[QUOTE=Thrilled;38175538]A big reason people join a branch is to become something better than they are now.
You sound like you have no motivation/ambition or any sense of self-development with this "waaah I cant push myself to be in decent shape" nonsense. From what I've heard so far, Army PT is a fucking joke (I could be wrong, but I'm going off what my [I]few[/I] Army friends have told me). Intelligence is something thats hard to get into; your cousin must be of "high moral charter" - You should strive to be like him.[/QUOTE]
She is of high moral standard, indeed. She told me she never considered the military, and took the asvab on a whim, scored a 90 and talked to her recruiter. When I said army PT being over my head wasnt very good phrasing. It isnt necessarily the running/ push ups, it is the prepare for combat type training. I know the AF had BEAST week, but that is as close to ground fighting as I'd like to be. SKEEA mentioned being qualified on the M240, which is awesome, but not my style. And you are right, right now I am low on my motivation tank, but I am working on it. One of the reasons I am thinking of enlisting is to man up. I have seen the services do wonders for people that are worse off than me.
Sorry if this reads poorly, I am on my iPod and have not had the caffeine enter my bloodstream yet.
Do Marines still get the test on their knowledge of Marine history? I.E Frozen Chosin, Battle of Belleau Wood, etc. etc.
[QUOTE=Coppermoss;38177277]She is of high moral standard, indeed. She told me she never considered the military, and took the asvab on a whim, scored a 90 and talked to her recruiter. When I said army PT being over my head wasnt very good phrasing. It isnt necessarily the running/ push ups, it is the prepare for combat type training. I know the AF had BEAST week, but that is as close to ground fighting as I'd like to be. SKEEA mentioned being qualified on the M240, which is awesome, but not my style. And you are right, right now I am low on my motivation tank, but I am working on it. One of the reasons I am thinking of enlisting is to man up. I have seen the services do wonders for people that are worse off than me.
Sorry if this reads poorly, I am on my iPod and have not had the caffeine enter my bloodstream yet.[/QUOTE]
It's all good @ posting on an iPod lol
I would never advise somebody to enlist because they "should man up", make sure this is something you know "deep down" (or whatever crap you wanna say) that this is what you REALLY want. The service is usually very good but when people join for the wrong reasons, they end up hating/resenting it, and pull themselves & their team mates down.
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;38177311]Do Marines still get the test on their knowledge of Marine history? I.E Frozen Chosin, Battle of Belleau Wood, etc. etc.[/QUOTE]
Not officially.
The DI's will test you on really random things just to mess with you/put you under pressure (standing there screaming at the top of your lungs "THIS RECRUIT DOES NOT KNOW THE ANSWER, SIR!" is a shitty feeling). There are a few things you should know, like the USMC birthday, place it was founded, who was the first Commandant, simple stuff like that.
[QUOTE=Thrilled;38177399]It's all good @ posting on an iPod lol
I would never advise somebody to enlist because they "should man up", make sure this is something you know "deep down" (or whatever crap you wanna say) that this is what you REALLY want. The service is usually very good but when people join for the wrong reasons, they end up hating/resenting it, and pull themselves & their team mates down.[/QUOTE]
You raise a good point. I guess there are manyr reasons I want to join besides getting broken down and rebuilt. I have a love of aviation and the military opens more options to that than the civilian work force. I think national service is an honorable thing and I feel duty bound to do my part if I can. Family tradition also plays a factor. The economy sucks and college sucks, and the AF fills in both parts. I want a job that allows for travel. I want an adventure. I want to step out of my comfort zone while being realistic. Watching two of my friends join the Marines makes me want to do something as well, just so I can prove to myself that I can.
Wow, this has really made me think. I, too, don't want to go in half cocked with a huge decision such as this. As the recruiter and others have told me, I won't know what it is like until I am there in person, so that is a scary thought for me, but one I must overcome.
You love aviation? That is my forte. I am Army Aviation. What questions do you have about Aviation in general? Also, I carried an M240B during BCT, true, but I am currently the troop grenadier with my M4-M203. A lot lighter than that hulk.
If i were to go into a maintenance role, how challenging is it? Is it like a LEGO set hard, erector set blindfolded, or does it depend on your specialty? Do you talk with other crew chiefs on other airframes like the CH-47 or UH-60? Does the Army have a good fixed wing force still? Do you get a flight suit?
