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CTN is the best job in the military. I keep recommending it, but MEPS never offers it to goons for some reason. But gently caress it, no reason not to try at least. The training they do is actually useful and relevant, and when you get out (in six years) you can make a ton of money.
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Mar 1, 2013 06:50
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Last CTN I met was a 1st class by like 24-25. Said he picked up first time each cycle.
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Mar 1, 2013 17:46
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Christoff posted:Last CTN I met was a 1st class by like 24-25. Said he picked up first time each cycle. While I kinda like 68W so far, I'm a complete loving idiot for not trying to get CTN after being DQ'd from literally every 35 series in the Army for being red-green colorblind.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:39
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So is a B.S./B.A. degree strictly required to apply to AF OTS, and would the officer recruiter laugh me right out of the office if I walked in there with a B.F.A./B.Des.?
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Mar 2, 2013 09:37
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WOMEN DESERVE RAPE posted:While I kinda like 68W so far, I'm a complete loving idiot for not trying to get CTN after being DQ'd from literally every 35 series in the Army for being red-green colorblind. It's ok, one of my friends went IT instead of CTN because the recruiter lied to him and told him he would be able to apply for it after getting to the fleet. It would either be that or "wait for 2 years and hope it opens up." Needless to say, he hates life right now in Hawaii of all places. And his package to cross-rate has been denied continuously.
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Mar 2, 2013 10:08
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FYI if you're thinking of joining the Army Reserves they just instated 20k bonuses across the board, and 50k student loan repayment if you're over a 50 on the ASVAB, for non prior service applicants. Pretty sure they're throwing 20k at prior service guys too. Message expire on the last day of march so pull the trigger if you're thinking about it.
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Mar 2, 2013 18:11
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DEVILDOGOOORAH posted:FYI if you're thinking of joining the Army Reserves they just instated 20k bonuses across the board, and 50k student loan repayment if you're over a 50 on the ASVAB, for non prior service applicants. Is this for 09S too?
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Mar 2, 2013 21:04
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poo poo I don't know. When I go in tomorrow for a bit i'll grab a copy of the message
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Mar 3, 2013 02:02
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WOMEN DESERVE RAPE posted:While I kinda like 68W so far, I'm a complete loving idiot for not trying to get CTN after being DQ'd from literally every 35 series in the Army for being red-green colorblind. 68W is a good MOS. You're fine dude.
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Mar 3, 2013 05:13
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I even used the chart and it makes me feel retarded but I'm still lost. I can go to college. Money is not a problem in the slightest. I still would like the join the military, probably Navy or Airforce, but I have gently caress all idea of whether I would want to enlist or get a commission. I know I don't want to have a military career, if that factors into that decision. But I feel like I should join for some reason. A higher calling, if you're feeling fruity. The recruiter, and yeah I know they're lying scum, came by a few months ago and I've really been considering it. Especially something called an Intelligence Officer, since I like writing and journalism and it seems like compiling intel would at least be somewhat related. But maybe not. I know jack poo poo.
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Mar 3, 2013 23:19
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Dirty_Moses posted:Especially something called an Intelligence Officer, since I like writing and journalism and it seems like compiling intel would at least be somewhat related. Paging Shims to the thread, Shims to the thread please. If you want to join, and going to college isn't a problem, go to college, do ROTC (either AFROTC or NROTC), and get your commission that way. Getting a commission requires a bachelor's degree, and if you do not currently have a bachelor's degree there is literally no reason to not go this route, especially since it is the easiest/least amount of bullshit...OTS/OCS may or may not have less bullshit than ROTC, but at this point you have to be the second coming of Robin Olds and Curtis LeMay rolled into one just to get them to look at your packet (at least for AF OTS, I'd imagine Navy OCS is very similar), and going to an Academy is just going to be insane levels of stupid bullshit. Go to a four year school with the ROTC program you are interested in, enjoy a normal college experience, and at the end of it you've got a commission, a guaranteed decent paying job*, and hopefully no/minimal student debt (if you were lucky/smart enough to get a scholarship). * Contingent on you not being RIF'd or force shaped.
