Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Questions for US military servicemen, current or prior.

Two more years maturity may cause him to reassess his plans. So, I'd suggest he do his mission as that is likely pretty important to him.

Myself i would go in only if i could serve in a Special Forces Unit. I personal wouldn't serve in the Military at the present time under a Muslim Traitor like Obama , i would wait until he is out of office. Obama isn't fit to be a Commander and Chief and i couldn't make myself Salute this Black POS.

Thanks fellas. All very good info.

I must be using the wrong word for his current interest of armor. Armor as in tanks. That tickles his fancy at the moment.

The idea that he has to make a choice with long term effects of career etc is a little overwhelming to him.

He's an outstanding young man. I'm sure that he'll do well in whatever he chooses. We want to help him make the best decision possible.

Seafire, I've put out a PM to your contact. Thankyou to all.

I would not go into todays active or reserve military unless I had a commission.

I am not trying to be negative but say this from experiance. Your questions sound like what is in it for (me)! Honestly those guys do the worst in the military.

I have two friends that are Marine recruiters, one is on recruiting duty the other is a career recruiter. As already stated by others #3 is a total lie and the recruiter is trying to fill open quota's that are hard to fill but make the recruiter look great. However Marine Reserves don't always have the MOS that you want open and or in your area. They are cutting travel for reservist, how much I don't know.

In my opinion your son needs to decide what is more important to him and him alone either the mission or the Military. Both will still be there either way so commit whole heartedly to the one that is more important.

As to the GI Bill that is/has never been a sure thing. Sure once your in to the established plan your in and won't change. However anything is possible. As for the plan changing it absolutely can change, will it I don't know. However I do know the Marine Corps has cut tuition assistance. It's likely hood of coming back 100% is in my opinion not likely.

T-Bone,

I have 23 years of service and am still in the reserves. I am good friends with a former Army recruiter that was stationed in Utah and has lots of experience with LDS. I just got off the phone with him and he said he would be more than happy to talk to you or your son. His name is Dennis Norrod and he is a SFC in the U.S. Army. While your son may not want to join the Army, Dennis would be an invaluable source of unbiased information for you. He will shoot straight with you and he will present issues in such a way that your son can figure out which way to go. He was the top recruiter in Utah for several years. If you want to call him his number is 318-228-4938. Just reference that you are the person that he and I (Dan Redwood) talked about. Remember, Dennis is a former recruiter, he will not be trying to recruit your son.

Dennis did tell me that the religious hiatus is possible in the Army, but he was not sure if that is true for all of the Dept. of Defense. Dennis said that if your son joins the reserves the unit commander would have to approve the hiatus. He also said this is something that can be worked out prior to signing, but it won't be in his contract. He said that when you join the reserves you are actually taking a specific job within a specific unit and that you can meet the Fist Sergeant and Commander ahead of time and get all of this squared away.

You should probably call Dennis about the rest of your issues. If he does not know the answer I think he can get them for you.

I was a former enlisted Marine. I don't know how sheltered your son has been in his LDS environment, but if he joins the Marines he will have to expect a shock. Each day can be filled with someone hurling expletives at you for little or no reason - it's just the USMC way and will probably never change. It took a little getting used to. If you think he would be overly sensitive to such treatment, maybe he should consider another branch.

Dan

If your sons score are as high as you say I recommend this.

He should enlist active duty MOS doesn't matter in this case. Finish bootcamp and MOS A and B schools and apply for MECEP. He will be sent to college and retain the rank of E-5 SGT while in college. He will have to spend his summers training. And after completion of college will have to attend OCS. Upon completion will be a Marine 2Lt and a Mustang. In my opinion the most respected of Marines.

I will join the chorus of waiting (doing his mission) and then joining if he still has that desire after the current gay pride leader /woman S.E.A.L/Ranger pushing POS is replaced. I had a hard enough time serving under Bubba "drafter dodger" Clinton. I could never faithfully serve under this administration.

I wouldn't serve under this POS

First off recruiter is full of horse crap... Which branch is the recruiter? I had nothing but bad things to talk about the Army ones I talked to prior to enlisting into the Air Force.

Do the Mission first.. then look into is what I would tell him. And choose a job that would transfer skills into the civilian life.. not some "cool" job at the moment. My friend went USMC as basic infantry.

