Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you think?
 

I'm graduating from UW-Madison, and have a great GPA. I have received a lot of interest from the big ag companies, even getting offers for 2 year post-grad internships from the big 3... but those require relocation and no real commitment from the company (basically, cutbacks = I'm first gone).

My dad was 25 years ARMY. I've always thought about it, but never really put much into the idea until now. Doing something I will be forever proud of, plus continuing in my father's footsteps is a plus. Getting my $30K+ in student loans paid off is also a big plus as well.

I have talked to friends who have come back from Iraq as well as my dad, but not to a recruiter yet... I have to go back to Indonesia this summer, and want to commit after I get back.

Guess I'm just gauging opinion. If you are in the ARMY now, especially if you went through OCS, I would love to hear from you. Normal enlistment too.

Thanks guys. I know there is a lot of military here, and figured this is a great place to get some information!

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Someone from the Officer's side of the house will speak up.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I considered it for a while, but I'm almost positive I wouldn't be accepted due to medical conditions. Don't mean to thread jack =P

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

What medical reasons if you don't mind me asking?

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Heart murmur =P, wouldn't be able to lie about it since it can be picked out with just a stethoscope.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Check with JohnnyKay when he gets back from the herf at imthegoal's.

He was prior enlisted before he was commissioned.

Me? Been a Paratrooper over 20 years now.:D

Anyone can join the Army....It takes someone special to exit a high performance aircraft, 800 feet in the air, in total darkness....:hf

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I had a ferret with that. He was still pretty spunky. :dance:

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I believe the technical term for those people is "****ing Retarded" :r


I keed, I keed :)

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Though I am enlisted and USAF, I will say that in light of the current economic strain it might not be such a bad idea. As you said they pay off your student loans but you also mentioned that you would have to relocate if you take a job from the corporation. Well my friend if you are concerned about relocating then you may not want to join the service as I would expect you already know.

One last thought, go to the AF Officer recruiter and see what they have to say. I am glad I joined this branch to say the least.

Whatever you decide best wishes for you.

T

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Don't go Army they don't treat their folks very well. I have first hand knowledge, working with them in Iraq for the last 32 months. Very ego driven branch of the service. Sorry, if I offend anyone here but that's how I see the USA from my side of the fence. They have a hugh problem right now with enlisted & officers going home on leave and not coming back to service. I listened to a Colonel Friday morning describe this problem to his junior officer corp. He wanted them to improve relations and morale with those in his command. He said it's an "epidemic problem throughout the Army". So I think the Army has realized there's a problem from within. Best of luck!


Chris.....

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Talk to your Pop's about it. Joining the military is a life altering experience. Public forums for these type questions opens the door for more opinions than facts.

I understand the reasoning for joining the military due to economic difficulties, but it needs to be thought out further than that. Officer/Enlisted; whatever. Talk to people face to face if you can. Recruiters know little, very little about the jobs out there, unless it was the one they came from.

Best of luck.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Hey Man,
Excellent idea! Tell your Recruiter that you want to be an Officer though. You don't want to be doing lower enlisted crap like sweeping floors and cutting grass. Plus the retirement on the Officer side of the house is awesome. Plus you have Warrant Officers as well. They are like in between an Officer and Enlisted. Wanna fly helicopters? Go Warrant Officer. Want to shoot and kill ****? Go Infantry. I am a Military Policeman in the Army and I LOVE my job. What do you want to do after the military, how long do you want to stay in; have a plan! If you need more advise and guidance feel free to email: daryle.walker@us.army.mil

Good Luck Brother! COME JOIN THE FIGHT!:tu

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

If you really want me to.

May 10th of this year is my 20 year anniversary in the Army Guard, but I did spend a dozen years enlisted in the Infantry before going to the dark side.

I think the Guard is a good way to go if you are hesitant about making the Army a career or not. You get a lot of the financial benefits but also get to work on a military and civilian career at the same time, so your resume grows double. If you like the whole military thing, you can always go active.

The guard also has a new program called "Active First" where you spend a couple years active, then come out into the Guard.

Worth looking into, I think.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

"Special" is definitely the word I'd use.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

DOOR!!...HOOAH!!!!
Got my wings (and learned the hard way, how "NOT" to perform a proper PLF) in my beloved Army and never looked back. Jumping to this day...
Jump one thousand
Arch one thousand
Reach one thousand...:wo

They just don't get it. Try it and you'll never look at the sky the same way again. :tu

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I am 44 years old and have never served. I have always regretted that I didn't. But that's just me.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I've worked in Airborne units in and out of Iraq for the past 18 1/2 years.

The problem isn't with the Airborne units - they WANT to be there. The straight leg units who are trying to be all "hooah hooah" are where the egos come in to play.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

The soldiers I am referring too were slated to be training/working with the Iraqi Army. Prior to deploying they found out they were going to be training with civilian police advisors and working with the Iraqi Police service. I don't have to tell you or anyone who's worked with the military in this capacity it has been a nightmare from square one. They call us subject matter experts but they have thrown us out of meetings and planning sessions when they asked for our opinions and we gave them. So my time is nearly done with this adventure, time to start a new chapter of my life. Please don't get me wrong The United States Army has some of the best and brightest and I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with them in this environment. Just two different animals made to live in the same cage and they always won right or wrong.



