If you have a question regarding recruiting, feel free to ask. I am Staff Sergeant Cavalry Scout on Detailed Recruiting Duty, for the U.S. Army. Scary, I know. I do know there are some shady recruiters out there from all branches, but that isn't the norm. I'll be more than honest and open, and even provide informational links to current policies and regulations if you have questions.
So rotate your selector switch from SAFE to SEMI, and fire away!

Ah, I don't even know where to start....

A friend, and 1/2 of a very liberal couple, were just surprized by the announcement of their son: he had joined the army. They were shocked and dismayed on several levels, but the lad happily trundled off to boot were he is to this day.
He has been there 3 weeks now I believe, is happy as a clam, but has suffered a pulled muscle or some such and is trying to heal up to complete his "run".
Spoke to the Mom(who has quit weeping, nashing of teeth and rending of clothes), and reiterated your words vis-a-vis US vs. UK training, and the wish to train, not maim the newbies.

So, my question is: Worst case senerio-does he re-do boot?

Helen

ok, well I'm 17/f/fl and I plan on signing up for the Marine Corps on my 18th Birthday. I know that's what I want to do with no hesitation but the recruiter near my house is well, to be honest a bad recruiter...He's set up our Highschool at least two times and I just don't really trust him to tell me the truth about the Military. I just had a few questions I was hoping you could answer. Well, from what I hear in the USMC you don't really get to choose your career but they choose it for you. I'm hoping to get high on my ASVAB and basically lay out 3 or 4 jobs that I want. Do you think that I have a chance at getting one of those jobs? Also, I plan on getting a tattoo when I turn 18. What are the regulations against them and can I have them while at Basic? Thank you very much...

You will usually get the job you want, and if you press the recruiter, you can have THE job you want guaranteed. However, you might have to wait in DEP for a while depending on the job (you might have to wait for an opening in that field). Many don't want to (or can't) wait and go in "open contract"- meaning they pick the job for you.
DON'T get a USMC tattoo- at least for males, the premature "ooh-rah" tattoo meant an instant target for the DI to make you "special". Tattoos are OK, especially if they do not show in uniform- if you have to get one, do it that way.

JargonHelen:
If your friend's son has become injured, the training program "recycles" them into the next class, provided he is healed and 100% good to go. They do not ship them to a different installation to complete the training they missed out on. They are rolled into the very next Basic Combat Training class, usually as close to where they left off as possible.
USMCBabe03: patoloco is right. The Marine Corps averages about 43.67% specific job placement. But overall, the process hasn't changed, you will sign and swear in, then negotiate for your Military Occupational Specialty. Of course, higher ASVAB scores help you with locking down the job(s) you choose.
Tattoo regulations are basically the same, not above the collar bone, not below the wrist. Just so long as it doesn't show in the normal Class A uniform. Again, patoloco is right, no USMC tattoos before you are completed with boot camp, its just asking for "special" treatment.
Best of Luck, and Congratulations on your decision to serve the Nation.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CavScout19D30,

geez, you guy's take all the fun outta being a Drill Instructor!

Aww, c'mon Gunny. I'm sure ol' Drill will get more than enough chances to scuff up some fresh meat. I don't think we need to set 'em up for failure right away. There's plenty of time to have them fetch cans of squelch, chem-light batteries, boxes of grid-squares, etc. Its more fun when everyone gets a crack at the Boots. Do DIs have to have ALL the fun?

One of my friends was talking to me about joining the Army Reserves. The things he was telling me seemed to good to be true. My main goal in life is to become a doctor, and I am afraid that the army will prevent me from going to school. Is it possible that I might not get to go to college if I join?

Thank you so much!
Courtney

Well, Courtney,

It really depends if you are in school currently or not. The Army never prevents anyone from attending school. Thats a common myth, I even believed it once, too. The Army has more educational opportunities than you can shake a stick at, even for those with limited time and resources. In the Reserves, if you are enrolled in college, full-time, you will fall into a non-deployable status. The Army understands you have an obligation, educational, and financial to college, and seeing as you will usually get the Reserve GI Bill, the Army is paying for it. We aren't going to pull you out of school, that we paid for, to let you play in the sandbox in Iraq/Afghanistan. Less than full-time students are not in that same category. The military views that as part-time, so it isn't that important, so you should be ready to train and deploy if needed.
I won't go into all the details, I think it would be best to set up an appointment with a Reserve Recruiter in your neighborhood. Look him/her in the eye, with friends and family present if possible, and ask him/her these questions. He or she will be more than willing to let you know how the Reserves can help you on the path to becoming a doctor.
If you still have concerns, or still feeling uneasy about it, you can always message me here, and I'll be more than happy to answer any more questions.

"The Army's strength does not lie in numbers. It lies in me. I am an Army of One. And you can see my strength."

1-800-USA-ARMY
http://www.GoArmy.com

The military will not diliberatly prevent but they also will not help. If you do a 4 year hitch you will get the GI bill when you get out but chances are it will be grosly inadaquate considering you will have 8-10 years of school to become a doctor and the GI bill will be a fart in the wind compared to your educational costs. I would start school and forget about the military for now (seeing as how school will take you 8-10 years).

Then when you are less than a year from your MD and all of your tests and such are done talk to cav scout. You will get a direct commission as a capt or major and correct me if im wrong cav scout you can get your residency through the military. You should also be able to negotiate a percentage of your student loans be paid off as well.

It all comes down to time 8 years is a long time so even if you started at 18 or 19 you are looking at 26-28 years old before you finish and if you throw a 4 year hitch in there you will be 30 years old or better and that is assuming you have no snags or significant hold ups in your education.

The reserves would be ok, but from my college experence going through a rigourus program (I did engineering) anything that takes your time away from what you are trying to do in school is a hinderance. This is speaking from experence, sometimes when you are in school you may have to drop to part time, some classes are harder than others, you may need to destress, heck you may want to take a semester off to ski, who knows 10 years is a long time, but you dont want to stressing over dropping below 12 credits or your going to iraq (that may sound extreme but im hearing it more and more from people I know in the guard and reserves, and people that never thought they would deploy are) of course when bush is booted that will all change but 8 years is a long time (thats the full duration of a military contract and you can be called back after your initial 4 from active reseves) it will be something in the back of your mind, oh man I better do this or im going to get deployed.

Its just easier to avoid the whole thing and join when you finish and a direct commission is much better than attending basic.

There she is, HiJack strikes again.

I thought it pertained pretty well to a question asked, it just wasent what you wanted to hear, I brushed all the sugar off your story.

rppearso = A perfect example of someone educated beyond their intelligence.

I know, im so stupid I make as much as a major and own a home with my wife at 25 yrs old will have my PE at 28 and possibly a PhD in hard science in my early 30's. It is going to become a hijack if you keep insisting on making attacks on valid rebukes.

The military has alot of good programs but there is always a catch and to just talk of ice cream and loly pops is deception. Instead of telling potential recruits the truth you just call me an idiot, and if a potential recruit buys into your story you will be the one getting the last laugh.

I think the soldier first definition needs to be explisitly defined and explained to everyone before joining along with a cause and effect,

you will get college money but.....your a soldier first meaning we are going to tie up tons of your time and whats left you can take a class or something. While the recruit is thinking oh wow I will be able to get my 4 year degree in premed while I go through the military, NOT (unless your lucky) and the military always has the poster child that "made it happen so you can too" where he had just the right circumstances and commanders that enabled him to better him self at a small sacrafice to military. It is pure deception. If you dont get the stars to align you will end up 4 to 6 years older with a GI bill that wont come close to covering rising tuition and expenses

you will get training but......if you want to go to something other than your AIT and it is cool training (jump school, a 6 month deployment to antarctica, helicopter incentive ride, whatever) your daddy better be the base commander or else you are in stiff competetion for slots.

you will get a bounus but.....you have to be in the right MOS and the stars have to align otherwise the bonus is not much more than I make in a few months.

So do recruiters lie, you betcha, leaving out the but.... part of the story is deception and deception is a lie.

Besides you're horrible grammar and spelling, people think you're an idiot for precisely this reason. IF a recruiter actually led you down this path, YOU ARE AN IDIOT. If you had done ANY research, talked to ANYONE (besides a recruiter) in the military, you would have discovered most of the reasons why you were not right for the military. You would have "discovered" the "soldier first" rule. Even the most green recruit understands this concept...why can't you get your mind around this?

And you're a complete wuss. If you can't handle a little yelling and screaming...c'mon- how would you handle people shooting at you? That's right, as a pilot, no one would shoot at you?!
All of these things have been explained in previous posts, but you refuse to understand even the simplest of points made. You truly are clueless.

I think he made my point again patoloco -- though he will never understand it. Using rebuke is the perfect word for a PhD "because they is smart more than other peoples."

Put a red nose on his face so people can see what he is without bothering to invest time or energy.

My posts are mainly for thoes that are looking to join that have not yet or who have joined and are looking to get out, in fact I should start a thread on how to get out of the military.

Hardliners are always going to have things like this to say, "Put a red nose on his face so people can see what he is without bothering to invest time or energy." Without regard to anything other than the fact that I refused to be treated subhuman and to spin that fact into making me sound like im a quiter or loser.

A potential recruit can either buy into it or not, of course if you have one of your little hardliner recruites its not going to make a difference.

CavScout,
I wanted to ask you a few questions. I have been thinking about going back in the service. I was 11b for 3 years and got out Jan 6 of 2001. I was stationed at Ft Campbell in a scout plt and went through sniper school taught by 5th group on post. What I am hoping you can help me with is what types of options I will have if I enlist again. I was an E4 with 6 yrs because of 3yr reserve 3yr active. I would like to get airborne/ranger or SF in contract but recruiters I have talked to today actually (spoke with 3 different ones) all gave me different answers. I also got different answers on if I can keep my E4 rank. And is it possible to get Sniper school in contract? I also was wondering about lasik and how they work that in? contract or wait till duty station? Being prior service ive always heard that u get screwed and are not really elgible for anything. Any help would be great. Thanks.
Matt

shooter...cavscout is in country if I remember correctly. It may be a while though.....