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Army stuff
the muffin
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I just wanted to know and I couldn't find anyone else that knew but...
1) If I wanted to join then army to get college benefits how long would I have to spend in service, including training?
2) After my service am I obliged to do anything else for the army, ie would they send me to Iraq or Afghanistan?
3) Is there a way to avoid going into a conflict zone such as the reserve?
4) How much of my college fee will the army pay for minimum service?
5) How fit do you have to be BEFORE joining the army (I'm athletic and in good shape but not quite a man beast)
Thanks
1) If I wanted to join then army to get college benefits how long would I have to spend in service, including training?
2) After my service am I obliged to do anything else for the army, ie would they send me to Iraq or Afghanistan?
3) Is there a way to avoid going into a conflict zone such as the reserve?
4) How much of my college fee will the army pay for minimum service?
5) How fit do you have to be BEFORE joining the army (I'm athletic and in good shape but not quite a man beast)
Thanks
the muffin on
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Tons of infos. If I had definite answers, I'd give em. That site, however, does.
Term of enlistment will vary GREATLY depending on how you sign.
My advice to you, from one military person to a possible another, is that when you talk to your recruiter, play hard to get, and get EVERYTHING he promises WRITTEN INTO YOUR CONTRACT!!
I repeat, GET EVERYTHING THE RECRUITER PROMISES WRITTEN INTO YOUR CONTRACT!!!!!!!11111oneoneone
I cannot stress that enough.
Good luck!
On the other hand, another friend of mine is training for SEALS/SWICK and is itching to see action. It's all up to you.
Yes, the benefits are good but do remember that you will not see much money from the armed forces in terms of paychecks, unless you become a crazy awesome specialist, in which case it's not about the money anyway.
Finally, remember that there are many other alternatives to being able to afford college, especially with the time and risks involved in going into the Army.
Going to the Army as a lack of options is a little crazy. I came to this country so that becoming a number in a graveyard for 18 year old cannon fodder wouldn't be mandatory. Yes, America is a little different. I closely know people who are determined in what they are doing in the military, and I respect their decisions and choices 100%, but don't do this because you can't think of anything better.
PSN/XBL: dragoniemx
Do you have any examples of this occurring?
Pretty much, if you go Army, its almost certain that you will see a deployment. I'd recommend going with thew Air Force, the GI Bill is the same regardless of service, and AF has better training for the workforce anyways.
Also, while on Active Duty, you can use tuition assistance, which pays 100% tuition up to 4500 a year.
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
If you are enlisting (as opposed to some officer program, something I really do not know much about) then it would be 3 years for ~37k for college, or 4 years for up to 70k. That's just for the GI/Montgomery bills, there are other programs in addition to those which are available.
This question is not really clear, do you mean after you have fulfilled your active service? While you're active they can send you wherever your job is needed.
When you enlist you can pick from jobs that are available and you qualify for. There are many non-combat jobs available where you would be unlikely to see direct combat.
I answered this above. But it does depend on some factors. It helps a lot if you have a high school diploma (not a GED or equivalent), been an eagle class boy scout, and/or done ROTC.
You should be fine. You will need to pass a PT which requires that you can run a mile in 8:30, do 17 situps in one minute, and 13 push ups in one minute (this is at the beginning of basic). There is another test at the end of basic, the requirements depend on how old you are though.
your a mechanic, well plenty of middle eastern hotbeds need mechanics, and while your there you can probably shoot a gun as well.
I'm not saying you Will go to iraq or equally violent place, all I'm saying is that Anyone in the military can go to Any area they need you in. So don't join thinking "if I'm in this branch doing this job, theres no way I can go to iraq"
If you want to join for personal or financial reasons thats fine, but do so knowing full well, in the current political climate we are in you have a VERY high likely hood of seeing combat. (the president has already mentioned he wants pratically double the numbers in iraq that currently is there)
Also I don't know about vietnam vets, however I do know, reservists (you know that whole, a couple days a week, a couple weeks a year, help out your country without having to give up your life in a snazzy commercial showing people screwing around with tanks and helicopers and shit) have infact been pulled into iraq, and moreover Many people who have served in iraq are called Back to the middle east over and over.
So if you get nothing else from my post, know this. If you don't want to see combat, don't fool yourself into thinking joining a certain part of the military doing a certain job will get you out of combat. Go into it knowing full well that the whole "serving your country" thing is just that, you are a servant of the country, whatever they need that to mean, is what you have to do.
http://www.darknessdescending.com
You will probably get stop-lossed no matter what you do. If you learn Arabic, a stop-loss is a certainty.
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"Do not joined the Armed Forces for the [college] money. Join if you have a sense of patriotism and a strong mind for everything they will throw at you."
I had signed up for the Marines in my senior year in hopes of getting college money as I had just gotten accepted to UC Berkeley. My Staff Sgt. was a dick and his superiors were no better. I spoke to two family friends who were in the Navy and both suggested I think it through.
Aside from that, I think most of the other questions have been answered.
The only exception is stop-loss, a one time deal where they'll extend your enlistment for up to 6 months, for the same reasons they would recall you.
