Im interested in joining the millitary

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YugoRPK
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Post by YugoRPK »

Oh yeah. If you have a girlfriend do yourself and her a big favor. Man up and dump her NOW.


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Post by CDAT »

Having spent a few years in the Army and having worked with the other services, my two bits on the differance. Based on working with them, what I have seen and been told. ( sorry if terms are wrong, using Army terms for the most part as what I know)

Airforce Treats there guys the best, has a lot of High tech jobs and is looked down on by all the other services for being wimps. (not all airmen are but almost all ohter service folks I talk with have that view of them). Also for the most part only the officer are combat troops (or special forces). Overseas all the ones around me were not alowed to go out in to the Red zone, so I do not know how much they get to see but from what I hear not a lot execpt the air bases.

Navy They also treat there troops well, get to see more of the world but not for as long (short port trips). From what I have been told rank advament is done by testing on your rate (term?) and they are not fixed on rank titles tell the top. All the ones that I worked with overseas were allowed out in to the Red zones, also like the Airforce they tend to get looked down at by the ground combat services.

Coast Guard I have never served around enough of them to even be able to really tell the differance between them and the navy ( I know there is but did not serve side by side with them just around and rank looks the same to me.)

Marines I have worked with some very good and some very very bad ones, the worst people that I have ever worked with were exmarines so that might taint my view a bit, just being up front. They are very rank title fixated. As far as run of the mill infantry I would have to say that theres is a little better than the Army, and I would place recon about the same as Rangers. I have heared a lot of horror storys about there recrutiment, that all they will promise you is that you will be a Marine. For the most part they have about the same basic jobs as the Army but tehy are a lot smaller, they say that they get the equipment left over or not wanted by the Army but all the ones I saw had much better equipment than we did, and they 100% do get to go out in to the Red zone.

Army This I know best but sticking with the infantry/SF type stuff. the run of the mill troop is a little less trained than there Marine couterpart but the best I have ever seen were Army. Also like I was saying earler when I was in EOD school we had severl of the baby SF troops who washed out for one reason or another and were given a short list of jobs that they could do some took EOD. But in a nut shell the Army and the Marines have for the most part the same jobs (titles may be a little different) but there are more in the Army so you might get a bit less training but have more room to move around and up.
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Post by David Hineline »

Also understand untill you gain yrs of rank or get married you will live with room-mates or in squad barracks, not off base in an apartment.
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Post by civil82 »

mhuffman wrote:I think one must be 20 or 21 for the 18X option. 11X (Ranger) can be straight out of high school. Enlistin with 11X is the BEST thing I ever did. I sometimes wear my EIB since everybody now has a CIB.
I wore my EIB yesterday.
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Post by kwin201 »

thanks for the info again guys, will be upping my running and general pt right now and it looks like ive narrowed it down to marine or army. Im really nervouse about breaking it to my parents and have been told by a recruiter to just sign the line theres nothing they can do
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Post by YugoRPK »

Good on you and good luck. I'd shake your hand and buy you a beer if you were here.
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Post by Cheetah »

kwin201 wrote:thanks for the info again guys, will be upping my running and general pt right now and it looks like ive narrowed it down to marine or army. Im really nervouse about breaking it to my parents and have been told by a recruiter to just sign the line theres nothing they can do
F--k your recruiter. He sounds like a genuine douchebag. He's right, there isn't anything they can do (my folks tried hiring an attorney to block my enlistment) but that doesn't mean you should go behind their backs and make a decision like enlisting without their knowledge of it. Like I said before, in the end no matter where they stand on it you can still enlist, but at least they'll be aware of the fact that you're going to - that will lessen the shock. Your recruiter should be offering to go to your house and talk to your parents to help answer questions and potentially calm them, not telling you to say "thanks for the 18 years of service, F--k you."
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Post by David Hineline »

If you are an adult then not much your parents can do. The woman who was my daughter's combat buddy durring poolee time and into basic her parents would not meet the recruiter, did not come to her swearing in ceremony or see her off at the airport. Their loss the Marines gain.
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Post by ranb »

kwin201 wrote:Im really nervouse about breaking it to my parents and have been told by a recruiter to just sign the line theres nothing they can do
You will find yourself in many more circumstances that are more nerve racking than telling your parents that you are enlisting. For example, your first day of boot camp will be very stressful unless things have changed a lot since the 80's. As long as they are decent parents, then they deserve to be told up front about your plans, even if all they do is try to talk you out of it.

