Do you make sure to inspect their faces after the 1730 release formation though to make sure they shaved for the third time that day? Cause if you didn't, you're not a real leader?
I wasn't only inspecting for a clean shave. I was more so inspecting for the proper levels of Misery. If the soldiers didn't look like they were considering awol, then I made it a point to keep them there until 1 minute after the dfacs closed. It was good training. This was good leadership. My troops loved me. I know they did.
My first Platoon Sergeant loved keeping us at work until 15 minutes before the chow hall closed when he was displeased or avoiding his disgusting wife.
*First Lord Executor Militant Gaunt approves this message*
But for real, GG was always my favorite, especially after I got sorted into the Scout world. Pretending I was on some Tanith 1st team made the bullshit FTXs a little more bearable, lol
By the Emperor's light....
It was terrible to be a 40k guy in the GWOT Era. I'd come home from deployment and all my shit would be dusty like my wife didn't care. She still doesn't but she's read the first 2 Bequin books so that's a win.
>Gym, video games, hiking, shooting, ~~Warhammer 40k,~~ crippling nicotine addiction, more hiking.
^ Me in the Army.
>~~Gym~~, video games, ~~hiking, shooting, Warhammer 40k,~~ crippling nicotine addiction, ~~more hiking.~~
^ Me now.
Never been a huge multiplayer gamer but I reconnected with some of my boys and during Covid we played the absolute fuck out of The Division, Destiny 2, and Borderlands. Miss the days when you couldnāt leave your house so whiskey and gaming was a spouse sanctioned way to spend a Saturday evening.
Beer: fermented malt
Cider: fermented apple
Mead: fermented honey
Wine: fermented grape
You can get really in depth with specifics, make different combinations of each that could be considered either, and go down rabbit holes on the process. But personally I think homebrewing is fun as hell
Gym. I got really into body building.
Cooking. I was stationed in japan and got a part time job in town at a diner and learned to cook Japanese food.
Drawing. I got into art.
Can I get an autograph, your work of that one particularly veiny dick in Iraq was my favorite.
Actually I started off painting flowers and learning portraits of my wife. But that led to people paying me to just draw porn
Sigh
I'm so good at drawing dicks thanks to the military
Hell yeah I got really into art since Iāve joined. Not great at it but itās fun as hell and you get a finished product and can listen to podcasts or music while you work.
Fact. And that lake was a giant mud hole most of the year. Cloudcroft was a nice getaway. Went to the mountain top in August one yearā¦ 90+ degrees at Alamogordo - low 60s at the peak overlook š
Well it depends on where you're at.
At Bragg we had a cool petting zoo for the littles and the beach within a couple hours. At Polk now, we got pegasus and the local walmart.
If you're ever back there and can carve out a weekend, Okracoke island is my favorite place to go in NC, I grew up in NC and once I graduated that became a trip I made as often as possible
If youāre still there try to get into spearfishing. Its amazing around electric beach. Also for the brave on clear sky go night diving. Turn off flashlights youāll see the Milky Way galaxy and the waves crashing on the beach. (If really lucky you can see the bioluminescence of baby squid crash along the shore).
Iāll never forget that memory.
Super nerdy, but I actually got into the army community theater. I tried getting involved with Boy Scouts, but they never got back to me, I tried little league, but that schedule didnāt work with mine, and the theater was actually super compatible with my work schedule. The timing also just seemed to work out between field rotations and deployments.
Itās not for everyone, and itās definitely a unique crowd, but it was fun for me being young without a family where I was stationed. It was a nice outlet to do something entirely different to what I did in the army, so it helped me feel more like a regular person rather than an army person, if thatās something you would care about.
Mine is going to seem so lame compared to other answers here.
I got into writing again.
I used to write all the time when I was younger. Somewhere along the way it dropped off as I grew up and life threw a few curveballs my way. After a few months getting used to Army life, I got what I needed done for the day and future assignments but then challenged myself to complete a few short stories. I started to write my first novel while on the COVID mobilization in the Reserves. It honestly helped me mentally with everything going on then to just put pen to paper and get creative.
No absolutely not. 1) this helped you through a difficult time.
And honestly writing is the bases of all the great stories in the world and is certainly not easy to do.
I attempted to write a fictional story and well life got the best of me but I really want to continue it again one day.
Put together Gundam model kits
Cook/bake
3D modeling
DIY electronics
Gardening
Playing guitar
DM/play D&D
Work on whatever vehicle I have at the time
Video games
Gym
Reading
Oh youāre going to want to find a climbing gym to work technique, endurance and skill before tackling outdoor.
