The MOS Discussion Threads are meant to be enduring threads where individuals with experience or insight in to particular CMFs or MOSes can give advice and tips. If you have any MOS resources, schools, etc, this would be a great place to share them.
The hope is that these individual threads can serve as 'megathreads' on the posts in question, and we can get advice from experienced persons. Each week I will keep the full listing/links to all previous threads in a mega-list below, for ease of reference. At the end of the series I will go back and ensure they all have completely navigable links
If you have specific questions about these MOSes, please feel free to ask here, but know that we are not forcing or re-directing all questions to these threads -- you can, and are encouraged, to still use the WQT.
This is not stricly an 'AMA', although if people would like to offer themselves up to answer questions, that would be great, and I'd ask that you give some reference to your expertise if you do. A big "Thank You" to everyone who is willing to answer questions about the MOSes in question, but the immediate preference would be for informational posts. These are meant to be enduring sources of information.
These only work with your participation and your feedback!
Common questions / information I'd recommend sharing to get started
Day to Day Life
"What's a deployment like?"
Career Advancement/Growth Opportunities
Best Duty Station for your MOS
So, again, willing to answer questions is great, but if there's any information you can impart now, I think that would provide the greatest benefit.
This thread covers the following MOSes:
27A Judge Advocate
27B Military Judge
270A Legal Administrator
27D Paralegal Specialist
#DO NOT:
Ask MOS questions unrelated to those listed. "How did your duties compare to a 19D when deployed?" or "Is it true an MP Company carries more firepower than an IN Company" are fine. "While this is up, what's 92F like?" is not.
Do not ask random joining questions. If your question isn't about the MOSes listed, then it probably belongs in a different Megathread, the Weekly Question Thread, or a new post.
Hey all! Below is all the information you’ll need on the Norwegian Foot March and upcoming events for 2026.
Event Background
In 2020, the Norwegian Defense College’s Military Sports Department temporarily authorized a request from the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to offer virtual proctoring of the Marsjmerket (Norwegian Foot March). Traditionally, the event required the physical presence of an officiator from the Norwegian military, but due to training and travel restrictions created by COVID, this was suspended. While the event is comparatively rare due to the limited number of Norwegian officials within the United States, interest exploded from late 2020 to 2021 following the relaxation of officiation requirements. Interest amongst non-Norwegian militaries continued well after training restrictions were relaxed and officials granted permanent virtual endorsement to enable U.S. forces to undertake this century-old traditional training opportunity.
Effective August 1st, 2021 U.S. units worldwide can request to conduct the Norwegian Foot March without an official present. In coordination with the individual who formerly ran these threads, I have recreated the thread series to facilitate new events and help individuals find events in their areas. Please share this opportunity with anyone interested! It's a great event, especially when conducted with your friends and fellow servicemembers. We're incredibly lucky that the Norwegian Army is willing to share this great tradition with us and it reinforces our bond with an important NATO ally and friendly nation.
IMPORTANT: You must receive approval from the embassy before conducting this event! If your unit conducts this event, as a thank you to the embassy, please include four unit coins and four unit patches from any unit that participates. It's a small ask and the Norwegians appreciate the gesture for all the work they put into providing this opportunity for us.
Certificates are currently distributed digitally but please consider sending a token of thanks to the following address:
Royal Norwegian Embassy
ATTN: Defense Attache Office, NFM
2720 34th Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
Upcoming Events - Updated OCT 4th, 2026 - Updates Made Monthly or As New Events Confirmed
The Norwegian Foot March, or Marsjmerket, was introduced in 1915 as a culminating training event for new conscripts and infantry soldiers. Traditionally, the event simulated overnight movement by a dismounted light infantry element. The element would occupy attack positions before daybreak and attack its objective at first light, fighting until it was successfully seized and only resting after consolidating its gains later that evening. The modern version of the march attempts to replicate this experience with the following requirements:
1. Complete the 18.6 mile / 30-kilometer course in the time allocated to their age/gender (see time standards below)
2. Complete the foot march using an issued or military-style ruck weighing a minimum of 11 kilograms / 25 pounds (dry weight). Alternatively, units can also require participants to carry their assigned weapon during the event. If carried, the total weight of the weapon and ruck must equal at least 11 kilograms / 25 pounds. The carrying of assigned weapons plus ruck is the preferred variant of the event.
Participant Time Standards
Participant Time Standards
Age Group
Male Time Standard (hh:mm)
Female Time Standard (hh:mm)
18-20
4:35
5:25
21-34
4:30
5:15
35-42
4:35
5:25
43-49
4:40
5:30
50-54
4:50
5:40
55-59
5:00
5:50
60+
5:15
6:00
Note: The above chart contains the current standards. Ensure you use it and/or the guidelines provided by the embassy. There are many old versions out there on the Internet. Do not use any time standards other than these.
Additional Event Requirements
1. Military participants must wear their duty uniform and boots. The civilian uniform is at the discretion of the organizer, but must be at least 1.5 kilograms / 3.3 pounds in weight.
2. Participants must be weigh their rucks (a standard weight for carried weapons can be established by the unit) prior to and after completing the event to ensure they fulfill the weight requirements
3. An official clock or timer is displayed at the start and finish line or a designated timer calls out the official time for participants and graders
4. Graders record each participant's finish time, starting ruck/weapon weight, and finishing ruck/weapon weight on an official roster
5. Event organizers must establish manned medical and water stations every 3.2 kilometers / 2 miles along the length of the course
6. Organizers create a medical evacuation plan based upon local conditions and potential issues
7. Conducted between -15 to 25 Celsius (5 to 77 Fahrenheit) and under no extreme weather conditions
8. The event occurs on unimproved roads or trails (waivable depending on location)
Scheduling Procedures
In order to conduct an event, units must submit a request prior to execution.
Norwegian Foot March Event Organizer Checklist (Excel) - Use this checklist to create your event CONOP. You must still fill it out and submit it along with your CONOP!
Event Date(s) and Alternative Date(s) - Strongly recommend you request an alternate date as a backup due to weather or random changes in the training schedule
Location
Estimated Number of Participants
Proposed Route
Medical Emergency / Evacuation Route
Weighing / Attire Verification Procedures
Communications Plan
Water Station Plan
Medical Station Plan
Weather Forecast
Event Map / CONOP - Create in Powerpoint, Submit as PDF
Event Endorsement Request Memo - This item tends to get a lot of questions. It's really just a MFR identifying your unit, organizing official, core details of the event, and a request for approval from the embassy to conduct the event.
Once complete all documents must be sent to the email addresses in the Excel spreadsheet.
Event Cost and Results Submission
Conducting the event itself is free, though depending on whether you want to provide participants with drinks, snacks, or other facilitate bulk purchases of badges, you may want to consider charging a fee. This is ultimately at the discretion of the organizer. The embassy and Norwegian military affiliates do not charge for any assistance in scheduling an event or officiating.
Certificates will be delivered digitally by the embassy to the organizer after a closeout report is submitted. Organizers can then print them at their unit using cardstock or use a commercial process such as that listed below.
Post-Event Instructions – Badges and Certificates
Badges
A listing of the available badges can be found in the FAQ section of this post.
Certificates
The embassy will share the certificate with the organizer after receiving the post-event memo (see my dropbox link). The organizing unit is responsible for producing the certificates from the template and distributing them. Instructions on how to prepare the certificates and order them via Staples printing service follow:
Modify the template for your unit's name and event date (use the DD MMM YY format)
Only the organizing unit's name needs to be used. If the organizing unit wants to customize all the certificates for each participating unit, that's permitted.
Fill in the rank, first name, and last name for each participant
Save each file as a PDF (reduces size for digital uploads while preserving high resolution)
Use the simple print option. Do not upload more than 50 files at a time! Staples' interface does not deal well with large amounts of documents.
Select the following options for your certificates
Paper Size - 8.5" x 11" (default)
Paper Type - 110lb White Cardstock
Color Options - Color Ink
Binding Type - No Binding
Sides - Single Sided, Ensure "Scale to Fit" is checked
Frequently Asked Questions
Do some units also hold a food drive with this event?
Yes! Many units encourage participants to carry a partial or full weight load of nonperishable food stuffs and goods that are turned in after the event. In the past several years numerous units have collected between 2,300 - 8,700 lbs of food that was donated to local shelters and food banks, giving back to their local communities and people in need.
What's the Record for Fastest Completion?
According to the Norwegian Defense Academy, Roger Gjøvaag, a former track and field athlete, completed the event in 1h 56m 57s in 1984 at Krigsskolen.
