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 We've been doing this for eight? years now We've recently had an influx of people who have degrees wanting to enlist. Follow the chart below, and see question #5.  Thanks Ixian! First thread (archived) http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1696489 Second thread (archived) http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2420550 Third thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3180090 Fourth thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3343448 -- What does this thread mean to you? If you're thinking about enlisting, ROTC programs, attending a service academy, pursuing a commission, about to sign a contract, have already joined the service and still have questions or if you want to talk with other goon service members. 1) What are some websites I can go to for basic information about the military? 2) What’s the difference between Active Duty, National Guard and Reserves? 3) What is basic training like? 4) I am in college or starting college and want to join the military. What are my options? 5) Tell me about OCS! 6) Tell me about going from enlisted to officer. 7) I have done drugs in the past, will this disqualify me? 8) I have a physical condition/past surgery that limits my abilities, will this disqualify me? 9) I have used or AM USING prescription medication for a mental health issue, will this disqualify me? 10) I’m overweight and out of shape! Help! 11) How soon would I go to Iraq or Afghanistan if I joined? 12) What are my chances of getting [insert school here]? 13) How do I become Airborne? 14) How do I become a Ranger? 15) How do I become a Sniper? 16) Which is right for me? Enlisted vs officer? 17) How do I fly for the Navy/Air Force/Army Helos? 18) How do I become a linguist? 19) How do I become a lawyer (JAG)? 20) What’s the military’s policy on homosexuality aka Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? 21) How do I become a DoD civilian? I want to play with all the cool toys, but don't like taking orders or the moving every 2 years or forced overtime. 22) How do I become a defense contractor? I want to build weapons and get in on some of this pork and waste! 23) I’m a liberal and afraid of politics in the military. Advice? 24) What do all your TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) mean?! 25) Tell me about Navy Nuclear Propulsion jobs! 26) Tell me about being in the Army National Guard! 27) I'm worried I did _________________ and won't get a security clearance. Help! 1. What are some websites I can go to for basic information about the military? The best site is http://usmilitary.about.com/ it's current and maintained by retired military. However, you can also explore each branch specifically: Air Force: https://www.airforce.com Army: https://www.goarmy.com Navy: https://www.navy.com Marines: https://www.marines.com Coast Guard: http://www.gocoastguard.com/ 2. What’s the difference between Active Duty, National Guard and Reserves? Taken from http://www.goarmy.com: Active Duty is similar to working at a full-time civilian job. There are hours when Soldiers must be training or performing their jobs and then there are off-hours when Soldiers can do what they like. For an Active Duty Soldier, length of service can range from two to six years. The Army Reserve is more like a part-time job that enables Soldiers to keep their civilian careers while they continue to train near home and serve their country. Many professionals as well as college students are Soldiers in the Army Reserve. Soldiers in the Army Reserve typically spend one weekend a month in training, and attend a two-week Field Training Exercise (FTX) once a year. Service options for the Army Reserve range from three to six years, depending on the individual’s Army job and where their Army Reserve Center is located. In addition, Soldiers in the Army Reserve may be called up to Active Duty (called “activation”). The National Guard is much like the Reserves, except that they are under the control of the State government. At any time, they can be federalized and called to active duty, much like the Reserves. 3. What is basic training like? First off, realize millions of people have done it before you, and millions of people will do it after you. Don't be first, don't be last, don't do anything to stand out. The first phase will suck, but after your body will adapt and it will start to get easier. If you want a heads up, start running and learning how to fold shirts into perfect 4" squares. Outlines can be seen here: Air Force: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/airforcejoin/a/afbmt1.htm Army: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin/l/aaarmybasic1.htm Navy: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navyjoin/l/aanavybasic1.htm Marines: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/marinebasic.htm & http://www.mcrdsd.usmc.mil/RTR/Copy%20of%20RTR_Matrix%201.htm 4. I am in college or starting college and want to join the military. What are my options? The websites for the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) have lots of good information on what schools have programs, what your options are at various stages in your career and how to turn that into a Commission. Most questions involving ROTC can be answered