EastCoastBeast II wrote:It's not the hardest by any stretch of the imagination....just make sure that you graduate with some sort of technical degree...
OK, I am 3 weeks away from getting out of the army. I cant answer all of the questions, but I will tell you what I know about. Yes, if you are Infantry, as I am, you will have little or no opportunity to get college when you are in. I have 6 cred. hrs right now, not including my mil training, and I have been in for 7 years. I spent 9 months in Kosovo, and 13 months in Iraq in the last 3 yrs. In ref to what eastcoastbeast said, at least in the army, they will pay for up to I believe 65000 of your college loans, but it may be more now. That is what it was like 3 years ago. There are alot of pros and cons about the military, and noone can make the decision for you. I am not mad about being in, I have accomplished alot in the last 7 years. However, I feel like now I have 7 years worth of time to catch up to my peers. Unless, of course, I get a govt job when I get out, and then all of my mil time will be counted twd retirement. Basically, just look into what you want to do, and make sure you research all aspects of whatever you want to do before you step foot into a recruiting office. The only reason I say that, is that 9 times out of 10, the recruiter wil tell you what you want to hear, and may leave certain things out. There are also times where they will flat out lie to you to get you to join. Like I said, make sure you know what you want when you go in there, and dont negotiate if you do decide to join. Get what you want, or walk out. They will eventually get you what you want. Hope this has helped.
The ROTC program for the Air Force can be found
here. You get a monthly "allowance" that goes up every year, they pay for your room &board, and you only attend a military class in uniform once a week. Other than that you go to a FTX (Field Training Exercise) in the summer. It's their boot camp so to speak.
I am trying to get my brother to do the program. He's still making up his mind. I came in right after High School, been in for 4 1/2 years and still don't have a degree. But I came in as an A-10 Crew Chief. Since then I have cross-trained into Computer Systems Operator. Great place to work and many more education opportunities. Just make the decsion that is right for you.
Go Ugly, EARLY!
The ONLY real Close Air Support!
Trevor D. wrote:Dont know if this goes in here or not but I figured if I were to put it in here I might have more military responses. I am a jr. in highschool and really looking at going into the Navy right after I graduate. I am taking a class where I am getting CISCO certified and if everything works out i will have 32 college hrs. at a jr college up in stl. Just was wondering what you guys did that were in the military. Also how it worked out? Off to english. Thank you
If you are willing to fight and die for something that your conscience tells you is completely and morally wrong. It goes against your values, and the fact that your enlistment can be extended indefinitely during times of war, even those that conflict with everything mentioned above, go for it.
If you plan to have a family think about the fact that you will be involved with the military for a minimum of 6 years and a max of 8 depending upon the branch, so they may not like the fact that you'd have to leave them to fight another mans war either. If you need money for college, its out there. You just have to find it. You don't have to have loans, there are federal grants that pay for the entire college career. Please do not join the military just for college money or whatever. Join because you are willing to fight and die for the so called freedom of Americans, and the freedoms of other people around the world knowing that they would never do the same for you. It's a very selfless job and its not a decision you make overnight. You need to think long and hard about the immediate consequences and the long term consequences that joining any branch of the military entail.
"Speak the truth, and leave immediately after"
"The urge to save Humanity is almost ALWAYS a false front for the urge to rule"
"He who knoweth things as they are and not as they are said or seem to be, he truly is wise, and is taught of God more than of men."
^^wow thanks for info I will never use in my life. WEEZL-I really don't know if I want the Air Force...Leaning really towards the Navy I do appreciate everything tho. Well I just turned 17 Wens day and guess who called The National Guard lol I was not here but they also sent me a letter and all that fun stuff. Chamillionaire- this is not an over night decision I have made I have been thinking about this for a year or so and have been talking to my parents and also I am not going into the military just for college money I am going due to I don't know what I want after next year and know that people have made careers out of the military and love it and I could see myself loving it as well. I plan to talk to some recur tiers this summer and yes I know don't expect the truth from them but I just want to see what they each say and maybe see some options.
