Howdy Ags!
I just found out that I will be getting the opportunity to serve as an FA officer in the U.S. Army. This week we will be submitting our top 10 preferences for postings, both OCONUS and CONUS included in that top 10.

I was just going to see if any of y'all had any insight as to which ones would be good posts to put higher up on the list.

Thanks and Gig'em!

Howdy! Thanks for the reply. As of now I am actually planning on being married by the time I receive my first duty station. Would being over seas not be the best idea if this is the case?

Being overseas can be rough on the spouse. Very limited job opportunities and their social life will be, in most cases, completely Army centric. Some wives are good with this. Others not so much. If you take the overseas route make sure the wife understands the situation and is on board with it. While I was in Japan I saw two marriages implode due mainly to the wife being miserable.

As far as CONUS assignments it totally depends on your views and interests. Each post has its positives and negatives. There are are those installations that seem universally despised. Such as Polk, Riley, and Irwin. Although for a brand new 2LT Polk and Irwin probably aren't really in play.

Polk does have 3BCT 10 MTN. I really didn't mind Polk, good unit, and close to home and it was a light unit so plenty of opportunities for cool guy schools.

OP, I enjoyed JBLM. Wanted to go to Alaska if I stayed in.

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Being overseas can be rough on the spouse. Very limited job opportunities and their social life will be, in most cases, completely Army centric. Some wives are good with this. Others not so much

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I did not serve, but have a good friend who faced this. His wife was a very type- A personality, but she submerged her ambitions and career to follow him. Later in his career, he turned down a promotion (and transfer) to O-6 so his kids could finish school in northern Virginia. His wife was also able to finally have a career.

During his assignments overseas, she volunteered a lot and found other things to keep herself busy. Late in his career, he took a career hit for her career (and for his kids).

As said above, depends on your wife and her priorities.

This is all good insight. fortunately she is an elementary school teacher (which I have heard is the best possible job for a military wife).

Also congrats on branching FA. Everyone else will be jealous. Stay away from rocket arty because they're the nerds and dorks of the FA world (worse than FDC). You'll get to do lots of cool stuff. Just don't touch your chiefs guns.

-prior enlisted 13B here-

Current 13A here, hmu with any questions. Ya picked a damn good branch.

Aggie118 said:

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Howdy! Thanks for the reply. As of now I am actually planning on being married by the time I receive my first duty station. Would being over seas not be the best idea if this is the case?

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Not at all, but it all depends on your spouse's spirit. If you stay in the Army, you'll inevitably be stationed overseas at some point, so you both will have to face that challenge eventually. Many, perhaps most, couples find it an adventure and a great experience.

You should have a frank discussion up-front with your intended about nomadic military life and the years far from family and sometimes the US. A new career and a new spouse and overseas living is a lot to handle all at once unless you're both fully informed and fully committed.

But if you both decide to go for it, I suggest that a European tour, particularly before having kids, is a terrific way to break in professionally and personally.

There is kind of an algorithm for deciding where you want to go (the order of importance is your order of importance):

1) Geography
- Where do you want to live? Texas? Upstate New York? Do you like winter (Alaska, Drum, Riley, Carson)? Do you hate cold (Hood, Stewart, Benning)? Do you like seasons (Bliss, Bragg)? Do you like mountains (Carson, Bliss, Schofield)? Do you like big lakes (Drum, Schofield)? Do you like prairies (Hood, Riley)? Do you want to be in/near a city (Carson, Stewart) or in an Army town (Hood, Benning, Campbell)?

2) Unit type
- Do you want to do heavy (Hood, Stewart, Bliss), light (Schofield, Bragg, Drum), or medium (Lewis, Alaska)? Do you want to learn logistics and the long fight (heavy/medium) or rucksacks and short fights (Bragg, Campbell, Schofield)? If badge schools are important to you, heavy is not the best route because almost nobody in mech units cares about Ranger school, airborne, etc. On the other hand, if you show up to Bragg or Campbell without a tab they'll put you in Storage Area B.

3) Operational versus Institutional
- Most MFE lieutenants get put in tactical units, but if you're afraid of TRADOC then stay away from TRADOC posts even if they have operational units as well. Your "unit of assignment" orders mean nothing until you physically sign into the unit. You may have always dreamed of being in an FA brigade, but when you arrive at Sill you might get sent to the school to do I don't know what.

