What's one thing you wish you had started/done during your years in the military?

Question

With all the spare time we soldiers have, there are tons of opportunities to be had. But the military offers certain utilities and services not offered - or even found - in the civilian world. Which of those opportunities do you wish you had taken advantage of?

Answer 1

My first 6 yrs in, I worked 80-100 hours a week. I barely had time to do my laundry. It was not unusual for me to spend 7-9 months a year off some place like Puerto Rico, the deserts of California, Panama, or the Mediterranean in some training exercise or on deployment. In my 4 yrs as a flight instructor, I often worked 6 days a week, flying 6-7 hours a day and teaching ground classes. It was not unusual to fly 90-100 hours a month. I might brief students at 0400, launch at 0600 and train 3 students until 1200, land, grab a fast bite and teach a class from 1400-1600. the next day I might not launch until 1800 and fly 'till midnight. Not a lot of time for extra curricular activities.

Answer 2

I was contacted by a COL while I was in the Army and told that I was eligible to attend West Point. After he told me the h**l the cadets went through, I stopped returning his calls. At the time I would've preffered to hang out with my friends and get drunk, and pay for it at PT. But now that I am out, I think I made a really dumb mistake.

...That and take advantage of the stables on base.

Answer 3

I took advantage of my downtime on my deployment to Iraq and focused on learning computer programing and took my love for yo-yoing to a competitive level.  Now that I'm out and have a family, my yo-yoing skills have become rusty again, but all the studying I did on Visual Basic paid off well.

Answer 4

school, but I was a single parent and I had a 1SGT who loved to work soldiers overtime and on weekends so, every spare moment went to my kids.

Answer 5

I didn't have a lot of spare time. But I wish I would have appreciated Japan more than I did.  

Answer 6

I would have taken a lot more pictures as mementos for later years. Also, I would have taken extra educational courses while in the military, because it cuts down on the subjects you have to take in college when you get out.

I had great R&R flights to Amsterdam, Scotland, Portugal and so on and all I have left are the memories. No pictures.

There are many opportunities in the military. You should seek those out, and take advantage of as many as you can handle.

GOOD LUCK!  

Answer 7

Finished year 12 Australia and applied for a Commission because after 38 years i was compulsory  retired i found out my country treated me like dirt when after 8 years they are paying School teachers 40,000 aud more than i earned  

Answer 8

I wish I would of started saving money sooner.  I would be benefiting from it much more now.  Just think, I have been in the Army for 8 years...even if i would of just saved 100 dollars a month that would be a nice chunk of change.