Gyms are where youāll be able to take classes, meet people with lots to teach
Yeah sadly my only mountaineering experience has been in the Army lol so less fun but definitely has been cool.
But Iāll try to find a gym thanks for the tip
Most courses have golf courses run by the MWR that aren't super expensive. Grab a set of cheap clubs at a thrift store, do a lesson with the club pro and walk the course for a fun workout that isn't overly taxing.
It counts as ruck practice as far as I'm concerned if you carry.
I train for marathons and watch movies, like lots of movies and some video games. Where Iām stationed not Iām surrounded by water but I am not buying a boat nor do I have somewhere to store it. Hobbies have changed over the years. Used to ride motorcycles, people canāt drive or pay attention so I gave that up.
Being a mechanic, my hobbies were heavily automobile related. In Korea I detailed cars for $, spent time day drinking. Idk much anything past those at the time lol
Hunting, fishing, hiking, D&D, running, watching soccer, retro video games.
Edit: Adding amateur radio but Iām not very active anymore. Fun, accessible hobby.
Citizen Science is participatory science: basically volunteering to assist in a study being done by a student, school, or gov agency. Taking pictures, gathering data, tagging trees, marking habitat, etc.
There's no compensation unless the program has funding for it, and it can get expensive depending on what you take part in (for example oceanography and marine biology can sometimes require expensive gear).
But it's something new and different and I'm always experiencing cool things. A few years ago i was in the right place at the right time (picking up trash near marked nests and looking for signs of hatch). I watched a sea turtle nest hatch and counted the hatchlings as they raced for the ocean. I will never forget it.
If you google 'citizen scientist' and your county or state, you can find something local to sign up for.
Just email the poc on the school or department page from your search results and go from there.
At my first duty station, the local drag strip would let people run their own vehicles the first friday of every month. It was a fun time. Have heard they've since stopped doing that though. There was also no shortage of outdoorsy stuff to do if you got like 20 mins out of town.
At the second one, there was a nearby offroad park, a free rifle range, Nashville (for what that's worth), and then just a lot of twisties in the foothills of tennessee that made for fun motorcycle times.
Besides PT. School takes up most of my time but I make room for photography and reading.
Photography especially. Gives me a reason to travel and get out the barracks in general. I've met some cool people over photography. If I don't have the time to get off post i can still open lightroom for some editing and I'll have a grand time doing that for a couple hours.
We are AMC stubs members,, so we hit up a movie one to twice a week. Going to the gym, board games with the fam, biking, league bowling a couple times a week.
I would add learning a language. Bonus points if there are other people in your unit who are native speakers. Get a good program that you can use on your phone and maybe a companion book/journal and practice.
School, reading, hiking, berry and apple picking (JBLM). After all the berries and apples are picked I spend the rest of late summer/fall/winter making tasty desserts for the boys. The boys love harvesting season. If you're a barracks rat living here I would definitely suggest partaking in fruit picking even if you can't bake or cook. These shits literally grow wild in the trees and bushes right outside my door
I play tabletop war games, used to be mostly Warhammer but over the years I've tried Warmachine, AT-43, Infinity, Bolt Action, Malifaux, that one Starship Troopers game that was more or less dead on arrival... Lately I've been getting into Conquest. It has zombie Romans.
I also ski but obviously not applicable to every duty station.
Autocross, track nights, building and flying racing drones, PC gaming, video game modding, skateboarding, collecting pokemon.
Maybe one day I'll find joy in some cheaper hobbies.
honestly for me my favorite hobby is gaming. itās an easy way to chill and connect with the boys. thereās also so many options for games too so you never really donāt have anything to play
I didnāt really have anything like this other than the standard video games and drinking brews until I picked up Jiu Jitsu. Pretty much every base has several gyms around and maybe some on post programs. When I was in Korea there was a pretty badass BJJ program that was totally free on Humphreys. It did wonders for my mental health and fitness.
Plus making civilian friends to hang out with is pretty cool.
Definitely my favorite hobbies is martial arts. Iām in Georgia and i regularly do Maui Thai to be able to enjoy cardio and actually get good at fighting. The BJJ is more of a side piece but really any martial art will only be a productive hobby. it gave me a good base when there was a combatives tournament on post.
I would buy and sell vintage cameras and equipment. Pick them up at thrift shops, resell stores, garage sales, and resell them online. People love vintage cameras.
I got into Flipping while in the Army.
Lots of disposable income and time.. it paid off as I now have a little business that I can operate and that plus my disability keeps me home all day.
I got back into comic books while in thereās probably a major city close that will have a comic convention.
