andyjs3589 Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Like the title says I am thinking about it...I know there are some guys on here that are active or former military. How did you like it? Was it a good decision? Which branch should I go for and what are some recommended mos'? I am kind of sure that I do not want to join the Marines, but not 100% on that. I was originally thinking like MP or something along those lines but I heard that job is awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyBuiltRacing Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Im leaving for the navy here shortly. Im going to be a Medical Corpsman. Which is pretty much a nurse for the Marines since the Marines are owned by the navy and use their medical staff. My first choice was the Air Force but they didnt like my driving record, so I went Navy instead. I figured the Navy will get me to see the most places especially if I go out on a boat, more then likely im gonna be playing in sand. Its all about what you feel is best for you, just remember they will tell you anything and everything you want to hear just to get you to sign. Make sure before you sign anything you get it in writing. 1 thing I can tell you about Army/Marines, they can and will change your job on you. They do not garuntee you a job like the Air Force or Navy, but they do garuntee you the training. The only job you are garunteed in the Army/Marines is infantry...your a soldier first. Dont buy into all the Bonus money talks that the army will throw your way, because there is hiden catches behind them. Such as the first time you slip up and get in trouble say goodbye to your bonus. Just look into it, there is great videos on youtube about millitary boot camps and millitary life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92dropgt Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 my whole family is pretty much ex-military. and from what they have always told me is go air force. my uncle(air force) was sleeping in hotels while my parents(army) were sleeping in tents. also the reason im not in the military is because my mom's MOS was communications and my dads was helicopter mechanic and neither of them did that job when they got out haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I know its bound to be said so I'll just beat someone else to the punch. Pick an MOS that is applicable to the 'real' world. After your 2, 4 or 6 years are up and all you have to show for it is that you can disect an m16 and are an expert in munition's thats not really going to help you find a real job or career. Maybe try an apprecticeship of some sort or something that will give you a marketable quality to your future employer's. And yes, if you have the choice go Air Force. They're standard of living is much higher. If your thinking navy have you considered Coast Gaurd? I had a friend who was in and he had the time of his life. Then again he was stationed in Ft Myer's beach Florida so you can imagine the things he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyBuiltRacing Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Coast Gaurd is extremely hard to get into. I would say: Air Force Navy Coast Guard Army Marines And yes make sure you get a job that will apply to the real world, all the guys in infantry that are real jarheads will end up working at Wal Mart in the shipping department their whole lives and bitching about it. No one is really hiring snypers these days. If you can get into the medical field or some type of aviation field those would be the 2 best. My cousin was an MP and cant find a job as a cop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 The Coast Guard is probably pretty cool. With how much BS spews from recruiters mouths these days, I would suggest having a lawyer go over everything before you sign. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people being told they would go in for one thing, only to end up where they need you. Also remember - once you are done, you aren't done. You still have a few years of inactive duty, where they can still pull you back in and make you go active. But anyway, don't sign ANYTHING unless you are 100% sure of it. I'm not trying to talk you out of the military, I think it's a good thing for a lot of people, just don't walk in blind or they will fuck you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 It has paid off for me again and again, but then again Submarine Service has a nice ring to it and looks quite good on a resume. I would say my first relatively high paying jobs $40k+ (pre-2000) were all due to military service. I really liked my time in, I would do it again and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAWDAD Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Marines. I was in from March 27, 1995 to March 26, 1999. Mos 3533 Motor Transport. It is an easy job. Drive trucks. Our moto was. "If we can't truck it, fuck it" I loved it. Honorable discharge here. My main reason for getting out was Money. My last full year in was in 1998. I was over seas in Okinawa, Japan (extra money for that) and my wife was back in the United States (extra money for that too). I was and E-4 with 3 years time in service and 1 year time in rank(extra money for both) and I only made 15k that year. I was married with 2 kids and on welfare while in the marines. I got out and started driving a truck and made 46k my first year out. tripled my income. If the marines paid more I would still be in. I loved it. I had banker hours with 1.5hr lunch everyday when we were not deployed or out in the field. We ran at least 3 times a week, min. of 3 miles. I didn't like running but I didn't mind it to much. I got to see differant parts of the world and the United States. Places I will never go again. don't believe the stereotyps about the marines. All the negative shit you here about the Marines are from People that have never been in the Marine Corp. I can gaurantee you this. Ask any Marine if they would do it again and I bet 99% would. The other 1% were shit birds and probably spent most there time in the brig because they were a fuck up. If you have any more questions about the Marines I will be glad to try and answer them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Not a chance in hell for me....by choice that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty2Hotty Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Like the title says I am thinking about it...I know there are some guys on here that are active