What is it like to be an Engineer Officer and what is your favorite part about being one?

Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:27:03 -0500

I am a medic who just earned an ROTC contract and really want to become an engineer officer. I am going to school for construction management and I know that I want engineering to be my first choice. I have seen all the videos and descriptions, but I figured I would receive better info from the people that have actually served as one, worked with one or knew one. Thank you

Response by TSgt David L. made Jan 24 at 2016 7:48 PM

TSgt David L. — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:48:49 -0500

Crabs over castles!! LOL

Response by CPT Griff Tatum made Jan 24 at 2016 8:03 PM

CPT Griff Tatum — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 20:03:38 -0500

It's pretty cool. Lots of different opportunities than infantry or scout (I was prior service before I commissioned) and lots of different movement techniques.

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Jan 24 at 2016 8:37 PM

CPT Aaron Kletzing — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 20:37:05 -0500

COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM has been an Engineer Officer for a long time...maybe he can chime in here too

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2016 9:07 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:07:40 -0500

Engineering branch is very diverse. You will enjoy the variety of opportunities. As a construction management graduate, you will fit well I the US Corps of Engineers! Best of luck!

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jan 24 at 2016 11:13 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 23:13:50 -0500

I never was one, Private RallyPoint Member, but I always thought the Essayons (Let us try) buttons were pretty cool and I liked that tradition!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2016 5:07 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 05:07:58 -0500

I am a 12B, Combat Engineer, enlisted. As an officer you will know all types of Engineer specialties. From bridging, contruction, to the route clearence and Sapper duties. It is a very diverse field. I myself am working on a green to gold packet. I plan on staying in the engineer corps.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2016 10:11 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:11:51 -0500

It is obviously the best branch out there. You get all walks of life, combat arms, to service support. It's just the right amount of leadership and technical skills. So long as you are somewhat intelligent Engineers is a great place to be. I spent a few years in a Sapper unit, Deployed as a bridging PL, then spent a year doing construction projects, it's a great branch!

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 25 at 2016 11:52 AM

1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 11:52:42 -0500

I was initially 12B (enlisted though). Loved blowing the you know what out of stuff!

Response by CPT Stacey Purifoy-Jones made Jan 26 at 2016 7:05 AM

CPT Stacey Purifoy-Jones — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 07:05:57 -0500

If you're lucky enough to be assigned to a combat heavy then you'll be able to really maximize your construction background. My degree is in Civil Engineering and one of benefits of the military is being able to supervisor from the beginning. I had friends who had to wait years to lead projects and I was able to do that from the start. I liked seeing things come to life... from paper to reality.

Response by CPT Christena Buller made Jan 26 at 2016 7:44 AM

CPT Christena Buller — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 07:44:02 -0500

I really enjoyed being an engineer officer due to the variety of things one can do as an engineer. I was with a bridging unit first and loved it. You can do bridging, combat engineering, construction, prime power and get to see a lot and learn a lot about other units depending on who you support. If there are deployments, be prepared to deploy a lot. Engineers are often the first in, last out due to the need to get the ground ready to receive others and reconstruction needs.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 8:04 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 08:04:13 -0500

What's my favorite part? The incredible engineer Soldiers and the variety of opportunities! I've worked with some fantastic people doing some cool things (as many people have already mentioned): supporting combat operations, building base camps, and building schools and medical clinics as part of humanitarian assistance missions. It's been a great branch for me.
If further education is something you're interested in down the line, our branch has a fair number of graduate school options. Most officers assigned to USACE after successful company command spend 12-18 months as full-time students to earn master's degrees which prepare them for the USACE position. Other officers may get a master's degree in GIS and work in that field for the Army for a while. Still others can go back to school at teach at USMA for 2 or 3 years. Most of these opportunities are intended to "broaden" your experience after company command before you return to an operational unit as an S-3 or XO.