with the following websites. Air Force: https://www.afrotc.com Army: https://www.armyrotc.com Navy: https://www.nrotc.navy.mil Marines commission through Navy ROTC, and the Coast Guard does not have a ROTC program. Once you call up the detachment, ask to speak to the UAO (Unit Admissions Officer.) They are the liaison to the public and can answer all of your questions, or, of course, you can post them here. 5. Tell me about OCS! OCS/OTS is the military's way of filling slots that ROTC/Academies did not fill. Think of it as a faucet to military personnel, it is opened and closed as needed via selection boards and people taken. To attend OCS/OTS, one must have a BA/BS from an accredited university. Unlike enlisting, and medical issues aside, it is hard(er) to become an officer. To start: 1) Contact an OFFICER recruiter, do not talk to an enlisted recruiter. They will tell you things like "your GPA is not high enough," "enlisted will respect you more," or "enlist now and get a commission later." ALL OF THESE ARE FALSE. 2) Start working out. OCS/OTS expect you to be in some form of anarobic/aerobic shape when you show up. 3) Start collecting letters of recommendation emphasizing leadership, supervision, and responsibility. Community/church leaders, members of the government, and bosses from jobs are recommended. 4) Browse the associated websites for more info then we could ever hope to type out: Air Force: https://www.airforceots.com Navy: https://www.usnavyocs.com Army: https://www.armyocs.com Marines: https://www.marineocs.com Coast Guard: https://www.coastguardocs.com 6. Tell me about going from enlisted to officer. It can be done, but is harder then going officer outright. Each service has it's own method. The most common are getting your degree on AD and then applying to OCS/OTS or being released from your AD contract to attend ROTC (immediately contracting there) or going to the service academy - age restrictions apply on the ladder. Otherwise, there are other methods, read up here: Navy: Seaman to Admiral, STA-21: https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/ Army: Green to Gold: http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/enlisted_soldiers.jsp 7. I have done drugs in the past, will this disqualify me? Under certain circumstances, prior drug usage is waiverable. If you quit using, oh, 30 seconds before you walked into the door, you’re probably going to get busted on a mandatory drug test. Its best to be open with your recruiter if your youthful forays are in the distant past. 8. I have a physical condition/past surgery that limits my abilities, will this disqualify me? Yes, depending on the condition, it can be waiverable. Consult your physician about your condition vs. what you want to do. A letter from your doctor will go a long way towards getting a medical waiver. 9. I have used or AM USING prescription medication for a mental health issue, will this disqualify me? Much more difficult to waiver, but still possible. If you are still using it and are dependant on it to keep you from murdering children for your dark lord, probably not. If its in the distant past, you may be able to. Once again, best to be up front with your recruiter before you get busted on a drug test. 10. I’m overweight and out of shape! Help! The Couch to 5k program has had stellar feedback: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml For muscle gain, see this thread in W&W: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2522955 Also, do pushups. A lot of them. When you wake up, during the day, and when you go to sleep. Minimum PT requirements: Army In the Army you need to score 50/50/50 in each of the three events (push-ups, sit-ups, 2-mile run) to graduate Basic, 60/60/60 from AIT and onwards. If you score 60 in each event you're a dirtbag though. Here are the standards: http://www.army-fitness.com/ Air Force Here is the Air Force standards: http://www.airforce-pt.com/ They use some crazy math to figure out a score out of 100. If your waist is over 39 inches you might be in trouble. They do push-ups, sit-ups, and a 1.5 miles run. If someone could clue me in to whether or not they have different standards for initial entry soldiers that would be great. Navy Here are the Navy standards: http://www.navy-prt.com/ They call their sit-ups curl-ups, do the pushup, and have a 1.5 mile run. If you join the Navy you can join a huge group of people who cry about PT tests constantly. If anyone has any info on their initial entry standards please let me know. Marines Saved the best for last. The Marines are insane and do a 3 (!!) mile run, crunches (lol), and pull-ups. Here is a look at their standards: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/l/blfitmale.htm If anyone has a better website or knows of any different initial entry standards please let me know. 11. How soon would I go to Iraq or Afghanistan if I joined? Completely depends on your branch, unit, and job. Iraq is over with so the manpower requirements are lower, and as we get closer to 2014 there will be less and less servicemembers in Afghanistan. If you start the process now you might not ever deploy to Afghanistan regardless of branch. Don't assume that you're not going to go though. 