Military Members, I need advice
08-03-2011, 05:04 PM
#122
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Well, I got some bad news today. The recruiter called me and said that MEPS is only taking people for special tactics and linguist positions for the next two weeks. Hopefully they will start accepting everyone else after that. So it seems like I'll be waiting a good while longer than I had hoped to be.
08-03-2011, 05:09 PM
#123
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Yeah, I am not too surprised. It's pretty difficult to get into the Navy and Airforce right now, they are being very selective. Even the Marines are I believe, Army's the only easy one. And if you've been paying attention to the news, this new budget deal they passed will severely cut defense spending. That means they are going to be recruiting a LOT less, and possibly kicking out some people who are already in.
08-03-2011, 05:45 PM
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Well, I've scored high enough to get a guaranteed spot as an airborne linguist or cryptologic linguist. If it comes down to it, I could do that. She said any linguist or spec tactics jobs are guarantees.
08-07-2011, 11:35 AM
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If there is any incorrect information, would you mind giving merge correct information? This thread is being used to gather advice from the personal experience of members who have been or currently are enlisted. Also, yes it is being used to gather advice in whether to join or not. As far as graduating college first, my hangups there are student loans (I would have 30k upon graduation), and my chances of getting in to OTS with my current degree (criminal justice) everyone I have talked to from the AF has said it is almost impossible to be taken into OTS as a civilian without a technical degree.
08-08-2011, 04:59 AM
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If there is any incorrect information, would you mind giving merge correct information? This thread is being used to gather advice from the personal experience of members who have been or currently are enlisted. Also, yes it is being used to gather advice in whether to join or not. As far as graduating college first, my hangups there are student loans (I would have 30k upon graduation), and my chances of getting in to OTS with my current degree (criminal justice) everyone I have talked to from the AF has said it is almost impossible to be taken into OTS as a civilian without a technical degree.
SERE Instructor? I'm curious as to what someone told you about how you can just jump into that sort of job. For starters are you at least a level 2 combatives instructor? Do you have any experience in the Spec Ops field? Have you ever taken and passed any sort of swim test? What did this recruiter tell you? Has any one warned you yet about recruiters? They can be like used car salesmen, except they sell souls. They say that if you can sell a soul you can sell anything, this is what an old recruiter friend of mine once told me. Always go and talk with at least a few different recruiters from each branch of service you are interested in. Don't give them to uch info and don't worry about anything you may have signed, you can back out anytime you want, unless of course you were sworn in by a commisioned officer, then your screwed dude.
As a Marine grunt I can honestly say, go air force. Better quality of life.
But as rob said get more info on SERE because a LOT of MOS's that sound cool are only open to people that have qualified out of other MOS's. In the Marines we have Recon which a lot of young guns think you can just jump right into from boot which isn't true. Same with EOD and some other specialty jobs in our Branch.
I'd also say be careful trying to get aviation out of the Army or Airforce. They take on a higher volume of officers and aviation is a top ticket item. Last I remember the Marines were about the only force that had guaranteed flight placement. So be sure you have everything in writing before you commit, otherwise you may be a chow hall butterball (2nd Lt).
Also as rob said, your recruiter probably has not been forth coming with you. Most guys use recruiting duty because you get promoted very quickly and because quantity tends to matter more than quality so as long as you sign on the dotted line they get the credit and look better. So you are doing good getting opinions from those who've served. First and foremost however.... GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!
To many people get promised everything from bonuses to meritorious e-2 to other nonsense and because it wasn't in writing when they get to boot they get laughed at and told the recruiter lied to them.
I'd also suggest finishing school. You never know what type of unit you'll be with and while some will work with you, I've had as many 1st Sgt's who (and somewhat rightly so) put the training over any after hours learning.
Transferring reserves to active is also a LOT of red-tape. You can sometimes find a good recruiter to help, but your reserve admin are basically lame ducks in a lot of cases and reserve battalions are notoriously slow.
