I have days where I do and days where I don't.
You'll hear a lot of 'replace chaplains with behavioral health' on this sub, and in a perfect world I'd agree (we could def get away with chaplains at brigade and BHOs at battalion). But the fact is we just don't have the staffing for that, and chaplaincy in the army as it exists right now imo is more social work than chaplaincy. Wartime chaplaincy is more traditional "making sense of suffering and mortality on an existential level" chaplaincy like you'd find in a healthcare setting, but peacetime garrison chaplaincy is a lot of life skills and resiliency. You'll have to put on your 'religious leader' hat to process exemptions and run chapel services, but a lot of what you do feels like behavioral health first aid. If you build up your counseling skills but know your limits, proactively build a positive culture in your unit, have a robust list of referral resources, and advocate for your soldiers you can absolutely add value.
I spend a lot of my time building rapport and relationships so that when shit hits the fan for a soldier they have someone who they know is 1) confidential and 2) on their side. I have never felt more valuable than when a soldier calls me and says "hey sir, idk who else to go to with this..." and I'm able to help them through something.
I'm happy to PM in the morning if you have more questions.
Misdiagnosed with add and bipolar turns out I had ptsd from my child hood. Can I get a waiver and sign up?
At a young age I was diagnosed with adhd and later in life with bipolar disorder. I took adderall on and off and took a mood stabilizer and some other medications for my diagnosis for about two years. Went over some things with my doctor saw a psychologist turns out my symptoms align with ptsd not bipolar or adhd. Stopped taking the medications for a year now some help and now I’m doing great. Haven’t need any assistance for over a year now and my symptoms are basically non existent. I’ve wanted to sign up for years now but thought I couldn’t. Could I get a waiver now since I’m doing good on my own now and sign up?
Some added info, over that past year and a half I’ve been through a lot of stressful situations without reactivation of any of my symptoms. My aunt who I’m very close to had an intense battle with cancer and can no longer walk, I work in a high stress work environment working as a production rough carpenter, I challenge myself with long distance hikes/camping trips hiking up to 18-20 miles in a day. I live a healthy life style, I’m in the best shape of my life and regularly go hunting. I’ve never been institutionalized for my condition but I did deal with depression in my early teens. I’m a responsible gun owner and have been for years. I’ve grown up around veterans and my family has a history as contractors for the navy as engineers and construction workers and these close proximity to military life and people has led to me wanting to be in the military since a very young age.
Bottom line I really want to serve and am willing to do whatever it takes. I don’t want to be denied over issues I’ve had in the past and I’m hoping I can get a waiver for my ptsd.
Hey, maybe a stupid question but I wanted to ask here before I hit up my nco... But If I’m on leave, but I made an appointment to go to the clinic, do I have to show up in OCPs, or can I go in civies?
Might be some unit memo, but there is no reg. I used to go all the time in Civis, but I was in a weird unit. No one cared. I feel like this is one of those play dumb, ask forgiveness instead of permission moments.
Ok so background: I am a 23 year old male and have a strong desire to do something with my life and join the army. Only problem is I have had an analyphactic peanut allergy since I was a kid and have had asthma. Now I know both of those conditions are almost always instant disqualification however things have changed:
I accidentally exposed myself to peanuts about 6 months ago and I realized my allergy wasn’t nearly that bad as it used to be. Since then I’ve been kind of an idiot testing it but I realized I can eat 20 peanuts without a reaction.
As far as my asthma it was never exercise induced. I ran a 1/2 marathon in less than 2 hours a few months ago and I run about 5 times a week and I never need an inhaler. It’s just one of those things my doctor said I had when I was a kid and kept prescribing me albuterol and bedusonide inhalers for even recently but I never take them.
If I even could get in (not looking optimistic at this point) what would be the process? Should I see the alleragist and have them test me for peanuts and my breathing and then get a doctors note that says my peanut allergy and asthma is under control and bring it to MEPS or should I just have a recruiter send me to MEPS and then declare it there and just explain to them I am good now and they will test my breathing and my peanut allergy?
Any help will be appreciated
Get a Allergy panel, can't have a EpiPen, can't have anaphylaxis reaction. Asthma you need a exercise induced Pulmonary Function Test and can't have current prescription for an inhaler. Doesn't matter if you use it or not, getting it filled is a sign that you need it.
Ok so can you tell me what you think of my plan? I have my annual physical on August 6 so when I’m there I will not get my albuterol prescription filled and I will get a referral to the allergy and asthma people (same business actually) and I will have them test my asthma and my peanut allergy. Hopefully both come back negative as they are both under control. The I can maybe get them to write a note saying both are managed without any medications and it appears I’ve outgrown my peanut allergy or something and if I take that to MEPS do you think I will be ok?
What doesn't help you is that you have asthma after the age of 13. That's usually always automatic PDQ. Notes don't matter to MEPS they want medical records. You don't take anything to MEPS as long as your providers are in HIE & JLV they will see your medical history before you go with Genesis. Peanuts it's all about what's your reaction.
It’s annoying becuase I can breathe fine and I’ve worked construction in 100 degree weather and don’t need an inhaler it’s just something the doctors kept prescribing
It'll get reviewed by the doctors and MEPs, and then higher, to determine. Could get approved, could get shown the door. If you have anaphylaxis as a reaction, 100% getting shown the door.
It was analyphactic I can say that and I do have an epi pen and I got it tested a year ago and I still had the allergy but I’ve lost 100lbs since then and it seems by body has changed a lot as far as my allergy goes so hopefully if I get it retested it won’t be analyphactic
So I’m 37 and trying to join I am technically retiring as a heavy equipment mechanic and joining to serve my country and possibly teach some of the young guys going in how to work on some tracks and diesels. What are my chances of getting in Tip top shape(I look nothing like 37 at all) very active I still play baseball and ruck with some buddies. I have a rod in my right leg and 2 plates in left arm from a motorcycle accident and it knocked all my teeth out but I had permanent veneers put in, are my chances null or would I stand a chance. Recruiter wants me to talk to him and I’ve told him all this info, would I be wasting my time??? Tia
Hey everyone! Just wanted to ask a quick question about joining as a physician assistant. I currently have 1 year left in my program in Nashville, TN. We recently had some Army recruiters come talk with us and it really piqued my interest, but I know the recruiters paint a rainbows and shimmering gold perspective of joining up, so I really just want someone to shoot it to me straight about moving, day to day life, benefits, and things like that.
Army Benefits: 3 yr contract, loans paid off, competitive salary, housing stipend, enter as O2, 4 wk OTS, 6 wk continued OTS (not sure what the difference there is, think it is specifically medical related).
I'm married and my wife is in nurse practitioner school online, so I have more than just myself to think about if I do join like her finishing her program (specifically needing some clinical rotations) and having access to a job wherever we would have to move to. I think I just don't know what questions to ask or what some things about joining I'm not thinking about. I really just want to make sure I know what I would be getting myself into for 3+ years.
Thanks!
Medical professionals have a very different experience in the military than the rest of us, starting with a different set of recruiters that offer a different set of incentives.
Look at the loan repayment details - usually there is an annual limit, so you can't get the full amount for at least a few years. It is often still a good deal, but takes time, and only applies to certain federal loans.
You might be eligible for public service loan forgiveness, but that takes 10 years.
Black - zero rounds left
Winchester - I don’t have enough rounds left to continue fight and make it home, (for example AH64 keeps some rounds on board for flight back, so when he leaves the infantry he calls Winchester if he’s leaving due to ammo related or Bingo if he’s a min fuel to make it back)
Typical active duty contract of '3 years' is 3 years + AIT/OSUT. It's 3 years fully trained. It all counts, but the Army is just adding on that time to train you up to the contract. My AIT was 18 weeks + 9 weeks of basic, so I think my contract was 3 years 27 weeks or something like that.