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Mar 3, 2013 23:30
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Dirty_Moses posted:I even used the chart and it makes me feel retarded but I'm still lost. I feel like before I get baked and take us all down the rabbit hole, I should have you answer some questions: What about the intel officer world interests you? How do you see the daily life of an intel officer going? It's ok to have some off base assumptions, you have no real frame of reference. Just want to know what your current assumptions are. I have 2 apples, I give you 5 apples, but three are rotten. How much weed is Larhonda shorting me on these dime bags? Your answer to this question helps me assess your aptitude at being a USAF intel officer.
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Mar 3, 2013 23:59
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iyaayas01 posted:Go to a four year school with the ROTC program you are interested in, enjoy a normal college experience, and at the end of it you've got a commission, a guaranteed decent paying job*, and hopefully no/minimal student debt (if you were lucky/smart enough to get a scholarship). Yeah, see, that's the thing. I'm not sure I want to go into a military career. I see it more as I do my service, then move on with more experience and the feeling of actual accomplishment and dedication to a goal. GAS CURES KIKES posted:
1. The way the pamphlet read, I would be reading and gathering raw information then more or less making it digestible in reports to give to the people that need it, right? My best subjects are things like English and History, so I thought I'd would both be more interested and more useful doing that than something strictly mechanical. 2. Yeah I'm just going to come right out and say I have no loving idea how to respond to that. Thanks for the fast replies, you suave fellows, you. LaSalsaVerde fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Mar 4, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 00:08
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Dirty_Moses posted:Yeah, see, that's the thing. I'm not sure I want to go into a military career. I see it more as I do my service, then move on with more experience and the feeling of actual accomplishment and dedication to a goal. Unless you fly or get some other unique job that drives an additional active duty service commitment, going through AFROTC gets you a 4 year AD commitment, plus another 4 years in the IRR if you get off AD at the 4 year point.
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Mar 4, 2013 00:16
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Here's a thought, go to a good school, become fluent in a foreign language, suck some dicks to get an internship with CIA, DIA, or NSA, and avoid the military while ~*~doing intelligence~*~.
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Mar 4, 2013 05:19
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Hypothetically, how likely is it that I could be eligible to enlist? 26 No criminal record/no drugs No allergies/no glasses/no medical history No debt/good credit 6'1", 160~, modestly athletic Passed the ASVAB in 04 with a 92 overall or thereabout My scarlet letters? GED No college credits Is it possible I could convince a recruiter that I'm not a shitbag? Or do I need to scrape together some money to pay for the 15~ credit hours of college I'd need to have my GED not count against me? I should have enlisted back in 04. I'd have none of the problems I have currently, plus I'd be in college with savings. Also, they were taking ANYBODY back then!
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Mar 5, 2013 10:51
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It depends on the branch. For the Air Force, hypothetically they can still accept you given you can score over a 65 on the ASVAB (which wipes the college requirement), which you've obviously been able to do. The problem is there's a very limited amount of slots for GED grads these days; only about 1% of all AF enlistees per year are GED enlistees. Plus you're getting close to the age limit (for active duty AF you can be no older than 27 years 364 days on the day you arrive at BMT). Keep in mind as well that today it's harder than ever to get into the AF, no matter what the background or situation. These standards differ by branch, but if you're interested in the AF, you need to go talk to a recruiter like right now, because your window is awfully small, and gets smaller by the day. It's not impossible though. edit: If you're not sure about full-time active duty, AF Reserve and Air National Guard have caps at age 34, and if you're looking to do this to go to school you can still get very good benefits while serving part-time. Just an option. shyduck fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Mar 5, 2013 |
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Mar 5, 2013 11:27
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Off the top of my head suggestion: See if you can CLEP a few subjects, have the credits transferred to your local cheap community college, and then just take a class or whatever to fulfill the 15 credit requirement.
