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peregrinius, i'm curious about the canadian officers in the army since b4gle has brought it up. in ours, the officers kind of get looked down on because they usually have no time in service, yet think they know everything. the only difference between a private and an officer is usually the private has been in the army longer.

At 8/9/09 06:36 PM, B4gle wrote: I think when you first become an infantry officer you command 20 men and a LAV?

You start as a platoon commander. Roughly 30 troops, 4 LAV (3 rifle sections + HQ section)

At 8/9/09 07:04 PM, michelinman wrote: peregrinus, i'm curious about the canadian officers in the army since b4gle has brought it up. in ours, the officers kind of get looked down on because they usually have no time in service, yet think they know everything. the only difference between a private and an officer is usually the private has been in the army longer.

I've been fairly lucky with the officers I've had. Our most recent was on last year's DP1.2 summer cycle. We shot at hi, then he commanded us once he graduated. He's turned out fairly well. The smart ones learn from the NCO's. And if they end up being complete tools, well, they find their way out of command position fairly quickly.

Their training cycle varies based on where they do their university. If a civy university, they do their training in the summers only. Those that choose the path of RMC (Royal Military College) intermingle training with their studies the way they would at West Point or Sandhurst.

The DP1.2 portion of their training is the final phase of their training. It consists of dismounted operations, as well as a mounted portion. Really the only difference between the two, is that in the mounted training, you ride in a "big green monster that shits out white people" (one of the names the Afghans have called the LAV apparently), instead of walking to attack position.

They roll up to whatever distance they decide, dismount, and proceed to attack with LAV's as fire support (the whole bunch being commanded by the "LAV Captain".)

At 8/9/09 08:53 PM, Peregrinus wrote: DP1.2

On that note, I'm away from here for a week while I play bitch to officer-trainees. I'll field more questions when I get back (with photos aplenty!)

Also in addition to my other questions, i was wondering about reconnaissance.
1. Is it more dangerous than other posts, like infantry?
2. How often do you actually cross into enemy territory?
3.Is there a high risk of being captured?
4. Is the only job of a recon officer to gather intel, or are there other duties too?

Any feedback appreciated.

At 8/9/09 09:46 PM, Eman110 wrote: Also in addition to my other questions, i was wondering about reconnaissance.
1. Is it more dangerous than other posts, like infantry?
2. How often do you actually cross into enemy territory?
3.Is there a high risk of being captured?
4. Is the only job of a recon officer to gather intel, or are there other duties too?

Any feedback appreciated.

Okay, I'm not 100% on this.. more like 50% actually. But I think Recon also includes snipers, Armored vehicles checking out the area, and spotting for artillery. I'm pretty sure you can't just sign up for "recon" though. If you sign for armored personnel , then you could still be sent on a recon mission.

Correct me on this if im wrong, I'm definitely not the person who knows the most about the military here.

I would imagine you would go into enemy territory a lot .. as thats pretty much the entire point of recon. Also I havent heard of many soldiers being captured.. I've only seen a few on the news that they were looking for.

At 8/9/09 09:46 PM, Eman110 wrote: Also in addition to my other questions, i was wondering about reconnaissance.

SF. ugh. the definition of overrated.

1. Is it more dangerous than other posts, like infantry?

not really because those guys can handle their shit. the thing is, they spend most of their time training iraqi/afghani army instead of getting in the fights. once you pass sf selection you're allowed to sit on your ass and get fat. ranger is a way more prestigious way to go in my eyes.

2. How often do you actually cross into enemy territory?

with the wars we're fighting, it's more of an occupation than anything. there's not really "enemy territory," just areas where people fuck with you and take off more than others.

3.Is there a high risk of being captured?

meh. no.

4. Is the only job of a recon officer to gather intel, or are there other duties too?

for that you should probably ask a recon officer instead of NG. haha.

