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Alright, tell me how screwed I am. I'm 25 years old, former officer of the Finnish Army, immigrated to the US. I did infantry and military police training. I want to commission in the US Military, but I need citizenship. Enlistment is the fastest way to get that. I enlisted in the US Army, wanting to kick down doors. Got a reservation for 11x with airborne, but had a small bruise in my leg, which made them send me back frolm MEPs on my first try. I lost the reservation for airborne 11x and after receiving my waiver, went back to MEPS. No 11x was available and only combat-oriented airborne slots were 68w and 12b. It was 1645 and they told me I don't have time to call my recruiter, so I just chose combat engineer with airborne option. I got second thoughts, since I don't want to build poo poo. I want to be as close to the shooty shooty action as possible. So my recruiter recommends going back once more with a RENO to try to get 11x or airborne medic. They told me that since I really want airborne, they'll check for slots and if no airborne options for medics are there, I'll just keep my 12b. Cue computer at MEPS. Boom, there is an open 68w with airborne. Hell yeah. Counselor tries to select it, it gives an error. It's because my waiver disqualified me from airborne. But I got a waiver for that waiver in two minutes. System still won't accept it, so counselor calls keystone. He calls them, says it's allright and all, I got my 68w with airborne option. 10 minutes later he realizes that he forgot to ask for the airborne option. He calls again. It's no longer available. "Hey, at least I can revert to airborne combat engy." Except I can't since he already changed my job. He just kinda fumbled it. I really wanna jump from an airplane. I know I sound picky, I know I'm demanding, all that poo poo. But gently caress. I traveled countries and poo poo. I don't want useful civilian skills, I don't want good certifications. I want to be a professional soldier and do soldier poo poo. I wanna get as close to the action as possible. I don't want to be in a clinical setting my time as enlisted. I loved the cold, the sand, the suffering, the heavy packs, the long nights, all that. I'm not 18 years old and looking for my way out of my mom's basement. I goddamn came thru oceans to be a professional combat soldier in a country that won't kick me out to make room for more conscripts in my slot. What are my options in getting to a line unit? What about getting airborne in AIT despite missing it from contract? I wanna jump from planes. Help me. Feeling motivation loss after my long and arduous journey to do this poo poo. I didn't even lose airborne option because of lies or malice, a NCO just hosed up. And he was super sorry afterwards but that's not loving helping me. I'm imagining myself handing out tylenol in a clinic for years. AFQT 89%, GT of 120, Rest in the upper 120's, lower 130's. I used to be a Firefighter too, so I'm worried I'll be too natural in the clinical setting or EMS and they'll like me doing that. However, I'm not morbidly depressed either. I'm not dropping out of DEP or giving up or anything. I have slim chances to make it on time to maybe maybe be a naval aviator or an airforce/guard pilot so I'm loving going in right now to reach for the last straws before I'm too old. If I wait as a civilian, my first chances of being a citizen are when I'm around 30-33 years old. Too late to be commissioned in many cases. So here we are. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 11:15 on Mar 26, 2016 |
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Mar 26, 2016 10:22
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:37 |
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Godholio posted:What exactly have you signed? I've signed a enlistment with 68W for four years. Now waiting for ship out.
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Mar 26, 2016 18:11
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Mustang posted:Why are you so set on doing the Airborne thing? Odds are you'll end up in the 82nd which I have never heard anything good about other than from motards. On second thought, maybe you'll fit right in. I want to jump from military airplanes. I always thought it'd be cool, so thus. But as you kinda mentioned, my ultimate goal is commissioning, so I'll retain my motivation and all that and hence why giving up or pushing my ship out too far are not options for me. I have zero percent interest in useful civilian skills, and I'd like to get as much as the type of things only military can offer, like jumping from an airplane with a rifle. I'm just trying to find cool combat poo poo to do during this time to forget that I was the one leading the platoon at one point. I'm aware of officer branches and the availability of them seasonally, and that's fine. Like said, Aviation for any branch is still a glimmer in the distance but if, and most likely when, that fails, Rotary WO might interest, or just any officer slot in the Army, but preferably combat. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Mar 26, 2016 |
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Mar 26, 2016 19:02
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Aight, this encourages me a lot. Combat Arms from OCS is the goal anyway if can't fly so I'll just take the enlisted life with a smile. I'd rather not do field arty, lol. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 08:19 on Mar 27, 2016 |
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Mar 27, 2016 06:59
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Security clearance required, so mostly limited to citizens. Can however try to get citizenship during BCT and if I get it, volunteer for RASP and see if I get to go.
Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 02:43
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Well the Army decided to loving shaft me today. Informing that my ship out date of 11th april is pushed to the 1st of september due to security checks of green card holders being backlogged. I quit my job already and my teacher wife didn't take a school year contract for next year. I'm amazingly frustrated and I'd go to the Marines but but I imagine the checks there are the same. gently caress. gently caress. gently caress.
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Apr 4, 2016 20:54
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Mustang posted:If you had gotten in before they noticed that you would be doing bitch work for however long it takes for them to sort it out before you would continue training. Happened to a few guys I went to BCT with. One of them was still doing bitch work at HHC waiting for his security situation to get worked out after I had commissioned from OCS. I'd get paid to be there though. Me and my wife are out of a job now and have to scramble back. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Apr 5, 2016 |
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Apr 5, 2016 00:30
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I wrote about my story here a while back, and I thought I was boned in regards to options. Today my phone rang, and a MSG that handled my last fuckup almost a half a year ago informed that he hasn't forgotten me, and that he felt bad always, and that has gotten me into airborne option, and that he has gotten me a 5000 dollar cash bonus, but I better get prepared since the bus leaves recruiting office on monday the 5th at noon. So drat, someone actually gave a poo poo about my personal wants. I'll be damned, but here we go. Going to get my packing done.
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Aug 29, 2016 19:41
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I wonder if it is against the rules, but I'd like to give my long-term issued, un-returned Finnish helmet to this MSG for caring.
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Aug 29, 2016 20:04
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Quick question, do I get a parachute?
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Aug 29, 2016 20:48
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Perfect, can't wait.
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Aug 30, 2016 00:37
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My papers say I'll end up in an Airborne Unit, so I'd imagine it'll be as good as any chance to get into pew-pew if something happens.
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Aug 30, 2016 02:35
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Thank you Sir. Hotel night done, MEPS done, oath sworn, finnish stories briefly shared, goodbyes said. I'm currently on the bus taking me to Columbia Airport for a flight to Oklahoma and Fort Sill. I don't have a single doubt in my mind, which probably makes me an idiot.
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Sep 6, 2016 19:44
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Doing good. 13 days left. Doing a whole lot of "foreign service bonus pushups". Basic is dumb, though. Haven't learned much of anything. Just suffering through. And they don't do even real suffering miserable FTXses here in america. We got tents, cots, and MREs and poo poo. We ate lovely cold soup and slept in foxholes in Finland. .ot my phone for like 20 minutes now, and that's it. I'll write more thoughts when I leave for AIT. Later.
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Nov 3, 2016 17:00
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For like an hour or two for this day to buy HBL tickets. That's the only time.
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Nov 3, 2016 19:48
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My AIT PSG offered this guidance: if you are not too dumb, but you are old, enlist in one of the short combat OSUT MOSes. "It's all gonna be dumb anyway, so search for the shortest time in the training". I have no idea if that's good advice or not. Medic AIT has been hella long and really loving dumb.
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Apr 4, 2017 21:24
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Just don't enlist.
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Apr 5, 2017 16:51
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Don't enlist.
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Apr 7, 2017 22:45
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Those sound a lot like waivers that might be available very soon.
