O/T Armed Forces?

Anyone notice this started in 2006? I wonder what he did? I served 14 years all up, Army. Only advice I have is ALWAYS go that little further, no matter what it is, when your about to drop push on and keep going.
Never settle for what you have, strive for more. The only time you should settle is when you are a patrol leader in Delta. Everything else is second class.
Paul Watson
SASR (Ret)

 

I enlisted in the Army in 1968 but failed the physical.
Passed my draft physical in 1969
Used that to join the USAF
Was going through basic training when my medical records caught up with me.
They found out I was born with spinal Bifida and had back surgery at 8 days old.
Spent three and a half months in the VA in Kingsbridge Hospital in the Bronx to find out I had an inoperable spinal lypoma.
Received a Medical Discharge under Honorable conditions. I would have rather served my time.

 

I joined the army in 67,infantry, i was 17. You make it what you want it to be, i mean you can make it work for you and be all you can be or be a jerk off and make it hell. I didn't vote because i think its a love and hate for me. I had no regrets other than loosing friends. As said before be 100% sure, its a contract and you become goverment property, if you dont like it there aint no saying i quit. Now that being said, i loved country Joe, and when i came home i was a hippie. Gi beans and Gi gravey G i wished i'd joined the navy!

 

2006 what the hell,what a waste of time

 

Hell i didn't even notice it was posted in 2006, damn you still aint decided?

 

Do it. You'll have friends and adventures for LIFE.

oh shit! 2006? Guess ya already did.

 

True, an old thread, but I regret not joining fresh out of high school. I think every boy should. Both of my grandfathers were Air Force. When I wised up it was too late.

 

if ya did join i sure as hell didnt see you in iraq the last time!!!! although camels are traditional, a fellow hotrodder would have been nice!!!! hook it up and make the leap, a few years wont hurt ya!!!

 

It should be mandatory. But its not. It does make you a more rounded individual. It is a life experience men shouldn't miss. I had a blast, tried to join again during the first Iraq war, they told me I was too old. when my son went to war, my only regret was that I couldn't be there with him. It's a good experience, war or not. Most folks like to talk real big about being Americans, only veterans have earned it.

 

2 year old thread but from his location it looks like Dooce signed up back then and is in Germany.

 

rember there is a stop loss order until age 45, which means you can be recalled at any time to that age??

23 months was enough for me

1967 RVN

 

Air Force...1990 - 1998, F-16 avionics. Without a doubt, the best years of my life. Invaluable experience. Excellent education. Memories to last a lifetime. Spent time on Air Force AND Navy bases, and I have to say the Air Force definitely has a higher "quality of life". Recruiters are tricky...some are straight up honest, while others will lie about anything to get you to sign. Be smart, do a lot of research and talk to as many guys as you can find that have been there. You may have to make some sacrifices in the beginning, but the tangible and intangible benefits will reward you for a lifetime.

 

I joined in 1977 during the Carter administration. I was in Germany on my first tour and have been in the Reserves or Guard since. I am about to deploy for my third overseas since 2000. Afghanistan,look out!

 

I joined and didn't like it. But i didn't like school either and I am happy I went. I would point out that no other country has an Air Force or Navy to go up against ours. However guys walking around the ground in unfriendly places are targets no mater how big the Army is. I was in the Army and was a motor pool mechanic. This experiance got me into a good (at that time) learning job at a major airline. Got my A&P worked until retirement, built Hot Rods, It was all good. Now I would say Air Force/Navel Air.

 

Whoever put up the poll at the top of the page only lets me choose one answer. My answer?

I joined and loved it!
I joined and hated it!
Until I joined, I regretted not joining!
I am glad I never thought about joining! (emphasis on THOUGHT)

I joined, wanting to be an airplane mechanic like my Uncle Frank. I did that. I got to go a lot of places, see a lot of the world, worked for 21 years on the best bombing platform ever built (B-52, and they still have them).

Regrets? Yep, I got out after 21, wish now I'd have stayed until they kicked me out...................

 

DrJ fuck you - go back under that rock you crept out from. It's not about the fighting, It's not about the war, it's not about the death & destruction. Who in there right mind would want that. When I was in (5 years Army) we were all volunteers - that's what its about, Volunteering to do what ever your country needs you for, to give it all up for your mates & Country & people you've never met before.

I had a great time, loved it all- did 5 years - wish I'd done more.

 

All i have to say is.. i was in the army... 4 years... cant really say if my experience is good or bad.. it was just an experience..

i am voting no.. don't do it.

And if you HAVE to join up... go with the Air Force.. learn a valuable trade you can use on the outside world... welding, machine work.. something that you can apply to making a living later on.. and apply to your hobbies (automotive).

