After trying the work force (ive been working since i was 16) and trying college (4 years and 70k later i am now getting my Associates Degree) i am unsure what to do. my uncle is an army recruiter and is telling me that if i enlist i can get 65k taken off my debt, get a steady paycheck, have very little in the way of bills, and get bonuses depending on what i do. i scored a 95 percentile on the practice entrance test and will pass the physical...but im still not sure what to do. HELP???
2007-11-07 15:26:51 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
you have to make the decision on your own.
when you enlist, you are pretty much handing your life over to the military. even when you are not at work, you are a soldier. if you get in trouble downtown, you get in trouble at work too.. some things to think about.
on the other hand, you have a job and you wont get laid off. you have health coverage, as well as getting rid of some of that debt. youll be able to cover the rest of it with you enlistment bonus im sure. its not that bad. ive been to iraq 3 times and afghan once. the news makes it sound worse than it is. i was over there in 03.. was pretty nasty back then.. getting mortared every day.. shot at fairly often too. these days, peoples idea of getting mortared is everything blowing up a mile outside the wire. its pretty safe.. you have the occasional IED. but the army is doing a lot to protect troops from them.
all soldiers now wear the ACH, a new helmet designed to protect the head from impact. much better than the old style ballistic helmet.
new vehicles are coming out too. they are much higher off the ground and have armor underneath too. they also are a lot heavier too. this helps keep the vehicle on the ground after an explosion which was something that was responsible for a lot of previous deaths.
i made some of the best friends of my life in the army. i saw things that you cant see anywhere else and made a living jumping out of aircraft.
when i joined i was pretty much in the same boat as you. i had been working since i was young. the main thing that bothered me was being treated like an idiot. i have more real life experience than most of my leaders. it gets a little irritating when someone younger than you who doesnt know a damn thing about life tells you to do push ups.
anyway, good luck
2007-11-07 15:40:02 · answer #1 · answered by kickrocks54 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you really asking this question, or is this a joke? Are you currently an officer, because if so this is something you should already know. If you are an officer and he is enlisted, his saluting you is not optional and is not dependent on your relationship or how he personally feels about you. If he hated your guts, he would still need to salute you - if he failed to do so, any officer who witnessed it could have him placed on report, and if it continued he would see an escalating scale of punishment. If you as an officer allowed it to happen publicly, it would undermine your position with other enlisted men, and YOU would eventually get called for it - those rules are there for a reason, and you are no more allowed to flout them than he is. If it happened in private every now and then, no big deal, but don't expect to be able to really buddy around with this guy once you are both serving. The same goes the other direction too, BTW - you might think a particular Seaman is a pile of horse manure, but if protocol dictates that you return his salute, you dang well better return it.
2016-05-28 09:13:32 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow. Congratulations. You can shoot for Officer pay instead of enlisted, and if not you will have a higher rank. You will knock out the majority of your debts. And people always do better and the practice than the real one so you will definitely be able to pick from pretty much any job you want. You will also get a pretty handsome bonus. If you are unsure due to the war, pick something in Military Intelligence or Logistics or some other job that would not require combat, unless you want some infantry blood in you then you could probably do SF. I say go for it, I did. If you don't like it, then just go on with your life once your active duty is up. Contracts can be from 15 months to 6 years (active duty). If you are interested in the military you should go for it. Good Luck
2007-11-07 16:39:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Armies not the only option, check out the navy, Marines, and air force. Go in for the training, NOT the money if you do you won't be to happy, especially if your doing something you have no interest in. Other than that I would say do your research talk to people who have done what your about to do and get some real insight. I have talked to both recruiters and people around my age who have served. Two different stories, recruiters don't lie they just don't tell you what you'll really be experiencing. Also ask about the officer program since you do have your associates degree you may qualify you have to fill out an application and be accepted. Good luck.
2007-11-07 15:38:22 · answer #4 · answered by DT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
kickrocks54 hit the nail on the head, you have a good share of real world experience and the first couple of years the military will take that for granted.
Financially, it's probably your best bet, knocking 65k off your debt is phenominal, scoring in the 95 percentile means you'll have a wide variety of jobs to sift through, my advice, pick a job, find someone who does that job in the military (or similar job) and ask them what bases are available for that job, what their hours are, deployment rates, reenlistment bonuses, and AIT attrition rates.
But like I always say, everyone has a multi-tude of reasons for joining the military, but if serving your country isn't in the top three, please DON'T JOIN.
2007-11-07 16:15:42 · answer #5 · answered by Jon 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My husband was in the same position as u. After looking into the whole of the Army, he signed up 4 years ago. He also walked in and scored a 99.2% on the ASVAB. If u r a loyal person and know u will be loyal to the military.....go for it. Its execellent benifits and everything that was told to u is right. If u do everything right u can live comfortably the rest of ur life. Good luck on ur decision and if u do sign up.....GOOD FOR U!!!!
2007-11-08 01:09:40 · answer #6 · answered by ladyjwitt 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Think long and hard about it right now unless you're not worried about going to war. It's a very honorable thing to do but we are in troubled times. My son joined to be a medic and the closest he ever got to medicine was taking someone's blood pressure. Other that that he practiced on all kinds of jeeps and trucks.
2007-11-07 15:34:31 · answer #7 · answered by Annette G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to make the decision on your own. If you're really interested, talk to the recruiters - doesn't cost anything. I don't know where that "$65K debt forgiveness" comes from, though.
2007-11-08 02:20:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is your Associates degree in?? What job will you do when you get in the Army? You do realize we are at war and you will probably be deployed. Answer those questions and then decide.
2007-11-07 15:31:53 · answer #9 · answered by Monte T 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
All he said was true, but only join if you want to do it. Don't let him sway you. Do it for your own reasons. Once you join you can't just walk away if you don't like it. Your stuck until you get out.
Do it. because you want to.
2007-11-11 14:24:21 · answer #10 · answered by bnyxis 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