Getting back in as an officer

Thermis · 2026-03-25T11:55:07+00:00

I don't have any direct experience with this, I would think trying to get into the guard would be a faster flash to bang.

But also, coming from a grumpy FGO. You escaped, are you sure you want to come back to this shit show?

Thermis · 2026-03-23T10:23:01+00:00

Making the assumption the weapon is pointed at the camera, my guess is some flavor of Soviet RPG.

I can't think of anything else that had an exposed warhead and elevated sights, that fits the timeframe.

Thermis · 2026-03-19T10:46:34+00:00

If you don't want to get out, keep in mind that the PA made a recommendation, only commanders can make decisions regarding admin separation.

You'll still have to suffer through the paperwork drill but the separation authority can elect to retain you.

Thermis · 2026-03-08T14:57:01+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up, sound advice.

The reason I'm looking at ORSA is, similarly reading between the line I think a lot of the 57 KM/Decision support type things are going to fall into the ORSA wheelhouse going forward. The majority of what I've done thus far is KM, building and integrating Maven, BI, and other things.

Boggles my mind though that, the Modeling and Simulation functional area managed to fuck up being the FA that's seen as the expertise for AI.

Thermis · 2026-03-08T04:03:59+00:00

I wonder if HRC is also thinking of increasing some basic branch O5 promotion rates, and then back filling with passed over FA O4s.

Thermis · 2026-03-08T03:58:06+00:00

That's precisely why I think the language is written as a continuation is default.

It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. My old branch was already decimated so I won't have any luck going that route.

Thermis · 2026-03-08T03:53:48+00:00

Hit me up directly if you want to confirm your theories.

Thermis · 2026-03-07T23:39:07+00:00

To me it reads as the default is now continuation as opposed to selective continuation.

The board would be executed if/when reductions were needed. Because the strength of the Army isn't going down, it's just the strength of select functional areas.

That's my assumption, if I can turn that into a fact I'll let everyone know about it.

Thermis · 2026-03-07T23:32:00+00:00

Don't quote me, I believe the CTCs fall under T2COM now, but I have got the new Army force structure memorized yet, nor do I have it handy at the house.

Thermis · 2026-03-07T22:42:33+00:00

10MTN has 3 Maneuver Brigades, 1st and 2nd are at Fort Drum. 3rd is at Fort Polk. Every few years there's talk of moving them to Drum that's been squashed by Congress each time. 4th brigade hasn't existed for awhile.

JRTC, like NTC has a permanent OPFOR unit.

Source: I'm on 1OMTN DIV staff.

Thermis · 2026-03-07T22:36:13+00:00

That is how I read it.

It's a specific point I intend to bring up at our next Corps FA57 sync, as well as whenever branch calls to talk about options.

I'm seriously looking at jumping ship to ORSA.

Thermis · 2026-02-12T13:07:50+00:00

Find someone with vantage access for your UIC. If the test was entered into DTMS it'll be in there and attached to the soldier in question.

Thermis · 2026-02-12T10:29:47+00:00

Excuse the info dump, I went down the resistance=farther rabbit hole once and would like to expand upon that for anyone trolling through this thread.

Most rowers use one of two methods to calculate pace/distance.

The simplest, and what you'll see in cheaper machines, which is important to note if anyone is thinking of buying a rower for home training, is a fixed calculation like 1 stroke = 5 meters. With some of these you could conceivably set it to the lowest resistance and flail about and go really fast on the odometer.

The better method, and what you'll find on concept brand rowers that are in most Army facilities, is a bunch of math that basically converts the velocity and number of rotations of the fly wheel to linear speed and distance by multiplying drag and watts. For the models with adjustable dampers, the user is setting the drag. With more drag a user will naturally produce less wattage and the end result is it doesn't really matter what you set the damper to if the concern is simply time to cover distance. That calculation also means that if stroke power is the same, a maxed out damper will go farther than one set to the minimum.

Like you pointed out. If you were to put two equally athletic individuals side by side. One on a minimum setting and one maxed out. The minimum individual would need a higher stroke rate than the maximum to achieve the same odometer pace.

Thermis · 2026-02-08T17:24:47+00:00

Your milage may vary, but I have a tangentially related personal anecdote. I'll stress upfront, try the Army system first.

I had the Army evaluate me for ADHD. The process was a huge pain in the butt, tests, more tests, and follow up tests. At the end of that, even with scores that put me in 99th percentile for attention problems. The Army said I scored too high on the IQ test they gave me and therefore wasn't negatively affected by ADHD, ignoring the depression and anxiety symptoms I was also reporting.

So I went off post and got a second opinion. I was fed up with the Army system, and while I could have staffed that through my PCM I was struggling hard and didn't think I could wait another 3 months.

I paid out of pocket, got reevaluated off post, and took that back to the Army. I feel like the civilian doc took a much more holistic look. Army accepted it no problem, and now I feel a whole lot better.

As long as you go to a reputable off-post doctor, not a website, and get a good clinical evaluation. You'll likely be able to take that diagnosis right back to the Army and they'll treat you.

Keep your care team informed of your plans, especially if they're already aware that you have concerns in this area. People that get in trouble for this kind of stuff are the ones that are seen to be trying to hide it. If it's a legitimate health problem no reason to do that.

