Anyone in the military?Follow

The Air Force has never guaranteed a job to enlistees that I'm aware of, (at least not the honest recruiters). Though they will guarantee a career field, or at least they used to. Perhaps their tactics have changed, it being war-time and all, they may be more willing to negotiate. However, unless it's on paper what they tell you signing up won't mean squat. I went in gauranteed electronics, and pretty much the worst job you can get is fixing phones. I ended up as a 2E2 which is computer and switching systems. Being a Comm guy has it's perks, you're never on the front lines (though with terrorism now adays that don't necessarily mean much, hello Khobar Towers) the accomodations are generally better and so is the training. Sure, you won't be trained to be a hard-assed killer, but you'll likely get some training you can actually use when you get out of the military.

I guess in the end it depends on what you're looking for. I briefly considered the Navy, but the thought of being stuck on a boat or sub for months at a time with a bunch of men and few if any women didn't really appeal to my sensibilities.

As to whether it's worth it, none of my friends who did their 4 years and got out regrets it. With any luck, you'll see a bit of the world, make some good friends, and have some good times. There may be, and likely will be, some rough times too. It comes with the job.

Based in Norfolk? there for the AZALEA festival in April? if so I'll buy you a pint.

1)Was wondering if anyone in here who was or is still in the military could maybe give me some advice? Advancement = money which should take priority over anything. When you first enlist there will be several companies to telling you to get a credit card, tell them all to fuck off. Too many of my young sailors are in debt to creditors because they simply did not know what they were getting into. Secondly, there are 3 kinds of people in the military, the people who get fucked, the people who do the fucking, and the people who fuck the fuckers. Basically the military is all about how you treat other people both lower ranked and higher ranked then you. Either one of them can and will fuck you over if you fuck them over.

2)Did it cover all your college? The Navy (and I'm pretty sure other branches will do the same) offer 100% free college up to 12 credit hours a fiscal year (you have to buy books which you can write off on taxes in the next year anyway) deployed or deployable units typically are not as facilitative to college interests as non-deployed or non-deployable units are.

3)Was it an over all good experience? I don't regret coming into the military for the most part, you just have to get used to the idea of doing something you don't want to do or is against your beliefs. It requires flexible morals. I've seen and done shit in 7 years most won't do in a lifetime. I've been to 6 continents, 22 different countries, and participated in 4 different military campaigns. Some of them good and some of them not so good.

4) What advice would you give me when and if I speak to a job counselor at the military entrance processing center? Ask questions, and lots of them. Don't sign anything until they've reached your requirements, don't be afraid to tell them to fuck off. Verbal agreements don't mean shit, see it on paper and copy everything.

Edited, Mar 8th 2007 1:44am by Rimesume

Thanks for all those replies, especially King Rimesume. Speaking about the credit issues after having seen my mother battle endlessly with her spending issues I don't imagine I'll ever get into debt that isn't related to college. I absolutely hate money after growing up with that crap, as such I'm rather concientious(sp?) of how I handle it. I plan on getting a credit card soon so I can put my WoW subscribtion on it and get off game cards. Time to actually build up credit at some point in my life. And I'll be sure to get anything related to jobs that they gurantee to me in writing.

I talk to the Air Force recruiter today and I'll tell you all how it goes when I get back from classes late this evening! ^_^

- Weatherwax

I hear that if you join the military, you will get 80 virgins when you die. Gender not withstanding.

I'm not from Notfolk, i'm just passing through on my shiney gray messenger of death, the Queen (bob bless her) has seen fit to grace your shores with one of her mighty vessels of war.

Personally i just aim to drink and make merry.

If you decide to go into the armed forces (whatever branch), you owe it to yourself and to your family to go in for the right reasons and having done as much research as possible about whether it's really the best decision for you to make. If you are absolutely sure you feel up to making the commitment, then the next step is to research the different branches and understand what each has to offer you.

I'm a Navy vet. When I was first checking out the different branches of the service, I decided to go Navy - when I spoke with the Air Force recruiters, the only jobs available were mechanic-type jobs which I had no interest in - things may have changed now. I had no interest in the Marines, Army, or National Guard.

It is is true that the Air Force ate better food - while stationed at Pearl Harbor, I had some lunches at Hickam AFB. Much better than the Navy fried garbage and brown salads. Again, things may have changed since then.

