Ford

i am currently debating on going into the army reserves, possible even active duty. i just want to know what everyone thinks about it. if it's a good idea, what kind of people are good at it, whats it's like. i'm 21, have only 12 credit hours at college, have a decent job, but not one i want to spend the rest of my life at. i can't afford school so thats why i am thinking about joining. it's just hard to decide because you have no idea what it'sl like until your there. and if you don't like it, it's to late. any advice would be great,thanks.

covertwar

Well first of all, what are your goals in life? I can see college..... I'll be back so I can type up a storm

Ford

i have never really sat down and thought about that. i'm just kinda lost right now. there are a lot of things i want to be, but i can't narrow it down. right now, my goals?? find a good job that i like, be happy, be proud of myself, live comfortably(money). i just really wanaa find something i enjoy doing., that i could do for the rest of my life. i was thinking of going in to be a firefighter. it's kinda like wow.....i can't f@ck around for the rest of my life. as much as i want to i can't just ride motorcycles and party forever. i mean i am responsible, things just havn't been going in my favor, as far as finding a job and going to school.

covertwar

I see you are 21... How is your parents income looking, how about yours. I go to college right now and actually make about $1500 a semester in my pocket, but then again I was able to put independent down because I don't have parents to put their tax return on the form.....

But anyways, I looked up your state National Guard, Michigan, and I pulled this up:
Which basically means if you join the Michigan Guard you'll get 100% of your tuition paid up until you hit $2000, which isn't very much if you go to a private school, but if you come down to the Ohio guard you will get 100% paid with no cap, but the catch is you have to go to a state college in Ohio, Like Ohio State or Kent.

Well what is the Guard like? Basically you are a soldier of your state, your governor controls you and can activate you for natural disasters and the rest, and you are also considered a reservist by the military, meaning you will attend your drill two days a month and you will have active training once a year and that lasts two weeks. Beware you will attend basic training and AIT just like the active duty guys, but you will be sent home right after back to your unit. There also is still the possibility of going to war, just like any way of the military. Basically this lifestyle won't show you what the world or REAL military is like, you may wear your BDU's and feel all soldier-like, but whoever gets out of active duty and comes home and joins their reserve or Guard unit always says there is a big difference. Of course, it doesn't matter when you get activated and shipped to Iraq, and you all have the same uniforms and ranks, nobody will even know you are a reservist, hehe.

But if you want the real military life, it's a great change of lifestyle. You will manage your life much better after being under the sturcture of the service for a few years. The best way to go is active duty. I hope you are still in college right now, because if you scrape up enough college credits that means more rank in the beginning, and that means $200-300 more a month out the door and you will be above your peers to make NCO. I don't know abotu the Army, but I am an expert in the AF, and can tell you that 20 college credits gets you in as an E-2, and 45 gets you in as an E-3. I'm going to look into that and find the Army figures, it may be more in your favour, because the AF is a little stingy on their rank.

My friend got out the Navy after 7 years and was like damn I should go back in. You have a bunch of guys from different locations bringing all kinds of uniqueness and you all are the same age about so you roll out in strange places exploring, trying different things, make some war stories, get laid, feel good about yourself that you are doing the right thing, serve your country, bla bla bla, you get the drift!

covertwar

Oh yeah, here are some figures:

E-1 less than 4 months of service, reserve:

That takes home $136 a month, plus if you go to school they will give you approximately $270 a month for the Reserve GI Bill, then some jobs have a kicker bonus of $350 a month (this is Air National Guard, I'm not sure about Army), combined with the signing bonus for your job of a few thousand, and if you are in the Guard your state will chip in with its TA too, not bad.

But active duty is where its at, why don't you look into the Air Force? The AF runs the joint service Firefighter school at Goodfellow AFB, it's only like two months long and they had something on the History Channel about it on Mail Call a few weeks ago and it looked cool, like something I could see myself doing, lol. The Air Force has a community college and it awards credits for all your training so when you get your 5-level you can apply for your associates degree if you have your general math, speech, english and social science credits squared away already. Hell, a lot of the jobs in the Air Force you can actually go to school on the schedule they have, I know craploads of people that get degrees while on active duty in the AF, not to mention that all the services have 100% Tuition assistance if you go to school while on active duty. Not to mention that you have like $36,000 of educational benefits available to you when you get out if you them take $100 a month out your check the first year for the GI bill.