Response by COL Thomas Weiss made Jan 26 at 2016 9:57 AM

COL Thomas Weiss — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:57:46 -0500

I always loved the sense of accomplishment. When we built a bride, it was built right and it was obvious. The variety of things we did was wonderful and clearly the engineer soldiers are the best. An increadible sense of "Can Do" Essayons!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 10:25 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 10:25:13 -0500

Favorite part? Three words - Blowing Shit Up!
The job is a lot more complicated than that and I spent most of my career building stuff but blowing stuff up was always the most fun. Didn't really matter if I got to do it myself or it was just my Soldiers (watching them do their first real demo mission may have been the best part). I had the opportunity to build stuff for the Army all over the world and that was very rewarding as well.

As for what the job is like, three more words - maintenance, planning and hard work. As a Corp Wheeled, heavy and light engineer, I spent a lot of time making sure our equipment was in operational order. We generally spent one full day a week doing "motor stables" when in garrison. In the field, I'd guess that it's two - three hours of blade time to one hour of refuel, lube, load and move (if you want to keep the blades pushing). A Degree in construction management will do you well because every project requires detailed planning and management unlike any other branch (I held three branches). An infantryman will lay out his plan of attack and then develop the situation - if you do that laying out a bridge the two ends won't meet in the middle, the plan requires constant supervision and careful revisions and updating on the ground. We don't "wing it" or "play it by ear" when we build (We do improvise but only after careful consideration). As an infantryman, the ability to "wing it" was a daily requirement. Finally, being an engineer is hard work - you'll often be the first one on site and the last one to leave. You'll get dirty, oil covered and beat up. The ability to step back and do a quick accurate assessment of the situation while you're dirty, miserable and tired is critical.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 10:32 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 10:32:40 -0500

I may be a little prejudiced, but I think it is one of the most diverse branches. Look at all the enlisted engineer MOSs and you will get a little bit of all of that. There are several SI (?) for a degreed engineer, geospatial, sapper leader, professional project management etc. Look up engineer officer in DA PAM 600-3. Your captains career course is about 1/2 masters in engineer managment from Missouri S&T. I also think the management aspects easly translate to the civillian.

This is from a former 12N/E/J and current 12B. I will be sitting for a direct comission board this weekend probably to be an engineer officer.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 10:48 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 10:48:34 -0500

As others on this post have mentioned, being an engineer officer exposes you to a variety of missions and jobs from combat effects to construction to geospatial. You'll have the opportunity to serve in many different units and even other government agencies as you progress through you career. I have served in combat engineer units, BCTs, corps-level staff, facilities engineer in an MP BDE (long story) and MILCON planning.
You'll have a lot of educational opportunities (masters degrees, project management accreditation) and will often be the SME, even as a lieutenant; everyone will he looking for you as an engineer. I was prior service as well and chose to be an engineer officer from day one; never regretted it for a second! Essayons!

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 11:26 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:26:13 -0500

My favorite part is the education.
At every level of command, you have to learn in order to be successful. There is no assignment where you can just sit back and do.

You have to learn the organizations that you support. In 9 months, I supported 3ID, 3ACR and 82ABN. Three very diverse organizations with unique cultures.

Your education is important because you will be the engineer subject matter expert for planning and executing engineer missions. This means you have to be an expert maneuver planner, logistics planner, and intelligence planner.

You have to know how all the warfighting functions work, how they plan, how they execute, how they asses, on top of how engineers do it.

And, like others have pointed out, unlike other branches, an engineer officer must be able to lead a diverse type of engineer units. You may start as 12B platoon leader and be a construction company commander. Then be an S4 logistics planner for an engineer battalion that has construction and combat engineers to include bridging.

At the BCT, you'll have to work with and for the BEB commander (BDE Engineer) to ensure that the engineer tasks are seamlessly incorporated into the BDE S3 and S4 orders.

Move up to EN BDE staff and you may be responsible for planning and cooridinating engineer support with the CORPS Engineer for an entire theater.

At that level, you not only have to learn the Army, but how to plan and employ the other service's engineers, too. And if you're really lucky, you get to learn how to employ the engineers of other countries and their services as part of a multi-national force, which are all different.

If you love to learn, and always ask questions, you'll love being an engineer officer.

Essayons!

Response by COL Brenden Scherr, P.E. made Jan 26 at 2016 11:48 AM

COL Brenden Scherr, P.E. — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:48:21 -0500

Congratulations on your ROTC contract; your interest to be an engineer officer and also to study construction management will serve you well, if you have the interest, especially as an Army Reserve Soldier. Your path sounds much like mine at your age (I had been an armor/CAV scout and completed the construction engineer management course by correspondence). In my younger years I liked how a construction site resembled a military organization; everyone wore hard hats and tool belts - looking much like kevlars and LBE - and we worked outdoors half the time. I liked how as my Army and civilian careers grew the two paths complemented each other although at some point the Army has less need for construction management skills if you are in the Army Reserve because the USACE does not have much of an opportunity for Reserve Soldiers (unless you go on a MOB with them, good luck convincing your employer to keep your job for your) (and if you want to have your own business you'll be doomed unless you can find a good person to hire and keep it going for you when you are gone, it's possible though, but I know a lot of engineers who lost their businesses when they got mobilized during the wars) , so you'll find yourself focusing on operations at the brigade and battalion level while your civilian career grows beyond what the Army can offer (those operations are fun anyway for the most part). I'm in Las Vegas and was involved building a $400 million project, flying enough steel to build the empire state building but my work in the army never progressed to that level. I liked how what I learned in the Army translated to my civilian job and vice-versa, it was a good compliment over the years. There are IMA assignments with USACE that could be an opportunity at some point; also, geographically, you are in the part of the country that has many engineer units so you can have some career progression there. The Army was great because it helped me get my PE which completely changed my ability to manage my Army career - you'll need to make sure that your academic program is ABET accredited so you can take your PE. You'll find CM work to be very demanding on your time and it will be difficult to do both your Army career and your civilian career - there will be a lot of questions from your employer about "when you'll be done with your reserve career". Stay with it though because you have a right to serve the Army (drill was often the only time I had away from work to enjoy a weekend - thank goodness I had a great unit and the Soldiers were great to be with so it made flying back to Oregon a good experience). At one point I was encouraged to go work for the government so I did, getting hired by a building department it gave me the time I needed for my military career. I'm retired now, finishing my career as an O-6 RSG commander. Being an engineer has been great by being a highly paid specialist which allows for the investment of time in other pursuits - additional business activities to includes the Army Reserve. As your career grows you'll find that the Army is really your way of service because you'll be working for minimum wage at best as your career advances. I had to travel by air for much of my last 15 years in my career (you have to travel if you want to move up and grow in responsibility); the cost of travel to include airfare and lodging is paid by the Soldier, and it takes a tremendous amount of time to stay on top of all the evaluations (OERs alone seem to be a career in and of themselves - geez - the Army should just scrap that and have interviews like the real world for promotions - if someone wants a job bad enough they'll show up for an interview - but I digress). It was a good ride - just so you know, I was able to meet my education and career goals in the USAR - masters degree and war college - and grew in my civilian career where I'm making about $200K per year now and every year I make more money than the previous year. It's cool to have a nickname "Colonel" from my civilian coworkers - so, that's probably what I liked best about it. Good luck - you'll enjoy it, it's a good ride. - Brenden Scherr, COL, USA (Ret)

Response by BG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 12:32 PM

BG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:32:07 -0500

I was commissioned an Engineer Officer through federal OCS. Since I came in off the street with a Civil Engineering degree, I was able to get Recruiting Command to guarantee me to branch Corps of Engineers. I would suggest you try that also. In OCS, I knew a great guy who was 11B Ranger who jumped into Grenada. He got out and got a degree in CE, but they branched him Infantry due to his background. He was not a happy camper.
The Engineer Branch is awesome and you get to do a lot. Two things to remember though. 1. An officer is expected to be able to handle any assignment and they don't make a distinction on your education. Despite being one of the few with a Civil Engineering degree, I served nine years in Combat Engineers. 2. Your fifth mission is to fight as infantry so be good at that too!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 12:35 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:35:54 -0500

Caleb,
I am a former medic who became an engineer officer. It was the best career decision I have ever made. The best thing you can do is speak with active duty engineer officers at an Army Corps of Engineer District office near you (Pittsburg and Buffalo).

Response by MAJ James Schug made Jan 26 at 2016 12:45 PM

MAJ James Schug — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:45:24 -0500

Congrats on your contract. It was always bittersweet to see soldiers go from Enlisted to Officer as we need incredible NCOs and warrants also. Most officers will agree that my most enjoyable days were serving as a platoon leader to be with soldiers.