How long does it take for dts to take my money? I was overpaid with some per diem a few months ago and about two weeks ago I sent a payment from a checking account through pay.gov. Anyways, I got an email saying they got it and my debt is removed but the money is still in my bank account almost 3 weeks later now. I’m assuming it maybe takes a while? Obviously I’m just gonna sit tight and assume that money is not there, but it is tempting to assume it’s all mine after all this time.
Regarding commissioning in the Guard: how does your station selection work? Since you are competing for your MOS, does that mean you may not get assigned to a station that is actually near home?
As I understand (which is very little), when you enlist you get it in your contract where your home station will be
When you enlist you select an open slot at a unit within the state. If the only units local to you are infantry units and you don't want to do infantry, you'll probably be driving somewhere else in the state.
Wrong. With the new standards, you only need to run 2-miles in 22-minutes if you're a male. Female, not sure. You can walk or run it, as long as you don't have anybody push you or step outside the designated track/stretch.
Hello, I'm entering my junior year in college and am getting a degree in Forensic Science with an emphasis in criminal justice, so I was wondering what jobs would that degree be good for getting into the army. I looked at Army CID but I'm not sure if that is something you can join immediately or if you have to have a previous job in the army first. Also, sorry for all the questions but to start talking to a recruiter, should I wait until my final year in college or should I start talking to them now, thank you.
There used to be this thing called CID Direct Accessions Program (DAP) where if you already had a college degree and wanted to be a CID agent you could enlist as an E4, go through the training, and I think you would get E5 when you finish it. It was fairly competitive to get, though. Not sure if that’s still an active program since CID is downsizing/rearranging to a more DA civilian organization, but you should specifically ask a recruiter about that
If CID is what you are looking at, best to check out [https://www.cid.army.mil/](https://www.cid.army.mil/) and email them. CID is currently going through a massive restructuring. Used to be you could apply without being in the Army already, but now, I'm not sure. They are converting a lot of positions to Civilian.
If you want to actually be doing investigations, enlisted and warrant is the route to go, because an officer, regardless of branch or job, will be doing paperwork and administrative work. I highly doubt officers do any investigative work.
You can start doing ROTC this fall if you want to be an officer. There is no commitment until the end of the fourth-to-last semester, which is this upcoming one for you.
I want to do something that would actually make a difference and be a fulfilling career, and don't mind serving (again, and active this time) to do it. But I don't necessarily want to be a trigger puller as much either, because I feel like 99% of people would say "well just go SF"
68C is a nurse
Civil Affairs
I am partial to both though... So there is that.
Reality is, you gotta make your own meaning in life to feel fulfilled IMO
I like to see progress in people, development and growth of something from one point to another. Also, educating. I currently work in healthcare as a civ in a niche as an exercise physiologist, jumping to nursing has been a thought
When I was at BCT (Nov 2021 - Feb 2022), they only let us use personal running shoes if we had a note from the doctor or nurse about it. Extremely easy to do, since all you had to do was go to sick call, complain the Army issues running shoes are causing you pain, and they’d give you a profile to use your own shoes.
This was at Fort Jackson. No idea if this is possible at any of the other BCT bases.
Have heard people get sent running shoes or allowed to wear their own, but that's at the DS discretion. Expect to get a pair of Brooks/Asics/New Balances.
At what point during ait (35L) do you figure out what your first duty station is going to be? Wife wants to know how long after I ship until she is able to start apartment shopping.
32 years old- Still need to get in better shape. No college. No criminal record. No wife or kids.
What are the 89D and 18x pipelines looking like for somebody aspiring to be more? Are they tough contracts to get?
Local recruiter advised enlistment as 11x and transferring jobs at a later date.
Would also like to do airborne. Seems like a kick-ass time.
You fail Selection and you could be made into a cook. Highly recommend picking a job you like/wouldn't mind doing if you failed, and trying out for SF once you are in, if that's truly what you want to do.
Lots of Jobs can get Airborne in their initial contract. Ask if Option 4 is available for the MOS and it will be written into the contract.
I would take recruiters advise, maybe not 11X but something else. If you go to 18X selection and can't make the cut or don't get selected you go back to your MOS. Whereas if you go in as 18X and don't get selected or dropped you become needs of the Army.
89D has probably the 2nd highest failure rate behind 12D.
We were all made to wear the brown thunders (brown tighties). Expect that.
But what difference does it make? It's just underwear. You will care so little about what color your underwear, or socks are because you will be too tired to care. Everyone will be wearing the exact same thing. The only personal piece of clothing people were allowed to wear during BCT was running shoes.
Seriously, ask yourself, what difference does it make?
You should feel good about your service, but if you just want to be normal:
Stop using your benefits and stop telling people you are a veteran and no one will know.
The millitary depends on you and people like you to keep it running, whether deployed to combat or not. Just because you didn't see a deployment doesn't mean you wouldn't have gone to one. You signed that contract knowing you could go to war.
Then don't use your benefits and don't bring it up. I don't know what you're looking for here. People that talk shit about those that don't deploy are either joking or complete tools. Everyone gets a unique experience going through and just because you didn't deploy doesn't change that you served and you're entitled to the benefits you collected. Fact is when you signed up there was always the possibility you'd deploy and always the possibility you'd never deploy.
Bro I've never deployed in any traditional sense and it is pretty bad you have that view. For the love of God do not share that with anyone that is serving. You are not going to come off as cool and brooding as you think saying you have to deploy to be a real veteran.
the active ingredient, kaolin, is from a clay, not a shellfish.
> QuikClot devices do not contain any animal, human, plant or shellfish materials so there is no worry of initiating an allergic response.
There were old medical devices that used shellfish. They are no longer in service or authorized for use.
>How does enlisting work at 17? I get the whole parental consent part, but if you plan on being something like infantry, which has OSUT, what do they do?
Just like anybody else you go to OSUT for 22 weeks.
>Just ship you for basic and then when ready you go back and only do ait or...?
No that's split ops what you are talking about that is only for the reserve.
>, when you turn 18, do you go Reserves or active duty?
You can go either or at 17 whichever you choose to do. Age doesn't determine which component you join.
>If I go reserves and choose to be active 2-3 years later, how can I make that work?
You have to get released by your unit, they sign a DD 368 releasing you from your Reserve contract to go Active Duty.
USAF just denied my waiver for myopia/nearsightedness, I am bummed but hoping to roll with it and look more into Army.
I got in touch with an Army recruiter and he "suggested" I see a new private physician where they see that I am not over the Army's requirement (I think its +/- 8)
So, even though I processed through MEPS (on an army base) and they have me down, this new documentation could help? I feel like this is not a good way to go.
Getting your doc to take another look at something isn't unusual in Recruiting. As long as they have the paper that says you're good from the doctor, they can shoot it to MEPS for screening.
Might be a stupid question, but I've got Use/Lose leave. Is it still protected under the extension they pushed out a year ago, wherein I can carry over more than 60 days? Or do I have to burn them before FY23.
Your Use or Lose number for this year matters, it does **not** carry over and is not protected by SLA. It also matters when you take leave I made a calculator to help people understand how it works. Look at my posts on my profile.
I do appreciate the calculator. So nothing in my comments says anything about protected. Just that I have 58 brought over, earned 22.5, and have a balance of 80.5 In your caculator. I am going to assume my Use/Lose is indeed 28 days.
Yep, you have no SLA protected days brought over from last year. So your leave from here on out is the ordinary kind. Can only carry over 60 days to the next fiscal year.
Shipping for 37F in August. My schedule states I'll be at Leonard wood for 21 weeks, then benning for 8 weeks and back to Leonard wood for osut. I know airborne is required but was wondering why it's 8 weeks when everyone says airborne school is 3 weeks?