Everything else changes with the wind. All units think they're the most elite on the planet. All Soldiers think their unit is either the greatest ever or they think it's 10,000 times worse than their 'last unit' and doing everything wrong (regardless of facts).

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There are are those installations that seem universally despised. Such as Polk, Riley, and Irwin.

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This is completely off subject, and I apologize to the OP, but I'm curious. Why is Riley considered "universally despised"?

As a point of reference, my first duty assignment after FAOBC way back in '66 was with the 9th Infantry Division prior to being deployed with the 9th ID to Vietnam. At that time it seemed like an OK post. Was I just naive, being a brand new 2nd LT, or have thing changed in the past 50+ years (OK, I know everything's changed in the last 50+ years).

Anyway, just curious.

To say they are universally despised may have been exaggerating things. However, from a purely anecdotal perspective I've never met a person that sought an assignment at Riley or said being assigned there was anything better than OK.

The problem with Riley is that it's farm country on the great plains. Far from the night life of a major city. Not exactly the #1 choice of 18-25 year-olds looking to see the world.

Probably a great place for families.

Another post that tends to get a bad wrap is Bliss. Many don't like the idea of being out in west Texas in that type of geographic environment. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Bliss. The majority of posts are not right in a city as large as El Paso so it is nice to have all the amenities that come with a larger city. And El Paso has some pretty good restaurants and bars which the younger types will appreciate.

Some of it personal preference. For instance, were I at Bliss, I'd be all over Big Bend, Carlsbad Caverns, Ruiodoso, Davis Mountains, White Sands, etc. etc. Some people just don't care for that type of geography or history at all.

Columbus AFB is usually one of the bottom 3 for CONUS AF Bases. But my son-in-law is an avid hunter, and he had a ball there. But it is also an Old South community with terrible public schools and almost zero middle class. You're either rich or poor. An enlisted person with kids, who couldn't afford private schools...horrible.

Bliss was one of my choices for a PCS just on the fact that it was back close to home. But then again, the Army had just sent me to NY and I was ready to get away from the snow at the time. Riley is really not that bad. It is out there, but it is also really pretty if you look at the land for what it is. I keep thinking Dances with Wolves every time I drove out there. I was in KC and one of my buddies was out there. We would go back and forth for BBQ and such.

Tango has a very good point as to what you are looking for in the future. Everything is going to play out the way it will and you are going to have deal with it. There are going to be good duty stations with bad units and bad units with good duty stations.

And congratulations on getting FA.

Aggie 118, as an old Redleg from the days of aiming circles, paper firing charts. range-deflection protractors and slide rules, congratulations on getting assigned to Field Artillery. While I was in Vietnam we received the first Field Artillery computer - a monster about the size of a footlocker - called FADAC. It had enough memory to hold the firing data for only two calibers of weapons, and we could actually compute the initial firing data faster manually that it could. It was much faster with computing corrections, however. Just a bit of useless history.

All good advice and for what its worth, here's my take:

I would head on over to the Trigon and ask some of those bulls and their wives to meet with you and your Sweet Young Thing and talk the good and the bad about what y'all are about to get into. Because regardless of where you end up, your wife will sacrifice way more than you will and she will do the heavy lifting in the family. And it won't be because you want it that way or because you don't want to be do your share or more, its because you won't be there. My first tour in Germany I commanded a Cav troop for 33 months. The only time I saw my boys when I was home was on the weekends because they were asleep when I left for work and asleep when I got home. My son, class of 15, commissioned MI with a FA detail in a 1AD FA battalion (FDO, FSO, & S-2) at Bliss. He will hit his 4 year wedding anniversary in December. In January he will mark his first full year of married life being "at home". He has been to NTC 3 times for up to 5 weeks a pop, plus the associated month long train ups for each rotation, been on the either the ADVON or TORCH parties every time, yearly FTXs & Gunnery (usually combined for 1 month in the field), spent 3 months in Kuwait, 6 months in Iraq, and 4 1/2 months in Korea.

If it were me, I would choose Europe for my first posting. If you choose CONUS its only a matter of time before you're caught up in the cycle my son was in.

