Air Force is where its at. I swear, the AF searchs the world for paradises and then place bases on em
So, I took a Government job today...
- Thread starter msbae
- Start date
Hua!
You also get room and board. Don't forget that. While I was in, I was able to put away at least half my pay every month and still have lots of spending money.
Besides the cheap movie theater, there's also cheap bowling usually on base. The PX is overrated unless you consider the cheap booze and cigarettes.
When I was in, they only paid for 75% of college expenses while you were active duty, and with the full time job, you pretty much could only take one class at a time.
Also, the money for college after you get out was dished out very weird. You got so much of it a month (until it runs out) based on whether you were going to school full time or half time. It wasn't enough to pay for college or even help very much. I never ended up using mine up as a result. Also, you contribute to the college fund. For the first 12 months they take money out of your check, although you only pay for 10% of it in total. I would have preferred just to keep my money.
Be prepared to hate your recruiter about half way through basic trainig. They don't really prepare you for it, as they don't want to tell you about the sleep deprivation and brain washing. One neat thing though, the drill sargeants seem pretty evil and unrelenting during basic training. Afterward, their attitude completely changes. It was just an act (and their job) to instill discipline. Afterward, they'll joke around with you and even be proud of you. Keep that in mind when you're going through hell.
You also get room and board. Don't forget that. While I was in, I was able to put away at least half my pay every month and still have lots of spending money.
Besides the cheap movie theater, there's also cheap bowling usually on base. The PX is overrated unless you consider the cheap booze and cigarettes.
When I was in, they only paid for 75% of college expenses while you were active duty, and with the full time job, you pretty much could only take one class at a time.
Also, the money for college after you get out was dished out very weird. You got so much of it a month (until it runs out) based on whether you were going to school full time or half time. It wasn't enough to pay for college or even help very much. I never ended up using mine up as a result. Also, you contribute to the college fund. For the first 12 months they take money out of your check, although you only pay for 10% of it in total. I would have preferred just to keep my money.
Be prepared to hate your recruiter about half way through basic trainig. They don't really prepare you for it, as they don't want to tell you about the sleep deprivation and brain washing. One neat thing though, the drill sargeants seem pretty evil and unrelenting during basic training. Afterward, their attitude completely changes. It was just an act (and their job) to instill discipline. Afterward, they'll joke around with you and even be proud of you. Keep that in mind when you're going through hell.
Welcome to the Army, hopefully you'll like it. I love being a soldier, I hate working for the government. Hopefully you won't have to deal with as much stupidity on the support side of the house as I deal with on the combat arms side.
From the sound of it he's into engineering and those guys rarely set up their tech under fire or get anywhere near it (not until the grunts have cleared the area for as long as you can see and then some).
However now i know why it costs billions each month to supply and pay for an army.. the private sector rarely pays this much at the beginning and if so you have graduated in the top percentage of your year.
Anyway.. congrats.
How would you know this to be true? Where is the evidence to support your claim.
I have no need for booze or cigarettes. As for my pay, I'm going to put as much of it away as possible. That way, I have a nice little nest egg in the 5 or 6 figure range when I leave the service in a few years.
1.) They are preparing me for it with weekly PT sessions on Thursday afternoons.
2.) I don't sleep much anyway. It's a fairly common occurrence for me to go to sleep at 0100 or 0200 and wake up refreshed at 0600.
3.) As for Brain-washing, well, that's not a concern. I went to a supposedly Christian school as a child. Not only was that 'school' more concerned with Football than Jesus or Education, they also failed to brainwash me. Christ knows they tried too.
4.) As for Basic being rough, that was one of the first things I asked questions about when I initially talked to my recruiter in February. When I asked him about the roughness he said "If a little girl who's 5 foot nothing and 98 lbs. soaking wet can get through it, anyone can get through it."
He also assured me that it was nothing like Sgt. Hartman's training on Full Metal Jacket. That's a good thing because I would never be able to stop laughing at all his little quips.
I have a question. Why are you being so defensive?
Most of us are happy for you and the vibe I'm getting from you is almost like you think that this is the only choice and if you can't do it you are inferior. Not everybody is cut out to be a professional soldier and there's nothing wrong with that.
Still, congratulations, my great grandfathers, grandfathers, great uncle, dad, and uncle all served in the US Army and I am proud of them for their service and sacrifices.
Most of us are happy for you and the vibe I'm getting from you is almost like you think that this is the only choice and if you can't do it you are inferior. Not everybody is cut out to be a professional soldier and there's nothing wrong with that.
Still, congratulations, my great grandfathers, grandfathers, great uncle, dad, and uncle all served in the US Army and I am proud of them for their service and sacrifices.
they won't take epileptics
I wasn't aware that I was being defensive. I was being my usual self around here; quick to call Bullshit, always correcting mistakes, et al.
I don't know where you get your rather inaccurate view of my often inexplicable-to-Humans mindset, either.
