My son is getting reclassed out of 68W; his new MOS choices are horrible. Has anyone refused to reclassify?

Shelly Putzke — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 20:49:56 -0400

He has a high asvab score & PT.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 9:02 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 21:02:31 -0400

Shelly Putzke Why is he being reclassed, and what are his new MOS choices?

Response by SGT Eric Davis made Mar 21 at 2018 9:43 PM

SGT Eric Davis — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 21:43:15 -0400

Why is he being reclass? Do he current have an MOS? Is his unit short on a certain MOS? What are his choices?

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 10:26 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:26:45 -0400

You know, I have a knucklehead like that. I have a girl graduating West Point and a son that just seems to be found by trouble everywhere he goes. All you can do is help them deal with the choices they make and encourage them to not give up. I tried to dissuade my girl from going to West Point and every time she called to say how much the place sucked I offered to drive up and bring her home. She never quit. You have to let your boy make his own decisions and live with them. Otherwise they will blame you for all that goes wrong. Encourage and facilitate but let him make his choices. Good luck.

Response by PVT Mark Brown made Mar 21 at 2018 10:34 PM

PVT Mark Brown — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:34:23 -0400

You should be very proud of your son. As a Vietnam/Korea vet, I have known a few combat medics (Army.) To me each and everyone o them is a hero. These folks risk it all to render aid to their battle buddies. Be proud of this opportunity he had. Actually, my very best friend, who I have been friends with since high school, was a Dust Off medic in Vietnam, 3 tours at that. He has seen some horrible shit, more than any one person should be exposed to, yet he carried on, mission after mission. His military career ended when a chopper went down hard and crushed his legs. My point is, it takes a very, very special person to be a medic. While in Korea one of my closest buddies was our medic, I did not respect his skill and heroism until many years later. Now, a few years ago we lost contact and I feel bad about that. Off topic. Anyway, you ask a very important question.

Response by Shelly Putzke made Mar 21 at 2018 10:34 PM

Shelly Putzke — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:34:55 -0400

My main question is has anyone refused new mos choices & got different choices instead of chapter out? Just looking for advice. Thanks

Response by SSG Keith Amacher made Mar 21 at 2018 10:38 PM

SSG Keith Amacher — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:38:28 -0400

I pray for you Shelly Putzke and your son but believe me we want the best for you both and we protect and serve like Law Enforcement, so it is not only a matter of what is best for your son but what is best for our purpose and protection... I will stop ranting on this issue.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 11:11 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 23:11:44 -0400

Might consider SF, most SF team members have ether 2 or more MOS's. I knew an SF that was the medic on a team, he also was the Demo/Como individual.

Response by 2LT Ronald Reimer made Mar 22 at 2018 4:06 AM

2LT Ronald Reimer — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 04:06:51 -0400

Refused to reclassify? Is that “a thing”?

Response by SPC David Willis made Mar 22 at 2018 9:09 AM

SPC David Willis — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:09:36 -0400

If he failed out on purpose the Army will lift 0 fingers to help him at all. The military is a big boy organization and holds people to their contracts. I would recommend not doing anything like contacting his chain of command or trying to help him. Asking a question on RP is one thing but getting directly involved is another. I would also recommend telling him that he made his bed and now he has to lie in it. It sounds harsh but it will force him to grow and in the end he will be better for it. Of the three choices you listed off I would recommend Cav Scout, but if the reasons he quit had anything to do with potentially finding himself in combat cook may suit him best. Unfortunately at this point those will be his only three options to choose from with the only possible alternative being a very long and very painful chaptering out of the military, likely with no chance to ever enlist again.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Mar 22 at 2018 9:42 AM

SGM Erik Marquez — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:42:11 -0400

Helping him research his options is parenteral for sure, but I implore you, do not help him decide. It must be HIS decision. You can not help him while he is in AIT, can not help him at his new unit, can not help him when deployed, he needs to learn to make decisions on his own, and then OWN them with follow though.
Thus ends the parenting lesson you did not ask for. Not intended to be condescending, or even imply you did not know all that already... Just one parent to another having two boys (now grown men) of my own, and as a recently retired US Army Senior NCO that had to deal with child / adults from Basic training to Deployed in Iraq who well meaning parents did not help, because they helped too much.

As to his options now.....
Can he refuse to accept a re class option? Well I suppose he could, if he is willing to accept the consequences.
But my recommendation is he research all three, and decide not if, but which one he wants to spend his remaining service contract in. Then while doing that start immediately in planning what comes next after be honorably separated. If he brings the "I don't like this I quit" attitude to his next AIT or unit after that I can all but guarantee he will like his position in life a lot less then he does today... AS well as it will effect his future greatly, and not in a positive way.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Mar 22 at 2018 9:52 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:52:05 -0400

2 choices- 1, Reclass according to the Army's needs, or 2. Wait to be forced out on a chapter. There are certain reasons for reclass- over strength, MOS, failure to pass MOS school, or unable to meet/maintain the standards of that MOS.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Mar 22 at 2018 12:52 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:52:01 -0400

What in your mind classified the other options as horrible? There are many specialties in the Army and very few if any are horrible. I would be happy to share my opinion. Thank him for his service.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2018 2:07 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 14:07:10 -0400

I have seen an IET soldier refuse to train... it didn't go good for him. After a few weeks, he decided to train on his own will. I guess your son could refuse to comply; it will just be a painful time, and the discharge won't be looked upon favorably by employers. For those choices you listed, I would probably choose to be a fueler. Seems like it probably might open up options later in the civilian world.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Jun 25 at 2018 12:07 PM

CSM Richard StCyr — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 12:07:38 -0400

Had a firefighter try and go that route when the Engineers drew down that MOS. End of day Soldier lost as there is policy and more than ample precedence backing the process.
We were able to get the Soldier a decent Engineer MOS as they had a high GT and had been an exemplary troop, but the time and energy they expended screwing around nearly caused them to get the shaft and it would have been all on their own head in the end..

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jun 25 at 2018 4:34 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 16:34:45 -0400

It all ties to what is open/available at the time he is eligeable to reclassify. There is no option to remain in his current Branch. If he has gone through his Chain of Command and the Retention NCO he has done all he can. He can of course opt not to re-enlist when his time is up. I must say that it would help to know what MOS he sees as awful.