[QUOTE=Coppermoss;38182761]If i were to go into a maintenance role, how challenging is it? Is it like a LEGO set hard, erector set blindfolded, or does it depend on your specialty? Do you talk with other crew chiefs on other airframes like the CH-47 or UH-60? Does the Army have a good fixed wing force still? Do you get a flight suit?[/QUOTE]
The IETMs (Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals) are crazy detailed and simplified so that a 3rd grader can disassemble the transmission on a Kiowa. It can get pretty hectic sometimes, but overall it is well worth it. Some airframes are harder to work on than others, such as the Apache. I can say with absolute certainty that the Kiowa is the easiest aircraft to maintain in the Army's inventory. I love the thing to death, and being in the Cavalry is a very nice perk to being a Kiowa Crew Chief. Aviation has some of the best perks of any branch in the Army. If you get all maintenance done for the day, depending on your platoon sergeants, that's it, go home for the day. It is also very satisfying seeing your work take off and fly around. It isn't all that challenging if you just go by the manual and listen to your sergeants. Depending on how social you are, and if you are located close by, you can talk to the other crew chiefs. Thing is, the hangars for each airframe are separated, so you mostly can talk to them off duty. I am pretty good buddies with the Apache guys, and I am buddies with one of the 60's crew chiefs. You just gotta be social. Aviation is one big family. The Army has a very small fixed wing force due to the fact that they are all VIP transport aircraft, and they are small twin prop or learjet type aircraft. The Army's absolute main strength is their helicopter fleet, and there is no better fleet in all the world. Yes, you do get a flight suit. The Army Aviation Combat Uniform (A2CU) is the best flight suit in the military, I don't care what anyone says. It is two piece, which is a huge advantage over one piece flight suits, and is made of nomex. They are comfortable as all hell, and everything is zipper, no buttons, barring the one at the top of your pants. The two piece thing is great because if it is a hot day, you can take off your A2CU coat and just do maintenance like that. I hope that answered everything you were wondering. Do you have any further questions? I am going to bed now due to my soldier of the month board tomorrow, but I will answer any questions you post here when I am available. I love educating others on what Army Aviation has to offer, so any question you have, go for it. I don't sugarcoat anything.
[IMG]http://airforceworld.com/heli/gfx/oh58/oh58_2.jpg[/IMG]
Told you the Kiowa was sexy
can someone give me some advantages and disadvantages of active deployment vs. reserves in the marines ? my parents kind of want me to get the most out of college, so they are kinda leaning towards reserves. I know it depends mostly on what im looking for, but i thought maybe you guys could help.
[QUOTE=milktree;38185615]can someone give me some advantages and disadvantages of active deployment vs. reserves in the marines ? my parents kind of want me to get the most out of college, so they are kinda leaning towards reserves. I know it depends mostly on what im looking for, but i thought maybe you guys could help.[/QUOTE]
Active duty Marines:
-Hardly has any respect for reservists
-Get paid way more
-Live on your own with paid housing, food.
-You get to be on your own - You don't have to be at home all "safe and snuggly" with mommy & daddy.
Honestly you can talk to a recruiter on this one and expect a relatively truthful answer, as it makes no difference to them whether you go active or not.
So i learned today that my state (Texas) has its own separate sort of GI bill, called The Hazlewood Act.
Whats the difference between The Hazlewood Act and the GI bill?
[QUOTE=ScoutKing;38187164]So i learned today that my state (Texas) has its own separate sort of GI bill, called The Hazlewood Act.
Whats the difference between The Hazlewood Act and the GI bill?[/QUOTE]
Its for disabled vets [url]https://gibill.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/971/~/what-is-the-hazlewood-act-and-how-do-i-apply-for-it%3F[/url]
[QUOTE=milktree;38185615]can someone give me some advantages and disadvantages of active deployment vs. reserves in the marines ? my parents kind of want me to get the most out of college, so they are kinda leaning towards reserves. I know it depends mostly on what im looking for, but i thought maybe you guys could help.[/QUOTE]
if you go reserves pretty much all active duty marines will look down on you
[editline]25th October 2012[/editline]
that and you don't get to experience the military 100%
(aka dicks everywhere)
[QUOTE=Coppermoss;38166402]If I wanted to be a flight engineer, would I get to choose my airframe, or is that chosen for you?[/QUOTE]
FEs in the air force are goin the way of the dodo. Even then, they only allow you to cross train into it after some years in another afsc. And no airframe choice either. Theyll tell ya you do, but it really just comes down to what drops when you finish.
Also, I survived field. It sucked. We got the first snow of the season while we were out there, which made evading a royal pain in the ass.Went everyday cold and wet, but we luckily had the fireban lifted just as we got out, so most nights we could dry out a bit. and boiled rabbit tastes awful. Or we didnt let it cook enough. Dunno.
and my fucking roommate clogged the toilet when we got back.
I'm thinking of joining the Reserves here in Canada, in place of getting a typical part time job. I'm 17, in my last year of secondary schooling, and I think the Reserves would be beneficial in the long run, more so than working at McDicks.
Few things I'm curious about though:
How would Basic Training be done? I'm still in school obviously so I can't do training during weekdays.
How does pay work during basic?
How much time should I expect to commit in a month?
Are the reserves a good form of employment overall, especially for someone in a schooling situation?
By the way, I realize I shouldn't think of the Reserves as an actual job, but that's half the reason Im considering it in the first place.
I won my first board ever, the Soldier of the Month board. Feels pretty good.
I got to handle a xm202 flash today
[QUOTE=Thrilled;38176648]That SOU link I gave you was sorta vague.
Each SOU per MOS is different, but the consent that you give them, that they can move you to where you are needed the most never changes, no matter the MOS.