:At 8/9/09 09:55 PM, B4gle wrote:

Okay, I'm not 100% on this.. more like 50% actually. But I think Recon also includes snipers, Armored vehicles checking out the area, and spotting for artillery. I'm pretty sure you can't just sign up for "recon" though. If you sign for armored personnel , then you could still be sent on a recon mission.

there's "recon" in pretty much any infantry division, not just armored personnel. it's a lot of ruck-marching, and a lot of putting up with shit that sucks with not much payout. there's nothing really special about regular recon, they're just randomly drawn people throughout the battalion. not like an elite select few or anything. as far as sf recon, you have to be 21 and go to the sf q course which all in all adds up to about two years of hard ass shit trying to break you mentally and physically. totally not worth it in my eyes.

in my eyes, the Navy is the best thing out there(in regard to jobs)...I was selected at 1st for Submarine Officer...but that's boring...as a Sub officer, all you really do is help the commander manage the bridge, and boss people around...but...

a Surface Warfare officer is better than a Sub-butterbar(Lt.)...as a SW officer, I have to help manage the bridge and operate the controls at times...then, we have a shift for us to go to the flight deck, and oversee the launch operations(boring stuffs)...the 3rd shift is break, then it's all over again...

all in all, a SW officer have more variety in their day-to-day job...a Sub or Flight officer have same jobs pretty all day, with little excitement('cept in battle station)

gggrrrhh you better not beat the number of pages in the AOE crew post again.

Is this only for the American Forces, or is England included?

I'm pretty sure it's every nationality. There's a few Australians and Canadians that post here, but I THINK you're the first from the UK. Are you potential military or already in?

haha i play Call of duty, but nahh, if i cant be part id just like to learn some stuff from your Military Veteran, id one day, maby like to join the R.A.F, but i dunno.

haha...the RAF was renown as the #2 air force in the world, next to the USAF...the only reason we have the best air force is because of our size and aircraft number...but all in all, the RAF was the best in term of skills and wars fought...

Is being an Air Force medic or Navy Corpsman better?

At 8/10/09 10:11 PM, Grubby wrote: Is being an Air Force medic or Navy Corpsman better?

If you want real action, go Navy Corpsman. They are attached to Marines, cause we don't have our own medics. I have the utmost respect for Corpsmen, those guys will save your life and know how to do it any day of the week, under fire. It takes a special kind of person to be a combat medic altogether either way. They see shit you wouldn't believe and they get to fix it.

Being an Army medic is better in term of action...there are over 1,000 Army medics in active duty all over the world, with 600+ in combat duty...the medics over there in the Army are pretty hardcore...I personally know a medic in Iraq who've saw more than 30+ people died in his hands...

it take a special kind of guts and courage to be a medic for any armed forces...I contemplated being a medic when I was deciding to join, but took a 2nd thought about it...Navy officer is great, you get to control people and oversee a great weapon of power

At 8/10/09 08:04 PM, TracyJackson wrote: haha...the RAF was renown as the #2 air force in the world, next to the USAF...the only reason we have the best air force is because of our size and aircraft number...but all in all, the RAF was the best in term of skills and wars fought...

Definitely, but I'm not gonna plod along into the US and want to join your Air force.

i like the British way, but even if i wasn't involved in a War, or reconnaissance, whatever they do, then it would be awesome to Join the Red Arrows, obviously you have to have amazing skill but you know, i can Dream.

I will be heading to Somalia tomorrow, so I will only be on a few times. The US have launched a major campaign to eradicate the pirates there. Myself and 4 other USN ships will be heading there to meet up with an international group of 15 ships to push onto the pirates' base off the nation's coast. I will be taking operational control of the carrier, as the Captain is heading back to the states.

I'm kind of pumped up for my 1st ever command of a major ship.

Peace out, Lt. Chris Fuller , USS Reagan Op. Officer

I'm kind of pumped up for my 1st ever command of a major ship.

Peace out, Lt. Chris Fuller , USS Reagan Op. Officer

Chris Fuller.. what a funny name...

What kind of things do you get up to on those types of trips?

-Chris Futter.

like, what do you mean?

What do you get up to on the Ship you are commanding on?

At 8/11/09 02:02 AM, TracyJackson wrote: I personally know a medic in Iraq who've saw more than 30+ people died in his hands...

