@blazinloud: As ignorant as your comment sounds, I'm not far behind you on the sentiment behind it...
All can not be laid at his feet though, as our government has a little something called "checks and balances" which has also managed to fail the American people for a while now.

cochran07: As for the bonus for putting people in thing. That sh*t went the way of the dinosaur back in 2008. They were paying you a few hundred bones for each Alpha teir cat you put in (50+ on asvab) BEYOND the 2 you had to recruit MONTHLY... the bonus went up each consecutive month you did the samw thing, and topped out at a grand a head or so. This was to help off set the fact that we were doing 15 month deployments, most people serving had seen at least 2 tours by then, and no one was real thrilled with the idea of heading to Iraq straight out of high school (can you blame them?)
Anyway, you offer a dude $ for working harder, and the first thing they will do is figure out how to get over on you and still collect that $. Diloma mills, smart kids testing for dumbasses, tricks to drop fatty's weight for the day, etc. Hence why we were flooded with garbage. But I digress.

stevo:
As it stands now, it has never been harder to get into the Military (any branch) ever. There is little forgivness for past mistakes, there is 0 bonus money unless you take something like a 6 year shot as a bomb tech AND are a senior in HS AND score mid to upper 80's so you can pull $20.7k Hell when I joined, they were paying $40k cash for a 4 yr shot as a tracked vehicle mechanic...
Job selection is bare bones, and will not get any better any time soon. The longer this goes on, all of the dudes you graduate with (across the country) that realize how poor the job prospects are on the outside will trickle through soaking up what ever is available.

What ever though. It still comes down to your choice, and what you feel is best for you. Either way you should try to have mom and dad on board. While they may not like the idea of their baby going to war, they damn sure will not like the idea of paying for you to live there until you are twenety-something. Find the balance of whatever makes you happy and roll with it. Just give an honest effort to what ever it is you do, and you'll be ok in the end.

**EDIT**
cochran07: For him it may not be though. This was one of the hardest things to accept in my new job. People view military service the same way they did in the 50s. A good place for young men with no direction or education. Not everyone wants to serve their country. Think about it, had another opportunity, that was easier and required no commitment, popped up which simillar benifits, would you have joined? Maybe. But a ton of others would not have. Thats the beauty of having a volunteer force. We are the 1% the DO. Everyone else gets the pay off, but we earn it (suffer for it if you want). Either way, I have had to come to grips with the way people see what I do. In the end it's fine because I am better off than probably 85-90% of the kids I graduated with. PERIOD. On the flip side, I know I AM better than them. Is that prideful to say? Sure. But I feel I am allowed to take an elietist view because I am better than them. Thats the way it is. I have earned it numerous times.

blazinloud you may not actually feel that way, or probably do, but to a less extreme sense than what you are claiming, but you said it, so you brought about this potential can o' worms. That was my attempt at stopping it before this thread spirals into politics

hopefully

**SECOND EDIT**
oh I'm off to Recruit for the Army now. Enjoy your day boys and girls

 

You can also get practice ASVAB Exams at the library or bookstore. This will allow you to sharpen your test taking skills when you take the test for the military. Everything they offer you is going to hinge on your test scores. My brother did this prior to going in the Air Force and he qualified for every job they had to offer.

 

Please stick to the topic of helping Stevo out from here on out. I realize this is the lounge but we don't need tempers flaring.

 

thank you ABN31B for all the useful information, ive read and absorbed every part of it
i just want to make clear, that i am not necessarily afraid to fight for my country, it just is not the main reason im looking at. in my eyes, the military is a very good option to consider, with them talking about there being no Social Security for our generation in our later years, i want as many benefits i can get to help me though life, and if they are available, i will consider them. also, the military is a good way to make use of my 11 years in scouts. as an eagle, i understand you move up to e2. im in all advanced and college credit classes in my junior year and have been since middle school, and ive taken a practice ASVAB on military.com and scored pretty well on it. ive also been talking to my cousin (national guard), my uncle (army), my great uncle (army), and my 2 friends from work, one in the marines and one in the army. ive taken the career matchmaker on army.com and my top 10 were all some type of chopper mechanic. and trust me if its possible, i will not just take any job. i know asking what our country does for me is a controversial question, but in all seriousness, i want all my country can give me, and in turn, i will be enlisted in the military, i think thats a fair bargain. But please if anyone else has any information id appreciate very much, im trying to do as much research as i can. and ABN31B i will deff. hit you up on skype one day. thanks alot for the help

 

no problem man. here to help.

getting what your country offers you is fine since it's what your country offers you. trust me when i say no one wants to die for this joint. Some have, and others will. Some gladly, other grudgingly. Is it a noble cause? that is for each individual to decide.

practice asvab @ www.military.com is a nice tool. The best practice tests are www.march2success.com <-- free ASVAB/ACT/SAT prep that adapts to and focuses on your weaknesses and grows your strength (the dude that developed the asvab also dev'd the ACT/SAT, fun fact). if you do better with paper materials, then ASVAB for Dummies is tops.

