I had a few good PMs from EM Sewell on the old board. They were zapped with the old board. I can only paraphrase what he told me. -The minimum contract length is 6 years active duty -Nuke school is about 2 years and the failure rate is really high. You are guaranteed to be a nuke but only if you can pass the school. EM Sewell said it was "the hardest school in the country." -In any reactor in the country you will find about 50% of the workforce are ex-navy nukes. The vast majority of nukes get out after the first contract b/c they can get jobs that pay 75-80k with no degree. There are big reenlistment bonuses if you go that route. -Most nukes hate their jobs. -It's not a 9-5 job when you are deployed. EM Sewell was on a sub which had two rotating crews that each went out for 3 months at a time. For the 3 months you're out, you're busting your ass the whole time. For the 3 months you're not, you don't do shit. This only applies to the kind of sub he was on, btw. On shore duty I'm not sure what you do, but most people never get any b/c you have 4 years of sea duty after school. Lastly on a personal note, I can tell you that right now there isn't much available in the Navy besides nuke and SEAL. I went through months of paperwork and processing only to be told that there were no jobs for me. So if there is anything else in particular you want to do, (for me it was intel) you might want to look at another branch. One last thing, your GPA in college could hurt your chances at getting nuke too. Especially if you did poorly in math.
Former enlisted, did 4 years active army as a 25C (radio operator). Now I'm a shiny new shavetail 2LT Signal Corps officer. Question: Any of you guys know the deal about emergency advance pay? I applied for it over a month ago and still no word. I read the regs on it and all it said was it could kick in anywhere from 30 days in advance to 60 days after your report date. Anyone have any experience with this?
background: Enlisted in Marine Corps on Sept. 7th, 2001 and went to boot camp on the 24th of the same month. I am an 0311 soon to be 0369 by trade, however I have been working for a more specialized command for a few years now. I have been to Iraq twice and am currently deployed. I rarely posted in the military thread on RMMB, but plan to do so here.
Well I may be able to shed a little light on this, because I am somewhat like your friends here. I went to Penn State straight out of high school and enrolled in the ROTC program (the plan then was to be an 0302). After a semester or so I realized that I was wasting time and money so I enlisted in the Marine Corps. During this time I was a dirtbag and broke up with my longtime girlfriend who was an enlisted marine. I come back from boot camp and go straight to the school of infantry. While I was there I knew no one and really didn't like my classmates, so I called my ex and we began to date again. There where several reasons for it and everything seemed to be perfect. After 6 months or so we decided to get married. Money was a consideration. 2 E-3's pulling in base pay plus BAH/ BAS with no dependents is not a bad living at 19 or 20. There was also the fact that I refused to live in the barracks again (after 3 years of military school and sometime in the dorm how can you blame me). We loved each other, there was no doubt about that, so we got married. We lasted five years, a couple of deployments, a hospital stint and most of a 9 month training pipeline before we finally called it quits. It was not a decision that I, or many other people that do it would change. You make the commitment and you then you do your best to deal with it. There are a ton of reasons why people decide to get married right after entering the military, but right now I think a lot of guys are just scared of being alone when they know a deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan is imminent. They want to have someone there to support them and most have kids right away to ensure that they have left a piece of them in the case that they don't come back. When a young man first learns of his own mortality it is a powerful motivator and causes him to make decisions that others his age wouldn't make.
I have been looking to join the Army, and since I wanna get as many opinions and as much information as I can before joining, I'd figure this would make one more great outlet for information. So here's where I'm at, and what I want out of service; -I'm a senior in high school still, finishing up my last year. My grades are around 75-85. So I'm about average there. -I'd like my service to help me get a college education of at least 4 years. -I want to learn a skill that will set me up for a career in civilian life, probably something involving mechanical work or construction, something productive and in demand. -I'm taking a particular interest in being an armored crew member, to go along with the whole mechanical aspect of my interest areas. The questions I got for you guys are, can I get this out of the Army? Would I be better off in another branch, doing another job? What should I do to increase my chances of getting what I'm looking for, other than asking the recruiter directly?
I'm assuming that if the Army is generous enough to give me these things, I'll be more than glad to do every single thing they ask me to do, for as many years as they want me to do it.
Good thing, too. To answer your questions, if you do well on the ASVAB, you can do just about anything you want in the Army. They'll take care of you with regards to the GI Bill, and you'll have the opportunity to take classes through the EArmyU program. Good luck.
