Thinking of Joining the Military? V2 - General

Don't stress out about your diploma. Thanks to No Child Left Behind you almost have to be trying to fail, to actually fail. But if you want to make the grades, and get a nice little piece of paper at the end of the day with your name on it. I would say it comes down to motivation more than actual "intelligence" so you can throw out the "i suck because im tarded" talk because the system is designed to pump out as many products as possible regardless if they went in with a few extra chromosomes or not.

[QUOTE=capgun;37802539]I'm aircrew, a loadmaster...well, almost.Gotta get through sere and IQT first. But I know alot about aircrew jobs and can answer a good deal, or find out from friends. About the 3 ya mentioned, ill rattle off a few random ass things. Awacs: That would be either Alpha 3s(airborne mission systems), or alpha 4s(airborne operations). 3s are known affectionately as the geek squad, as their primary duty is to fix the computers and such. They have old ass computers too, a friend told me they were on DOS. One of the longest 3 level courses for aircrew, at roughly 12 weeks. Inflight refueling: They are essentially loadmasters, except they control a long phallic object as well, and will also act as navigator in some situations. They were real backed up for a while, but it seems like its cleared. Aerial gunner: wont exist after jan 1. Its being folded into some mutant hybrid afsc that are alpha 9s, special weapons operator or something like that. Essentially, they're gonna be gunners, flight engineers, loadmasters and i think operations all rolled into some crazy ass jack of all trades job. The reasoning primarily was that a engineer on a helo could do a gunners job, but the gunner couldnt do the engineers job. Same general case with the ac130, except for a loadmaster. Im friends with a few people that came in as gunners and most likely will be some of the first Alpha 9s. Cool thing is, that their afsocs pet 100%. Regardless of what ya go for, I personally think(biased) that aircrew have some of the most awesome jobs in the air force. I personally cant wait till I can start doing mine finally. I will warn you though, that the training is much lengthier then most AF jobs. While they will say up front its only X amount of days, but before youll ever be operational, you have to complete Initial Qualification Training, which will be many months based on air frame and job. My IQT starts in february, and i wont be done till July. You may have missed the curve on aircrew, because they were bringing us in(loads especially) by the assload for a while. Wont hurt to ask though, as the jobs are very often critically manned. And on a random ass note, so far, parachute water survival is fun :D[/QUOTE] That is really awesome! What airframe are you going to be on? If i did look into the hybrid gunner/engineer job, would I have to be combat qualified? I have never really worked with my hands, but that is more of a lack of opportunity than not wanting to. I think I will go see the recruiter Friday and start the process. Edit: The recruiter called back and I have an appointment on the 12th

[QUOTE=Coppermoss;37809800]That is really awesome! What airframe are you going to be on? If i did look into the hybrid gunner/engineer job, would I have to be combat qualified? I have never really worked with my hands, but that is more of a lack of opportunity than not wanting to. I think I will go see the recruiter Friday and start the process. Edit: The recruiter called back and I have an appointment on the 12th[/QUOTE] Oh fuck me, Facepunch ate my reply. Anyway, I'm assigned to C130 H models, but I'm realllly hoping for a transfer to J models at some point cause they're high tech and smexy. I really dont know what you mean by 'combat qualified'. The 9s are AFSOC's baby, so whatever you do you'll probably be doing something combat related. Good luck with the recruiter. Go in there knowing what ya want in mind, and don't relent. And for the love of God, whatever happens, dont go open general unless you like checking ID's at the gate(IE, youll be secfo). Little known fact: Gunners dont actually pull the trigger on the AC130s, thats the airborne operations guy. They just load and maintain.

Thank you for the reply. I, too, am a fan of the Hercules, although I do like the older 4 prop models. What I meant by combat qualified was having to do like field operation training, grunt type things. I will refuse to sign if I have to go open. I made a 90 on the ASVAB, so does that open more doors or make it easier to get the job I want?

