I was an Army recruiter 2012-2015. If you have any questions about anything I'll give you straight information.
I was an Army recruiter 2012-2015. If you have any questions about anything I'll give you straight information.
If he's got a college degree tell him to go ocs
I thought the army was only for foreigners who were willing to risk their lives than to be sent to back their home country for citizenship?
As a few others have already mentioned I would focus on what job/specialty to go into. Choose a good job and gain some valuable experience and then he can decide to get out after his first enlistment or stay 20+ years. Cyber is huge right now in all the branches so if he has any interest in the computer field go with that.
I just retired after over 26 years in the military with my last 14 in the Guard. I got out of the Marine Corps after 11 years active time and stepped into a good paying computer job doing the exact same thing I did when I was on duty (for a lot less money). And that was without a degree.
sovereign citizen wrote:
My advice, try and convince him to join the Coast Guard instead. I was USMC infantry and if I could go back in time that's what I would do. Army life sucks, infantry sucks harder, Marines weren't much better tbh. Better quality of life in the Navy or the Air Force but really the Coast guard is the way to go, they're the only service that doesn't have a retention problem (they practically have to kick people out) and there's a reason for that.
Heh. My father did four years in the Marines. Got out, decided to go back in, and went Coast Guard and learned a trade. He liked the military, but his advice to me was to take the hefty amounts of of college scholarship money I was offered.
I enlisted with a college degree in mathematics and a nice professional job not long after 9/11. For me it was a simple decision - it was my duty as a young man to serve at least one combat tour during the war. I planned on doing just that and getting out but found I loved the life and am still here. I wanted to do my small part to avenge the 3,000 who died that terrible day.
Let your son choose whatever branch he wants. The infantry is NOT the "dregs of the Army" or anything else people have stated here. I served in the infantry by choice because I wanted to FIGHT the war, not just sit on a FOB somewhere and pretend I defended the country. This is also a major reason why I decided against going OCS. As an officer there is no guarantee of a specific branch; I could have ended up doing just what I did not want to do, namely sit on a FOB. Instead I had the opportunity to truly experience the war in Iraq. Not always a good thing to say the least, but I would not trade one second of the experience for a commission/bigger paycheck and a POG life. And despite what a lot of people think, the infantry is not just a bunch of dumb guys who barely scored minimum on the ASVAB. I had a 138 and did not even have the highest score in my platoon; a young PFC had a 139. Lots of guys in the infantry score very high and choose 11B anyway because they want to fight. There is a bond in the infantry that few others will ever know. I wonder what "war stories" some of the support people will tell years from now about their "combat" in the Middle East; how they endured a year of DFAC food? No alcohol? Terribly slow internet? The diarrhea mud in the fall and the oppressive heat of the summer? Nobody will be interested in that talk. They'll want to hear about the action. Patton said it best; "Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great World War Two?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.'" Probably not his exact words but it hits the nail on the head. I'm glad I have the experiences (good and bad) even if I have never discussed the bad with anyone who wasn't over there. Maybe someday I will.
Going officer will certainly give him additional options once he gets out(especially if he gets out after only a few years). However, he needs to decide what he values most - a commission or the job he desires. If he really wants to go infantry he is 100% certain to get it if he enlists; if he goes officer, infantry is more difficult to get. The higher he ranks in his OCS class the greater the branch options available. Again, he must decide what is most important to him. Also, like someone else said, OCS is the way to go because Green to Gold is pretty difficult to get regardless of what the recruiter may say.
I would not recommend going to see the recruiter if I were you; let him come home with the information and then you can discuss it. He is a grown man about to enter a very "manly" experience at Basic Training, especially if he goes infantry. Cut the umbilical cord and let him decide his course of action. Support him whatever he decides, even if you are personally against it.
And whoever was cutting up college grads as "Hanging out in college and drinking beer for four years" obviously never went to college. Sorry, Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds are not realistic.
What a great post. Rarely see see many of these currently on this site. I did not serve, but have tremendous respect for those who did and especially those like the previous poster. I was very close to enlisting/OCS after graduating college, as I did not have much direction. I always had respect for the military and thought I desired that lifestyle. I too felt a civic duty.
My parents were heavily against it and would have done anything to stop me. I did not end up joining and have since found a different direction. However, to this day, I still feel some regret for not making my own decision and experiencing this. I have now vowed to support my son in any decision he makes regarding the military when he becomes over the age of 18.
Don't get me wrong, I most certainly will try to advise him to make the best long term decision, but ultimately the decision must be his alone.