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Post by CDAT »

Cheetah wrote:
kwin201 wrote:thanks for the info again guys, will be upping my running and general pt right now and it looks like ive narrowed it down to marine or army. Im really nervouse about breaking it to my parents and have been told by a recruiter to just sign the line theres nothing they can do
F--k your recruiter. He sounds like a genuine douchebag. He's right, there isn't anything they can do (my folks tried hiring an attorney to block my enlistment) but that doesn't mean you should go behind their backs and make a decision like enlisting without their knowledge of it. Like I said before, in the end no matter where they stand on it you can still enlist, but at least they'll be aware of the fact that you're going to - that will lessen the shock. Your recruiter should be offering to go to your house and talk to your parents to help answer questions and potentially calm them, not telling you to say "thanks for the 18 years of service, F--k you."
I would have to agree that the recruiter should be willing to go with you and talk to your folks. One other word of advice that my dad gave me when I joined many moons ago, decide in your first enlistment if this is for you, if it is stay in and retire if not get out after your first enlistment.
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Post by redleg11b »

civil82 wrote:
mhuffman wrote:I think one must be 20 or 21 for the 18X option. 11X (Ranger) can be straight out of high school. Enlistin with 11X is the BEST thing I ever did. I sometimes wear my EIB since everybody now has a CIB.
I wore my EIB yesterday.
Always respected the EIB more than the CIB...too many REMF being in the right spot at the right time to get it. Never had a chance for either as I was only in 11 series MOS for 2 yrs in FL Nasty Guard and I didn't play nice enough to get put on the list by the powers that made the decisions. Give me a job and I got it done though.

Get all the training you can, even if it doesn't directly relate to your MOS. Try to do atleast a short period of time in a non-combat MOS to bring those skills out with you. Listen more than you talk. Get EVERYTHING in writing from someone THAT ACTUALLY CAN GUARANTEE IT. If you want to be pampered...AF, dressed...NAVY, dirty...MARINE, miserable...ARMY. Most of all, good luck and God speed.
Don't fight to survive or you have already lost. Fight to WIN!
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kwin201
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Post by kwin201 »

thanks guys, like i said i told them once before and it didnt go over well. Im anticipating this time being worse because they know i am really ready to go. The recruiter did offer to talk to them but at that time i wasnt sure if i was ready to join and i said this to my parents who urged me to give college a shot, as i explained before. Now i know i am ready to make the commitment and will bring it up with my parents before signing the line. My sister and grandparents are behind me on this decision and i think i will get them involved to help my parents cope. I have always had a strong bond with my family and the last thing i want to bother me at bootcamp is my conscious from going behind my parents back. I am going to attend school for a semester or two more because i believe It will benefit me if i not only study for the Asvab but also to up my pt.

Right now it looks like i will be applying for the Marines
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Post by YugoRPK »

if youre going to do some shool first then a couple of semesters of arabic might be worthwhile
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Post by goteron »

I didnt read through this entire post, so it may have already been stated. But take a look at one of the military academies. In particular, look at the Merchant Marine Academy. You get a Service Academy education, get your USCG or Engineers License, and get commissioned as an oficer in the branch of your choosing. Its easier to get a flight or seal position, or anything you want really. Plus its free, you get to travel the world for an entire year (sea year). And its 35min from NYC.