That being said, dont study and burn yourself out if you don't need to... If you can pull a 65 plus on the EST (in the office) you will be fine as our est is a low predictor. The national average (all ed levels from non-grad to dr) is 36. Beyond that, only 27% of US males 17-24 meet the standards for enlistment...

That is why i strongly reccomend taking the est. if you are above the mid 60's --> DO NOT STUDY <--, more often than not, kids that worry about test numbers fall lower, or stay even with their est score when they take 2 weeks to hit the books before taking the real test. I do not know why, but we attribute it to burning out. it's not a percent based test, and it only counts what you get correct. it's timed, but it's easy. i can pull a 72-88 on the est when drinking, or distracted by football...

Second, take the ASVAB if you st over a 65. Re-tests are not available unless you fail. If you pull a 33, no one would retest you, because if you do worse, you will become disqualified... if you fail you have to wait 30 days to retest...

Once you complete the ASVAB with a 65+ AFQT (score) you will want the highest line scores possible with the focus being on GT. If your GT is 110 or above, you can do anything in the Army. ST, and MM also help in the chopper doc field.

As a personal reccomendation, steer clear of AH-64's. they are aging, unlike everything on the outside, and do not allow you to fly. If you get UH-60 crewchief or CH-47 CC you will be flying with the bird. BONUS! you do maint, fly with, and defend them <-- best way to transition over to WOFT later so you can fly them since you will fall in love with the crashhawk or sh*thook

From their, go through the steps to phys, but be aware if they set you up to phys AND FLOOR at the same time. If they do, you will complete the phys and if you mke it move directly to job selection in one move... If you go for this, either take a 15 series job OR stay strong and make them come to you. The counselors have the ability to call our job pool and milk a slot out. they will do this for a senior with a high GT, but again the job would have to be there. we can not sh*t out training slots.

If you go through the steps, and then do not take the job they pull for you, you will cause some problems for yourself. we are all about the customer, but i do not have to 'try' very hard if you have screwed me in the past... don't be that guy, because no one will go to bat for you again. if it has to do with choppers, and they have to force it to appear, understand that it is NOT their for a reason. making it appear took work and that can not usually be duplicated if you go home to think over just what a 15Y does since it was not one you had looked over.

Get familliar with the basics of what most 15 series guys do at www.goarmy.com. see a day-in-the-life-of-a ___ videos. understand that 15 is 15 is 15 for the most part, the only difference is what your helicopter looks like. UNLESS you are a flying crewchief... then you will do more ownership stuff vs wrench turning stuff.

AGAIN, I ask that you know these things but do not drop my name. Use a family member as the reason you know what you know if need be. It's frowned upon to show my hand, when it's the same hand the other cat is working with... do you follow?

I am doing this because this is a Forum i frequent, and you are a long time member, i want to see you get what you want. Call me biased...
when you DL skype, hit the little skype thing under my post count (i think) to get a hold of me.

fire away with your questions.

i have a few for you though:
family has mil background, but are mom and dad on board with the idea of you playing with helicopters for the military?

seeing all of the benifits, pay, haelth coverage, college $, housing/food/clothing $ and options, etc... would you still condier joining if he couldn't make you a 15 series guy? if you were a construction vehicle mechanic, HVAC systems repairer, or generator doc, would it still interest you?

do you have a serious girlfriend or anything that would hold you back from moving to say, Georgia if called to do so (i mean real stuff not just i dont know anyone in GA)?

I do not know how close you are to Fort Campbell, but if it's a reasonable distance you will have TONS fo reserve chopper doc jobs as they are the home of Air Assault which is essentially walking/sliding/falling off of all things helicopter. with that being said, would active duty serve YOU better than reserve service after 4 years?

You are aware that every option (2yr-6yr) regardless of res/ad carries an 8 year commitment, correct?