Ford

thanks for all your help. i really appreciate it. so many things to think about.....

Reds929

That is a mirror image of me when I joined the Navy.

Kevin Emary

I'm a firefighter for the army reserves that went to Goodfellow AFB. Great school and would recommend the school to anyone!! I will say that even though I am reserves that out of only 5 years I have been on active duty for 2 1/2 years of them. Yea I made my 5 (SGT) and will get me 6 soon (SSGT) but I have spent ALOT of time away from my family. But Also I am thinking about going full-time now thought. I do think that whatever you pick Full or part-time you will love the school and the people you meet. I would not take back anything I've done. It's been a chance of a lifetime. (I know that sounds cheezy.)

RZR SHRP

Damn, I said this exact paragraph about 9 years ago. That's when I decided to go in the Air Force. I was lucky, I had two friends come back home on leave after their training and the way they talked about it made it seem like I was missing out on a lot if I didn't join. 9 years latter and it was by far the best decision I ever made.

Ford

what about bills?? if i made 1100 dollars a month for e1, that would barely pay my bill right now. also, are you allowed to bring motorcycles on base at your job??

covertwar

Yeah you are allowed to ride motorcycles, but they will amke you take a course. They MAY allow you to use your MSF card, but if not you will have to take a course they arrange and have to pay for, and you gotta keep your stickers fresh and have insurance to ride on base. The MP's check, and they will make you wear a vest and all that.

As for your bills, if you have a lot and can't pay it, then obviously you won't make it, if you can find a high paying job and be in the reserves, then cool, but really what you see is what you get, but you wont stay at E-1 for long, within the first year and a half you will be an E-3, then after 2 years you will probably be promoted to E-4. I only speak for the Air Force, not sure about everybody else. Those in right now will tell you better and from a personal perspective, I only know figures.

RZR SHRP

The Air Force only requires an MSF course whether you got it on your own or through them. If you go through the base for an MSF course then they will pay for it as long as the course is held on a military base. As for coming through the gate, as long as you have some reflective material on your riding jacket, at night, then they will let you through. They only give you a hard time if you are riding at night with NO reflective material anywhere. Some bases are harder than others. Other than that you can use your motorcycle to commute, at your leisure, on/off base, however you desire. Watch out for them base cops though. There's a lot of them, in a relatively small area, and they are typically board just looking for some action.

You gotta look at your bills and figure out which ones are going to remain after you went in to the military. For instance, don't count your utility bills like electric, cell phone, cable type bills cause when you leave for basic you will cut all that stuff off. If your other bills that you HAVE to pay still add up to more then you will make in the Air Force, then you have some serious choices to make. Decide what you can sell and get rid of or liquidate. For instance, your bike. Sell it till you get to your permanent base and buy a new one. You're going to have to make some tough priority choices. If that still doesn't work, then talk to your recruiter and discuss your concerns. I'm sure you are not the only person to have monetary obligations to deal with before shipping out. I'm sure there are programs like 'advanced pay' and **** like that to help you out. Also ask the recruiter about Soldiers and Sailors Act or credit relief. See if he can help you with anything like that. You may also be able to talk to the creditor and ask them to defer or suspend payment while you’re in the training. If you can’t reduce your bills to fit with in your salary then maybe the Air Force isn’t the best idea for you. Remember, you won’t get rich serving in the military.

Ford

thanks for everyone's help. i think i am going into the air force. does anyone know if they have a 2 year program?

covertwar

Yeah the New National Call to Service program they instituted last year, under it you serve for 15 months on active duty after your training, and then you can choose between the active Reserves, Peace Corps and a couple of other Federal Service for two more years then you spend your 4 years inactive like usual, but the bad news is there are only like 100 slots every year, and it's kinda hard to get. O yeah, and not every job is available to you, only the most needed ones and the ones with a short tech school.