How many successful marches are associated with each badge type?
Current Award Scheme
Bronze - 1 completed foot march
Silver - 2 to 4 completed foot marches
Gold - 5+ completed foot matches
Former Award Scheme - Replaced in 2016
Bronze - 1 to 3 completed foot marches
Silver - 4 to 6 completed foot marches
Gold - 7+ completed foot matches
Where Are Badges Available and What Versions Are There?
Badge Versions
The standard version issued by the Norwegian military is approximately 0.75 inches / 19.05 mm in height. This is the appropriate size for their dress uniform standards. For non-Norwegian military personnel, there is no set size standard at the wearer's discretion and their uniform regulations. In the case of non-Norwegian wearers, the embassy’s position is that there is no specified size and wearers may wear any available version (0.72 inches / 18.29mm to 1.5 inches / 38.1 mm).
Here’s the latest embassy response to an inquiry regarding this: “Currently, there are at least 5 different versions made by U.S. companies, including a 1.5 inches / 38 mm size that is very similar to the older version of the Norwegian Foot March badge. U.S. forces' do not have a policy that requires which version is worn. Typically, it is the version closest to those worn by the issuing country, but it is ultimately at the discretion of the wearer provided the issuing country does not have any objections. The foot march is positive advertising for Norway and the more visible the badge is, the more recognizable the bond between the U.S. and Norwegian forces.”
Badge Vendors Listing
Disclaimer: The following listing of commercial products is solely for informational purposes and does not imply endorsement by me, nor discrimination against similar brands or products not mentioned. The vendors and products listed below are ordered by the date of product discovery via publicly available information.
Please contact [NFMOrganizer@gmail.com](mailto:NFMOrganizer@gmail.com) for any questions, comments, or concerns. Sometimes the information we are given is lacking, but we do our best to provide as many details as possible here.
I mean... what. Why? What terrible reason can your humble servant Johnny D twist this?
I'll never forget doing this myself and stopping to meet up with my wife (then GF) for lunch at a CPK and some rando paid for our meal and the waitress made me wave and say thank you to nobody in particular for that.
But I also got three people to go to the offie in my first day so my recruiter let me take the rest of the week off so I went to the beach/CA before going out to Sill.
Anyways, just another bonehead move.
Do we have a new PT test yet or not?
I'll have a Baconator, extra bacon. I'm on that GLP-1 and haven't eaten anything in two days so I'm hangry.
Can we get a daily thread posted with a TLDR over the talking points for AUSA? I feel like im going insane trying to actually keep up with it and find whats being discussed and whats being memed.
Ill get a double double hold the fries, im watching my waist (to height ratio).
So I finally did it. Decided to sign up for the Norwegian Foot March last Sunday thinking "hey I do my regular rucks all the time, 18.6 miles with 25 lbs shouldn't be too insane." Man was I completely wrong about that line of thinking.
The first 10 miles actually felt pretty solid. I kept a steady pace and felt like I was going to breeze right through it and easily hit the time standard for my age group. But around mile 13, the bottom of my feet felt like they were literally on fire. By mile 16 I knew every single skin layer on my heels was basically peeled off inside my boots, but at that point there was no way in hell I was stopping. Finished with about 8 minutes to spare before the cutoff, but walking back to my car afterwards was pure torture.
Took my boots off in the parking lot and my socks were basically glued to my heels with blood and popped blisters. I can barely walk right now without wiggling around like a penguin, but hey, at least the pin looks cool on the dress uniform.
For anyone who has done this before, how long did it take your feet to fully recover from this madness? Any specific remedies or blister care routines that actually work fast because I have a PT test coming up in two weeks and I can't even put on my running shoes without wincing.
For the last few hundred years the standard for infantry men has been to carry a rifle or other premodern firearm. However between drones and other technological advances I wonder if people think that rifles will one day not be the default weapon for soldiers in the army.
Did anyone else get one when they were released or afterwards?
The coin was released on the 20th anniversary of my first deployment. If you don’t collect coins and are still in it’s worth it to start collecting. Silver is down over half of the all time high. It’s just another way to save and build liquid equity. Remember to max your TSP to the match percentage.
