What's the reality of being a combat engineer?

William Abbott Below is a previous post with information about the Combat Engineer MOS. Search on "12B" and "Combat Engineer" to find other posts. Gather as much information as you can and then talk to your wife so that you are both on the same page. Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-is-it-being-a-12b-combat-engineer-on-active-duty

Heavy equiptment/mechanical, was my choice, mechanical always was a benifit and still does, heavy equitpment is a trade that'll allways be needed for service, in the civil or military.
Had some good friends that were electrician, carpenters and plumbers, hung around those guys and learned the trade, to do things for myself at my own home. I still do my electrical, plumbing and picked up maisonary skill too.
Mechanical gave me the insight and willingness to learn fixing things, I did my own Harley repairs. Now, a wife might not like a husband that is always in the company with his new love, his Harley.

All depends on the kind of unit you get to. Primarily in the Motor Pool doing maintenance on vehicles; in the field a lot. Deployments nowadays aren't too dangerous. At the end of the day, if you have all 10 fingers, 10 toes and 90% of your hearing still intact....it was a good day.