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Originally Posted by jrhunger
Hello Gentleman,
I am currently torn between officer and enlisted, I have been reading on the forums for a while in order to educate myself on the operational distinctions. After reading around for a bit I've gotten the idea that the 18A basically just "tags along" and files paperwork.
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A good 18A never just "tags along"...he leads...he leads from the front and he leads in conjunction with the Team Sgt, who makes things happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhunger
This seems unreasonable given the fact that he is the CO; but based on what I have read it sounds very much like the NCO does all the actual operational planning, and the rest of the ODA does the rest.
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A well grounded 18A, realizes that he is the "new guy" on the team and tries to learn from his NCOs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhunger
My questions to you are;
1) How much time, roughly, does an officer actually spend in the field before he gets promoted out of the field.
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A team leader usually gets between 18 months and 36 months on an ODA. If he's truly fortunate he may get more than one team.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhunger
2) At what rank, generally, does an officer stop being a real operator in the field.
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A Cpt is a Team Leader, a Maj is a Company Commander, a LtC is a Bn Commander, a Col is a Group Commander...define a "real operator."
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhunger
3) What does an officer REALLY do in an average ODA compared to his enlisted counterparts, and NCO.
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You obviously haven't read enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhunger
4) How does his experience/training ultimately vary. E.g. is his shooting nearly as good, can he plan a raid well, does he understand how to create an explosive out of whatever given materials. I'm sure you get the idea.
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Review the answer above.