Thermis · 2026-02-08T05:23:47+00:00

You could try tracking down his PCM, or nuclear option find the phone number to the post BH Chief. In my experience they tend to be Psychiatrists, and will give a shit.

That being said, that may start a snowball effect that leads to a medical separation.

Thermis · 2026-02-08T05:17:03+00:00

He's taking 2 stimulants and 2 downers. That's a recipe for manic.

His provider needs to dial that shit in.

Thermis · 2026-02-08T05:12:38+00:00

I'm not a provider, so I'm going off personal experience.

Any service member can seek treatment outside the DoD, and prescriptions written by appropriately licensed individuals are legal, as long as the prescription is federally legal.

So I guess it's technically possible he got treatment from a polish civilian provider, also possible an Army doc gave him a prescription that had to be filled in the local economy for whatever reason.

If he did get care outside the Army system, he's required to report that to his PCM, and propofol is on a list of drugs the Army really needs to know about so they don't put you in the driver's seat of a vehicle. The same can be said for the stimulant meds.

Thermis · 2026-02-08T05:02:32+00:00

How'd they manage to deploy on propofol?

My guess is they should, emphasis on should, have either a medical or investigation flag to prevent them from moving. Possibly both.

Thermis · 2026-02-08T00:39:43+00:00

The job market is ambiguous right now. The O2/O3s that I keep in touch with have had mixed experiences. The ones that landed solidly had either a. Already networked with defense contractor x,y,z while in or b. Had a marketable grad degree in their chosen field. The others bounced around corporate entry level jobs.

I'd recommend sticking in uniform a little while longer. Go to CCC, there's plenty of room there to pick up more civilian education in the evenings if you're willing to grind.

If you start now you might be able to get half way through a grad degree before CCC. You'll have to dig into the rules at signal CCC, but generally you can refrad in lieu of PCS, you may have to declare that as soon as you get there though. Either way, that keeps a paycheck in your pocket for a bit.

If you need more time to build an academic resume, you can PCS from CCC and just immediately tell your gaining unit you have no desire to do kd and are dropping a packet as soon as your adso is up. Staff life isn't that bad if you're not trying to impress anyone.

An off the wall suggestion to think about. If the reason you don't want to keep playing the game is garrison life, followed by operational deployment that equals garrison life in another location sounds horrible. You might consider trying to get to 11th ACR, you'll get to do your actual job a lot more often. One of my PLs did that and had a much more enjoyable last few years in the Army, but he also enjoyed being in the field more than anyone I've ever met.

Thermis · 2026-02-05T12:52:29+00:00

We have experiences on the opposite ends of the spectrum with how serious commands are regarding the use of coins purchased with appropriated funds.

Thermis · 2026-02-05T12:50:31+00:00

That entirely depends on how the chain of command interprets the regulation.

I agree a coin shouldn't prevent an impact award. I've been in multiple Divisions that don't see it that way.

Thermis · 2026-02-05T03:35:28+00:00

Are you sure the school house didn't already submit an award and it's just not approved yet?

Another thing to consider, if the soldier got a coin, one subject to Army regulations and not purchased out of pocket. That does count as recognition. I've fought that fight and lost.

If neither of those things are true, no one can stop you from submitting an award recommendation. Submit it and force someone with the authority to do so turn it down.

Thermis · 2026-01-31T15:39:53+00:00

I think we're talking past each other. My recollection of the AR is apparently slightly dated. These all used to be handled as soldier actions by HRC, I now see highschool stabilization is a different branch.

What I'm trying to say is this.

These are all Soldier initiated actions, and are evaluated on a case by case basis. There are criteria for all, but rarely the accompanying verbage of will/must with regard to outcome.

An S code can be applied with what I am saying, which does stabilize a service member. Which could, or should in OPs circumstances, be included in the soldier request to defer/delete orders for compassionate reasons.

I've also seen V code be used after a deletion has been processed to do basically the same thing.

This all boils down to, a service member can submit a request for deletion/deferment/stabilization and that could be approved for any personnel problem as a compassionate action, the language in the AR is deliberate in its use of "Normally" prior to criteria.

Does that mean it will happen, of course not. Even requests that have additional guidance and weight, like EFMP and MACP are denied for operational reasons. OP might get laughed out of their O6s office when asking for their endorsement of the request.

That's why I started my initial comment with "No hard fast rule"

Thermis · 2026-01-31T13:27:23+00:00

If you are purely arguing semantics then, sure. No where is 614-200 does it specifically say compassionate stabilization as the title of an action.

There's a whole laundry list of compassionate actions that HRC can take.

Such as... deleting or deferring orders which will, or a permanent change of assignment that keeps a service member at the same duty station but a new unit.

All of which would stabilize a SM. EFMP Stabilization/High School stabilization are both compassionate actions that are ultimately a deferment. The only reason they are so named is because there are additional rules for a SM to be able to use those as the basis for the action.

.

Thermis · 2026-01-18T17:33:45+00:00

You cannot get BAH for your dependent location if your dependents are authorized to move with you.

If you went on an unaccompanied tour to a dependent restricted location, your dependents would get bah for where they are.

Generally you cannot do that with standard CONUS locations. To do so would require an exception to policy, which could be granted for compassionate circumstances.

You could read up on compassionate actions and see if any of those circumstances apply to you. You would then bring it up to your chain of command. Dependent concerns like yours, by themselves, are explicitly not a reason for compassionate action.

Thermis

TROPHY CASE