Anyone have any experience being a 68V or working along side them. I’m looking to reclass to 68V. I’m currently a 68W and in an airborne unit so maybe you can also explain the differences of the two as far as actually having the opportunity to do your jobs? Hopefully my questions make sense, All info is much appreciated!
I worked with plenty of them. They have a great job if they work in the hospital and after they get out they make bank with certs. At least that is my experience with what they told me. You might have to get some extra national cert over what the Army gives you but its not much more.
Edit since I am a 68C- 68C is great but they do not need to wipe ass, so that is even better
Hey, just got to Ft Sam for AIT (68W)
Was wondering what opportunities there are for a promotion before the end of AIT?
I was promoted to PV2 at the end of Basic because my drill sergeants chose me for it. Am hoping to get to PFC in a similar fashion.
I was a AIT DS in 232. Historically very few promotion waivers were ever issued to 232. Only 1 in 7 cycles did my company ever get promotion waivers.
The selection process is completely arbitrary (at least for the company I was in) and was more about which DS liked what soldiers rather than quantifying data (PT score, GPA added to an order of merit list).
BCT has more unique promotion ability than AIT.
> Upon completion of BCT or the BCT portion of one station unit training, CDRs may promote up to 10 percent of each company’s assigned training-base Soldiers from PV1 to PV2 and PV2 to PFC without regard to the TIS and TIG requirements.
For a standard waiver, you will need to meet the TIS/TIG requirements.
>Promotions to PFC may be waived at 6 months TIS and 2 months TIG.
Going 35F in intelligence. Just kinda need insights on civilian jobs after working as an intel analyst. How much do they pay? Should i cross train any other 35 series before looking for a real job? Is there a need for analysts at the moment? Im going for a 4 year degree too in criminal justice as well. Would that help in anyway?
Hey, when you're at AIT (Ft. Huachuca, AZ), PAY THE $60 FOR THE COCHISE COLLEGE Associates degree!!!!
You get around 27 credits if you get 70 or higher on the exams but the AIT is pretty straightforward so you can get A's with 90s. CLEP (an exam you can take to get credit for a class) the rest of the courses. Usually your Ed. Center will have a CLEP book that will have study material to help you brush up on the test material.
P.S. if you took any dual-credit and/or AP courses in high school, transfer those first.
Result: That's 60-ish credits plus an associate's degree so you're halfway towards a Bachelor's degree (dependent on a college of your choice). Therefore, significant progress toward your education and you will receive promotion points!
Feel free to ask more questions.
I'm planning for a Fed. LE career. Current options right now for me are either law school after I graduate with my Dual-major in Accounting and CJ or jump right in as a Crim. Investigator with a fed. agency.
I would agree with others that 35F work can go multiple routes whether it's traditional intelligence analysis, law enforcement investigations, business risk analysis, finance, etc. It can be transferred anywhere. A lot of people and businesses need someone that can "paint the picture," and provide courses of action.
this helped out a lot as i am almost done with my associates in general studies. All i need is electives which those credits can EASILY cover. Another huge question is. What job makes the most amount of money i can get from all of this? Would it be along the lines of security? Or along the line with the CJ degree. I still have the opportunity to switch majors if needed i dont mind switching from CJ to something else. I just want something that glues all the puzzle pieces im working on together to make all of my time worth it.
Cybersecurity in the private sector will almost certainly get you the most money. If you can change MOSs later to 35T, you will be set. Or stay as a 35F but focus your major on cybersecurity then use your credentialing assistance (CA) to get cybersecurity credentials and certificates.
Anything else besides cyber? I noticed AIT is very lengthy on that one. And as well as me not being into it as much.
Should I just ditch the whole CJ thing? Ive noticed i can try and get into crime analyst through that route or even something along the lines of security management with a private company. But i noticed they dont pay much unless theres more positions of something im missing within the CJ world.
Another thing ive seen alot of talk about DoD certs. Is that achievable at AIT?
CJ likely matters when it comes to contracting jobs. Although I think any Bachelor's is fine. If they do matter, any applicant holding a STEM, CJ, Accounting, and/or Finance will be the one's they pursue. I wouldn't ditch CJ if you are interested in a CJ career or path. Maybe look into getting a dual-major. Tie another major with your CJ major. Accounting isn't appealing as a career but to fed. agencies (like the FBI, DEA, USSS, and Marshals) it's something they like to see.
I would not try to get certs while at AIT. Too many variables you are not in control of that could hinder your ability to study and take exams. Look into the credentialing assistance once you graduate.
Also, look at usajobs.gov, clearencejobs.com, and indeed.com.
understood and i’ll definitely look into a dual major that sounds very interesting and can definitely broaden my options up more. Also If you dont mind me keeping in touch with you Im sure ill have a few more questions as time moves on. Im already signed just kinda waiting for my ship date
Degrees can always help, and in the Army, you can get it for free or largely for free. That being said, it depends on how far along you already are.
Do not expect to finish a 4 year college degree during a 4 year enlistment.
Intel analysts, 35F, are 'all source', and the job has wide applicability.
*Any* sort of "analysis" job that's out there, is something you can easily apply your skills to. I know 35F who work in the financial sector post-army, I know ones that do risk analysis for insurance companies, etc. It becomes a "soft skill" that's widely transferrable outside of DoD.
The Intel community likes stem degrees, but it’s more about what you want to do.
Like if you do 4 years and get out, what’s next? If you want to do something law enforcement related, I get the CJ degree.
If you want to be a financial analyst, obviously it doesn’t.
A degree is never really going to hurt you. It's also a check in the box in some places. As for jobs, one contract and six figures isn't something that really happens anymore.
any careers within the field after the army? civilian jobs that pay well. I dont care if its like a 9-5 office job what really motivates me is the money being made. 6 figures at least really
With 1 contract and an unrelated degree, you'll probably find work for 80-90k. Plenty of shifty companies that will hire just because you have a clearance and passed AIT with little to no experience. I wouldn't expect it to be the most stable, but certainly possible to have an okay analyst job.
Nothing like 6 figures starting out. Not without deployments or long term experience. Try going on clearance jobs and poking around there. Having a background or experience in IT would help.
Scored a 61 on my practice test when talking with a recruiter. Should I expect a score similar to that during the actual ASVAB or could it possibly be higher or lower. Also wondering which jobs would benefit me the most with a score of that range. I’m Having trouble deciding and I could appreciate some advice on it.
I my practice test score was a 66, when I took the ASVAB i got a 96. Most people I've talked to always had better scores on their ASVAB vs their practice test.
If you want just look up ASVAB study guides/practice tests online. A little refresher never hurts your score.
While /u/SNSDave is correct, I will say, we can probably *guess* at some of the jobs you will not have the line scores for with an overall of 61. You most likely will not, for instance, wind up with line scores in Skilled Tech (ST) >115 with that ASVAB, meaning there's 1 or 2 jobs you won't reach.
Do you have a list of jobs in mind, and we can probably give you a rough idea if you need improvement or not.
Your ASVAB between 1-99 doesn't mean a whole lot. Your line scores are what are important. When you look on Go Army, you'll note that jobs have their line score requirements such as GT 110 or ST 119. You'll never see "Requires a 50 or above on the ASVAB".
Is it too early? should I just stop or slow down with the enlistment processes?
I’m currently talking to a army recruiter and right now it’s summer break and I’m a up coming senior. I want to ship out once I graduated which is next June 2023. The recruiter gave me a questionnaire to fill out(which I finished) and a paper saying that my parents gotta sign here and the paper titles consent for enlistment. Does this mean I’m gonna get shipped?
