Mjolnir82991 - 1st Lt - USAF - Aircraft Maintenance Officer
That depends, what are your career goals? That's a tough question for a high school student to answer, I know, but you need to at least think about it. Do you want a military career, or is military service a stepping stone to other goals? Do you want to go to college just to go college, or will your desired degree help you to your next professional or academic goal? College isn't for everyone, neither is military service. But, of course, I understand if you have no idea what you want to do. I'm several years into my career and I'm not sure either.
To answer your other questions:
AFROTC is a commissioning program, which means you'll become an officer when you graduate. They do offer scholarships for technical degrees, as well as other general scholarships, but they are competitive. I don't know what the going rate is these days, but four years ago only a small percentage of cadets received them. I was a history major and didn't do JROTC in high school, so I had no scholarship. But things may be different now. I'd get in touch with the nearest AFROTC Detachment for more current info.
Completing an enlistment will qualify you for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which will pay for your tuition along with other allowances if you go to college after serving. I have no personal experience with it. But there may be some folks in this thread who do.
CabooseRvB - 1LT - US Army - Air Defense Artillery Officer
Can we post the service that our family has done ?
I'm 28, live in Texas (from Ohio, in case state changes matter for some reason), and have been considering joining the military for a few years now and just recently been having dreams about it now. Don't have anything else going on in my life, really, so I think now is the best time if any to get somewhere.
Preferably looking at the Air Force or ANG... but not sure which one I want to jump on. Anybody have some insights? Like, I'm not sure about the big differences between active duty and part-time or whatever.
I mean, sure, but I don't think I'll put it in the OP. I do enjoy hearing stories of military tradition. My father was a rifleman as a conscript and then joined the Home Guard. My mother volunteered for military service as a vehicle specialist (armored cars, all-terrain vehicles, etc.).
the coast guard is a wild and lawless wasteland
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/251806/3db1f1a9-a0b9-4c82-8962-e1902d2e7134/IMG_20180517_090647_858.jpg
I've always wondered what the coast guard is like. I kinda figured it'd be like this.
I spend my time alternating between crying in the engine room and shooting immigrants with my boat's ww2 era 50 cal. True story
don't enlist
don't enlist
don't enlist
If I could smoke weed and grow out my hair, I'd be a lifer hahaha
an mx ssgt put it best this way: you can either spend 4 years getting fisted on the flightline or spend 4 years fisting others on the flightline
If you really hate yourself or love punishment, go ahead and go enlisted.
You can do both really. If you have the chance to secure a scholarship through ROTC, that would be ideal. You're allowing the government to pay off your tuition with a service obligation upon graduating and commissioning. Bottom line for getting your officer's rank is to get a bachelor's degree, depending on the branch and what they're looking for they do offer certain incentives for STEM, but ultimate reality is you can get in with any degree. I got in with a BA in History for goodness sake.
Pros of being an officer: flex on filthy enlisted scum and get saluted everywhere on base
Cons of being an officer: being an officer
Pros of being a grunt: when you do stupid shit no one is surprised
Cons of being a grunt: the look of disappointment your squad leader gives you when you blow up your MRE inside the truck because the water was too hot
MrWasabi - E6 - US Navy - Gunners Mate
Updated the list in the OP. We need more non-US folks here. US Army is in the lead.
Anyone here in the British army? I'm considering joining but to be honest I'm pretty socially awkward. Would this affect my chances of joining? How would I be viewed by my fellow recruits? Also is it worth going in to a careers office to talk to recruiters in person, rather than apply online?
Well, I'm in the US Navy, but I'm pretty sure it's the same everywhere.
Literally every community is made of almost a dead even mixture of all personality types. As far as your peers go, interactions in high school, military, civilian workplaces, etc. all "feel" the same. Only difference is the inside jokes, humor, and general tone change. But all of the same types of people are filling these new roles. Your classmates become your coworkers, and it's all pretty much the same shit forever.
The only thing militaries care about is whether you meet the minimum. That being said, talking to an actual person is pretty much always preferable just because you can get the nuances and information you need to shape your future better. You never know what you'll hear from a real live personal interaction that you would never get on an online application. That goes for every important event in your life, not just this.
Oh, and boot camp is overhyped dogshit that only exists to weed out those who are an immediate danger to themselves or others. Unless you have severe problems handling stress or a bad medical condition, it's just going to be a mind-numbing couple of months. Here's my general advice to people thinking of joining the military:
IF YOU JOIN THE MILITARY AND YOU HAVE DEPRESSION YOU WILL PROBABLY DIE. Can't stress this enough. Too many people I know are now dead, and none of them were shot by an enemy.
Don't you dare think you're an exception to rule one.
If you can, be an officer. The pay is literally almost double until the end of your career (I checked, this applies to Brits, too), and no matter how much bluster the enlisted types make, you p. much always have a superior work life.
Don't doubt the suck. I literally cannot explain to you how much it sucks. I do an engineering type job and I have had workloads underway where you average 3.5 - 4 hours of sleep a night with no sleep at all every three days. In port it has been to the point of 130 hour work weeks. If you join, you agree to do damn near ANYTHING.
But don't let that get you too down. It legitimately is a good and necessary thing in the world and may be your best option in life. Just weigh your options carefully.
Thank you for the information. I wasn't necessarily planning on joining in a combat role, so would that change anything?
Dunno. I'm not really in a combat role. I'm a nuclear mechanic on an aircraft carrier. Angriest thing I ever fought was a small fire.
When I was walking out of the CG recruiter office, the Navy recruiter adjacent peeked his head out of the door and solicited me like a shifty drug dealer going: "Hey, what'd you get on your ASVAB...wanna be a Navy nuke?"
Well, I went in to the careers office today and have started the application process. Why not.
Just commissioned AFROTC this May.
I can tell you right now that my ROTC detachment was giving out scholarships around the 1 year to 1.5 year mark for most cadets if they qualified (and it isn't that hard nowadays).
I would just go up to your local ROTC detachment and ask what they are seeking specifically for a scholarship qualified cadet.
But I totally try to stay on the Officer route if you can.
Good luck! Which role were you considering?
Thanks! I was considering becoming an armourer. Failing that, still something in the REME area.
And also my application has been rejected due to my online medical assessment. Definitley going to appeal against that, as I feel perfectly mentally and physically fit enough to join.
How is being an ADA officer? I just finished advanced camp and ADA is my second choice, but I've heard a lot of mixed things about it.
Well in my familly there's kind of a long dlegacy of warriors,my dad was a blue helmet in Mozambique (Radio Operator,on the picture i sent he was the guy on the right)
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/133871/bb8fdfce-c1d7-4c0a-a9a0-1dcc2e5cb9fa/image.png
My grandfather and many of his cousins and brothers participated in the portuguese colonial war (My grandfather brought my dad a "souvenir" which is nothing else but a rusty machete i gotta admit it is really cool and heavy)
My great-grandfather fought for the portuguese expeditionary corps during WW1 and died during the Battle of the Lys
What about your familly ?
god dammit - Lance Corporal - SAF Mechanized Infantry
Welcome home, brother.
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