Joining The Army

[spectrum055]

Well this seems serious enough to be here. But anyway my living conditions since I left phoenix are pretty annoying, My current job is almost done and I don't have a place to live soon which in effect is rushing my decision of joining the army about 1.5 years ahead of when I was going to decide.

I am planning on enlisting early January and will be going for EOD or where ever they decide to put me.

At the moment my family is worried, especially my mom and it was kind of hard to tell her what I was going to try to get into because well it's a parents nightmare when their child wants to deal with explosives I suppose.

I suppose that is all I have to report in my life at the moment, but in other good news I've dropped from 380lbs to 346.5lbs(Weight mid afternoon) and after doing research my height requires a weight maximum of 205lbs. so I have a pretty long trek to go but I'm finally losing weight and feeling great and well eating less and healthier since I've been out of school and working full time.


I would also like to hear some advice from those members who are in military service if you guys could do that...as well as advice for having hookah's if I stay in the states since at some point I will have to send for my hookah's from my friends house at some point with in the next year and a half.

[CarePolice]

I don't know you that well, so I'm not sure what your schooling is, and I'm not in the military, so I can't give you that advice, but keep in mind that these days you have to have 15 college credits at least to join any branch. Maybe not if you're fresh out of high school but I'd check into that first. That's the only thing keeping me out of the military.

[agunn1231]

man, my buddy nick has been out of highschool for a while and has no college credits and he joined.

[spectrum055]

No i have I think close to seventy or eighty credits around there. I think the only thing that would keep the military from taking me at the moment would be my weight, which hopefully since I'm young and what not can drop fairly fast. But with my skills in electronics and what not I can maybe get my career in Robotics or just as an electrical engineer easier.

[svaj]

Spectrum,

I'm currently in the military, the Air Force to be exact. The universal advice I'd like to share is that be prepared for constant change. I can never stress this enough with my friends who have shared their thoughts about joining. Make sure it's the right decision, make sure you are certain that you want to join the Military. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the constant moving around (the world) and having to always make sacrifices that may not always be in your personal best interest. And most of all, make sure you are prepared to pretty much give your life to the military. I'm not just talking about dying in war; but being in the military...it's like being in a relationship that you can't just break off. You have to be able to stick it through. The military is an extremely selfish lover, and you have to be able to drop everything at the tip of a hat whenever it beckons. Now, I'm not trying to trash talk or dissuade you from joining, I'm just saying to make sure you feel it's right, because it's really not just for anyone.

Also, do some research on each branch, and make sure you feel that the Army is the right one to give your love to (lol). When I was looking at joining, I looked at every branch....

Marines - No way in hell. I definitely do not have the mental mindset to be a Marine.
Army - Not my cup of tea as well, I did not like the jobs that were available to me at the time of trying to enlist.
Navy - I don't want to be stuck on a boat for a year and a half.
Air Force - what ultimately lead to my final decision was the fact that they had the career field open that I wanted to get into, and I also looked at all the bases all over the world, and I liked the fact that there are so many to be able to go to, which also depends on your job. And my job can take me to any base on the planet. Also the PT test isn't as difficult. lol.

I hope my words are able to help guide you in some way. This is all just pretty general military type stuff. If you would like some specifics, I would gladly try to help out as much as I can. I do have some friends in the Army I can always ask.

[Arcane]

Here's my advice, unless you absolutely have no other options, don't join the military.

I would rather work 2 full-time jobs, a part time job and live off of 2 hours of sleep for 5 days out of the week, if I could make as much money as I do now. That being said, I doubt I'll do anything less than 20 years (just so I can collect my pension). The money is good, especially in today's economy. The benefits are even better. However, the sacrifices you make are worth a lot more than what you get in return. It's not for everyone and I can honestly say, 90% of the people I've worked with in the military don't belong in it. I actually put myself in that majority too.

As for hookahs, it's your stuff and they really can't prevent you from owning it since it's legal. You're not allowed to use tobacco products in PME (basic training, tech school, etc.), so that would be your only short term limitation. After that, smoke till your heart's content. I have 16 hookahs and nobody's said anything to me.

[mustafabey]

[quote name='svaj' timestamp='1293581390' post='492720']
Spectrum,

I'm currently in the military, the Air Force to be exact. The universal advice I'd like to share is that be prepared for constant change. I can never stress this enough with my friends who have shared their thoughts about joining. Make sure it's the right decision, make sure you are certain that you want to join the Military. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the constant moving around (the world) and having to always make sacrifices that may not always be in your personal best interest. And most of all, make sure you are prepared to pretty much give your life to the military. I'm not just talking about dying in war; but being in the military...it's like being in a relationship that you can't just break off. You have to be able to stick it through. The military is an extremely selfish lover, and you have to be able to drop everything at the tip of a hat whenever it beckons. Now, I'm not trying to trash talk or dissuade you from joining, I'm just saying to make sure you feel it's right, because it's really not just for anyone.

Also, do some research on each branch, and make sure you feel that the Army is the right one to give your love to (lol). When I was looking at joining, I looked at every branch....

