michigan

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Mar 9, 2001
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Well, I'm having a bit of a quarter-life crisis here. I've graduated college and worked for two years, but I feel like I'm already stuck in a rut that will never lead to any kind of satisfaction. I sit at work all day and watch obese people waddle around talking about their boats, and it just makes me sick.
Lately I've been thinking about joining an armed services officers program (reserve, probably). I assume this could lead to a reimbursement for college loans, and possibly some more quality education. Seems like it would also be a good way to develope some killer leadership skills.

What are your thoughts?
 

Jaybird

Apprentice Goon
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Mar 16, 2001
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Charlestown, IN
Sounds like you are primed and ready. Go for it, you won't regret the decision!
Be sure and don't get yourself into something you wish you could change though. Be certain you look at what ALL the armed forces are offering. Each one of them can allow you the opportunity to be an officer, but it may not be quite as good as being an NCO with a great job. I've seen young officers with mucho potential get stuck with duty that lets them remain stale.

Numero Uno thing to think about is the General Test that is given. I realise you are an inteligent person, but just about all your choices are based upon your GT score. Approach this test as you would the SAT or ACT. Also, take the test with the Air Force, no matter what service you want to join. Trust me on this one...the Air Force uses a slightly different scale than the other services. What this means is that if you decide to go marines, your Air Force administered test score will be changed to the Marines scale, and usually results in a higher score than if you took the same test in the Marines room. (Hope I made sense to you on that one:think )

The armed services are a great way to get a good feel going! No matter what, you will always "stand tall and look good" afterwards.

ps....go full tilt regular!
 

michigan

Member
Mar 9, 2001
424
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Jaybird,
First off, thanks for the helpful reply. I will heed your advice about taking the general test w/ the Air Force. I have a meeting scheduled with a Marines recruiter next week, but I will be sure to investigate the other branches. At this point I know very little about what opportunities the armed services can offer me.
I do have a couple of questions for you though:
but it may not be quite as good as being an NCO with a great job.
- what is an "NCO"?
and what does "full tilt regular" mean?
Thanks again
 
B

biglou

NCO=Non-Comissioned Officer, or an E-4 and above. In other words, not necessarily college educated. Would you rather be an officer leading a group of grunts around in a jungle, or a Corporal with a killer technical job? There are those that prefer the first choice, nothing wrong with that. Just don't get yourself obligated into something you'll regret.

Jaybird's "Full-tilt regular" means active duty, not reserves.

One last bit of advice-Recruiters are like used-car salesmen. They have quotas to meet. Make sure you see it in writing before you sign anything. If you've never been a "Government Employee" before, this will likely be the most paperwork you have ever seen in your life!

Good luck, and feel free to ask any more questions you may have.:)
 

michigan

Member
Mar 9, 2001
424
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Thanks for the good info. I will hold back additional dumb questions until I meet with the recruiter on Monday morning. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions after that.
Also- at this point I don't know what type of officer I'd like to be. The "NCO" type work sounds the most rewarding, but I am very concerned about career-building experiences, and I am not (at this point) considering the military as a career. However, at this point I have a killer technical job and it is sucking the life out of me.
I would simply like to take advantage of potential opportunities to gain experience that would benefit the rest of my working life.
 
B

biglou

Here's another way to look at it: The NCO thing is just a higher-rank of enlisted man. If you have a college degree, go to OCS (Officer's Candidate School). Officers=Management and Enlisted=Workers. The pay, and the prestige are much greater for the officers. The lowest ranking officer still outranks the highest ranking enlisted man. That's not to say that you couldn't learn quite a few things from an "Old Salt" enlisted man, just that there are not many special privelages for enlisted men, and you will have to work your way up from the very bottom if you go enlisted. It's been a while since I was in, but I'm sure things are still porportionally the same as far as pay, prestige, and privelages.

One other note abut the Marine Corps-The air wing side of the house tends to be a little more relaxed and less formal than the ground side of the house. The grunts play their game 24/7. The "Wing" tends to play hardcore when needed, and go a little more relaxed whenever possible.
 

michigan

Member
Mar 9, 2001
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Thanks again for the help. I will meet with a recruiter on monday morning. I'll fill you guys in on monday afternoon.
RK
 

hapanese

Stuff is good
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Mar 25, 2001
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Not to take anything away from the Marines, they do a great job for our country. I would just like to suggest that you take a close look at the Air Force. We are treated very well when compared to the other services. It was very evident to me during Desert Storm. Our tents were like First class hotels compared to what the Army and Marines were living in. Thats just one very small example.
Hap
 

