Going into the Army

[SengaKitty]

In an effort to better my life, I am going to an Army recruiter first thing Monday morning. I've done this several times already, but I let them tell me no every time and didn't do anything to fix it. This time, I'm not going to let them tell me no. I'm going to do whatever it takes for me to get into the military. I plan to be in basic by November, December at the latest.

My family is very supportive of this decision, and I have a lot of friends who are also supportive. Wish me luck

[BookstoreEscapee]

Good luck!

[zombiequeen]

Good luck!

[Nurian]

Good luck!

A few words of advice:

1) look at all branches. I love the Army. I grew up in it. But if I had my chance, I'd probably have gone Air Force instead. If you say Army is what you want, look at the different variances: Active, Reserve and National Guard.

2) When you decide which service, think about your Military Occupation Specialty(MOS), your job.

3) You can tell the recruiter is lying because his mouth is moving. Make sure YOU get what YOU want. I was sent into JAG despite the fact I wanted to work on helicopters...

I'm sure you'll be a fine soldier.

[draggar]

I'll second Nurian's MOS. You tell them up front what you want to do and you'll get trained for it, then you'll have a job.

If not, you might end up as a chauffeur driving a jeep all over the base, or worse.

Good luck!

BTW - them saying no is either reverse psychology or a way to weed out the too timid (those who won't stand up for what they believe in).

[AccountingDrone]

May I suggest going into the Air Force?

It is sort of [not] a joke that the living conditions are better in the Air Force than any other branch. See, when they construct a base, they put in the housing, exchange unit, the support facilities and then get around to reminding Congress that they ran out of money and they really really need more to put in the airport part ... the other branches build the business areas first, then run out of money and sort of slap together the personnel part of the base.
[and on that note, holy freaking shit, you should see the exchange unit at Ramstein Airbase... I have been in crappier malls and hotels in the US]

The pay is the same in all the branches, and depending on your MOS you can live overseas at really interesting places like Germany, Japan, England and the side benefits are the same [education opportunities, savings plans and the like]

Advancement in rank can be a bit slower, but all in all, career air force isn't a bad life [from speaking with people I know] and if you start out saving money as soon as you are out of basic, you can have a nice little nest egg when you get out. As long as you can discipline yourself to obey all lawful orders, live in base housing, don't go insane eating out all the time, or drinking away your paycheck, it can be a very comfortable life.

[Amusement Gal]

I agree with the Air Force suggestion. My father was in it (as a mechanic), and while you learn the disciplinary skills and abilities which will further you in life, it certainly isn't as as isolating as the Navy, and might be less dangerous than the army (probably/maybe wrong about that, just an Air Force brat speaking her piece). I am biased because my father's still in there, and it's working great for him, but I certainly wouldn't want a fellow CSer to feel like they were coerced into going the 'easy' route. From what I've seen, it's an enjoyable occupation, and if you have the mind for it, is just as important as the other branches. Also, if you're a mechanic or a pilot, you always travel a lot.

Whatever your decision, good luck!

[Aethian]

I... What forth the idea of the air force? After four generations of everyone being carrer in all branches the air force guys and gals always seemed to love their jobs more.

[xx_wolfie_xx]

Ok, I wasn't going to lead off with that being as i'm fairly prejudiced, 3rd gen af, but yea i did live on an army base as a kid cause of where dad was stationed and when we moved to the af base conditions were MUCH improved. the best advice i could give you would be avoid jobs such as weapons loader, gunner (they are rare any more but they still have them), or parachute packer. not a whole lot of transferrable job skills in those, personally i was a voice systems tech wich has served me pretty well in the long run.




p.s. the real reason air force enlisted are the smartest of all branches, we send the officers to do the fighting

[AccountingDrone]

Army brat, navy spouse, and you see who I recommended to join

Honestly, a military career is not such a bad idea if you can discipline yourself, as long as you do not majorly fsck up, you have 20 years of steady work without much worry about getting laid off. That right there is pretty comforting. If you are reasonably sociable, you can make lifelong friends, and you can walk onto any military reservation and feel at home no matter where in the world you are traveling. You have an infrastructure wherever you go - shopping, medical care [even though I have had my fights with navy medical care, I can still walk into any military medical facility and get treated by someone that speaks English, and in a pinch get medevaced to the US if I need.] And you never have to worry about picking out a work wardrobe, they tell you daily what to wear, and you have a definite work schedule. You also get 30 days vacation per year.

There are negatives as well - as there is in life anywhere. You don't have a lot of choice, you can't tell your boss to fuck off because you don't want to do something, you are locked into an enlistment contract for a specific amount of time, and you do have to interact with sucky bosses and coworkers [assholes are everywhere] and there will be slackers biding their time until they get out. But in general it can be a good life.

[Sliceanddice]

i find the air force boring and the army.... well the army.

I always wanted to join the navy.
Again i do live in Arizona.

In fact if i wasn't diabetic and over weight i would join up now. I don't get sea sick, i love tight quarters, and my latest flirting is with a nice recently out of the navy hates don't ask don't tell lesbian who makes me look like a kitten.

SOOOOOOOO HOT!

I wonder if i could join up if i lost a ton of weight.......

[SengaKitty]

To all those who've recommended Air Force:
I actually know quite a bit about that particular branch, as both of my brothers are currently active duty AF, the older one being in for nearly a decade (10 years in December I believe), and the younger having been in for two and a half years. My sister was Navy, and both parents Army, with uncles who've been in every single branch. Nope, I'm not from a military family at all can ya tell? Honestly, I've been trying to decide which branch I want for years and years, another reason I haven't raised my hand and taken the oath yet.

I even chose the MOS I want last night. Well, it's one of two, really, but I'm definitely leaning more towards one than the other. I'm going to go in as a health care specialist (out here in the real world, I'd be an EMT first responder. How kick ass is that?). The other MOS I'm considering is radiology specialist. HCS has 12 weeks of AIT (for those *not* of the military persuasion, that's Advanced Individual Training, which comes after nine weeks of basic training), and RS has 24 weeks. I'm not leaning more towards HCS because of the shorter AIT, but rather because I think I'd enjoy the job more. While it would mean I'd be more likely to be sent over to the sandbox, I'm not really even scared of that, because I know that I'd have the best armour in the world, my fellow soldiers.

My older brother recently (read: within the past week) returned from his fourth deployment. When he was getting ready to go, and while he was gone, I spent *alot* of time talking to soldiers and vets, as well as their families. They reminded me that not only was my brother going to one of the safest places he could possibly go in the sandbox, he was also going with the best people. The people I talked with played a huge part in my decision, as did my family. If it weren't for me knowing that I had the complete, 150% support of my family in this decision, I don't think I'd be quite so gung ho about it. This is actually one of the few decisions I've made that they *do* support fully.

My resolve was also strengthened today when I got to work. My job sucks, my boss sucks, my favourite coworkers have had it up to their noses with the BS and the drama that goes on there, so they're leaving, which would make the job suck even more. I'm actually *excited* about going to the recruiter Monday, even if I am nervous. I also went out to the house of a guy I'm sort of dating tonight, and he said that he'd get one of those yellow ribbon magnet things to put on his car, even if his car is a pretty, expensive car. He didn't care, he just wants to show his support (how sweet right?)

Thank you all for your support. It really means a lot I'll keep you all posted!

[Whiskey]

Kick in the recruiters door and yell at him that you are joining the army!

no questions!

(dont actually do that, you'll get tackled or something)

[Mytical]

Or offered the chance to become an officer..one of the two. . Good luck.

[Der Cute]

Well, I'll vote for AF, since I'm an AF brat. Grandpa was in Army, Dad was in AF, Uncle was in Navy, and Sister was in Coast Guard.

So, many people and many flavors. I'll say that the military hospital is OK. Not the bestest but not the worst. You can make many friends and have connections to people all over the world. You can travel. You can get an education. You have job security. So, go, pick a MOS, and find out which branch is best for you.

And remember: just cuz you're in the military doesn't mean you won't get a shitty CO/ supervisor. And that the military is still a Good Ol Boys Club, you will find issues with being a female in the military. And that red tape and bureacracy are rampant. At least you won't be using typewriters anymore.

Cutenoob