Because he couldn't do his job properly?

I'd rather trust my life on that Corpsman in that case.

At 8/11/09 02:20 PM, TehreTard wrote: Because he couldn't do his job properly?

I'd rather trust my life on that Corpsman in that case.

That was a bad analogy. The medics in my company were bad ass. They would take pieces of people and put them back together. And that shit gets hard on a day to day basis. I've got nothing but respect for those dudes. Hike around on the mountains of Afghanistan with all your gear, then the bullets start flying and you gotta pick up a wounded person and take their ass to cover, which can be a LONG ways away sometimes. Then still manage to patch them up. My company hasn't lost a single soldier in Afghanistan thus far.

Hey, its me, that annoying kid, back to ask another question.

To those of you in the US Army, what training and how much of it did you have in the gas chamber?

At 8/11/09 11:36 PM, Eman110 wrote: Hey, its me, that annoying kid, back to ask another question.

To those of you in the US Army, what training and how much of it did you have in the gas chamber?

About a week or two into basic training you'll have chamber day. You'll walk inside the gas chamber (which is just a concrete room with drill sergeants cooking the CS on a bunsen burner) holding your breath, and while inside, you have to put on your gas mask. This is just to make sure you have learned how to properly put on the gas mask when the area is contaminated. It's pretty easy to do, but it's not something you want to mess up, otherwise you're gonna be sucking the whole time you're in the chamber. Your gas mask will filter the air from the outside, but if you've got CS INSIDE your gas mask since you didn't clear it all out when you put it on, then you're still gonna be breathing it in. Then they make everyone take off their masks and stand there for a a minute or two, just to show you the gas mask really is working. On to what i'm sure is the main thing you're wondering about.

It sucks, but it's not terrible. It makes your skin itchy a little bit, but not really enough to care about. The main thing that fucks you over is breathing it in. It makes the insides of your lungs itch like a mother fucker and within a minute, you'll have more snot coming out of your nose, and more drool running out of your mouth than you ever thought possible. The main thing that fucked everyone was holding their breath for so long after they took off their mask, that they had to take huge breaths of air to catch their breath, taking in a lot of CS really quickly. Those are the guys that really got it bad. What you want to do is hold your breath for as long as you can comfortably do, then take small, slow breaths. It doesn't hurt unless you take a deep breath and get it way back inside your lungs. Just try and stay calm, but it still isn't gonna be pleasant. Within a minute of getting out you'll be busting up laughing at how much snot is all over you, so it's not like misery. I'd do it again.

Within a minute of getting out you'll be busting up laughing at how much snot is all over you, so it's not like misery. I'd do it again.

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply!

you're welcome. you'll be glad you did it once it's all said and done. it's definitely an experience. haha.

Yep, it'll defiantly be something i'll remember. :)

At 8/11/09 03:54 PM, michelinman wrote:

That was a bad analogy. . Hike around on the mountains of Afghanistan with all your gear, then the bullets start flying and you gotta pick up a wounded person and take their ass to cover, which can be a LONG ways away sometimes. Then still manage to patch them up. My company hasn't lost a single soldier in Afghanistan thus far.

I'm disgusted with myself. My sincerest apologies, I wasn't trying to be a smartass that time.

At 8/12/09 04:52 PM, TehreTard wrote: I'm disgusted with myself. My sincerest apologies, I wasn't trying to be a smartass that time.

Nah don't worry about it. Nobody in my unit really takes shit like that to heart. You can't really know what those guys do, and they don't really care if you do or not, because it's not about you. It's just about looking out for their guys. Don't take that the wrong way, I'm just saying that all our medics were just these real mellow laidback guys who did their jobs and that was it. No bitching, No ego. They're a rare breed.

At 8/12/09 12:26 AM, michelinman wrote: you're welcome. you'll be glad you did it once it's all said and done. it's definitely an experience. haha.

I looked up a youtube video after I read your post, is this what it was like?

i cant wait I just want to know how long my basic training plus AIT training is.