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Apr 8, 2017 01:00
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Ultimately, if you are willing to endure a lot of poo poo, pick a job you want and go and enlist. 14-series jobs have crazy enlistment bonuses going on now, and for them you might find easier waivers. There are some 20-40k bonuses going for the 14-series codes. Enlisting in the Army sucks, and I've not had the grandest time in the past 8 months, but the benefits are great, you'll find friends on the way, and there will always be some older and more mature guys to hang out with, especially in AIT. I found them, too. And ultimately, the pay will be pretty alright with great job security. It's just that it will suck. Hard. A lot. Join Air Force or Navy if you enlist, I'd say. They seem much happier here on Fort Sam and they enjoy it, according to what they say. Air Force gets treated great with rooms, free time, fridges in their rooms, lots of opportunities for free time at the city, etc etc. Navy gets most of it. Army just stands at formation or does pushup with no semblance of humane treatment or sense. I'm not kidding. You will get reamed 24/7 with sleep deprivation and exhaustion becaue mass punishment is the key, and with 200-300 privates, someone will gently caress up non stop, meaning you get punished daily. Your schedule will have one or two hours of free time a day, and it will be often uses for metering out the out the punishments. If you feel like your life isn't going anywhere, and you fear for your future, loving do it. But be certain. If you quit in the army, you are in a hell of a ride of cruel treatment, doing bullshit for 24/7, watching multiple cycles come and go before and after you. And you'll have no cell phone or ability to contact anyone besides sending letters.
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Apr 8, 2017 02:33
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Don't do medic. Do a cool combat MoS.
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Apr 8, 2017 02:36
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All my 15W battlebuddies are miserable. Also in their AIT first formation is at 0345 and bedtime is at 2100.
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Apr 8, 2017 02:37
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14 series are air defence artillery jobs with Patriot Systems and the like.
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Apr 8, 2017 03:20
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When I enlisted, I was offered loving boatloads of cash as enlistment bonuses if I'd choose 14series. I just wanted 11x. That was over a year ago, and the bonuses are just getting bigger for 14series. My Basic Training battlebuddies seem to be liking their jobs in ADA, so it seems like it can't be the worst choice.
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Apr 8, 2017 03:27
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Just loving do iiiiiitttttt.
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Oct 14, 2017 00:17
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Nostalgia4Murder posted:Active duty infantry you loving pussy
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Oct 14, 2017 12:07
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68W AIT is the dumbest loving thing with 4-5 hours of sleep a night, no freedom, a good lenght of several months, treated like poo poo, and spending several hours a day marching back and forth to a dining facility and back. The companies are unmanageable size in 300-400 dudes of total, if one fucks up, all of you get woken up at night to do pushups, which happens all the time. You get constantly punished, and while you do learn cool poo poo in the 7 hours of classroom you have every day, the rest of the day is filled with total and absolute retardation. At least once a week the first formation is at 0245 for a stupid rear end competition run or other event, with a bed time still the same as other days. Formations even on the weekends, and only during last few weeks you might get to go to San Antonio with a battlebuddy and a glow belt, but even then you'll probably get recalled back when one person does something dumb, and if you don't make it back on time for whatever arbitary timeline they give, you get punished, so never go too far or do anything too fun. ASk me, I'll rant all day how loving dumb AIT for 68W was. It's even more miserable the older you are. It says on the paper the lenght of it is 16 weeks, but that doesn't include inprocessing or anything else, so real lenght is like 18-20 weeks, and and it's a grand old miserable time to the very literal end when you sign out on your PCS leave or get on the Airborne School bus. It’s the dumbest loving experience, and being a combat medic in a line unit is not being a first responder, it’s basically just being a grunt who does grunt stuff. I just carry a medical bag with me on top of the ruck when doing soldier poo poo, and in garrison I clean, inventory, mop, and do everything else. I have no complaints, I legitimately love my unit, but don't hold delusions of what it is like. I was a civilian firefighter, and this is nothing like it. Being a fireman, you get to run medical calls and fire calls day and night and it's cool, and you get treated like a person even while learning. This is not it. Sometimes I do medical coverage where I sit there with an ambulance while other people blow poo poo up or climb really tall towers. Clinic workers are the exact opposite, but they just screen patients and don’t do any hooah poo poo. The days start at the same time and end at the same time, but you have no real control in AIT if you end up in a clinic or a unit. And even in actual units, you might not go out with the companies, you might be in a field hospital or another setting with bunch of other medics. I love the Army, and I love my unit, and my days are awesome. Still, enlisting is dumb, 68w is even dumber, and you shouldn’t enlist with a degree. Ever. Take it from me. The shittiest position for an officer is the better deal when compared to the most bestest pog enlisted job. Do the right thing. Commission or bust. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Oct 18, 2017 |
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Oct 18, 2017 05:37
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I feel like I want to stay in 20, but there might be bazillion reasons out there that'd change it, against my will or otherwise. Should I opt into BRS? I feel like I should. In case I do, 40 percent of base pay is still pretty decent, plus I have my TSP. I know this is a very broad question, but I'm having a hard time right now deciding.