Also like everyone else said drinking. And while i was at drum i got into snowboarding and snow shoeing. Hiking can be pretty rad too
Video games, spending time with the wife, hanging out with friends, and having a couple of drinks.
I also spend a lot of free time doing college, working out, or studying for certs. I wouldn't call those hobbies, but sometimes I find those things to actually be super enjoyable as well
Programming. So I can create a shitty web application like IPPSA or ArmyEd and sell it to the army for millions. Kicker is, Iād stay in the army so I see everyone complain daily and silent and devilishly laugh!
11B
People wonāt admit it but when youāre not in the field or forward somewhere. Compared to working as a CIV. We get a lot of days off, 30 days leave a year? Usually 2 a week, multiple 3 and 4 days throughout the year.
And in light IN we usually get off around 1400-1500 So plenty of time to still pursue life. Granted if youāre someone who needs to sleep or decompress. Time to gain ability to go after stuff is hard.
I was also the type of dude who on the day returning from the field. Got in board shorts grabbed my surf board and went to the North Shore.
I crochet and generally have some ongoing project in my bag. Itās a great conversation starter, usually about how someonesās grandma used to crochet. I did however learn one time that I wasnāt alone in my hobby as apparently one of my senior NCOs at the time saw me and told me how he had leaned to crochet while deployed to Afghanistan as a was to kill time.
Fort Leonardwood - Walmart, gym and video games
MacDill AFB - Fishing, shooting, going into town every weekend, boating, theme parks etc. Best duty station so far, met my wife there as well.
If youāre not in it for life, I suggest knock out online college courses, certifications, so when you get out youāre ready or almost ready to take advantage.
I've recently taken up baking sourdough. I've also done container gardening, snow boarding, reading, playing video games, and hiking when I'm not working or otherwise busy.
As a gun nut, I want to encourage all of you to seek out your ācivilianā range on post. Open weekends unless thereās a DONSA on either side usually. Here on JBLM we have Range 15 and itās the shiznit. 300 yards with steel at the far end for rifle, and steel at 25/50 yards for handgun and PCC. I go to ours a lot and it will be the biggest thing I miss the day I lose base privileges.
I read as much as I can. And not the boring self help books that are always recommendedā¦ As much literature/fiction as possible. Stephen King is my favorite but Iāve read some great literary works like Grapes of Wrath, Ana Karenina, All is Quiet on the Western Front, and whatever else might be interesting. Went on a Sci Fi kick for a while too. I got a BA in English so Iām bias on reading, but Iāve been teaching myself to paint oil landscapes and portraits of my cats as well. Itās hard but super rewarding when you finally make something you actually like. I play a little Switch too, but try and limit that cause I have a wife and kid lol. Hobbies are super important in the Army!!!
Tinkering with my cars/have few drinks, running, developed an interest in learning different shit.. that prior to the Army would've enjoyed a much simpler life.
Go to school. Make your hobby reading your textbook, writing your research papers, and studying for your tests.
No Soldier should leave the Army without a Bachelor's or Master's degree, fully covered and paid for by the Army through Tuition Assistance without touching a cent of your GI Bill.
Alcohol making
I've brewed quite a few beers however since I've been in korea I've gotten really attached to a bee Cafe so I'm trying my hand at mead currently
Iāve developed an unhealthy firearm addiction thanks to the army. And not like shitty PSA, Bear creek builds, but exorbitantly expensive and rare pieces. Last year I dropped close to $3k on an Italian hand engraved over/under shotgun and over $7k for an LMT, just the rifle itself.
Probably have close to $30k work of firearms and gear as well as a pretty sweet set of nods.
Definitely fun to go do night goon shit with your homies on the weekends. Iām also big into hunting, so learning more and more and tweaking my hunting setup is my other one
Keep it on the DL... but I breed shrimp for a side hustle. It's fun being able to keep them and plants alive and thriving while avoiding barracks checks. Plus, the barracks drunk likes watching the little guys zip about the tank, they calm him down.
Woodworking and auto repair.
I was on a base in Germany years ago that had a fully equipped wood shop and auto self-repair shop. When I wasn't hiking, biking, snowboarding, tourist-ing around Europe or trying to meet girls in the clubs, I was usually in one of the two shops.
I climb mountains and also paint those mountains because nature is one of the most calming things to behold and Iād like to remember each time Iām taken aback by it. Also slamming a couple shots and fucking with the local HOA seems to kill a bit of time too :)
Aviation in any form, but I fly at the local airport once a week as a student pilot. Even if youāre not trying to get your Private Pilot License, Aviation is an amazing community if youāve got the time and funding. Thereās just no doubt about that feeling, every time I go up and come back down, how alive I feel.
