is that a hint for your first MOS..............S H



j/k had a buddy who wanted to go cav until he got there.

 

Scout's Out 31C. Might be a tough guess as to what your primary is now. Remember Heartbreak, Agony, and Misery? I'll never fergit them "little" basturds.

 

They musta had them names for a long time.
They were called that when I climbed them in '74.


ECHO 16/4

 

I retire this Thursday!!! 21 yrs Air Force AMMO!!

Yes the AF has the best quality of life, but the main thing you need to look at is what do YOU want to do.
My recommendation is to seek a career within some sort of technology field such as avionics. All services have technical jobs you just have to educate yourself on what is available and be patient for the job you want. Check the web sites of all, they should list the career fields. I have been stationed by an Army base (Ft Bragg) and all my neighbors were Army. I respect the hell out of what those guys do but no way would I do it.

I can't speak for the other services but DO NOT let some AF recruitor talk you into coming in "general" you WILL become a cop guarding gates and planes and other inanimate objects. You want a guaranteed job, if you don't get it walk and come back another day.

A joke I seen back in Desert Storm:

Army in Fox hole: " Man, this sure does suck"
Marine in Fox hole: "Man, I wish this would suck some more"
Navy looking thru port hole: "Man, I bet it sucks over there"
AF sitting in recliner with fan blowing: " What! No Cable!! This sucks!"

Regardless of what you do you won't regret it. Just take advantage of the educational opportunities. I "believe" the AF is the only servive with it's own community college in which your training counts toward an associates degree.

If you want some more advice feel free to email me.

 

Congrats 2fords!

I did exactly 21 myself. What are your plans now? I went to work for a AF contractor so it made my transition a little easier. At first, I missed the excitement when things were gearing up last year. Guess I felt that after 21 years I needed to be a part of it and to do my share. After a while it settled in - it's real nice to be semi-retired. Plus I'm still supporting the military effort, just in a different way...

 

Thanks JD
Same thing for me. Luckily my last assignment was a Liaison in an Air Logistics Center. I start work as a contractor about 200 yds from my present desk. Nearly the same take home pay too. That just came thru a couple of weeks ago. I'm a little apprehensive about leaving it but it's time to go, I dropped my papers in Feb. I had prepared myself somewhat financially. No debt, a little cash saved up and a wife that makes very very little. I figured I wasn't going to go hungry and getting something here was just a matter of time. Always T.O. work to be had.
I still want a GS position though, but the head civilian at Robins has a thing about approving VRA's. Funny how civil service was created as a benefit for the GI and he can't even get on now.

I had to go clothes shopping last weekend I can't color coordinate anything but green with green and blue with blue

 

Here's my .02 coming from 5 years active duty USMC...choose the INTELLIGENCE field no matter which service you decide to join. Here why:

1. Fastest promotion field in the Marines and probably near the top for the other services as well. The turnover in this MOS (job field) is pretty high because generally people receive enough useful training to get jobs in the civilian world that pay pretty good so they don’t re-enlist. I was E5 (Sgt) in under 4 years and that was the norm. The linguist that I knew all made Sgt the very first time they were eligible. We even had guys reach NCO status (E4 Corporal) BEFORE they finished their training in Pensacola, Fla and joined the fleet!
2. You can be as gung-ho as you want to be. The Marines have Radio Recon platoons (1st in Hawaii and 2nd in NC) and they get to play with all the high-speed, low-drag equipment while jumping out of planes, going for dives, etc, etc. The other 3 services also have elite intelligence units that do some hardcore training and missions, I just can’t think of their unit names at the moment.
3. You don’t have to be so gung-ho if you don’t want - Most of the jobs are indoors with a/c and heat. Of course in the Marines you will do some field training every year unless you are at one of the Radio Battalions in which case you would do more. In the Navy you could be on ship doing long shifts or stationed on land doing 9 to 5. In the Army it’s most likely you will be in a building with a controlled environment and it’s the same with the Air Force (remember this only applies to the Intel field)
4. Skills you can actually use as a civilian afterward. Yes all fields have some redeeming skills that are useful like "self discipline", "teamwork", etc, etc. But the Intel field has a lot of skills that you just don't get being in Artillery or being a grunt.
5. Location of duty stations – Hawaii, Guam, Spain, Italy, Alaska, Japan, Maryland, Camp Lejeune, NC (which is not as scenic as the others by any stretch of the imagination) and others.
6. Training centers for Intel - All 4 services train their Intel people together. Linguist go to Monterey, Ca, Electronic communications go to Ft Huachuca, Az and then to Pensacola, Fla
7. Unless you are on a ship or at a Radio Battalion you will be stationed at a place where the other 3 services are stationed as well. Being in a joint service environment is a lot more fun then just being completely surrounded by jarheads, squids, zoomies or doggies day in and day out.

