11C vs 46S

PT at 0630, mortar live-fire exercises, fire direction center drills, and a lot of physical conditioning. Garrison time is split between the mortar pit and the same cleaning details every infantryman knows. Field problems are frequent and you hump the heaviest loads in the platoon.

Writing news releases, taking photographs, producing videos, managing social media, and supporting media relations for the command. You tell the Army's story through traditional and digital media. Garrison includes covering training events, change of command ceremonies, and community relations. Deployment involves combat camera, media escorts, and operational communication.

OSUT at Fort Moore (GA) is 22 weeks — same pipeline as 11B with mortar-specific training in the final phase. You learn the M224 (60mm), M252 (81mm), and M120 (120mm) mortar systems plus fire direction calculations. The math matters more than the recruiter lets on.

AIT at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort Meade (MD) is about 12 weeks. Covers journalism, photography, videography, media relations, and social media management. DINFOS training is genuinely useful and the skills are directly applicable to civilian media careers.

Extremely high. You carry everything an 11B carries plus mortar base plates, tubes, and rounds that weigh 35-45 lbs each. Rucking loads routinely exceed 80 lbs. Your knees and back will know it.

Low to moderate. Some fieldwork documenting training and operations, but most work is writing, photography, video production, and media relations. Physical demands depend on what you are covering — embedding with infantry means infantry conditions.

The recruiter will lump you in with infantry and that's technically correct — you are an infantryman. What they won't explain is that 11C is the forgotten middle child of the infantry world. You carry heavier loads than riflemen, do more math than anyone expects, and when there's no mortar training happening, you get pulled for every detail and working party on the FOB. The upside: mortar crews are tight-knit teams with a real sense of ownership over their weapon system, and a well-run mortar section is genuinely devastating. The downside: promotion is just as glacially slow as 11B, the physical toll is arguably worse because of the loads, and the civilian translation is essentially nonexistent unless you pivot to something else. If you love indirect fire and want to be infantry, it's a rewarding MOS — just go in knowing the costs.

Public affairs is one of the best MOSs for creative professionals who want military experience without giving up their craft. You get paid to write, photograph, and produce video content — skills that are directly transferable to civilian media, marketing, and communications careers. The recruiter might undersell it as a support job, but PA specialists produce real content that reaches real audiences. What they won't tell you: you are also the person who writes the command's dry press releases, covers boring ceremonies, and manages social media accounts that nobody reads. The creative work is sandwiched between a lot of bureaucratic communication requirements. The civilian translation is strong: corporate communications, journalism, marketing, PR agencies, and government public affairs all recruit from the 46S community. DINFOS training is respected in the industry.