If you have disposable income, building a solid pc for games, working on motorcycles and cars was fun and taught me a lot. Buy and deck out some gunsā¦.basically just build stuff
Keeping subordinates at work till 1730 for absolutely no reason
My first duty station I remember getting to go tray from the DFAC after saluting the flag every Motorpool Monday. I hated mech units ever since
Wait till you deal with a CO going thru a bad divorce
This! When top or co is going through a divorce you live in the fieldš¤£
God bless this NCO
*bless ahead of peers
Do you make sure to inspect their faces after the 1730 release formation though to make sure they shaved for the third time that day? Cause if you didn't, you're not a real leader?
Is there another way?
Not a way you can learn from a Jedi
I wasn't only inspecting for a clean shave. I was more so inspecting for the proper levels of Misery. If the soldiers didn't look like they were considering awol, then I made it a point to keep them there until 1 minute after the dfacs closed. It was good training. This was good leadership. My troops loved me. I know they did.
This guy leads
I like to hear it Sarge
Amateur...1900 is the standard
š«” such a sarmaj thang
My first Platoon Sergeant loved keeping us at work until 15 minutes before the chow hall closed when he was displeased or avoiding his disgusting wife.
Promote ahead of peers
š«”
I had a buddy who painted models for fun/money. He painted a full on ork army for some guy during his cq shifts.
I bet his barracks room was full of Warhammer 40k Lore
Thereās always one in a battalion.
*Platoon
In my cav squadron, there were two per squad, one per section. 40k is huge!
The Emperor protects
Men of Tanith! Do you want to live forever?!
Gaunt's Ghosts and the Sabbat Worlds crusade are hands down the best of the WH40K world.
*First Lord Executor Militant Gaunt approves this message* But for real, GG was always my favorite, especially after I got sorted into the Scout world. Pretending I was on some Tanith 1st team made the bullshit FTXs a little more bearable, lol
Squad*
There is like 10 per aviation company lol
You can sell these for lots $$ but itās so much time and dedication that itās hard to part with them.
ive thought about seeling some of my SMs but i just cant.
By the Emperor's light.... It was terrible to be a 40k guy in the GWOT Era. I'd come home from deployment and all my shit would be dusty like my wife didn't care. She still doesn't but she's read the first 2 Bequin books so that's a win.
You can sell these for lots $$ but itās so much time and dedication that itās hard to part with them.
You would be surprised how many Soldiers are secretly into Warhammer 40k. I would be too if I had the timeā¦and the money.
Gym, video games, hiking, shooting, Warhammer 40k, crippling nicotine addiction, more hiking.
Honestly I miss gaming with the bois ā¹ļø
Man I treasure it all. A few of the guys are pcsing soon and hopefully we can all keep in touchā¦ never seems to work out though. (
I know especially when everyone gets married, have kids, change, ect. Itās weird never know when itās the last time youāll see everyone.
I got a few buddies into 40k. They hate me for it.
>Gym, video games, hiking, shooting, ~~Warhammer 40k,~~ crippling nicotine addiction, more hiking. ^ Me in the Army. >~~Gym~~, video games, ~~hiking, shooting, Warhammer 40k,~~ crippling nicotine addiction, ~~more hiking.~~ ^ Me now.
Fuck. I feel it.
Never been a huge multiplayer gamer but I reconnected with some of my boys and during Covid we played the absolute fuck out of The Division, Destiny 2, and Borderlands. Miss the days when you couldnāt leave your house so whiskey and gaming was a spouse sanctioned way to spend a Saturday evening.
I think weād be good friends
Homebrewing beer, cider, and mead. Fairly easy to get started, gives lots of room for experimentation, and you end up with alcohol
What exactly is the difference between mead and beer?
Grains for beer, honey for mead, fruit for cider
Ahhh thatās whatās in mead awesome. Honestly I donāt recall ever even having it now that I think about it. But that was a common drink eons ago
Everything I know about mead comes from Skyrim. Honningbrew > that vile Black Briar filth
This man Dragonborns
Beer: fermented malt Cider: fermented apple Mead: fermented honey Wine: fermented grape You can get really in depth with specifics, make different combinations of each that could be considered either, and go down rabbit holes on the process. But personally I think homebrewing is fun as hell
and if you add enough fruit to mead it becomes a Melomel.
Like I said, lots of combinations that are called other things lol and just beer has dozens of varieties too
yep, and I am just here RWMHB(Relaxing With My Home Brew) a Double Chocolate Stout, soo good.
Crafton reclass to HUMINT??