I served as a Yeoman for the Commander THIRD Fleet admiral staff. I had the opportunity to work for various Navy officers (helicopter pilot, tomahawk missile officer, etc.), Marine officers, and a couple of Canadian officers and a Coast Guard officer. Most of the Navy officers were spoiled pricks, but the helicopter pilot was a great guy. The Canadian officers, who I primarily worked for, were also very cool. The Coastie was also a great guy - I got to work on SAR (search and rescue) operations as well as drug interdictions. Very interesting stuff.

If I had to do things over again, I would have gone Coast Guard. I regretted not investigating the CG when I was first looking into the armed forces. I had a B.A. degree prior to my service, but couldn't go into OCS off the street. I took the Navy officer test but fell short of passing it by 5 points. This was when I was already enlisted and had spent about 6 months in service - I realized then that I had a pretty good situation where I was and figured I would just get back out into the civilian job market when I finished and maybe work on my Master's degree using my GI Bill. If I had taken the time to explore the Coast Guard branch, I might have become a CG officer and made a career of it.

Whatever you decide, take your time and really do as much research as possible. Check out veteran message boards and other information so you can make the best decision for yourself, because once you sign up, you're committed.

Regarding the GI Bill - this is an interesting article about that - if college financial aid is your only motivation for joining the armed forces, you may want to re-think your situation. Check out this article, too.

From what I read, it sounds like you plan to be a lawyer. I recommend exploring financial aid options and work on your undergrad degree (business, history, etc. - it's all good for law school). If your SATs aren't up to snuff, go to a community college for a year or two first, then transfer to a university.

You're looking at 8 years of schooling (assuming you pass your LSAT). If you enlist first, you'll be postponing your education (unless you decide to do some online education while in-service) for a few years. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it to you.

While I would recommend just going straight into college, a good friend of mine did a tour of duty in the Navy, went to college, then law school. He's a successful lawyer working for Apple now. He would tell you, though, it was his education that got him to where he was, not so much about his time in the Navy.

The discipline I developed while in the military has helped me in many aspects of my life. I was fairly immature in my youth, lacked structure and lacked a serious game plan to map out my life at the time. The discipline from the military and the pride for serving my country will stay with me forever.

That said, I have to be honest and say I couldn't wait to complete my tour of duty after my first year in service. Like many others, I counted the days until I got out. I just realized that it wasn't a career I wanted to pursue, but you can't just up and quit (at least, not without serious ramifications). It was a long 3 years (full tour was 4 years). Still, I made the most of my situation.

Good luck with whatever route you decide to take.

Sadly I haven't had the time to read the whole entire thread but your best bet is with the Air force.

I myself Active duty Navy medic "corpsman" currently deployed with my marines but so far this experience has been...like a rollercoaster. It has its Highs/Lows/and scared ******** moments but it makes you grow up. I love being in the Navy. I really can't speak up on the Air force and how its structured but I will leave you this note... you get hazard duty pay for living in the same area as Marines LMAO plus your quality of life is way better then those of the other services in the military.

Yea bro the way I look at it.. its like give and take...I'm going to fork up 4-6 years out of my life to serve so what can the military give me in return?

Take advantage of it bro and good luck to you



%0

oh and dont listnen to anyone else on the thread. The Marines are the way to go. now you dont have to be a 0311 infintry guy to be the best. But know that if you decide to become a marine and god is kind enough to deem you worthy to be so, you WILL be the best of the armed forces. better than the Chairforce, the nancy navy or the sad misguided army. i wont even mention th coastguard...

oohrah semperfidelis, chesty puller!

Then your opinion means Shit. Thanks for playing, please enjoy our home game.

hey now guys it was a joke. Try not to take all posts too seriously. while i do think that the marines arw the best of the best i wasnt serious about the worthlessness of the other branches of service. but yea we do get alot of hand-me-down stuff. but we make do and are still the best frontline fighters. I wouldnt trade y time in the corps for anything. I think marines are the most diciplined and the most trained out of all the branches. nuff said

Except your still part of the navy.

By the way, if you include the SOCOM teams from the other branches (which I'm guessing you're not), you'd find that the Rangers, Special Forces, SEALs, AF Special Operations, etc. are all far better trained than any Marine out there, including Recon. Please get your facts straight.

This is not to say that Marines suck, they're just not the best. Had you not been trained to say that, you wouldn't, because you'd know the truth:

RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!

I hope by Marines you are refering to the Royal Marines and not the badly trained cowboys from the US.