Officers in the Army

[Bob1234]

I'm asking this question for a freind...

If you joined the Army as an officer and went in to either artillery or armor, about how much time would you spend behind a desk as apposed to being in the feild?

In these career fields, would you suggest going officer or enlisted for more action?

Thanks
Bob

[DJOHNSON954]

My opinion is that an officer in those mos's are going to spend quite a bit of time in the field as well. However, it is also my opinon that if you really want the grunt work and action go enlisted. You will get all you can handle and more!

[Doc_Earp]

I've got friends in both branches as officers. For the most part, the first couple of years or so, the majority is field work. There's cases where some officers have had to do time in staff before getting a field oriented leadership job, but for the most part, it's field. Once you hit CPT or senior 1LT, the odds start to slip in the other direction.
They're both combat arms branches, so you'll spend most of your time in the field, rotations, maintenance, train-up.

[RoscoeRuhl]

As an officer, until you reach the rank of Captain, you're not going to do much time riding a desk! The same is true of the enlisted ranks once you reach the position of platoon sergeant. Artillery and Armor aren't administrative duties and as such, you're going to be outdoors very frequently.

As far as giving up your constitutional rights is concerned, I didn't give mine up and that's one of the most rediculous things I've seen written here in a while. While you don't have some of the same opportunities you had prior to putting on the uniform, you aren't giving up anything! When you join a team, you learn that the goal is to have a winning, successful team. You can't do that without being on the same page.

As far as "action" is concerned, without knowing exactly what the idea of the word means to your "friend", it would be difficult to respond. The difference between enlisted and officers is that the officers tell you what needs to happen and the enlisted make it happen!

Have a great day!

[Dwight6]

I am an Artillery Captain in the Army, and Roscoe's assessment is accurate. As a junior officer, most of your time is spent with your soldiers. As you progress higher in rank, your office time to field time ratio starts to shift...a little.

The Army estimates that over the course of a 20-year career, officers will spend about 70% of their time on staff (read office work). However, even on staff, combat arms (infantry, armor, artillery, etc.) officers still go to the field...alot. My unit goes to the field on average about one week per month.

As far as "action" goes, cam9mm's reply said it most accurately (minus the part about giving up your constitutional rights). I have been both enlisted and officer, and neither is what it is portrayed to be in commercials, TV shows, or the movies.

Do I like being an Army officer? Yes. Did I enjoy my time as an enlisted soldier? Yes. Do I like Artillery? Yes. Would I do anything differently in regards to my military service and the choices I've made? Probably not. Military service is what you make of it.

[Dwight6]

cam,

I (and probably Roscoe too) wholeheartedly agree with you that military members live under a more restrictive set of rules and laws than do civilians; however, a service member does not relinquish his Constitutional rights when he/she signs on the dotted line.

[MacLeod]

As another Field Artillery Officer with over 14 years of service, let me offer these comments about giving up rights:

Every US Citizen is protected by the Consitution. If you mouth off to a boss you get fired. In the Military, you get disciplined. We spend way too much money on you to fire you at the drop of a hat, and some soldiers would rather be "fired" than reduced in rank and forfeit pay and allowances. No one in the military is prohibited from free speech. However, you can't yell fire in a crowded movie theater can you? The military is regulated by a Code of Conduct and more importantly, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. As an officer that merited out punishment under UCMJ, I could never question a soldier without advising him of his CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS and caution him against making any statments against himself. Then he was allowed to consult with a JAG Officer, which again is priviledge communication. Hmmm sounds a lot like the civilian side of the house to me.

Sounds like to me that someone who fell asleep on Guard Duty, and got yelled at discovered that being the protector of freedom was not like camping out with the Boy Scouts and wanted to minimize what happened and has convinced himself that being in the Army is like living in a Third World country.

Ollie North made a good point in his first book. When his oldest daughter was crying one night and was saying that he was being persecuted by the Military, and it was the Military that was to blame for his situation. LTC North, said, he was being given fair treatment and if this was happening in most anyother country, he would have been taken out back and shot and dawn. NOW THAT would be what I call giving up Constitional Rights.

[TANKMGA8]

Getting back to the original question, I spent 10 yeas on active duty enlisted in Armor. Most 2LT's will spend anywhere from 12 to 18 months in a platoon leader position if they are lucky. Then it is to a staff position, after they make 1LT they can be picked up as an executive officer (XO). Depending on where they are needed in the BN, they may or may not stay in that slot for 18 to 24 months, until a new commander comes in. Then at CPT they get a 18-24 month company command. This of course can and does change depending on orders and station. I had one LT that was with our platoon for two years and made 1LT as a platoon leader and then stayed in that position for another 8 months and then moved into an XO slot and stayed there for two years. This was due to the fact that he was on the Army shooting team, was slotted as a PL and then Desert Shield/Storm kicked off and he came back and went over there with us. He was probably the best Platoon leader that I have ever had.

Usually you have little control over how long you stay in those positions, unless you are really messing up, then it will be alot shorter.

Hope that this helped.

[MacLeod]

I never said it was you, but boy did you get defensive. I respectfully or disrespectfully disagree with your statement that members of the US Armed Service give up their Constitutional Rights. So, not to be confused, I say this, you are either totally ignorant or a sniveler that has chosen to depict a time honored tested and proven means of discipline as "unconstitutional". Anyone with any common sense or education beyond the Jr High level will dismiss such an ignorant statement, so it's pointless to debate it with you.

By the way I have 14 years of service, and I am going strong. Four years enlisted, six years commissioned service on AD, and four years commissioned service in the Reserves. And if I decide to hang it up despite the number of years I have served, then that'll be my decision.

By the way, you dropped your crayon.