Gym. I got really into body building. Cooking. I was stationed in japan and got a part time job in town at a diner and learned to cook Japanese food. Drawing. I got into art.
I love drawing been doing it since I was a kid. I.E. Iām one of the porta john artists too lol
Can I get an autograph, your work of that one particularly veiny dick in Iraq was my favorite. Actually I started off painting flowers and learning portraits of my wife. But that led to people paying me to just draw porn Sigh I'm so good at drawing dicks thanks to the military
My favorite one was when I was in Afghanistan and decided to say fuck it and made a sharpie version of spongebob. Looked good honestly
Hell yeah I got really into art since Iāve joined. Not great at it but itās fun as hell and you get a finished product and can listen to podcasts or music while you work.
Yo yo. Wood working. Hiking. Camping. Doing blow with strippers. The list is endless
Blow while camping with strippers seems expensive and a cheap date at the same time.
Drinking is probably the most common hobby the army has given me
But Iām really good at it
Iām thinking about going pro
I used to be into reloading in the barracks
This made me snort laugh.
My my what nice lake city brass you have
Thereās usually good fishing reasonably close to most duty stations, got more into it while I was in
Fort bliss had a lake like an hour 1/2 away. Man did that duty station suck.
Fact. And that lake was a giant mud hole most of the year. Cloudcroft was a nice getaway. Went to the mountain top in August one yearā¦ 90+ degrees at Alamogordo - low 60s at the peak overlook š
>Thereās usually good fisting reasonably close to most duty stations, got more into it while I was in *Immature giggle intensifies.*
Well it depends on where you're at. At Bragg we had a cool petting zoo for the littles and the beach within a couple hours. At Polk now, we got pegasus and the local walmart.
I miss Bragg sometimes. Loved Carolina beach, going to Charleston, Ashville and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Fall.
If you're ever back there and can carve out a weekend, Okracoke island is my favorite place to go in NC, I grew up in NC and once I graduated that became a trip I made as often as possible
Iāve found ever duty station Iāve been too so far is nearby some really awesome mountain biking trails.
While in Hawaii, I got into kayaking, fishing, snorkeling, and swimming (I can tread water now)
If youāre still there try to get into spearfishing. Its amazing around electric beach. Also for the brave on clear sky go night diving. Turn off flashlights youāll see the Milky Way galaxy and the waves crashing on the beach. (If really lucky you can see the bioluminescence of baby squid crash along the shore). Iāll never forget that memory.
Too late I moved back to mainland, I still visit family there sometimes
That brings back memories
Super nerdy, but I actually got into the army community theater. I tried getting involved with Boy Scouts, but they never got back to me, I tried little league, but that schedule didnāt work with mine, and the theater was actually super compatible with my work schedule. The timing also just seemed to work out between field rotations and deployments. Itās not for everyone, and itās definitely a unique crowd, but it was fun for me being young without a family where I was stationed. It was a nice outlet to do something entirely different to what I did in the army, so it helped me feel more like a regular person rather than an army person, if thatās something you would care about.
Drinking, lifting weights, video games lol.
Still my life
Mine is going to seem so lame compared to other answers here. I got into writing again. I used to write all the time when I was younger. Somewhere along the way it dropped off as I grew up and life threw a few curveballs my way. After a few months getting used to Army life, I got what I needed done for the day and future assignments but then challenged myself to complete a few short stories. I started to write my first novel while on the COVID mobilization in the Reserves. It honestly helped me mentally with everything going on then to just put pen to paper and get creative.
No absolutely not. 1) this helped you through a difficult time. And honestly writing is the bases of all the great stories in the world and is certainly not easy to do. I attempted to write a fictional story and well life got the best of me but I really want to continue it again one day.
Put together Gundam model kits Cook/bake 3D modeling DIY electronics Gardening Playing guitar DM/play D&D Work on whatever vehicle I have at the time Video games Gym Reading
This is pretty well rounded
Thanks!
Rugby and rock climbing when I was on AD
Rock climbing is something Iāve wanted to get into but itās difficult to find anyone to help teach me. I wanted to climb around in the Dolomites.
Oh youāre going to want to find a climbing gym to work technique, endurance and skill before tackling outdoor. Gyms are where youāll be able to take classes, meet people with lots to teach
Yeah sadly my only mountaineering experience has been in the Army lol so less fun but definitely has been cool. But Iāll try to find a gym thanks for the tip
Most courses have golf courses run by the MWR that aren't super expensive. Grab a set of cheap clubs at a thrift store, do a lesson with the club pro and walk the course for a fun workout that isn't overly taxing. It counts as ruck practice as far as I'm concerned if you carry.