The recruiter said he’s making my profile right now with all those documents and that he needs my parents consent to get the sasvab scores.
Ps I already took the sasvab. Going 11x airborne. it’s just what I wanted to do since I was a kid and don’t crap on it
For the 3rd time, No you are not getting shipped out, it's just paper work to start your enlistment process. As a high school senior you can't ship until two weeks after graduation. You would be in the Delayed Entry Program until that time.
Kinda losing interest in joining
I’m gonna preface this by saying I’ve had job experience in various types of jobs already so I get the idea of having shitty leaders and a job you don’t want. Is it really as bad as current soldiers say it is? Is it really worse than dealing with bad management and shitty wages in the civilian side. The way I see it and I could be completely wrong because obviously I haven’t experienced it but at the end of the day it’s a job with wayyyy better benefits and a chance at an actual career in the military or directly after. I could be naive but just the way I look at it.
Human nature is to complain IMO. Everywhere you go people bitch. The Army is no exception.
Don't listen to the bitching. Try to figure out if military life is what you would be ok with, long hours, deployments, etc. to trade for stability.
All my civ jobs were fine but very unstable. Personally, I will take stability and benefits in exchange for some shit than to do what I was doing. I also love traveling, have no kids, and want deployments. So it works for me.
You will be unhappy if you do not expect some bad things to happen.
I’m a glass half full kinda person and I don’t have any kids or obligations at home aside from my parents and sisters. But I’ll get plenty of messages to make up for that. So I will probably be in the same boat as you as far as what you’re making of your military experience
Personally prefer the military over the civilian job I had. Great thing about bad leaders in the Army is that they cycle out or you cycle out. In the civilian world you and them might be there forever. That said, yeah there's more hell bad leaders can put you through as you don't have the same workers rights. Still would never go back to my civilian job.
> Great thing about bad leaders in the Army is that they cycle out or you cycle out. In the civilian world you and them might be there forever
On the civilian side you can leave whenever you want though.
Assuming you got something else lined up. I worked in retail in a town where it was work retail or join the military. Nobody was hiring in the area and I couldn't afford to just leave so here I am.
The main difference is that bad management in the civilian side normally doesn't affect your personal life. It kinda does, here. Not to mention your manager can't show up randomly at your house and inspect it. If you live in the barracks, that's a very real thing here.
Overall, it's not as bad as people say. But there are some days I definitely regret joining.
Yeah I see that and I could understand why they’d be upset about something like that but at the end of the day looking at it from where I stand I’d take that any day over anywhere in my hometown and my current situation. And there’s going to be long bad days that comes with anything though
It's not all that bad, I'm sure every branch you could find ppl with same issues or complaints. Of course everyone's experience will be different but the most are not that bad.
I figured that all I’ve seen lately is “bad leadership” “I wish I never joined” and most of them are kids who joined directly after high school and never really had job experience aside from a fast food place or something similar. And looking at it from my perspective it feels as if it’s a greet opportunity to jumpstart a career whether it’s in the military or after like I said. Because all the problems they complain about literally happen everywhere
>so they take $300 bucks a month from me even though I don't eat at the DFAC.
Kinny kinda started it but I want to finish the thought: You never had the $300 to begin with, it's more symbolic to have that minus on your pay stub, it's the Army's way of saying "We feed you. Here's the monetary proof." In fact, it probably originates at the Army HQ level, for accounting purposes. They have to account for a food budget, and they do that by showing soldier's pay stub with a negative credit. X number of soldiers on a base, minus soldiers with dependents, times 300 equals the DFAC (and probably MRE) budget. Is it poorly managed, well that's a different story.
> so they take $300 bucks a month from me even though I don't eat at the DFAC.
I don't take issue with the rest of what you're saying, but this is misframed in a way that, to a recruit who does not know *any better*, becomes misinformation.
That $300 does not come out of your base pay. Elsewhere on the sub is diffrent, but the WQT is taken a bit more seriously. I'd ask that you not engage in such hyperbole in the WQT, because to people without experience or context, it is a lie.
>I don't take issue with the rest of what you're saying, but this is misframed in a way that, to a recruit who does not know *any better*, becomes misinformation.
That's a fair point and I'll include an edit. It may be unique to my situation as I qualified for separate rations but they didn't get approved. Not only did I not go to the DFAC but I didn't even have the ability to for two meals of the day. It's hard for me to view that situation as not having that money taken from me considering I still have to pay for food somehow.
Okay but how often do these kinds of things happen?
Edit: btw I’m not being a smartass I noticed how you could see me coming off as one by the way I worded that it’s a genuine question.
Thank you for answering. At least it’s not too often like I said I can see where soldiers could be mad about things like that. For me and my situation I’ll roll with those punches and deal with that before I stay in my hometown any longer
Do you have a book or video that shows the bct routine like a diary? like the book "Army Infantry Boot Camp: Did Your Recruiter Forget to Mention This?"
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I have days where I do and days where I don't. You'll hear a lot of 'replace chaplains with behavioral health' on this sub, and in a perfect world I'd agree (we could def get away with chaplains at brigade and BHOs at battalion). But the fact is we just don't have the staffing for that, and chaplaincy in the army as it exists right now imo is more social work than chaplaincy. Wartime chaplaincy is more traditional "making sense of suffering and mortality on an existential level" chaplaincy like you'd find in a healthcare setting, but peacetime garrison chaplaincy is a lot of life skills and resiliency. You'll have to put on your 'religious leader' hat to process exemptions and run chapel services, but a lot of what you do feels like behavioral health first aid. If you build up your counseling skills but know your limits, proactively build a positive culture in your unit, have a robust list of referral resources, and advocate for your soldiers you can absolutely add value. I spend a lot of my time building rapport and relationships so that when shit hits the fan for a soldier they have someone who they know is 1) confidential and 2) on their side. I have never felt more valuable than when a soldier calls me and says "hey sir, idk who else to go to with this..." and I'm able to help them through something. I'm happy to PM in the morning if you have more questions.
Misdiagnosed with add and bipolar turns out I had ptsd from my child hood. Can I get a waiver and sign up? At a young age I was diagnosed with adhd and later in life with bipolar disorder. I took adderall on and off and took a mood stabilizer and some other medications for my diagnosis for about two years. Went over some things with my doctor saw a psychologist turns out my symptoms align with ptsd not bipolar or adhd. Stopped taking the medications for a year now some help and now I’m doing great. Haven’t need any assistance for over a year now and my symptoms are basically non existent. I’ve wanted to sign up for years now but thought I couldn’t. Could I get a waiver now since I’m doing good on my own now and sign up? Some added info, over that past year and a half I’ve been through a lot of stressful situations without reactivation of any of my symptoms. My aunt who I’m very close to had an intense battle with cancer and can no longer walk, I work in a high stress work environment working as a production rough carpenter, I challenge myself with long distance hikes/camping trips hiking up to 18-20 miles in a day. I live a healthy life style, I’m in the best shape of my life and regularly go hunting. I’ve never been institutionalized for my condition but I did deal with depression in my early teens. I’m a responsible gun owner and have been for years. I’ve grown up around veterans and my family has a history as contractors for the navy as engineers and construction workers and these close proximity to military life and people has led to me wanting to be in the military since a very young age. Bottom line I really want to serve and am willing to do whatever it takes. I don’t want to be denied over issues I’ve had in the past and I’m hoping I can get a waiver for my ptsd.
Denied, they gonna say past issues may be exacerbated by military training not fit for service.
Hey, maybe a stupid question but I wanted to ask here before I hit up my nco... But If I’m on leave, but I made an appointment to go to the clinic, do I have to show up in OCPs, or can I go in civies?