One other observation is that the Air Force has the best Quality of Living standards BY FAR. In school the Army, Navy and Marines all had roommates, hard cold floors, metal beds and basic wooden wall-lockers (like a small closet). The Air Force students on the other hand lived 1 to a room each with carpet, little fridges, ceiling fans, wooden furniture and cable tv available. On top of that they were getting extra pay because the barracks were below the Air Force standard of living! These are little peon E1s, E2s and E3s we’re talking about!

On a final note, those are the best 5 years of my life bar none. Not one day goes by that I don’t think about something that happened during that time and how I wish I was still surrounded by so many friends that close together.

chknbone

 

If you're interested in a serious military career, officer is the only way to go. Have the military pay for your college education.

My mom's a retired 06 in the AF, so I'm a bit partial to the AF.

Benefits are pretty damn good. Tricare's not the best of healthcare, but it's not the worst either. Shopping at the commissary and paying wholesale prices is pretty badass... as is the whole 'duty free' thing. You can get brand name/designer clothes/makeup/cologne/shoes for a fraction of the cost (and not pay taxes on it either) at the BX. Free gyms you can use, as well (I worked out religiously at Lackland AFB when I lived in San Antonio... goddamn great facility).

On the other hand... being in the military can be tough. I don't know from personal experience, but as a military brat through all of my childhood, I know that moving every 3-4 years wasn't just a pain in the ***; I never got to make friendships that lasted much longer than the time we were stationed at the base.

At the same time, I really grew up with a sense of security. My parents let me have the run of the base when I was about 8; I got to ride my bike to the stable and ride my horse when I wanted to, I was allowed to trick-or-treat without my parents there, etc. All that changed when we moved off base.

Anyway, I'm rambling. There are pros and there are cons. You just have to weigh them out in your mind and go from there.

 

Good point AggieSarah. If you do have the choice go officer as opposed to enlisted. A boot Lt. (O1) right out of Officer Canidate School makes about the same or more than a GnySgt (E7) with 15+ years of service. The housing is MUCH better as well.

I wish I knew more about ROTC back when I was in school. I just went along with the crowd thinking they were like the goobs in Animal House. I couldn't have been more wrong . ROTC is a sweet way to get your college paid for AND you get to learn a TON of military skills at the same time (plus I promise you won't put on the "freshman 15" unless it's muscle ).

chknbone

 

One thing I did notice was in the Army and I would guess the Marines the officers were treated way better than the Air Force. The houseing was a LOT nicer and there was way more respect from the troops. At least to the officer's face.

 

The military is a very rewarding Career if you are into it.

I am really aprehensive about people who join just for college money. It seems like you want to join for your own reasons and not just money.

My dad was a Colonel in the Army, Green Beret, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps so I was talking to the Army my Senior year. It was going good, and I was excited.

My best friends dad is a Retired Senior Chief in the Navy. So my buddy always had a strong feeling for the Navy. One day we were sitting in my mom's kitchen, snacking away and being obnoxious and a flyer came in the mail, "Come join the Navy!", so my mom threw the flier at us and said, "Why don't you go join the Navy, and get out of my hair" sarcastically.

We looked at each other and said "Can we take your car?"

2 days later we were driving to MEPS to join the DEP program.

When I went into the recruiter, I said, "We want to be SEALs, we don't want any line of crap, either we're SEALs or we're not joining. "

Sure enough we enlisted with a Dive contract for SEALs.

At the actual time of departure they were giving out money for people who would join SWCC, so I dropped my SEAL contract and took up <a href="http://www.seal.navy.mil/swcc/default.asp">SWCC</a>

The road was hard but it was fun, and I wouldn't exchange my time in the Navy for any other branch.

As of late, I've even considered re-enlisting. the sense of pride in serving your country is great.

Of course, the Colonel takes his digs when he gets the chance, but rank has it's privleges.

Anyway, Hoo Yah to all the current and Ex members of the Armed Forces here on the board.

 

Wow thanks everyone, i never expected this many replies , but you all have given me a lot of great points for me to think about. A lot of stuff sounds great and i'll keep researching and seeing what is best. i don't think i would go enlisted tho either way. Thanks again everyone

 

I knew I had this cartoon on my hard drive somewhere...

 

Something you should consider prior to joining is the reality of current deployments. If you are going to be a true professional, think about the commitment you are willing to make. Join for the right reasons and be prepared to kill or be killed. Kind of sobering right? I know a few people that joined the service and then find themselves being sent to Iraq. Reality hits them and they become a liability. I wish we could open the doors and just let the weak ones out. Each service has its pros and cons. Decide carefully and honor your commitment.
I have 14 years in the Marines and love it. Steady pay check, college paid for, discipline, and business is good. Got back from Iraq August and going back in July. Am looking forward to it as are my counterparts. Enjoy.

 

my kind of guy. hope you stay safe, we need more like you.

just really liked the business is good statement. i used to say the same when i was in.