There is a lot of other things I can't think of at the moment but if you've got questions I've done enough to know the ropes from both the active and reserves sides.
But as rob said get more info on SERE because a LOT of MOS's that sound cool are only open to people that have qualified out of other MOS's. In the Marines we have Recon which a lot of young guns think you can just jump right into from boot which isn't true. Same with EOD and some other specialty jobs in our Branch.
I'd also say be careful trying to get aviation out of the Army or Airforce. They take on a higher volume of officers and aviation is a top ticket item. Last I remember the Marines were about the only force that had guaranteed flight placement. So be sure you have everything in writing before you commit, otherwise you may be a chow hall butterball (2nd Lt).
Also as rob said, your recruiter probably has not been forth coming with you. Most guys use recruiting duty because you get promoted very quickly and because quantity tends to matter more than quality so as long as you sign on the dotted line they get the credit and look better. So you are doing good getting opinions from those who've served. First and foremost however.... GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!
To many people get promised everything from bonuses to meritorious e-2 to other nonsense and because it wasn't in writing when they get to boot they get laughed at and told the recruiter lied to them.
I'd also suggest finishing school. You never know what type of unit you'll be with and while some will work with you, I've had as many 1st Sgt's who (and somewhat rightly so) put the training over any after hours learning.
Transferring reserves to active is also a LOT of red-tape. You can sometimes find a good recruiter to help, but your reserve admin are basically lame ducks in a lot of cases and reserve battalions are notoriously slow.
There is a lot of other things I can't think of at the moment but if you've got questions I've done enough to know the ropes from both the active and reserves sides.
USMC is the only branch that requires you to cross train into EOD.
Normally you don't get BAH unless you are E-4 or above, this coming from Navy experience, I assume the Airforce is similar. But if you are E-3 or below, you will get BAH if you have a dependent, I.E. a wife, a child, or a brother or sister whose legal guardian you have become. BAH differs depending on the area, I'm in Mississippi, poorest state in the nation. E-4 BAH here is roughly $750 a month. Chicago it's almost $1,700 a month. San Diego is about $1,800 a month. Norfolk Virginia is right around $1,200. Differs from place to place.
Not sure what branch you're in. But I can tell you in the Navy, you get BAS once you are no longer in bootcamp or A-school (tech school). That's your food allowance, $323 a month. I get $7 in BAH a month, but I still live in the barracks. In the Navy you don't get BAH unless you are married, over E-4, or have a dependent I.E. a child, or someone whose legal guardian you are. There are a few bases in the fleet where you get BAH as an E-3 or below, but those are few and far between.
Load Toad is a nickname for weapons loaders, not load masters.
08-08-2011, 08:17 AM
#130
Some of the info you've pointed out was rectified by either one of T's later posts (like the SERE info) or someone else. Much of what was said however was telling him to verify because a lot of jobs out there aren't optioned from the beginning and there was some general doubt on SERE instructor. For those who've been through SERE it just seemed odd for someone with little more than book knowledge and some prac app to be teaching SERE as an e2. We didn't want the kid to sign on the dotted line just to find out his recruiter lied to him and it'd be a good 2 - 4 years before he could get into such a position. But yes SERE is a straight from boot option in the AF.
The biggest difference with FE and LM is dealing with the plane as a whole vs dealing solely with packs/cargo. There are some bleed over of duties and starting LM will naturally set you up to cross over to FE. If anything FE is just an an evolutionary step up from LM where you begin to understand the intricacies of why you did what you did as an LM. Are they the same? No. Are there aspects of the job that are similar or even bleed overs? Of course. Will you be sitting next to each other on the flight? Just about.
As for the BAS/BAH, that is all relative to the base you are stationed on and the command from your unit up to your battalion. I've seen it where there was $0 BAS/BAH because of dorm space and an available chowhall, to situations where you could be receiving one but not the other because there was either dorm space but no chow hall or vice versa, or receiving both because there was no dorm space or chow hall. I've also seen it rate for some because the chow hall had a fee attached.