There is no way to ensure that you will avoid combat if you join the military. Even people in the Navy are getting sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you're looking for military service but want to avoid combat, your best bet is to join the Navy, and trying getting a job as an IT (Computer/Radio Operator) or an IS (Intelligence Specialist). As an IT, you'd most likely only get sent to Bahrain or Qatar, which are pretty much combat free. An IS would most likely end up at a Security Activity or some other building-with-no-windows type of place.
Also, regarding the people that are getting recalled to active duty since Vietnam, those people are in the Reserves. The government can't force any person into service that is not under contract.
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
1. That depends on what you sign up for. Regular Army have better bonuses and their g.i. bill is different than the Reserves or National Guard. On Active Duty, you pay in $100 a month out of your paycheck and then you have your g.i. bill after you get out, for as long as you need it. In the Reserves or National Guard, you only retain your g.i. bill while you are in, unless you go back and sign a separate form and pay into it. The max that reservists and National guards are offering is $28,000 but there have been certain bills pushed through congress to increase this.
2. Yes, every mos is deployable. Even if they don't have a need for your mos, they may call you up to fill in a position.
3. HELL NO. I'm in the National Guard and I went to a military college to commission as an officer. They promised to only pull me out during the summer so I wouldn't miss school, they then changed my mos and sent me to basic/ait in the middle of the school year. I thought that once that was over, I could get back in school, but I have been deployed to states across the country, to Germany, Kuwait, and finally Iraq.
If you have signed your ROTC documents and made it to your Junior year of college, then you will become non deployable because officers are top priority, otherwise you're going in.
Several times I was activated, my unit wasn't, but another unit or active army unit was and I was loaned out because they were short.
4. It's a minimum of 4 years service in the National Guard and Reserves and 2 years service in Active Army, but the payouts differ, so check online or with a recruiter. Also, your not guaranteed to get your bonus no matter what anyone tells you and you have to pay it back if you get out early.
5. It's good to be fit and the more pushups, situps, and more running you can do the better. No matter what though, the ARMY will get you fit, it will just suck more if you're out of shape.
I know of one, he was activated with me, he was so old and banged up though that they ended up sticking him in an office and monitoring radios.
That's crap. There were at least a dozen guys who were stop lossed with me. They were supposed to get out back '04-'05 and they were stop lossed until we got back from Iraq. A lot of guys who had gotten out of the active army were transferred irregular reserve and activated along with us to go to Iraq. There is no set time limit on how long you can be stop lossed, but once they do it, your ETS will list your ETS date plus 25 years as provided for. They could keep you for 25 extra years of duty, I just don't see it happening though. After 21 months of straight active duty, they start paying you an extra $1000 a month.
I call bullshit. Every military person I work with (work with now, present tense) says that stop loss only applies to your current term of service. They use it to keep guys in Iraq from leaving Iraq too soon.
That just sounds like a barracks lawyer talking.
Now, to the OP:
The average military contract is 8-years. 4 years active duty, 4 years inactive ready reserve. If you go into the reserves its 6 and 2.
Either way after your 8 years they cannot just "call you up" at will.
Frankly everything you said so far makes me think the Army or any military branch is *not* for you. You're obviously only want to abuse the system so you can get college money and you don't want to do anything (oh my god not Iraq!) in return.
As far as fitness the army is a joke. As long as you can run a couple of miles and do some pushups and crunches, you'll have no trouble. If you're a fatass that gets winded climbing a flight of stairs, well frankly they recruiters will turn you away at the door.
The US Military is for serving your country. Maybe my views are a bit skewed as a Marine but it's not about some damn college money. Yes it's a nice bonus but if you are joining for that reason alone you've got some issues misdirection in your life.
I call bullshit on your bullshit, you sick call ranger.
While it is true that stop loss only applies to your current term of service, it applies not to just when you are at war, but if your particular MOS is understaffed. This means that they can keep you as long as they need you.
And irregular reserves is what everyone falls under when their actual contract is up, if you served 4 and got out, you can be called back up for another 4.
I've been in for 6 years, reenlisting soon. Check my webpage for some photos of me serving my country. Have to have a myspace account.
Sorry chief, know my stuff.
You could be a medic or a chaplin. If you tell them that you are a conscientious objector, it can go one of two ways:
1) They won't let you in.
2) They'll try to get you assigned to one of these mos' listed above.
Even the medic though, I just heard that they could ask not to carry a weapon.
I'm not sure about what other mos' you could hold and not carry a weapon. A lot of guys ended up carrying a weapon and getting stuck driving a humvee just because that unit was short. I had a surveyor and a pay clerk driving my humvee one time and I'm infantry. Not sure about other technician jobs. Everyone I knew in Iraq except for the chaplins had a weapon issued to them.
Your best bet, though would be not to join.
Great, you're in the wrong fucking forum for this. Stop it before you end up taking a break from the forums.
This is not the place to espouse half truths, things you heard one time, hearsay or your political views. If I catch anyone doing it after this post, it's an automatic day off the forums, and it doubles with each subsequent offence.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH