Advice on joining the military

[Duke2424]

Most HSLD assignments are out of reach of someone who does a 4 year commitment and gets out. Not sure how acquisition works for the Reserve SF and LRS units, or if there are reserve AFSOC units, I'll let someone else address those.

The only realistic shot I have at a HSLD unit in 4 years is with a guaranteed contract. One would be TACP and the other would be 13F with option 40. The option 40 contract guarantees me a shot at airborne school and then RASP. No guarantee I'll make it, just tryout. There is also an 18X contract with a 5 year commitment. My recruiter is trying to find out if I'm even eligible for an option 40 contract though as I'll require a med. waiver.

I've seen you and JDB reference LRS units several times, could you give me any more information on those?

But it sounds like you are open to a career, I want to address something Sean alluded to in the first post I quoted, which is retirement.
NOTE: Everything here is subject to enemy, I mean, Congressional and Presidential action, and may change.

First off, forget any RUMINT about "free health care for life", unless you wind up 100% disabled. You're gonna pay for it.
Second, here's how retirement pay works, more-or-less: You get 2.5% of the average of your "high three" years pay, for every year you served. That's 50% at 20 years, although there was a brief period when it was 2%, and you had to serve 25 to get 50%. (I was actually one of the last guys to enlist and get 2.5% of the highest base pay.)
If you retire from the reserves, you don't get paid until age 62.

Don't know if this helps, or is even relevant to your decision making process.

I'm very open to a career in the NG, not so much AD unless my life changes drastically. I know the retirement pay won't be that great but between it and my 401k I should be doing pretty good. I wouldn't really be doing it for the money anyways. I do think it's interesting how retirement pay is calculated though, especially the "qualifying" years of service for the NG/Reserves. In reference to your statement about healthcare, do you not get free healthcare at 62?

All of this information you and others have given helps tremendously. I appreciate it tremendously.

[NerdAlert]

Let me add my perspective. My father was active Army in a combat mos for 22 years. I have very few memories of him before he retired in 1992. My mother was/is emotionally damaged by his tenure in the military, and she is a tough woman. They almost got divorced just after his last deployment. You WILL move constantly, and unless your wife's job is mobile, you will live separately or she will lose it (her job). You have a noble goal. Just remember, you can do anything you want, not everything you want. Also, ref you comments about being a civilian engineer after you get out, consider: if you become an officer and work in the service for 20 years, you will be 45 and have a (conservative) 80 k pension with no college debt. Just a thought, even though it's "not about the money" a huge pension at 45 doesn't hurt. My dads enlisted pension after 22 years is 34k.


Sent from my iPhone, I apologize in advance for typos.

"Gustatus similis pullus"

[DocGKR]

Don't forget that there are also a lot of other ways to serve your community: Reserve LE, Volunteer Fire, Search & Rescue, etc...

[JDB]

Duke,
I wouldn't get to married to the idea of NG LRS. Due to budget cuts and reorganization, it appears changes are afoot...

More I think about it, shoot for NG SF (19th or 20th group) keep up with the engineering thing. To maximize flexibility, think state or federal job...DOT, Corp of Engineers, etc. I've known a couple guys from AK that commute once a quarter. Its worked out pretty well for them.

Not sure about 19th group right now...not that their future is in doubt at all, but from what I hear they have no trouble recruiting guys that are already long tabbed off of active duty (proximity to WA and Colorado). So, might be harder to get a shot at SFAS in that BN.

[MGW]

As a 23 year old degreed engineer with a 10+year sweetheart, he has every single reason NOT to enlist or commission.

Look, I really hesitated to respond to this but I'm going to do it anyway. If you want to talk off line please hit me up on a PM. It's obvious that you're really unhappy with the military and that's okay. I don't know you and I don't know your unique situation but I do care about a fellow brother in arms and I'm here if you need someone to blow of steam to. You volunteered and it didn't work out the way you hoped. I'm truly sorry it worked out that way for you. There are however, thousands of people out there that are very happy with their military careers.

No one deserves bad leadership but it happens. No one deserves to die or to be maimed for life, physically or psychologically, serving their country. I think if you talked to most of the individuals that came back from combat zones though you would find out that the majority of them do not share your perspective.

