Any advice for my son who might join the service?

[Altarboy]

I have heard that it is important to get things in writing at the recruiter, but what kind of things? He is an hvac guru and mechanically gifted. He is also well read, as he was homeschooled. He is nineteen. He has expressed interest i. The Coast Guard and the Navy, but a buddy of mine who was in the navy suggested he would like the air force better.

[Sherman]

I was in the Navy.

Yes, make sure everything the recruiter promises is on paper saying it's true. I shipmate of mine was promised UDT school out of bootcamp. Well, he went straight to the ship and never made it to UDT. The recruiter ( from my understanding ) said that he would have the option AFTER bootcamp. He didn't get the option because nowhere in his papers had anything about UDT school.

Pick a Occupation that he can transfer to the civilian world. Electricians Mate, Machinist Mate, Hull Technician, anything Aviation for example are some of the jobs he could do outside the military.
Make sure he goes to A school. Apprenticeship training is the long road to a occupation.
Stay out of the engine room. They send the morons there.
Prepare for boot camp. Expect it to be hell.

[ltorlo64]

Pick a Occupation that he can transfer to the civilian world. Electricians Mate, Machinist Mate, Hull Technician, anything Aviation for example are some of the jobs he could do outside the military.
Make sure he goes to A school. Apprenticeship training is the long road to a occupation.
Stay out of the engine room. They send the morons there.
Prepare for boot camp. Expect it to be hell.

I agreed with everything you wrote until the red section. EMs and MMs (basically plumbers) work in the engine rooms (and I was an EM!). We always thought the morons got sent to the flight deck! It is all a matter of perspective.

To expand on what Sherman said if your son has the grades Nuclear Power or Advanced Electronics are good fields and if he decides to get out after one tour he will be very marketable. Either of those programs will be guaranteed, in writing, by the Recruiter. If it is not in writing it will not happen. Here is some more information;

Nuclear Power - Rates available are Electrician's Mate (really a industrial maintenance electrician, not a journeyman), Electronic Technician, or Machinist Mate and they serve on aircraft carriers or submarines. I am a nuke with 31 years of service, 15 enlisted and 16 as an officer. I have served on 4 submarines and 4 aircraft carriers (and a cruiser, but we don't have anymore nuclear cruisers so this is just for information) and the job I have now is to formulate personnel policy. If your son has questions send me a PM and I will give you my e-mail or a phone number so he can ask.

Advanced Electronics - Rates available are Sonar Technician (surface or submarine), Fire Control Technician (surface or submarine), Electronic Technician (non-nuclear, surface or submarine), Aviation Electronic Technician (aviation squadrons and aircraft carriers), Crypotological Technician-Maintenance, Information Warfare (computer programing type jobs, don't remember them all but this looks to be a growing field in all services in the next few years).

Both Nuclear Power and Advanced Electronics provide accelerated advancement (E-3 out of boot camp and E-4 upon completion of "A" School) and the ability to re-enlist for a bonus and promotion to E-5. In those fields it is possible to be an E6 (First Class Petty Officer, Staff Sargent in the other services) in as little as 5 years. I was a little slower and still made E-7 (Chief Petty Officer) in 9 years.

Not as good with the other services but they have similar opportunities. The big thing is to get guarantees in writing. If he wants to be an officer I recommend going to college first and joining as an officer. Recruiters get a lot of young men and women in telling them that they will have the opportunity to get a commission after boot camp. While this is not a lie, it is much harder than they make it sound.

Good luck to him. Let us know what he decides.

[rci2950]

I am in the Navy and like it. But it is Canadian Navy... not a whole lot of difference but some. You guys get a lot more benefits and have better equipment.

[alismith]

My dad had one piece of advice for anyone going into the military: Never volunteer for anything!

When dad and my uncle (his twin brother) were drafted during WWII, they were both riding on a military train to boot camp. A Sergeant came in and asked if anyone knew how to hunt. A few of the guys raised their hands, including my dad. My uncle didn't. Everyone who raised their hand was asked to go to the car behind them. Once there, the Sergeant told them, "Welcome to the infantry."

Dad went on to land at Normandy and was wounded 8 days later somewhere in France. My uncle remained stateside and went on to serve as a chemist at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where he stayed after getting out of the Army, until he retired.

So, dad told me if I ever went into any branch of the military, do what you were told to do, but never volunteer for anything.

[BISHOP]

I was in the Air Force 90-94.
The first couple years are like college life, you live in the dorms BUT everybody has a job and money.
There are many different shifts throughout the dorms and different "weekends" so there are potential parties every night.

Daily life is you just going to work, no HARD rank more like supervisors.
Basic training is lame, light calisthenics, and short running. WE as a group was told to slow down during testing because WE were going too fast and was ruining the "numbers".

Tech school after basic training was more relaxed than basic and a real transition unlike in the ARMY which is almost no difference.
Also you just go to school, you have freedom after school and freedom on the weekends to do as you want (to an extent)

The AF (I am sure like the other services) has a VERY detailed training system.

I liked it until I got older 22-23 and began to see that idiots ruled my life. You can't do things like have large knives or firearms in your dorm, where as when I was 16 I could, so I said fuck it and got out.
Back to the real world where I make my rules, no random drug testing for no reason at all.... It was annoying since I don't do drugs.


BISHOP

[Hatedbysheeple]

It's not his recruiter that writes his contract, it's the Detailer at MEPS, there he will be alone, no recruiter, no parents, just one on one. It will be up to him to make sure his contract is correct and what he wants before he signs.