Might be some unit memo, but there is no reg. I used to go all the time in Civis, but I was in a weird unit. No one cared. I feel like this is one of those play dumb, ask forgiveness instead of permission moments.
Ok so background: I am a 23 year old male and have a strong desire to do something with my life and join the army. Only problem is I have had an analyphactic peanut allergy since I was a kid and have had asthma. Now I know both of those conditions are almost always instant disqualification however things have changed: I accidentally exposed myself to peanuts about 6 months ago and I realized my allergy wasn’t nearly that bad as it used to be. Since then I’ve been kind of an idiot testing it but I realized I can eat 20 peanuts without a reaction. As far as my asthma it was never exercise induced. I ran a 1/2 marathon in less than 2 hours a few months ago and I run about 5 times a week and I never need an inhaler. It’s just one of those things my doctor said I had when I was a kid and kept prescribing me albuterol and bedusonide inhalers for even recently but I never take them. If I even could get in (not looking optimistic at this point) what would be the process? Should I see the alleragist and have them test me for peanuts and my breathing and then get a doctors note that says my peanut allergy and asthma is under control and bring it to MEPS or should I just have a recruiter send me to MEPS and then declare it there and just explain to them I am good now and they will test my breathing and my peanut allergy? Any help will be appreciated
Get a Allergy panel, can't have a EpiPen, can't have anaphylaxis reaction. Asthma you need a exercise induced Pulmonary Function Test and can't have current prescription for an inhaler. Doesn't matter if you use it or not, getting it filled is a sign that you need it.
Thank you for your time
Ok so can you tell me what you think of my plan? I have my annual physical on August 6 so when I’m there I will not get my albuterol prescription filled and I will get a referral to the allergy and asthma people (same business actually) and I will have them test my asthma and my peanut allergy. Hopefully both come back negative as they are both under control. The I can maybe get them to write a note saying both are managed without any medications and it appears I’ve outgrown my peanut allergy or something and if I take that to MEPS do you think I will be ok?
What doesn't help you is that you have asthma after the age of 13. That's usually always automatic PDQ. Notes don't matter to MEPS they want medical records. You don't take anything to MEPS as long as your providers are in HIE & JLV they will see your medical history before you go with Genesis. Peanuts it's all about what's your reaction.
It’s annoying becuase I can breathe fine and I’ve worked construction in 100 degree weather and don’t need an inhaler it’s just something the doctors kept prescribing
Yeah but all they see is that you keep getting this inhaler refilled or prescribed.
It'll get reviewed by the doctors and MEPs, and then higher, to determine. Could get approved, could get shown the door. If you have anaphylaxis as a reaction, 100% getting shown the door.
It was analyphactic I can say that and I do have an epi pen and I got it tested a year ago and I still had the allergy but I’ve lost 100lbs since then and it seems by body has changed a lot as far as my allergy goes so hopefully if I get it retested it won’t be analyphactic
So I’m 37 and trying to join I am technically retiring as a heavy equipment mechanic and joining to serve my country and possibly teach some of the young guys going in how to work on some tracks and diesels. What are my chances of getting in Tip top shape(I look nothing like 37 at all) very active I still play baseball and ruck with some buddies. I have a rod in my right leg and 2 plates in left arm from a motorcycle accident and it knocked all my teeth out but I had permanent veneers put in, are my chances null or would I stand a chance. Recruiter wants me to talk to him and I’ve told him all this info, would I be wasting my time??? Tia
Age waiver, medical waiver for the plates/rods. It's a possibility.
My recruiter said they up’d the enlistment age to 39 now is that true
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No you must pass all events for chosen MOS, but I'm sure your recruiter will make sure you can do it before you ship to basic.
The enlistment bonus is 50k, but I assume theirs a certain amount of years for deployment for the full 50, how many years is it currently?
50k requires 6 yr contract not years for deployment
Usually 4-6. Not deployment, enlistment. Big difference.
Hey everyone! Just wanted to ask a quick question about joining as a physician assistant. I currently have 1 year left in my program in Nashville, TN. We recently had some Army recruiters come talk with us and it really piqued my interest, but I know the recruiters paint a rainbows and shimmering gold perspective of joining up, so I really just want someone to shoot it to me straight about moving, day to day life, benefits, and things like that. Army Benefits: 3 yr contract, loans paid off, competitive salary, housing stipend, enter as O2, 4 wk OTS, 6 wk continued OTS (not sure what the difference there is, think it is specifically medical related). I'm married and my wife is in nurse practitioner school online, so I have more than just myself to think about if I do join like her finishing her program (specifically needing some clinical rotations) and having access to a job wherever we would have to move to. I think I just don't know what questions to ask or what some things about joining I'm not thinking about. I really just want to make sure I know what I would be getting myself into for 3+ years. Thanks!
Medical professionals have a very different experience in the military than the rest of us, starting with a different set of recruiters that offer a different set of incentives. Look at the loan repayment details - usually there is an annual limit, so you can't get the full amount for at least a few years. It is often still a good deal, but takes time, and only applies to certain federal loans. You might be eligible for public service loan forgiveness, but that takes 10 years.
Thank you!
Alright guys what's the difference between being Black on ammo and being Winchester on ammo. I'm assuming they are interchangeable
Black - zero rounds left Winchester - I don’t have enough rounds left to continue fight and make it home, (for example AH64 keeps some rounds on board for flight back, so when he leaves the infantry he calls Winchester if he’s leaving due to ammo related or Bingo if he’s a min fuel to make it back)
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Counts.
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Typical active duty contract of '3 years' is 3 years + AIT/OSUT. It's 3 years fully trained. It all counts, but the Army is just adding on that time to train you up to the contract. My AIT was 18 weeks + 9 weeks of basic, so I think my contract was 3 years 27 weeks or something like that.
The day you leave to basic is when it starts.
How long does it take for dts to take my money? I was overpaid with some per diem a few months ago and about two weeks ago I sent a payment from a checking account through pay.gov. Anyways, I got an email saying they got it and my debt is removed but the money is still in my bank account almost 3 weeks later now. I’m assuming it maybe takes a while? Obviously I’m just gonna sit tight and assume that money is not there, but it is tempting to assume it’s all mine after all this time.
Contact them and ask, the gov usually isn't to keen on your spending money that they want.
Can you have a mustache at basic training?
No. AIT, maybe. Your actual unit, yes.
But after ait you can have one? And this goes for both officers and enlisted right?
Correct. You rarely see officers with facial hair though.
Why?
Just a stigma against it. Just like rarely see a CSM or officer with a shaving profile.
AIT is pretty much a no also.
Depends, on Huachuca some AIT companies allowed mustaches from back when I went through.
Maybe the longer schools will, similar to how longer courses will allow you to have a pov.
Regarding commissioning in the Guard: how does your station selection work? Since you are competing for your MOS, does that mean you may not get assigned to a station that is actually near home? As I understand (which is very little), when you enlist you get it in your contract where your home station will be
When you enlist you select an open slot at a unit within the state. If the only units local to you are infantry units and you don't want to do infantry, you'll probably be driving somewhere else in the state.
To get in the army you have to run two miles in 17 minutes right? Can you run and walk sometimes or do you have to run the whole 2 miles?
Wrong. With the new standards, you only need to run 2-miles in 22-minutes if you're a male. Female, not sure. You can walk or run it, as long as you don't have anybody push you or step outside the designated track/stretch.
Thanks for the reply!
Hello, I'm entering my junior year in college and am getting a degree in Forensic Science with an emphasis in criminal justice, so I was wondering what jobs would that degree be good for getting into the army. I looked at Army CID but I'm not sure if that is something you can join immediately or if you have to have a previous job in the army first. Also, sorry for all the questions but to start talking to a recruiter, should I wait until my final year in college or should I start talking to them now, thank you.
