US Military

While searching the internet today, I found this want ad:

Want to take a free body measurement test in the Seattle area later this month?

Several methods of measuring body fat are considered more accurate than tape testing. We're looking for male and female service members who have scored at least an "excellent" on their PT test, yet were forced to take the tape test and had difficulty passing it. Selected troops will have their body fat scientifically measured and compared to the body fat determined by the tape test.

Interesting, to say the least.

The tape test is one of the more controversial tests in the military.  Soldiers can pass the PT test with flying colors and yet fail the tape test.  A failing grade on the tape test can at worst get you discharged, but almost always hinder any promotions.  Read this article for more information on the tape test.

DA Pamphlet 600-3, p. 3-9  defines the Army Warrant Officer as a self-aware and adaptive technical expert, combat leader, trainer, and adviser. Through progressive levels of expertise in assignments, training, and education, the WO administers, manages, maintains, operates, and integrates Army systems and equipment across the full spectrum of Army operations. Warrant officers are competent and confident warriors, innovative integrators of emerging technologies, dynamic teachers, and developers of specialized teams of soldiers. They support a wide range of Army missions throughout their career. Warrant officers in the Army are accessed with specific levels of technical ability. They refine their technical expertise and develop their leadership and management skills through tiered progressive assignments and education.

If you are interested in a career in the the Army as a Warrant Officer,  this article lists the jobs available in the Army and various job descriptions as well as Enlisted feeder MOS's required.

In the  Army, a  legal administrator is a position reserved for warrant officers.  Legal Administrators are warrant officers that bring substantial knowledge, experience, and education of military law and operations to the leadership team.  This is reflected in the leadership and technical application required for the position.

You can read  more about the job responsibilities and qualifications of a 270A-Legal Administrator here.

The U.S. Army Recruiting Command seeks only highly qualified applicants to serve as Army Warrant Officers.

Warrant Officers are highly specialized experts and trainers in their career fields. By gaining progressive levels of expertise and leadership, these leaders provide valuable guidance to commanders and organizations in their specialty. Warrant Officers remain single-specialty Officers with career tracks that progress within their field, unlike their Commissioned Officer counterparts who focus on increased levels of command and staff duty positions.

A Human Resources Technician, MOS 420A, manages functions which support the Army's Human Resource (HR)/Personnel Management systems. For more information on this Warrant Officer career check out my latest update to Army Warrant Officer career, 420A-Human Resources Technician.

Are you checking in your First Amendment rights at the door when you join the armed forces?

In the past few months there have been dozens of complaints of the military persecuting Christian service members for their faith. Last month an Army briefing labeled Evangelical Christians and Catholics as examples of religious extremism - linking them to Al Qaeda and Hamas. In another occasion, an Army officer warned subordinates that the Family Research Council and American Family Association were domestic hate groups.

On April 24, Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer and lawyer at the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, met with Air Force officials to demand that the Air Force take measures to stop the imposition of religion in the work place. He contended that the only way to do this was to charge offenders with nonjudicial and judicial punishment-including court martial.

Within days, a petition from the Family Research Council had nearly 130,000 signatures petitioning Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to "resist the demands of anti-Christian activists who are calling for a court-martial order upon chaplains and service members who share their faith."

On May 3, in a prepared statement, the Department of Defense stated that members of the military are free to share their faith as long as they don't harass others and that evangelizing is allowed, as long as it is not disruptive.

How is the military going to weather the "religious storm" on the horizon for religious freedom and Constitutional rights in the armed forces? We'll be watching...

Congress designated May as National Military Appreciation Month in 1999 to ensure the nation was given the opportunity to publicly demonstrate their appreciation for the sacrifices and successes made by our service members - past and present. Each year the president makes a proclamation, reminding Americans of the important role the U.S. Armed Forces have played in the history and development of our country.

National Military Appreciation Month for May 2013 includes: Loyalty Day (1st), VE Day(8th), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (10th), Armed Forces Day (18th), and Memorial Day (30th).

According to NMAM this month gives the nation a time and a place on which to focus and draw attention to our many expressions of appreciation and recognition of our Armed Services via numerous venues.  It also sets apart a time to recall and learn about our vast American Military history.

USMilitary at about.com salutes our Military!

Military families and their advocates are battling an Obama administration proposal to limit troops' pay raises to 1% in 2014, the lowest increase in half a century.

Pentagon records show that a 1% increase would be the lowest since 1963, when there was no raise followed by a double-digit increase later that year. The second-lowest raise since then was in 2011 at 1.4%.

Military pay increases by law are now linked with private sector growth as reflected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Cost Index, an assessment that would call for a 1.8% increase in 2014, which advocates are seeking.

According to an article in  the Military Times,  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., head of the Senate Armed Service Committee sub-panel that will examine the issue made the statement, "There are a lot of ways the federal government can cut costs and save money, but targeting salaries and benefits for our troops and civilian personnel should not be one of them."

The raise comes at a time when forces will still be fighting in Afghanistan.

Leadership within the Army comes in many different forms. Army Officers are managers, problem-solvers, key influencers and more. Commissioned Officers begin their Army service as young leaders  giving of their knowledge and  skills. With  self-discipline, motivation, confidence, and judgment, they use their problem solving skills to determine solutions and accomplish the mission.

There are many different career fields to choose from to serve your country as an Army officer.  Check out the updated Army Officer Job list by Branch and Functional Area to see what career path would most interest you to serve our nation as an Army Officer.

Nominations are being received until April 28 for the 2013 Service Member of the Year award.  Military Times is looking for everyday heroes- the soldiers who inspire the men and women they work with just by doing what they do.

If you are a parent or spouse, or if know of a fellow service member, or if you supervise or  command one that you feel meets this criteria, you can nominate him/or her for this prestigious award.

Winners will receive a trip for two to Washington, D.C.,  and attend an award ceremony with the military's top leaders.

For more information on how to nominate,  go to 2013 Service Member of the Year.

Your USMilitary Guide has been hard at work getting the  latest realignment of the Army's job classification system coding changes available to you.

While the major overhaul of the military occupational specialty coding system that began in 2001 was completed last year, the system continues to evolve, generating job code additions and deletions based on force-structure changes and the introduction of new equipment and operational capabilities.

The Army revises the specialty classification system annually.

The MOS classification and structure system plays a key role in the Army's management of soldiers and jobs, as manning requirements in units are coded for specific grades and skills. Soldiers enhance their professional development and promotion competitiveness by making sure they are MOS-qualified, and trained or experienced in skills that increase their versatility.

Here is the  Complete List of Army Enlisted MOS's .