2nd place is the 1st loser
Rob Blackburn wrote:By this time next year its lookin like ill be Corporal. i dunno bout you guys but thats pretty good in my eyes to be that far along in less than a year.
That is not gonna happen do not get your hopes up, but unless you pick-up Lance Corporal out of Boot Camp, you have no chance at all of picking up Corporal in your first year, it takes 9 months Time in Service to pick-up Lance On Time, then you have to wait another 9 months before you rate a composite score to pick up Corporal on time, and a very tiny percentage of Marines pick-up Corporal before there 12-month mark as a Lance. Now you can pick up Lance Corporal and Corporal meritorously but that is very hard to do, and you have to be damn good to do that, I know of only 3 Marines that I've worked with that picked up Corporal in a year or less. I picked up Combat Meritoriously, but I had been in for 2 and a half years and had been a Lance for 17 months and paid my dues. Now I'm not trying to kill your dreams, I'm just telling you how it is, and I challenge you to pick up Corporal in under a year, but don'tget your hopes up.
As far as educational benefits, when I get off of Marine Security Guard duty I'm going to be entering the MECEP (Marine Enlisted-Commisioned Enhancement Program) where I will be a full-time College student, the Marine Corps will pay 100% for my schooling, while at the same time paying me E-5 base pay, for me about $2000 a month, and all I have to do is keep up on my training every 6 months with my local Reserve Unit. After that is done I'll owe the Marine Corps 6 years and then I can stay in until I hit either my 20 or 30 year mark.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
I'm active duty AF and I have no problem with my living. If I could go back and change one of two things I would start over enlist and apply for the ROTC program, why because when you are commissioned as an officer you will not only get 0-1 pay but you will also be paid $900 more a month. it's called prior enlistment pay, instead you will be an 0-1E, I prefer to work for prior enlisted officers because they have experience unlike all these fresh college grads that are younger than me, I hate those kind. To add on here I've pulled off 5 years of service to include the places I have been ( Iraq, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, Canada, all over Europe, even Egypt) it doesn't matter what job you choose at some point in time you may get deployed not even to do your job but another job instead. Having a job for 4 or 6 years knowing that you have something to look forward to and also knowing its a stable job is what satisfy's most people. forget what people say when they're all about don't join the military you might die. Everyday you can die, hell I've had 3 close calls while I was in Iraq. People that are against the military and what we do is why we have crime and a pretty bad conditioned government and debt, we're too busy making those liberal a$$holes happy, I don't see them doing anything for this country except be lazy and live off of mine and everybody else's hard work.
Sorry for the long somewhat wasteful paragraph I'm bored at work on a sunday night. gotta love this stuff. But if I had the choice I would go back to Iraq in a heartbeat, why because I had fun and I could use the money.
4 months in Korea = 17" rims
4 months in Iraq = Bodykit
Not having mommy and daddy pay for everything = priceless
To add onto what Arellano said in order to qualify for the special O-1E to O-3E paygrades, you have to complete 4 years of Enlisted Service.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
yeah forgot to mention that. my commander is 3 for 3 on rotc application packages accepted, so right now i'm in my decision phase. Anyways by the end of those 4 years you can have more than an associates possibly your bachelors. hell all I got is 2 quick classes to have mine. I got most of my credits from my training courses and special classes that I've taken on the side. Who never knew that being a rigger could get you all kinds of hook ups with training. I pack parachutes on top of getting to jump and go along on field exercises with Pararescue and cere's, hell ya can't beat that. And the tdy pay I make from some places is the shizznitt.
4 months in Korea = 17" rims
4 months in Iraq = Bodykit
Not having mommy and daddy pay for everything = priceless
daniel arellano wrote:I'm active duty AF and I have no problem with my living. If I could go back and change one of two things I would start over enlist and apply for the ROTC program, why because when you are commissioned as an officer you will not only get 0-1 pay but you will also be paid $900 more a month. it's called prior enlistment pay, instead you will be an 0-1E, I prefer to work for prior enlisted officers because they have experience unlike all these fresh college grads that are younger than me, I hate those kind. To add on here I've pulled off 5 years of service to include the places I have been ( Iraq, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, Canada, all over Europe, even Egypt) it doesn't matter what job you choose at some point in time you may get deployed not even to do your job but another job instead. Having a job for 4 or 6 years knowing that you have something to look forward to and also knowing its a stable job is what satisfy's most people. forget what people say when they're all about don't join the military you might die. Everyday you can die, hell I've had 3 close calls while I was in Iraq. People that are against the military and what we do is why we have crime and a pretty bad conditioned government and debt, we're too busy making those liberal a$$holes happy, I don't see them doing anything for this country except be lazy and live off of mine and everybody else's hard work.
Sorry for the long somewhat wasteful paragraph I'm bored at work on a sunday night. gotta love this stuff. But if I had the choice I would go back to Iraq in a heartbeat, why because I had fun and I could use the money.
Very true about the dieing any day and I dont even listen to the people that say well you are goin to get deployed and have to go over there and might die hell I could die on the way to school tomorrow morning. The more and more I think about it I really leaning towards the navy. I am getting more and more education in my CISCO class and I think I could use that for a "major" . As far as the ROTC I would love to do that I jsut watched a video I got in the mail from the ARMY and one section was on ROTC and I think that is a great idea I would like to talk to someone about all the details and so forth. I figured I go talk to some recrutiers this summer, and no I am not going to sign anything so dont freak out yet just get an idea of diff options that I have. Off to practice. Later
2nd place is the 1st loser
Personally I would talk to some other people on the ROTC subject, more like officers that have done it themselves. Sorry to say a recruiter will tell you what you want to hear to get you to sign the papers. Take it like this OTS is what a 3 month course of b/s compared to ROTC after your college going through a 2 or 3 week course of actual training. I've looked into ROTC alot recently and its the best option and quickest route, alot of officers that got commissioned through ROTC and they are cool as hell people, they're much more related to an enlisted person due to them being prior enlisted. I hate OTS officers, why they're younger than me making dumb decisions. sorry had to get that out. but yeah dude whatever route you choose is your choice, thats the best part no matter what people say. And when you join, enjoy it, it's an experience that will possibly change your life and maybe someone elses, thats what I love to see.
4 months in Korea = 17" rims
4 months in Iraq = Bodykit
Not having mommy and daddy pay for everything = priceless
Shifted wrote:EastCoastBeast II wrote:..here's my suggestion...finish college, then go in as an officer....
I wouldn't do that, its the absolute hardest way to be an officer. ROTC programs or one of the academies if you are especially lucky.
rotc in college
once you graduate you are sent to your school for your job
thats what i was going to do
but the best officers are prior enlisted so here i am
Definitely if you are going to go the Officer Route go Enlisted first, you will learn how to lead, and will also go through similar situations as the Servicemembers that you will Lead, so the Enlisted will relate to you better, and will give you a lot more respect. Me personally I have more respect for a Gunnery Sergeant than I do for a Major that wasn't prior Enlisted, I have the utmost respect for the Rank Structure, but the Gunny has been through more stuff and seen things that that Major can only dream of.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
I have read that most who are enlisted like officers to go through the enlisted route. The question I have is that I just graduated with my bachelors and I am thinking about going into the military. What are some of the benifits officers have in the military. Do they get treated better.....more money....etc? I am not trying at all to say officers are better than enlisted because I agree 100% that enlisted men will look up to an officer who has been where they were. I just want honest opinons on how officers are treated. Thanks and GOD BLESS ANYONE WHO SERVES.
in my experence, as an officer, you get treated like a pesion, ie, you have ideas, so say it, at the same time, your kinda thrown in to the pit, so to speak, TBS teaches you leadership, but it nothing like going from a pfc, to a cpl, and then geting an commision...
chris
"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Speech at the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia (23 March 1775) Patrick Henry
As far as benefits, Officers don't have to do physical labor, they sit behind a desk all day and do paperwork, the Pay is a lot better, a 2nd Lieutenant straight out of TBS will make almost $3,000 a month base pay, while a Corporal that has to bust his ass and implement what the officers want done, like me, with 3 years in only makes about $1,800 a month. Officers are allowed to do pretty much whatever they want, obviously there are restrictions on them, but nowhere near as many as the Enlisted side.