Edit. I’ve heard of a tradition where commissioned West Point officers palming silver coins. I don’t remember the precise details but if any graduates of West Point can shed light we all would be grateful. Thank you.
This is a weird one, and I'm not even sure where to start. My son just turned 18. He is a dual US/Croatian citizen. He just registered for the Selective Service, and he needs to register for a similar service with Croatia as a male turning 18. However, Croatia has mandatory conscription, but since he lives abroad (in the US), he would not be called, he just needs to register.
I called the consulate to ask what documents they need, and in addition to a form, his Croatian passport, and proof of US residency, they said that they would like (but don't require) "A letter from the US Department of Defense stating that he has no obligation to serve in the US military,". They were very clear that the rules of consular registrations are new to them (the laws were passed earlier this year- they had suspended conscription in 2008 and reinstated it in 2026) and that this letter is not required, but desirable at the appointment because it lets them just take him off their lists entirely for any variety of conscription or required service ever (yeah, IDK how a letter saying he's not required in the US gets him out of Croatia, but they were insistent this is the situation). The guy at the consulate said, "We haven't had an American produce one of these letters yet." and I said I had NO idea who would even write such a letter or who to ask, as the US DoD is enormous. He laughed. He also literally told me that if I did manage to get a letter from the DoD, that I should tell them how I did it because they don't know either.
I feel like I'm in the mood for a good paper chase, writing weird emails to random people in the DoD, and if I get this letter, I WIN by getting some really fun stone-cold Slavic stares, whispers, and questions at the consulate. There is nothing as satisfying as slapping down a paper on their desk that they literally randomly made up and believe themselves to be impossible to get. So I figured I'd ask here on where/if to start my (almost certainly) pointless, impossible journey. Where would I go for this letter? Who would write it? Is it as simple as maybe a recruiter saying we have an all-volunteer force? Keep in mind, they have no idea what they are even looking for.
FWIW- my husband is an active duty officer (not a dual citizen- the US/Croatia-ness comes from me), and we're clearly not inherently against service or looking to get out of something. After my husband went through his usual cycle in response to Croatian bureaucracy that our family encounters (confusion, shock, frustration, mild despair, and then resignation) he thinks this is impossible to get and has no clue who would write it without something like failing MEPS. He's such a killjoy. I feel like getting someone to write and sign a letter of basic, clear US policy known to everyone and easily found on the web is a hilarious challenge on both ends and I'm kind of here for it right now.
I got fucked with an erroneous HQDA flag in August of 2025 for an on-base speeding ticket (non-super speeder downhill) that occurred a few days after SERE graduation in May of 2023 (was discombobulated and headed to the gym). Paid it off the same day and promoted to 1LT on time with no issue. I eventually noticed I got flagged 2 years later when it came time to get my sequence number to promote to CPT. Someone at HRC told me that it was due to a CID report. I call CID on base and they told me they should have never received my case because this was just an ordinary traffic violation that was paid off already and they even did me a courtesy to email HRC Special Promotions Branch to ask them to get me unflagged. I opted for a Promotion Review Board and got legal involved to help me rebuttal.
It has been over 6 months since HQDA received it and I bug the person at Special Promotions Branch over email pretty often and they keep telling me it’s still pending an office of SECWAR decision… a couple months after initially submitting my rebuttal I went through a medboard and I am now currently on terminal leave with a medical separation at the end of October.
TL/DR: can I backdate a promotion to CPT after my medical separation to get CPT backpay for my severance check IF my PRB rebuttal gets approved AFTER separation.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this! I’ll take a chocolate milkshake with french fries please :)
At BOLC and just failed land nav (1/4), it’s not for a grade or anything but I’m just frustrated that I don’t know what’s going wrong. I did a land nav course a year ago and failed that too. I can find my first point and then after that I don’t know what happens. I don’t want to be that LT that is lost and being bad at land nav makes me start to question my ability in the Army since it is supposed to be a basic skill. Not sure when I’ll get another opportunity to practice but I want to be good at this so any advice moving forward would be great.
We have a layout tomorrow, it’s layout time tomorrow, that layout last week? It was practice for this layout. Layout again next week just to triple check the if the shit disintegrated inside the connex over the weekend btw we have a layout tomorrow show up 30 minutes prior for the layout I love layouts hahahahaha fuck you
I’ll have a burger and fries but be sure to lay it out so I know it’s all there