Ahh... The clueless assumptions made by the young. Your illusions are hilarious, but not even close to realistic. Have you ever even had a job? It does not appear so. Anyways, you should be joining the military to serve your country and because you believe in the war that we are currently engaged in. You should not be trying to angle to get whatever you can from the military. It sounds like you think that the Army is just an extension of the Boy Scouts. Do you really think that everyday is enjoyable and that you will be totally willing to do every menial task given to you? In return for a skill and a some money to put towards college. Your first two years will be miserable anyways. Janitor will be a job title you won't see in any military occupational specialty description, but it will be your main specialty until you have been around long enough to have any sort of functional knowledge of your job. You first need to evaluate why you really want to join the military, and then if you decide if it is for you. The problem with the junior levels of our military today are people who joined for all of the wrong reasons. If you value the opportunity to fight and possibly die for your country, then great. I'd give you a ride to the MEPS station myself, but if you are just trying to gain opportunities for your own future then I suggest looking into community college and student loans.
Where did you get the idea that the only reason I wanted to join was to make money and go to college? It's what I want, but its not my main motivator. I'm just asking how I can benefit myself and the Army while I'm in. I sincerely believe its every able-bodied American's job to benefit their country in some way, be it Military service, Civil services for the community, Peace Corp, anything. I had two cousins that joined the Military, one Marines, one Army. The one that joined the Army lost his right foot up to the middle of his shin in Afghanistan, but when I recently met him, he was happy with his service. He went into it with the idea of looking at the guy that ranks above you, and aiming for his job. He was a Sergeant by the time he was wounded, and he's now being offered a job up at West Point helping Cadets learn basic navigation skills (Coincidentally he called it "Boyscouting With Guns" as a joke). The other that joined the Marines, says he is absolutely miserable and hates it. He's angry because he didn't get what he wanted because he charged right into the recruiting office and signed his name without checking the fine print. He was the one that warned me to do this, as did his brother in the Army. So I'm just following the advice of two enlisted personnel. I do want to serve for the reasons you listed. I just want to make sure I don't end up a Janitor my entire life. By the way, thanks for the information BrianH.
Do yourself a favor, don't go combat arms. The military is generally divided into two categories, the guys who want to blow shit up and kill people, and the guys who want better themselves and use the military as a vessel for that progression. As an extension of this I'd say you're also looking at the wrong services, join the Airforce or the Navy. Now before lugmastro jumps down my throat... Infantry 5 years US Army
A link for all the .mil folks out there. Lightfighter.net is a forum for professionals. It focuses on gear and weapons more than anything else. There are some VERY knowledgeable people there. http://lightfighter.net
I meant better yourself in the sense that Bjornturok is talking about. Setting yourself up for success post military service. Unfortunately most skills learned in a combat MOS only translate abstractly to the civilian workplace. My advice to you, do what I did. Blow shit up for a few years, get it out of your system, then milk the GI Bill for all it's worth. Secondary, yet equally as important. GET YOUR ASS AN OVERSEAS CONTRACT. For fuck's sake how many 19 year-olds can say they lived in Germany, Italy etc with a place to live, free meals etc and 2k of disposable income a month?
If that is what you want to do then I would suggest applying for either the Army's 18x program or go Navy with a contract to go to BUDS. Special Operations gives you more opportunities later in life and you still get to play with the cool toys. Plus the money is much better. Incentive pays, specialty pay, and reenlistment bonuses are great for them. The X ray program for the Army gives you a shot to head directly to special forces selection. They take a lot of time preparing you for selection, but it seems to be a very successful program. I would suggest reading Chosen Soldier by Dick Couch if you are really interested in being a green beanie, I mean Green Beret. I know very little about the program that sends you straight from boot camp to BUDS in the Navy. I do know that it is not for the faint of heart or those afraid of water. I have heard that the training is over a year long and it takes up to 2 years from the time you start BUDS until you get your trident. There are a ton of books out there on the SEALs training pipeline, as it has not changed much in 30 years. I am an infantry guy that will never give up my MOS. I will always be an 03XX of some sort. I am totally biased against non combat arms and have no problem saying it. I hate support personnel, and their aversion to work. As well as their penchant for taking forever to get the job done, instead of just accomplishing the mission. If you are looking to talk further about special operations forces I am more than willing. PM me and I will respond quickly as I can. I am currently deployed so it takes a few days sometimes.
x2 on the overseas posting, also remember that UCMJ doesn't prescribe a drinking age it just abides by the local's Just because it is near and dear to my heart, try Medic/Corpsman. You can go out and play with the Combat Arms boys, but actually acquire a skill and license (EMT-B/I) that directly translates to a job on the outside. I took a tech job at a local clinic during college that had 2x the pay and way better hours than most college jobs. The other thing is that if you are young and dumb, just say fuck the delayed gratification BS and take a bad ass Combat Arms job. Make sure you sign up for the post-9/11 GI Bill and get an overseas posting. Blow your paychecks on booze, strippers and easy tail and deploy to the fight doing something cool. Then do the college thing more mature, a stable income and a shit load of badass stories. Though I was Guard taking 2 years off and going to Iraq did more for my college transcripts than anything else could have.
I think there will be some people around here that will enjoy this. Basically this guy was talking about an inside joke (the word skunt) that him and his friends had when they were downrange and this other guy James Stites, took offense to it. (see next post, the board was giving me problems)