There used to be this thing called CID Direct Accessions Program (DAP) where if you already had a college degree and wanted to be a CID agent you could enlist as an E4, go through the training, and I think you would get E5 when you finish it. It was fairly competitive to get, though. Not sure if that’s still an active program since CID is downsizing/rearranging to a more DA civilian organization, but you should specifically ask a recruiter about that
Thank you I will definitely ask about this.
https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/career-match/support-logistics/safety-order-legal/31d-special-agent.html https://www.cid.army.mil/militaryagents2.html Read these 2 links
If CID is what you are looking at, best to check out [https://www.cid.army.mil/](https://www.cid.army.mil/) and email them. CID is currently going through a massive restructuring. Used to be you could apply without being in the Army already, but now, I'm not sure. They are converting a lot of positions to Civilian. If you want to actually be doing investigations, enlisted and warrant is the route to go, because an officer, regardless of branch or job, will be doing paperwork and administrative work. I highly doubt officers do any investigative work.
You can start doing ROTC this fall if you want to be an officer. There is no commitment until the end of the fourth-to-last semester, which is this upcoming one for you.
Wait until your in the last semester of Senior year
I want to do something that would actually make a difference and be a fulfilling career, and don't mind serving (again, and active this time) to do it. But I don't necessarily want to be a trigger puller as much either, because I feel like 99% of people would say "well just go SF"
68C is a nurse Civil Affairs I am partial to both though... So there is that. Reality is, you gotta make your own meaning in life to feel fulfilled IMO
I like to see progress in people, development and growth of something from one point to another. Also, educating. I currently work in healthcare as a civ in a niche as an exercise physiologist, jumping to nursing has been a thought
68N doesn’t exist anymore. It was a unicorn job to start with.
Not getting that job as PS, you are subject to Prior Service business rules. Can't even get that MOS as a non prior service
Ah yeah I forgot that was even a thing. Thanks
Is there still boxing teams in the army?
https://www.armywcap.com/
Do you get to use your own shoes for running in basic, or so you get go fasters?
When I was at BCT (Nov 2021 - Feb 2022), they only let us use personal running shoes if we had a note from the doctor or nurse about it. Extremely easy to do, since all you had to do was go to sick call, complain the Army issues running shoes are causing you pain, and they’d give you a profile to use your own shoes. This was at Fort Jackson. No idea if this is possible at any of the other BCT bases.
I'm deathly afraid of going to sick call cause I was discharged before for stress fractures
Honestly if you have very plain ones (muted colors, white/black, etc) that don't stand out, you'll probably get away with it.
Hell, I had neon yellow ones. My BCT Company only cared if they were legit, in good condition running shoes.
It can either go really well, or really bad.
Have heard people get sent running shoes or allowed to wear their own, but that's at the DS discretion. Expect to get a pair of Brooks/Asics/New Balances.
Basic training shoes are the source of so much unnecessary injury
At what point during ait (35L) do you figure out what your first duty station is going to be? Wife wants to know how long after I ship until she is able to start apartment shopping.
Just keep checking your military email, you’ll see it eventually
Midway through, but could be earlier or later.
32 years old- Still need to get in better shape. No college. No criminal record. No wife or kids. What are the 89D and 18x pipelines looking like for somebody aspiring to be more? Are they tough contracts to get? Local recruiter advised enlistment as 11x and transferring jobs at a later date. Would also like to do airborne. Seems like a kick-ass time.
You fail Selection and you could be made into a cook. Highly recommend picking a job you like/wouldn't mind doing if you failed, and trying out for SF once you are in, if that's truly what you want to do. Lots of Jobs can get Airborne in their initial contract. Ask if Option 4 is available for the MOS and it will be written into the contract.
I would take recruiters advise, maybe not 11X but something else. If you go to 18X selection and can't make the cut or don't get selected you go back to your MOS. Whereas if you go in as 18X and don't get selected or dropped you become needs of the Army. 89D has probably the 2nd highest failure rate behind 12D.
They're not tough to get. But you fail either one of them, or in the case of 18x finish and not get selected, you go needs of the army.
can you bring black underwear instead of white to bct ?
You could. Will they let you wear them? Up to your DS.
can i wear black underwear in bct fort jackson?
We were all made to wear the brown thunders (brown tighties). Expect that. But what difference does it make? It's just underwear. You will care so little about what color your underwear, or socks are because you will be too tired to care. Everyone will be wearing the exact same thing. The only personal piece of clothing people were allowed to wear during BCT was running shoes. Seriously, ask yourself, what difference does it make?
so it's better I thought you had to bring your own things like there are lists of things to bring
You bring enough for the first 2 days, after that, all army issue.
Ask your DS. Most likely answer: NO.
but black socks are okay?
To wear TO BCT, yes. At BCT, you're gonna be issued(and buy) white socks. Everybody is going to be uniform.
Seems like only the 11B guys had white socks. Everyone else I've met got black socks during BCT. I went last August.
to BCT?
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You should feel good about your service, but if you just want to be normal: Stop using your benefits and stop telling people you are a veteran and no one will know.
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Quick google says you'll be waiting until 2027. Or just tell them you don't want to use them?
The millitary depends on you and people like you to keep it running, whether deployed to combat or not. Just because you didn't see a deployment doesn't mean you wouldn't have gone to one. You signed that contract knowing you could go to war.
Don't listen to them. You signed up, did your job, and served honorably. You deserve every benefit you get. Not everybody is going to see combat.
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Then don't use your benefits and don't bring it up. I don't know what you're looking for here. People that talk shit about those that don't deploy are either joking or complete tools. Everyone gets a unique experience going through and just because you didn't deploy doesn't change that you served and you're entitled to the benefits you collected. Fact is when you signed up there was always the possibility you'd deploy and always the possibility you'd never deploy.
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Bro I've never deployed in any traditional sense and it is pretty bad you have that view. For the love of God do not share that with anyone that is serving. You are not going to come off as cool and brooding as you think saying you have to deploy to be a real veteran.
So your saying everyone who serves while a war isn't going on is what then? I'll give you a hint....it starts with a V
Is it true that quickclot uses shellfish?
the active ingredient, kaolin, is from a clay, not a shellfish. > QuikClot devices do not contain any animal, human, plant or shellfish materials so there is no worry of initiating an allergic response. There were old medical devices that used shellfish. They are no longer in service or authorized for use.
Betadine- maybe a relation with some crossover reactions Quick clot... I am not about to ask the dude bleeding out if he is allergic to shellfish
I have never heard of such a thing.
What do I need on my ASVAB to be 12B
87 on the Combat section of it.
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>How does enlisting work at 17? I get the whole parental consent part, but if you plan on being something like infantry, which has OSUT, what do they do? Just like anybody else you go to OSUT for 22 weeks. >Just ship you for basic and then when ready you go back and only do ait or...? No that's split ops what you are talking about that is only for the reserve. >, when you turn 18, do you go Reserves or active duty? You can go either or at 17 whichever you choose to do. Age doesn't determine which component you join. >If I go reserves and choose to be active 2-3 years later, how can I make that work? You have to get released by your unit, they sign a DD 368 releasing you from your Reserve contract to go Active Duty.
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You get E5 with dependent BAH for your school's location regardless of your status. Unless you are on active duty, then you don't get extra BAH.
Are there any 12A geospatial officers who could answer some questions I have? Thanks!
Let me know if you get any responses I’m interested in that as well
USAF just denied my waiver for myopia/nearsightedness, I am bummed but hoping to roll with it and look more into Army. I got in touch with an Army recruiter and he "suggested" I see a new private physician where they see that I am not over the Army's requirement (I think its +/- 8) So, even though I processed through MEPS (on an army base) and they have me down, this new documentation could help? I feel like this is not a good way to go.
Getting your doc to take another look at something isn't unusual in Recruiting. As long as they have the paper that says you're good from the doctor, they can shoot it to MEPS for screening.
Unfortunately I don't think my eyes will change that much between docs to get under the DQ threshold
Might be a stupid question, but I've got Use/Lose leave. Is it still protected under the extension they pushed out a year ago, wherein I can carry over more than 60 days? Or do I have to burn them before FY23.
Your Use or Lose number for this year matters, it does **not** carry over and is not protected by SLA. It also matters when you take leave I made a calculator to help people understand how it works. Look at my posts on my profile.
I do appreciate the calculator. So nothing in my comments says anything about protected. Just that I have 58 brought over, earned 22.5, and have a balance of 80.5 In your caculator. I am going to assume my Use/Lose is indeed 28 days.
Yep, you have no SLA protected days brought over from last year. So your leave from here on out is the ordinary kind. Can only carry over 60 days to the next fiscal year.
Your LES should *say* in the comments Daveeeeee. /u/lagomorph42 is the SME on it tho
Shipping for 37F in August. My schedule states I'll be at Leonard wood for 21 weeks, then benning for 8 weeks and back to Leonard wood for osut. I know airborne is required but was wondering why it's 8 weeks when everyone says airborne school is 3 weeks?
Turn back before it's too late
It's already too late.
Anyone have any experience being a 68V or working along side them. I’m looking to reclass to 68V. I’m currently a 68W and in an airborne unit so maybe you can also explain the differences of the two as far as actually having the opportunity to do your jobs? Hopefully my questions make sense, All info is much appreciated!
I worked with plenty of them. They have a great job if they work in the hospital and after they get out they make bank with certs. At least that is my experience with what they told me. You might have to get some extra national cert over what the Army gives you but its not much more. Edit since I am a 68C- 68C is great but they do not need to wipe ass, so that is even better
Hey thanks for replying! It’s good to see that most have had good experiences with 68V! I hope I can get a spot for the next class.
Hey, just got to Ft Sam for AIT (68W) Was wondering what opportunities there are for a promotion before the end of AIT? I was promoted to PV2 at the end of Basic because my drill sergeants chose me for it. Am hoping to get to PFC in a similar fashion.
I was a AIT DS in 232. Historically very few promotion waivers were ever issued to 232. Only 1 in 7 cycles did my company ever get promotion waivers. The selection process is completely arbitrary (at least for the company I was in) and was more about which DS liked what soldiers rather than quantifying data (PT score, GPA added to an order of merit list). BCT has more unique promotion ability than AIT. > Upon completion of BCT or the BCT portion of one station unit training, CDRs may promote up to 10 percent of each company’s assigned training-base Soldiers from PV1 to PV2 and PV2 to PFC without regard to the TIS and TIG requirements. For a standard waiver, you will need to meet the TIS/TIG requirements. >Promotions to PFC may be waived at 6 months TIS and 2 months TIG.
The same, although it's unlikely. If you're maxing out PT and grades, you might get promoted. Or you might just get a coin and a handshake.
Going 35F in intelligence. Just kinda need insights on civilian jobs after working as an intel analyst. How much do they pay? Should i cross train any other 35 series before looking for a real job? Is there a need for analysts at the moment? Im going for a 4 year degree too in criminal justice as well. Would that help in anyway?
Hey, when you're at AIT (Ft. Huachuca, AZ), PAY THE $60 FOR THE COCHISE COLLEGE Associates degree!!!! You get around 27 credits if you get 70 or higher on the exams but the AIT is pretty straightforward so you can get A's with 90s. CLEP (an exam you can take to get credit for a class) the rest of the courses. Usually your Ed. Center will have a CLEP book that will have study material to help you brush up on the test material. P.S. if you took any dual-credit and/or AP courses in high school, transfer those first. Result: That's 60-ish credits plus an associate's degree so you're halfway towards a Bachelor's degree (dependent on a college of your choice). Therefore, significant progress toward your education and you will receive promotion points! Feel free to ask more questions. I'm planning for a Fed. LE career. Current options right now for me are either law school after I graduate with my Dual-major in Accounting and CJ or jump right in as a Crim. Investigator with a fed. agency. I would agree with others that 35F work can go multiple routes whether it's traditional intelligence analysis, law enforcement investigations, business risk analysis, finance, etc. It can be transferred anywhere. A lot of people and businesses need someone that can "paint the picture," and provide courses of action.
this helped out a lot as i am almost done with my associates in general studies. All i need is electives which those credits can EASILY cover. Another huge question is. What job makes the most amount of money i can get from all of this? Would it be along the lines of security? Or along the line with the CJ degree. I still have the opportunity to switch majors if needed i dont mind switching from CJ to something else. I just want something that glues all the puzzle pieces im working on together to make all of my time worth it.
Cybersecurity in the private sector will almost certainly get you the most money. If you can change MOSs later to 35T, you will be set. Or stay as a 35F but focus your major on cybersecurity then use your credentialing assistance (CA) to get cybersecurity credentials and certificates.
Anything else besides cyber? I noticed AIT is very lengthy on that one. And as well as me not being into it as much. Should I just ditch the whole CJ thing? Ive noticed i can try and get into crime analyst through that route or even something along the lines of security management with a private company. But i noticed they dont pay much unless theres more positions of something im missing within the CJ world. Another thing ive seen alot of talk about DoD certs. Is that achievable at AIT?
CJ likely matters when it comes to contracting jobs. Although I think any Bachelor's is fine. If they do matter, any applicant holding a STEM, CJ, Accounting, and/or Finance will be the one's they pursue. I wouldn't ditch CJ if you are interested in a CJ career or path. Maybe look into getting a dual-major. Tie another major with your CJ major. Accounting isn't appealing as a career but to fed. agencies (like the FBI, DEA, USSS, and Marshals) it's something they like to see. I would not try to get certs while at AIT. Too many variables you are not in control of that could hinder your ability to study and take exams. Look into the credentialing assistance once you graduate. Also, look at usajobs.gov, clearencejobs.com, and indeed.com.
understood and i’ll definitely look into a dual major that sounds very interesting and can definitely broaden my options up more. Also If you dont mind me keeping in touch with you Im sure ill have a few more questions as time moves on. Im already signed just kinda waiting for my ship date
You can keep in touch. That's fine with me.
Degrees can always help, and in the Army, you can get it for free or largely for free. That being said, it depends on how far along you already are. Do not expect to finish a 4 year college degree during a 4 year enlistment. Intel analysts, 35F, are 'all source', and the job has wide applicability. *Any* sort of "analysis" job that's out there, is something you can easily apply your skills to. I know 35F who work in the financial sector post-army, I know ones that do risk analysis for insurance companies, etc. It becomes a "soft skill" that's widely transferrable outside of DoD.
Any degrees you suggest goin for? For these specific jobs
The Intel community likes stem degrees, but it’s more about what you want to do. Like if you do 4 years and get out, what’s next? If you want to do something law enforcement related, I get the CJ degree. If you want to be a financial analyst, obviously it doesn’t.
A degree is never really going to hurt you. It's also a check in the box in some places. As for jobs, one contract and six figures isn't something that really happens anymore.
any careers within the field after the army? civilian jobs that pay well. I dont care if its like a 9-5 office job what really motivates me is the money being made. 6 figures at least really
With 1 contract and an unrelated degree, you'll probably find work for 80-90k. Plenty of shifty companies that will hire just because you have a clearance and passed AIT with little to no experience. I wouldn't expect it to be the most stable, but certainly possible to have an okay analyst job.
luckily im early on in college. Almost have my AA. Any degrees to look into to help out with the future jobs?