sfc crash

Human Blowtorch
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Jun 26, 2001
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ok,you guys..here's how it breaks down..the army.takes everybody. the marines.only take the really stupid.the airforce.takes the pussies.and the navy.they take only the OOPS, uh,well the village people sang about the navy!;) were i you, i'd definately look at an "air arm" of any service. officers have it made,pilots have it mader:eek: (i'm an nco,cant spel) the airforce definately has alot more of the creature comforts,that's nice.you can get rotory or fixed wing aircraft. the only rotory aircraft that have combat missions in a "fighter" role are the corp and army,the corp has,ofcourse fixed wing"fighter" as does the navy and airforce. alot..ALOT more flyers in the airforce(duh!) and the navy flyers fancy themselves the best 'cause they gotta land on carriers. but..there's alot of support aircraft to fly too. trust me on this one...flying in heating/aircon is alot better than humping in the mud.and seriously,the corps doesn't just take the idiots, a few with wits slip through the cracks....AIRBORNE!:aj:
 

hapanese

Stuff is good
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Mar 25, 2001
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Yah, dont quote me on this, but from what I hear the Helicopter pilots in the AF are the ones who washed out on the fighters and heavys.Bottom of the barrel so to speak. Thats just hearsay and conjecture. I'm sure its different in the other services. Yep I guess us Air Force guys are pussies, but we still have all the comforts, and plenty of time to ride. And thats what its all about.:eek:
 

sfc crash

Human Blowtorch
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Jun 26, 2001
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i use to have to drive thru Pope AFB to get to my residence on the little river. jeeze, i wanted to back to bragg,go to the CG and slap him,and say,"hey! do you see how those guys are living over there? do you?" man we use to go to the NCO club on pope,nice,thats where i saw greg alman,for a 5$ cover.our table was front row.durring the break he sat down with us and bought us beers. it was a mutual admiration society.he loved us because we jumped out of planes, we loved him because he got, well, (family forum) the girls.:aj: oh yeh,don't sweat the AF thing, the AF is a-ok with me...what was that line from a few good men,well let me adjust it just a bit" i like you airforce boys just fine,every time we go some place to fight,you boys fly us there.";) ok,time for lil' richie to quit being a weenie.
 

hapanese

Stuff is good
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Mar 25, 2001
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No argument here, I love my job. I work on average 12 days a month. The thing that gets me is the wienees that complain about life in the Air Force. Granted the pay isn't that good, but thats the same with all the services. No these guys actually whine about the dorms, or having to spend 3 months over in the desert. Unbelievable!
Hap
 
B

biglou

FYI: Fixed-wing Marine Corps jets drop hook on the flight deck also. Unless you get Harriers. They still land on ships, but they don't have hooks...:scream:
(They don't use catapults, either.:cool: )

The Marine Corps is a department of the Navy. Therefore the flight training is done together. Some of the RAG's (Replacement Air Groups), or training squadrons are also composite squadrons made up of both services. You'll notice a lot of the terminology is identical between the two services.

BTW-I was enlisted, Avionics Technician on Harriers, but I worked contract maint. in the early-mid 90's on A-4's in one of the two training squadrons for for "Primary Jet Training" for the Nav/Corps. Also have a friend who is a Navy pilot. I got to fly a sim for a couple hours up in the Northwest and I can tell ya, landing on that carrier sure will swell your head. Amazing stuff. There is no way I could EVER imagine doing it in real life. If you want to set your goals to the very highest standards, that might be a consideration.
But, as hap mentioned, those AF boys got it pretty sweet.:) At least that's what we always heard!
 

michigan

Member
Mar 9, 2001
424
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I'm learning a lot from this discussion, but I will still investigate every branch, and possibly join none of them.
You say all the dummies go to the marines? That might be perfect for me. I'll know more after I take some tests. I have no idea what career/educational opportunities are offered by any of the branches. That's my biggest concern, and I won't be able to declare a preference (marines,af, navy, etc) until I meet with the salesmen.
 
B

biglou

There's always going to be a little inter-service rivalry. Some good-natured ribbing. There is some overlap of duties between the services, so you usually have at least a couple of choices for any given field. Shop around for the best bennies, as with any job. And, as always, get it in writing before you sign.
 

sfc crash

Human Blowtorch
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Jun 26, 2001
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dummies? ok,here it goes, i gotta tell ya, i believe the corp has higher initial standards, i think the army dropped theirs again, big green needs more folks.btw,the corp itself is considerd an elite unit,and as with any elite unit you will find as a whole the intellect is higher..geeze,now i gotta go wash my fingers off. don't sweat the asvab (entrance tests) you will score high, unless you are having someone else writing your posts, i can tell you'll do fine. now, listen to this senior NCO, listen up mr. if you even have an incling about joining up,YOU DO IT! otherwise you are going to end up like one of those loosers,who i run into waay too much,that tell me "i was gonna join(then it's always the seals or rangers or something) but the gas station gave me a .25$ raise" vive crash,vive el comendante del toro grande.
 

Fly'nBrian

LIFETIME SPONSOR
May 3, 2001
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Yo Michigan

Don't forget to check out the Michigan National Guard. I just joined back up a year ago. I had a mid life crisis:p I even bought a new DRZ. :) At you age the officers route may be the way to go but...... everybody knows it the NCO's that run the show.

Good luck in deciding

PS were are you from in Michigan

Brian
 
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