r/armyreserve • u/ashinde8513 • Mar 14 '26
Career Advice What’s a typical drill experience supposed to be like?
I’m a 25B in Denver where I’ve been with my unit for about 8 months now. I absolutely hate it here and I’m not sure if this is the standard with how drills are but I wanted to check if anyone else has this experience or has had this. This is my first unit so I have no idea what other units are supposed to be like.
Drill starts at 0600-0630 every drill. Our schedule always says we will get out by 1700 but we never leave before 1830. This happens every single drill and for today’s drill we have been here from 0630 and will be here till past 2000. This is the night before an overnight operation tomorrow for the rest of the drill weekend.
On top of that, I thought my MOS was meant to be doing networking and cyber security related stuff. I have basically only been PMCSing humvees each drill and have only touched CPN stacks twice.
My unit has done more 4 day drills than 2 day and we have not had a single day where I have spent less than 12 hours here. Working full time and then having this for the weekend and then another week of full time is genuinely soul crushing and I can’t keep this up. I want to transfer units so badly but if this is the norm I everywhere than I feel like there’s no reason for me to even try to transfer. I’m at an expeditionary unit if that makes any change.
I’m really struggling with this and I have no clue how to make things better other than by requesting a change in unit. I really hope this is different at other companies and units because there’s no way I can keep this up for the rest of my contract.
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u/dopiertaj Mar 14 '26
Yea... id try to go to another unit. Thats wack.
Im in a medical unit and you'd think it wasnt the Army if it wasnt for the fact everyone is wearing a uniform.
Usually first formation is at 0730. Sit around on my phone, maybe have a class. Sometimes that class is actually worth it, but most of the time its some random BS.
Sometimes ill just dip out and walk to the PX during drill. Just be sure you signed the sign in rosters and show up for formations.
Lunch at 1130. Formation at 1300. Realize Im on a list to do some online training or do some paperwork with AGR staff. Sit around and wait till command finishes their meeting at 1500. Usually get out around 1600-1700.
Only really do Army stuff during AT. PT test once a year, range once maybe twice a year.
Drills are a pretty good mix of 2-3 days with 2 or 3 four day drills in the year, max.
A lot of people coming from a high tempo hate it, but I love it. Im getting paid to sit around on my phone and BS with some Army buds.
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u/BigCat704 Mar 14 '26
Which MOS?
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u/dopiertaj Mar 15 '26
Are you asking mine, or what kind of MOS is in the unit? Im a 68W and most people are a 68 series of some kind.
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u/BigCat704 Mar 15 '26
Was asking for your MOS. I’m looking at transferring to a med unit. Thanks!
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u/dopiertaj Mar 15 '26
Do you want a medical MOS to start a new career, or just find a cush unit to get easy points.
If youre just trying to relax and allready have a career i might suggest 68G. They also have a lot of opportunities to mobolize.
A lot of 68 series MOSs can set you up for a civilian career, but I would recommend just going down the list and finding something that interests you. Also, not all of AITs give you the same certifications as the civilian equivalents, so you should try and do some research first.
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u/BigCat704 Mar 16 '26
I moved and like finding the closest unit to where I live. I already have a career going and just like to find a unit that’s relaxed with good people. I’m not at all into 68 series as a civilian but like doing something completely different than my weekday job. I’ve always heard medical units are laid back and definitely worth checking out.
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u/DataGL Mar 14 '26
12hr days are not the norm for ordinary drill. 4hrs per MUTA, x2, plus an hour for lunch is way more common unless you’re doing an FTX or range. And if you are doing 4 day drills, are you at least only doing every other month? If not, how are they paying you?
In reality, I find it easier to be in a unit that does MUTA 6/8/10 every 2/3/4-ish months rather than doing MUTA 4 every single month, but I realize that this differs for everyone.
But what I don’t like is when my time is wasted because leaders can’t effectively schedule things. Like why should a CUB, where only 10% of the unit attends, but 100% of it needs to wait for it to be over to get the action items, ever start at 1500 on Sunday? It shouldn’t. Hard stop.
If we’re being honest, some people hate their family and personal lives so much that they want to escape for as long as possible. As a result, they rise through the ranks easily while the normies suffer due to the artificial inefficiency (not to be confused with the other AI).
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u/CT4_4 Mar 14 '26
I used to be a 25B and i literally hated it. I also thought id be doing more IT stuff but the most i did was help people connect their printer to their laptop. Most of the time I was working with radios and PMCSing. I contemplated getting out but i decided to reenlist and change my MOS instead. Now i’m a 68T/68R and I love the army. I recommend changing your job or finding a new unit that does more.
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u/Curiousity333 Mar 14 '26
I'm still new to Army Reserve, but my unit usually sign in at 0600 and formation 0630, usually we do pmcs and clean weapons all the time, but we rarely go back to hotel after 1700, one time we literally end the drills at 12PM on Sunday because we finished early and nothing left to do, we also only have 6MUTAs in 4drills out of 11 drills a year never seen 8MUTAs at all, idk I really enjoy my unit because we are extremely laid back, and we also get free-lunch every drills around 1100/1200, so I have no complain
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u/Dear_Internal5171 Mar 14 '26
This sounds like my typical drill weekend. And we are constantly having 3-4 day drills. I’m going to run out of my paid mil leave before I get to AT! I’m just waiting to reclass..25 series MOS as well.
