At 2/18/09 09:08 PM, djconnect wrote:
At 2/18/09 08:54 PM, SpiffyMasta wrote:
At 2/18/09 08:26 PM, djconnect wrote:
Alright then I might hang out here a bit then.
So are you interested in joining the military then? do you have any questions?
Yes I am interested and I have been since I was very young. I think there is real honor in serving your country and I have always respected people who wore a military uniform. I also have a sense of nationalism for America. When some one asks me my nationality it is simply American. Most people reply with there ancestry.
Any ways for some questions:
What type of physical shape should I be in before I join?
Depends on the branch you want to join! To be perfectly honest, and not to bash on other services but there is a big difference between Marines and other branches. Basic shape you need to be in for enlisted in the Marines is be able to do 3 pull ups, 50 crunches and be able to run 2-3 miles, preferacly 3 miles in under 30 min, which is really slow unless you've never run before. If you're an athletic person you should have no problem being in the right shape.
For officers, the demands are much higher, and this is again for the Marines. I'm sure other branches are much easier to get into as far as officers are concerned. But for officers I'd say 14-15 pull ups, 23 minute 3 mile run and a 100 crunches would do it.
Once you get into basic training they should whip you into better shape. I went from doing 4-5 pullups, 45 crunches and a 28 minute 3 mile run to 14 pullups 100 crunches and 21:30 run
I am into computers and information tech. What branch will let me explore these feailds to the fullest?
Every branch has a ton of different jobs you could do. I know all branches need computer and information tech people, as each branch usually uses their own people to work on stuff. Honestly I would think the Army and Air Force would have a lot more computer oriented things, but for a full look at all the jobs available in the military just go to this wikipedia link: Military MOS
I would like to go to collage for Info tech and get my bachelors degree. How will the military help me with this?
I know the programs differ for each branch, but you have a few options here. Each branch has their own ROTC program, which stands for reserve officer training corps, basically you get to do some military stuff while you're in college and like at my school they get to strut around in their uniforms every thursday, which are butt ugly if you ask me. Nothin beats a USMC uniform, but I guess I'm biased here.
Anyways, you can do that, and eventually when you graduate they make you an officer of whatever branch you choose to join. Of course there's some training in the summer, varying on the branch. That training is basically like Officer boot camp, but more they evaluate you to see if you can be an officer, cause obviously you gotta be good to lead other men. They always have money too to help pay for school.
You can also do like I'm doing right now, which I think is great. Basically I enlisted as a 92-day reservist in the Marine Corps, and if you ever talk to a recruiter, they'll never talk to you about this up-front unless you ask about it. They have it in the Marines, don't know about other branches here. But what it consists of basically is you go to boot camp, you're officially in the military, but you can't deploy anywhere, because you don't go to shool and combat training right away, unlike regular reservists. This is a true gem of a program if you want to gain some years in service while going to school to be an officer, because ROTC doesn't count towards years in service.
The key is you have to apply for PLC, platoon leaders class, which if you are accepted, prevents you from being deployed while you're enlisted because their priority is you finishing school.
So in my case as far as money is concerned, I get the reserve GI Bill, which is about 325 bucks a month, and then a lot more money once I finish my first summer of OCS, which is the summer training/boot camp for officers that is used to evaluate if you have what it takes to be an officer.
I'm pretty sure it goes for about 6000-8000. And if you take out any loans for school, the Marines will pay them back for you once you get your comission as an officer, which is pretty neat.
That's basically what I'm doing personally, but i'm sure that other branches have similar programs available.
Do you feel like you can trust all your comrades? Any brother ( or sister) like connections?
In the Marines at least, everyone is a brother. And that is the unique thing about us. There is no closer branch than the Marine Corps. The fact that we are small, and the toughest of all the branches brings us a lot closer together. I'm sure there is a lot of camaraderie in the other branches as well, but I can guarantee you if brotherhood is what you're looking for, the Marines is the one for you. They stress it very well, we all have each others back first, as our loyalty lies in the Marine Corps.
It truly is all about teamwork for us at least, and when you go to bootcamp that's probably where you eventually get the strongest sense of brotherhood, because they make you become brothers and work as a team.
Knowing that you're part of something that's greater than yourself is a really awesome feeling.
Any other advice for me, I am not sure if I want to join yet but it is an option.
The main advice I have is go talk to a recruiter, but remain careful, some love to be sneaky and dishonest. But most will answer your questions. They definitely are the best resource for information about the military though.
I think the main thing with the military that you will get is a great experience and some great friends. Like I said before too, it's being part of something really great that not everyone is ready to do. I think one of the best things I experience in the military though is when people see that you're in the military, if you're in your uniform or something, and they thank you for serving your country.
I was doing toys for tots (which is a Marine toy drive they do every year) this christmas season, and I was standing at the mall in front of a toy store with my dess blues on, looking sharp of course haha, and every 15-20 minutes, someone would stop and shake my hand an thank me for serving. Not that I have done much so far in my service, but to know that people appreciate what you're doing is a really good feeling, and it really gave me a perspective on what it was that I was doing for this great nation.
That's about all I have for you right now.
