Joining Up
- Thread starter Arethusa
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Well then why'd you get out? hehe...reminds me of a guy I was talking with the other day. He was an E-5 but he looked to be nearly 40 and his CIB on his uniform had a star (meaning he had been to two seperate wars) I asked him where he had been and he said Desert Storm.
Of course I wondered why he was only an E-5. He explained he had a break in service. I asked why he came back in. He said, "Cuz I missed it, but I'm getting out again." I asked why and he said, "Cuz I didn't miss it THAT much!" lmao
Point is, I think people remember all the good stuff but forget about all the b*llsh*t!
U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
Thats hilarious. I just had enough. I knew alot of guys too with "broken service", never did understand why they would come back in. Like I said, I went to college In NY got my B.S in economics from an excellent school and now Im a project manager/consultant and I make a great living. For me I felt like it was time and quite honestly I felt like I might be pushin my luck stayin in. My biggest regret is that my poor mother went to her grave worrying about me so much. I was sent everywhere in the 80's and ealry 90's, it causes your family allot of stress as Im sure you are aware.
U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
Can one of you doggies take a peek at the vids I posted on a recent post. The first vid in particular...Im now starting to think that those are not marines because I dont recognize the patches some of them wear...In fact I dont recal ever wearing a patch on any uniform or ever seeing one expect our flag as a shoulder patch.
Yeah, I've never seen a Marine with patches myself. Based on the first video, looks like members of the Big Red One. I'll post in the video post.U/D/T/SNAKE said:
Shhhhh, I don't want to hear it. Might make me want to reenlist. LOL!L_S said:
LOL, I can remember being able to pick up Jeopardy on some crappy station where the video signal was bad, but the sound was okay. The great part is that it was on a half an hour before it aired on another network with a good video signal. I used to listen to the show, then go down to my buddy's room afterward, turned it on their TV and impresse everyone with my vast trivia knowledge. Took about two months before they caught on. LMFAO!U/D/T/SNAKE said:
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U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
LOL, I used to do that all the time only it was more recent. Id watch the 5pm jeapordy some days and then watch the same one at 7pm and impress the hell out of my girlfriend then. Like you, she caught on.
I probably would flip my lid about the barracks. Open squad bays is what we had old quanset huts. The other grunt units had dorm style 3 man rooms with one NCO room but even as an NCO I slept at the end of my platoons side of the barracks, we just had the wall lockers positioned like makeshift separaters.
Oh thanks for claryifying that issue. I was pretty certain at the second peek at was not jarheads.
I probably would flip my lid about the barracks. Open squad bays is what we had old quanset huts. The other grunt units had dorm style 3 man rooms with one NCO room but even as an NCO I slept at the end of my platoons side of the barracks, we just had the wall lockers positioned like makeshift separaters.
Oh thanks for claryifying that issue. I was pretty certain at the second peek at was not jarheads.
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U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
Im the guy on the right, the good lookin kid. I have no idea if I attached it. I think we just got the new helmets and A2's still had the 45's as you can see.
You can see how old the warbelt and H harness is...they were old then. You cant see my shoulder houlster which I had rigged eliot ness style so the pistol lay right under my arm and the loops around my shoulders instead of across my chest.
Edit: as long as were taking over this thread in force, here is a favorite quote from an army general on grenada and a link with more like it from the army: "We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island,
and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing.
What the hell is going on?"
Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., USA, Chairman of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff; during the assault on Grenada, 1983
http://home.swbell.net/dg12/a/famoussayings.htm
You can see how old the warbelt and H harness is...they were old then. You cant see my shoulder houlster which I had rigged eliot ness style so the pistol lay right under my arm and the loops around my shoulders instead of across my chest.
Edit: as long as were taking over this thread in force, here is a favorite quote from an army general on grenada and a link with more like it from the army: "We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island,
and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing.
What the hell is going on?"
Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., USA, Chairman of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff; during the assault on Grenada, 1983
http://home.swbell.net/dg12/a/famoussayings.htm
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You know I've read in the Army Times a few times lately that they are gonna bring back the 45.
Yeah, I think we hijacked this thread. Where was your pic taken? Attached is a pic of my platoon about a week out from coming home after 13 months in Iraq. I'm the ugly one with the big yellow arrow pointing at me
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U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
Pic was taken in 29 palms on a Marine Corps COmbat ready evaluation excercise right before we went to honduras and then panama. My ****in clip rusted in my pistol clip well overnight luckily I knew the armorers and they fixed it. We'd get to'd different weapons for field ops though.