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Jan 8, 2018 18:04
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I already contribute 5 percent of my base pay that's divided between C-fund and one lifecycle fund, too. Hmm, I guess that's it, I'll go opt-in in MyPay. EDIT: Done. Thanks guys. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Jan 9, 2018 |
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Jan 9, 2018 10:05
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Okay it depends, I take it there is some lack of optiosn ahead of you, and it’s why you are considering? Navy probably isn’t too bad overall. As an older family man, the initial separation of basic and advanced training was a lot more than I initially thought. Just be prepares to be separated completely from your family for 6-8 months. It’s something that sinks in way too late.
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Jan 17, 2018 10:47
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JESUS CHRIST DONT ENLIST The ooooooonly time enlisting should even remotely be considered over commissioning is if you crush all physical exercise, have no body faults, have great resilience, decent intellect, and you go 18X. Even then you should still just commission, work staff until you are captain, and go SF then. Yours, Enlisted
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Jan 21, 2018 22:32
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Mustang posted:You obviously have a lot in common with your dad, enlist 11X for 6 years Yeah I’d usually offer advice and whatever, but Mustang’s advice is spot on here.
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Feb 22, 2018 18:29
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Just commission dude, and pull rank on your dad or something.
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Feb 22, 2018 19:37
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After you enlist, let your 21yo platoon leader know how much tougher you are and how you are the ultimate winner with third of his pay and controlled life.
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Feb 23, 2018 17:43
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I opted into BRS, but my TSP.gov show that my matching contributions are to Traditional balance. My own contributions are to a Roth, so is there a way for me to change this so that my match would also be Roth? Or is it not possible due to the fact that I didn't pay tax on the match? I did poke around MyPay but I didn't find a way to change it.
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Mar 7, 2018 10:42
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Midjack posted:Matching contributions can't go into Roth, they're always traditional. Ah. Aight, thanks!
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Mar 8, 2018 13:34
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Active duty infantry gets to choose.
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Apr 26, 2018 06:35
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Slept in a ditch with army officers on a joint team and every night the enlisted air force CCTs would drive their rental to the hotel, AMA.
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Oct 3, 2018 14:35
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Air Force. How fit are you? Are you in decent physical shape? You can get most of the stuff you are looking for from NG.
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May 23, 2019 23:59
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Some of the OPIs are also real loving fishy. I took one with Finnish, and scored 2 initially, which is not the highest on it. Indicating it was ”moderately proficient”. I am 29, moving out of Finland at age 21. It is my mother tongue. In addition I speak it in a fairly grammatically correct way that doesn’t use as much slang words, and I abbreviate less so to a native mine sounds native, but not common. But that makes it nigh impeccable book Finnish. The lady holding OPI did speak finnish, but something was off. She was not a native speaker, possibly learning it from parents while living in America. ”Uutispaperi” is ”newspaper”, when you directly translate two words, but isn’t an actual word anyone uses, and does not belong to finnish language. It was one of the words she used that led me to believe she is not a native speaker, but having learned from parents and combining words to substitute for lack of vocabulary. She rated my Finnish as ”moderately proficient”. Anyway, I complained, took another, got the maxed score. Still, somewhere there is a contractor raking in big bux as a ”finnish speaker”.
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Jul 29, 2019 16:48
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