Marines - No way in hell. I definitely do not have the mental mindset to be a Marine.
Army - Not my cup of tea as well, I did not like the jobs that were available to me at the time of trying to enlist.
Navy - I don't want to be stuck on a boat for a year and a half.
Air Force - what ultimately lead to my final decision was the fact that they had the career field open that I wanted to get into, and I also looked at all the bases all over the world, and I liked the fact that there are so many to be able to go to, which also depends on your job. And my job can take me to any base on the planet. Also the PT test isn't as difficult. lol.

I hope my words are able to help guide you in some way. This is all just pretty general military type stuff. If you would like some specifics, I would gladly try to help out as much as I can. I do have some friends in the Army I can always ask.
[/quote]

This is awesome advice. Svaj has it down, I like the relationship analogies. As for service branch choice,if you are technically oriented I'd go for the Air Force. Military is military, but there are degrees. There is alot of stress and chickenshit in being a Marine or one of the elite Army specialities,and of course the Seals.Its not for everyone. I was a Marine and I saw plenty of guys that joined because they thought dress blues look cool and then found out you had to buy them and unless you were Embassy duty or something fancy, you never even saw them. As for the Navy,if ya don't like water.............
Best of luck to you. The military can teach you many things,if you let it and take advantage of the opportunites, plus you get to see other cultures and different valid solutions to daily problems.
And remember there is war going on.

[Amn_sinclair]

first of svaj how long have you been in ktown? im stationed there right now on leave at the moment so wont be back till next week.

anyway as far as joining the military I think it really depends on the person its not cuut out for everyone. You have to make sure your getting yourself into something your going to like because once you make the choice your stuck for at least 4 years. I love my job and I love doing it so i'm very happy to be in the military. Just like svaj said though you have to be willing to pick up and go where ever they send you. A lot of people dont realize that they arent going to get stationed near home when they join the military and its something i hear people whine and complain about all the time. Me personally i joined to get away from home so i'm glad to be no where near new mexico. Of course it is nice to come home on leave lol. hookahs are fine though just wont be able to have them with you during basic and ait after that though there should be no problem. of course though i dont know about the army if your living in a barrack with some other guys i wouldnt be a huge fan of keeping hookah around.

[svaj]

Thanks guys I honestly was just telling it how I see it...

Amn_Sinclair - I've been here for 2 1/2 years now

[Allstar]

Here are my two cents. I have been in the Navy for 8 years. I spent three years on a ship and the rest has been spent with special warfare unit. The Navy has an EOD program as well. There is no promise you will be on a ship in the navy. EOD is an extremely difficult program. You will have to be in top shape, you need to be able to swim well and score very high on certain line scores on your ASVAB. I know I qualified for it when I joined up. I think the total of the line scores they look at are 115, higher then being a SEAL. You also need to plan for the worst. If you don't make the program what will you be happy doing, they won't let you out of any service just because you didn't make it. The navy has many advantages. As bad as it sounds to be on a boat. I loved being on the ship. Being on a deployment was great we pulled into port almost every two weeks in different countries around the world. So don't knock it. Even for me as an IT person I have plenty of oppurtunities to do field work. Just think about it.

[Canon]

50% of what makes you happy in the military is your job, then 20% goes to your squadron and 10% for your base. There are great jobs and there are not so great jobs. If I were you I would do a lot of research on jobs and pick one suited for you, then ask someone in the military (besides a recruiter) about that job to get a better understanding of what your getting into.

Also with your college I would look into becoming an officer, the pay is better and they have jobs that reflect those on the enlisted side aswell as those that are officer only. If your close I would say do some college or enroll in a program to finish off your degree so you can become an officer.

[SunnyD_smokin_queen]

I'm active duty Air Force - have been for 8 1/2 years. I'll piggy back off what everyone says....though by now, your probably already in.....

It's a decision you are either going to love or hate based on what you do or where you go. I'm on my third base and overall, I LOVE my job.....I just hate the people I work with and the jet I'm stuck working on. Many people join because of the economy and lack of job security then realize that it wasn't what they should have done. I did it cause 1) I love my country 2) I hated where I was in life 3) I have a family and wanted better benefits than what the job I had was offering 4) I wanted to see the world 5) it's paying for my bachelors and soon I'll be starting my masters! I say go for a job that is going to suit you and your future goals. My military job could help me to work for companies like Lockheed or Boeing when I get out if that is what I wanted or I could further that experience by going to school so that I could be a contractor when I retire and bring in some nice cash if I wanted. Needless to say, once I retire, the only time I want to be near airplanes is when my rear is sitting inside!

I can say I don't regret it....even though I've seen more injuries from this job than I ever did in my first 21 years of life but at the same time, I've seen places I never thought I'd see and I don't just mean lots of time in the sand box. I spent 5 f**kin amazing years living in Japan, a year and a half in Texas and I'm going on over a year and a half where I am now. I have gotten to see Thailand, Germany, and the Canary Islands in addition to the sand box. Looking forward to one day heading to Europe and since both the hubby and I are military, we have a pretty good shot at that. I know one huge drawback for people is being uprooted at anytime and not seeing your family for extended amounts of time - which was fine by me and my extended family as they had all been in one branch or another of the military. Granted, I've got kids and a husband so being away from them for long amounts of time does suck but with Skype and email....I can talk to them anytime.

If it's really your plan, do all the research you can before joining so you can be educated about what you will be doing...then go for it. But don't go in without researching and knowing exactly what you are getting into. You can't just up and quit the military - Uncle Sam will own you for a certain amount of time.