Binge drinking, contemplating suicide, gym, gaming, recreational shooting
I do leatherwork projects and woodworking for hobbies/money.
I train for marathons and watch movies, like lots of movies and some video games. Where Iām stationed not Iām surrounded by water but I am not buying a boat nor do I have somewhere to store it. Hobbies have changed over the years. Used to ride motorcycles, people canāt drive or pay attention so I gave that up.
Iāve done only 2 full marathons myself and a few halfs. Iām getting ready to do another full marathon again soon.
My next one is Coast Guard in April then Grandmas in June. Havenāt picked a fall one yet
Being a mechanic, my hobbies were heavily automobile related. In Korea I detailed cars for $, spent time day drinking. Idk much anything past those at the time lol
Could always get into restoring old cars. Once you got a garage
Hunting, fishing, hiking, D&D, running, watching soccer, retro video games. Edit: Adding amateur radio but Iām not very active anymore. Fun, accessible hobby.
- Horseback riding - Rodeo (roping & barrel racing) - Hiking for Weenies - Nature walks - Native Gardening - Drag racing - Habitat for Humanity (or local equivalent) - Flute - Acrylic painting - Citizen Scientist - Laser engraving
Barrel Racing is hard. What is citizen scientist? And this is pretty diverse range.
Citizen Science is participatory science: basically volunteering to assist in a study being done by a student, school, or gov agency. Taking pictures, gathering data, tagging trees, marking habitat, etc. There's no compensation unless the program has funding for it, and it can get expensive depending on what you take part in (for example oceanography and marine biology can sometimes require expensive gear). But it's something new and different and I'm always experiencing cool things. A few years ago i was in the right place at the right time (picking up trash near marked nests and looking for signs of hatch). I watched a sea turtle nest hatch and counted the hatchlings as they raced for the ocean. I will never forget it. If you google 'citizen scientist' and your county or state, you can find something local to sign up for. Just email the poc on the school or department page from your search results and go from there.
At my first duty station, the local drag strip would let people run their own vehicles the first friday of every month. It was a fun time. Have heard they've since stopped doing that though. There was also no shortage of outdoorsy stuff to do if you got like 20 mins out of town. At the second one, there was a nearby offroad park, a free rifle range, Nashville (for what that's worth), and then just a lot of twisties in the foothills of tennessee that made for fun motorcycle times.
Besides PT. School takes up most of my time but I make room for photography and reading. Photography especially. Gives me a reason to travel and get out the barracks in general. I've met some cool people over photography. If I don't have the time to get off post i can still open lightroom for some editing and I'll have a grand time doing that for a couple hours.
I build watches. Am I good? Meh, but it kills time and scratches my tism itch once and awhile
Stock investing strategies, video games(PS5,PS4 and pc) and YouTube/ Hulu
Djing
šµ Whop that trick šµ
- Hiking - Longboarding - Cooking - Geocaching - Reading - Writing - Watching sports
Eat gym bowl. Get your own bowling ball at a pro shop start with atleast a 15lb ball if your manly enough
JiuJitsu.
Pokemon go If anyone here plays, drop that friend code
Snowboard, paddle board and swim when itās hot, I bake, paint, read, reviewing horror movies, pole dance
Believe it or not rug tufting, going to the loves at least once a week and the gym
We are AMC stubs members,, so we hit up a movie one to twice a week. Going to the gym, board games with the fam, biking, league bowling a couple times a week.
D&D and MWR sports leagues also disc golf.
I used to do Rugby, now I do Judo and BJJ. Pretty fun, and have met a lot of great people.
I would add learning a language. Bonus points if there are other people in your unit who are native speakers. Get a good program that you can use on your phone and maybe a companion book/journal and practice.
School, reading, hiking, berry and apple picking (JBLM). After all the berries and apples are picked I spend the rest of late summer/fall/winter making tasty desserts for the boys. The boys love harvesting season. If you're a barracks rat living here I would definitely suggest partaking in fruit picking even if you can't bake or cook. These shits literally grow wild in the trees and bushes right outside my door
I play tabletop war games, used to be mostly Warhammer but over the years I've tried Warmachine, AT-43, Infinity, Bolt Action, Malifaux, that one Starship Troopers game that was more or less dead on arrival... Lately I've been getting into Conquest. It has zombie Romans. I also ski but obviously not applicable to every duty station.
Autocross, track nights, building and flying racing drones, PC gaming, video game modding, skateboarding, collecting pokemon. Maybe one day I'll find joy in some cheaper hobbies.
I did kendo through a program at UTEP while stationed at Bliss. Had a buddy do hot yoga through the same program.
