- May 26, 2003
- 15,003
- 4,269
a bros, so If I understand correctly, in Tech School they teach you everything you need to know about your job correct? So you could literally have no experience, but do good on ASVAB in what ever section and be good?
The Official Military Thread. Vol 1
- May 21, 2011
- 39
- 10
Yes.
- Apr 7, 2008
- 17,572
- 1,166
24
solarius49
Banned
- Jul 13, 2004
- 6,989
- 1,286
Marrying military.......this is tricky, bc you arent guaranteed to be stationed in the same place as your husband...needs of the Navy and all that. Plus deployements for you and him, you would never see each other. I'm not saying that everybody is out here trying to find a come up, but just make sure the other person is in it for the right reasons
- Mar 27, 2007
- 463
- 62
Hey so anyone know how long it takes to get hard copies of orders in the navy? Im a month and a half out from my prd and Im still waiting...
mmg
Banned
- Feb 1, 2012
- 8,261
- 842
anyone in the guard here? im thinking about joining to become an MP and then use that to become a cop.
any advice? words? experience ?
any advice? words? experience ?
- Sep 23, 2008
- 1,159
- 142
Originally Posted by MMG
anyone in the guard here? im thinking about joining to become an MP and then use that to become a cop.
any advice? words? experience ?
I'm going Guard so I'll let you know in like, 7.5 months
mmg
Banned
- Feb 1, 2012
- 8,261
- 842
thanksOriginally Posted by AR Guy
Originally Posted by MMG
anyone in the guard here? im thinking about joining to become an MP and then use that to become a cop.
any advice? words? experience ?
I'm going Guard so I'll let you know in like, 7.5 months
anyone else
- Feb 20, 2009
- 627
- 243
For everyone that has at least 1 year under their belt, do you wish you would have went with a different service? I'm strongly considering enlisting but not sure what service. Just trying to do it right.
- Jan 22, 2008
- 13,868
- 44
- Jun 26, 2005
- 8,454
- 1,890
Originally Posted by MMG
thanksOriginally Posted by AR Guy
Originally Posted by MMG
anyone in the guard here? im thinking about joining to become an MP and then use that to become a cop.
any advice? words? experience ?
I'm going Guard so I'll let you know in like, 7.5 months
anyone else
...MP? biggest waste of time ever, along with a gang of other military careers.
.....why are you considering MP above all other career fields?
- Oct 31, 2005
- 8,424
- 19,761
I have the "ASVAB for Dummies" book and it's pretty good but I hear there are better guides out there. I need to see a recruiter soon.
For those who have done their time, what are some options after you get out?
- Jun 26, 2005
- 8,454
- 1,890
...options? career wise?
- Jan 22, 2008
- 13,868
- 44
^ interested in knowing as well please... I would like to become a firefighter after I get out
and what guides do you guys recommend? interested in joining the air force, or probably army
and what guides do you guys recommend? interested in joining the air force, or probably army
- Nov 11, 2007
- 1,493
- 11
hmm this may sound like a stupid question but did anyone (if anyone here tried) have any issues when trying to get in contact with a USMC Officer Recruiting Officer?
I spoke to the one for my area several months ago about getting some info and I submitted the questionnaire he had asked me to fill out, but he never responded afterwards. Maybe I wasn't aggressive enough in dealing with him (I kind of fell back because I have/had an application for Navy OCS) but I wanted to try to keep contact. I can see if he thought I was BS'ing but I'd love to give a shot for their next round of selections (they do spring, summer and fall classes).
I spoke to the one for my area several months ago about getting some info and I submitted the questionnaire he had asked me to fill out, but he never responded afterwards. Maybe I wasn't aggressive enough in dealing with him (I kind of fell back because I have/had an application for Navy OCS) but I wanted to try to keep contact. I can see if he thought I was BS'ing but I'd love to give a shot for their next round of selections (they do spring, summer and fall classes).
- Apr 7, 2008
- 17,572
- 1,166
Another question for everyone that's in or has been in...
If there were five things you wish someone would have told you before joining, what would they be?
If there were five things you wish someone would have told you before joining, what would they be?
- Jan 22, 2008
- 13,868
- 44
http://www.military.com/n...ml?ESRC=sm_todayinmil.nl
Army More Selective on Recruits, Re-Enlistments
Add a Comment
May 23, 2012
Associated Press|by Lolita C. Baldor
WASHINGTON -- Uncle Sam may not want you after all.