Thanks for the insight! I talked to our Army ROTC Cadre and they told me that they have seen quite a few young marriages fall apart or the spouse return back to the states when doing an overseas posting.

My top 5 as of right now (preference sheet is due tomorrow) are:

1. FT. Carson, CO
2. JLM, WA
3. Hawaii
4. Germany
5. FT. Hood

Aggie118 said:

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Thanks for the insight! I talked to our Army ROTC Cadre and they told me that they have seen quite a few young marriages fall apart or the spouse return back to the states when doing an overseas posting.

My top 5 as of right now (preference sheet is due tomorrow) are:

1. FT. Carson, CO
2. JLM, WA
3. Hawaii
4. Germany
5. FT. Hood

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Good news. As an FA guy you can go all of those places.


Bad news, everyone else also wants to go all of those places... except maybe Hood.

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As a brand new 2LT, it's probably going to come down to:

a) which unit just got back from overseas and is shipping all of their 1LT(P) and CPTS to the career courses

or...

b) which units are next in the hopper to deploy in 4-9 months

both of these groups will need to fill their respective rosters

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Bad news, everyone else also wants to go all of those places... except maybe Hood.

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Maybe he should ask for Hood, and that will assure him going somewhere else. Our daughter asked for Holloman for an assignment, as it is relatively close to us. NOBODY wants to go to Holloman, she even offered to find someone already assigned there to trade with.

She got Tucson.

Points:

1. Fight hard to get into a FA Bn once you get to your post. Tube Arty, stay away from the MLRS geeks as previously noted.
2. Try to get assigned as an FO as soon as you can to learn about why FA exists in the first place.
3. After you spend some time as an FO ask to be the FDOIC. Learn how fires get to where they need to go and how it all gets integrated into the overall Fires planning/execution order.
4. Then be a Firing Battery XO. Avoid staff jobs or HHB slots if you can. Learn about how YOU lead soldiers, you have to DO this 1st hand. Officers are leaders, coaches, and planners. Your LT time is to figure out how YOU successfully lead soldiers and NCOs. Respect is earned, not given. Soldiers will follow you anywhere if you know what you are doing and care about them. Easy to say, hard to do. Never forget this.
5. Stay married thru all this.

You can't see much past your first 4 years so just learn your job and don't f_ck up. Identify your good NCO's and listen to them. Learn your nuts and bolts, i.e., be technically and tactically proficient in your MOS. You will draw upon your LT experience for the rest of your military life so spend it wisely.

One random thing to think about: if you enjoy guns & shooting, and especially if you own a good number guns (especially AR-15s, etc), at least take the gun laws of the various states into consideration. Of your top 5, Hawaii has pretty restrictive gun laws, and Washington is trying to get there. And last I heard, you can't take your guns to Europe at all.

(Just out of curiousity, are Germany and Italy listed separately now, or is it listed as Europe? When I was a new 2LT in 1996, it said Europe, but it de facto meant Germany, because West Pointers got all the Italy slots.)

As an Infantry officer, FSOs and FOs were, of course, my favorite redlegs, and it's a great way to learn what the maneuver guys are doing and what they want when they're calling for fire and making fire plans.

I know a previous poster advised trying to avoid HBB jobs, but if you go to a heavy unit, don't avoid HSB jobs (assuming FA units are still organized that way; it's been a while). A smart heavy battalion commander, be he tanker, mech infantry, or FA, puts a really strong senior LT in charge of delivering the fuel and ammo. And knowing how to make logistics work might not be sexy, but it is always useful.

I'm from Illinois and my wife is from Texas.

We moved to Drum in September of '03, two months later there was snow on the ground for six months. I was use to that type of weather but she was miserable that first year and then i deployed. She grew to like the north country.....to a degree and we vacation at lake George every summer and winter now.

The big thing for her was getting connected to other wives through church and social outings and it helped her get a job as well.

Drum is an interesting place and for college sports, Syracuse isn't too far and for a weekend getaway NYC is relatively close as well.

Aggie118 said:

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Thanks for the insight! I talked to our Army ROTC Cadre and they told me that they have seen quite a few young marriages fall apart or the spouse return back to the states when doing an overseas posting.