And the e3 thing was mentioned before. It is entirely up to the command so long as there is dorm space and in the vast majority of situations if you aren't married you aren't living off base without a seriously good reason, and as a boot with no dependents, your not gonna top that list.
As for load toad.... I'll have to remember that next time I'm being sandwiched into the back of a c130.
The biggest difference with FE and LM is dealing with the plane as a whole vs dealing solely with packs/cargo. There are some bleed over of duties and starting LM will naturally set you up to cross over to FE. If anything FE is just an an evolutionary step up from LM where you begin to understand the intricacies of why you did what you did as an LM. Are they the same? No. Are there aspects of the job that are similar or even bleed overs? Of course. Will you be sitting next to each other on the flight? Just about.
As for the BAS/BAH, that is all relative to the base you are stationed on and the command from your unit up to your battalion. I've seen it where there was $0 BAS/BAH because of dorm space and an available chowhall, to situations where you could be receiving one but not the other because there was either dorm space but no chow hall or vice versa, or receiving both because there was no dorm space or chow hall. I've also seen it rate for some because the chow hall had a fee attached.
And the e3 thing was mentioned before. It is entirely up to the command so long as there is dorm space and in the vast majority of situations if you aren't married you aren't living off base without a seriously good reason, and as a boot with no dependents, your not gonna top that list.
As for load toad.... I'll have to remember that next time I'm being sandwiched into the back of a c130.
08-08-2011, 08:55 AM
#131
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I wanted to let you all know also, that I may wind up going in as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, provided that I pass the DLAB. The recruiter was telling me that it is critically manned and the job doesn't seem like it would be bad at all. I know it would be really tough and that he school would be even tougher, but it seems like it would be pretty cool in the end.
08-08-2011, 10:46 AM
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Some of the info you've pointed out was rectified by either one of T's later posts (like the SERE info) or someone else. Much of what was said however was telling him to verify because a lot of jobs out there aren't optioned from the beginning and there was some general doubt on SERE instructor. For those who've been through SERE it just seemed odd for someone with little more than book knowledge and some prac app to be teaching SERE as an e2. We didn't want the kid to sign on the dotted line just to find out his recruiter lied to him and it'd be a good 2 - 4 years before he could get into such a position. But yes SERE is a straight from boot option in the AF.
Its always a good time no matter what airframe you're getting stuffed nut to butt on!
08-08-2011, 08:37 PM
#134
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I wanted to let you all know also, that I may wind up going in as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, provided that I pass the DLAB. The recruiter was telling me that it is critically manned and the job doesn't seem like it would be bad at all. I know it would be really tough and that he school would be even tougher, but it seems like it would be pretty cool in the end.
08-09-2011, 08:17 AM
#136
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Im working with Sgt. Nowell in Columbia SC and am dealing with Fort Jackson MEPS. I am just waiting on my medical records to be approved before I can go to MEPS.... Today is the 8th day of waiting. haha.
08-09-2011, 09:34 AM
#137
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Actually Sergeant First Class just havent changed the sig pic yet.. medical records approved? did you need a med waiver? just curious. Im a recruiter and I just like to ask questions to those who are going through the process with other recruiters to see what they are going through and its interesting to hear those speak about the process..
08-09-2011, 09:48 AM
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I don't think I need a waiver, I had an arthroscopic knee surgery about a year ago and I broke my wrist in 2007, but she didn't say I needed a waiver of any kind.
08-09-2011, 06:09 PM
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Loadmaster takes care of the packs and cargo. FE are usually people that have been in maintenance afsc like crew chief or life support hahaha or com nav or gcs. Fes are only on 130,5,rc135,e3,kc10 its a good job but a bitch job. And Loadmaster the same and also boomers. I'm a heavy crew chief come in the military your getting fucked