In addition to the diversity others suggested, I loved blowing things up. Gaining the experience and knowledge to maneuver and do incredible things while employing demo safely was an unforgettable aspect. As a company XO or CO planning the training for your guys and watching them love it is rewarding.

Response by MAJ Pete Joplin made Jan 26 at 2016 12:45 PM

MAJ Pete Joplin — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:45:30 -0500

The camaraderie, esprit de corps, tradition, discipline, and professionalism are unmatched in any other branch! Engineer soldiers are among the Army's most intelligent, and their strength and courage is respected and admired by the hardest warfighters. They're like scientific, genius, hulk-like, ninja, killing-machine things! :)
As you might guess, I was a career Engineer Officer. However, I was also an ROTC instructor, so allow me to give you the very same caveat that I gave to hundreds of my Cadets going though the branching process. No matter what your degree, or your branch choices top to bottom, the instant you are assigned a branch (no matter which one it is, or where it was on your list), you are then a member of the best branch in the United States Army. As you might imagine, this created a bit of confusion, so to clarify I told them, if you don't believe in your heart of hearts that your branch is the very best branch, I don't want to have anything to do with you.
Lesson: work hard and do what it takes to accomplish your goal to become a member of the United States Army Engineer Corps. BUT, when you are branched "whatever," be a professional soldier and Commissioned Officer, and be the BEST "whatever" in the entire US Army.
Good Luck and Essayons!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2016 5:20 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 17:20:03 -0500

I was commissioned out of ROTC as an Engineer Officer and have enjoyed it. I spent all my active duty time as an Officer in combat engineer battalions (44th Eng, 1st Eng, 299th Eng). I was attracted to the Corps in college because I enjoyed doing all the Infantry tactics but was studying engineering. It is a very diverse branch - combat, construction, firefighting. The construction management will definitely assist in the Corps. It has also helped that I served under a number of great engineer officers (one in particular LTG Bostick). LTG Bostick was my battalion commander in the 1st Engineers.

Response by COL David Turk made Jan 26 at 2016 6:00 PM

COL David Turk — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 18:00:00 -0500

Well, for one, we have our own distinct buttons. No other branch is allowed their own buttons.
Seriously, as stated in prior comments, the choices are many; combat, construction, topo, civil works (USACE), etc. Engineer officers are usually in demand when they are looking to fill leadership positions in non-branch material slots. We have, as a whole, a lot of credibility at the Pentagon.

Response by COL John McClellan made Jan 26 at 2016 7:38 PM

COL John McClellan — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 19:38:39 -0500

Great idea Caleb to reach out like this! I had 28 years as an engineer officer and probably the best part was the diversity of this branch - from combat engineering where you are part of the maneuver formations and many times right there with the action, to corps or theater-Army level units like bridging, construction, survey and even dive teams! Before 911, we got to do some great things on non-combat deployments - go to Country X and build a bridge, or a school, or repair a hospital. Some commands, like USARPAC or AFRICOM are doing these kinds of "engagement" missions again. As an engineer officer, you become a "jack of all trades" and you can experience some of these kinds of missions even without a "hard" engineering degree. You'll learn about Project Management, and you need to know enough about a construction job site to keep it safe and on track. But it's a leadership role, not really a technical expertise thing most of the time. Good luck and Essayons!!

Response by CPT Don Martin made Jan 27 at 2016 9:30 AM

CPT Don Martin — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 09:30:03 -0500

You have to know the mission for each of the combat arms branches and be able to seemlessly fit into their organizations and still conduct Engineer missions. You have to have basic understanding of construction, engineering and mnaging people and schedules. It is a great branch with a long and proud tradition. I think engineers are the best.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 28 at 2016 11:06 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 11:06:19 -0500

In one word, as has been said before me, "diversity." There is great variety in several aspects, the people you work with, the people you otherwise meet (such as those from other agencies/offices you can work with, etc.), the missions available, places you can go, the types of units you can become a part of... the list goes on. everything from 12B Sapper units to Facility Detachments, Construction (Horizontal or Vertical) to Survey & Design, Multi-role Bridging... again, the list goes on. The history is kick ass as well. "Damn the Engineers!"

