Just finished my final project before I leave for Fort Moore for OSUT.
Its a 3d printed 1/100 M1a1 that I converted into an M1a2 SEP based off pics Ive seen at Moore (Benning). It was a very fun project and Im giving it to my girlfriend as a present before I ship off.
Here are some WIP pics…
I printed it on my Creality printer then scratchbuilt the M2 and its mount as well as some other details to update it to a M1a2.
Ezra!
Outstanding model! Beautiful girlfriend! And now you’re Army, one of us! Woof! Good luck and have an excellent time at Benning, keep your head down (don’t let the Drills single you out) and I know you’ll be an amazing soldier! Best wishes!
There are two oft quoted pieces of advice. Neither will serve you well.
Did you volunteer to serve or did a judge order you to enlist to avoid jail time? Methinks you volunteered.
That said, don’t start your career out by being that guy. Not only do you get noticed when you volunteer, it can have other unintended good consequences. You can skip the beginning and go to “Fast forward about eight years.”
Not all volunteering is going to end up getting you soft ice cream, but that’s not the point. The Army cannot function as well as it does without soldiers taking on additional responsibilities. Both in BCT and in your unit, And when you do eventually get to your unit, there will be all sorts of things to volunteer for - UPL is one - Unit Prevention Leader. It’s very title implies leadership and responsibility.
I volunteered to be the unit Language Specialist when I was in SOD-K (because I was probably the most qualified) but many good things came of that.
Most importantly, once you become an NCO (which happens more quickly if you follow this advice) you’ll receive an NCOER every year - a Non Commissioned Officer Evaluation Report. A good one gets you promoted faster, gets you better additional schools, the better deployments/exercises.
Everything good you do can be a “bullet point” in your NCOER - qualifying expert at the range, getting 40 out of 40 at the range when no one else did, VOLUNTEERING to help other soldiers at the range who were having trouble. (You can do this at BCT as well) All of those bullet points can justify your rater giving you a superior rating, rather than “met the standard.”
The other thing people will often say is “Don’t stand out.”
The logic is if you don’t stand out you won’t end up doing pushups. I suppose. Let me tell you, I was a Drill Sergeant at Ft. Sill before going back into SF after 9/11. You’re going to do pushups regardless. Don’t even let anyone try to tell you that you can mitigate it, In fact, you should welcome them! I came out of BCT with the biggest triceps in the brigade. In fact, when you’re getting smoked (doing endless pushups) shout out things like “Can’t smoke a rock, Drill Sergeant!” You will do even more pushups. But secretly your Drill Sergeant will love it. And when it comes time to dole out the crappy assignments, guess what? Your name will not be on the list. AND you’ll have big triceps.
The other reason recruits don’t want to stand out or be noticed is they don’t want to be singled out for additional duties, like squad leader, or PL. I’ve posted this advice before as well but I can’t find it -
You cannot hide! If you think you can you are fooling yourself. In fact, there were always those recruits who tried to stand out right away, from the moment they got off the cattle truck - giving orders to other privates, shouting “Shut up!” when guys like me were saying “Can’t smoke a rock!” They wanted to be chosen for squad leader. I never chose them, They’ll always be their own biggest fans. I always chose the guy in the back trying not to get noticed, And not surprisingly, they always did well. They just never had their chance because of the other guys. So try to hide if you want. It won’t work,
A few other bits of advice. When a Drill Sergeant says “Don’t preset your combination locks,” then don’t preset your combination lock. The little bit of time you save is inconsequential compared to the time lost when you open your wall locker to find your mattress and all of your bedding stuffed inside.
And when he says “Don’t hide your keys in your boots or PT shoes,” then for God’s sake don’t hide your keys in your boots or PT shoes. The result will be the same,
In fact, don’t try to hide anything. It’ll get found.
Use your MRE spoon to blacken your front sight before shooting,
Aim a tad low at all targets past 50 meters, except the 300 meter target,
Don’t skip meals. There’s absolutely no benefit to it.
And you will not gain “fifteen pounds of pure muscle” at BCT. It’s a load of crap.
Lots of military non-fiction books written about three MREs a day and then one MRE a day training allotment. If you don’t save MREs or some MRE food (and instead consumed everything), you might starve when you just get one MRE a day.
If you pound water all day at a place like Ft. Sill, and aren’t eating properly, whether it be MRE’s or chow hall food, you can overhydrate. Taken to the extreme you can become very ill or die from hyponatremia.
The Army also insures (in most cases) that you get at least one hot “A” per day. I don’t know anyone who eats three MRE’s on a daily basis. Having a healthy BM at least once per week is usually desirable. Eating three MRE’s will almost certainly prevent that.
By the way, an MRE provides about 1,300 calories. A 180 pound man under normal circumstances needs abut 2,800.
Excellent job Ezra! I wouldn’t have thought it was 1/100 scale either. It looks fantastic. Congratulations on your enlistment - god speed- and have a great time at ur prom with your beautiful girl friend.
