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UP THE BUM NO BABY posted:Military bad, don't do it
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Aug 19, 2021 16:51
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 13:19 |
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If you’re older and wiser but still dumb enough to join may as well do 18x since you’ll probably end up infantry anyway. Anyway doing the Navy equivalent of 18x and then being in the big grey ship navy and watching defense contractors vacuum up free taxpayer money and getting your life ruled by the bottom percentiles of college frat douchebags and fat chiefs did not make me a more patriotic person.
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Aug 19, 2021 16:56
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Hey, if you want to serve (adjacently) and not break yourself in the process, check out USAjobs.com. Go be a GS computer toucher and watch those of us who made the mistake of enlisting do more work than you for a fraction of the paycheck! You too can be a LT Colonel (equivalent)!
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Aug 20, 2021 08:09
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There's also the reserves where we're looking for people with Masters degrees and experience to become Military Government Specialists(38G). It's reserve only, officer only, direcrt commission and there is a board every 4 months. These roles are usually not filled(I am always trying to get people to do it). It's the Army's version of monuments men, literally, with 15 other subspecialties. The best part is, you can get boarded at 46 or so because we want people with experience.
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Dec 3, 2021 12:35
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Hello again everyone! I ended up commissioning through army OCS after getting cut from the foreign service pipeline. For all the other people in here who had or have white collar jobs (and probably should take a pause before completely throwing their quality of life into the trash can) but still have the weird itch to do something service related, I would highly recommend looking at the State Department. The foreign service application starts with a huge multiple choice test that’s essentially a mix of English grammar and pub trivia. It’s fun, and if you did well on your SATs/ACTs you’ll probably pass. I’m having a pretty good time in the Army so far, although I think I’m lucky in that I was slotted into a nerd branch that I find interesting. One thing to be aware of: MEPS now has the ability to pull all of your prescription records, and if anything shows up on there you’re required to provide a bunch of paperwork. Not a huge deal, but for older people it’s probably going to be a long, long list which will be a huge hassle to track down. I don’t think this is the case for ROTC or anything that goes through DODMERB, just for what it’s worth. not a value-add fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Dec 11, 2021 |
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Dec 11, 2021 21:37
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Hilariously, as an international relations undergrad I also tried to become an FSO but didn't make it and became an Army officer instead. Hopefully your nerd branch keeps you out of the BCTs. Otherwise, say hello to NTC/JRTC/Hohenfels for me.
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Dec 11, 2021 22:07
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Have you tried reapplying? One of my good friends made it through on the first attempt, but from what I’ve heard from them a substantial amount of the new hires were on their second or third application. It might be worth a shot if it’s still something that interests you. I’m probably going to try again in a few years myself depending on where I end up. Thankfully I think I’ve managed to avoid the NTC/JRTC rotations. I’m air defense so our equivalent was roving sands which, at least for now, is no longer a thing. The Patriot system has horrible nightmare qualification tables though where the entire battery becomes nondeployable if a single crew member fails, so it’s sort of an out of the frying pan into the fire situation in terms of getting stuck in the field forever.
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Dec 11, 2021 23:25
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not a value-add posted:Have you tried reapplying? One of my good friends made it through on the first attempt, but from what I’ve heard from them a substantial amount of the new hires were on their second or third application. It might be worth a shot if it’s still something that interests you. I’m probably going to try again in a few years myself depending on where I end up. He’s addicted to that PSNW green life now.
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Dec 12, 2021 02:22
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Yeah, I can't imagine I'll find anywhere else I'll want to live more than WA. Not really interested in working for the government anymore, I value my freedom too much. The GI Bill life is great, going to an expensive grad school program and not paying a dime is a great feeling.
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Dec 12, 2021 03:48
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Mustang posted:going to an expensive grad school program and not paying a dime is a great feeling. must be nice lol
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Dec 12, 2021 15:42
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Yeah I've been pretty lucky in dealing with the VA so far for sure. Hope they'll get your stuff worked out before too long, it's insane how slow they are at processing stuff.
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Dec 13, 2021 01:09
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https://twitter.com/dodfinred/status/1471194532809428993?s=21
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Dec 15, 2021 21:34
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Rent is going up in Seattle but they keep dropping BAH? What's the logic?
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Dec 15, 2021 21:49
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Woo hoo $40 extra bucks in DC-make it rain!
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Dec 15, 2021 21:58
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Mustang posted:Rent is going up in Seattle but they keep dropping BAH? What's the logic? Looking at the last 20 years, including 2022, no? JBLM BAH rates have gone up steadily with 2 years where it dipped, but it’s higher than it has ever been.