In sharp contrast to the peak years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Army last year took in no recruits with misconduct convictions or drug or alcohol issues, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. And soldiers already serving on active duty now must meet tougher standards to stay on for further tours in uniform.
The Army is also spending hundreds of thousands of dollars less in bonuses to attract recruits or entice soldiers to remain.
It's all part of an effort to slash the size of the active-duty Army from about 570,000 at the height of the Iraq war to 490,000 by 2017. The cutbacks began last year, and as of the end of March the Army was down to less than 558,000 troops.
For a time during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army lowered its recruiting standards, raising the number of recruits who entered the Army with moral, medical and criminal -- including felony -- waivers.
Recruits with misdemeanors, which could range from petty theft and writing bad checks to assault, were allowed into the Army, as well as those with some medical problems or low aptitude scores that might otherwise have disqualified them.
A very small fraction of recruits had waivers for felonies, which included convictions for manslaughter, vehicular homicide, robbery and a handful of sex crimes. The sex crimes often involved consensual sex when one of the individuals was under 18.
In 2006, about 20 percent of new Army recruits came in under some type of waiver, and by the next year it had grown to nearly three in 10. After the Defense Department issued new guidelines, the percentage needing waivers started to come down in 2009.
Now, as the Army moves to reduce its force, some soldiers will have to leave.
Officials say they hope to make cuts largely through voluntary attrition. But Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, has warned that as much as 35 percent of the cuts will be "involuntary" ones that force soldiers to abandon what they had hoped would be long military careers.
"This is going to be hard," said Gen. David Rodriguez, head of U.S. Army Forces Command. "This is tough business. As we increase things like re-enlistment standards, some of the people who were able to re-enlist three years ago won't be able to re-enlist again."
The Army, in an internal slide presentation, is blunt: "Re-enlistment is a privilege, not a right; some `fully qualified' soldiers will be denied re-enlistment due to force realignment requirements and reductions in end strength."
In a memo earlier this year, Army Secretary John McHugh laid out more stringent criteria for denying re-enlistment, including rules that would turn away soldiers who have gotten a letter of reprimand for a recent incident involving the use of drugs or alcohol, or some soldiers who were unable to qualify for a promotion list.
"It's all focused on allowing us ... to retain only those soldiers who have the right skills, the right attributes and who help us meet the requirements and are those soldiers which truly have the greatest potential," said Army Brig. Gen. Richard P. Mustion, the Army's director of military personnel management.
Last year, as the budget and personnel cuts began to take hold, just a bit more than 10 percent of Army recruits needed waivers to join. The bulk of those -- about 7 percent -- were medical waivers, which can include poor eyesight that can be corrected. About 3 percent were for misconduct that did not involve convictions.
The decline in recent years was almost entirely on conduct waivers, not medical. As an example, there were 189 recruits with "major misconduct" waivers last year, and none with criminal convictions, compared to 546 misconduct waivers in 2009 and 220 with convictions.
Mustion said that as Army recruiters look at the applicants coming in they "are truly able to identify the very best soldiers, future soldiers, and those who display the greatest potential."
He said they are evaluating each one on his physical, academic and aptitude test performances "and, quite frankly, would they require a waiver to come into the military versus the next soldier who has the same credentials but wouldn't require a waiver."
Waivers have long been a source of debate. Military officials have defended the process, saying it allows good people who once made a minor mistake to enlist. But mid-level officers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan also told top defense officials that the dramatic rise in the number of bad-behavior waivers was a problem, that they were often spending too much time on "problem children."
Steven Dale Green, a former 101st Airborne Division soldier, came into the Army on a morals waiver because of an earlier problem with drugs. He is now serving five life terms for killing an Iraqi family and raping and killing the 14-year-old daughter in March 2006.
With the economy struggling, it's still a recruit-rich environment. But Army officials worry that as the economy gets better, they may not get all the high-quality recruits they need, and their best soldiers may decide not to re-enlist because they may do better in the corporate world.
For now, however, the Army is saving money in the process.
According to Mustion, soldiers in just six types of jobs are getting bonuses when they enlist: interpreter/translators, divers, cryptologic linguists, medical laboratory specialists and explosive ordnance disposal specialists. And those bonuses average about $3,300-$3,500, he said.
That is a steep drop from the $16,000-$18,000 bonuses the Army was paying on average to new recruits in 2007-08. In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008, the Army paid nearly $860,000 in enlistment bonuses, compared with just $77,000 in the 2011 fiscal year.
Re-enlistment bonuses for soldiers now average about $7,500-$7,700.
