anyone in the armed forces?

[bmacsys]

Being 23 will be an advantage for you big time. You will have a little more maturity than an 18 year old. At 23 your body is still in its absolute physical prime. I was in the USMC active duty from 1979 to 1983 and the reserves from 1983 to 1987. I am 47 and I still could do 16 weeks at Paris Island. It would be tough but I am sure I could hang with the young guys the way I have kept myself in shape. Many 18 year old recruits are so out of shape its pathetic these days.

 

[rch10007]

Just don't take ANYTHING personally and you'll be fine wherever you go.

 

[fordktpjoe]

lol didnt know there were more of my brother out there

CM2 here

WHO RAA

'Nother brother here!

10 years never saw a ship, flew everywhere we went.

EO2 here

 

[bmacsys]

Just don't take ANYTHING personally and you'll be fine wherever you go.

Thats solid advice. If you are sensitive or thin skinned you can have a rough time. If you have the attitude that nothing is going to bother you then you will be fine.

 

[jodom15sc]

i come from a family of military, and im a 18yr freshman in college but joining the marines ASAP after i graduate, ive got everything set up with recruiter and meps to go soon as im out
also im taking ROTC in college, so the little info i can advise is, you dont really need to worry about weight, EVEN THOUGH there is a max to how much you can weight so as long as your below that dont worry about it, mainly since bootcamp and especially basic/ait will take care of weight, if you plan on doing USMC, just worry about maxing out on pft, dont try to just meet the minimum standards

max and min
-------------------------- USMC pft ------------------Army pft
run---------------3miles 18mins/28 mins-------2mile 13mins/16min
pushups/pullsups------20max/3min--------------71max/41min
situps/crunchs-------- 100max/40min------------100max/42min

remember, usmc is 13 week bootcamp, and of course some recruiters just BS some ppl to just get them in, so they will build you up

 

[4x4fun]

i do believe marines advance you on your physical ability. working in the feild. navy is all about testing. im good at taking test and went from E1 to E5 in three years. thats as fast as you could ever make it.

the brother hood things is BS youll find brothers no matter what branch you go into. and boot camp is nothing like full metal jacket.
they want you to learn one thing in boot camp. do it there way, as fast as you can. and learn to do it tired and with chaos around you.

my second day in boot camp i saw two people get dropped at the same time.
and was told to do 50 pushups. one little guy gave everthing he had and could only do 40. no one yelled or kicked or laid a hand on him. supper GI GOE (the other guy) pumped them out in like a min no problem. they road his ass for the next to months. moral of the story give your all and then some and help others when you can. casue one day they be guarding you while you sleep.

and dont be a grunt casue when you get out the only thing you can put on ur resume is i was a grunt and i shoot people, the military is a tool use it and suck everything you can out if it. so when you get out. you be able to have skills for the real world.

 

[rngrnewbie]

I was an army equipment operator, I have nothing to say bad about the other services. Join what will give you the best benefits and who will give you what you want, dont settle for less. Loved operating equipment, while deployed we didnt do a whole lot of it, Army as in all services isnt for everyone, i had planned on staying until we got new command who didnt care about anyone but themselves and i took a bullet. Just not for me cant put my family through that again. I enjoyed being deployed up until that point even stayed out my tour after being shot. Just dont let them drag you into doing something you dont want. I worked with all the services over there and never had a problem with any of them.

Chris

 

[93STX]

M.P. In the ARMY

 

[Sidewalk]

Once upon a time...

As far boot goes, they expect people who are as fit as Rosanne Bar and work your way up to meeting your requirements. Find out what the requirements are to graduated and work at that. Running 5 straight miles will do you no good if you can't get your mile/1.5/2 mile run in time. It isn't hard, I passed the same requirements when I was 28 as when I was 18 (even though I weighed 50 pounds more).

In my boot, with exception for your actual test, effort was more important then ability. If you could only do 5 push-ups, and the guy next to you could do 20, they made sure you both did your max. They won't go easy on you for being fit, you will just have to do more. Not bad thing, but don't expect a free ride. Sadly, I worked with a guy who was a body builder before joining. He had to drop his weight to join, he was over the weight standard

Put 100% effort into everything you do in boot, and you will be fine. What comes after boot is a crap shoot. I consider myself to be a successful person, I have goals and I work until I meet them. Example, I worked from 7 AM to 7 PM today, but only charged for 8 hours. I had a goal I wanted to meet, and I met it (4 hours late due to weather). I also made E6 in 5 years. But I was treated like shit in the military. I don't kiss ass, and that was what they wanted, so I was always dumped on. They want shit to roll down hill, they do not want you to stand up for your people. Honesty isn't the best policy, finding blame is.

So I left, and now I make a lot less money (most people do not realize how well they are paid in the military) but I am happy.

 

[4x4fun]

(most people do not realize how well they are paid in the military)

amen

its not the base pay that every one looks at $2500 in base pay doesnt seem like a lot but when you have no billes like rent, food, water, heat, trash, ect ect ect. all i had was a truck payment insurance and a cell phone. so that left 2000 grand a month for drinking,

and it only gets better and tax free when you get deployed.

my chief of 12 years with a wife and two kids got deployed and was bringing in close to 100k with housing, separation pay, combat pay hazard duty, ect ect and it was all tax free.

 

[mjonesjr]

Question for ya on money.....When I leave for Army basic I will be married, will I get housing pay for my wife who has to live away from me off base? I have been told yes by the recruiter and some others who are in now and then I have also been told no by people who are in.

 

[4x4fun]

i cant answer that %100 when your in basic its just you, theres no paper work on your wife yet. if you can get her in writing as a dependent before you go. i wanna say yes. but they may argue that your not "in" till you pass basic. but wanna know %100 tell your recruiter to show you were shes is said to be a dependent. (on paper) and ask for the regs. saying what your entitled too. if they cant, wont or dont get a new recruiter. i dont give a shit what they tell you. there all about numbers, if you say youll only join if you get a bj from a stripper every tuesday. theyll tell you you will get one. the only truth is paper work.

 

[fastpakr]

As 4x4fun said, you MUST get your wife listed as a dependent before you ship. Take her into the recruiting center with you, have your marriage license, social security cards, and drivers licenses handy. As long as she's on the record as your dependent, you should have no problem getting BAH immediately.

 

[mjonesjr]

As 4x4fun said, you MUST get your wife listed as a dependent before you ship. Take her into the recruiting center with you, have your marriage license, social security cards, and drivers licenses handy. As long as she's on the record as your dependent, you should have no problem getting BAH immediately.

Yea my recruiter knows about her and knows we will be married before I ship. I am currently going through trying to get approved for WOFT.

 

[fastpakr]

Knowing about her and having the paperwork filed (and you having documentation to prove that it's been done) aren't the same, though. What is WOFT? Not an acronym I'm familiar with. Either way, just make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed.