thinking of speaking to a recruiter tomorow

[Lux Luthor]

[ QUOTE ]
raggie33 said:
with this crap going on with my house. i need change. thinking of army since dad was in army dureing vietnam .

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never been in the military, so I can't comment on which branch is better. But it sounds to me like you're more in need of escaping a situation at home than pursuing a military career.

Since I don't know you, I have no idea what that situation is. Perhaps others already do, and I am simply ignorant of the matter. In any case, there are always options, and I think we as a group might be able to do a better job advising you if we knew more about your situation. For instance, if you have (or want to develop) any long term career goals, it would certainly help me to have a rough idea of your age, marital status, and educational background up to this point in time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RadarGreg]

Raggie, I did my time in the Army and loved it. The training was very good, I got to go overseas and got some wonderful experience which has benefited me in my civilian career. I did have to go to Desert Storm, which sucked, but didn't last forever. Would I recommend the military to someone looking for a future? Yes, with reservations.

I think you can probably get the best deals in the Air Force or Navy. I still deploy with the military (part of my job as a DA civilian)and can tell you the quality of life for the Army is much worse than compared to the AF or Navy. If you don't mind long deployments, eating MREs for weeks on end and sleeping in the dirt, it's not bad. Not all Army jobs are like that, but even the troops "in the rear" often have to live like the infantry at the front. The Air Force definitely takes creature comforts in to account when going on a deployment. I can't say how conditions are aboard a ship, but I haven't heard of a sailor starving to death because of poor chow in the past hundred years or so.

Talk to the recruiters, all of them, and don't settle for what the offer you ar first. If you want a decent job as a soldier, ask a soldier what jobs they think are good. Sure driving a tank around or running though the woods with the infantry sounds like fun, but you don't get to see the other 95% of the time you are in the motorpools working on the trucks and tanks or pulling guard duty somewhere. Also, enlistments aren't just for 2,3 or 4 years; you generally have an 8 year commitment, either in a reserve or inactive reserve status.

If you do decide to go Army, make sure the recruiter gives you a nice angle head flashlight for signing your life away. It's the least he can do! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Saaby]

Raggie correct me if I'm wrong

[ QUOTE ]

But it sounds to me like you're more in need of escaping a situation at home than pursuing a military career.


[/ QUOTE ]

Raggie has his own house. I don't know if he lives alone or...? Anyway he was on a rent-to-own type of plan but the guy he was renting from wasn't making his payments to the bank so although Raggie has never missed a payment, he may loose his house.

 

[raggie33]

[ QUOTE ]
Saaby said:
Raggie correct me if I'm wrong

[ QUOTE ]

But it sounds to me like you're more in need of escaping a situation at home than pursuing a military career.


[/ QUOTE ]

Raggie has his own house. I don't know if he lives alone or...? Anyway he was on a rent-to-own type of plan but the guy he was renting from wasn't making his payments to the bank so although Raggie has never missed a payment, he may loose his house.

[/ QUOTE ]
u are corect sir.lol my next house will be financed thru a bank or dad but i dont want help from parents so i prefare bank

 

[B@rt]

I think you're right Saaby, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

About the army thing, When I was in, (drafted /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif A thing of the past here too /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif ) they were still holding ReforGer exercises... Since I was in a somewhat unique position, I had a good chance observing various army's /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif... The US army was strict (much more than the Dutch army), but I still think an experiance like that is a good thing for most... I am however not sure if this is the right thing for you, (not knowing your age and experience and the fact you seem to use it as a "getaway"). Anyways, I do hope things will work out for you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Take care,

 

[Double_A]

Just don't do what a young guy I overheard saying to his buddy

"I was sick and tired of people telling me what to do so I joined the Army"

I'm not joking here and neither was he.


GregR

 

[McGizmo]

When I was that age, we were embroiled in Viet Nam and the lottery was on. With a high lottery number and desire to go to college I didn't go the military route. Things and sentiments were pretty confused in those times and I didn't think that I was cut for a military career. I figured and hoped that I could repay my debt to society in some other manner.