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Mar 5, 2013 23:39
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If someone were to enlist 11X right now, what are the chances they would be deployed to Afghanistan before the planned 2014 pull-out?
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Mar 6, 2013 12:21
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What's OSUT, 4 months? That means if you left today you'd be through basic July/ August, probably go through 2 months of deployment training crap to take you through to October, assuming there are any more units deploying, you'd be just in time to start manning burn pits. Buy I think that's very unlikely.
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Mar 6, 2013 14:06
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not caring here posted:What's OSUT, 4 months? That means if you left today you'd be through basic July/ August, probably go through 2 months of deployment training crap to take you through to October, assuming there are any more units deploying, you'd be just in time to start manning burn pits. There's always Africa, though.
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Mar 6, 2013 14:50
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Aren't we keeping like 35,000 troops in Afghanistan anyways?
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Mar 6, 2013 18:10
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Purgey posted:Hypothetically, how likely is it that I could be eligible to enlist? USMC might take you depending on where you got your GED and when you dropped out of school. Army Reserves can sign you up. If you do nothing else thats pretty much it. USAF recruiter won't even bother. Can't speak for the USN because gently caress 'em
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Mar 7, 2013 05:36
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DEVILDOGOOORAH posted:USMC might take you depending on where you got your GED and when you dropped out of school. Army Reserves can sign you up. If you do nothing else thats pretty much it. USAF recruiter won't even bother. Can't speak for the USN because gently caress 'em USMC wouldn't look at me and my GED until I had 15 college credits. This was in late 2010, I can't imagine that it has gotten laxer. One buddy of mine got refused by the USMC for his GED and ended up going USN instead, ymmv.
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Mar 7, 2013 05:57
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I actually was just over shooting the poo poo with the USMC recruiters yesterday seeing what they could/couldn't take since we usually will refer people to one another if we know they can take someone we cant. They way he explained it to me is that usually dont, they won't if the GED was from a post-secondary school, and you have to have had like done most or all of your senior year or something. So it seems like a basically a loving no, but its more than the Army can do right now. Of course we can take poo poo if you 15 credit hours too
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Mar 7, 2013 06:02
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Good info all around, thanks. Nothing left to do but talk to some recruiters myself and maybe look in to accruing some credit hours if I can't get a shot. If only I could go back in time and make my teenage self pull his head out of his rear end. C'est la vie, I guess.
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Mar 8, 2013 00:37
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Dirty_Moses posted:Yeah, see, that's the thing. I'm not sure I want to go into a military career. I see it more as I do my service, then move on with more experience and the feeling of actual accomplishment and dedication to a goal. As someone involved in that career field, after school it is all about how you manage people and critical thinking skills. "Does this sound reasonable" is essentially what your entire job revolves around. Unlike a lot of people here I enjoy what I do and like it enough to be going to SOS and work weird hours on a regular basis but like everyone says, YMMV.
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Mar 9, 2013 14:11
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calmasahinducow posted:Is this for 09S too? Sorry for the delay, but you can get 10K depending on what branch you're doing or something? I can type out the message but if you're not of one of like 3 CMFs then there is no point
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Mar 10, 2013 02:13
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the yellow dart posted:As someone involved in that career field, after school it is all about how you manage people and critical thinking skills. "Does this sound reasonable" is essentially what your entire job revolves around. Unlike a lot of people here I enjoy what I do and like it enough to be going to SOS and work weird hours on a regular basis but like everyone says, YMMV. That sounds very interesting. It's cool to have someone be able to share that kind of information. Well, so I get that it's a pretty good idea to go to college first and eventually become an officer if you are able to go to college anyway. So, aside from needing to look up information about that, what else should I consider that I might be missing? Also, I'm considering either the Navy or the Air Force, if that matters.
