I suggest this route. If you're in good shape and have an ounce of motivation and heart give 75th or SF a shot. If you want real world skills go medic, you still get to roll with the cool kids. I give medics mad props. On the other hand if you're not interested in shooting smelly camel-fuckers in the face join the Airforce. Hot chicks, nice posts, and you get paid extra if you have to live on an Army post.
Not having a preferred job when you go to MEPS is a bad idea. Recruiters and MEPS personal get a bad wrap for being sleazy and I am sure some of them are but most are just doing their jobs. Unfortunately for the person going there their job is to put people into jobs that currently are undermanned for their respective services. These jobs are more often than not "undesirable" ones. Like I said before quality of life varies greatly from job to job. Also if you are initially planning to do four years I would suggest learning a skill that is marketable in the real world. I know aviation ordnance sounds cool but guess what Delta dose not load many bombs on to their planes. If you have any questions about the Navy specifically Naval aviation PM me.
I am taking the ASTB in a few weeks. If I am not still retarded at math then hopefully I will be closer to my goal of becoming an intelligence officer in the Navy.
Honestly? Because the Air Force recruiter was a jerk when I walked in from work in a skirt & heels and asked me if I was lost. I turned around, walked out, and went next door to the Army recruiter. As far as jobs, they're correct in that you should have some idea. Now, you also need to be flexible with when you leave. Certain jobs start at different times. So if you're hell bent on leaving in <insert month>, your options will be much more limited. They go off a combination of your ASVAB scores, and what you want to do, AND when you want to leave. Since I wanted to leave in May, my options were a mechanic or a cook (although I hear all Army cooking is now outsourced). If I had wanted to wait until July, I could have gone communications, etc. Also, different jobs have different tours of service. For those requiring low training time, you can go as little as two years plus training (usually about 2.5 years total). If you get into something extremely technical, then you're looking at minimum of six years. If I had to do it over again, I'd be talking to all branches to see what they had to offer.
Hey everyone, I wanna thank all the active duty and prior service guys and gals. I recently swore into the Army my MOS is gonna be 13f Fire Support Specialist. I'm shipping to Fort Jackson for basic on May 17th. Any advice at all is appreciated, specially from any other artillery guys.
Welcome to hell for basic. Ft. Jackson has the worst humidity that time of year, you're going to be looking forward to Heat Cat 5 where you can unblouse your pants, 10 mile hikes will be cut down to five, etc. I was in a *long* time ago, Ft. Jackson had just gotten the upgrade with Victory Tower (it's a blast!) and the new barracks at the bottom of Tank Hill. Some of this advice might be out of date, but hey, it's my experience.... Basically, do your best, but don't be too good (until you hit AIT. When I was in, top grad in that class got an automatic promotion). Don't stand out, but don't fall behind. Keep your mouth shut & your eyes/ears open. Never, *ever* volunteer for anything. Other than that, remember that it's basic, AIT, then unless you get sent to the sandpit, you're working a job. With your MOS, it's going to be like a firefighter, I'm guessing?, and probably on call at different times. Any time you're frustrated, just think of it as when you're done with AIT, you're going to have a nice job, less work probably than most in the same field (at least in my experience) as a civilian, and job security. An experience you'll never forget, and kudos to you for joining up.
Relaxin' Jackson? I've heard the Drill Sergeants there aren't even allowed to swear anymore. That should be enough of a hint as to how hard it is. I'm surprised you're not going to the Redleg capitol of the planet, Fort Sill. As for your MOS, have fun watching shit blow up, it's a pretty good time. I was a 13B (cannoneer), so I hung out with the Foxes every once in a while. Shoot me a PM if you've got any questions about artillery. Otherwise, good luck.
Does anyone on here work for DIA or have information about them? I separate in November and I'm thinking its time for a career change.
The ASVAB (if that's what you mean) is not that hard. I took it hungover as fuck and scored a 99 (top possible). The problem if you're smart is that they'll try to stick you in a program that sucks balls, like Navy Nukes. Bunch of 4 eyed no-life shut ins. That get paid way more than I do, with the second most desirable job for after-military employment. I work SatCom as a civilian now, and I'm pretty sure any nuke with the same level of experience in the Navy (9 years) would be making roughly twice what I am now ($130k or so for them). Then again, I can choose to go work in a "danger zone" for $240k/year if I want to. They're stuck in that one job forever.
Looks like I'm headed to Ft. Bragg with the 82nd Airborne after a few months of hell at Mother Benning. I feel like the luckiest motherfucker in the world since the only other guy I know who is headed to Bragg as an Infantry LT had to sign up for 3 extra years, and another dude in my year group is stuck in Ft. Polk. Hard to believe my dream of becoming and IN officer is finally coming true, and not only that, I'm with an Airborne unit. The tough part hasn't started yet though.