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Dec 15, 2021 22:16
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I live in and go to school in Seattle and UW is in the 98195 Zipcode. E5 with dependents BAH will be $2592 in 2022, compared to $2679 in 2021, $2748 in 2020 and $2808 in 2019.
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Dec 15, 2021 22:29
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https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattle-rents-fell-in-2020-while-renters-in-outlying-areas-saw-costs-climb/?amp=1 https://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/amp/How-has-Seattle-rent-changed-over-the-past-four-15118166.php I dunno. Maybe you live in a trendier neighborhood?
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Dec 15, 2021 22:55
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Mustang posted:Yeah I've been pretty lucky in dealing with the VA so far for sure. Hope they'll get your stuff worked out before too long, it's insane how slow they are at processing stuff. Houses here in the A-bay area are selling 10-50k above asking in the regular and they lowered BAH.
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Dec 21, 2021 21:06
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Hello goons, I am a loving idiot and have some questions that I'd frankly rather ask in private than post publicly. Is there a GIP discord, or anyone who's more on the recruitment side of things who's willing to field my stupid questions?
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Jan 13, 2022 21:57
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Dick Burglar posted:Hello goons, I am a loving idiot and have some questions that I'd frankly rather ask in private than post publicly. Is there a GIP discord, or anyone who's more on the recruitment side of things who's willing to field my stupid questions? Uh…. What branch? Officer or enlisted? Reserves or active? Possibly even what country?
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Jan 13, 2022 21:58
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Sorry, should've included some basic info. US military, officer, reserves. As for branch, I'd like to talk to army, navy, and air force. I'll be turning 36 this year, so I know I'm real close to aging out of at least some of those.
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Jan 13, 2022 22:48
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Dick Burglar posted:Sorry, should've included some basic info. Do you have a specialized degree? Law, IT, etc? You might be able to do a direct commission officer (DCO) package which normally allows a higher age, at least for the coast guard.
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Jan 13, 2022 22:57
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I forgot about coast guard. I'd be willing to go that route too, if it were available. I don't think my degrees would be considered specialized degrees, no. I've got a liberal arts bachelor degree, an associate's in emergency medical services and a paramedic license. I'm currently back at university for a science degree, but I'm skeptical it'd be of interest to any branch unless one of them has a conservation bent. Hopefully will be able to finish that degree soon-ish. Covid keeps loving with that.
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Jan 13, 2022 23:15
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What do you want to do? That’s a pretty important question, too. You can DM me. I’m no recruiter, but I’m former Army enlisted and now AF Officer Cadet trying to fly. I’m 31 so I’m kind of old.
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Jan 14, 2022 00:57
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The reason I wanted to talk to a recruiter or something to that effect is I have some questions about waivers, disqualifications, and the likes that I'm not sure non-recruiters are going to have satisfactory answers for. That's the stuff I'm not keen on posting publicly. Fake edit: no, I'm not a felon or paraplegic or anything like that.
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Jan 14, 2022 02:16
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I've processed an rear end metric gently caress ton mountain of enlistment and commission medical packets as combat medic but that's the best I got.
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Jan 14, 2022 02:39
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Your best option is to call a recruiter for the branches your interested in because they're not always accepting all waivers all of the time. I may be mistaken but I doubt anyone in here is currently a recruiter. They all have different ways they process people and a certain waiver might be acceptable in one branch but not another.
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Jan 14, 2022 02:52
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Fair enough. I was trying to avoid the route of calling random recruiters because most recruiters tend to be, y'know, serial liars, but that's probably the route I'll have to take.
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Jan 14, 2022 04:15
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Feel free to run their bullshit by this thread. They are used car salesmen so treat what they say like that, get independent confirmation and take any paperwork they give you home to read it in depth. Expect pressure tactics to prevent any of the above.