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Mar 10, 2013 17:49
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If you are going to go to college you might want to look into ROTC programs as they will be the most sure way of getting you to where you want to be in either the Navy or Air Force. If I could do it all over again this is the route I would take instead of going to college and then throwing in my hat for OCS. If you don't want to go the ROTC route and want to do regular college and then OCS I would look into what has made successful candidates in the past and then cater your time in college towards those specific goals. Examples: 1)Physical activity -(collegiate sports, club sports, running, etc) Be involved in these. Not only will it make you a much better candidate, but it will also help you in school tremendously as your level of focus will be higher. 2)Academic clubs - these are important in regards to how they can differentiate you from your peers both in school and while you are pursuing commission. In many cases being in these clubs has nothing to do with being more intelligent than the next guy, but just being someone who is willing to show up and be involved. 3)Volunteer work - get in some volunteer time (salvation army, toys for tots, local food banks, etc) 4)Grades - strive for at least a 3.5gpa However, if your ultimate goal is to get a commission just kick yourself in the rear and do ROTC. Personally I feel the Navy offers the greater spread of opportunities and interesting locales to work in. Keep in mind this is all coming from a guy who went about this all backwards and is currently trying to do things the hard way. Don't be like me! Here's a link to Navy ROTC: http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/
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Mar 10, 2013 20:25
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Dirty_Moses posted:That sounds very interesting. It's cool to have someone be able to share that kind of information. From earlier on this page: iyaayas01 posted:If you want to join, and going to college isn't a problem, go to college, do ROTC (either AFROTC or NROTC), and get your commission that way. Getting a commission requires a bachelor's degree, and if you do not currently have a bachelor's degree there is literally no reason to not go this route, especially since it is the easiest/least amount of bullshit...OTS/OCS may or may not have less bullshit than ROTC, but at this point you have to be the second coming of Robin Olds and Curtis LeMay rolled into one just to get them to look at your packet (at least for AF OTS, I'd imagine Navy OCS is very similar), and going to an Academy is just going to be insane levels of stupid bullshit. Go to a four year school with the ROTC program you are interested in, enjoy a normal college experience, and at the end of it you've got a commission, a guaranteed decent paying job*, and hopefully no/minimal student debt (if you were lucky/smart enough to get a scholarship). I can guarantee that you are not the second coming of Robin Olds and Curtis LeMay; you will not get in to OTS/OCS. Period. If you are interested in the military and you do not have a college degree yet, there is literally zero reason for you not to do ROTC, either AFROTC or NROTC in your case. If you are worried about "well but I don't want to make it a career, I just want to do my service and get out" like I said before, unless you are interested in flying your active duty service commitment after graduating is four years. That's it...and this is the same whether you go to OTS/OCS or do ROTC.
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Mar 10, 2013 20:49
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Firstly, any facts I tell you in this post please look up because I don't know what I'm talking about, my sources are Google, and those suck. If you know now that you'd like to serve and college is something you'll be doing at some point anyway, then ROTC is clearly the right solution. The only reason to not would be that you think you wont want to join. As far as I'm aware, your service commitment doesn't kick in until you sign for a scholarship--you can participate in ROTC classes and training (at least for some length of time) without signing that scholarship and committing to serve. Furthermore, as I understand it, if you do sign that contract and you decide to opt out (while still in college, before graduating) it'll be an annoying and degrading process for sure, but at the end of it, you'll just be forced to pay back the money they gave you. This is not the best thing to do, because plenty of people would love to have that scholarship, If you waste that opportunity, you'd be wasting (some) taxpayer money and time. On the other hand, so does every dropout that got a Pell Grant, so while you'll probably be sternly talked to, you'd be on par with six-year seniors, dropouts and people with useless degrees they don't care about. If you wanted to be ultra-not-decide-anything, you could probably try to save up money and scholarships of equal value to what your ROTC scholarship pays, and you'd be set to drop whenever you wanted. But pretty much nobody has that kind of willpower, so I don't expect it. I regret not going the ROTC route. Dealing with the experience of not knowing whether or not OCS will happen and trying to plan around like ten contingencies between different service or academic options. If things don't turn out best-case-scenario at that point, you've probably stunted your back-up plan by a year. Oh, one more piece of information as you decide. The Army has a track for going to ROTC in two years, and when I was trying to figure out my commissioning options, it seemed like doing that through grad school could have been on the table. Navy ROTC has no two year option and states in its wording that you must be an undergraduate.