If you have some more specific questions I will try to help, my area of knowledge is more on the special operations side of the house. I am one of those guys that ltorlo64 was talking about, having been in the Navy 5 years 4 months and put on E-6 a couple months ago.

[Altarboy]

Great advice guys. Thank you.

[skorpion]

Never believe everything a recruiter "promises," especially when he's talking about a recruit being "guaranteed" a certain job. I lost count of how many guys told me they signed up for an MOS their recruiter promised they would get and they got stuck with something they did not want to do. Basically, a recruit will be put where he is needed.

[Richard Simmons]

Go Navy! Twiget or snipe, both have their pluses and minuses. I was on an old 1200psi Destroyer and if you were a snipe those boiler and engine rooms were hot as hell and noisy. Twigets like myself got to work in air conditioned spaces and didn't get as dirty. With todays gas turbine ships or what ever the new propulsion systems are it's probably not the same in the engineering spaces.

AFAIK based on his test scores the recruiter should be able to give him a list of rates he qualifies for and should be able to guarantee those schools after boot camp. Some may be more shipboard and some may be more land based. I spent six of my eight years on destroyers and fast frigates, visited 18 countries and crossed the equator. Some guys like carrier duty but I liked the small boys.

[Altarboy]

Awesome. Thanks. You know it's sad that a recruiter could mislead a kid into thinking his schooling would be paid for if it is not.

[ltorlo64]

Awesome. Thanks. You know it's sad that a recruiter could mislead a kid into thinking his schooling would be paid for if it is not.

Not sure which post this is aimed at. The 9/11 GI Bill provides up to 36 months of college support (tuition, books, fees, and a stipend for housing) that will cover almost all costs at a state school. Basically, you get one month of college support for one month of service. Also, the 36 months works out to slightly more than 4 years of school because it is only charged when the person is actually attending college. If you Google 9/11 GI bill there is some good information on this. As it is a law for all service members to get this it is not required to be in the enlistment contract.

As for schools after Basic, there are different processes to get them. For the Navy, the Recruiter will recruit someone in for a specific program (Nuclear, Advanced Electronics, Non-designated (no job guaranteed), etc) and then at MEPS the actual rate (MOS or specialty for the other services) is discussed. Prior to signing the contract at the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) your son will know what is guaranteed and what is not. If it is not what he wants, he can walk away. People won't be happy, but that is the deal with contracts.

[skorpion]

Awesome. Thanks. You know it's sad that a recruiter could mislead a kid into thinking his schooling would be paid for if it is not.

The Post-9/11 G.I. bill is good-to-go, especially since all the quirks have been worked out. It covered most of my Bachelor's Degree - I only had to pay for one semester out-of-pocket.

[daemon734]

Make sure he finds something he can enjoy and sustain for the duration of his contract. The days of easy reclasses are over, at least in the Army.

[blacksheep]

I have heard that it is important to get things in writing at the recruiter, but what kind of things? He is an hvac guru and mechanically gifted. He is also well read, as he was homeschooled. He is nineteen. He has expressed interest i. The Coast Guard and the Navy, but a buddy of mine who was in the navy suggested he would like the air force better.

My advise is stay away from military service till the community agitator is out of office.

[daemon734]

My advise is stay away from military service till the community agitator is out of office.

Wrong answer. You join to serve your country first, personal goals second. If that isn't the order of your rationale then you should just not bother in the first place.

Serving your country is not tied to the CiC, at least not nearly as much as people make it out to be. He affects some individual policy, like the whole sexual harassment focus nonsense or DADT repeal, but in reality that is a drop in the bucket for most. He does have direct impact on foreign policy related to deployments, but in this case the CiC actually asks less of servicemembers because of his weak policies regarding military involvement. I am about to lose $600 a month in special pays thanks to this administration as well as a BAH cut, but at the end of the day those policies should have zero effect on your intent for initial entry.

[ltorlo64]

Wrong answer. You join to serve your country first, personal goals second. If that isn't the order of your rationale then you should just not bother in the first place.

Serving your country is not tied to the CiC, at least not nearly as much as people make it out to be. He affects some individual policy, like the whole sexual harassment focus nonsense or DADT repeal, but in reality that is a drop in the bucket for most. He does have direct impact on foreign policy related to deployments, but in this case the CiC actually asks less of servicemembers because of his weak policies regarding military involvement. I am about to lose $600 a month in special pays thanks to this administration as well as a BAH cut, but at the end of the day those policies should have zero effect on your intent for initial entry.

Well said.

[Altarboy]

More good info. Thanks Guys.

[Schuetzenman]

Wrong answer. You join to serve your country first, personal goals second. If that isn't the order of your rationale then you should just not bother in the first place.

Serving your country is not tied to the CiC, at least not nearly as much as people make it out to be. He affects some individual policy, like the whole sexual harassment focus nonsense or DADT repeal, but in reality that is a drop in the bucket for most. He does have direct impact on foreign policy related to deployments, but in this case the CiC actually asks less of servicemembers because of his weak policies regarding military involvement. I am about to lose $600 a month in special pays thanks to this administration as well as a BAH cut, but at the end of the day those policies should have zero effect on your intent for initial entry.

Well that sucks, sorry to hear of the $600 buck loss. That isn't chump change in my world.

[stevelyn]

I can't in good conscience recommend the Army for anything but the shortest enlistment possible, grab the college money and then run like hell.