or former military. How did you like it? Was it a good decision? Which branch should I go for and what are some recommended mos'? I am kind of sure that I do not want to join the Marines, but not 100% on that. I was originally thinking like MP or something along those lines but I heard that job is awful. Best decision is do something that you can utilize as a civilian. The most exiting, high speed, ground pounding jobs, aren't the ones that will help you if you choose to get out. MP's honestly are just like civilian cops, just looked down upon. Nobody on post will like you, it's an under appriciated job in the active world to say the least. What's your plans for college or tech training? That's one thing to think of. I was (in the Guard now) active Army for about 4 1/2 years as a 12B or 21B combat engineer. We were no more than glorified bullet sponges, with demolition. We were expected to be better than the infantry boys, and twice as leathal with the demolition aspect. I still love the job, and would never trade my MOS. The only thing is, it didn't help me for shit when I ETS'd out. I held a skill that isn't sought after in the civilian sector. Armored vehicles, weapons and explosives aren't the kinds of things employers look for. If you have questions on the army, I'll be blunt and honest. There's no shame sitting behind a desk for a few years, to make a great living when you get out. Just think about what you want out of it, what kind of benefits you're looking for, and what job you really want. The jobs recruiters toss your way, are the MOS slots they have to fill. Don't buy into them, 90% is total bullshit. Recruiters are worse than used car sales men. PS- If you go active army, go ahead and place your life on hold. Out of my 4 years, about 19 months was spent overseas if that says anything. The rest of the time was mostly spent training up, and going to the field. If you're not wanting to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, or anyplace else, don't plan on signing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuinqua Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Like other people were saying, make sure you get a job in the military that you can use outside. I was in the Navy and enjoyed it very much. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard it's hard to make rank in the Air Force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 My job didn't transfer to the outside. There aren't many SONAR techs running around Columbus that are employed in a sound field. The experience, the maturity, the understanding, those are all the best part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dover Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I am currently serving a 15/18 month deployment in Iraq in the Us Army Infantry. Now I don't know much about other services but I can tell you about mine. I have been in about 25 months now so I can't give you the full story some vets can. First off to get in the Army now adays all you have to do is show up and thats about it. To get in the infantry, well there really isnt any hardship to that, you can score as low as a 20 I think on the Asvab. Now as much as I bitch and moan about my job I don't think I would want to do much of anything else in the Army. First off you do alot of useless bullshit. I have cleaned everything from dishes to shitters here. You don't get to live at the big F.O.B's in Iraq (currnetly at a whole in wall JSS in the middle of an Iraqi Army base). You eat god awful MRE's. And the pay is terrible. Aside from that you get to see the world and kill these fucking Ja Shamadi (sp?) terrorist fucks. If you decide to get out after your commitement you can transfer your time in service to just about in Fed Govt Job. Question is do you have any College? If you have atleast a Bachelor check in to some Nat. Sec. Jobs. Such as Border Patrol, Secret Service, CIA, FBI, etc. these organizations currently are paying pretty damn well, and its pretty good job security. You can bet on coming overseas if you join the Army or Marine Corps at this point though, last I heard Gen. Patreaus (sp?) wants everyone Reserves, Nat. Guard, Active to atleast do one tour here. I have Squad Leaders that have been in the Army some 6 years and been here 3 and 4 times already. I was out of Basic and AIT about 6 months before I came. If you have any particular questions about the Army just let me know man I'll be glad to pass my knowledge on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjs3589 Posted October 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I definitely understand the point of doing something that you can use in the civilian sector. I went to Miami University last year and now I am at Ohio State this year, I was going to do some type of engineering but I don't think that it is for me. So I have a decent amount of engineering credits that won't count towards anything else basically. I honestly am very up in the air about what I want to do. I think I want to be a firefighter(dad is one) or a cop, probably preferring the latter. I have always tossed around the idea of joining but have never really been that serious about it until this point in my life. My number one reason is to serve my country and help protect the freedoms that I enjoy everyday. I have some student loans that I took out for school and I think that during a four year stint I could pay those off and still have a decent amount of money left over. Then I could make the decision of what to pursue, either police, fire, or college. I would have enough money to sustain myself for a while when I am finding a fireman job or a police job, since those sometimes take a while to get. If not I could use the G.I. Bill to finish up college. I think it would be a great experience and would help me decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. I believe that I would regret not doing it later in life if I do not join. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODoyle Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Be a loadmaster in the AirForce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dover Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 The Army has a College repayment program (I dont know much about it you will have to ask or research it) where they will pay your outstanding debt in college. And as far as the GI Bill goes Hell YES! It went up a ton this year finally, its about 80K now which is plenty for a 4 year degree to some of the better colleges around. (It use to be 38K and that didnt cover shit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wease Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Air Force, no question. It changed my life. I made friends for life, learned a valuable "trade", finished my college degree, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty2Hotty Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I definitely understand the point of doing something that you can use in the civilian sector. I went to Miami University last year and now I am at Ohio State this year, I was going to do some type of engineering but I don't think that it is for me. So I have a decent amount of engineering credits that won't count towards anything else basically. I honestly am very up in the air about what I want to do. I think I want to be a firefighter(dad is one) or a cop, probably preferring the latter. I have always tossed around the idea of joining but have never really been that serious about it until this point in my life. My number one reason is to serve my country and help protect the freedoms that I enjoy everyday. I have some student loans that I took out for school and I think that during a four year stint I could pay those off and still have a decent amount of money left over. Then I could make the decision of what to pursue, either police, fire, or college. I would have enough money to sustain myself for a while when I am finding a fireman job or a police job, since those sometimes take a while to get. If not I could use the G.I. Bill to finish up college. I think it would be a great experience and would help me decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. I believe that I would regret not doing it later in life if I do not join. The college money is good. Active GI Bill runs about $1,450/month. I've got $48K to use towards school, and have 10 years to use it up. Now if you didn't want to go full time, look into the guard. Ohio pays 100% in state tuition, you'll probably walk away with a $10-15K bonus, and the GI Bill. Granted the National Guard GI Bill, will net you around $600-800/month into your pocket for school. It depends on if you want to do the military thing 24/7 or just one weekend a month, 2 weeks a year kinda thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMeanGreen Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Navy if you want curriculum and training/college that will set you up for life. I was a Tomahawk Cruise Missile tech and that alone looks impressive to employers, let alone the years of electronics/electro-mechanics/computer experience I picked up. PM "McGraw" on here, he's active in Washington State right now and he asked me pretty much everything you did. You also get to see some amazing places, free of charge. To the guy with the earlier post about going in as a Corpsman, change your NEC now to something technical. You'll never get promoted or get anywhere. Corpsman are a dime-a-dozen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I am not for or against joining the military. Obviously I didn't join, but mostly because I had people telling me not to. I have started to wonder if it would have been a good decision. So what is it that makes the older Vet, and by older I mean past retired age, try so hard to talk young people out of going? Up until I read this thread I had not heard this many people with good things to say about it and was only curious. I'm way past the point in my life to go down this path, but do not know much about the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyBuiltRacing Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Every person I have ever talked to with Military expeirence, old or not have all told me to go! They said travel the world, learn new things and meet good people...plus you get paid for it. Now I havent met many Vietnam Vets but my uncle was a tunnel rat during those days and hated his time in the Army, but then again he was sticking his head in a hole praying no one was home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty2Hotty Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Every person I have ever talked to with Military expeirence, old or not have all told me to go! They said travel the world, learn new things and meet good people...plus you get paid for it. Now I havent met many Vietnam Vets but my uncle was a tunnel rat during those days and hated his time in the Army, but then again he was sticking his head in a hole praying no one was home! Back then wasn't a volunteer army like it is today. Contrary to what some people say, it is still volunteer only. The military by far is the easiest, but can be the most stressful job in the world. I couldn't have had an easier job in my life. The pay wasn't amazing, but I didn't pay for housing, food, nor did I pay taxes on anything purchased on post. It sure has made me appriciate everything I've got, and the freedom I have to do what I want now. But I do miss being in full-time still, things were clear cut, and not a lot of BS to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyBuiltRacing Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Yeah exactly back then they had the draft and was mandated to go. If its something you really want to do then you need to break yourself down and find out what is stopping you. I had to do it with myself, at first it was a gf holding me back, then it was friends. But after breaking up with said gf, and seeing friends struggle to make ends I decided that it was something I needed to do. Most times the biggest set back in going is your own mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I'm married with a little girl, I'm not going. I do however applaud anyone who does join. I appreciate their patriotism and dedication to my country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAWDAD Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 If you haven't already, you will have to take the asvab test. How ever you score will let you know what jobs you are qualified for. This goes for all branches of service. The pay is the same for all branches of services. If you already have some college you may want to complete your degree and enlist as an officer. The pay will be almost double. e-1 =1400 month enlisted 0-1 =2655 month officer here is a link to military pay chart for 2009. E=enlisted o=officer w=warrent officer http://www.navycs.com/09militarypaychart.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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