Dont get all gung ho and go with combat arms or that stuff.. remember.. you have to carry that shit on your back all freaking day. Maintenance.. machine and welders.. they have trucks to ride in.

With the AF..
You wont have to sleep outside that much.. with bugs and the enemy sneaking up on your ass.. you will be in "co-ed" dorms instead of 60 man bays...you will get to eat with plates and silverware... inside buildings and out of the rain and sun.. AF chow halls are 5 star compared to army and marine corp.

You would be surprised at how much it means to me now ... that i sleep in my own bed and not on the ground.. and eat on plates and use silverware instead of styrofoam and plastic.. or freakin MRE's..

I dont camp... i dont eat outside at restaurants .. and i always smell and look at the bottom of whatever i am eating.

and accept the fact that complete idiots will control every single part of your entire existence the entire time you are in... when you sleep.. when you take a dump.. when you eat... what you will or will not wear.. regardless of the temp outside.... every freaking thing controlled by some screw up that couldnt make it on the outside world and is now "hiding out" in the military.. where he gets his 3 hots and a cot regardless of his 5th grade mentality.

i'm not bitter.. i am just saying its a bit different that what you might think..

all this aside from my patriotic duty.. if uncle sam called me today i would drop everything and come running without a second thought.. i owe that to my country, every day i take a breath.

It does make you a better person.. but thats up to you to make that happen.

Go to trade school or something... i will send you cookies and shit.

 

Uh, Army, Navy and Marines are a little different experience. Like I said, quality of living. After basic training, being in the Air Force was LITTLE different than having a normal civilian job. I worked on jets about 8 hours a day, had a nice carpeted dorm room with new furniture, ate at a chow hall that was comparable to a decent restaurant, learned some valuable skills and got to see a lot of the world. When I worked night shift in Korea, the Army and Marine guys used to piss me off...up doing PT at the crack of dawn, singing and shit...I was trying to get some sleep. We'd have the occasional exercise (simulated base attacks), which sucked, but you'll get crappy things you have to do no matter where you work. After awhile, I made rank, bought a house and lived off base. Went to work 5 days a week and only had to participate in physical exercise once a year...prove you could make the easy "qualifying" times for each exercise and you were off the hook for another year. Army and Marines are heavy on the "grunt" type stuff. Navy is heavy on tradition, whether it makes sense or not. Air Force is about getting the job done. Nothing against ANY of the branches...I still have friends in each of the branches. Be smart. Get the most out of it for YOU. Join the Air Force if you qualify, otherwise, I'd probably pass unless you REALLY like exercise and poor living conditions.

Bottom line: It's all what you make of it.

 

Joined back in 1991. USAF, Bomb Loader on A-10s, served active duty in Germany (did the Bosnia thing for a while), North Carolina, got out in 1994 and served in the Montana Air National Guard and loaded on F-16s until 1999, when I reentered active duty. I went to Tucson, and once again worked on A-10s, until I tired of that, and joined Special Operations Command.

I was a gunner on special operations MH-53s in England (21 Spec Ops Sqdn aka SOS), and some assholes flew some planes into a few buildings, and changed my life forever. I went to Afghanistan, invaded Iraq in '03, and a few shitholes in Africa (embassy evacuations and some other "interesting" things, as well as hunting UBL and other assholes. I met my wife in the UK (she was stationed there also), then we came to the 20 SOS "The Big Show" at Hurlburt Field,still on -53s. I kept bouncing all over the middle east, did a LOT of crazy shit, got damn near killed more times than I care to think about. Then one dark night, my helo got shot down outside Fallujah in '04, cracked up another helo near Syria in '05. Good times. My wife, after not sleeping fora few years, and my kids asked my to slow down, and get another job. Sooooo, I tossed my needs aside, and moved across the street, and became a gunner on the plane in my avatar. Due to security reasons, I won't say which unit, etc. I am currently still doing the job, and have about 800+ days in the middle east, and over 700 in Iraq alone. I do it because I think it's the right thing to do, and I'll keep doing it until my country tells me to hang up my guns.

Do I like my decision? Yes. Do I regret anything? Yes, well-kind of---like not going to college and becoming a PILOT on these things I fly on. (That, and the pay is MUCH better!) I wouldn't want to do anything else. Period. I do this, so my kids (or other peace loving people) won't have to.

Do your homework, there are more than a few vets in here who will help you out. DO NOT take the recruiters word for ANYTHING! Do your research, and GET IT IN WRITING!!!!!!!