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Jan 14, 2022 13:09
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Ok, I'm back on my bullshit and revisiting this same stupid-rear end idea. I think I've gotten the questions about disqualifications squared away, at least. And for the record I'm not revisiting joining because I'm moto about fighting Russia or whatever dumb poo poo. It's for completely different dumb poo poo reasons. -Undecided on what branch. At this point it's whoever will take me (I'll be 37 by the time I'd be joining) and has an agreeable MOS, or whatever the other branches call them. I do kind of hate the idea of being stuck on a ship far away from shore for months at a time, so Navy is not my first choice. -Preferably officer. -Looking at reserves or national guard. Maybe I could be convinced to do active if I somehow got a sweetheart deal of some sort, but I doubt it. Nobody's gonna want me bad enough to give me a screaming deal. The only reason I can see is that a certain role I really want is active-only. -I'm still more than a year out from where I'd actually be signing up for anything, because I don't think I'll finish my current degree until August 2023. I already have a worthless liberal arts bachelor's degree and a slightly-less-worthless associate's degree in paramedicine along with a still-active state paramedic license (I let my NREMT-P expire because gently caress re-upping every two years). The degree I'm currently working on is a STEM degree, but not one that's gonna get any recruiter excited: wildlife biology. I admit I've not been super diligent about researching roles. I looked at Army MOSs and found one MOS I felt aligned pretty well with my degree but it has an age cut-off of 34  I haven't spent a lot of time looking at other branches because I just picked this idea back up. Maybe I should wait to post until after I do more research? Nah, gently caress that, I'mma be the idiot and post this now. Some thoughts:-I'm not interested in civilian paramedicine, but I'm not totally opposed to going mil medic of some flavor. The main downside of this is, AFAIK, medic roles of all branches are enlisted-only. Also 19 year olds will ask you to look at their dicks constantly. -My minor is in Japanese language, and I've got a... well, a frankly not-nearly-good-enough grasp of the language, but certainly far better than starting from scratch. I'm likely around JLPT N4 competency. IIRC milgoons said language schools were full of absolute weirdos. -Ideally I'd like to do some kind of environmental science work, like the MOS I linked above. Maybe I could get an age waiver for the MOS I linked? I dunno. I may have been drinking before and during this post. Dick Burglar fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Mar 24, 2022 |
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Mar 24, 2022 01:25
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37? Navy reserve i guess. Nobody would be dumb enough to join that late though.
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Mar 24, 2022 01:40
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Dick Burglar posted:Ok, I'm back on my bullshit and revisiting this same stupid-rear end idea. I think I've gotten the questions about disqualifications squared away, at least. And for the record I'm not revisiting joining because I'm moto about fighting Russia or whatever dumb poo poo. It's for completely different dumb poo poo reasons. At your age, there's less and less choice every year and it's more about who will take you. The Army, active, reserve or guard, will always be fairly easy to reneg on age limits for non-flying jobs, but it's about getting into touch with the right recruiter and so forth. 72 Deltas are not in all Army Guard or Reserve units, so you have to find a state and a unit that has them, get into touch with them, and make a case why they should take you. Finding that connection is very important if you want to choose that job in the part time components. For the active duty Army, minus the directly commissioned special jobs, you don't have any solid fool proof way to choose your job, especially at age 37. ROTC is out of the question, and OCS can give all kinds of suprises. As to what you should do, that's beyond me. It's really up to you. But as a fellow older person, take this from me: there's no loving time to waste. If this is, and ONLY IF IT IS, the plan you want and the path you wish to walk, this is not the time for waiting. You are old as balls in military terms, and you gotta get in. It's just about having a degree, finish the other one in-service or something. 37 is not the time to coast. And if it is the Army, are you fit? OCS for active, and generally the part time components, don't really wanna deal with wannabe officers who don't rock the fitness test.
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Mar 24, 2022 01:52
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According to the Navy recruiter I spoke to, I have to be off ADHD meds for a year (as well as be un-diagnosed, which frankly shouldn't be that difficult since I asked my doc if we could try the meds) to be eligible, and I very recently stopped taking them, so I'm not sure I have a choice in the matter either way. And, not that it's really much (if any) better, but I'm currently 36. I'll be 37 next year. Dick Burglar fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Mar 24, 2022 |
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Mar 24, 2022 02:24
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Dick Burglar posted:According to the Navy recruiter I spoke to, I have to be off ADHD meds for a year (as well as be un-diagnosed, which frankly shouldn't be that difficult since I asked my doc if we could try the meds) to be eligible, and I very recently stopped taking them, so I'm not sure I have a choice in the matter either way. Uh…. Well I probably need them and I’m doing just fine after six years in.
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Mar 24, 2022 02:38
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Goddamn, at 37 you'll be joining about the age most enlisted are retiring (if they joined at 17-18) and officers are peaking or really diving in deep. If your goal is to work in your major in the military, then I think that may be as close to impossible as exists. Maybe look at contracting? I wouldn't be surprised if bases contract out wildlife stuff to civilians. If you don't care about working in your major just talk to every officer recruiter and take whatever offer the Air Force gives you, I guess. Also, if you don't care about working in your major and you already have a Bachelors, then you might as well not even finish your current degree and commission with what you've got. Your degree has basically no bearing on what you'll do as an officer unless you're in a specialized medical or technical field. Don't even bother looking at enlisting at your age, I'd strongly advocate that you commission or bust. Just remember that whatever you're hellbent on getting out of the military you will absolutely not get out of it (unless it's a bit of GI Bill and possibly some VA disability). Good luck and I hope you get some enjoyment out of wherever your career ends up going, mil or otherwise.