[QUOTE=capgun;37813492]Oh fuck me, Facepunch ate my reply. Anyway, I'm assigned to C130 H models, but I'm realllly hoping for a transfer to J models at some point cause they're high tech and smexy. I really dont know what you mean by 'combat qualified'. The 9s are AFSOC's baby, so whatever you do you'll probably be doing something combat related. Good luck with the recruiter. Go in there knowing what ya want in mind, and don't relent. And for the love of God, whatever happens, dont go open general unless you like checking ID's at the gate(IE, youll be secfo). Little known fact: Gunners dont actually pull the trigger on the AC130s, thats the airborne operations guy. They just load and maintain.[/QUOTE] Heh, my dad is currently the Program Manager for the H models. He's been working on them since he joined. Last time I visited I went with him on the base to his section. Apparently it's not common to have a son and father in the same branch in at the same time working on the same type of stuff. [QUOTE=Coppermoss;37814006]Thank you for the reply. I, too, am a fan of the Hercules, although I do like the older 4 prop models. What I meant by combat qualified was having to do like field operation training, grunt type things. I will refuse to sign if I have to go open. I made a 90 on the ASVAB, so does that open more doors or make it easier to get the job I want?[/QUOTE] That score now makes you recruiter bait dude.

[QUOTE=Coppermoss;37814006]Thank you for the reply. I, too, am a fan of the Hercules, although I do like the older 4 prop models. What I meant by combat qualified was having to do like field operation training, grunt type things. I will refuse to sign if I have to go open. I made a 90 on the ASVAB, so does that open more doors or make it easier to get the job I want?[/QUOTE] 90 means you qualify for pretty much all of the jobs. What is most important is your GT score though. What is your GT score? Also, I am not sure how to finagle your contract with the Air Force to get a specific job. Like I said, the Army is the only service to let you hand pick a specific job and get a reservation for it right in the office. If you like flying and whatnot, and want to be a gunner, you could always hold out for 15T in the Army (UH-60 Helicopter Repairer aka crew chief) though that is the Army in me speaking, and I know you want Air Force. Good luck on trying to reserve a specific job in the Air Force, though be careful with the recruiter. They sometimes play games with paperwork. [editline]26th September 2012[/editline] I got a 99 AFQT and a 137 GT score, and the Air Force recruiter suddenly was interested, but I stood firm. Received calls though, which was annoying.

By 12th grade males it is 183, word knowledge being 92 and paragraph comprehension being 91. I hope that is right going off of this: [url]http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071111142910AAbcVyd[/url]. My lowest scores were in math and auto/shop.

What does the ASVAB consist of? Is it easy to get a good score on?

[QUOTE=VitaminAG;37815964]What does the ASVAB consist of? Is it easy to get a good score on?[/QUOTE] If you can breathe you can pass. [editline]26th September 2012[/editline] Also, just the other day I went to SD to do some rappelling. I fell twice off of the 30-foot segment because apparently the carabiner kept getting unscrewed by the rope as I did my first hop and so all of a fucking sudden I end up 'ziplining' into the belayman and the cadre roasts me for doing something wrong. :v:

The Basic training for dummies guide is somewhat accurate right?

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;37816156]If you can breathe you can pass. [editline]26th September 2012[/editline] Also, just the other day I went to SD to do some rappelling. I fell twice off of the 30-foot segment because apparently the carabiner kept getting unscrewed by the rope as I did my first hop and so all of a fucking sudden I end up 'ziplining' into the belayman and the cadre roasts me for doing something wrong. :v:[/QUOTE] How do you even do that? Carabiners are pretty difficult to unscrew accidentally.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;37816156]If you can breathe you can pass. [editline]26th September 2012[/editline] Also, just the other day I went to SD to do some rappelling. I fell twice off of the 30-foot segment because apparently the carabiner kept getting unscrewed by the rope as I did my first hop and so all of a fucking sudden I end up 'ziplining' into the belayman and the cadre roasts me for doing something wrong. :v:[/QUOTE] SD as in my home state?

[QUOTE=Coppermoss;37814947]By 12th grade males it is 183, word knowledge being 92 and paragraph comprehension being 91. I hope that is right going off of this: [url]http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071111142910AAbcVyd[/url]. My lowest scores were in math and auto/shop.[/QUOTE] Considering 183 is impossible to get, I think you did it wrong. Just look at the sheet that has all of your line scores on it, it will tell you.