12. What are my chances of getting [insert school here]? Most high speed schools in the military are linked to a specific job or location. For example, you have to be an 11 series MOS, in an Infantry Battalion, with Sniper ASI slots to even be considered for Sniper school. Other schools are more of a free for all. You can get something like Airborne in your contract. Be forewarned, that means you’re probably going to an Airborne unit for a follow on. Any AF/Navy/Marine schools advice would be appreciated 13. How do I become Airborne? Put it in your contract, and then, most likely, you will be sent to an airborne unit. If you're already in a unit, talk to _______? 14. How do I become a Ranger? If you have yet to enlist in the Army, have your recruiter check to see which MOSes have openings within the 75th Ranger Regiment. The 75th Ranger Regiment added a STB (special troops battalion) in 2006, so a variety of MOSes should be available. Lock in one of those MOSes and make sure your contract has Option 40 included. Do not sign or proceed with your recruiter, until it does. Option 40 guarantees that you will make the following progression: Basic Training -> MOS Training -> Airborne School -> Ranger Indoctrination Program(RIP) Passing RIP means you will be assigned to one of the Ranger Battalions within the 75th and you will be authorized to wear the tan beret. Failing means you will be reassigned to a unit that needs your MOS. Choose an MOS that appeals to you and that you would like regardless of how you do at RIP. If you are already in the Army, check here to see a list of MOSes needed and recruitment information. Wise words have been spoken to enlist as another job, get all your bonuses/incentives and attend once on active duty. That way, you keep everything and if you wash out (which you probably will) you can return to your old MOS. 15. How do I become a Sniper? There are two kinds of “snipers” out there: First, there are the Additional Skill Identifier B4 Soldiers who have completed the US Army Sniper School at Ft. Benning, GA. This applies for Marine and Army snipers and is ONLY OPEN TO THE 11B MOSs AND ALL 18 SERIES (source: DA Pam 611-21). This means only Infantry and only males. Put your hand down if you are not either. Second, there are people who have received training on sniper techniques and marksmanship to fill an operation need. They do NOT receive the B4 ASI and are not qualified to wear the tab. This is becoming very common with OIF/OEF. 16. Which is right for me? Enlisted vs officer? Never enlist with the intention of becoming an officer later. You may enlist and become one, but if you meet the requirements, ignore the BS that the recruiter spews to you. quote:I just felt like throwing in two cents on the officer/enlisted decision process. So here they are! Thanks Slippery! 17. How do I fly for the Navy/Air Force/Army Helos? All pilots are officers, except for the Army, which has Warrant Officers. To fly fixed wing, you will need to commission, and have a pilot slot. Each method of commissioning gives different chances, with the service academies being the highest. Following that, ROTC, and then finally OTS/OCS/WOCS. http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/genjoin/a/pilotvision.htm has a comprehensive guide for all service's vision requirements. Also, AF wise, have a standing height of 64 to 77 inches and sitting height of 34 to 40 inches. Rekinom did a sarcastically accurate write up of how to get a pilot slot via ROTC: quote:Finally, being a pilot isn't about being the best candidate. It's about surviving a 6 year loving odyssey. I think I've made a list before, but let me list all the hoops we have to jump through. Oh and I took the liberty of bolding the most popular eliminators: For Helo specifically: quote:quote: Thanks Vasudus and kathmandu! Poise posted:Poise posted: More resources: https://www.baseops.net https://www.airwarriors.com https://www.wantscheck.org 18. How do I become a linguist? ElHuevoGrande posted:ElHuevoGrande posted: Thanks ElHuevoGrande! Still looking for more summaries and different branches views as well as summary of training! 19. How do I become a lawyer (JAG)? JAGs do everything. Why be a military JAG? Aside from the cancelled TV show, you will be doing everything right off the bat. While your civilian friends are starting at the bottom of the barrel, you will one day be court martialing a kid for meth, and the next day advising the commander on community relations. You may do some real estate law, and tort law. Meanwhile, your civilian friends will still be doing bottom of the barrel bitch work. Air Force: http://www.jagusaf.hq.af.mil Navy: http://www.jag.navy.mil Marines: http://sja.hqmc.usmc.mil Army: https://www.jagcnet.army.mil 20. What’s the military’s policy on homosexuality aka Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?  