Right now were're fighting the Pappa Bush War..but soon to become the whole MiddleEast War..Id suggest if you want combat-action join a branch that will get you fully ready for combat..NG or REV..will get you shot....

Cruiser: I joined the army 'cause my father and my brother were in the army. I figured I better join before I got drafted.

Sergeant Hulka: Son, there ain't no draft no more.

Cruiser: There was one?

ROFL

Sorry, I have nothing else to add. Your statement just reminded me of this. Good luck with whatever path you choose.

Air Force.

I'll just add a bit from my family's Navy experiences. Advancement in the Navy is mostly dependent on two things, the number of spots open at the next pay grade and your test scores from the advancement exam. One of the main reasons my father went Navy was because he felt like the advancement system gave him the most control over his advancement. The rate (same as the Army's MOS, basically your "job") has a great deal to do with it too. Nuke sailors get automatic advancement to E4 (I believe) out of school but that means that every nuke is trying for the same E5 spots. It always seemed to me that they had terrible advancement even compared to Supply which is what I was.

If you want the chance to have more personal responsibility the Marines or the Army is the way to go. Both the Navy and Air Force have less opportunity for some one in the E4-E5 range to be "in charge". It has to do with the way the services do their jobs. We had 3000 people on my boat, E6s were barely a supervisor in a lot of places.

Another thing to think about for the Navy, if you're looking at them, is there are two groups, people on ships and the worthless. One of the things I heard over and over is "Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea".

Pay scale is based upon rank and years in service, not the job.

Yes, but O-1 pays a HELL of a lot more than E-1 thru E-5.....

I 2nd the idea of working out a deal to go active and have them finish paying for your college, and then you will probably be committed to 8 years active duty once you graduate. However, you would probably get an O-1 commission right off the bat, and at least have some time in service by the time you graduate. Best off all your college time would be counting towards your retirement.

We had several guys doing this that went thru basic with me. They all did basic over summer break, and went right from basic to officer training. I think they did it all over one summer break.

I had a great offer from the Navy when I went in. They were going to put me through college for nuclear engineering, would be an E-4 during school and then get my O-1 when I graduated. I would then have to give them 8 years of service. It was a great deal, but the idea of being on a ship or sub for six or more months a year was not one that I liked...

DT

yes, but don't forget to throw in promotion rate into the mix. A doctor or lawyer in the military is going to go from butter bar to major in less than five years, no hard data to support this, but it is different than an officer in a line unit. More like butter for one year, two or three as 1st lt. etc. the rate is slower.

Plus as another poster just pointed out, officer rates are much higher than enlisted, on post living conditions are better too, if he went active. or was activated from the guard or reserve - in fact, there probably isn't these higher tiered MOS's in the guards.

Have you considered making the military a career? Does becoming a Army helicopter pilot interest you? If so, enlist in the Warrant Officer Flight Training Program.

I was somewhat like yourself, I was in my second year of college but it was 1969. You think now that no one pays attention to Iraq, imagine no cable or satellite TV, no 24 hour news channels, just the 6:30 national broadcast with Walter Cronkite or Huntly-Brinkley. We had a draft but it didn't worry me, every birthday is given a lottery number, mine was July 10th which was assigned #265. That meant the chance of myself being drafted was slim since 264 birthdays came before mine each year plus I had the college deferment.

What the heck, so I dropped out of college because I didn't care for my major and enlisted in the Army WOFT program. No college was necessary but two years was helpful, just a score of 130 on the Army qualification test and passing a class I Flight physical was all that was needed. My recruiter was sharp, before I signed on the dotted line he sent me to McDill Air Force Base in Tampa for a flight physical, that was near my home, and then up to Jacksonville to take the classroom tests. I ended up enlisting in the Army but going to a different school since the WOFT helicopter program had a year's wait. The WOFT helicopter program is still available.

Good option for the young buck.


I'm looking at a WO packet right now, to go back into the reserves. But it isn't for flying.

You sound like a smart kid. I applaud your courage. Your intelligence is only undermined by your youth. I simply can't understand how someone looks at this idiotic war and thinks they can make a difference. If you really want to help this country, become a politician and keep idiots like Bush from making it into office.

I don't care if you're in the reserves or the boy scouts, if it were up to GW, 16 yr olds would be going over there.

I'm sure he really needed that. :shake:

Overboard - you fell off the left side of the boat, sir.

You would have thought the avatar would have given him a clue but I guess fish don't have very good eyes that's why they are always getting hooked.

there are worse things in this world than fighting for your beliefs and expecially when that belief is to make the world a safer place.

As I said before, take all this CP information with a grain of salt, look at more information than what you get from us and then follow your heart.

You don't sound all that smart.