Military leaders say the key goal is to shape the force as they cut, winnowing out not only the lesser qualified, but keeping the right number of soldiers in critical jobs and all across the ranks, particularly the mid-level officers.
"We need to keep the right balance," said Rodriguez. "We don't want a well-modernized force with no personnel that are trained."
The Army, he said, "can build a young soldier quickly, but we can't build a major and a sergeant quickly. So we have to figure out the right ratios as we move forward, and we have to be able to expand if we need to."
Army More Selective on Recruits, Re-Enlistments
Add a Comment
May 23, 2012
Associated Press|by Lolita C. Baldor
WASHINGTON -- Uncle Sam may not want you after all.
In sharp contrast to the peak years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Army last year took in no recruits with misconduct convictions or drug or alcohol issues, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. And soldiers already serving on active duty now must meet tougher standards to stay on for further tours in uniform.
The Army is also spending hundreds of thousands of dollars less in bonuses to attract recruits or entice soldiers to remain.
It's all part of an effort to slash the size of the active-duty Army from about 570,000 at the height of the Iraq war to 490,000 by 2017. The cutbacks began last year, and as of the end of March the Army was down to less than 558,000 troops.
For a time during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army lowered its recruiting standards, raising the number of recruits who entered the Army with moral, medical and criminal -- including felony -- waivers.
Recruits with misdemeanors, which could range from petty theft and writing bad checks to assault, were allowed into the Army, as well as those with some medical problems or low aptitude scores that might otherwise have disqualified them.
A very small fraction of recruits had waivers for felonies, which included convictions for manslaughter, vehicular homicide, robbery and a handful of sex crimes. The sex crimes often involved consensual sex when one of the individuals was under 18.
In 2006, about 20 percent of new Army recruits came in under some type of waiver, and by the next year it had grown to nearly three in 10. After the Defense Department issued new guidelines, the percentage needing waivers started to come down in 2009.
Now, as the Army moves to reduce its force, some soldiers will have to leave.
Officials say they hope to make cuts largely through voluntary attrition. But Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, has warned that as much as 35 percent of the cuts will be "involuntary" ones that force soldiers to abandon what they had hoped would be long military careers.
"This is going to be hard," said Gen. David Rodriguez, head of U.S. Army Forces Command. "This is tough business. As we increase things like re-enlistment standards, some of the people who were able to re-enlist three years ago won't be able to re-enlist again."
The Army, in an internal slide presentation, is blunt: "Re-enlistment is a privilege, not a right; some `fully qualified' soldiers will be denied re-enlistment due to force realignment requirements and reductions in end strength."
In a memo earlier this year, Army Secretary John McHugh laid out more stringent criteria for denying re-enlistment, including rules that would turn away soldiers who have gotten a letter of reprimand for a recent incident involving the use of drugs or alcohol, or some soldiers who were unable to qualify for a promotion list.
"It's all focused on allowing us ... to retain only those soldiers who have the right skills, the right attributes and who help us meet the requirements and are those soldiers which truly have the greatest potential," said Army Brig. Gen. Richard P. Mustion, the Army's director of military personnel management.
Last year, as the budget and personnel cuts began to take hold, just a bit more than 10 percent of Army recruits needed waivers to join. The bulk of those -- about 7 percent -- were medical waivers, which can include poor eyesight that can be corrected. About 3 percent were for misconduct that did not involve convictions.
The decline in recent years was almost entirely on conduct waivers, not medical. As an example, there were 189 recruits with "major misconduct" waivers last year, and none with criminal convictions, compared to 546 misconduct waivers in 2009 and 220 with convictions.
Mustion said that as Army recruiters look at the applicants coming in they "are truly able to identify the very best soldiers, future soldiers, and those who display the greatest potential."
He said they are evaluating each one on his physical, academic and aptitude test performances "and, quite frankly, would they require a waiver to come into the military versus the next soldier who has the same credentials but wouldn't require a waiver."
Waivers have long been a source of debate. Military officials have defended the process, saying it allows good people who once made a minor mistake to enlist. But mid-level officers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan also told top defense officials that the dramatic rise in the number of bad-behavior waivers was a problem, that they were often spending too much time on "problem children."
Steven Dale Green, a former 101st Airborne Division soldier, came into the Army on a morals waiver because of an earlier problem with drugs. He is now serving five life terms for killing an Iraqi family and raping and killing the 14-year-old daughter in March 2006.