I know. Someone I used to call a friend years ago desperately needed something like the Military to give him the discipline in life his widowed mother never could. Since he was epileptic, the Service wouldn't take him. He's still a moron to this day. It's sad to see such losers, even if the world does need them for the menial work no one else wants. He just never had a chance...
I so would like to comment that TNZ style but here it would get me a (needless) warning.
Don't you think that's rather cold and harsh? Is it his fault he's an epileptic and thus can't join the armed forces (for good reason). He may have personal problems but i for one applaud him for trying to solve them by trying to join an organization that has discipline as one of its primary cornerstones.
You are frankly sounding very arrogant and "Haha.. i'm in with a big fat bonus and you're not!" attitude.
Keep in mind, every recruiter lies a ton.
Alaska is a paradise?
Congrats MSBAE, sounds like a very interesting job. Thanks for serving our country.
Alaska is actually a very beautiful place, especially if you enjoy hunting and fishing
It wouldn't sound arrogant if you knew the guy, Alpha. I show him no respect because he doesn't deserve any. I won't go into detail about him here but, I can say that it's quite remarkable he can find work at all. His immaturity and obnoxiousness is so over-bearing that my Father wouldn't even consider employing him for day labor at his construction company. My Father employed/trained virtually every bum he came across but, not this old friend of mine. Herbie never made a good impression on Dad anyway.
You're welcome. I would have done this straight out of High School in 2001 if I was in the right mental place for it but, it wouldn't have worked out back in those days. I was too prideful and stubborn to work well with a team.
I'm not knocking the Army - I am very much a patriot and I support our soldiers - but get it in writing and be sure to keep copies of EVERYTHING. My brother has been in the military for 12 years, they promised to send him to college, they didn't give him anything.
Congrats on enlisting msbae. I enlisted in the Navy for 4 years. It was without a doubt one of the best choices I made. When do you leave for boot camp?
Agreed with nx. Make sure you keep copies of everything and question anything you're unsure about.
It sounds like you already have some college, or maybe an associates or bachelors degree. When I enlisted in the USN, they were offering E-2 (or maybe E-3) right after boot camp to those with an AS/AA. Did the Army offer anything similar? I didn't qualify as I went in right after HS, but I did qualify for E-2 for attending all of the monthly DEP meetings.
Again congratulations on your decision. Good luck.
This is exactly what I mean by not preparing you. They obviously want you to pass the entrace exam, and why they are having you do some PT. They also want you to pass the weight/height requirement if you're overweight. Other than that, they say stupid things like if a girl can do it, you can. It's going to be hard, and you'll remember that your recruiters never warned you. I'm not saying that you can't do it. Most don't wash out. But they're being nonchalant about how difficult it actually is mentally and physically.
You may get 2 hours of sleep the first week. Between two and four the rest of the nights depending on whether you decide to do laundry or have duty. You don't think they can brainwash you, but if you don't allow yourself to be brainwashed into following orders without thinking, you won't make it. You just don't know enough and you won't be awake enough to think on your own. You'll also make a horrible soldier if you don't believe in it.
If you haven't been to the processing station yet, and haven't actually signed the contract, don't forget to ask for your contract options. They don't offer ANY options unless you ask for them. There are ones like guaranteed MOS of choice, where if for some reason you're not qualified for the MOS you chose (for example an investigation shows you can't get a security clearance), you have the choice of getting out of your contract or selecting another MOS. Without this option, you'll get an MOS at the needs of the Army if you don't qualify for your selected MOS.
Anyway, hua!
I went through Army Basic in 2006 at Ft. Knox, which is arguably tied for the toughest Basic course in the Army with Ft. Benning.
It was not hard.
We started with 160 soldiers, we graduated with 155 soldiers. Of the five that did not graduate, four were injured during training or had prior health conditions they had not reported initially. One was recycled to another unit because he tried to steal some night vision goggles.
The Army wants you to graduate, it wants every recruit to graduate, it tailors the training so that everyone can pass.
What you will have to put up with is relentless stupidity. Sleep deprivation for no other reason than to get you used to working while tired and to stress you out. Cleaning various pieces of equipment to ridiculous standards.
Learn to cheat the system, get your platoon organized, you can accomplish great things if you work together. And the Drills want you to do it, they won't tell you that, but they want it.
Post stollies and rabbits around your platoon's area so you can nap, pass test information around, it is a team sport, work as a unit.
It was not hard.
We started with 160 soldiers, we graduated with 155 soldiers. Of the five that did not graduate, four were injured during training or had prior health conditions they had not reported initially. One was recycled to another unit because he tried to steal some night vision goggles.
The Army wants you to graduate, it wants every recruit to graduate, it tailors the training so that everyone can pass.
What you will have to put up with is relentless stupidity. Sleep deprivation for no other reason than to get you used to working while tired and to stress you out. Cleaning various pieces of equipment to ridiculous standards.
Learn to cheat the system, get your platoon organized, you can accomplish great things if you work together. And the Drills want you to do it, they won't tell you that, but they want it.
Post stollies and rabbits around your platoon's area so you can nap, pass test information around, it is a team sport, work as a unit.
Yeah, that sounds like fun!