http://www.usmma.edu

You ought to check it out. Best kept secret around.
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kwin201
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Post by kwin201 »

YugoRPK wrote:if youre going to do some shool first then a couple of semesters of arabic might be worthwhile
very true man, ill see if i can squeeze that in. Thanks for the headsup goteron ill take a look into anything
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Post by silencertalk »

504ranger wrote:Achieve a minimum of 60 points on each event and overall minimum score of 229 on the Army Physical Fitness Test
So, I decided to give this a try today. I scored 191. Guess I need some work. My goal - score 229 within two weeks and 240 by winter.
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by TROOPER »

Have you been stewing on this for a year-and-a-half, Silvers? Sheesh.
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by silencertalk »

No, just saw it today.
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by TROOPER »

How so? Do you have such a backlog of "unread posts" that in your downtime (before a movie starts at a theater, or in line at Starbucks) you read old posts on your smartphone?
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by silencertalk »

I searched for Army Fitness.
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silencertalk wrote: So, I decided to give this a try today. I scored 191. Guess I need some work. My goal - score 229 within two weeks and 240 by winter.
Curious, did you get at least 60 in each? 240 aint bad, especially considering how many people struggle getting passing scores.
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by angelbeast6 »

Plenty of what's been said here is pretty accurate. I'm a little bias considering that I'm an 11b in the ARMY and currently stuck on recruiter detail.

.... Damn, I just noticed that your in south Florida.
I keep forgetting it so I'll leave it here for others as well: NFA 304-616-4500
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by silencertalk »

Yes, I got at least 60 in each.
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by warjunky1428 »

Sounds like we have quite a few army dogs here. If you want some info about the grunt life in the Corps, feel free to ask.
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Re: Im interested in joining the millitary

Post by withoutremorse42 »

My experience is with 2nd BN 75th Ranger Regt.

I've worked with all the other branches save Coast Guard, usually only SOF units and not REMF's (thankfully). My brother and a handful of friends spent years in the Marine Corps so I have a bit of secondhand knowledge to give.

Since you have narrowed it to Army or Marine Corps, I should point out one major difference that was true when I enlisted (don't know if still current.) The Army has (had) greater flexibility with guaranteed contracts whereas the Corps wouldn't guarantee a specific job. I puicked up a RIP contract, so I hit basic training, AIT (infantry), airborne school then the Ranger indoctrination program (now RASP). Had I failed that, I could have been sent to any unit worldwide. Can't comment much on the SF baby contract except that a few friends of mine have stated there is a low pass rate and a low success rate among those who do initially pass.

Don't buy into slogans. "First to fight" being one of the many. A slogan guarantees nothing with regard to reality. A few Marine friends of mine really pump up the "every Marine is a rifleman" but I have ran into more than a couple of Marines who couldnt shoot sand in the desert. "First to fight" doesn't mean that they actually are. SF guys were lazing targets inside Afghanistan days before the official OEF kickoff. The day the OIF war kicked off I among many others were halfway to Al Nasiraya. This isn't me picking on the Corps, this is me ragging on bullshit macho slogans used to lure in the unsuspecting. Keep in mind everyone is biased, myself included.

If you have a perfectly functioning brain and good fitness level, aim high. The shitbags in the lower echelons of every branch of service will constantly amaze you at their level of ineptitude. Not that you can go high enough to totally escape it, but it gets better as you go up.

Funny story... we were swimming in the Tigris having a nice 3 hour break on our last day out and about after chasing Saddam all over (with little luck) when the boys from the big D were moving in to take our building. They left at sunset for a mission when one tried to balance his night vision on the rail of the Humvee so he could fiddle with something as they started to roll. It fell off, got crushed under the tires and he lost his s--t at the driver for being so stupid. Doesn't matted how high you go, stupid is never eliminated.


Plenty of Veterans from the Army and the Corps here on the board. Figure out what you want to do in the .mil, ask lots of questions from those who are offering their advice.

Feel free to pm.
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