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Mar 24, 2022 03:12
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Dick Burglar posted:According to the Navy recruiter I spoke to, I have to be off ADHD meds for a year (as well as be un-diagnosed, which frankly shouldn't be that difficult since I asked my doc if we could try the meds) to be eligible, and I very recently stopped taking them, so I'm not sure I have a choice in the matter either way. Whether you can take ADHD medications depends on the job you are gonna be doing. You're doing the right thing asking questions here because 99 times out of 100 your recruiter will be a loving dipshit.
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Mar 25, 2022 04:30
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Jesus, I just turned 40 and I can't imagine starting an Active Duty military career at this point. I have a year left until I can retire and collect my 100% brokeass VA check. What even is the ruling on aging out / forced separation? Could this guy wind up being a 57 year old retiring TSgt?
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Mar 25, 2022 10:13
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nullscan posted:Jesus, I just turned 40 and I can't imagine starting an Active Duty military career at this point. I have a year left until I can retire and collect my 100% brokeass VA check. That’s my plan. I hit E6 so I could just coast (baring getting separated for getting fat) for the next 14 years til I’m 57 however I’m going to make an effort for chief.
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Mar 25, 2022 14:50
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Ok, so I guess I had a misunderstanding somewhere along the line. The reason I gave ideas for what I "wanted to do" is because I at least thought someone had asked me that point blank. Looking back, I think I might've just imagined that? I was more looking at reserves or NG than active, because yeah I'm kinda old as dirt, but I dunno. Either way I've got a little while to think on it before I finish this degree. And while the recruiter tried to sell me on basically dropping out of my second degree and signing up right now with the degree I already have, that's not ideal: my old degree's GPA was a 2.6, which is barely good enough for OCS, period. My current GPA is a 3.8, and while that's likely to fall somewhat, I expect to maintain well above a 3.0, which will afford me better "job opportunities," for lack of a better term. Aside from the recruiter I interacted with when I was 18 (I got as far along as being carted over to an Army base and took the ASVAB... got like an 85, I think? It's been nearly 20 years at this point, I don't remember), the navy recruiter I spoke to the other day was the absolute sleaziest used car salesman kinda recruiter I've had the displeasure of interacting with. And I've spoken with a few, since I've bounced off this idea for basically 20 years. He wasn't pushy, but he was super moto about trying to convince me that the suspiciously-lovely-sounding option he was offering was actually TOTALLY COOL for several unconvincing reasons. He was trying to sell me on signing up as a SWO. When I talked to him about any "issues" I thought I might have, he was creepily trying to pooh-pooh my concerns while also basically feeding me lines about how to respond if asked about them. Dick Burglar fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Mar 25, 2022 |
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Mar 25, 2022 22:32
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 13:19 |
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Dick Burglar posted:Ok, so I guess I had a misunderstanding somewhere along the line. The reason I gave ideas for what I "wanted to do" is because I at least thought someone had asked me that point blank. Looking back, I think I might've just imagined that? The 72D you were interested in is an AMEDD position, you might consider reaching out to your state specific AMEDD recruiter if you'd like to see about the chances for an age waiver. I can only speak to ARNG from the enlisted side. I've been in multiple companies from junior enlisted role up to PSG, as well as in multiple sections in a BDE. Officers in the guard fall under two categories: traditional m-day, who are like any other one-weekender, except they'll get tasked something and expected to deliver it, and they'll be doing most of the work on their own time. The other category is the ADOS/AGR full-time status, where they find a full-time set of orders somewhere for which they are branch qualified, and they do that as their actual job; these are the ones that get things done because they'll generally do the bulk of their job duties, and then whatever time they have left they'll put into their m-day side duties. Understand that it gets very political in the guard very quickly, because the organization per state is small and depending on how you branch slots might be very limited, so if you end up somewhere you don't like (or under people you don't like), things could be difficult for you. You get rated as an m-day officer and by the nature of part-time status your opportunities to generate data points to be rated on are few and far in-between, so when something is expected you better deliver or you look like a POS. The flip side of this is that if you're good and people like you, you can go pretty far and things can be chill. With the AGR system or even ADOS orders you could make a real career out of it, and the only snag for you is your age and potential issues that could limit your ability to serve. Hopefully that helps a little bit, I'm not trying to push you either way.
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Mar 27, 2022 14:13
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