And you're very welcome, I wouldn't wish an MOS change to something you would hate to have upon anybody, since your contract starts at a minimum of 4 years, some MOS's require a 6+ year agreement of active duty service. An SOU is something you dont see till you visit MEPS, or afterwards (thats also different for each branch), so it's something that kinda creeps up on you when you least expect it.
My personal advice for you, is; If you have your heart set on something in the Army, I'd say go for it. The Army is still a great thing to enlist in, same with ALL other branches, but you sound like if you ended up with a combat MOS (because honestly man, at the end of the day, shit does happen), it would totally fuck your 4+ year enlistment. I'm not trying to scare you at all, remember I *did* say that it DOES happen, but it's not a total constant thing that happens to a high percentage of people that enlist, I just want you to be cautious and know that something like that does and [I]can[/I] happen, for your sake.[/QUOTE]
Shit does happen, but in the end it almost never does, due to the fact that the Army has zero recruiting problems, and no shortage of people willing to do combat arms MOS's. You make it sound like this is a likely thing to happen, which it won't. It might only happen on an extraordinarily rare basis.
So I had to help a bunch of cadets today for the fun lil' FTX we're going to have at Irwin next weekend.
Oh God, they're all so lost. Some never even knew what a ruck was and they actually [b]heat[/b] their MREs.
[QUOTE=SKEEA;38195604]Shit does happen, but in the end it almost never does, due to the fact that the Army has zero recruiting problems, and no shortage of people willing to do combat arms MOS's. You make it sound like this is a likely thing to happen, which it won't. It might only happen on an extraordinarily rare basis.[/QUOTE]
You're looking at this differently from myself. (its not your fault, I didnt explain myself properly).
You can get switched (sometimes, it almost seems randomly. It does happen, but it doesnt happen often, like I said), but about 6-7 out of the 15 poolees I went into boot with, did not end up with one of their top 3 MOS choices.
This was because:
a.) they were needed elsewhere
b.) they did not qualify for a sufficient Security Clearance (which happens often, you don't get thoroughly screened for Secret+ security clearances until you're an official Marine and/or are in the fleet. People make stupid choices and it comes back to haunt them, especially when it comes to this)
c.) they couldn't pass their MOS school (either they werent capable of learning the materials they were required to know, or they were NOT interested, once they fully understood what their MOS entailed)
Never the less, you're right on the "random MOS change" basis, it's really rare, but there are other larger factors that come into play for an MOS change that you did not request. I'm looking at this cautiously for this man, since he doesn't fully know/understand what he wants.
I watched the majority of a 2 hour video on Air Force BMT amd was surprised; the MTIs talked like regular people! Plus, integrated base defense looked like fun.
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;38204587]So I had to help a bunch of cadets today for the fun lil' FTX we're going to have at Irwin next weekend.
Oh God, they're all so lost. Some never even knew what a ruck was and they actually [b]heat[/b] their MREs.[/QUOTE]
HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT A RUCK IS
[QUOTE=Killerjc;38208045]HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT A RUCK IS[/QUOTE]
Question:
[sub][sub][sub]what's a ruck[/sub][/sub][/sub]
[QUOTE=Coppermoss;38207948]I watched the majority of a 2 hour video on Air Force BMT amd was surprised; the MTIs talked like regular people! Plus, integrated base defense looked like fun.[/QUOTE]
Well, yeah, MTIs are human, most of what they do is an act they put on. Though not my personal experience(my TI was a dick from the day i got there to the day I left), i know a lot of people who, around 4th or 5th week, their MTI would lighten up significantly and would joke around with them. Inside the dorm, of course, outside, it was all business.
And the base defense stuff was definately some of the funner things we did in BMT. I personally enjoyed BEAST quite a bit, but your experience will vary.
Hell, the entire BMT experience is a difficult thing to explain, because it can be rather unique. All depends what time of year ya get there, what squadron you end up in, and who your TI is.
Are they still in need of loadmasters? If so, how hard is the math?
[QUOTE=Coppermoss;38210492]Are they still in need of loadmasters? If so, how hard is the math?[/QUOTE]
Better know your load/moment and weight charts. No offense, but I don't like loadmasters. They are so full of themselves and treat Army like dirt.
Are loadmasters the ones that tell the airborne when to jump?
[QUOTE=Coppermoss;38211164]Are loadmasters the ones that tell the airborne when to jump?[/QUOTE]
No. The leader of the Airborne element that is jumping does that. Also, we don't do parachute jumps in combat any more. Only in garrison, and even then only for training. I am part of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) and air assault is a lot more common, and used in combat a good bit. Loadmasters supervise loading of the aircraft and calculate where it should be loaded and also tell us if it is OK to get on the aircraft. That is about it.
That makes sense, with modern anti-air technology, though it is disappointing that we can't do our own Red Dawn somewhere. Can you go to the firing range on your down time, or is it a scheduled thing?
SOF does HALO, HAHO (Actual parachuting), 101st does fast roping etc, just air insertion stuff.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
