Afternoon gentlemen, I have been torn on a decision and could use some objective input.
The other day I received an email stating that another unit is potentially deploying to Afghanistan later this year and are looking for senior enlisted personnel in 13F, 11B, 31B, and 68W. I hold the first three MOSs. The email states that interested individuals have to get it signed off by Battalion CO first before volunteering.
My current enlistment ends next August with 13 years of service, maybe I'm just in a funk at the moment but I'm contemplating not re-enlisting. I enjoying serving and doing my job, but I just seem to be burning out on it, perhaps its the direction my unit is going in, I just feel like its disjointed and focusing on the wrong aspects. The senior leaders seem more concerned with having the highest percent of soldiers complete training like sexual harassment (Combat Arms unit), counter-terrorism, accident avoidance and don't ask don't tell then they are with boosting weapon qual scores, improving PT scores, and stuff like just spending time on the range and getting trigger time outside of the 52 rounds for zero and qual.
Perfect example, half of my squad are brand new soldiers and thus don't have gear issued to them yet, so they can't go to the field, we've been doing nothing but field drills for months now and will continue to do so until May with the exception of April. Anyways, I got reprimanded by higher ups for wearing my personally owned Multicam plate carrier because I had given my IBA along with some other extra gear to one of the new soldiers so he could come out to the field and get some training as apposed to sitting around the armory for the weekend staring at the walls with the others. Even after giving the reasoning behind the situation I was told to not do it again. It seems like they care more about appearances than anything else.
I figure if I was to deploy, as either a 13F or 11B, it would allow me to finish my enlistment on a high note, save up a decent chunk of tax free money and then be able to focus completely on my civilian career. Speaking of which, come deployment time, I'll be halfway thru two college certificate programs (machine shop tech and engineering design, and thru a friend I have a pretty much open job offer with an aerospace company. I was planning on sending them my resume and making it official in a month or two, really want to finish out at least the spring semester at school first.
However, any sort of deployment is going to delay my civilian career and education, I mean it took me 7 years to get my last B.A. because of deployments, not that I'm complaining in that regard, I'm just tired of not gaining seniority and advancing in the civilian world and earning a respectable pay check, I'm tired of being below the poverty line and wondering how I'm going to be able to pay for the month's bills.
The other day I received an email stating that another unit is potentially deploying to Afghanistan later this year and are looking for senior enlisted personnel in 13F, 11B, 31B, and 68W. I hold the first three MOSs. The email states that interested individuals have to get it signed off by Battalion CO first before volunteering.
My current enlistment ends next August with 13 years of service, maybe I'm just in a funk at the moment but I'm contemplating not re-enlisting. I enjoying serving and doing my job, but I just seem to be burning out on it, perhaps its the direction my unit is going in, I just feel like its disjointed and focusing on the wrong aspects. The senior leaders seem more concerned with having the highest percent of soldiers complete training like sexual harassment (Combat Arms unit), counter-terrorism, accident avoidance and don't ask don't tell then they are with boosting weapon qual scores, improving PT scores, and stuff like just spending time on the range and getting trigger time outside of the 52 rounds for zero and qual.
Perfect example, half of my squad are brand new soldiers and thus don't have gear issued to them yet, so they can't go to the field, we've been doing nothing but field drills for months now and will continue to do so until May with the exception of April. Anyways, I got reprimanded by higher ups for wearing my personally owned Multicam plate carrier because I had given my IBA along with some other extra gear to one of the new soldiers so he could come out to the field and get some training as apposed to sitting around the armory for the weekend staring at the walls with the others. Even after giving the reasoning behind the situation I was told to not do it again. It seems like they care more about appearances than anything else.
I figure if I was to deploy, as either a 13F or 11B, it would allow me to finish my enlistment on a high note, save up a decent chunk of tax free money and then be able to focus completely on my civilian career. Speaking of which, come deployment time, I'll be halfway thru two college certificate programs (machine shop tech and engineering design, and thru a friend I have a pretty much open job offer with an aerospace company. I was planning on sending them my resume and making it official in a month or two, really want to finish out at least the spring semester at school first.
However, any sort of deployment is going to delay my civilian career and education, I mean it took me 7 years to get my last B.A. because of deployments, not that I'm complaining in that regard, I'm just tired of not gaining seniority and advancing in the civilian world and earning a respectable pay check, I'm tired of being below the poverty line and wondering how I'm going to be able to pay for the month's bills.