 

You left out a choice on the vote for guys that were drafted. I was drafted into the Army in 1966, did my two years, one of which was in Viet Nam. It was not a good experience but I have to say it paid dividends later in life. I had been pinstriping and lettering as a teenager before I was drafted and my ace in the hole was with three months left in Viet Nam, I got my hands on a set of lettering brushes and paints and from that time on I was the company sign painter. I painted alot of 25th Infantry Maple Leafs with lightning bolts,Unit crests in NCO Clubs and Officers Clubs and on Orderly Rooms. I painted hot rods on T-Shirts for guys that had cars back home using spray cans,Markers,and anything I got my hands on I still have pics of those shirts .Career soldiers in the Army that I knew were Blacks and Southeners, people that had little opportunity in civilian life. I was offered OCS and anything I wanted but I had to sign for the extra year as a draftee. Not for me. Two years and OUT. I had too much going in civilian life. At 62 I'm still pinstriping and lettering and think about those days on occassion.

 

What he said;

If I could go back and do it again, College would come first, then I would have been qualified to progress to the rank of GENERAL instead of being limited to being a zebra striper.

Otherwise as I said before I regret not staying until they kicked my ass out. Personally, I never went for the "God and Country, Gung Ho, Serve my Country, all of that. To me it was just my job, and a pretty damn good one, all things considered.

I looked out for myself, my dedication was to do my job the best I could and next after that, Me and My Family were priority. I was lucky, never got shot at except one time by a fellow airman when he thought I was hitting on his wife. He missed. However, I would not have whined if I did have to go into combat, it just didn't happen. Bombing from afar, maintaining B-52s was as good as a job as I've ever had since.
The pay? Considering the rate of exchange, I lived good. After I got a couple of stripes, my wife went to the commissary without that 'budget' list, bought what she wanted, we never had to skrimp because there wasn't enough to buy groceries or clothes. 30 days paid vacation a year is nothing to sneeze at. 13 paid holidays, three or four 3 day stand downs a year with pay that don't come off your 30. Usually about a week and a half after Christmas to dwadle away.
There are times you will hate it, for all sorts of reasons. Then the good times wipes all of that out.

"nuff about me.

You sound like you need a change. Any change of commitment will probably take a few years to realize, so the Military Way is as good an experiment for any young man than the School of Hard Knocks.

Good Luck.

 

I did 22 years now I am civil service for about 8 years living in Okinawa Japan still fixing jets but getting paid more money and heading back to the states in Jan. The miltary has been good to me put three kids thru college have a home in Az and buying another in Ca. All I have to say is make sure what ever you choose to do make sure it is a job you can use on the civilian side. The military is like anything in life it is what you make of it, it is a team effort alot of hours sometimes with no thank you's but the satisfaction of getting the job done will always be there. I do my job not for the money but because the parts we send here go to the aircraft in the war zone and if one person comes home out of harms it makes it worth more to me than any monetary value. Thats my 2 cents worth.

 

20 years active service in the Air Force - no regrets!

 

I've thought about "what if" i would have back in '83. I did the Army aptitude test, apparently scored well as the recruiter hounded me every other day after I graduated HS and called about 1-2 times a month for the next year. I had a good job fixing appliances, so I never signed up. I look at some of the higher technical skills some of my friends have, and "wonder if", but all in all if my son came to me and asked if he could join, I would probably encourage him to.

BTW, with Veterans Day coming up on Tuesday, THANKS to all that serve/served in our military.

Dan

 

cmon dude, do you really think this is the right thread to post this shit on? I bet you're one of those guys who has NEVER had to sacrifice ANYTHING, aren't you? WTF???????

 

Went all over the world to really great places, and some that were pure shitholes. the job translated directly into my civilian career (training AD guys the job I did in the military!). Wouldn't trade that 20 years for anything.

Yeah, it's an old thread, but I am going to say a few things here, just the same...

To anyone looking to serve in the US Armed Forces: You are not going to get rich. If college isn't what you want to do right now, or working for someone for crap wages isn't in the plans, I'd suggest the military. Not everyone is meant for college at 18 or 19; nor is everyone cut out to be in the military. Having military experience sure makes it easier to get a decent job on the outside, and there are plenty of college incentives and enlistment bonuses available, depending on the job you sign up for.

BTW, the description above of the AF certainly is NOT all that accurate. I've slept in plenty of tents, ate a shitload of MREs, and camped out in some of the seriously shitty parts of the Middle East...wait, that's all of the ME, sorry!

Look at it with an open mind and perspective. Don't let dickheads like DrJ, who have probably never done shit for anybody in their sad lives and think Uncle Sugar is there to provide and care for them from cradle to grave, talk you out of a choice of military service. Hell, I'd bet he still lives in his parent's basement, from what the tone of his post is!

Best of luck, no matter what you choose.

Oh, and thank a Vet this November 11th, Veteran's Day. They are the reason YOU sleep peacefully this fine evening.

