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There's a friggin' recruiting poster if I ever saw one!

My youngest joined the Army against my advice. My advice was to go to college first and if you wanted to join the Army after college then go for it. He joined anyway and has done extremely well and I am very proud of him.
Paul was assigned to Military Intelligence and was promoted to the Rank of E-7 the first of this month and he reached this rank in 7 1/2 years.
You never really know how these thing will turn out, in his case it has worked out well for him and I believe that he plans to become an Officer.

I'll be an Officer come Sunday.

Good for your boy, glad it has worked out for him JWP.

Congradulations

Why would he abandon all that time and effort to start over as an officer? E-7 in 7.5 years is a helluva an accomplishment! Hell he's set to make "Smadge" of the Army!

Where you goin'?

That's not set in stone, but that is the push that he has been getting.. A few years ago he was in the running for NCO of the year. I am very proud of what he has accomplished.

I know the job, just not the location. It is a new position and I might end up being stuck here for another 6 months till it gets worked out (shucks).

Glad I was #3 on the list!

If you want training in aviation maintenance, don't join a Service that separates the various skills and won't allow you to work on different systems. That describes the Army and the Air Force in case ya didn't know.

In the Coast Guard, the AMT rate (rate is equal to MOS) works on every part of the aircraft except the avionics. That means the engines, the hydraulics, the flight controls, the sheet metal work, the electrical wiring, etc.

I started out as a 67N (Huey Mech) then a 67T (Blackhawk Mech) and after 8 years I switched Services to the US Coast Guard and worked on H3 Pelicans and H60 Jayhawks. Never regretted that decision.

I've got my A&P now, but don't use it to make a living.

Don't know the CG equivilant, but you were a Warrant Officer as the Army calls it? Officer job, but not complete command responsibility although you may have functioned as such at times? Like in the Army, WO's fly helo's a lot...officer pay...just no command? And now you've moved up? Is this a natural progression or do you have some particular job skill or experience? Forgive me, I'm ignorant to the CG stuff.

Conner---- You are getting good advice here. Listen to your father. If I were in your shoes, and wanted to serve this great country,I would try for Navy or Air Force, and get as much Tech. schooling they will give you. Try to pick a trade to learn that can be used in the real world. If you go Army they also have very good high tech. schools. You may want to stay in the Military and retire in 20 years -- age 47 with a paychech . Bottom line is Education and do the best you can do. ---- Web

And thanks! It's the 'young' guys that deserve the attention, like JWP's son.

I tend to get bothered by the talk about the new generation not being worth a hoot. I have plenty of young men that work for me that truly wonderful guys. With age comes experience (hopefully) and these young men will be something special.

All Warrants in the Guard are 'walking warrants'. It's a common step up from E-6 and E-7.

remember recuirters lie to get you to sign.You need to pick the trade you want to be in my neph went navy for learning computers and now that he is out making 20 dollars an hr

remember being able shot a person at 600 yards is not a job in civilian world.i forget you originaly said this

I've been in Command positions for the past 8 years (one of the GREAT things about the CG). There are only 2 ratings (MOS) as an enlisted person that you can be in a command position, and I am in one of them.

I will be a Chief Warrant Officer, and I can also be a Commanding Officer of several units, but alas my new job will not be in that role.

CWO's have a bit more 'Respect' in the CG than in the Army.

OK, WO's in the Army usually have a particular skill, ie flying. Special Forces uses WO's a lot too in suedo-command roles...like maybe a hybrid XO and skill guy. WO's in the Army usually start and remain as such, at least they did in my day. They were officers with the job, but not the responsibility. If you liked to fly, you wanted to be a WO not an officer because you had to get your admin and command time too as an officer.

Cossatotjoe is right - recruiters are legendary BS artists. In Basic you'll hear a million stories of them lying. Recruiters need to make numbers and it's worse in wartime. They're soldiers so they do what it takes, even if it means putting you into a career field you'll hate forever.

If you don't get the response you want from your recruiter, find another one. This is one of a very few times in a military career that you'll have the power to make serious choices, so use it. You don't have to sign anything for a year. If a recruiter tells you that a job is only open for a few more days, go ahead and wait. It may close, but it will open up again. Make him bring you exactly what you want - don't just take what he offers. And get everything in writing. Things a recruiter says mean nothing until they're in writing. Your life literally depends on this, so take your time and get it right.

That your recruiter hasn't shown you your ASVAB scores makes me suspicious. 85 is average if I remember correctly. You've taken the test once, and you're almost guaranteed to do better the second time around. The only time it's not smart to retest is if your scores are very high - say well over 100. Make the recruiter explain all of your ASVAB scores to you. Not just the GT score, all of them. The GT is the main one, but the "B" in "ASVAB" stands for "battery," meaning that it's really a series of tests that measure you in a dozen or so areas. Some fields require scores at set levels in some areas, so the ASVAB is the key to your future. Know all of your ASVAB scores and what they mean before you even start to talk about specific career fields.

Speaking of career fields, you have to know what you want in a broad sense. I wanted adventure so I went 11B, Combat Infantryman. Then I went to the Special Forces Qualification Course and became an 18C, Special Forces Engineer Sergeant. I was in SF for nearly 7 years. I had plenty of adventure and it's helped me get a girlfriend or two over the years. But it works against me at times in finding jobs because not everyone thinks it's a good idea to have an ex-Green Beret around the office. Some people get downright spooked by it, and with the media running stories of vets going crazy every day, this will be true of any vet returning from combat. My experience qualifies me for jobs in the private military contractor/security/police field and that's it. If you want adventure and don't care about job prospects when you get out, do what I did. Just know that coming home in a box is a very real occupational hazard these days.

If adventure isn't your thing, then look at the military as something to prepare you for a career. One thing that enlisted service quickly impresses upon you is how much better life is when you've been to college. Once you're in, you probably won't have time to go to school, so stack up as many educational benefits as you can and go when you get out.

Finally, whatever career field you choose, make the recruiter get you a slot to jump school. Parachute wings are worth their weight in gold and it only takes 30 days to get them. Girls love 'em and they're worth a bunch of promotion points when the time comes. They also set you apart from other troops far more than they should in light of what it actually takes to earn them. Contrary to what the recruiter tells you, nearly anyone in the military can go to jump school if it's in an enlistment contract, and very few jobs in the Army do not benefit from the experience. Also, if you can arrange end up in an honest-to-God Airborne unit like the Ranger Regiment or the 82nd Airborne, you'll probably be better off. The recruiter should be able to guarantee you that in writing as well. I knew a lot of guys in those outfits, and they were definitely a cut above.

PM me if you have questions.


Okie John

I would have thought by now that recruiters would have cleaned up their act. Sounds like they haven't. In 1970 in the process of being drafted. Being drafted (2years) was an automatic Vietnam. So I ment with the Army recruiter and enlisted for 3 years for choice of duty station --Germany. So I was told. When I got my orders for Nam I found out that I was lied to. So off to Vietnam. I did not work in my MOS . One year Central Highlands . ----- Web

My heartfelt thanks to all the posters! My son, like many teenage boys, know that, although I know nothing, I don't hang out with dummies. He will take your advice to heart.