 

trust me i will not rat you out, i appreciate everything your doing
ive talked it over with both my parents and they seem on board. my dad is all for it, he says its a great opportunity and had he graduated high school he might have considered it. my mom said that she always wanted to go into the navy but never did. so basically they are both on board with the idea. the reserves recruiter was telling me about the crew chief thing, and how i could actually fly with them, which is cool. and given all the benefits, yes i would consider another job, as long as it involved mechanics. ive been a gear head all my life, and when i first looked at the army, when i was about 15, i wanted to be a vehicle mechanic, just helicopters seemed something to expand my horizons since i am familiar with vehicle mechanics, maybe not military mechanics, but the same concept. as far as anything holding me back, no girlfriend, and not much besides my part time job and scouts, but as long as i get my eagle this summer like i plan, it wont hold me back at all. i cant think of anything else that could hold me back. and im familiar with fort Campbell, but i am approx. 10-15 miles away from fort Knox, and fort campbell is 175 miles south, or about a 3 hour drive, but not far at all. and as far as the 8 year commitment, i think im catching the drift of since i have to commit to 8 years anyway, i might as well go active duty? My cousin would be a great person to talk to, he went to the national guard, was in for about a year or two and got dishonorably discharged. im willing to bet, that when i call him he will tell me it was a big mistake leaving. he struggles to make a living by installing cable for a cable contractor in Louisville. i dont want my life to be like that, i bet he thinks that if he had stayed in the Guard, he would have all these opportunities and all these doors opened for him, and sure as hell wouldn't be stuck installing cable.

 

8 years what ever time you do = 8 in the end
i.e. you go reserves for 4 years, you still have 4 IRR on the back side. any way you add it up, you can get re-activated for a period of up to 8 years from day 1 if you were needed.

the answer you gave to joining if you couldn't get one job was the answer i was looking for.

mom and dad backing you isn't necessary, but it helps a LOT. having them in your corner will carry more weight in the long run, so thats a bonus also.

nothing holding you back = perfect. that is what i was driving at with the Reserves vs. AD. Nothing holding you back means a serious reason to consider res vs ad in detail.

as for the Eagle, thats awesome man. not too many dudes pull that off, especially these days. give the recruiting office a heads up and they can present you a certificate on behalf of the Army since we believe what you are doing is worthy of reccognition wether you join or not.

FT Knox being 20 miles away will help a lot with reserve prospects.

This is not to knock your cousin, anyone who has done guard time, or the NG itself. The National Guard is not the Army. They pay to use our schools, pay to attend our training, and swear to obey the Govenor of their state. They are state funded, and state controlled. They work and train in a way that is simillar to the Reserves, and perfrom some of the same missions. The National Guard does more of the combat side of things, where as the Reserves focus more on support roles (as a practice, not a rule). The NG focuses on the state's needs and surrounding states as needed. The benifits are different, retirment is different, basically other than the uniform and rank structure, they could not be any more different.

 

awesome, so theres a very good chance i could get some type of job working with mechanics?
and yea my parents pretty much support me with what i do, they say is to make sure thats what you want to do before you sign
and if i have nothing holding me back, would active duty be a better option than reserves?
hopefully once i get this eagle stuff done, i can focus more on obtaining as much information as possible about the army.
i just have to decide which is right for me, reserves or AD
and ive never really researched into the national guard, but its good to know that they are different from reserves

 

i would say AD is better for everyone that is not:
tied to a spot, going to college on a mostly all encompassing scholarship, has a sweet job, has a fmaily business to fall into, wants to augment current job skills with matching Army skills, needs the skills to cover lacking skills to get better job at home, wants to serve in military but not more than necessary (think well intending dentist, teacher, mechanic, etc)

Talk to the recruiters about reserves. then see it side by side with AD. Ad is the better option when weighing what 4 years will yeild. Reconsider your plan every 3-4 years. If at any time something better is available, take it. Make the Army need you, do not need the Army, and life will run smoothly.

i wish someone would have told me that before i ended up supporting a family fully on one income whilst managing a special needs kiddo and a normal kid. i need the Army. BUT i also love what i do (did) and consider my job a hobby that i get paid for, so I can't complain (more than i already do anyway)


**EDIT**
think how dangerous i would be if i knew even 1/4 of this crap about my Blazer

 

i'd like to extend a "X2" to Curtis' post top of page three & cochran07's post @ the bottom of page two. like it was said, not everyhting is D-dubb-uaw's fault.

no matter how much of a tool people feel he is.



i was thinking the same thing as i was reading through eveything you've posted.