Yohannes

Noah Yohannes
Professor Hanvey
STAAC English
3 May 2016

Career Expedition Revised

A discourse community is a group of people who come together for a shared
purpose with a shared common language often incomprehensible to those outside the community
(Swales). The US army, which I want to join, is such a discourse community that shares a
common goal of defending and protecting the United States of America. The US Army has
several ways of communication. The majority of communication is face to face or through email.
The Army has mechanisms with which it disseminates information and gain feedback. The US
Army primarily uses the Internet by creating websites and forums to share information. The
Army also utilizes social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to convey its message
to the US and the rest of the world. The Army and the U.S. military as a whole has its own
vernacular and way of speaking and writing. The Army routinely uses acronyms to shorten
phrases and also uses words unique to it. There is a wide variety of servicemen in the US Army
whose experience ranges from a few months to twenty-five years or longer.
The US Army has been around since 1775 and came to being in order to fight against the
British during the American Revolutionary War. The US Army has a rich history and tradition of
over two hundred forty years. The Army teaches discipline, and forms individuals with great
strengths and qualities that include sacrifice, loyalty, leadership, and accountability.

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I find such teachings of the US Army very attractive. I want to join the Army not only
because it is a noble profession but also because it offers a life of adventure and challenge. In
addition, the experience I gain in the army will provide me with opportunity for a carrier within
or outside the defense industry. I first thought of joining the military when I was in eighth grade.
It was on a Sunday and the program I was watching got interrupted with a breaking news and
President Barrack Obama came on TV and announced to the world that Osama Bin Laden has
been killed. I thought to myself how cool it would be to be a part of a team that took down the
number one terrorist in the world. As a much younger person than I am now, I was only able to
focus on the dramatic aspect of the capture of the terrorist not giving any thought to the dangers
and sacrifice involved. I fantasized about being the officer kicking down the doors and taking
out Bin Laden. Today, I think differently and when I do join the military it would be in the
support of our guys who continue to kick down terrorist doors across the globe.
During my first semester at PCC I began to research different types of jobs for Army
officers. At first, I was thinking of becoming an intelligence officer, but then I thought sitting in
front of a computer all day didnt seem like something Id want to do. It took me awhile to find a
job that interested me. Finally, I found out about Civil Affairs. Civil affairs officers act as a
liaison between the Army and civilian authorities and populations. I was glad to have finally
learned about a job within the Army that is well-matched to what I wanted to do. In our political
system the Commander-in-Chief of the military is President of the United States, who is a
civilian. So, civilian role and public policy matters a great deal when it comes to the
effectiveness of our Military. The misguided policy of President George W. Bush led us to a
senseless war in Iraq while President Barrack Obamas policy hit the right target, Osama Bin
Laden. Both Bush and Obama relied on our Military to carry out their respective policies.

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The Special Operations Recruiting Battalion(SORB) describe the job of a Civil Affairs
officers main objective which is, Civil Affairs units help military commanders by working with
civil authorities and civilian populations in the commanders area of operations to lessen the
impact of military operations on them during peace, contingency operations and declared war.
This job description fit perfectly with what I want to do which is to help and work with people
by interpreting what they needed and wanted to be done.
According to an Army leadership publication, the US Army exists to serve the American
people, protect enduring national interests, and fulfill the Nation's military responsibility. The
Army is structured by rank, as seen in figure 2 the highest rank for officers is General of the
Army (GOA) and the highest rank for Enlisted is Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA). The
ranking system is based on how much time one has spent in the army and how well one has
performed during that same period. The longer service doesnt result in attaining a higher rank, it
just enables one to have an opportunity to be eligible to get a promotion.
The Army has the widest variety of jobs the military can offer. Positions can range from
being a nurse to a helicopter pilot. The Army has jobs for almost anyone who is interested in
joining. Even though everyone in the Army has a specific occupation, everyone one has the
common goal of protecting the country and defending the US constitution. US Army personnel
take the oath of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all
enemies, foreign and domestic. The Army gets the job done by training every solider through
Basic Combat Training (BCT). Everybody who enlists must go through BCT before going to
their specific job/occupation training. After completing BCT, soldiers will go to Advanced
Individual Training (AIT). This is where they will learn the skills to perform their Army job.
There are a total of seventeen schools an enlisted soldier can attend.