 

I worked at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station KMCAS Oahu 89-90 and Pearl Harbor Naval Base. It was during this time that I saw the Marines come home from the first Gulf War and my view of the USMC was changed forever, these are the finest "crazy brave" individuals on earth, they fear nothing. I used to have dinner with the commanding officer of the base and he would tell me stories of the "Death Angels"
F-18 squadron staioned on base, they brought every plane back, even when they were told to bail out because the aircraft was too shot up, I saw an F-18 in the hanger that had holes in the wings the size of basketballs, fluid everyhwere, he brought it home.... I knew a 1st Sargent who was on the embasssy roof in Vietnam, last helicopter to leave (he had a pic in TIME) he was barely 19 at the time, he served on the front lines during Gulf War I and II, and this guy was the Marine in every aspect, even young guys couldn't keep up with him on the runs....
I never served, but I worked as a contractor on the bases and I'm glad I did what I could.

 

DrJ until now I thought you were a cool guy. This is not about politics. Its about having the guts to stand up and defend your fellow man. Maybe from time to time the decision makers get it wrong and we loose guys. But thats the nature of war.
The simple truth is, no one, and I mean NO one, not the hippies, not the draft dodgers or the political activists hate war and conflict more than we who stood up to defend your way of life.
It is us who pay the price of your liberty's.
I can name every mate I lost in the service, the effects of what we did is still claiming the lives of some great people.
I was among the first group of allies to enter Iraq, yes, the Australians led the invasion! Since then I have lost many mates, but they chose to do this.
Your protesting against us is an absolute insult. Do you realize that each and every one of us is willing to lay down his life so you can live free?
Take your argument to the powers that be, support the soldiers, sailors and airmen/women for we do this for you.
A great man once said this,
It is the soldier, not the reporter,<O</O
Who has given us the freedom of the press.<O</O
It is the soldier, not the poet,<O</O
Who has given us the freedom of speech.<O</O
It is the soldier, not the campus organiser,<O</O
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.<O</O
It is the soldier,<O</O
Who salutes the flag,<O</O
Who serves beneath the flag,<O</O
And whose coffin is draped in the flag,<O</O
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.



Doc.

 

im joining the army in may, i say go for it, but make sure you get a decent trade to learn off of and that you will use when you get out.

and dr j yes fucking is better then fighting, but someones gotta fight so we can have the freedom to fuck!

 

You want to join Like the rest have said DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Listening to the recruiters in some cases can do more harm than good. If you have friends that are serving and you are lucky enough to have them home on leave talk to them, go to the American Legion or the VFW. Everybody I don't care who they are has bad experiences in the military, They serve under an NCO or a commisioned officer who is a dick but that's the military.
I served with some of the best and worst. the thing you have to remember is temper everything with common sense. Pick the branch you're most interested in and learn everything you can.
Not only do you learn a trade or career there is the benefit of college and degrees. You also learn life experiences. You make friends that just don't compare to your high school buddies.
Whether you choose Army/Air Force/Navy or Marine there is the chance you could be placed in harms way, that's the nature of being in the military. You get out of it what you put into it.
If you like it stay, if you don't get out. None of us who have served will ever look down on you for not staying in. As it stand now the U.S. Armed Forces are an all volunteer force. You make the decision as to the choice you make.
I have two tours of service my first one I thought really turned me off of the military, of course I realized that it was all served stateside and so therefore was the all-show military. My next tour was overseas, I so wanted to stay in but there were a couple of legislators who stopped that and I am sure there are more than just me that was affected by them in the mid eighties. i am now a 100% disabled Vet. I would not exchange any of my miltary experiences for anything in the world. Cars women riches none of it.
I took one of my step daughters to a singing competition at a high school and while there I seen a poster telling students to become conscieniuos(i know that's not how it's spelled) objectors. It's an all volunteer force, don't join, go to college earn a degree! Earn 30,000 to 60,000 dollars more per year than your counterparts who join the military.
That really hurt because the way they did it showed no respect for those who serve protecting their right to spew that bullhocky. Well enough of my soapbox
Talk with vets, talk with your parents, talk with your guidance counselor, talk with the recruiter, but make him understand that you also talk with current vets and as indicated in other posts anything that recruiter tells you, make him put it in writing and you get a copy with his or the station commander's signature on it. One other vital piece of information and REMEMBER THIS!
ANYTHING YOU SIGN IS NOT VALID UNTIL YOU HAVE TAKEN THE OATH. Up to that point you can turn around and walk out.
I hope I don't yelled at too much but check out
www.military.com also. They pretty much tell it straight forward. Gather as much info as you possibly can so you can make an informed decision