<p>I know this is a really stupid question, but what exactly do Army officers do once they graduate from West Point? I don't have any friends or family in the military, so I don't really know that much about the Army. What do officers do on a daily basis, say, in the Combat Arms, Combat Support, or Combat Service Support branches? Thanks.</p>
<p>I know that two grauduates who have /are posting here are currently overseas--one is on her second tour in Iraq (MP's I believe) and the other is serving in Korea--I think what you do in the army after West Point can be as varied as the kinds of things the army does.</p>
<p>I don't know if you have the 2006-07 Catalog they sent out, but on p. 13 it has a teeny bit of info.
Maybe not as specific as you're searching for...</p>
<p>I am reading that after graduation you attend Basic Officer Leader Course and then you go to your "branch" and on to work. (You go to one of the 16 branches "depending on the needs of the Army and your personal desires,")</p>
<p>Warm fuzzy final quote on the page:
"Life as an Army officer is driven by service to country and is full of challenge and satisfaction."</p>
<p>Let me know if you need some more textbook info if you don't have the catalog. But definitely ask those grads! More help from them!</p>
<p>What do I do on a daily basis...well, right now it's about 10 a.m. and I'm waiting for the housing office to deliver a table for my quarters :) This morning I met with the new major in the office, and we (the captain, the other lieutenant, and myself) all talked about how things were going to change now that he's back from Iraq. Later on, I'm going to go down to one of the other stations and check in on day to day ops down there. This afternoon, I have the operational assessment briefing, which is an overview of everything happening on the penninsula. I've also got to finish the revision of the Standard Operating Procedures, get an anthrax shot, prepare for the cookout my building's having tonight, finish unpacking, turn my other room in to housing, prep for the information management course I'm taking next week, turn some papers in to the personnel office, call my husband, turn my library books in...all sorts of stuff.</p>
<p>I'm in a staff position right now, so my day is full of e-mail, meetings, projects, and paperwork. I have some face time with soldiers, but the only ones I know well are the ones that work the desk at the MP station. Mondays I have AA Ops, which means we work on our vehicles (the ones that haven't moved since November), every evening at five the provost marshal goes over the blotter for the day. I spend a lot of time on my bike, going from place to place, talking to people and expediting paperwork with a "personal touch" which is one of my skills.</p>
<p>So that's what I do work wise. In the mornings I go running, in the evenings, I make dinner, surf the internet, or go out. There's a concert next week I want to go see, and a fishing trip next weekend. This weekend is Easter, so my cousin is going to come up and I'm making brunch for a few of my classmates and other friends. Life is full, and every day brings new and different challenges...maybe every other day brings satisfaction :)</p>
<p>In which branch are you bzzt?</p>
<p>I hate to send you to Hollywood, but if you don't really know, it's a good place to start...Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan, Hamburger Hill...and so many more. Read "Platoon Leader."</p>
<p>Of course, these are all Combat Arms kind of movies...but the rest of the Army supports the Combat Arms. Think of other things the army does besides fighting wars - supporting our borders, drug intradiction, natural disasters (like Katrina), the list can once again go on... But mostly these days, if your time is not spent in a war zone, it is spent preparing to go, recovering from being there, or supporting others who do. </p>
<p>As to the breakdown of the officer and nco corps duties...it will change depending on whether you're in garrison (not deployed or field training) or the field (at war would fall here, I guess, as would training for it). For more specifics on that, another might pick up the thread...</p>
<p>I'm an MP (10 char)</p>