There's nothing wrong with going straight to the Officer's side, but you don't learn how to lead like you do on the Enlisted side starting as a worker bee.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
^werd.
Respect flows a lot more freely when you've been in the same places your soldiers have been.
Saint:
Question, Why do you have a landing strip from Groomlake (aka Area 51, Dreamland) in your sig?
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
stargrrrl, is the one that made the sig, she said it was an aerial photo of the flightline here on Camp Pendleton
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
GAM (The Kilted One) wrote:^werd.
Respect flows a lot more freely when you've been in the same places your soldiers have been.
Saint:
Question, Why do you have a landing strip from Groomlake (aka Area 51, Dreamland) in your sig?
Mmmm very true it does look like a area 51 pic.
2nd place is the 1st loser
Well I get a call today and look at the caller id and it says U S government and I thought to myself o sh*t what did I do now lol Well it was a marine recrutier we had talked via email the past couple days. Basicley I am going to meet with him tomorrw around noon just to talk I just want to see what there is I really dont have any intentions on going into the marines (sorry Saint) Just wondering what I should ask. I know I am going to here ALOT of bullsh** I already expect that.
2nd place is the 1st loser
Honestly, don't expect a lot of BS from a Marine Corps Recruiter, especially since it's the beginning of the month. As far as questions, just ask whatever is on your mind, and if you think the answer is BS, just e-mail me or IM me I'll help you out.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
in addition to what saint said; the truth is what is put on your contract. any recruiter can tell you anything he wants, but whatever is written into your contract when you sign it is what you will get. no more, no less. read your package before you start initialing and signing away.
attention to detail is key. if he tells you you'll get E3, then make sure your contract says E3. if it says you'll get a 4000 dollar bonus, make sure your contract says it. have him point it out to you.
Well I just talked to him he was really kool. Took the part of the ASVAB that he gave me and had to score a 31 and I scored a 39. Math screwed me over gosh I hate math lol As the sargent said I am scared of the unknown. I know it would be really hard in training but how kool that be to me a frekain marine ya know! I am going to take the ASVAB again next tues. The whole test. Mom really sound pissed when she said well you dont want to go into the marines right and I was like well I dont know cuzz I dont.
2nd place is the 1st loser
The Marine Corps is gonna be the hardest Boot Camp, but we're the closest group. I would do anything for a Marine, it doesn't matter if he's in my Unit or from North Carolina if he's in trouble I'll do everything in my power to keep it from going past me, and you see that throughout the Marine Corps. It's part of what makes us as good as we are, you won't find that in the Army, Navy and especially the Air Force.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
Quote:
The Marine Corps is gonna be the hardest Boot Camp
Ya that is one of the things I am scared of I mean I am not going to lie that it does ya know. As I said to be a freakin marine would be tight. I really still thinking ya know. Any advice par say on it?
2nd place is the 1st loser
As far as Boot Camp goes, you won't do anything you aren't ready for, you're not gonna do a 15-mile hump on your first day. As far as what makes Marine Corps Boot Camp harder then the others it isn't the training, the Army does similar training during Boot Camp, it's the intensity that's expected of you, and that's where a lot of Recruits falter they can't stand up to the intensity and discipline that is expected of the Recruits. When you screw up the DIs are gonna be harder on you then in any other branch, and you have to deal with that while you're doing the training because a DI will pull you aside and IT you on the spot. The best advice I can give you is to keep your mouth shut and ears open, and do everything you are told immediately when you are told to do it, if you follow those guidelines you will be fine. You're not going to be perfect for 3 months, the DIs know this but they still expect no less then 250%, they're gonna give you that much and they deserve the same from you.
The physical tasks are nothing once you're ready for them, and you won't do anything until you are ready for it. They are still physically demanding, but they are nowhere near as daunting as they appear when you're in the DEP.
If you wait long enough you may even end up having me as one of your DIs, if I decide to go on the Drill Field.
Yella02-I promise I will return to you in one piece and this will stay up until I am safely home
