Welcome to Alex' page
My oldest son Alex is wanting to join the Army. There's a lot involved and I want him to be as prepared as possible. So I decided to open up a page for him where we'll collect the kind of information he needs to succeed.
Alex, here you'll find videos of different aspects of Army life so that a) you can know what to expect and begin to prepare yourself mentally and b) so that you can get a leg up on the kind of training you need to do to do your best - both for the Army and for the Lord.
On your mark...get set...get training!
Alex, here you'll find videos of different aspects of Army life so that a) you can know what to expect and begin to prepare yourself mentally and b) so that you can get a leg up on the kind of training you need to do to do your best - both for the Army and for the Lord.
On your mark...get set...get training!
Army Physical Fitness Test Standards
OK. I could give you the whole chart, but who wants to know the scores required to fail!? And I certainly don't want you to aim for the bare minimum, so I'm going to list what is required to get a PERFECT PFT! So, for a male ages 17-21,
Pushups - 71
Situps - 78
2 Mile run - 13 minutes
Pushups - 71
Situps - 78
2 Mile run - 13 minutes
Videos and other links
What IET will be like. This is a series called "The making of a soldier".
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10
Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20
Just a little taste of the razzing, the chaos and the stress of Red Phase.
Day Zero, Army Basic Training
The following are videos covering different MOSs that interest Alex.
Here's a video that describes the Horizontal Construction Engineer MOS.
Here's a video that describes the Concrete and Asphalt MOS.
Here's a description of MOS21E, Heavy Construction Equipment Operator. It requires an ASVAB score of 90 in the aptitude area GM. The strength requirement is "very heavy".
A friend of Alex is interested in MOS25M, Multimedia Illustrator. So here's a video on that MOS, and here's where he can find a job description. That particular MOS requires an ASVAB score of 95 in aptitude area ST and EL.
Manuals and other educational material
FM3-34 Engineer Operations
FM21-20 Physical Fitness
FM21-26 Map Reading and Land Navigation
FM21-75 Combat Skills of the Soldier
FM21-150 Combatives
Is the Army Family Friendly?
Recently, after lots of research showed that the perception of working in a family friendly environment enhanced employee performance, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, lots of companies have started trying build in family-friendly services. The military has largely followed suit with the Army leading the way. They want their soldiers to stick around. The average soldier's basic training costs the Army $57,000. They invest a lot of time and money into training them and they want to make sure they get to keep them as long as they can. So family-friendly policies have become standard in the military (Department of Defense, 1996).
The Army has a number of family-friendly policies and services in place to help their soldiers balance work and life, such as on-site educational classes and support groups for family members, on-site day care centers, youth services, and family-friendly leave policies. About 65% of military personnel's spouses work so the need for child care in the Army is huge! The DoD's child care system is the largest employer-sponsored program in the nation. They offer child development centers, family child care home, school-age care programs and information and referral systems.
There are more than 290 family centers around the world that are specifically designed to help military families deal with their unique challenges. These over education covering relationships, parenting and other issues. They offer counseling on self-esteem, on how to strengthen competency and couples communication. The centers also provide deployment, relocation, employment, financial management and crisis assistance.
In some cases, where the soldier's MOS is less combat related, some soldiers benefit from flexible work schedules using flextime, flexiplace and telecommuting. In fact, the DoD estimates that about half of the DoD work force is working under some form of alternative work schedule.
Up to 13 days of sick leave each year can be used to care for a family member or arrange for or attend the funeral of a family member. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees are entitled to a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the birth of a child and care of the newborn; adoption or foster care of a child; care of a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition; or a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her duties.
Then there's the PX. The PX (Post Exchange) is your own on-post superstore. The PX has everything you would find at your local department, drug, and variety retailers. There are several advantages to shopping at the PX. PX’s are only found on military installations and are tax-exempt, meaning all your purchases from laundry soap to big screen TV’s and computers are sales tax-free. Another benefit of shopping at the PX is military exclusives. Many big name manufacturers offer special packages or items exclusively to the military shopping community. The PX is one of the many privileges citizens get to enjoy as Soldiers!
How many civilian jobs offer these benefits plus complete medical care?
The Army has a number of family-friendly policies and services in place to help their soldiers balance work and life, such as on-site educational classes and support groups for family members, on-site day care centers, youth services, and family-friendly leave policies. About 65% of military personnel's spouses work so the need for child care in the Army is huge! The DoD's child care system is the largest employer-sponsored program in the nation. They offer child development centers, family child care home, school-age care programs and information and referral systems.
There are more than 290 family centers around the world that are specifically designed to help military families deal with their unique challenges. These over education covering relationships, parenting and other issues. They offer counseling on self-esteem, on how to strengthen competency and couples communication. The centers also provide deployment, relocation, employment, financial management and crisis assistance.
In some cases, where the soldier's MOS is less combat related, some soldiers benefit from flexible work schedules using flextime, flexiplace and telecommuting. In fact, the DoD estimates that about half of the DoD work force is working under some form of alternative work schedule.
Up to 13 days of sick leave each year can be used to care for a family member or arrange for or attend the funeral of a family member. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees are entitled to a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the birth of a child and care of the newborn; adoption or foster care of a child; care of a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition; or a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her duties.
Then there's the PX. The PX (Post Exchange) is your own on-post superstore. The PX has everything you would find at your local department, drug, and variety retailers. There are several advantages to shopping at the PX. PX’s are only found on military installations and are tax-exempt, meaning all your purchases from laundry soap to big screen TV’s and computers are sales tax-free. Another benefit of shopping at the PX is military exclusives. Many big name manufacturers offer special packages or items exclusively to the military shopping community. The PX is one of the many privileges citizens get to enjoy as Soldiers!
How many civilian jobs offer these benefits plus complete medical care?