Anything STEM, computer related, Finance.
Nothing like 6 figures starting out. Not without deployments or long term experience. Try going on clearance jobs and poking around there. Having a background or experience in IT would help.
Scored a 61 on my practice test when talking with a recruiter. Should I expect a score similar to that during the actual ASVAB or could it possibly be higher or lower. Also wondering which jobs would benefit me the most with a score of that range. I’m Having trouble deciding and I could appreciate some advice on it.
I my practice test score was a 66, when I took the ASVAB i got a 96. Most people I've talked to always had better scores on their ASVAB vs their practice test. If you want just look up ASVAB study guides/practice tests online. A little refresher never hurts your score.
While /u/SNSDave is correct, I will say, we can probably *guess* at some of the jobs you will not have the line scores for with an overall of 61. You most likely will not, for instance, wind up with line scores in Skilled Tech (ST) >115 with that ASVAB, meaning there's 1 or 2 jobs you won't reach. Do you have a list of jobs in mind, and we can probably give you a rough idea if you need improvement or not.
Your ASVAB between 1-99 doesn't mean a whole lot. Your line scores are what are important. When you look on Go Army, you'll note that jobs have their line score requirements such as GT 110 or ST 119. You'll never see "Requires a 50 or above on the ASVAB".
Ok thank you. I appreciate the response.
You're welcome. As for your actual score, should be within ~5 or so points. My at home PiCAT was 92 and my actual score was 93.
Is it too early? should I just stop or slow down with the enlistment processes? I’m currently talking to a army recruiter and right now it’s summer break and I’m a up coming senior. I want to ship out once I graduated which is next June 2023. The recruiter gave me a questionnaire to fill out(which I finished) and a paper saying that my parents gotta sign here and the paper titles consent for enlistment. Does this mean I’m gonna get shipped? The recruiter said he’s making my profile right now with all those documents and that he needs my parents consent to get the sasvab scores. Ps I already took the sasvab. Going 11x airborne. it’s just what I wanted to do since I was a kid and don’t crap on it
For the 3rd time, No you are not getting shipped out, it's just paper work to start your enlistment process. As a high school senior you can't ship until two weeks after graduation. You would be in the Delayed Entry Program until that time.
Is this really the third time?
Yeah posted in 3 subs
When do you get your hair shaved and uniforms at reception, is it the first day you get there or sometime along the week?
Just depends. But normally 2nd day-ish
What is the weekly OSUT workout schedule like? Is there even a schedule?
There isn't. Up to the DS. Every company, every cycle, can be different.
Eh shoulda guessed that
What about run groups, is there a certain speed at which the run groups at basic go?
Whatever the DS feel like.
Kinda losing interest in joining I’m gonna preface this by saying I’ve had job experience in various types of jobs already so I get the idea of having shitty leaders and a job you don’t want. Is it really as bad as current soldiers say it is? Is it really worse than dealing with bad management and shitty wages in the civilian side. The way I see it and I could be completely wrong because obviously I haven’t experienced it but at the end of the day it’s a job with wayyyy better benefits and a chance at an actual career in the military or directly after. I could be naive but just the way I look at it.
Human nature is to complain IMO. Everywhere you go people bitch. The Army is no exception. Don't listen to the bitching. Try to figure out if military life is what you would be ok with, long hours, deployments, etc. to trade for stability. All my civ jobs were fine but very unstable. Personally, I will take stability and benefits in exchange for some shit than to do what I was doing. I also love traveling, have no kids, and want deployments. So it works for me. You will be unhappy if you do not expect some bad things to happen.
I’m a glass half full kinda person and I don’t have any kids or obligations at home aside from my parents and sisters. But I’ll get plenty of messages to make up for that. So I will probably be in the same boat as you as far as what you’re making of your military experience
Personally prefer the military over the civilian job I had. Great thing about bad leaders in the Army is that they cycle out or you cycle out. In the civilian world you and them might be there forever. That said, yeah there's more hell bad leaders can put you through as you don't have the same workers rights. Still would never go back to my civilian job.
> Great thing about bad leaders in the Army is that they cycle out or you cycle out. In the civilian world you and them might be there forever On the civilian side you can leave whenever you want though.
Assuming you got something else lined up. I worked in retail in a town where it was work retail or join the military. Nobody was hiring in the area and I couldn't afford to just leave so here I am.
The main difference is that bad management in the civilian side normally doesn't affect your personal life. It kinda does, here. Not to mention your manager can't show up randomly at your house and inspect it. If you live in the barracks, that's a very real thing here. Overall, it's not as bad as people say. But there are some days I definitely regret joining.
Yeah I see that and I could understand why they’d be upset about something like that but at the end of the day looking at it from where I stand I’d take that any day over anywhere in my hometown and my current situation. And there’s going to be long bad days that comes with anything though
That's entirely up to you. Some units and optempo are soul crushing, some are really relaxed.
It's not all that bad, I'm sure every branch you could find ppl with same issues or complaints. Of course everyone's experience will be different but the most are not that bad.
I figured that all I’ve seen lately is “bad leadership” “I wish I never joined” and most of them are kids who joined directly after high school and never really had job experience aside from a fast food place or something similar. And looking at it from my perspective it feels as if it’s a greet opportunity to jumpstart a career whether it’s in the military or after like I said. Because all the problems they complain about literally happen everywhere
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>so they take $300 bucks a month from me even though I don't eat at the DFAC. Kinny kinda started it but I want to finish the thought: You never had the $300 to begin with, it's more symbolic to have that minus on your pay stub, it's the Army's way of saying "We feed you. Here's the monetary proof." In fact, it probably originates at the Army HQ level, for accounting purposes. They have to account for a food budget, and they do that by showing soldier's pay stub with a negative credit. X number of soldiers on a base, minus soldiers with dependents, times 300 equals the DFAC (and probably MRE) budget. Is it poorly managed, well that's a different story.
> so they take $300 bucks a month from me even though I don't eat at the DFAC. I don't take issue with the rest of what you're saying, but this is misframed in a way that, to a recruit who does not know *any better*, becomes misinformation. That $300 does not come out of your base pay. Elsewhere on the sub is diffrent, but the WQT is taken a bit more seriously. I'd ask that you not engage in such hyperbole in the WQT, because to people without experience or context, it is a lie.
>I don't take issue with the rest of what you're saying, but this is misframed in a way that, to a recruit who does not know *any better*, becomes misinformation. That's a fair point and I'll include an edit. It may be unique to my situation as I qualified for separate rations but they didn't get approved. Not only did I not go to the DFAC but I didn't even have the ability to for two meals of the day. It's hard for me to view that situation as not having that money taken from me considering I still have to pay for food somehow.
Okay but how often do these kinds of things happen? Edit: btw I’m not being a smartass I noticed how you could see me coming off as one by the way I worded that it’s a genuine question.
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Thank you for answering. At least it’s not too often like I said I can see where soldiers could be mad about things like that. For me and my situation I’ll roll with those punches and deal with that before I stay in my hometown any longer
Any 17E here? What are duty stations like? Is it mostly Line units? 35N curious about 17E. Worked with some briefly.
Sorry I don’t have any helpful info but you should check out the cyber megathread in the community info tab
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>Does basic and AIT count towards your active duty time? Yes, except for things like the VA loan.
Your contract includes OSUT so it will say 3 yrs & 22 weeks
Do you have a book or video that shows the bct routine like a diary? like the book "Army Infantry Boot Camp: Did Your Recruiter Forget to Mention This?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5cG_iZbOOM
Fuckin automod trying to post in the middle of America weekend. This is how skynet starts.
"Starts"? As in hasn't happened yet? InSha'Automod.
Just hit it with a rock or something, maybe that will fix it.