I had a good friend in high school who was one of the brightest fellows I knew. We all assumed that he would go on to be a doctor or follow in his dad's footsteps in law. I was blown away when he informed me he had joined the marines! He told me that he had too many choices before him with his future and he felt he needed more structure and outside control on himself for a few years while he could get a handle on his life and mature. I'll never forget that! This guy was really smart and proscribed what he thought was best for himself but certainly not the easiest path; especially in those times when so many of the "thinkers" were in doubt of the military's role.

Think clearly and be true and honest with yourself in regards to this decision! It may be one of the most important choices you make.

 

[Lux Luthor]

[ QUOTE ]
Saaby said:
Raggie correct me if I'm wrong

[ QUOTE ]

But it sounds to me like you're more in need of escaping a situation at home than pursuing a military career.


[/ QUOTE ]

Raggie has his own house. I don't know if he lives alone or...? Anyway he was on a rent-to-own type of plan but the guy he was renting from wasn't making his payments to the bank so although Raggie has never missed a payment, he may loose his house.

[/ QUOTE ]

My mistake. I thought he meant he was having a problem in his house (i.e. parents, etc.).

I had a friend opposite to Don's. Mine was going to join the navy, but we talked him out of it. Although I'm not friends with him anymore, he did go on to get a Ph.D. in psychology.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Raggie,
I have delt extensively with Army and Navy folks in my last 20 years in the Air Force...I think I made the right decision. It is fascinating to be bouncing around the world and taking part in history, not just watching it on TV. Went to Germany three months after the wall fell and it was a great feeling seeing people reuniting as a country.
Anyway, if you want to take baby steps...join the AF and get in the medical career fields. The biggest wimps in the military as the Army guys say. I guess we are as we are neutral and tend to have decent facilities, food and... uhhh, nurses etc to break up the day.
If you really, really, really want to be a military person, stay away for the AF medics. As I have always said "AF medics get more sleep before 9AM than the Army gets all day".
A great way to get an idea of the ins and outs of military service is to visit your local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). They will give you advice how it all works, their war stories are fascinating. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all knock on each other but when the chips are down, there is a teamwork and drive that is amazing to be a part of.
If you are going to do 4 years, join the AF, go overseas and see the world. Take some college courses to get the first 2 years done. Get out after 4 years and take the last 2 years of school on the GI bill... enjoy life.

 

[Chengiz]

Raggie,
I didn't know what I wanted to be as a kid and still don't. I started out in the Marines as infantry, too boring.......switched to Army Intel (got all the cool schools).......boring. I switched to Army SF.....way tooooooooo cooooooooool. In the end I have no skills to offer normal society.

Hook up with one recruiter and take the ASVAB test. This will tell what you are capable of doing. Then shop that test score around and find the service that offers a job that you want to do today, tomorrow, twenty years from now. I got the cool job but did not have the foresight to see what the application was on the outside (civilian world). Basically I could have wasted those formative years. I didn't......I get to do all the things I was trained in, for real.

 

[flownosaj]

ASVAB--kinda like the SATs, but has more emphasis on real world application and is broken down into many more subcategories than "verbal/math". The mathmatics has a section of simple math that has you get as many as you can done in 30 minutes (or something like that).

The ASVAB will determine what job's you are qualified to do based on you score--that an job availibility. Low score=crappy job. I happened to get a good score, but my job options were limited since there weren't that many openings in the reserves when I first got in. Also, my immature self took over when presented with choices; Combat Engineer with lots of booms and excitement plus a signing bonus or Signal Corps and computers...who wants to work with computers and make money... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

Last thing I'll say on the military: like anything else in life, get into it for the right reasons, not just to get out of one bad situation because you'll just wind up getting into another situation you'll want out of. Unfortunately, the military doesn't let people walk away all too often.

Good luck with your decision,

Jason