If your drill weekends suck and you're stuck in a chair all weekend do something about it. Run training ideas up your chain of command. If you have time, grab a TM and a group of guys and train on something. Use the experience you gained from deployments and train new guys on warrior tasks. Teach the new guys how to stay safe in bad places. If no one listens and you aren't given time to do anything other than death by powerpoint then let your recruiting and retention NCO and Sergeant Major know that you are getting out and why. Be tactful and respectful so they will take you seriously. Retention is a huge deal right now. If your unit is going to lose you they deserve to know why and they need to fix the problem.

Finally brother, learn to control what you can control. We can't do anything about the ding bats in Washington. My first hitch in the military started in 1991 and I can tell you things are much better now than they were then. Not the political environment mind you but neither one of us can do anything about that anyway.

I'm a coach and I tell my athletes that the only thing we can control is attitude and effort. Strive to be the best at those two things.

[Hambo]

Duke2424, there's plenty of military advice in this thread already. But if you were my son or my nephew I'd ask you a few questions. One would be, are you sure you want to get married? The wedding is five months away and you're looking at something that will take you away from that. Second, do you think you made a mistake getting the degree you have? Again, you're new to a career and looking for something else to do. Neither of these should be answered here, but IMO you need to honestly evaluate what's going on in your life. Then do what you want to do.

[Duke2424]

If the NG SF Groups are an option I think one should contact them directly to get the skinny on the process. http://www.nationalguardspecialforce...-by-state.html

More I think about it, shoot for NG SF (19th or 20th group) keep up with the engineering thing. To maximize flexibility, think state or federal job...DOT, Corp of Engineers, etc. I've known a couple guys from AK that commute once a quarter. Its worked out pretty well for them.

Not sure about 19th group right now...not that their future is in doubt at all, but from what I hear they have no trouble recruiting guys that are already long tabbed off of active duty (proximity to WA and Colorado). So, might be harder to get a shot at SFAS in that BN.

I'll defiantly look into ARNG SF. One of the 20th Group locations is actually very close to me right now. Ranger also got me in touch with a GAANG TACP recruiter so I am exploring that option as well. So many big decisions and options, its ALOT to think about.

[Duke2424]

Let me add my perspective. My father was active Army in a combat mos for 22 years. I have very few memories of him before he retired in 1992. My mother was/is emotionally damaged by his tenure in the military, and she is a tough woman. They almost got divorced just after his last deployment. You WILL move constantly, and unless your wife's job is mobile, you will live separately or she will lose it (her job). You have a noble goal. Just remember, you can do anything you want, not everything you want.

Thank you very much for adding your experience and advise. That last sentence really resonated with me.

Also, ref you comments about being a civilian engineer after you get out, consider: if you become an officer and work in the service for 20 years, you will be 45 and have a (conservative) 80 k pension with no college debt. Just a thought, even though it's "not about the money" a huge pension at 45 doesn't hurt. My dads enlisted pension after 22 years is 34k.

The difference in possible pension is undeniable. Any path I choose to go on now (AD, NG, Enlisted, etc.) it will lead me to seeking a commission as an officer. That thought has been absolutely cemented from the many posts of experience and advise.

[Duke2424]

Don't forget that there are also a lot of other ways to serve your community: Reserve LE, Volunteer Fire, Search & Rescue, etc...

I actually looked in to Reserve LE at one time. But talking with several friend that are LE, I couldn't handle it. Not sure if it's like this everywhere but here, it's domestic call, domestic call, domestic call, public intoxication, domestic call, etc. It takes a special person to handle that job, I have already had my fill of that population working at a convenient store in HS (and that doesn't even compare).

With that said, I am strongly considering the NG at this point based on yours and everyone else's recommendation.

[JDB]

Duke,
I wouldn't get to married to the idea of NG LRS. Due to budget cuts and reorganization, it appears changes are afoot...

More I think about it, shoot for NG SF (19th or 20th group) keep up with the engineering thing. To maximize flexibility, think state or federal job...DOT, Corp of Engineers, etc. I've known a couple guys from AK that commute once a quarter. Its worked out pretty well for them.

Not sure about 19th group right now...not that their future is in doubt at all, but from what I hear they have no trouble recruiting guys that are already long tabbed off of active duty (proximity to WA and Colorado). So, might be harder to get a shot at SFAS in that BN.

Sorry, meant 19th Group, not BN.