Myself, I have been a part of Horizontal Construction units and missions, a Facility DET briefly, Battalion level Combined Arms Exercise as the S3 Construction Officer, Foreign Military Advising, and Project Management which overlapped into acquisitions. All of that and I am a LT with only one tour.

Airborne guys like to greet "leg" officers saying "Airborne Leads The Way, Sir!" to which I enjoy responding "As soon as I build the airstrip"

As for the other side first part of your post, the ROTC, know this: the accessions process is a complete CF. The only way to guarantee your preference is to work your way in to the top 10% of cadets in your year group, nationwide. As part of the packet for this process, you have to document your preferences, Component (RA, NG, AR), Branch (EN, AR, IN, etc.), and Duty Station. There were classmates of mine who got their 5th or lower choices when it came to branch or duty station, a favorable result in one of those 3 is not correlated to a similar result in the others. The year I went through it, I got forced into the Reserve. The year before, many who got similar news found loopholes and averted the Reserve and subsequently said loopholes were shut. As Engineers, 80% of all our forces army-wide are Guard or Reserve (only 20% active duty).

While I love being an Engineer and have worked with great people in my units and above... getting stuck in the Reserve was news I considered to be catastrophic at the time, and am still not particularly happy about. The upside to that at the time was that because they were so short on people, I got to pick Engineer (by far the coolest branch in the Reserves given that there are no pure combat branches present), as well as choose to remain in Texas. Next goal (after Company Command), the AGR program.

Response by LTC Rob Nash made Feb 5 at 2016 12:58 PM

LTC Rob Nash — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 12:58:04 -0500

PFC,
Congrats on the ROTC appointment. I hope you got a scholarship.
I'm a retired LTC, Engineer Officer, but started out as a PFC like you.
I received a Regular Army, Corps of Engineers commission after completing ROTC, and did not have an Engineering Degree. In fact, my undergraduate was in Journalism---go figure. At the time, I thought it would hurt my career but it didn't. There are two separate EN MOS's for Officers; one for degreed engineers and one for people that don't have a hard engineering degree. A hard engineering degree would be Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, etc.
As an LT or CPT , your degree won't matter. The majority of your time will be with troops doing combat engineering, route clearance, etc. Once you make MAJ, things change. Most EN Officers I know (Active Duty), that are assigned a Corps of Engineers billet have an engineering degree. Corp of Engineer slots are one of the best gigs in the Army---especially if you deploy.
One of the best things about being an EN Officer is the versatility. Everybody needs an Engineer! I did everything from horizontal and vertical construction, project management, staff work, deployed with a Joint Special Operations Task Force, deployed for disaster relief with the Corps of Engineers, and deployed serving as the OIC for a Project Construction Office for the Corps of Engineers in Baghdad.
Here's a piece of advice. Find your local Corps of Engineers District HQ, go there, and ask for an appointment with the CDR or Deputy CDR. They will be EN Officers, and they will have Engineering Degrees---and they will be happy to help!
One last thought: if you do get branched EN, find two mentors. An EN MAJ or LTC would be good on the officer side (LT's and CPT's don't have enough versatile experience), and find a SFC on the enlisted side.
AND---Listen To Your NCO's!!! They know the deal, and have "been there, done that"!
Good Luck!

Response by Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2016 7:53 PM

Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 19:53:02 -0500

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this question! I have learned a plethora of information from all of you and am grateful for all of it; I would have never received this quality of information from online or an engineering army career management video. It will be about 10 months before I figure out where I branch and I hope it is EN. I will try to remember to comment on this post when I figure out what I branch. Again, thank you all for the time you took to help expand my knowledge on this great branch!

Cadet Fenton

Response by PFC Tuan Trang made Mar 10 at 2016 7:09 PM

PFC Tuan Trang — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:09:32 -0500

That depend, do you like seeing stuff blowing up?, I'm an engineer, and it also depend on if you pick active or reserve/national guard. For officer under reserve component, if you not deploying, then mostly PT,Classroom and home for drill.