With the economy struggling, it's still a recruit-rich environment. But Army officials worry that as the economy gets better, they may not get all the high-quality recruits they need, and their best soldiers may decide not to re-enlist because they may do better in the corporate world.
For now, however, the Army is saving money in the process.
According to Mustion, soldiers in just six types of jobs are getting bonuses when they enlist: interpreter/translators, divers, cryptologic linguists, medical laboratory specialists and explosive ordnance disposal specialists. And those bonuses average about $3,300-$3,500, he said.
That is a steep drop from the $16,000-$18,000 bonuses the Army was paying on average to new recruits in 2007-08. In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008, the Army paid nearly $860,000 in enlistment bonuses, compared with just $77,000 in the 2011 fiscal year.
Re-enlistment bonuses for soldiers now average about $7,500-$7,700.
Military leaders say the key goal is to shape the force as they cut, winnowing out not only the lesser qualified, but keeping the right number of soldiers in critical jobs and all across the ranks, particularly the mid-level officers.
"We need to keep the right balance," said Rodriguez. "We don't want a well-modernized force with no personnel that are trained."
The Army, he said, "can build a young soldier quickly, but we can't build a major and a sergeant quickly. So we have to figure out the right ratios as we move forward, and we have to be able to expand if we need to."
- Jun 26, 2005
- 8,454
- 1,890
...i have none. however i can tell you some things i wish most people knew before joining, especially urban youth:
- the military is like a career in a box. in college you choose an area of study and pick a job after graduation. the military works in reverse, you choose your job first, then get sent to train for that job.
- the military is NOT summer camp. its a career....a job. (why do i say this? the summer camp mentality comes from young military people ive seen get paid and spend all of their money in that first weekend like it was allowance, as if they didnt work all week and got paid for it.)
- if you choose your job carefully and do your research, you could come out with the skills for a very good job making very good money.
- educate yourself on what the dead end jobs of the military are. the tank mechanics, police (SP, MP), supply, personnel, admin, cook, etc., these jobs dont make that much on the outside.
- its all about having a plan. dead end jobs are fine IF you goto school while you're in and come out with another skill. but if you flipped burgers all of your military career and got out with no other skills, where do you plan to work?
- recruiters are like used car salesman and should be treated as such. educate yourself before you go in to talk to them. tell them what you want, not the other way around.
- that tough guy act from the Army and Marines = exactly $0 extra when you get out and find a job. so while they laugh at you for choosing a cushy technical or medical career that pays well on the outside over the more manly, grunt, infantry type career? you can laugh back all the way to the bank.
- think long term, DO NOT let the used car salesman entice you with promises of bonuses to pick a certain career. that 10K bonus might sound good now, but how does walking into a 55K+ career when you walk out sound?
- Jun 21, 2004
- 3,190
- 171
^Good post, yeah i've done so much research on joining the Air Force that i pretty much decided to go for it due to all of the pros. Did a lot of research on what jobs i want to do and all of them have pretty good paying salaries in the civilian world once i get out.
One thing i need clarifying though, do you get your job at MEPS after you get your physical or do you find out what job your getting at basic training? I've heard both so can anyone clarify? Thanks.
One thing i need clarifying though, do you get your job at MEPS after you get your physical or do you find out what job your getting at basic training? I've heard both so can anyone clarify? Thanks.
mmg
Banned
- Feb 1, 2012
- 8,261
- 842
Great post.
i wanted to do the MP route because i wanted to become a Cop/Corrections Officer when i get out.
I figured it goes hand in hand
- Apr 3, 2010
- 2,858
- 49
so far deciding between navy hospital corpsman and an airforce job
any corpsman on here?
any corpsman on here?
- Feb 8, 2009
- 17,748
- 24,939
I'm going to Navy OCS for Supply Corp. Based on what I've researched and heard alot of these guys come out with high paying supply chain/logistics careers. Does the dead end nature of Supply apply to Officers as well?
- Oct 4, 2010
- 3,252
- 87
Most likely after you swear into the DEP program at MEPS. That's when I got my job and ship date it took only a week and a half before they found me a job.
solarius49
Banned
- Jul 13, 2004
- 6,989
- 1,286
Well I would suggest doing your time before trying to figure out what you want to do afterwards...
But I get out in 3 months, and I have tons of options, everybody is trying to get out and be a firefighter or a cop, I'm taking that GI Bill and putting it to good use and going back to school.
- Jun 21, 2004
- 3,190
- 171
Thanks. So you give them the list of jobs you would like and they can only give you something on that list correct? Whether it's your #1 pick or your 8th pick?
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