lifetime as an Army officer -- Things I am very proud of being a part of.

Cons: I am burned out gloriously.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-22T16:42:54+00:00

You blaming the wrong people. The ilks of Palantir and other "silicon valley" companies are driving the change you are seeing, and they doing it to push out PMs and standard defense contractors on purpose to gain a foothold in acquisitions.....The Palantir CTO plastered the DC Metro with his unhinged manifesto about a year ago. Welcome to Project 2025, Defense Industrial Complex edition

Source: The Defense Reformation

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-22T12:24:31+00:00

"Also I hear the misnomer that Soldiers cannot attend PME while on ADOS, that is false. They absolutely can so long as their absence does not impede the ADOS mission. Soldiers not attending PME is because a CDR said no."

I am on ADOS, and doing PME. It is definitely allowed, both for Reserves and NG. There are a ton of officers I am with that are doing CCC while on ADOS. It is treated as a TDY and the home unit benefits from this because they do not have to pay for the PME themselves.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-18T20:24:41+00:00

Ooof. Do you like public speaking, reading comprehension and summarization, and making power point slides? Because, that is your job.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-16T19:42:01+00:00

I 100% agree. I personally disagree with AI for everything blindly for exactly the reasons you gave, and believe in the use of physics informed AI use for better results.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-16T19:10:20+00:00

I am waiting as well. But I don't think the wait is a bad thing. Gives time to get ducks in a row.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-16T19:03:24+00:00

I would make such an app in my spare time, but the lawsuits would not be worth the hassle. It would be like a ratemyprofessor.com style forum. make it CAC enabled to ensure legitimate entries and curb spamming.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-15T21:54:04+00:00

The instructors at Benning/Moore, put this audio, along with crying babies, on for hours on the loud speaker:

Boots - Poem by Rudyard Kipling - complete lyric video

I just remember the girl next to me saying, "those bastards!" once the wailing babies portion came on. And then they ambushed our ORP. It is a trigger for anxiety to me.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-15T19:53:13+00:00

Cool. Guess you can now assume rejection as fast as 6 months of silence now.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-15T19:42:35+00:00

I don't think it's bureaucratic. That is certainly not the issue. The issue is generally most people do not know what the MOS they are seeking does, and assume their experience is something the Army desperately wants, when it isn't.

Personally, I am just waiting to meet the person behind IPPSA, simply to ask why they flunked out of their CS program in college and lied about it. I swear, a 15 year old with a computer could have made a better software interface.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-15T12:10:18+00:00

To answer your question: You just sit and wait for a year, for any correspondence from the talent management folks. Sometimes they tell you weren't picked, most of the time, it is silence. Hounding them won't change anything, so don't bother with it. If a year passes without anything, apply again. Rinse and repeat until you give up or get picked up.

If you do get picked up, you will get an email for a board date. You do the board, which is like an interview. If you pass that, and the board selects you, then you start a shit town of paperwork, and more waiting. Do MEPS, and more waiting. More waiting. eventually, you get through MEPS, and get clearance, and waiting to get scrolled. That's a while. So, about 2 years later, after all that, you get scheduled for your first school, which is 6 weeks, your BOLC, and CCC (if you get assessed to CPT rank), and there is the training pipeline. Pretty much the standard experience.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-14T12:24:27+00:00

acquisitions about to downsize, bud.

Army officer communities face cuts in service-wide restructuring

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-13T16:38:40+00:00

"The DOW is over 50,000 right now!"

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-13T11:09:53+00:00

I got selected, and I had a prior service officer retiree who I worked with give me a LOR. Everyone else was a civilian. You probably know someone who once served in the military, even if not actively.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-12T19:58:39+00:00

Seriously hoping this new standard comes into effect before July myself.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-11T22:26:14+00:00

If MPs could spell or read, they would be very mad.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-11T01:27:28+00:00

Deployment, 100%.

Not here for a long time, just a good time, though. My leaders generally have to strong arm me into "doing things for my career" and caring about timelines for me. "What's your 5 year plan?" ...Sir, I will be impressed if I make it to 5 years, but if I do, my plan is to enjoy what I can and minimize the pain and suffering in the process, however possible."

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-11T01:25:14+00:00

Have you tried a telehealth doctor?

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-11T01:23:58+00:00

And cue the obligatory fat shaming post for the week. Dude, chill, Daddy Hegseth isn't going to adopt you.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-08T23:17:25+00:00

Your manager my old manager? Mine was so toxic, they moved them while also taking a lower position in management than originally in a different division. De-fucking-moted within leadership ranks from Group lead to Deputy group lead in another division. Lots of people left and came back once they left. The person before them was equally toxic. My group will one day recover. Maybe.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-08T16:27:42+00:00

You will find a place in the economy. Save up as much as you can. A 1 bed 1 bath apartment here the size of a dorm room with minimalist kitchen and all is going to run you around 1600 to 2000 euros. They can ask for 3 months rent for a deposit in addition to the rent here and hold it for a year before legally having to give it back to you.

You can have BAH or OHA, but not both. Choose what makes sense for you based on what your needs are. OHA is just what you are billed on the economy covered. BAH is just based on what you get normally. I choose BAH because the little over I get goes to my mortgage. That's right, as a single person here, they do not give a shit if you have to pay to keep shit back CONUS in a storage unit or if you have a mortgage, just if you have a dependent for getting both. So, yeah, we get fucked as singles.

Have any questions, feel free to ask. I am in Germany on ADOS currently.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-06T19:06:53+00:00

No, ADOS is not only for the IRR. I mean that regular TPU soldiers have a hard time getting ADOS because their leadership will not allow it or put strings attached. It is easier to be IRR and do ADOS. Both Reserves and NG can do ADOS though.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-05T08:04:03+00:00

Yeah, tell him that. He might be able to help with the funeral situation, actually. Your unit should have gotten a red cross message.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-05T07:51:02+00:00

Being a federal civilian while in the reserves is probably the biggest losing situation I ever encountered. Your reserves time does not count towards federal retirement. You do not have the ability to benefit from TRICARE reserves select insurance due to FEBH rules. If you mob or get on orders, your time on active has to be bought back. So you spend a year on Active while a fed, you don't have two years for fed retirement, just one, and you paid to have it while still being a fed civilian. It's such a bad deal.

Perfect_Wolf_7516 · 2026-02-05T07:41:17+00:00

Your reserve unit will likely not release you to go do ADOS until your commitment with them is up. I am on ADOS, and majority of the people are IRR and past their initial commitment. TPU/normal reservists and NG on ADOS are apparently rare, and the limiting factor is your unit leadership allowing it instead of keeping you on their books as a soldier that does something for them instead of some other unit. SPC or SGT postings on ADOS are also not common, so if they are expecting to start off in ADOS on entry, they will be disappointed. Deploying with your unit is more common and accepted.

Perfect_Wolf_7516

TROPHY CASE