As a standard sidearm they very well should bring it back.
As a standard sidearm they very well should bring it back.
If the michigan guard was an army under the control of our governor, used as we wanted for our own protection, i could see joining it. id be there to protect everyone i cared about, having the home-team advantage, deployed to the streets, towns, and hills i know and love.
the fact is that the michigan guard is at the beck and call of the fed and joining the 'guard' would be just as dumb an idea for me as joining the regular army. even the freaking coastguard here was pulled off the lakes and sent to the middle east.
i dont know how to stop what i see happening to my country, but i know that joining the army wont help.
(and btw, im an extremly poor student who wont be attending school this semester for finantial reasons (ill have enough for a full course-load next semester though
. this crap just takes time.)
i kind of hope you dont join up, i have friends who joined the marines and coastguard when they graduated, all of them shipped out, none of them are back, and some of them wont be coming back. it would be sad to lose an INFer too.
the fact is that the michigan guard is at the beck and call of the fed and joining the 'guard' would be just as dumb an idea for me as joining the regular army. even the freaking coastguard here was pulled off the lakes and sent to the middle east.
i dont know how to stop what i see happening to my country, but i know that joining the army wont help.
(and btw, im an extremly poor student who wont be attending school this semester for finantial reasons (ill have enough for a full course-load next semester though
. this crap just takes time.)i kind of hope you dont join up, i have friends who joined the marines and coastguard when they graduated, all of them shipped out, none of them are back, and some of them wont be coming back. it would be sad to lose an INFer too.
Protection from what? Ze Germans?Lt. said:
Obviously not an English major. (Just kidding Lt., I'm just messing with you)Lt. said:
I wasn't under the impression that Arethusa was thinking about joining the military in order to "change the country". My impression was that he was wanting to join in part for financial and educational reasons, a reason that many people join the military. It just so happens that although the risks are always great, under the current global climate, the risks are increased a hundred fold, and he's virtually guaranteed a tour in the middle east. My hat's off to him for exploring the option. Although I think some type of compulsory service is a good idea, I've never thought that the military was for "everyone". I just hope that Are makes an informed choice.Lt. said:
U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
LS.... my bro said he was in the 75th? It was a few nights ago when he told me after waking me at 3am so i may be wrong. But yeah he said it "was" mechanized at one point. However, he told me that you all were going to get this APC soon. Have you heard any rumors about that?
I know, that was mostly just how i felt about things after i started going through the "wtf am i doing with my life??" phase. (which included looking at the Reserves) i still don't really know, but ill work at it.5eleven said:
Ouch. guess i cant let that happen again...5eleven said:
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mozilla.org/extensions/aspellfox/aspellfox-0.1.200507-r1-fx-linux.xpi; firefox
/home/minister/aspellfox-0.1.200507-r1-fx-linux.xpi&
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If you want to be a ranger, I don't recommend going for it unless you are extremely dedicated. To be a ranger, you will want an 11X with Option 40 contract. This would mean that you go to Basic and AIT at Benning to be trained as an Infrantryman, then you go airborne. Upon succesful completion of OSUT (BT+AIT combined) and Airborne, you are guaranteed a slot at RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program). A lot of people wash out in RIP (~30-80%). Upon success in RIP, you would be assigned to a Ranger Battalion, where if you prove yourself for a couple years you could get sent to Ranger school and become a full fledged Ranger.
Needless to say, it is not for the faint of heart. The road is long, hard, but rewarding. You will need to be in top physical shape before even arriving at Basic, and your mind should be fully made up and committed to completion of the training. If you are not sure this is what you want you will probably fail. Upon failure in RIP, you would be sent to 82nd Airborne most likely.
Also, expect a 4 year enlistment, I think 3 yr ones exist but are rare. If you really don't want to be trained as infantry (11X), the Army has recently opened up RIP slots to more MOS's and Ranger school to non-combat MOS. I heard that doing a 13F with option 40 as a good way to go if you don't want 11X.
-Note: Don't take what I say to be the word of God since I am not a Ranger. I have simply done a lot of research about joining because I am currently joining the Army Special Forces with an 18X contract.
Needless to say, it is not for the faint of heart. The road is long, hard, but rewarding. You will need to be in top physical shape before even arriving at Basic, and your mind should be fully made up and committed to completion of the training. If you are not sure this is what you want you will probably fail. Upon failure in RIP, you would be sent to 82nd Airborne most likely.
Also, expect a 4 year enlistment, I think 3 yr ones exist but are rare. If you really don't want to be trained as infantry (11X), the Army has recently opened up RIP slots to more MOS's and Ranger school to non-combat MOS. I heard that doing a 13F with option 40 as a good way to go if you don't want 11X.
-Note: Don't take what I say to be the word of God since I am not a Ranger. I have simply done a lot of research about joining because I am currently joining the Army Special Forces with an 18X contract.
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U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
In actual reply to Arethusa, I say look, If your strapped for cash and are just thinking of joining up for any college benefits, and you have weighed the risk reward factor as good as you can, except nothing less than a non infantry MOS. Study and score high on the ASVAB, except nothing less than an in writing gaurantee of an MOS such as admn, supply, air controller, bulk fuel, something like that. Remember the majority of MOS's are in fact non infantry. That probably wont keep you out of Iraq or Afghanistan but you wont be in a line company fighting. Your survivability is nearly a certainty. Do a 4 year hitch, go reserves if you can (MOS you want may not exist near your location) if not youll be fine. Get out and go to school on the GI bill or whatever they have now (when I joined up we had VEAP). You'll never lose those 4 years, in fact when you get out you'll feel heads and tails above everyone else, and you'll never ever forget your service...something to think about.
Edit: hehe a little drunk (first time drinking in a while) I sort of geared that to say definitely join...thats not what I'm saying. Just saying your options, if you decide to, can be exponentially controlable under the circumstances I said. Remember, get it in writing before you sign, if you sign.
Edit: hehe a little drunk (first time drinking in a while) I sort of geared that to say definitely join...thats not what I'm saying. Just saying your options, if you decide to, can be exponentially controlable under the circumstances I said. Remember, get it in writing before you sign, if you sign.
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The 25th has been a light unit for a long, long time man so I'm not sure what he's talking about.
Yeah my brigade is slated to become a "Stryker" brigade here in a little while.
keihaswarrior said:
Everything he said is true. One little piece I would recommend though. If you have the option, try to get 11B instead of 11X in your contract. Cuz if you go 11X it leaves the decision up to the Army and you might end up as an 11C (mortarman). And trust me, you don't want to be lugging a mortar tube, base plate, and mortar rounds everywhere, not too mention 11C's promotion points are usually higher (meaning it's a little harder to get promoted faster.)
They can give 18 series to you in your contract now? How does that work? Do you go to SFAS right after basic? What if you fail?
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Ya, they recruit for SF off the street now similar to the way it was when SF began.L_S said:
The pipeline looks basically like this:
OSUT @ Benning
Airborne @ Benning
SOPC @ Bragg
SFAS @ Bragg (weed out the weak phase)
Then the Q-course @ Bragg
Average Time to ODA assignment: 24 months
If I fail I probably go to the 82nd.
U/D/T/SNAKE
Only partially annoying now
OMG, will one of you dogfaces school these boys as to how it really is. I know the SF we did ops with in the PI were not trained "off the street". Good bunch of guys
.
.
keihaswarrior said:
You make that sound like it's the worst thing on the planet. I went direct from Jump School to the 82d, along with probably half of my airborne class. The only ones that didn't were the few that went to Italy, a couple that went to the XVIII Airborne Corps, a couple that went to RIP and the rest were either USMC, or were there from another permanent duty station and had a 4187(I think I remember that form correctly) approved to get their wings. Remember this, if you do fail, and get to the 82d, you stand a pretty good chance of getting another opportunity to try for SF again, or to even go to Ranger School if you choose. Takes a little doing getting into a Ranger Battalion afterward, but it can be done.keihaswarrior said:
Well, I don't know how the recruitment process works these days. It's entirely possible, given the much larger role that SF has under the current administration. For some reason, they think that A-Team detachments fix it all in a world of terrorism. Anyway, when I was at Bragg, they were constantly looking for E4's and E4P's for SF Medic School. That was the only exception. Remember, KW said that it's about 24 months to an assignment, and that would be about right. That's not necessarily "right off the street". I'm just curious what MOS they require you to have in enlistment, and if there is some requirement for you to attain the rank of E4 or E4P before you make it to the Q-Course. Because as I recall, all team members had to be NCO's, at least an E5, the exception being SF Medic, who could enter as an E4 or E4P. Remember also, that completing Special Forces Assessment and Selection and the Qualification Course don't guarantee placement on an A Team Detachment. So in all honesty, I don't find that incredibly unrealistic. Good luck to you KW. Robin Sage is a bitch.U/D/T/SNAKE said: