Alright so i will be authorized a full pcs then to the school? What is housing like? what is the school like? Im used to the 11B way of life how much does it differ? What can i do right now in Afghanistan to get the ball rolling on reclassing?

Yes, it will be a full PCS to Ft Belvoir. Housing is very nice; most of the villages are newer housing - 2005 or newer - and I mean actual new housing, not renovated old housing. Ft Belvoir is a nice base in a great area.

The school is a challenge, but you learn alot, and the year of hard work is worth it. About half of my class is former combat arms, and they love it. It's a welcome change, but not a cakewalk. It is very challenging academically, plus alot of hard and stressful hands-on work as well.

Your first step is to take the BMST. If you don't have access to a testing center, I believe they can mail a test to an Officer in you COC to proctor it for you. Let me find out for sure today at the schoolhouse, and I will get back to you in a few hours.

quote:

Originally posted by GimmeyYourWallet:
alright dumb question i guess but what does AOS stand for?

Sorry about that ... additional obligated service. This is the time you're giving the Army AFTER your current ETS.

ok another problem i dont have a career counselor here, im deployed on a military transition team. We have an S1 (navy) but thats about as far as it goes. Is there a link for a practice test for the BMST?

Here's some study materials ... http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/pps/enrollment/studyguide.htm

yeah so any idea on me not having a career counselor?

Somewhere you have a career counselor, even if it is a division-level for the 101st. Even if you are not assigned to the 101st you still fall under CJTF-82 or 101 or whatever the hell they call themselves these days, and at that level there is someone to help. I'm guessing somewhere in between you and there is a 79S that would love to re-enlist you. You just need to keep asking. Find out who your ETT falls under...then ask for their CC, then so forth and so on.

I'm not trying to be a complete pain in the butt but if you want it bad enough you'll find a 79S. When I re-upped in Afghanistan I used a CC from 10th Mountain.

Very worst case contact your rear-det. They should have one or be prepared to direct soldiers to re-up in theater.

quote:

Originally posted by GimmeyYourWallet:
yeah so any idea on me not having a career counselor?

PM me your unit and FOB and I'll send you a servicing Career Counselor's name, phone number and email address.

Sorry for the delayed response, but the person I wanted to talk to wasn't back until today.

The first thing you need to do is contact the schoolhouse, tell them youre trying to apply to the school, and belive me they will help you anyway they can.

Contact Ms. Nilia at 703-806-3904/3748 (DSN: 656-3904/3748). She is amazing, and she will be the one to coordinate an alternative testing site/proctor, if it can be done.

Also, I informed one of my instructors of your situation, and he should be chiming in on this thread soon. Again any questions, just post or PM me. Good Luck!

Hey thanks for the info, i will be calling her tomorrow. I would have goten back to you guys sooner but i was to busy geting shot at.... yea its time to reclass lol. One more questions spc diesel. The school it self how is the atmosphere? is it like AIT where im going to have some sgt drilling me about something? Will i have like weekends off or how does it all work out?

quote:

"ok another problem i dont have a career counselor here, im deployed on a military transition team. We have an S1 (navy) but thats about as far as it goes. Is there a link for a practice test for the BMST?"

No there is no practice test for the BMST. Know your trig, basic electronics, algegbra, and some basic mechanical. If you are good on those areas, you should have no problems. I am not sure how to get you a BMST out in BFE. But if anyone can help you it is Mrs. Kondratiuk. You can reach her at the phone number listed above. If you need more help PM me and I'll send you some more info.

Hope this helps.

quote:

Hey thanks for the info, i will be calling her tomorrow. I would have goten back to you guys sooner but i was to busy geting shot at.... yea its time to reclass lol. One more questions spc diesel. The school it self how is the atmosphere? is it like AIT where im going to have some sgt drilling me about something? Will i have like weekends off or how does it all work out?

Soldiers that graduate from this course leave as SGTs. We expect you to act as SGTs while attending the Prime Power School and will treat you as such until you give us reason to do otherwise. This is not AIT. There are no initial term soldiers in this school. So we do not have "Drill Sgts". We do assign one of the military instructors as a TAC NCO for admin purposes. This school is very challenging academically. It will often require many hours of study at night and weekends. However, you will be allowed to go home during that time.

Hope this helps.

Like 21P SSG said, this isn't AIT. No Drill SGTs, just professional NCO's who expect you to be a professional NCO as well. NCO training is incorporated into the school for E4s, and you can expect to hold leadership positions (i.e. Squad Leader, Platoon SGT), write counselings, and all the fun stuff. The atmosphere reflects that. Like I said, you are treated as a professional, so when the school day is over (around 1630.. sometimes later) you are expected to do your homework, study, and prepare yourself for the following day. You can do this at home, or like some students prefer, you can stay at the schoolhouse and utilize your fellow students for help and support. It a Monday thru Friday schoolweek. PT at 615. Weekends are yours, but again you might spend most of it studying.

If you need anything at all, let me know. Be safe and good luck.

Alight i understand that its a professional environment something i have been trying to be a part of for a while. Im contacting all the people everyone has sent me messages about tomorrow. But i have just a few more questions for those of you in the school and the career counselor.

1. Where is a good place to live off post? As i have 2 dogs not allowed on post and me and my wife would like some privacy.

2. Upon graduation is there a mandatory time you have to spend, as in do i have to reenlist 2 more years after graduation?

3. Do i have to reenlist for the chance to get into this school or reclass? or do i just essentially put in a 4187 like anything else?

and really thanks everyone for getting back to me, i have got more help from all of you all over the world then my team here in afghanistan.

quote:

Originally posted by GimmeyYourWallet:
1. Where is a good place to live off post? As i have 2 dogs not allowed on post and me and my wife would like some privacy.

You can't have pets on post? When I lived on Belvoir (and commuted to the Pentagon), I noticed that just below Woodbridge has some very nice areas ... Stafford is the area.

quote:

Originally posted by GimmeyYourWallet:
2. Upon graduation is there a mandatory time you have to spend, as in do i have to reenlist 2 more years after graduation?

You're required to have 30 months of service after graduation, so you'll need to reenlist after graduation.

quote:

Originally posted by GimmeyYourWallet:
3. Do i have to reenlist for the chance to get into this school or reclass? or do i just essentially put in a 4187 like anything else?

If you're within your 24-month reenlistment window, you can extend under the BEAR Program or reenlist for Option 3, Army Training Reenlistment Option.

If you are outside your 24-month reenlistment window, you'll need to submit a DA Form 4187 (through a Career Counselor) for a voluntary reclassification. (I don't know if there is an easier way for 21Ps to get this or not)

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