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AIT schools are only for enlisted soldiers who are not officers. After being commissioned
through the West Point, ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), or OCS (Officer Candidate
School) officers will attend Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC). BOLC is a three phase
training program designed to provide initial military training for junior commissioned officers.
This is where all officers learn to be effective at solving problems, make rapid decisions, and
learn to lead soldiers in the full spectrum operations (BOLC).
The job of an officer requires a lot of reading and writing on a daily basis. The reading
aspects of an officer is when he/she addresses his/her squadron on what they are going to do on
that specific day. An example of this is an Operation Order (OPORD). This is essentially an
order given by a unit commander on how a mission will be conducted. Writing as an officer also
has to do with an OPORD. It contains four paragraphs: Situation, Mission, Execution, and
Service Support. Within these four paragraphs there are multiple key points to include such as
weather and type of terrain.
The military has its own process of decision making called Military Decision Making
Process (MDMP). The MDMP journal says that it is used to, provide a structure for the staff to
work collectively and produce a coordinated plan. The decision making process is written
explicitly in this journal. In figure 2 you can see exactly how the works. The decision process has
seven steps. It is done at the battalion level or higher and has a large number of staff members
creating a plan for their battalion or whatever size group that they are in. The process can be
tedious and frustrating. The amount of information needed to complete the processes is immense.
The process can proceed smoothly if you have a dedicated group of Plans Officers.
The Army lexis is primarily made of acronyms and unique words that are not used by
civilians. Some examples of specific jargon used by people in the military is the word digies.

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Digies is digital camouflage worn by soldiers throughout all branches. The Army, as well as
other branches, are known for having acronyms for everything. An acronym, for example, can
used to name a certain unit within the Army. 1st SFODD is an acronym for 1st Special Forces
Operational DetachmentDelta. Acronyms are very useful especially when units or other phrases
are lengthy.
The Army as well as other branches in the military are well known for picking on new
guys, especially officers. After finishing training, you receive the rank of second lieutenant, the
emblem for the rank is a gold bar, see figure 2. The rank is referred to as butter bar by other
enlisted soldiers and officers. This is a patronizing term towards a boot lieutenant that thinks he
can outsmart anybody.
Inside of the Army there is a lot of conflict between different jobs/occupations. Some
infantryman label others as POGs (Person Other than Grunt). They are essentially demoting
other jobs are worthless and have little or no effect in protecting the United States. There isnt
really any direct way of fixing these culture of banter. I believe that most infantrymen who say
this dont mean it in a bad way. They just feel that risking their lives connects to having a more
important role in the Army. This belief is kind of a touchy subject because the truth is that every
soldier at some point in their career may be put in harms way.
Currently, my main objective is to excel academically here at PCC while staying
physically fit by running and practicing martial arts such as kick boxing and Jujitsu. Becoming
an army officer requires both mental and physical fitness. Im a member of PCCs honors
program and remain active in club activities. I plan to transfer to a Senior Military College
(SMC). The best opportunity of getting a commission in the army is going go an SMC or to the
service academies such as West Point and the Naval Academy. The two main differences are that

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at an SMC you must pay tuition and commissioning in any of the military branches is not
mandatory. At a service academy tuition is free and commissioning in one of the military
branches is mandatory. Other than that that both institutions have similar curricula and are
governed by essentially same set of rules and regulations.
I am now studying on how to enhance my chances of earing a commission in the Army.
In ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), a program that is used to train future officers, there
is a ranking system used to determine how well a student is doing. It is based on GPA, APFT
(Army Physical Fitness Test), college athletic participation, performance during ROTC training,
and CLC (Cadet Leadership Course). The name of the ranking system is OML (Order of Merit)
see figure 3. It breaks down what each cadet is scored on through the years in ROTC and college
extracurricular activities. Academic outcome is fifty percent of the score which means the cadets
GPA and several other test during training such as a final exam taken before the senior year. The
second is leadership outcomes, which counts towards thirty percent of a cadets score. If a cadet
is a part of an ROTC Team or takes a foreign language, receives a boost in the overall score. The
final score is physical outcomes, which is fifteen percent of a cadets score. It is based off a
physical test that includes a timed one and half mile run, timed sit ups and pushups.
The reason why I studied the OML ranking system is because it determines which job a
cadet earns in the Army. Every cadet at the beginning of their senior year creates a wish list of
jobs theyd want. The higher the OML score earned, the more likely a cadet is to get one of the
top three choices on his or her wish list. It is therefore extremely important that I focus on what I
need to do to get the best OML score possible.
In his article, Captain Christopher J. Courtney explains very well on how to be a
successful officer in the US Army. Capt. Courtney advises to focuses on three key points. These