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Mar 10, 2013 21:30
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Wow an ROTC program during graduate school? Didn't even know such a thing was out there. Are you currently trying to get into OCS with a graduate degree piL? Or have you already succeeded in doing that?
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Mar 10, 2013 21:35
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piL posted:If you know now that you'd like to serve and college is something you'll be doing at some point anyway, then ROTC is clearly the right solution. The only reason to not would be that you think you wont want to join. As far as I'm aware, your service commitment doesn't kick in until you sign for a scholarship--you can participate in ROTC classes and training (at least for some length of time) without signing that scholarship and committing to serve. First point is more or less correct, but everyone (even non-scholarship cadets/mids) has to contract at some point...for AFROTC it's after you come back from field training, which is generally between your sophomore and junior years of college. You are correct though that up until contracting you can just walk out at any time without any repercussions. Second point is also more or less correct, but keep in mind that you are signing a legal binding contract and that technically they can recall you to active duty on the enlisted side if you fail to live up to your end of it (as opposed to just paying money back). At least as of 4 years ago they were only doing this in extreme circumstances, but it is an option that is on the table, and it did happen to a couple of guys at my AFROTC Det.
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Mar 10, 2013 21:38
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Thanks for the clarifications. I figured there was a contractual obligation at some point, but that the ROTC guys probably aren't standing there ready to sign you on day one. Manmower: Just an undergraduate degree, but I had included graduate school in my options. At the time, I figured there had to be some path that involved me getting my microbiology masters and then commissioning as a microbiologist. Near as I can tell, I was incorrect. Since I had decided to serve either before or after, I decided that getting a specific degree and then letting it sit on a shelf somewhere between four and twenty years in the potentiality that I didn't get picked up in a relevant military field was a sub-optimal approach. Happy ending: I got a call last week saying that I was picked for SWO and that I'll be going to OCS sometime in Summer/early-Autumn. I'm excited and terrified.
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Mar 10, 2013 21:55
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That's awesome piL. I did graduate school and am now trying to get my OCS slot. Going for intel. Tried to do SWO, but when the board hit they decided that they were no longer going to accept age waivers =(. Personally I think you made the right choice and you can go on later to further that degree in the Navy if you so choose or maybe you'll find out you love something else and go for that. Either way I think the experience you get as a commissioned officer will help you get ahead in anything you decide to do in the future. Hats off to you brother.
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Mar 10, 2013 22:00
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Just out of curiosity, how do foreigners join the US Military? I have an uncle who did during Vietnam, and he says he just drove over to Detroit, and the recruiters were happy to have him. I imagine things are pretty different these days.
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Mar 11, 2013 23:37
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Frosted Flake posted:Just out of curiosity, how do foreigners join the US Military? You need to have a green card.
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Mar 11, 2013 23:40
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And a copy of your high school transcript, which the army will evaluate. If you got something funny like a birth certificate not in English, you may or may not have to pay to get it translated. If you aren't a citizen you don't qualify for a clearance, so that's pretty much all you need if memory serves. Edit: and a social security number not caring here fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 00:31
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Thank you all, I didn't really understand what the process was like, seeing as I have no military relatives and I don't trust the recruiters. That clears things up a lot. One last thing though; will my ADHD diagnosis impact anything? It isn't crippling by any means, but I've heard mixed things. edit: Oh, and I didn't miss either of your posts, iyaayas01. I got you the first time. Just making sure I'm not missing anything. LaSalsaVerde fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 02:23
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