Thread: Enlisting In Armed Forces

Tenrou,

Here is support from a different angle.

What the fuck do you want to do with your life? Do that. And if it's selfish, be prepared to be drafted.

Active Duty Marines - 5 years, communications electronics. LOVED it. Schooled in California, stationed in N. Carolina. Got to see Wisconsin 4x, Virginia, Arizona, extreme Northern Norway (200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in February) 2x, the European side of Turkey, Saudi, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, United Arab Emirates.

Texas Army National Guard - 3 years, driving M1A1 tanks. HATED it. Got to see Kentucky 7 or 8 times.

I did not transition well from Marine to Army as well as Active to Reserves. The Marines in general just seem to have their shit wired. I mean they still play 'hurry up and wait' games like everyone else. But be prepared, the Marines have the oldest equipment and all the hand me downs and deploy to the places the Air Force won't go.

Most of their bases are in the armpits of the United States. You will deploy a lot. The pay is crappy.

But I loved damn near every moment of it. Wait, I lie, the first wave of missiles during Desert Storm Pt I was kind of disturbing. But otherwise, I loved it.

And you've had BigDog and SJT as squad leaders/commanders. You will already be a little ready for boot camp.

Originally Posted by Tenrou

As the title says I'm ready to make a large life choice and enlist. I scored a 42 on my battery test. So I'm qualified to join any branch I'd like. I've noticed a few people have been in the armed forces. It be such a big help if you could go in depth about your time and your specific branch of the military. I've talked to a lot of recruiters, but I want an unbiased report of what goes on in these branches. Thanks in advanced guys your help is greatly appreciated!

Any branch is going to give you what you take from it. Use it to your advantage and not just for what they offer you now but for what they are going to offer you to build a career after you decide to leave. For example there are lots of jobs in the service that you get training that is hard if not impossible to get in the civilian world and are qualifiers you for some high paid civilian jobs. Things like explosive ordnance disposal, intel, rotary wing and fixed wing aviation and nuclear tech are just a few examples.

My own experience is with the Army and it has been very good to me. I consider it a stepping stone to my next career but only because I'm married. I find that being stationed in different places every few years, and being deployed every other year can get hard on a family. If I was single I would definitely stay in longer and attempt to get stationed in some of the more unique areas like Japan or Italy.

Aside from the deployments garrison life can be great as long as your leaders manage your time well. And even if they are horrible at doing it, you still get lots of time off between training holidays, leave, federal holidays and 4 day weekends, you just cant always decide when you are going to take them. All in all I would say its a positive experience and you can get a lot out of it as long as you take advantage of all it has to offer.

As for the other services I cant really say. I know they have shorter deployments, but that just means you'll deploy more often. What ever you decide make sure you are thinking of the long road and not just what the recruiter "thinks" is a good job. Feel free to bounce any army related questions off me and Im sure there are a few others around that would be willing to help.

Originally Posted by Tenrou

-I'm looking to finish college (get my associates or maybe even get a bachelors)

-I'm looking for a physically demanding job, something thats going to push my body and mind every day.

-I've currently been looking at special forces between the armed forces (navy seals, rangers, that sort of thing)

-I'm also debating staying in and doing the officer training programs that they offer and maybe one day flying helos or planes.

-If I decide to leave after my term I was thinking of becoming a state trooper

-I've also been debating doing mechanic work (eather on hummers/tanks/or planes, but Ill keep an open mind on jobs that could roll over well after my stay also)

In the world of the army if you want to stay in long term then officer or warrent officer is the way to go. Not that theres anything wrong with the enlisted side of the house, its just that for the first 3-4 years of your enlistment you run the possibility of being treated like shit (depending on your attitude and motivation). Once you get promoted to a rank that gives you responsibility its not bad. The difference is that warrents get promoted slower, have a lower ceiling of rank but work in one area only. The thing with warrent officers is that they are supposed to be technical experts in their field. There are warrent officers for all areas but in aviation they fly rotary wing. So if you want to fly, go warrent (if your interested in the army). The other advantage of warrent over officer is that you can chose your job similar to enlisting, whereas with officer after graduating OCS you are assigned a branch.

If you want to get your degree, you have a few options. Completing it in the service can be done but you have to be motivated and take advantage of what they have to offer. They will pay 4500 a year while your in and of course you have the GI bill once you get out.
If you want to go officer or warrent after you have enlisted, you need to have some college to qualify. I believe its 70 college credits for warrent and I think officer is less but Id have to look it up. Either way you will have to serve a few years and get some college under your belt before you qualify.
They also have repayment programs where they will pay off your college loans if you come in with a degree already. I dont know if this program is going to continue for the next four years, but currently its an option. I had friends that came in with 45,000 in debt that the army payed off. Of course they got no bonus, but for paying that off, who cares.

I can only speak for the army program but there Special forces is a good deal for a single soldier who is not only physical but mentally ready. Ive known lots of people who have made it through selection just to get to the end and have them be told that they failed a portion of the written test in the beginning. A physically soldier above average soldier is great, but they want a smart soldier first, who is proficient in his job. Their deployments are shorter (6 months vs 12-15) and they get a lot more funding for equipment. I graduated with a few guys who got stationed with SF groups. I met up with two of them in Iraq one day when I saw a few people that looked familiar They were wearing polos and shorts had grown beards. We both had the same job, but theres is a little different than mine due to the unit they are with. Thats just one example and only pertains to the army.

What ever you decide, ask alot of questions and ask here or with someone else you know in the service about a particular job before you sign up. Recruiters often don't really know what the jobs are like or they have really cool videos that show all kinds of high speed stuff that doesn't really happen. They are pressured to "sell" certain jobs so sometimes you need to play hardball to get what you want. It might not have the best bonus, but theres a reason for that. I'm stationed with Cavalry Scouts that saw a video of them riding dirt bikes on remote mountain tops and performing recon for artillery missions and all kinds of other fun stuff. They all joke about now how they've never seen that damn dirt bike or ever did recon for anything. I got lucky in that I picked a good job with lots of options after the army. At the time they needed them and my recruiter had no idea what they even did. I got lucky but some people don't and get jobs they cant stand. Bottom line is ask first because after you sign your ass is theirs for 8 years (all contracts are 8 years total, even if you only enlist for 4).

Tenrou, I don't know where you are at, but.......

One of the biggest advantages came to me AFTER I got out of the military. The GI Bill really doesn't last that long when going to school. Even more so now in Texas since they deregulated the tuition and the colleges can jack them up whenever they like.

I had $14K available to me when I was going to ITT, I left oweing $8k in student loans. I am now going to the University of Houston. As an example, a single class over the summer, 3 hours of credit, came to $895. You need something like 126 hours total for a degree, that works out to $38K at the CURRENT rate. And that is before books, parking, and assorted other sundry fees.

In Texas (if that is where you are) we have what is known as the Hazelwood act. Bascially, if you don't qualify for any other federal assistance programs, enlisted from Texas, were not Dishonorably Discharged, and not going to a private school.... it will pay for up to 150 credit hours. The $895 bill I got? My part after the Hazelwood was $120. (stupid add on fees, oh,you want to use a building for class? we charge for that too)