One downfall of being the "go-to guy" is that everyone relies on your info. This is the 7th time this month that I've been voluntold to brief something that I have very little/no knowledge of. I'm not made to brief :( I get really nervous in front of people, especially if they have more years in the military than I have been alive. I've probably done it at least 40+ times but I still get sick right before one. Any tips? (besides imagine everyone in their underwear)

[QUOTE=WubWubWompWomp;37816583]How do you even do that? Carabiners are pretty difficult to unscrew accidentally.[/QUOTE] I have no fucking clue, apparently it keeps happening to people who use their left hands as break hands. I heard the thing 'snap' and the little coil that they would put around the carabiner undoes itself and weee. We had a new MS1 guy that was also lefthanded get his carabiner undone from the 60 foot mark.

[QUOTE=SKEEA;37819501]Considering 183 is impossible to get, I think you did it wrong. Just look at the sheet that has all of your line scores on it, it will tell you.[/QUOTE] I am looking at the sheet and I do not see it. Online i keep getting score calculators. mMy shhet looks like this: [url]http://www.asvabprogram.com/asr2.jpg[/url].

[QUOTE=VitaminAG;37815964]What does the ASVAB consist of? Is it easy to get a good score on?[/QUOTE] I scored a 79 on game day without studying let alone knowing I was going to take the test that day. Anything above a 70 makes you applicable to almost every job.

So what's it consist of?

[QUOTE=VitaminAG;37824684]So what's it consist of?[/QUOTE] Math, English, Reading, Basic Science, Mechanical skills, Problem Solving. that kind of shit.

So how hard would it be to get around an 80?

oorah hut hut hike charlie delta america mri double cheese extra ham uknow?

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;37828379]Math, English, Reading, Basic Science, Mechanical skills, Problem Solving. that kind of shit.[/QUOTE] What does mechanical skills involve? Is it like stuff from shop class, or something else?

Started going to PT at the local recruiting station. Please shoot me I am so sore.

[QUOTE=WubWubWompWomp;37828580]What does mechanical skills involve? Is it like stuff from shop class, or something else?[/QUOTE] like fixing and diagnosing cars. there's also an electrical section and one that's something like puzzles. i had a 99 on the ASVAB, my buddy who i enlisted with said "hey i'm taking it today, wanna come?" and my recruiter fit me in at the end of the day. my GT was somewhere around 137.

[QUOTE=WubWubWompWomp;37828580]What does mechanical skills involve? Is it like stuff from shop class, or something else?[/QUOTE] It's about basic physics and machinery, like cogs, pulleys, and stuff like that. You might have to figure out how a certain component in a system turns or how a system might work out or something, too. Although, chances are the automotive systems test that comes before it is probably more like something you'd see from your shop class.

[QUOTE=Fhenexx;37828757]It's about basic physics and machinery, like cogs, pulleys, and stuff like that. You might have to figure out how a certain component in a system turns or how a system might work out or something, too. Although, chances are the automotive systems test that comes before it is probably more like something you'd see from your shop class.[/QUOTE] That doesn't sound that hard. Is it stuff you have to study for?

[QUOTE=WubWubWompWomp;37829021]That doesn't sound that hard. Is it stuff you have to study for?[/QUOTE] i never studied. some people study for months prior. [editline]28th September 2012[/editline] how well do you test?

[QUOTE=WastedJamacan;37830833]i never studied. some people study for months prior. [editline]28th September 2012[/editline] how well do you test?[/QUOTE] Reasonably, apparently I got the highest score for a mathematics aptitude test that I didn't know I was going to do.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;37819664]I have no fucking clue, apparently it keeps happening to people who use their left hands as break hands. I heard the thing 'snap' and the little coil that they would put around the carabiner undoes itself and weee. We had a new MS1 guy that was also lefthanded get his carabiner undone from the 60 foot mark.[/QUOTE] Does the military use figure-8's as their rappelling device? I'm just asking because I do a lot of climbing and mountaineering, I remember when I was like fourteen I got into a massive accident with my dad. His setup was with a figure-8, but something went wrong. He fell about seventy-two feet before he hit the ground. I was scared as hell and all of course, but miraculously he survived. It was kind of traumatic but I got over it, I still climb and all. We don't know for sure what was the fault in the rig, never really found out but we know it's not the carabiner. Are they D shaped carabiners or oval-shaped?

I'm joining the Army as an 89D (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). I'm going to MEPS to oath and phys in on Monday, and will be shipping to basic by the start of July and finishing AIT 45 months later. Just thought I'd share.