What was your favorite/most interesting school that you went to?

2022-04-08T11:21:01-04:00

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?

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2022 2:56 PM

2022-04-08T14:56:55-04:00

Good luck, add Jungle and Arctic warfare to the list.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 8 at 2022 7:49 PM

2022-04-08T19:49:46-04:00

Command General Staff College. We studied theories and strategic aspects of war.

Response by A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney made Apr 9 at 2022 1:03 AM

2022-04-09T01:03:36-04:00

My Most INTERESTING School Would Have To Have Been In My Younger Days,
So It Must Have Been REFORM SCHOOL....

Seriously, You Need To Take Any & All Programs Which Interest YOU.
As I Entered The USAF Fraudulently Due To NOT Even Having A 10th Grade Education, I Had But 8 th.
In Doing So, I Hustled My Butt To The Base Ed Shed And Immediately Nailed The GED
And Got That Out Of The Way;
Since My Interest Was "Business Administration", I Started Taking Programs Through USAFI & NAVPERS.., And Continued Doing So Throughout My USAF Career,.. Right Up Until My Last 2 Months Of Service, Coming Back From Osan AFB, South Korea.
Let's Cut This Down To The Bone. I Became A Mid Level Manager For FMC, Then My Own Businesses, Fully Retired At 56...
SO, Get Involved In Those Programs Which Interest You The Most, Then Take More.

Your Success Will Follow You. It's A Done Deal.
Good Luck. As It AIN'T All That Easy; But It's FUN And Worth Every Moment; Especially As You Can See Yourself Succeeding...
Stand Tall, Be Proud.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Apr 9 at 2022 7:44 AM

2022-04-09T07:44:07-04:00

To be the bearer of bad news, you won't get Sapper School with your current MOS. While they technically do let other MOS's into the school, unless that has changed recently, the priority is for 12B Combat Engineers and 18C SF Engineers, then 11B and 19D. Pathfinder is going to be a difficult one too. The Army usually only pays for schools that are relevant to you current duty.

Response by SSgt Mathew Cummings made Apr 9 at 2022 8:36 AM

2022-04-09T08:36:48-04:00

Mountain Warfare Leaders Course. Taught demolitions/ breaching, anti- armor, combat hunter, IDF, etc... MWLC was a extremely fun nightmare. Was basically extreme bushcraft for the 03 field.

Response by MAJ Keith FitzPatrick, CPIM, CSCP made Apr 9 at 2022 9:31 AM

2022-04-09T09:31:54-04:00

Loved Air Assault School. The skills learned there can be used in any school. Northern Warfare and Jungle Ops were also pretty interesting.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Apr 9 at 2022 11:14 PM

2022-04-09T23:14:39-04:00

Favorite school was 96H AIT.

Most interesting was "technical transportation of hazardous materials." Usually referred to as HAZ-12.

Response by MAJ Anne McGee made Apr 10 at 2022 12:06 AM

2022-04-10T00:06:37-04:00

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!

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Apr 10 at 2022 6:58 AM

2022-04-10T06:58:02-04:00

For me, it was the training I went through to be a training officer at the Northern Warfare Training Center in Fort Greely, AK. We had to undergo the same training we would teach students when they arrived. Since we did mountaineering training year around, I did more things there than I ever imagined I would in my life. This included working on glaciers, rock climbing of various types, rope work, skiing, snowshoeing, and mountain climbing where we put all of those together.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Apr 10 at 2022 12:37 PM

2022-04-10T12:37:53-04:00

I had the pleasure of being selected to attend the Army’s first enlisted Battle Staff course. It was in the late 80’s as was the first gentleman’s course that I had attended. The instructors were all E9’s, the students were E6 through E9, I was the only E6 selected to attend. A gentleman’s course only means that you are on your own for all matters accept the training. PT, transportation, chow etc. there was of course a PT test, and as I recall a urine test as well. Anyway the shared knowledge and experience of the students coupled with the superb instructors who were hand selected to design and deliver the program made for an amazing experience. The program exists today.

Response by SMSgt Bob W. made Apr 10 at 2022 12:51 PM

2022-04-10T12:51:57-04:00

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.

Response by MSG Thomas Currie made Apr 10 at 2022 1:28 PM

2022-04-10T13:28:12-04:00

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.

Response by LTC Tom Jones made Apr 10 at 2022 10:07 PM

2022-04-10T22:07:32-04:00

Three-week Recondo Course at Camp Diamond south of Fort Carson; Oct 1969.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Apr 11 at 2022 10:42 AM

2022-04-11T10:42:41-04:00

Air-Ground Operations School. Taught Air Force, Army, and Marine officers and senior NCOs how to work as part of a joint operations center. Focused on targeting and strike packages. Went in 1983 before joint was a good thing.

Response by CW3 Earl Clark made Apr 13 at 2022 7:51 AM

2022-04-13T07:51:58-04:00

My most interesting school in the Army was the yearlong cytotechnology course at Fort Sam Houston
. Learning how to detect cancer cells in the human body. This course and previous medical lab courses aided me greatly in the Army physician school.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 15 at 2022 11:21 AM

2022-04-15T11:21:23-04:00

My favorite was The Leadership Preparation Course at The United States Army Medical Training Center in 1972. Selected out of BCT to attend prior to AIT, it was two weeks of intense leadership training. Things learned there I use to this day. Particulary the definition of leadership learned on day one: Leadership is the ability to gain the willing support of your men in order to accomplish the mission.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Apr 17 at 2022 1:48 AM

2022-04-17T01:48:33-04:00

Attended the NATO LRRP school when it was in Weingarten, Ge. Hands down the most challenging school I ever attended. There was no retest. You got one shot at a test, you fail, you are gone. There was no rank at the school, every one was on equal footing.

Response by 1SG Ernest Stull made May 4 at 2022 7:54 AM

2022-05-04T07:54:00-04:00

RANGER school. Taught me to be very resilient as a leader.