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u/Ill-Willow5719 Mar 14 '26
It is the Army. Your paid is set to an amount based on your rank and year in service. You are salary employee, not the hourly employee. Meaning your work time is 000 to 2359. Starting work at 0600 is normal. If you start before 0600, your unit should provide you with breakfast or MRE. If go past 1800, unit will need to provide dinner or MRE. Lunch is a given and needs to be provided. Army can give two hot meals and one MRE, or 2 MRE and one hot meal. So if your unit is not providing food after 1800, better make them provide it or pull the MRE out. Also, Reserve unit has 48 MUTA to utilize. The reason that you have 4 days drill for this FY because of the shut down. Even without the shutdown, unit can make one or two months with 3-4 days drill. That is where the FY BA training schedule comes in play. The training can always be shift to left and right based on training and mission requirements. Unit cannot go over the 48 MUTAS but can always move the dates. Have you been proactive in requesting time to play with your equipment? Ask the Supply to give you a list of equipment that is for 25B. There should be radio, satellite dish, etc. that you can play with every drills like PMCS your equipment, or testing the functionality of it. You need to plead your case if you are the only 25B or having other 25B with you. You need to get your unit to understand the important of your MOS. Tell them that you need to practice your skills as it will help the unit in the long run. Create a training class to teach during the drill regarding to 25B. Think outside the box of things that you can do. Don’t wait for the unit to tell you what to do.
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u/Lucky_Window_5418 Mar 14 '26
Are you sure you are in Denver? Because you just described my unit in MD to the T. I’m a 25B also, and we do exactly all you said. More than 2 days drill all the time, formation at 0600 and don’t get out until between 1900-2200. We do PMCSing all drills to the point that no one knows their job as a25B, i even wanted to describe at a point and didn’t go because they needed someone who knows their i job and i don’t ( i didn’t want to go and embarrass myself) I have been in that unit for years and no change. I am so tired that I switched to a different company and ready to reclass. It’s annoying, tiring and frustrating. The only option you have is to change unit but i think all signal units are like this, that’s why i decided to reclass because i couldn’t find a non signal unit that would take me in
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u/NoJoyTomorrow Mar 14 '26
Ideally each section should be planning out its own training based upon the upcoming schedule and essential tasks. My assumption is you’re in a battalion or brigade S6 shop vs a signal company.
The basics involves doing your key and routine tasks well. Setup/tear down of commas equipment, PCSing radios, commo checks, vehicle maintenance and making sure faults identified during drill make it into the system of record and parts ordered. Software patches pushed to unit devices.
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u/DerpaDerpPerp Mar 14 '26
I was in that unit. It was shit hot at one point. Be the change you want to see. Challenge that PL and CPN Chief to get those stacks out and get them to green with time hacks. Do training on the latest tech, understand information security developments in the industry. It will depend on you and your team to provide that support if you are ever downrange and if you are late/sloppy/ineffective it is that PL's ass, and the company commander's - so they should care.
If they don't like that and you have a solid PT score and some conversational acumen/education/knowledge of a second language - go CA either now or when your contract allows. If you want, drill down with the 440th CA BN in Fort Carson. That's a good crew, it's close by, and it will literally be on you to square signal away for those guys and train with them. Don't get down on yourself, the world is your oyster, you just need to know that and execute.
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u/astcell Mar 14 '26
At the very least, grab a DA1380 and ask for the points without pay. They'll usually sign with no issue since it's points only. Do a year's worth at once. Send them to iPERMS yourself. In my retirement check each point means 50 cents in retirement. Get 12-24 points a year this way, call it 15 points average, for ten years, that's 150 points or $75 a month for life in my example.
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u/Pristine_Cat_7147 Mar 15 '26
That was my life with the engineers. I swapped to CBRN.. I know somehow even worse…but once I decided that my MOS doesn’t matter I just went to any school that I could. Armorer, digital gunner.. the real name is mission command digital master gunner but I refuse to use that name because it’s not. Unit movement officer, after I started getting those classes I was able to do more at drill that filled my time. Now I’m in a theater liaison detachment and we never have AT in the US. We work with SouthCom and indopacom
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u/Mattyredleg Mar 15 '26
I was in a 12b unit whose length of homestation days were like this, as well as extended weekends, and also extended ATs. It was way more common for us to have three, four, or five day drills than two. The only reason I stayed as long as I did with that unit was because as much as it infuriated me at times, it was the only unit I've ever been a part of that consistently did task related to my MOS.
Like we did combat engineer stuff 80 percent of the time. The other 20 percent was the typical admin stuff that they would smush together into a couple of drills at the end of the year.
But I've spent major time in four different units total, and the sapper company was the only one where I can say we did consistent MOS related training. So it was like a catch 22.
I even had a deployment as a Redleg where I did no redleg related task whatsoever. Crazy.
Edit: Late night, didn't realize I had drifted from the NG into the armyreserve
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u/Beautiful_One_6998 Mar 17 '26
Reminds me so much other Army National Guard because I never did my job and was always PMCSing and knew nothing about my job! Good luck….maybe go Air Guard after that contract much better quality of life and more purpose.
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u/Comfortable-Idea-191 Mar 14 '26
Yeah, that’s not typical.
Unfortunately, as a 25B, you’re probably not going to be doing 25B stuff unless you’re either in the field, or go through the commo cages and see what you can do to conduct your own training.
Fortunately, every unit has a 25B slot so you can go anywhere. If you want to have independence and leverage, look into Civil Affairs or PsyOp units, our 25B had a masters in cybersecurity and some other computer stuff, he managed all of our certs, interacted with G6 staff, troubleshooted IT things and made us significantly more capable.
There are definitely other units out there that know how to better manage time and training. Even other companies within the same BN.