Response by CPT Scott Sharon made Feb 17 at 2017 10:47 AM

CPT Scott Sharon — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 10:47:21 -0500

Hi Caleb,
My reason for wanting to be an engineer officer was because I was going to be an engineer in my civilian career and I wanted the extra training the Army could give me. The training was incredible and the experience was even better, especially the things I learned in Vietnam. I did things there in combat I would not have imagined I could do and could not have been done as a civilian engineer. The training I received in the Army Engineers was more valuable to me than what I learned in my civilian education.

I wrote and had published a small book titled "Great Adventures Of My Life" on Amazon.com. Several of my engineering experiences are in the book.

Response by CPT Scott Sharon made Mar 1 at 2017 6:08 PM

CPT Scott Sharon — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:08:21 -0500

I became and engineer officer because I liked engineering and that was going to be my civilian career. I thought while I was serving my country I should get as much training as I could that would assist in my civilian career.

I am very happy I did that because the military training was a tremendous help with my engineering skills, plus management and leadership skills that gave my civilian career a major boost. It would be a smart decision to take advantage of all the military training you can get.

Response by 1LT Vance Titus made Mar 1 at 2017 7:37 PM

1LT Vance Titus — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:37:58 -0500

Good luck PFC Fenton. Your construction management education is a perfect fit for the Corps of Engineers. As a 1331, Combat Engineer Unit Commander, my unit built roads and airfields, perfected yo-yo dozing, cleared minefields, built artillery gun emplacements, built buildings, and fought as infantry. The highlight of my military service was leading men in combat. The men, and now men and women, in the Corps of Engineers are the best of the best.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 17 at 2017 7:51 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 07:51:50 -0400

Combat engineers are different than Construction types & I,ve been both. The Military channel has a program on the 291 Combat engineers in Europe that put the Kibosh on the krauts making their way to Antwerp, As Hitler gave his tank commanded, orders, be ruthless, take no prisoners & give me Antwerp.... And about 200 engineer types stopping about a thousand tanks with full german infantry support Then went on to be one of the Engineer units that bridged the Remagen site while under fire. My Battalion in Nam, 15 EBC was the last unit organized of the 9th Infantry Div in ft. Riley, but was the first unit deployed & arrived in Nam about 4 or 5 months before the first Infantry out fits arrived then still supported infantry units while building other peoples barracks, chow halls & base support requirements....

Response by CPT James E Amundsen made Jul 29 at 2019 12:24 PM

CPT James E Amundsen — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 12:24:40 -0400

Better to go Civil Engineer than Construction management. If you can pass the math portions... Civil Engineers are in higher demand and have more long term income and upward mobility options than Construction Management. At a certain point, the PE is the gateway to those higher management jobs. And you become an Engineer to build great big stuff, and if you go combat engineer, sometimes you even get to blow that stuff up! 8-)

Response by MAJ John Lavin made Apr 24 at 2020 5:09 PM

MAJ John Lavin — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 17:09:17 -0400

I only can give you my opinion about what it is like being a Corps of Engineers Officer in the US Army. When you wear that castle on your uniform you are telling everyone that you are in the most selective, most professional, most admired (look at the coronavirus experiences of the past several months - when the need for facilities became evident who did the CIVILIAN Leadership turn to to solve their immediate problems? The Army Corps of Engineers.) organization in the US Army. I had troop assignments, Corps assignments, Post HQ assignments, and a civil non-military assignments when I was on AD. When I retired I was kind of floundering around and a friend told me about this job that they they couldn’t seem to find a qualified candidate for at the local Medical Center. Just to get the unemployment counselors off my back I sent in my Resume. They saw Corps of Engineers on the Resume and they knew I was qualified. I was offered the job and spent 20 more years doing professional engineer work. Here is a little ditty that always had an impact on me. I was standing in the service line at a MacDonalds in Manhattan, Kansas with some other Officers, all non engineers. Three women were looking at our uniforms and talking. All of sudden one of the women walked up to me and said “why are your buttons different than their buttons?”. I said “I’m In the Corps Of Engineers and we have different buttons.” One of the other Officers said “the Corps of Engineers once was a separate service and now the buttons mean that they still have that esprit de corps”. The woman’s turned to her friends and said “I told you so. The guys with those castles are special.” That’s a true story. The Corps of Engineers is special.