Any advice for future .mil?

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Hey all, given the numerous veterans on here, I've decided to poke my head out of the tech forums and ask for some advice with real life issues. I've decided to forego my last year of college (for the time being) and enlisted into the Army's Delayed Entry Program under an 11x Opt. 40 contract (It puts me into Airborne, and then Ranger Assessment and Selection Program for service with the 75th upon completion-- it is NOT Ranger School)

Right now, I'm very pumped, this is what I've wanted to do my entire life. I've PT'd my ass off for the last 2 and a half years, and am prepared to do much, much more. I've gone from a couch potato who couldn't hope to pass the APFT to scoring a 286/300 last week. No reason I should not be maxing however. Just need to shave a minute off my run to max it and I'll be scoring in the bonus range.

Ranger-specific tests such as the 5 mile run and chinups are also no problem for me. I feel I'm fairly prepared, but there's no way that the training won't take every ounce of me to complete, no matter how conditioned I am. More PT is a given, and is always an obvious area of improvement.

Amidst all this, there is still room for improvement and valuable advice to be gotten. If there's any tips, from any veterans, I'd be glad to hear them so I don't have to be stepping on my dick any more than I'll inevitably be doing.

[5pins]

My advice would be to finish college then join.

[ThirdWatcher]

I agree.

[Belmont31R]

I also agree to finish. Not sure what anyone has told you but with the optempo of todays units its unlikely you will get to finish school while enlisted. My signal unit operated on a 1 year deployed and 1 year at home station rotation, and with pre deployment training it was impossible to attend school.


Also if you finish school you can go to OCS and go in as an officer. Not sure if that appeals to you but I never understood why people with degrees would come in as enlisted. Even if you suck as an officer there are plenty of staff positions that need filling, and you don't have to attempt to lead troops. They would pay back a lot of your college costs, too.

Even if you still want to go enlisted having a degree means you come in as an E4 not a PV1.


If you really do not want to finish school you'll be just another PV1, do your 4 years, and use the GI Bill to finish what school you started. Nothing wrong with that, either, and is what most people come in as. You can get E4 pretty quick if you have good PT and put in some extra effort. PV1 to E4 usually goes pretty quickly for most as long as you are not a shithead getting the company in trouble with DUI's and other stupid shit.


You can also do green to gold, and Im sure they would like to snap you up if you have already done some schooling. My best friend did this but is a Marine, and will be an officer this time next year. Had 2 years at San Diego State, joined, did 3 years, and is getting ready to graduate next semester.

[nimdabew]

Belmont is correct. Go officer if you can. Also, if you want to go and get your enlistment date early and then go to school, the Marine Corps has something called the Platoon Leaders Class. Go to your nearest USMC OSO office and ask about it. The basic run-down is you go to the platoon leaders class during your summer months if you have more than 12 months before you graduate, or go to OCS for the summer and a bit of the semester if you are less than 12 months. You PT with them during the school year, do recruitment "training" during the year as if you got out of basic and have a few weeks of leave at home before going to your first billet, and generally be their bitch but it is worth it. After you graduate, you get your bars, go to the Basic School, and then onto the school for your MOS. They pay for most of your college, and if you test well enough to get a special area of concentration and your degree backs it up, in my case Aeronautics, then you can pick where you want to go. I was going to get into flight school right out of OCS, but for various reasons, I wasn't able to.

ETA: Here is more info. Whatever your choice, make sure that it is right for YOU, not what is right for your chosen MOS, or family, or even something as noble as serving your country. If it is not good for you, it won't be a good fit and your time in service will be shitty compared to something you want to do and your performance will show it. 95% of the time in the military is boring and full of bullshit. The last 5% is where real lifelong friendships are made and where you will be able to keep yourself above your peers. Semper Fi.

http://officer.marines.com/marine/ma..._leaders_class

[Armati]

Tough call.

In general, yes finish school then join.

However, this war won't last forever. And since you obviously want to be an Airborne Ranger, I have to imagine that you want to 'get in the shit.' In that case, there is nothing wrong with delaying college if this is really what you want.

Another thing to consider, what is your major? If you are working on a BA in Gender Studies you may want to quit while you are ahead, save some money, and get a real job - lest you find yourself working at Starbucks or joining the ranks of the over educated and under employed down at Occupy Wall St.

Other than that, get in great shape and stay in great shape. Take a look at the new Army PRT program. The rest is easy - do what you are told and don't quit.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Thanks everyone, but I think it might be a bit late for that, as I've already signed up at MEPS and swore in there to put me in the DEP. (I've heard that it's still possible to back out at this point, but it makes serving down the road impossible, and I'm not interested really in anything else) I decided to enlist after thinking long and hard about what my ultimate goals are and they break down like this:

1.Get into the 75th Ranger Regiment.
2.Serve with Rangers.

It's a very particular challenge that I've set my head towards, and in all my research, it's not very accessible through channels other than enlisting with an Option 40 in a contract. Dictating such terms through OCS is impossible, and it would leave me at the needs of the Army, which is not where I want to go.

With my college credits, I'll be enlisting as an E3, which is good, and while the recruiter tried to sell me on "attend school while you serve", I'm smart enough to know that won't happen, especially if I end up as a Ranger. I'm comfortable putting college on hold and not going in as an officer or as an E4 with a degree. Also, my major is Poli Sci. So yeah, the applicability of that beyond becoming a bum on campus right now is pretty much nil.

Keep it coming, as its all welcome, you guys have BTDT, so I can learn from whatever y'all have to say (whatever it might be).

[nimdabew]

You don't have to do shit until you sign your contract before you get sworn in. They can't tell you that you can't be in the military for whatever reason. if they say that, it is because they are trying to get their recruitment numbers up for the month so their CO doesn't come down and bitch their asses out for not getting enough warm bodies to MEPS.

Also, read your contract five (5) times. Read it word for word. Once you get done with that, read it again. This contract is going to be your life for 4/4 or 5/3 or however long your enlistment contract is. Don't feel pressured to sign anything unless it is exactly what you want. Combat MOS aren't as high in demand as specialty MOS like comms or even mechanics. Don't expect a 20k bonus like my friend got when he re-upped for an additional 3 years for being a comm tech at a reserve station where he is I & I. He has a good gig going and he is close to home which is great for his family.

[SteyrAUG]

My advice would be to finish college then join.

Yep. Many more options, more valuable candidate. You can do a LOT in the military, and the more you bring to the table...the more you can do.

[QuietShootr]

Hey all, given the numerous veterans on here, I've decided to poke my head out of the tech forums and ask for some advice with real life issues. I've decided to forego my last year of college (for the time being) and enlisted into the Army's Delayed Entry Program under an 11x Opt. 40 contract (It puts me into Airborne, and then Ranger Assessment and Selection Program for service with the 75th upon completion-- it is NOT Ranger School)

Right now, I'm very pumped, this is what I've wanted to do my entire life. I've PT'd my ass off for the last 2 and a half years, and am prepared to do much, much more. I've gone from a couch potato who couldn't hope to pass the APFT to scoring a 286/300 last week. No reason I should not be maxing however. Just need to shave a minute off my run to max it and I'll be scoring in the bonus range.

Ranger-specific tests such as the 5 mile run and chinups are also no problem for me. I feel I'm fairly prepared, but there's no way that the training won't take every ounce of me to complete, no matter how conditioned I am. More PT is a given, and is always an obvious area of improvement.

Amidst all this, there is still room for improvement and valuable advice to be gotten. If there's any tips, from any veterans, I'd be glad to hear them so I don't have to be stepping on my dick any more than I'll inevitably be doing.

Get off the computer and go outside and run. Chop some wood the old-fashioned way, too.