Are any of you in the military?

[MrTShoff]

I've been considering the military since I was 16 and I think its time to make a choice on it. So far i'm not ruling out any of the branches but i'm mainly interested in the Marines and Army. Just wondering if any of you guys have any experience or if you were ever in a similar situation (not being able to decide if you want to do it, what branch you wanted, what job you wanted, etc...) and what you ended up doing about it? I have looked at other sites online but I want some opinions or advice from you guys too as you're a level-headed, intelligent bunch and always seem to give great advice. I have an uncle in the Marines and a cousin in the Army but i'm not very close to them so its going to take awhile to get any advice or info from them but I figure I may as well reach out to as many sources of info as I can anyway. Do you guys have any advice on the matter?

[Joey GT-R]

I and a select few members have all the advice you should need. What are you looking for advice on?

[MrTShoff]

I and a select few members have all the advice you should need. What are you looking for advice on?

Mainly things like how or why did you choose the branch you did, how was your overall experience with it (were you able to find a job any easier afterwards, how do you go about getting your education while being in the military, how were your living conditions, did you enjoy yourself at all? how do you get any cash?). How hard honestly is the training? How long did you stay in and why? I know people who have stayed in 20+ years and people who left at 5 yrs. Do i need to bulk up or anything before I go? (Im small but in great shape. Im only 5'6ish and weigh 140lbs but can bench 140+).Would you recommend it to a 19yr old who honestly has no current direction in life but definately is motivated to change it? I know very little on the subject as a whole. Im currently researching it though just wanted to hear from people who actually have done it.

[floored]

Wait till the next war. I liked my deployment but hated everything about the stateside BS.

[MrTShoff]

Wait till the next war. I liked my deployment but hated everything about the stateside BS.

Why would you recommend waiting? Could you define stateside bs? Im just very curious as to what its actually like so I can go in as educated as possible...

[Joey GT-R]

Mainly things like how or why did you choose the branch you did, how was your overall experience with it (were you able to find a job any easier afterwards, how do you go about getting your education while being in the military, how were your living conditions, did you enjoy yourself at all? how do you get any cash?). How hard honestly is the training? How long did you stay in and why? I know people who have stayed in 20+ years and people who left at 5 yrs. Do i need to bulk up or anything before I go? (Im small but in great shape. Im only 5'6ish and weigh 140lbs but can bench 140+).Would you recommend it to a 19yr old who honestly has no current direction in life but definately is motivated to change it? I know very little on the subject as a whole. Im currently researching it though just wanted to hear from people who actually have done it.

I chose the Army simply because they offered me a $20,000 bonus. The Marines hardly ever offer bonuses as they believe becoming a Marine is "privilege enough". Bonuses are offered based on if you qualify for a high demand MOS - or Military Occupational Specialty. Ask a recruiter if there are any available.

I did one year of Active and the rest National Guard. Very few people get great jobs straight out of the military. There are some MOSs that feed into things of course; say a cook going to be a chef, or a supply specialist going into logistics, etc. The military will pretty much be a lock for you to go into security or law enforcement though. You can claim Veteran's Preference when you apply for some jobs though, which may give you a leg up on some applicants.

You get your education when you can. Take a couple night/online classes when convenient for you and the military. You are there to serve Uncle Sam first, you can get smart when you get out.

If you're joining the Marines or Army, living conditions are the "worst" of the branches. They won't be terrible but you will be in a dorm type setting living in close quarters with other soldiers. When you go out into the field you will be on the ground in cold, rain, snow, whatever conditions may be abundant at the time. You will have to suck it up and move on.

Good training is challenging, it's not going to be easy all the time. How much you want to challenge yourself is entirely up to you though.

You will be paid via direct deposit every 1st and 15th of the month.

I can't tell you about your size, you may be a little underweight, but better that than overweight, you will gain weight as you train. However, at 19 you need to be able to do 42 pushups in 2 minutes, 53 situps in 2 minutes, and run a 2 mile in 15 minutes 45 seconds. Those are your physical requirements upon completion of Basic Combat Training. Fail at those, and you won't be in very long.

I have served 5 years so far and close to completing my 6th. I will probably sign up for another 6 next month. People stay in and get out for a variety of reasons. It's all a personal choice, don't let what somebody did or experience sway you. Take it all with a grain of salt. The military is what you make it. The military is like anything in life, it will never be all sunshine. But overall the military has been positive on my life, and I wouldn't be where I am in life without it.

I recommend the military to anyone who's came out the womb. I joined at 19, when life was very confusing and hectic for me. If I could I would make a couple adjustments here and there on my career(we always do), but again that's life.

Wait till the next war. I liked my deployment but hated everything about the stateside BS.

If the next President turns out to be any of who most suspect it will be, he may not join til he's 30. Personally it sounds like you might have had some bad PCS experiences or perhaps some units who weren't dress right dress.

Again to MrTShoff, this is what I am talking about, a lot of people have different experiences with the military but it is what you make it.

[MrTShoff]

Exactly the type of info I wanted to hear Joey. Im positive I meet the basic physical requirements but I'll have to set up a meeting with a recruiter to see about everything else. I'm assuming an MOS is basically a job so do you apply like normal or do they just give you whats available? I see what you mean by it is what you make it and thats probably why no two people answer me the same way but I mostly hear its a shock at first but as you adapt itll be fine. The National Guard is basically like being in the Army but still living a civilian lifestyle right? Ill look into that as well right now and I think i'm just going to call my local recruiter. Anything I need to watch out for with them? Some people from other sites are saying to pretty much get everything in writing but that may be paranoia?

[deevergote]

National Guard is essentially "part time". It's the best way to be enlisted without making it your life. You CAN still get deployed, however.

I'm not in the military, but I've looked into the possibility in the past. I always liked the idea of the Coast Guard, because they don't get sent overseas to fight wars (which, in floored's experience, might be a bad thing! )
I like the idea that if I'm going to be shooting at someone, that someone is trying to attack my country directly.

[Joey GT-R]

Exactly the type of info I wanted to hear Joey. Im positive I meet the basic physical requirements but I'll have to set up a meeting with a recruiter to see about everything else. I'm assuming an MOS is basically a job so do you apply like normal or do they just give you whats available? I see what you mean by it is what you make it and thats probably why no two people answer me the same way but I mostly hear its a shock at first but as you adapt itll be fine. The National Guard is basically like being in the Army but still living a civilian lifestyle right? Ill look into that as well right now and I think i'm just going to call my local recruiter. Anything I need to watch out for with them? Some people from other sites are saying to pretty much get everything in writing but that may be paranoia?

MOSs have to be applied for yes. You have to qualify for them. If you were smart, hopefully you took the ASVAB for free in high school. If not, you will have to take it and your scores will reflect what you qualify for. Recruiters generally will only tell you what they want you to know about jobs available. Here are two links you need to look at to see what is available. Because the Marines go everywhere, there are 3 times more jobs. Keep in mind that a Marine is a rifleman first, so you WILL serve in the infantry multiple times in your career. Whereas with the Army there are non-combat MOSs that will keep you mostly out of the line of fire. Make no mistake about it though, this is the military, you train to goto WAR. That other guy isn't going to care if you're just a dry cleaning specialist or a mail carrier, he/she sees that uniform, and they are going to try to kill you.

Marine MOSs

Army MOSs

[MrTShoff]

National Guard is essentially "part time". It's the best way to be enlisted without making it your life. You CAN still get deployed, however.

I'm not in the military, but I've looked into the possibility in the past. I always liked the idea of the Coast Guard, because they don't get sent overseas to fight wars (which, in floored's experience, might be a bad thing! )
I like the idea that if I'm going to be shooting at someone, that someone is trying to attack my country directly.