Congratulations on landing your dream job, man. On that note, would being prior-service give someone going through OCS a higher chance to serve in the field they did as enlisted? I'm a current college student, just for a gauge to timing. If I want to be an officer in the Green Caps then should I best take the 18X (hoping for D) ticket, complete those tasks ably, then head to Officer Candidate school to get the shiny shoulder tab? Would doing that give me a better chance of getting into the Special Operations group than I would have if I just tried for that right out of college?
Officially, no you aren't given any points in accessions for being Prior-service. As I understand it (I was ROTC) your OML for branching is based mostly on PT and scores on tests. No matter what your experience before you get a chance to go to selection you have to be 1LT(p) which will take around 3 years. Word is that getting a slot for selection and assessment is fairly uncomplicated for an O because they are expanding; getting selected and making it through the Q Course is another matter though. The only sure way to make it to a group is to take an 18X contract. Going the Officer route requires a pretty big commitment to big Army as an Infantry or other combat arms LT, without much guarantee of ever making it to an ODA. We have some 18-series guys on here that could give you better advice than I could though so maybe one of them will jump in.
No, the ASTB (Aviation Selection Test Battery) is a different one from the ASVAB. It's kind of like an SAT for people wanting to be Navy pilots or officers, with the added bonus of mechanical comprehension, aviation/nautical trivia and spatial apperception.
Just saw this as Fox News's headline on their website: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/09/marine-blind-double-amputee-enlist/ Fuck, I want to meet this guy, salute him, and shake his hand. If that's not motivation and dedication to the Corps, I don't know what is.
Some neat pictures and information about a USAF REDHORSE unit drilling wells in Afghanistan. Working on a drilling rig, in a war zone. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.michaelyon-online.com/red-horse/page-2.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.michaelyon-online.com/red-horse/page-2.htm</a>
I took the ASTB today and got a 5/5/4 52. My recruiting officer said he thought it was competitive if I was shooting for an Intel slot, but when he asked another lieutenant for his opinion, he said he doubted it was competitive at all and I should either look into something else or retake the test. I plan to retake it in another month, but I was wondering if there was anyone in the Navy who could suggest other careers that would be interesting? I haven't taken any math in college so I hear that excludes me from a lot of jobs. My recruiter suggested I try for a pilot slot, but it was my understanding that was one of the most competitive slots.
The Reserves Hello all. You don't know me, but I lurked on the old boards for a couple years and really loved it. I'm faced with a pretty tough decision, and I think that this is really one of the truly unbiased places I can ask for advice. I'm 17 years old, fast approaching my graduation and my 18th birthday. I've always done well in school (A, occasional B student, 2120 on my SAT). Not fantastic but pretty good. Me and a few friends are putting off going straight into college and renting a house together to have a year of "life before our lives begin" (I understand many of you will not like this idea - it has already been made, and has no bearing on my real issue). One of those friends, my cousin and best friend since birth, has been trying to persuade me for some time now to join him in the army reserves (We both turn 18 this summer). We would start in late august, and then join the rest of our friends. My problem is simple - is the army something that I should bring into my life? The plan isn't on going out into combat, but merely joining the reserves. Another question is if the information my cousin has supplied me with is correct. I have been told that after 9 weeks of basic training, my stint in the reserves will be nothing more than one weekend a month, and that I will be paid $750 to $950 on a monthly basis. Is this realistic? It was very hard for me to track down information on this, even on USArmy websites. I am thankful for all help and appreciate it all in advance. -Kyle
Re: The Reserves Once you have completed Basic (and AIT, or training for your specific MOS--which can range anywhere from a few weeks to close to a year depending on the MOS you select), your commitment will be "one weekend a month, 2 weeks a year"--until your unit deploys. Which it in all likelihood will, sooner or later. Not saying that going into the reserves is a bad thing, just that you shouldn't do it thinking you'll never have to deploy.
9 weeks of basic, AND THEN AIT (or A-school, for us Navy folks). With those grades and SAT scores, I'm guessing you did (or will do) very well on the ASVAB. 80s to 90s, probably. Which means you'll be placed in a somewhat technical field, which means a long AIT. I was Navy, but I went to the Fort Gordon Satcom school for my first C-school, which would be 25S. From the time I got to boot until the time I was done with my initial schooling was 1.5 years. Granted, Satcom is one of the longer school sets, and I don't know if they'd put a reservist into it, but here's my point; if you go to boot in August, you're not coming back for probably 5-9 months. And there goes your year of "life before life starts" (I thought that was the point of college). Plus, as mentioned above, being a reservist doesn't mean you're not going to see combat, or at least deployment. 2/3 of the people I know in the Army have been to Iraq or Afghanistan at some point. I do think it's something every kid should do though. I wouldn't mind seeing a "mandatory two years of service" policy like Israel has. I think the country would be better off for it. I know I was a (nearly) completely different person after bootcamp, and for the better.