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are lead from the front, put the troops first, and guard your integrity. Leading from the front is a
very well-known saying among leaders in the military. It essentially means lead by example
every day and in everything you do. Officers can do this by setting and keeping a high standard
for themselves so that their soldiers are inspired to strive to be great. Putting the troops first is the
top priority for an officer. Making sure that everyone is safe and secure is not a guarantee, but
every officer must do his or her outmost to achieve that. Integrity with your fellow soldiers is key
to having to unified group of soldiers. Theres no substitute for it. It is also important because the
soldiers are putting their lives in your hands which means having trust is paramount.
In order to be a successful officer I must remain open minded and show due respect for
others who have been in the Army longer than I have. This means I must give deference to my
seniors. Another key thing that I must understand is that although military rank acquired by
going through military academy important, it is not everything. There is much to be said about
real world experience. A common misconception among new officers is that they feel like they
know everything because they have gone through years of extensive training. This is certainly
not true and simply not enough. Though important, military academy is no substitute for real
world experience. Theres much to learn from battle tested non-commissioned officers with
broad real world experience.
There are many ways of becoming an Army Officer. The three major ways are West
Point, ROTC, or OCS (Officer Candidate School). I plan on taking the ROTC route. There are no
specific requirements for joining ROTC, but there are for commissioning. The basic
requirements to becoming a commissioned US Army officer is being a US citizen, obtaining a
security clearance, and earning a bachelors degree. You can participate in certain summer
programs while in ROTC. Some programs are Airborne, Culture and Language Program

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(CULP), and Mountain Warfare. At Airborne training you have the opportunity to learn how to
parachute out of planes. At CULP you get to travel to almost any country in the world and teach
English to other people. At Mountain Warfare school cadets learn rappelling, rock climbing,
mountain survival skills. Participating in these programs increases you chances of being
commissioned.
My research has taught me a lot about what it takes to become a US Army officer. It also
gave me a glimpse of what the duties and responsibilities associated with being a United States
Army Officer. It is a noble profession that comes with serious responsibility of defending our
country and way of life. I also learned that becoming an officer is just the beginning of a long
journey that can turn out to be a career spanning twenty-five years or longer. I also learned that it
is important to gain the trust of your fellow soldiers. Without their trust it will extremely difficult
to build a cohesive team that will get any mission accomplished. I still need to learn the ins and
outs of how the Army works. I think that learning how to be a good leader will be my biggest
challenge. Getting good grade and doing extracurricular activities is the easy part.
The role of an officer is vital within the military. Most of the great men in the military we
read about were officers in the US military. Some famous ones are Dwight Eisenhower, George
Patton, and Douglas McArthur. I believe that officers play key roles in winning wars. Having
good leaders such as the one I mentioned, are very important to have in the world today. These
leaders were able to defeat some of the evilest people on earth. Having officers is one of the best
ways to keep any country safe from its enemies.

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Bibliography
Swales, John. ''The Concept of Discourse Community." Genre Analysis: English in Academic
and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge UP, 1990.21-32. Print.
"About Civil Affairs." About Civil Affairs. Special Operations Recruiting Battalion, n.d. Web. 27
Feb. 2016.
MDMP Lessons and Best Practices (n.d.): 1-103. usacac.army.mil. Army Lessons Learned,
Mar. 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.
"Glossary of Military Terms & Slang." Military.com. Monster Company, n.d. Web. 27 Feb.
2016. <http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-terms-and-jargon.html>.
"HRC Master Acronym List." HRC Master Acronym List (n.d.): 1-504. Print.
"2008 U.S. Army Posture Statement - Information Papers - Basic Officer Leader Course." 2008
U.S. Army Posture Statement - Information Papers - Basic Officer Leader Course. US
Army Posture Statement, 2008. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.army.mil/aps/08/information_papers/prepare/Basic_Officer_Leader_Course.
html>.

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Artifacts
Army Ranking System (Fig.1)

Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) (Fig.2)

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ROTC Grading System (Fig.3)

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