63H Tank
Mechanic
Your Name (as
you would like it to appear):
Stephanie(ArmyWife68)
Your Soldier's
MOS (please include code and
description, for example "11B
Infantry")
63H Tank
Mechanic
When did your
soldier attend?
April/May
until present - due to finish in
early September
Where was he
stationed for AIT?
Aberdeen
Proving Grounds (Edgewood post)
How long was
his AIT?
Supposed to be
13 weeks but it was longer.
What was his
training like? Normal schedule? Did
he train on weekends? Late at night?
Classroom or field based?
Training: As
far as the classroom he was bored
because of the subject matter; he
already knew everything they were
going over because he used to drive
a semi truck and already knew about
the engines and such; but said it
was fine other than the BS that they
had to go through for formations and
PT. They made them run every single
day. They would call formation and
then when everyone showed up someone
would come tell them to come back
later. This was almost a daily
routine. They made DH's unit change
rooms 3 times while he was there and
never gave a reason. The air
conditioning got turned off 5 times
that I know of and usually it was
during a weekend and no one would
check it out for them. USUALLY it
was because someone (DS) had turned
it off and forgot to turn it back
on.
Schedule: 8
to 4:30 sometimes 5pm
Weekends:
MOST Saturdays they had training but
it was usually only half a day.
Late night:
only when they were in the field or
doing in processing.
Classroom or
field based: both but he only went
in the field twice; once for a
weekend and then once for a week.
Did you get to
see him during AIT?
I saw him once
but that was due to our funds, I
could have seen him more since he
was prior service. He had Sunday's
completely free and could leave post
during the evenings and weekends.
How often were
you able to communicate with him? By
phone? Email?
He didn't have
email, but you could have laptops
while you were there. We talked on
the phone daily and he could write.
I wrote to him as well.
Describe the
graduation ceremony.
I didn't
attend because they couldn't say for
sure that prior service would
participate until 2 days before the
service....
Any other tips
or information?
If he's in APG
or Edgewood... Be prepared to plan
for nothing. The minute you do it's
going to change. He said it was the
most unorganized place he's ever
been. He's been in the Air Force
and the Marines before this and he
said they were NOTHING like the
Army. Be careful of the chow
hall.... They had food poisoning
that landed 50 soldiers in the
hospital. Right now everything is
under control, but still... it's
something to look out for.
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