My top 5 as of right now (preference sheet is due tomorrow) are:

1. FT. Carson, CO
2. JLM, WA
3. Hawaii
4. Germany
5. FT. Hood

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- All good points here, though I'm curious about the relevance of the statement above. I've seen a ton of marriages NOT end up that way, and just as many take place stateside. Point being, it's not usually the OCONUS tour that broke up a marriage...replace that with X post and the divorce rate is generally the same as the civilian world, though slightly higher in some locations.

- I'd caution against advice 'pushing to get to an FA BN'. You are pin pointed to a BDE via HRC vs the post like the old days (my old days anyway). The BDE will push you down somewhere as everyone gets a shot at platoon leadership, and they know you are arriving well before you think they do. A letter of introduction to the BDE CDR is appropriate, and if you know the BN...a letter there, I assume, is recommended by your cadre. I know I read every one that came my way and had it in hand as I met my new LTs....maybe someone else can chime in here, but I'll provide you an alternative position....

...some folks start off as a BDE HHC XO or BDE/BN ASST S3 waiting for PL time. When they do go to be PL, they already know unit SOPs (or should), land, ranges, "where to get stuff", etc. So, while they were finish up there own PL time, their peers what went straight into PL time were out at BDE staff or BN Staff...it all ends up the same by the time you leave, but each situation is different.

- There is a lot of poo poo about MLRS. I get it, but if you do end up there, consider FA of the (your) future will change...a lot. Strategic and operational fires that will also be used in a tactical sense will be a key role of the future fight.

- Consider the division...learning what you learn as a LT matters down the road. What you experience from a heavy, light, ACR, etc will shape the way you understand and enable CAM.

Just my two cents...maybe all it's worth.

I'm a 13A Captain who just got out of Battery command. While I've been in both cannon and rocket units (and have enjoyed both), I really don't know where the MLRS / HIMARS hate is coming from. It is absolutely the future of the field artillery, and please dont let it affect your decision making.

Have you seen your Soldiers? Bravos are better than Mikes.

No doubt, but I think we can all agree that foxes are the best.

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All Soldiers think their unit is either the greatest ever or they think it's 10,000 times worse than their 'last unit' and doing everything wrong (regardless of facts).

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The two best units in the Army are: 1) the one you're going to or 2) the one you just left

Col Kurtz said:

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I'm a 13A Captain who just got out of Battery command. While I've been in both cannon and rocket units (and have enjoyed both), I really don't know where the MLRS / HIMARS hate is coming from. It is absolutely the future of the field artillery, and please dont let it affect your decision making.

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I'm a retired 11A/59A (Infantry/Strategist), and my last assignment was in the Futures center (ARCIC) at Fort Eustis. I will say that based on what I saw in many of the futures wargames I participated in, there's a lot of truth to that.

- It came across time after time, that against a peer or near-peer adversary (think Russia or China, and to a lesser extent, the NorKs) with decent counter-battery capabilities, towed artillery has a pretty low survivability rate. They just can't scoot fast enough after they shoot.

- If you want to put a lot of scunion downrange in a hurry, you really can't beat rockets. (And if the powers that be ever get off their ivory tower moral high horse and decide to allow sub-munitions again, they'll be much, MUCH more lethal. Of course, I did my LT time in a division where DPICM was the default round when requesting fires.) The Russians have gotten very, very good at using theirs.

The advantage of tube arty of the SP variety is what they call magazine depth. SP guns can fire a battery 3 (3 rounds from each gun, for those not familiar with the terminology), roll to a new location, do it again, several times before they have to restock their ready racks, especially when they've got the FAASVs along with them. The rocketeers have to reload their pods after every time they fire. THE MLRS and HIMARs reload with pods, which is quicker than the old Soviet systems which had to reload individual rockets, but it still takes time.

So, the ability to throw a lot of hate quickly, or the ability to sustain that hate over a longer period of time. That's why it's nice to have both available. Chose the weapon that fits the target & mission.

- The current hot thing, after a couple decades of COIN, is precision - Excalibur for the guns and GMLR for the rockets. But mass fires have their own uses, especially against moving targets such as tank and mechanized forces. The Russians have destroyed entire Ukrainian battalions (possibly a brigade or two even) with massed fires. That's really tough to do with precision munitions, unless they're cooperative enough to sit still for a pretty long time.