It's all been repealed, and no one cares about your orientation as long as you do your job. (Both posts below are written by Grover, he PM'd them to me) 21. How do I become a DoD civilian? I want to play with all the cool toys, but don't like taking orders or the moving every 2 years or forced overtime. (Side note, now a giant megathread located here! http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3324421 - Thanks SWATJester!) To get a civilian government job, all roads point to the official employment website for the United States of America: http://www.usajobs.gov/ where you submit your resume online and search for open positions. It's just like applying for any other job, only when hired, you'll work for Uncle Sam! In your account, you can create an "agent" which will automatically search for new job openings for you and send you an email each week. Not all the rumors about government workers are true. The benefits are very good, but the pay is generally a little lower than a comparable contractor position, so it evens out. All government workers get 13 days of paid sick leave and 10 days paid holiday leave per year. A new employee will also get 13 days of paid annual leave, increasing ultimately to 26 days paid leave. All time worked over 40 hours per week is compensated, either with paid overtime or comp time. Retirement (FERS) gives you 1% of your salary per year of experience- work 30 years, you get 30% of your base pay as your retirement. Unlike military, government civilians get up to 5% matching contributions to TSP, which is like a 401k; you put in 5% of your pay, government matches that 5%. You also receive social security. Government jobs are generally very stable, but layoffs do still occur; when layoffs occur, you will generally know about it months if not years in advance, and the government will try extremely hard to find you another job. (Very few laid off government workers find themselves actually unemployed.) One big advantage of being a civilian over military: if your boss says "I need you to go to Afghanistan for a couple months." you can tell him/her to go gently caress themself. May not look too good on your performance evaluation, especially if your job description included frequent travel, but you're still a civilian- you can't be forced to do anything. 22. How do I become a defense contractor? I want to build weapons and get in on some of this pork and waste! Contractors do a lot of the cool work, like researching/designing/building F-22s, lasers and tanks. Every contractor has its own hiring system, so you'll have to find your job the long and tedious way. Every contractor has its own rules and benefits, too. Don't expect to see much of that pork, though; the executives and stockholders get most of it. 23. I’m a liberal and afraid of joining because of politics in the military. Advice? quote:The popular picture is that the military service is a bunch of far-right-wing dudes. That is not entirely true. While in my opinion the officer corps is mostly right-leaning, the enlisted corps varies a great deal more. (And so do many officers, but not as publically.) Thanks Slippery! 24) What do all your TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) mean?! Check http://www.militaryfactory.com/glossary.asp for an in depth explanation. Tell me about Navy Nuclear Propulsion jobs! KetTarma made a question megathread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3283345 Can you tell me about some personal experiences with joining the Army National Guard? Thanks kombatMedic! quote:I did 6 years in the Army National Guard, (also known as the "No-Gos", "Nasty Girls" or "Caffeine- Free Diet Army") from 2002-2008. You go to the same Basic Training as regular Army and Army Reserve, and then come home. You have your weekends- which can be anything from daylight hours Saturday and Sunday, to traveling to a base/training facility and staying from Friday night through Sunday evening. Your "Two Weeks" a year will probably be a little more than that, (maybe up to 3 weeks, or even more if you volunteer for it) but it's usually done during the summer, and counts as a military activation, so legally workplaces cannot discipline you for doing your training. 27) I'm worried I did _________________ and won't get a security clearance. Help! While hard drugs or patterns of addiction will disqualify you, the biggest issues are lying (DO NEVER LIE) and having a lot of debt, or some debt with no record of mitigation. Check http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/doha/industrial/ for actual cases to see why clearances were granted or denied. -- Feel free to post any questions, or interrupt conversations we regularly have about junk. Any suggestions or corrections, let me know by posting or AIM. For the most immediate response, check out our IRC room: server: irc.synirc.net #milgoons And finally, a last bit for those of you thinking about joining - Rek noted this at roll call after being a wing exec and winning CGO of the Year: Rek posted:The key to winning is by getting out way more than you put into it. Sometimes you gently caress the military, and sometime it fucks you. But if you're smart, your time served won't be an opportunity cost, but rather an opportunity multiplier. And for all of the people that aren't gonna read the thread anyways I've made two images just for you:   Literally all of that OP credit goes to Xaar. invision fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Sep 25, 2012 |
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Sep 24, 2012 22:29
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vacation in merica posted:Hey Invision you should take the parts about minimum PT standards and deployments from my now gassed thread and put them in here. Some of this stuff is outdated or incomplete. Fixed. Lemme know if anything else needs to be changed.
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Sep 25, 2012 03:01
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HATE CURES TRANNYS posted:On second thought I don't wanna share this. Ignore this post. DRUGS CURE ENLISTMENTS SPICE CURES CLEARANCES ? In all honesty and on topic, it's apparently getting harder and harder to have drug-related things waived. After all, we are in a "draw down" and with the amount of terrible people the military picked up during the surge of the past 10 years, they now have the ability to be picky. But don't worry, they're going to be super picky for a while, realize that they kicked out all the baddies and are too strict on new recruits, then re-open the floodgates for a while. Rinse, repeat every few years.
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Sep 25, 2012 05:36
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Pookum posted:I've tried to talk to a couple requiters befores, but I have a GED and not a diploma, so most recruiters wont even talk to me. Any way around this? I know there are ways to get in witout a diploma but the recruiters act like im some poo poo head. should I bring in my ACT results I scored a 28? I managed to get into the AF with a GED and like 8 credit hours, but that was like 6 years ago. No one cares about your ACT score. I doubt that it's still possible to get in with only a GED.
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Sep 26, 2012 02:37
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OOHRAH HITLER DOG How hard is it to get into WOCS and does the guard have flight medic positions or is that like an AD thing?
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Sep 26, 2012 04:44
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Super Camper posted:There are a lot of active duty enlistees with degrees, especially in my tech school. Getting a slot for OCS/OTS isn't the easiest thing these days. How does that make it not a terrible idea? A lot of my neighbors own meth labs, but that doesn't mean I should also.
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Oct 14, 2012 03:38
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droey posted:I'll be graduating with a chemistry/philosophy degree in May. I asked earlier about being diagnosed with depression and being eligible to fly helos. The depression was really just a phase and nothing is really "wrong" with my mental health now. I just had a rough patch in my life. Despite this I've done well in school and it's been my dream to fly since I was a kid. I know that this isn't a guarantee to get in the sky or anything so I've been looking at other things I might enjoy. Man like, this is kind of a shitpost, but you guys are so cute before you join. The military is not what you think it is at all. Also don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree.Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree. Don't enlist with a degree.
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Oct 15, 2012 00:01
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Oct 15, 2012 00:54
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Antignition posted:The Air Force demand vs. open spots is pretty much exactly what I was figuring, and it's why I'm so worried about landing the 4 year contract deal. Do not sign 6 years. You have credits to get the extra stripe, there's literally no reason to do it. Most of the assholes that signed 6 years to hit e-4 faster are gonna bomb their test and not make e-5 for a while so you'll catch up with all of them unless you have a super hsld airman in your shop. "Better assignment priority" is complete bullshit, and I'm pretty sure the DEP part is too. Don't let them gently caress you.
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Nov 15, 2012 07:29
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Postin' in my own thread. Can an illegal immigrant join the military? Dude said he'd tried but they told him no. I thought service = citizenship was a thing?
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Mar 19, 2014 05:22
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Hekk posted:You have to be a US citizen or a permanent resident in order to be eligible to enlist in the US Military. You must be a US citizen in order to become a commissioned officer. So what makes a person a "permanent resident"? Being here on a visa or something?
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Mar 19, 2014 06:20
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