Im looking into it as we speak and that may be my best option at the moment as I still want to go to college. I dont have to go ahead and knock it all out but I atleast want some credits before I do something like this. I honestly think id prefer doing it full time though at least for a while anyway.

[Joey GT-R]

Im looking into it as we speak and that may be my best option at the moment as I still want to go to college. I dont have to go ahead and knock it all out but I atleast want some credits before I do something like this. I honestly think id prefer doing it full time though at least for a while anyway.

As someone currently in the National Guard I advise against it. At your point in life I would only support it on the following conditions:

1. You have no desire to go Active Duty in the next 5-10 years.

2. You have a stable financial and living situation.

3. You have family/personal/religious obligations that you strongly would not want to leave behind at home.

If you can say yes to all of those, I can endorse that. But once you go Guard, there's really no turning back. Going from Active to Guard happens all the time, but vice versa is a one in a million chance. DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT, let a recruiter convince you otherwise.

While going to school is important, there's no feeling like being financially secure. But if that is not an issue for you than sure, think about it.

I'm not sure why you feel you have to have college credits BEFORE you join the military full time, it does very little for you at that point in your career.

[MrTShoff]

As someone currently in the National Guard I advise against it. At your point in life I would only support it on the following conditions:

1. You have no desire to go Active Duty in the next 5-10 years.

2. You have a stable financial and living situation.

3. You have family/personal/religious obligations that you strongly would not want to leave behind at home.

If you can say yes to all of those, I can endorse that. But once you go Guard, there's really no turning back. Going from Active to Guard happens all the time, but vice versa is a one in a million chance. DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT, let a recruiter convince you otherwise.

While going to school is important, there's no feeling like being financially secure. But if that is not an issue for you than sure, think about it.

I'm not sure why you feel you have to have college credits BEFORE you join the military full time, it does very little for you at that point in your career.

I dont feel like I have to I just figured i'd be better off getting a decent job if I went ahead and got it done. I am more concerned with being financially secure for sure I just thought that having some credits ahead of time would help when looking at the different MOS'es. If thats not needed then thatd be great! Just from going by the military.com site it seems itd help to get a better MOS.

[Joey GT-R]

Military.Com I personally think is trash. But that's me. Credits will not give you a better job. Your ASVAB score is all you need. If you need to be financially secure go Active Duty. National Guard will only pay you about $2000 a year until you start making rank. If you don't have a great paying job right now, you're really no better off than you are now, except you can goto school. But if you're not making good money you'll struggle paying for books, fees, etc. As well as missing work to goto class.

Did you look at the Wiki links I posted for you? Before you worry about getting a "good MOS" try to find something you might think you like first. Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder. For someone a "good MOS" might be Cannon Crewmember, but for someone else it might be a Human Resource Specialist. It's all on how you perceive things.

[JunyAccord]

I did Air Force for 4 years and just got out this year.

Best 4 years of my life so far and i was stationed in Vegas. Cant top that

[MrTShoff]

Military.Com I personally think is trash. But that's me. Credits will not give you a better job. Your ASVAB score is all you need. If you need to be financially secure go Active Duty. National Guard will only pay you about $2000 a year until you start making rank. If you don't have a great paying job right now, you're really no better off than you are now, except you can goto school. But if you're not making good money you'll struggle paying for books, fees, etc. As well as missing work to goto class.

Did you look at the Wiki links I posted for you? Before you worry about getting a "good MOS" try to find something you might think you like first. Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder. For someone a "good MOS" might be Cannon Crewmember, but for someone else it might be a Human Resource Specialist. It's all on how you perceive things.

I somehow missed them when you first posted them but ive got em up now. I see what you mean though about going active duty for financial security. It cant be worse than Target as far as that goes so theres really nothing to lose in that area. Im reading those links right now though

Edit: Theres a ton of things in both branches I would enjoy doing as a career! Thanks for those links! very helpful stuff I know what to ask about now when I go see a recruiter. I think im going to see one for both branches.