Runningart2004 wrote:
I had a degree and went enlisted. Couldn't wait for OCS in my situation at the time. Currently going to go warrant (tech not flight). Warrant is best of both worlds.
Alan
Congrats! Surprised you're not too busy getting coffee to post on LRC.
(Kidding, that's fantastic. I've seen like 6 of you as a 4402 Marine, so you're like a unicorn to me...esp. if you make it past WO3.
Relevant Terminal Lance:
http://terminallance.com/2013/01/18/terminal-lance-245-myths-and-legends-v/)
Pennoyer Shoe Co. wrote:
Runningart2004 wrote:I had a degree and went enlisted. Couldn't wait for OCS in my situation at the time. Currently going to go warrant (tech not flight). Warrant is best of both worlds.
Alan
Congrats! Surprised you're not too busy getting coffee to post on LRC.
(Kidding, that's fantastic. I've seen like 6 of you as a 4402 Marine, so you're like a unicorn to me...esp. if you make it past WO3.
Relevant Terminal Lance:
http://terminallance.com/2013/01/18/terminal-lance-245-myths-and-legends-v/)
From what I've heard they issue you another pc at WOBC that you keep at your desk so it looks like you're still there so must be working....
Alan
If you even have a modicum of experience working with kids, you would know that an 18 or 19-year-old human is still essentially a child. Though biologically speaking the adult label might work, any brain scientist would say that thing between their ears doesn't really get up to full speed until the mid-20s--or never if you are a Republican.
Executive functioning, long-term decision making and consequence consideration are skills kids learn over time and usually through trial and error.
I'm not trying to deter your son from signing up. If he would thrive in a system based on doctrinaire thought and 24/7 structure (at least compared to civilian life) then he should go for it. If he is a free thinker--or simply doesn't know what he wants to do with his life--I think you as a family should think long and hard about it.
I suggest the Navy. Far more technical. Get him on a Nuke and he can make an entire career in the nuclear power industry. Good jobs, good pay after the navy.
The Real List wrote:
quickndirty wrote:It can be a great experience IF he takes advantage. A friend of mine joined, went to OCS, spent his time flying helicopters, then went to medical school for free. Another friend of mine worked on fiber optic telecommunications, he's been doing that since he left the service 20 years ago. I know a guy that flew helicopters and now flies for petroleum companies.
Pick a field where it transfers to the private sector OR be sure to get the military to pay for college where you do have a marketable degree. He can retire at age 38, that's a long time for a second career.
OPs son is a recent college grad PLUS you do not join the army to get a college education, you join to be a soldier ( you know the whole kill and/or be killed thing).
You might not join to get an education, but you're a fool if you dont work the system to make a life for yourself after you retire at the ripe old age of 40.
I speak of my experience as a conscripted infantry soldier. The enlisted men in infantry are meat and potatoes machines - you give them meat and potatoes, they do work, usually hard thankless dangerous physical work. They are also the cannon fodder. Infantry as enlisted man with college degree will be very unpleasant for him, as he will be mocked and derided as an effete intellectual. There's also the consideration of the wish to live - if he still has it, recommend not taking that path.
As others noted with a degree it should be possible to find a way into officer school or some tech/specialty program which will have a training and useful skills component.
I wouldn't. But if he must, he should go to OCS.
Agreed.
mrfolds wrote:
Tell him, "Son, you're fucking high"
lol was going to say this. also why do people bother doing army infantry. why not just go marines?
WW2 is over man this ain't General Patton killing Nazis all the way to bastogne. Who wants to go fight and die in the dessert when you could have a lovely career and a successful life pursuing technical options stateside? There's nothing glorious about being in the army today. All the good wars have already been fought.
I retired from the Army in 2011 after serving 22 years as a cavalry scout (MOS 19D). Of all the combat arms jobs, Infantry is the best option since there are several opportunities available for soldiers who want to excel (Airborne, Ranger, LRS) and Infantry will better prepare them for Special Forces (and OCS) if they desire to go that route in the future.
If your son wants to learn a technical skill (computers/communications) then I would definitely steer him to the Air Force.
Best of luck to your son.
huh?
enlisting for vengeance? or for having good stories to tell or so you can make fun of support people?
C'mon dude. I appreciate your service but you are what's wrong with people
If he's not going to be a lifer, go OCS.
Why? 'Cuz corporations LOVE ex mil officers. It's better than an MBA.
So do grad skools.