He sent me a message saying he hates it and will not being serving any more time after his contract is up... and he wanted to do 20 years. I told him to look into the Air Force.

A lot of prior service members might tell you one thing. "I wish I went Air Force"

Look into USAF for best treatment, TAPs (Active duty, they will pay a large portion of college tuition), college credits towards your degree that is related to your AFSC when graduating Tech School, and more jobs that would transfer skills to the civilian life.


I enlisted May of this year.. currently in DEP.

If a recruiter promises and guarantees you something , pull down you pants and bend over because you are getting ready to be Butt [bleep] big time . Once he signs you up , your nothing but history to him .

And he doesn't even buy you dinner first.

Most recruiters will toss the BS around to get numbers.. They are salesman.. the more sales.. the better.

I was stopped at a red light by a Army Recruiter that I talked to before talking to my MSGT for the Air Force.

I told him I ended up swearing into the Air Force.

"You made a sht decision.. [bleep] it up.. Hope you like someone else picking your sht" (meaning job)

I told him "I made the right one.. he didn't try to pump me full of crap. Have a nice day, sir"

Name one job in the military that doesn't have a civilian counterpart job.

Your a perfect fit for the Air Force.

Not true, a recruiters numbers are not fullfilled on sign-up alone, you have to finish bootcamp/basic training for their quota to be filled and on some MOS's it goes as far as A school.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/11b.htm

One job..

There is no civilian occupation that is directly equivalent to MOS 11B.

Want more?

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/13b.htm

There is no civilian occupation that is directly equivalent to MOS 13B.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/19k.htm

There is no civilian occupation that is directly equivalent to MOS 19D.

When I said pick a MOS or job that can transition into civilian life thats what I meant.. an equivalent in the normal life.

Perfect fit my ass

And it's You're.. not your.

Skip the military and go to college.
Skip the military and go to college.
Skip the military and go to college.

Do I have to say it again?

Oh really???????????????? Would you like to make a wager on this?

Just post a link saying where being a Rifleman or driving a tank is equivalent to a job in the civilian life.

My oldest is planning on graduating high school early in December at the age of 17. He is considering military service, which we support. He is getting bombarded with info and high pressure from recruiters. Please provide sanity checks to the following if possible.

1. He is considering going Reserves (Naval, MC, AF?) to allow him serve a 2 year LDS mission at age 18 or 19. The understanding is that only Reserves allow a 2 year religious hiatus. Is that correct?

I'm not aware of the rules regarding religious hiatus.

2. Upon returning from the mission he would have the option of fulfilling the reserve obligation or going active duty. True or False?

It's common for soilder to go from reserve to active. I did, and several of my friends did as well. Technically the reserve unit must release the solider to active duty. The only time I've seen a reserve unit not release a soilder to active duty was just prior to an impending deployment.

3. His test scores and aptitude scores are very high and I believe he could qualify for about any MOS. Recruiters have told him that the days of picking and choosing MOS are over due to military downsizing. You basically take what is open. True or False?

The avaliability of MOS's waxes and wanes with the Needs of the Army. There are more choices when we are in, or getting ready for a war. There are fewer choices when the force is downsizing after the war. After GWI promotions in my MOS were made impossible, and choices were limited, so I decided to get out. I suspect conditions are similar at this time.

4. By chance is anyone here in armor? That is one area he's expressed interest in. What specific MOS's are there with armor? If anyone has a contact with the USMC Reserve armor in Boise, please contact me. He's leaning heavily that direction at the moment. Armor? If your son is a good Morman and has high ASVAB scores, he should look into INTEL. If he's talented as wishs to go into armor, he should do so as an Officer.

5. Is there any truth to GI Bill benefits being limited or ending due to budget constraints?

Congress changes these from time to time as they see fit. I'm not aware of anyone currently in school having difficulty with their GI Benefit payments.

6. He has also considered waiting until after the 2 year LDS mission to enlist. Recruiters have told him that would be foolish because graduating high school seniors get priority over the older enlistees, even if test scores don't support it. True or False?

I don't believe this statement. I believe it is just an "urgency close". If he goes on mission and learns a foreign language, especially if it's in a high demand area, this could give him a huge advantage if he chose Intel or wished to enter the Spec Ops community.

Any help to these questions would greatly be appreciated. The kid has great angst. His Mom cries every time we talk about it.

I hope this helps.

Put up a little wager!

What not so sure of yourself anymore?