a military recruiter told me if i joined, i'd get all my student loans paid for, I'd be able to attend grad school of my course, i won't be sent to iraq, and I will probably get high paying jobs when i get back and I can retire early. Is all this true? its not in the contract but he says the military keeps their word?
2007-01-08 19:25:16 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
grad school of my choice i ment to say
2007-01-08 19:26:06 · update #1
Military recruiters are notorious for lying about/ exaggerating the benefits. I seriously doubt that they can guarantee that you will not be sent to Iraq. They will pay for your schooling however. If you do decide to join make sure everything you want is in the contract. Military recruiters do not keep their word. At least my recruiter didn't keep his word in my situation.
2007-01-08 19:36:10 · answer #1 · answered by wollop 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No one can guarantee you won't go to Iraq. And the recruiter cannot possibly know whether or not you will get a high-paying job once you're out of the Army. It all depends on what you do while you're in the Army. A lot of military jobs have civilian equivalents, but a lot of them do not. The rest of it may be true, assuming you meet certain criteria. Yes, they will pay off your student loans, but probably not until you've been in a certain amount of time or at least graduated from basic. The grad school part - lots of people take online courses while in the Army, but if you are in an MOS where you deploy a lot, it's next to impossible. My husband would love to take advantage of the education the Army offers but he's spent most of his time in the Army in Iraq, so he has no time.
Being in the military is a good job and a good life for the right person. The recruiters are good at exaggerating things, so just take everything they tell you with a grain of salt. If it's not in writing, assume he never even said it, because it's not going to happen. I would definitely make sure that something about loan pay-off is in your contract, the rest of it they're not going to put in there, sorry.
2007-01-09 08:46:04 · answer #2 · answered by Cloth on Bum, Breastmilk in Tum! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gotta love it. I'll answer the questions one at a time.
Student loans repaid - depends on several factors. Which branch of the military are you talking about? To the best of my knowledge, only the Army offers that program. It is a bonus that can/will be guaranteed, provided your loans are not defaulted, and you choose a job that offers that bonus. So, that's a true statement. A young lady that I enlisted chose, and received, that bonus.
Grad school of your choice - Are you talking about you job in the military, or about after you get out? The Army will guarantee the job that YOU choose, and you will attend that course. Most military schools can be converted to college credits. If you are talking about SOCAD, that is also true. You can enroll in a variety of colleges/universities/vocational schools that are participants in SOCAD. Any college course that you take while in the military can/will be transferred/accepted by the college that you chose. All the kids that joined the Army thru me were enrolled thru SOCAD in the school of their choice.
Iraq/deployement - If your recruiter told you that, then he lied. He cannot say, "You will not go". He can say that you MIGHT not go, and that would be true. In today's military, you will PROBABLY deploy to either/both Iraq or Afganistan. To say that you definately won't go is putting himself on a limb that has a rope attached.
High paying jobs - That is ALL ON YOU. If you choose a job that pays well in the civilian world (communications, computers, linguist), and get your degree, you can roll that into a high paying job. If you choose a job such as infantry...
Retire early - How early is early? The Army had an early retirement program, where you could retire after 15 years, but I don't know if that is still in effect. I retired from the Army at age 38, and went to word for the government as a civilian. I will retire from this job at age 58. Since MOST people work until 65, or older, I will be retireing early.
Remember, if it's not in writing, it's not guaranteed. All branches use the standard Department of Defense (DD) form as their basic contract. The Army ALSO uses a Dept of the Army (DA) form that lists your job, time enlisted for, and any/all bonuses that you were able to obtain. I don't think that the other branches have that. At least, they didn't when I was out there.
2007-01-09 06:06:49 · answer #3 · answered by My world 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't listen to anything a recruiter tells you. If it isn't in writing it isn't true. They are there to get you into the service anyway they can, even if it means lying. Make sure everything is in the contract. Depending on the branch of service and job you sign up for will determine if you are sent to Iraq. Most likely the answer is yes you will be. I know two girls who are joined the reserves. They were told they would never deploy to Iraq. They are there right now. I have seen many people not get what they signed up for. Retirement is up to the branch. Remember there are other things to consider. Making it threw boot camp. Training commands. This is something you don't want to jump into. You most likely have four years active duty and reserve time if you get out before you reach retirement.
Good Luck
2007-01-09 07:05:11 · answer #4 · answered by Vinson 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your recruiter is telling the truth for the most part. you may not be sent to iraq but no matter if your reserves or active duty you do have to complete a tour of duty over seas. you can retire early and depending on your rank before you retire determines how much of your retirement pay you are allowed to recieve. I'm not too sure on the whole high paying jobs thing but i do know that any job will take you over someone who has a degree for that certain job because of your military training. and yes your student loans will be paid off. so he was telling the truth he was just stretching it a bit.
2007-01-13 00:26:04 · answer #5 · answered by matt f 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
tell him put it in writing or you dont sign up, im not sure about student loans but if you are a college grad maybe they think you are worth it because you usually get points for time in grade toward education once you are done, plus you can take various courses while you are in the service. yes you can attend grad school after seperation or you can do it locally wherever you are stationed while you are still in the service, its according to your specialty rather you would be sent to iraq or not, my brother joined during viet nam and he took languages so he spent his viet nam time in germany and didnt even wear a uniform because he was considered a spy. retirement is a matter of years. im not sure how many is required for officers, but it would be earlier than 65 thats for sure, the average retirement age for a military man is 40 to 45. if you stay in and retire from full time service you get a good retirement pay, and medical services as well , for life. my husband gave the air force 12 years full time and 20 more in reserves and gets half pay retirement at 65 and his medical care, plus i get medical care at a very reasonable insurance rate. its great while you are in almost everything is covered for you and about 90% of your wife and childrens medical services as well. My daughter was born in a military hospital and it cost me 7.50, all i had to pay for was my meals at the military rate back then. It has lots of benefits and some drawbacks. you will surely spend time apart. and sometimes you get called out in the night and you cant say why, and on and on, and you might even spend a year away from your family at a time, or you can all be uprooted to spend 4 yrs or less in germany, england, turkey, japan, hawaii, or whatever. Its a good life, but you have to learn to put up with a good bit of crap, however if you are going to be an officer you wont have as much to put up with. Good luck, but get it all in writing.
2007-01-09 03:39:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
If its not in the contract... HE IS FULL OF SH**... i have several friends who figured that they were telling the truth and got screwed over... until you get it in writing dont believe a Darn thing that slithering snake says.
2007-01-09 03:32:28 · answer #7 · answered by m v 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
get it in writing, recruiter is trying to fill his quota, he has to recruit a certain number of bodies per month or get returned to active duty
2007-01-09 03:35:23 · answer #8 · answered by Dean A 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
hahaha lol 'You wont be sent to iraq'.....how many people in the army have had that said to them??
2007-01-09 03:42:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