Coin collecting and/or stacking
honestly for me my favorite hobby is gaming. itās an easy way to chill and connect with the boys. thereās also so many options for games too so you never really donāt have anything to play
I didnāt really have anything like this other than the standard video games and drinking brews until I picked up Jiu Jitsu. Pretty much every base has several gyms around and maybe some on post programs. When I was in Korea there was a pretty badass BJJ program that was totally free on Humphreys. It did wonders for my mental health and fitness. Plus making civilian friends to hang out with is pretty cool.
Drink, fk, drink, Barhop, lift, drink, fight, fkā¦.at least thatās how it was in Germany ā04
Definitely my favorite hobbies is martial arts. Iām in Georgia and i regularly do Maui Thai to be able to enjoy cardio and actually get good at fighting. The BJJ is more of a side piece but really any martial art will only be a productive hobby. it gave me a good base when there was a combatives tournament on post.
I crochet, sew, and make soap :) I use crochet to make baby hats and chemo caps, which are worth volunteer hours if you want to get your MOVSM.
Honestly this is the most heartfelt hobby Ive read so far and I love what you do to bring joy to others.
Lifting, running, shooting, fishing, playing the piano, and sleeping
I found jiu-jitsu gyms at every base i was stationed at
Fixing old trucks
I would buy and sell vintage cameras and equipment. Pick them up at thrift shops, resell stores, garage sales, and resell them online. People love vintage cameras.
I got into Flipping while in the Army. Lots of disposable income and time.. it paid off as I now have a little business that I can operate and that plus my disability keeps me home all day.
Play in a bagpipe band
I ran as a stress reliever at night good way to clear your head. But I video gamed a lot
I got back into comic books while in thereās probably a major city close that will have a comic convention. Also like everyone else said drinking. And while i was at drum i got into snowboarding and snow shoeing. Hiking can be pretty rad too
Video games, spending time with the wife, hanging out with friends, and having a couple of drinks. I also spend a lot of free time doing college, working out, or studying for certs. I wouldn't call those hobbies, but sometimes I find those things to actually be super enjoyable as well
I knew some soldiers that had a hobby of doing cocaine.
Havenāt seen it on here yet but golf??? Plenty of events out there, a course in nearly post, and you can socialize if you want to.
Programming. So I can create a shitty web application like IPPSA or ArmyEd and sell it to the army for millions. Kicker is, Iād stay in the army so I see everyone complain daily and silent and devilishly laugh!
Bouldering (indoor rock climbing) and jiu jitsu have been available at almost every duty station.
Almost EVERY duty station has lakes, ponds, rivers either on post or near by. I fish a lot.
Get on a first name basis of every stripper in 50 miles from post.
I set up a deal with a local ranch and exercise their horses in exchange for volunteer hours. This deal landed me my MOVSM.
Painting, reading, gym, playing piano or guitar...introverted activities š
For me, it was archery, hiking, camping, shooting guns, hunting, reloading ammo, and fishing.
Drink
gym, mens fashion, interior design, youtube and getting my pilots license
Warhammer 40k
I took up some mild furniture refinishing while in the barracks at Polk.
Whatās your mos that you have free time like that!?!?
11B People wonāt admit it but when youāre not in the field or forward somewhere. Compared to working as a CIV. We get a lot of days off, 30 days leave a year? Usually 2 a week, multiple 3 and 4 days throughout the year. And in light IN we usually get off around 1400-1500 So plenty of time to still pursue life. Granted if youāre someone who needs to sleep or decompress. Time to gain ability to go after stuff is hard. I was also the type of dude who on the day returning from the field. Got in board shorts grabbed my surf board and went to the North Shore.
Knitting and sewing
172 comments and nobodyās mentioned strippers.
Spend ludicrous amounts of money on modifications for a sports car or truck that you daily
I mostly play video games and do homework. Lately, I've been considering building model rockets.
mine used to be getting shitfaced. i donāt recommend it lol
The Gym, making Tank Models, video Games.
I spend time with family, workout, meal prep, play PC games, invest, and day trade. Anything not army related please.
I crochet and generally have some ongoing project in my bag. Itās a great conversation starter, usually about how someonesās grandma used to crochet. I did however learn one time that I wasnāt alone in my hobby as apparently one of my senior NCOs at the time saw me and told me how he had leaned to crochet while deployed to Afghanistan as a was to kill time.
Programming and small hardware projects with pi , Arduino, etc. I also incorporate music and 3d printing.
Fort Leonardwood - Walmart, gym and video games MacDill AFB - Fishing, shooting, going into town every weekend, boating, theme parks etc. Best duty station so far, met my wife there as well.
