Posted on Apr 8, 2022
SPC(P) Operations Nco
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I'm interested in the different Army schools out there that are available. Sapper, Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, etc. and I want to get as many schools as I can. What was the most interesting school you've gone to?
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Responses: 18
MAJ Anne McGee
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My most interesting, challenging and fun was Northern Warfare School. I attended the summer course which is based out of Fort Greeley, AK and consists of 3 phases, River, Mountain and Glacier. My fondest memory was falling through a snowbridge into a crevass while tied into a three man rope team; had to walk my way up the ice wall to get out...good times! Where else would you be able to experience something like that but in the military? Spoiler alert - no badges for this school, so if that's important to you then get over it!
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
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YUPPER. It's ALWAYS Been: "Either Lead, Follow Or Get The Hell Out Of MY Way"
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SPC(P) Operations Nco
SPC(P) (Join to see)
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Thank you for your response Ma'am, it's honestly not really the badges that matter to me, I more so want to go to the different schools for the experiences. The badges are just a plus if I can get them
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MAJ Anne McGee
MAJ Anne McGee
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Shirley Tice Your post makes no sense!
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MSG Thomas Currie
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Two schools come to mind for very different reasons (and both schools are long long gone)

First would be the old (1970-vintage) 7th Army Tank Commander Course at Vilseck Germany. This was an excellent school that covered all the technical knowledge that a Tank Commander needed to maintain and operate his tank. It did not cover tactics which were considered the realm of Platoon Sergeants, Platoon Leaders, and unit commanders. Oddly enough I was sent to the course mostly because my unit wanted rid of me for a while. I had just arrived in the unit when I broke both bones in my lower leg. Since I was a single E-5 living in the barracks, I could not be put on convalescent leave, so I spent my first month in the unit on profile with a cast from my toes to my hip. After that I had a short leg cast (toes to knee) and they shipped me off the the first available school I was eligible to attend, which just happened to be the Tank Commander course. Despite the cast which limited me somewhat, I still returned from the three-week course as Honor Graduate (which resulted in the Battalion sending me to several more schools during my tour in Germany).

At the time, I had appreciated the course, but I didn't realize just how comprehensive it was until many years later I attended the Tank Master Gunner course at the Armor School. EVERYTHING that was covered in the Maintenance phase of the Master Gunner Course was stuff I had learned years earlier at Vilseck. What was particularly noteworthy was that there was another student in the same Master Gunner class who had attended the 7th Army Tank Commanders Course almost a year after me. He assured me that 99% of the troubleshooting and advanced maintenance covered in the Master Gunner course had been eliminated from the Tank Commander course during the months between when I attended and when he attended a few months later.

The other "favorite" course I attended was the USAREUR Projectionist Course -- a one week program teaching soldiers how to operate movie projectors and other audio-visual training equipment (back then you needed to be "licensed" for each kind of AV equipment). The training was nothing special, and actually a bit tedious, but what made the course a favorite was that although the training was conducted at McGraw Kaserne, we were housed in the American Hotel in the heart of Munich, not far from the Hofbrauhaus (still known as the World's Most Famous Tavern), and our course was conducted right in the middle of Fasching.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
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Well, SARGENT CURRIE,
That's What You Get For Joining Our Military Services.
You SHOULD Have Been With Me, Because I Just Happened To Sign-Up With
The Air Force Instead.....{ :-)
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SPC(P) Operations Nco
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Thank you for your response Master Sergeant, the USAREUR Course sounds very similar to some of the things that I learn in my current MOS as a 25R, albeit without the cool location of being in Germany.
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MSG Thomas Currie
MSG Thomas Currie
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SPC(P) (Join to see) - I don't know if the Army had and 25R's back then, and of course all the equipment has changed a lot -- I can't imagine any modern AV guy working with a record player with a tone arm weighing nearly a pound (or any record player for that matter) and I doubt you spend much time with 16mm film movie projectors. But the concept was pretty much the same, SOMEONE needed to know how to work the equipment to keep from breaking it.
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SMSgt Bob W.
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It isn't the number of schools you attend or graduate from, it's the schools you attend that develop you as an asset to your MOS and the Military. Become proficient in your job can lead to promotions, recognition and after the military jobs.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
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Exactly How I Feel About College Grads.
I've Known Several And Only A Few Were Actually Educated
And Some Worked For Me When I Owned A Couple Of
Printing Businesses In Michigan, Just Before I Retired At 56.
We Have 2 Friends, Whom Are Married To Each Other & Graduates Of Michigan State University.
She Has Her Degree And Certification For a Teaching Position, While His Was In Forestry With A Second Degree In Animal Husbandry...
He Retired As A Head Custodian From MSU & She Retired From Wal-Mart. .. Not Even As A Department Manager. .......
Makes Me Even More Sure I Made The Right Decision When I Dropped Out Of Junior High, Mid 9th Grade & Became Self-Educated..
Best Damned Decision Of My Life... Not For One Nano-Second Have I Ever Regretted THAT Move.
Had I Remained And Graduated From High School, I'd Have Just Pissed Away 4 More Years Of My Life..
I'll Pass, Thanks.!
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SPC(P) Operations Nco
SPC(P) (Join to see)
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Thank you for your response Senior Master Sergeant, so that's what I've been told before. I guess I more so want to go to a myriad of different schools just to get the experiences and explore all that the Army has to offer.
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SMSgt Bob W.
SMSgt Bob W.
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SPC(P) (Join to see) - I do have a first name. I've never been hung up on titles or rank.
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MSG Thomas Currie
MSG Thomas Currie
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We'd all like to think that school attendance was all about development "as an asset to your MOS and the Military" but I can tell you that (as least in the Army in the 1970s) many units were far more interested in sending people who they were sure would do well in the school rather than sending someone who really needed the training.
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