I have my appointment letter in hand

[Snoopy47]

So after being notified of selection, and navigating though the 6 month quagmire that was my Class 2 Medical Exam 7 months later I'm finally holding my Appointment Letter in hand.

All that remains is the oath, my enlistment discharge, and returning the paperwork back to HRC.

My 8 year commitment will start over, and by then I'll have been in 12, so it looks like I'm in for the long haul.

Upon my acceptance/oath my SSI will be 00D, which I presume translates to "don't give that LT a weapon".

[chris]

don't forget frontal lobotomy for 2nd LT's.

[Snoopy47]

don't forget frontal lobotomy for 2nd LT's.

Yes, my goal is to not be that 2LT.

In my unit alone there was a 2LT that showed up to drill on day one without any rank on. He was ROTC and didn't have an official pinning. He never actually bought his rank. So he showed up looking like an E1. A CW4 took him under his wing and walked over to the PX and showed him where to buy his bars before the first formation.

Showing up to drill for the first time as E1 is a huge red flag. The first thing I usually think is what did this soldier do in TRADOC, and now what to we have to be prepared for?

Then during a piss test, there was a 2LT in front of me in line, and when handed his cup he asked the registration person if he had to give his sample right there. The SGT replied, "no sir, you go down the hall and to the sign where the men's room is sequestered for the test where you will be observed".

[MRX9989]

Congratulations and welcome. Keep in mind your role now is to plan supervise based off the commander's guidance. I have a few suggestions.

- Assuming you will become a platoon leader, you should now have your commander's ear. This means you have the power to damage people's careers. Use this power equally and with fairness.

- Be prepared to step in as XO or company commander at any time.

- Not all of your Soldiers will like you, but they will respect you if you are fair. Do not jump into your NCO's business.

- Your Soldiers will know far more about their job then you ever will. Learn from them early and often. Ask a good SPC to show you how to PMCS a vehicle or take down a weapon system (even if you already know how). Turn it into a teaching moment if they screw it up.

- Your platoon sergeant can do 98% of your job better than you. You are there for the other 2%...the tough decisions nobody wants to make.

[DougJ]

Upon my acceptance/oath my SSI will be 00D, which I presume translates to "don't give that LT a weapon""don't give that LT a clipboard".

There is NOTHING more dangerous than a new 2LT with a clipboard...

Congratulations!

[Snoopy47]

- Assuming you will become a platoon leader, you should now have your commander's ear. This means you have the power to damage people's careers. Use this power equally and with fairness.

For good or bad I've had exposure to those that enjoy having authority over others. They are dangerous because they bury soldiers rather than build them up.

Then there are those soldiers (officers included) who treat the reserves like a holiday or spring break during extended orders and drill weekends.

Do not jump into your NCO's business.

Also had a Company CO that gave every single soldier an initial counseling statement. The guidance should have been dolled out to the Platoon and Squad Leaders and trickled down the initial counseling. It really burned all the NCO's (including me, but I'm of the mentality I'm out of there so I'm not going to rock the boat on my way out).

From what I observe, the very dangerous part of being a Jr. Office (especially the reserves, because there isn't a daily mentorship) is they are kind of in a useless limbo. They are no more useful than a fresh PFC, but are immune from stern NCO direction. Unless the unit has competent officers to hone them into a productive direction they wander around aimlessly. Then one day POOF they are thrust into Company CO positions because they rotate them like a carousel, and then they find how real things get when the BN Commander is watching them. In my 4 years I've had 6 different company commanders.

[Mr.Caketown]

don't forget frontal lobotomy for 2nd LT's.

And always finding the "broken" compass.

Kudos OP , at least you had the courage to go the Mustang route

[BarrettM99]

Congrats bro. Just don't be an *******...lead by example.

[Fjold]

You were enlisted for 4 years, don't forget that.

[1CavScout]

The best Lt. I had was prior enlisted. Congrats and good luck.

[1recluse]

Congrats. Thanks for your service. Mustangs are the sh*&^t! If they remember what Fjold said!!

[epilepticninja]

Congrats. Don't forget to give your first salute a silver dollar or whatever they do in the Army. I had some butterbar give me a one dollar bill as I was his first salute out of the Academy. I laughed and spent it, cheap mother****er.

[Snoopy47]

Congrats. Don't forget to give your first salute a silver dollar or whatever they do in the Army. I had some butterbar give me a one dollar bill as I was his first salute out of the Academy. I laughed and spent it, cheap mother****er.

I'm way ahead of you.

I have a 1972 minted Eisenhower. The year I was born. It's in my uniform sleeve pocket now. It's probably worth a few bucks. My mother gave it to me when I was a kid (I have others).

The sort of neat thing is I'm going to get my appointment orders out of the blue between drill weekends. Once that happens I'll be out of my current unit. So there won't be any pinning fanfare. I'll just show up as another new guy to my new unit.

So the first salute will be entirely random. No one will be stalking me to get that dollar.

[Ronin2]

Congratulations and welcome. Keep in mind your role now is to plan supervise based off the commander's guidance. I have a few suggestions.

- Assuming you will become a platoon leader, you should now have your commander's ear. This means you have the power to damage people's careers. Use this power equally and with fairness.

- Be prepared to step in as XO or company commander at any time.

- Not all of your Soldiers will like you, but they will respect you if you are fair. Do not jump into your NCO's business.

- Your Soldiers will know far more about their job then you ever will. Learn from them early and often. Ask a good SPC to show you how to PMCS a vehicle or take down a weapon system (even if you already know how). Turn it into a teaching moment if they screw it up.

- Your platoon sergeant can do 98% of your job better than you. You are there for the other 2%...the tough decisions nobody wants to make.

You forgot the most important duty of a JO; to be held accountable for the tough decisions nobody else wanted to make that end up in a Charlie Foxtrot and then fall on your proverbial sword.

[Mr.Caketown]

Congrats. Don't forget to give your first salute a silver dollar or whatever they do in the Army.

I believe Army tradition is a coin. I have seen currency given out and I have seen challenge coins given out