Hi, My son is at Ft. Hood, he is 11x and wants to come home or change his mos so bad. He absolutely hates what he is doing and is afraid he will end up hurting himself or someone else when he get to Iraq later this year because his heart just isent in it. He has been trying to like it, but he hates it so much. He would like to get out or if possible change his mos. Is it possible for him to change his mos or somehow get out. He has only been in sense June 23, and got to Ft. Hood in November. Last time he was on leave (Dec) he wouldn't get on the plane to go back, he said he just couldnt. We were at the airport for ever with me tryiing to talk to him about getting on the plane. He said he would rather go to jail. He called his Sgt., and went back the next day, but they did consider him awall. Any advice would be helpfull. I am afraid for him and his comrads if he is not able to give his job 100%, I dont think he should have to do this job.When he signed up at 17 years old he had a whole different picture of what it would be like, and his recuiter lied to us alot!!! This is such a shock to me because my son wanted to be in the army sense he's been 5 years old.

Not sure if this helps, but I was at Hood for three years and itis pretty fast paced. There is a lot of time spent in the field and I would imagine as an 11 series your son is spending a little more time than I did...and I spent most of my time there.

The Army is a different life. It seems hard as a junior Soldier. I am guessing that your son is E3 or below.

As for chaing his MOS, that is usually an option about one ear before his contract is set to end. That is a good time to change into something that he has learned that he wants to do.

As for the lies the recruiter supposedly told, I cannot speak for that, but from I have noticed that the recruiter that I had had to recruit me did not necessarily lie, he just left out some of the not-so-fun parts of Army life.

Res assured that your son is not the only Soldier in the Army that found out that he does not necessarily enjoy his or her job.

As for the "not thinking that your son has to do this job" part, I don't really understand that. He did volunteer to do the job, and with the availabilty of many many resources on the internet, it would have been very easy to check on what the recruiters told him or to check on what he would really be doing on the job. If someone was to ask me what I did, I would not lie, I don't have a reason to sugar coat what I do.

I will tell you the standard "have him go see the chaplain", but I would also like to extend the opprortunity to support him and his career, no mater how long he stays in the military. Once he gets a little rank on his collar, has troops under him and maybe has a little more experience than a few months at fort Hood, he may find that he actualy enjoys the Army.

Good luck with your son.

What I meant about not doing that job, I thought maybe there would be a way that he could change his mos to something he would have his heart in and possibly do better. I thank you for responding. I will tell him to speak to the chaplin.
I do understand he made a commitment to do what he has signed up to do, I just wish that he had a better understanding of what exactally infantry entailed. We actually did a lot of research before he signed up, but we found nothing that went into detail about infantry training. Being 17 years old just doesnt seem old enough to make a decision that your stuck with until your 21. I support our troops 100%. I am in favor of our troops being in Iraq, and I think we are doing a great job their. My son has no problem go to Iraq, he's gotten his orders and leaves in Nov. I hope I didnt give that impression. Thanks again!!

My understanding of the infantry involved lots of walking, carrying heavy loads and shooting. Is he experiencing something different, or if he was expecting something else then what? What would he prefer to be doing instead?

There are many duties an infantryman can perform. He could be a rifleman this month and a radio operator next. Next year he could be driving or gunning a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

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Being 17 years old just doesnt seem old enough to make a decision that your stuck with until your 21.

It's not old enough except in special circumstances. When I enlisted at 17 both of my parents had to sign for me to join. If you did not, his contract may be illegal (recruiters on this board would know more than I).

I did sign for him, I back him up 100%. He does have asthma, but when he signed up his recuriter told him to lie and say he didnt have asthma. So a lot of the heavy stuff does get somewhat difficult. He dosent complain about that though. He is a saw gunner, that is about 30 lbs. I understand, I think he's just afraid he wont be able to do his best, and I know that bothers him alot.

I was a saw gunner and a armorer, a saw only weighs 22 pounds with a box of full ammo.

I'll take a SAW over a radio any day.

If he lied about having asthma then he violated article 83 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and his recruiter article 84.

I think he just needs to give it a little time. In 3-6 months, he'll either adapt of his leaders will recognizes his failure to do so. 3 months with a break for leave is hardley enough time to find the dining facility much less adapt to a whole new lifestyle. He just needs to know that almost every soldier goes through a difficult adjustment phase. His leaders I bet are eager to guide him through it.

I hated my first unit and job for at least sixmonths after I got there. After that I started fitting in and it was no problem. It is just an adjustment that he needs to suck up and ride out. It will get better.

Thanks, I feel much better about it now. It was hard to accept that he disliked it so much, but I will just sit back and wait and see what happenes. I trust you guys judgement, you have a lot more experience so I'll grin and bear it for now. Thanks so muchd!! God bless all of you

When I was deployed last year, I got a new soldier assigned to me part way through our time there. The kis (and I do mean kid, he was barely 18) was scared out of his mind, had just graduated high school like 5 months before and was now standing in Baghdad durning a not so friendly moment in time. He was scared, not sure how he ended up there, and was very sure he didn't want to be there any longer. I took the time to show him around, get him confortable on our camp, and then took him out and had him ride with me on a convoy the first chance I got. During our trips, myself and other NCOs would teach him what we could and gradually built up his confidence. Now granted I am signal and don't have to do many of the same things that Infantry does, but its your son's NCOs job to take care of him and make sure that he is ok. I have no doubt that his NCO is doing everything he can to help your son adjust to a situation that sometimes scares people who have been in years. Iraq is not the best place to be, but I know your son will be ok and that he will have his NCO and other soldiers there to back him up every step of the way.

Thanks SSG Pyro, I really appreiciate people like you to help those like my son. It makes me a lot more comfortable knowing his NCO will be helping him so much. Thanks again!!!

You probably have heard this before but it is true... your son has joined a new family and probably feels like he is the new kid in school that isn't quite sure where everything is. As an NCO I feel that I have to show my Soldiers where everything is and what there is to do. After training your son will become part of a tighter family... his squad-made up of an NCO who will be like a parent and a bunch of other Soldiers. The extended family will be his platoon who will have more Soldiers that have more experience to share.

As you can tell I love the ARMY and my first job is to take care of Soldiers. Good luck to your son and thank you for providing him all the support you can.

When I got to my first duty station I hated the Army. It was about 2 months after September 11th and I was wondering what I got myself into. I spent my first six months at Ft. Campbell trying to think of ways to get out of the Army. I never acted on any of them, and somewhere along the lines I grew to love being a soldier and what we do. I don't know when this came about, some time while I was in Iraq. When I came back I was ready to reenlist right away. Right now, there is no question in my mind that this is the place for me to be. Tell him to give it some time, drive on and don't let his buddies down. Deployment will build a great bond between him and the other members of his squad, at least it did for me.