Originally Posted by Redneck

I go to the specialist next Monday to get the full story, but the doctor today is ex-Army and told me that Airborne was out of the question.

Ouch...

And I'm afraid that the doc is right.
Skydiving and back problems/injuries doesn't mix...
After a day at the Drop-zone (6-8 jumps), I sometimes could feel it in my back for days, and I don't have any problems/injuries..
(at least not in my back... )

And this was with my private rig, I haven't tried the military ones, but I don't believe that they are any better....

But I'm sorry to hear about your injury....
Hope you're ok now.. (as much as you can be...)

I'll find out soon enough .
I just took the APFT Wednesday and got a 280 with the injury, so it's not holding me back too badly, so I'm pretty optomistic.

19K3K8

M1A2 SEP Tank Master Gunner

REFERENCE: Department of the Army Pamphlet 351-4, Army Formal Schools Catalog.

a. Active Army or Reserve Component.

b. Possess the rank of SGT(P) to SFC.

c. Must possess the 19K MOS prior to attending the M1A1 Master Gunner course and have received M1A1 base line training.

d. Must volunteer for the course.

e. Must be personally interviewed by the battalion commander to be selected to attend the course.

f. Must have two years experience as a tank commander, with at least 6 months experience as an M1A1 tank commander.

g. For the Active Component, must have qualified as an M1A1 tank commander on Tank Table VIII within the proceeding 12 months. (If the unit has not had the M1A1 tank for 12 months, this requirement may be waived by the battalion commander providing the student has fired the M1A1 tank during NETT.)

h. For the Reserve Component, must have qualified as an M1A1 tank commander on Tank Table VII or VIII within the proceeding 24 months. (For units that have not had the M1A1 tank for 24 months, this requirement may be waived by the battalion commander providing the student has fired the M1A1 tank during NETT.)

i. Must be certified by the battalion that the soldier has passed the tank commander’s TCGST as stated verbatim in FM 3-20.12 within three months or 90 days prior to attending the M1A1 Abrams Master Gunner Course.

j. Upon completion of the course, the soldier must have ten months remaining service commitment. (His unit may request his tour of duty in present unit be extended for up to 24 months.)

k. Must have a GT score of 105 and a CO score of 110.

l. Must have successfully completed BNCOC.

m. Must have a security clearance of SECRET.



The master gunner is the commander's tank gunnery tables technical advisor. He assists the commander and staff in planning, developing, conducting and monitoring the units tank gunnery tables program to include turret maintenance programs to ensure proper readiness posture is maintained. Specifically, his duties will include:
a. Advise/train tank commanders in basic and advanced gunnery table techniques. (CO, BN)
b. Managing and employing tank gunnery table training aids and devices.(CO, BN)
c. Planning and monitoring individual and crew gunnery tables training programs. (All)
d. Planning, operating and supervising the conduct of tank tank table ranges. (All)
e. Forecasting of ammunition requirements. (BN, BDE, Div)
f. Ensures that individual, crew and platoon tank gunnery tables standards are enforced. (All)
g. Monitors and advises commander on turret maintenance programs and trends. (CO, BN)
h. Assists in coordination for logistical support for unit tank gunnery tables programs. (All)
i. Assists maintenance personnel in troubleshooting and diagnosing turret malfunctions as necessary. (CO, BN)
j. Provides technical feedback to the tank maintenance supervisor/maintenance officer on tank system failures or malfunctions. (CO, BN)
k. Provides technical feedback to the tank maintenance supervisor/maintenance officer on maintenance trends being established. (CO, BN)

2. The master gunner's knowledge and technical expertise will allow him to work directly with individual tank commanders. He will coordinate directly with the unit maintenance to identify, isolate malfunctions and ensure proper corrective actions taken. He will supervise the proofing team during boresight and calibration of the tank system. (CO, BN)

3. The master gunner will assist the commander and/or staff in preparation for unit tank gunnery tables training. He will ensure all gunnery related forms are properly maintained. Master gunners will be qualified as a COFT instructor/operator and serve as technical advisor on fielded gunnery tables and simulators/devices. (All)

4. Master gunner is to ensure proper utilization of all training of his unit. (CO, BN)

5. Responsible for tank commander certification program training and testing. (CO, BN)

6. Assist in coordination of LTA, MTA and range scheduling. (BN, BDE, Div)

Congratulations on your achievement, master_gunner, and thank you for your service.

What unit are you with?

I'm with III Corps, in Iraq.

someone WANTED sere?

its a great school

one of those schools that
"its nice that i did it, but never again and you couldnt pay me enough to do it again"

When did you go to SERE? And what level?

It is an excellent school, but it doesn't feel nice that I've done it, however.

Hi, all, new to forum. I was a 43M, which is, embarrassingly enough, a Canvas Repair Specialist! Scored perfect on the physical, missed ONE question on the asvab. Im thinking I'm headed for combat medic like I wanted. And THEN we get to the colorblindness test...
So with damn near perfect scores, I get a choice of toe tagger, laundry and bath specialist, or canvas repair.
Eventually worked my way up to running an S+R section. Never deployed. Grrr.

Wow, lol - didn't know they had those.

Sorry to hear that.

Positively, absolutely, Air Force (Ret). 4B071 - Bioenvironmental Engineering Craftsman (Old Series 90770 - B.E. Technician) with a T prefix (Training Instructor) sooooo - T4B071.

A 4B071 is a Industrial Hygiene Technician, an Occupational Health Specialist, A Community Environmental Hygiene Specialist, and Health Physics Technician all rolled into one. Plus they have deployed duties of NBC Defense and Field Preventative Medicine. The T prefix means you can teach it.

I do not reccomend this specialty to anyone, unless they just like to know what can kill them, job wise. Actually, its a whole lot of fun: you do the community water, you sample pools in the summer time, and you stick your nose into every workplace on the base.

Probably just your basic 11B. I'm not sure... a friend of mine is a Ranger. Kinda gives me motivation to go for that, but...