Chris......

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I am a nasty leg.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Very good advice. I believe it will give you life experience that no other organization can. Hard work, discipline, and a lot of fun. Some people love it; some people will tell you they hate it but you will get out what you put in. I know, sounds cliche but it is true.

What field are looking to get into? You can probably get good info about different jobs from the variety of military here.

Cheers
Richard

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

For the part about relocation, I really don't want to uproot my life to a place where I have no family or friends and end up being laid off. That's basically that. Heck, I hope by the time I am out I will land a job working a US federal job in Malaysia/Indonesia. So it isn't about the relocation by itself.

For career fields:
I've been knee deep in ag sciences, business, language, and communication sciences the last few years of my college career. I've been leaning more and more towards marketing, but who knows. Heck, last summer I spent my time translating and researching privacy/freedom of information/expression laws in Malaysia and that was sort of fun.

I don't have much interest in knowing how to build a refrigerator though. :D

Thanks a lot guys for the responses!

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

All branches want people with language skills! What language(s) do you know?

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Indo/Melayu (lived in both countries to learn differences), and Korean (working on this at the moment. I'm half Korean and my mother is a bit upset my vocab is crap). :D

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Indonesian and Korean, youre money, Bro! If you decide to join take the DLAB and have them send you to DLI. Been there twice and it is awesome.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Tabb - you KNOW what I mean - not directed at you, directed at the Senior Leadership.

Marge - The MiTT teams were a BAD idea from the beginning. I can name dozens of MiTT teams that were assembled, well, for lack of better words, by picking names out of a hat. Having a team built with Recruiters, Drill Sergeants and Instructors who have NO experience, outside of the schoolhouse OR in Iraq, then being put together to TRAIN Iraqi's, does NOT work. As you have seen!

Sodomanaz - If you are serious, use your background as an advantage - Look into the Psychological Operations Field - 37A - They NEED people...and their mission is VERY unique from ANY other Branch in the Army.

As for languages, I would suggest Pashtu or Dari (for obvious reasons). The DLAB just shows your ability to learn a language - the DLPT will show your Proficiency in the language - Get the language testing done, and you will gain extra $$$ in your paycheck for FLPP (foreign language proficiency pay).

The other advantage of PsyOps is you'll bypass 99% of the Army units that play all the BS and f*ck-f*ck games.

Here's a reference -

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Sounds like you’ve experienced some of my pains and headaches? I actually work on a PTT. They are totally clueless, they know we know this and it drives them crazy. I could on and on how they get lost in town all the time and when we try to give advise we're told to shut up. So, like I said I head to Baghdad this Friday and on April 17th I'm out and arrive home on the 18th enshala. It feels good to vent a little!

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I was kidding Tobii you know I love you.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Well, the DLAB is used for that reason, but after instructing, I have to say that that the DLAB is out of date. Just my opinion from working with the students for four years. I had many students with HIGH DLAB scores fail out, vice versa with the individuals that scored low.

The reason I suggested taking it was because it is pretty much a pre-req to getting there. You do get paid on the level you score on the DLPT, that's where the money is; it is good money right now!

Dari(Farsi)/ Pashtu are just the flavor of the decade. Any opportunity to learn a language there should be snatched up. They are all used. There are a few languages that the services send one or two people a year- low flows.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

sodomanas,

Don't discount the Air Force. UW-Madison used to have a good AFROTC program, they probably still do. Talk with some of the cadre at the school. You might be able to go through the 2 year program and get your Master's knocked out at the same time.

I was enlisted in the Army for over seven years before (1) crossing into the blue and (2) becoming an officer. Since I've gone blue, I've had three jobs where I work more with the Army than I do with the Air Force. Today's military is more Joint then ever. This summer, once I return from A-Stan, I'm going to yet another Army assignment in Washington.

Even if you don't go through AFROTC, speaking with the officers at the AFROTC detachment will give you a better idea of different career fields that the military offers.

Definitely talk about this with your dad. You'll probably find that his insight will be of the most value.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Cheers,
Michael (Greg)

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Speaking of the AF...I just finished ROTC last may and went on active duty in July...I LOVE IT! I am getting a chance to do a lot...may be deploying early next year!

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

I think I'm going to deploy at the end of next year. So I guess we won't run into each other there.

I like the AF. I've been between AF and Army bases, and I like staying on the AF ones a lot more. I guess what it really comes down to though is what you want to specialize in.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Look at all of the services. Don't forget to look at the Marines also.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

:tpd:
Look at your knowledge, abilities and interests and then look at the different opportunities available in all five of the military services. If you can find a place in the military where you can use what you have already learned or work in a field that interest you more, than you time in the military will be rewarding for both you and the service you choose.

And despite the good natured sniping that tends to happen between the various branches of the military, each service has something to offer that makes them worthwhile. If you're interested in environmental protection then you may want to take a look at what the Coast Guard has to offer, for example.

Re: Thinking of joining the ARMY, what do you thin
 

Thanks for all of the information everyone! I'm set to talk to my advisor/asst. dean a bit more later this week, so we'll see how things go. Definitely will be checking back here!