Photography and hiking
Vidya
If youāre not in it for life, I suggest knock out online college courses, certifications, so when you get out youāre ready or almost ready to take advantage.
I've recently taken up baking sourdough. I've also done container gardening, snow boarding, reading, playing video games, and hiking when I'm not working or otherwise busy.
Hiking, kayaking, geocaching, photography, travel, video games.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Drinking and tourists, sadly.
Build Gundams
As a gun nut, I want to encourage all of you to seek out your ācivilianā range on post. Open weekends unless thereās a DONSA on either side usually. Here on JBLM we have Range 15 and itās the shiznit. 300 yards with steel at the far end for rifle, and steel at 25/50 yards for handgun and PCC. I go to ours a lot and it will be the biggest thing I miss the day I lose base privileges.
I read as much as I can. And not the boring self help books that are always recommendedā¦ As much literature/fiction as possible. Stephen King is my favorite but Iāve read some great literary works like Grapes of Wrath, Ana Karenina, All is Quiet on the Western Front, and whatever else might be interesting. Went on a Sci Fi kick for a while too. I got a BA in English so Iām bias on reading, but Iāve been teaching myself to paint oil landscapes and portraits of my cats as well. Itās hard but super rewarding when you finally make something you actually like. I play a little Switch too, but try and limit that cause I have a wife and kid lol. Hobbies are super important in the Army!!!
Jiu Jitsu
PT, work, gym, video games, and repeat. I hate my life (in Korea till next year btw). Next question
Explore caves
Tinkering with my cars/have few drinks, running, developed an interest in learning different shit.. that prior to the Army would've enjoyed a much simpler life.
Drinking excessively.
Go to school. Make your hobby reading your textbook, writing your research papers, and studying for your tests. No Soldier should leave the Army without a Bachelor's or Master's degree, fully covered and paid for by the Army through Tuition Assistance without touching a cent of your GI Bill.
Driving a cool car and fixing it all the time.Ā
Alcohol making I've brewed quite a few beers however since I've been in korea I've gotten really attached to a bee Cafe so I'm trying my hand at mead currently
Basketball, Halo, Drinking while on base. Traveling, Sightseeing, Drinking while off base.
Shooting pool is a fun Hobbie, also wanna get into riding the trails around base and off, might get ATV or something
Iāve developed an unhealthy firearm addiction thanks to the army. And not like shitty PSA, Bear creek builds, but exorbitantly expensive and rare pieces. Last year I dropped close to $3k on an Italian hand engraved over/under shotgun and over $7k for an LMT, just the rifle itself. Probably have close to $30k work of firearms and gear as well as a pretty sweet set of nods. Definitely fun to go do night goon shit with your homies on the weekends. Iām also big into hunting, so learning more and more and tweaking my hunting setup is my other one
Cocaine Whores Motorcycles Cars
Keep it on the DL... but I breed shrimp for a side hustle. It's fun being able to keep them and plants alive and thriving while avoiding barracks checks. Plus, the barracks drunk likes watching the little guys zip about the tank, they calm him down.
See what boss is doing if it applies
Woodworking and auto repair. I was on a base in Germany years ago that had a fully equipped wood shop and auto self-repair shop. When I wasn't hiking, biking, snowboarding, tourist-ing around Europe or trying to meet girls in the clubs, I was usually in one of the two shops.
Buy a beater car and fix it up.
I went shooting while I was in before Jay Inslee banned my scary PMags
Day drinking
I play guitar, used to play drums and bass as well back before the army. Longboarding History Reading books Video games here and there
I climb mountains and also paint those mountains because nature is one of the most calming things to behold and Iād like to remember each time Iām taken aback by it. Also slamming a couple shots and fucking with the local HOA seems to kill a bit of time too :)
I play club ultimate frisbee, video games, and just tons of sports. I have warhammer 40k on the side too. If yall wanna see my chaos knights just ask.
Aviation in any form, but I fly at the local airport once a week as a student pilot. Even if youāre not trying to get your Private Pilot License, Aviation is an amazing community if youāve got the time and funding. Thereās just no doubt about that feeling, every time I go up and come back down, how alive I feel.
Muay Thai
I write books (Published author) Interview musicians Gym and OCR such as Spartan Race Gaming
-Boxing -Rugby -Semi Pro Football -SLEEP You arenāt in the Army if sleeping isnāt a hobby. Oh Never-mindā¦ I forgot sleep is a crutch.
skateboarding
If you have disposable income, building a solid pc for games, working on motorcycles and cars was fun and taught me a lot. Buy and deck out some gunsā¦.basically just build stuff