MOS question

[ChalkLine]

In the US army can you have multiple MOS?

[CDAT]

Are you asking if you can serve in multiple MOS's at the same time? No, can you hold multiple MOS's at the same time? Yes. In the US Army you can hold many different MOS's but the only one that is active is the one that you are in a paragraph and line of the MTOE for. In the MTOE some spots do not care what MOS you hold, others are very specific.

[dragoon500ly]

When I was active duty i held four and I can name a dozen or so fellow soldiers who held more. It's common to have multiples.

[ChalkLine]

In what way does it affect how you do your job?
Say, if you're needed elsewhere for a day or two in one of your other capacities. Is it different in any meaningful way?

[dragoon500ly]

During my time, you served in one MOS, when it came time to change duty stations, rotate stateside (or overseas), you could request assignment in a different MOS. Pentagon could also reassign you, if you had an MOS in a critical shortage area.

It was also not unusual to have an MOS that was outdated, an example would be a 19E (M60 Armor Crewman) during the early '80s when the M-1 (19K) was entering service. It was also not unusual to see tankers carrying a Cavalry Scout (19D) or even an Infantry (11B) MOS.

[swaghauler]

I went to basic for 13Bravo (Artillery Cannon Crewman).
I then was cross-trained as a 13Foxtrot (Fire Support Specialist or "Forward Observer") due to the fact that I was part of the RSOP/"Advanced Party" section (RSOP- Reconnaissance, Site Occupation & Preparation).

When we were disbanded in early 1992, I was retrained as a 77Foxtrot (Petroleum Specialist) and assigned to an FSSP unit (the 475th Quartermaster Co.). FSSP stands for fuel system supply point and consists of pumps and bags for BULK fuel supply in theater. We handled as much as 10 MILLION GALLONS of fuel at once in a single operation. During my stay with the 475th, I was allowed to test for 88Mike (Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Driver) because I had a Class A CDL and they needed Drivers.

Finally, the 10th Mountain had a training program to give you 11Bravo (Combat Infantryman) certification if you were a member of the Division.

So I had 5 MOS Certifications on record when I mustered out.

[CDAT]

Originally Posted by ChalkLine

In what way does it affect how you do your job?
Say, if you're needed elsewhere for a day or two in one of your other capacities. Is it different in any meaningful way?

When I was in you would not be sent off to work in the old MOS for a day or two. Having said that based on the other MOS's you had may influence some assignments that you would get. For example I started as a 19K (M1 Tank Crewman) and finished as 89D (EOD) I was much more likely to be sent to work with the tankers than one of our other teams that did not have a background in tanks, but it was not a deal breaker. If I was busy they would send out another team with out a second thought. There are also some MOS's that even if they are not your active are kind of active. In between being a tanker and EOD I spent a short bit of time as a 91B (Combat Medic), when I went to EOD everyone of us was a combat lifesaver, however as a former medic I was kind of a super combat lifesaver. Officially I was the same as everyone else, but because I had more training I was able to do more.

Hope this helps.