IamA Former Army Recruiter AMA! Round 2 per request

So...this. Accurate?

I believe that sums up 90% of the highschool applicants! yes.

I have a manager who I'm pretty sure is lying that he was in the Military. He says he was in the 2nd airborne division. Is that a real division? What are some questions that I can ask him to prove he's lying. I wouldn't care but he's talking trash to some of my coworkers who were in the military and constantly brags that he was shot multiple times and stabbed and killed people.

The fact that he brags about shooting and stabbing means he is likely lying. Trust, those who have been through that kind of stuff don't want to talk about it

Former Marine here, what in your opinion was the biggest difference between the recruiting methods of the Corps vs the Army?

From what I saw the Marines go for the " Were the best" mentality. Play to the ego and competitive spirit of a high school age boy. I watched the Marine recruiters that worked next to me do swear in ceremonies right in their office. Not legit of course, but the average person doesn't know that. A kid would go in, talk a few minutes, and leave out thinking they had already signed up cause they done a swear in ceremony. The Army however tends to flaunt its numerous jobs, talk about education and the ability to pick a job before you go to the MEPS. Of course, once you take the ASVAB and we discover you don't qualify for the job you initially wanted, or it's just not available we now have to explain why you should choose another job.

The Army however tends to flaunt its numerous jobs, talk about education and the ability to pick a job before you go to the MEPS. Of course, once you take the ASVAB and we discover you don't qualify for the job you initially wanted, or it's just not available we now have to explain why you should choose another job.

Are you obligated to join once you're at MEPS? Almost considered going into the AF a while back and the recruiter said I had to pick the job once at MEPS, but wasn't sure if that meant you can choose to decline to join if your position wasn't available after passing the ASVAB (took this in the office and got a score that made me eligible for a good pick of the AFSC's).

You can back out at MEPS. In fact, up until you get on that bus to ship off you can back out. I think what he meant was you would pick your specific job at MEPS, that he couldn't pick your job at the recruiting station.

I was told you had up to 180 days until after your training starts to get out with no negative consequences, is that true?

Unable to adapt to military lifestyle or something along those lines.

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That is correct. What Hungry said.

It takes a lot once you are there to get out even within those 180 days. You can't just walk up to your Co and say "I made a mistake I want out" my husband (when he was much younger) had joined and decided about 30 days in that he had made a terrible mistake, he was 19, and tried to talk to his Co about it. He refused to let him chapter out. My husband had to refuse to train and deal with the mental abuse from the other guys in the platoon as well as the drill sergeants afterwards in order for his Co to approve of his chapter. It took them 4 months to sign his paperwork and send him home. Thing was he never should have passed meps because of a medical disorder. His recruiter was hurting for numbers and a huge asshole (no offense) and told him not to bring up his back condition to anyone. We were dating at the time he enlisted and I had called his recruiter concerned about some issues and he told me "I'm with my family and frankly I don't care what happens to that boy now that he's sworn in" and hung up on me. Shortly after he enlisted that army recruitment station closed down. I'm not sure what happened as we never went back there after he came home.

Needless to say that was a horrible experience for my husband.

Sounds like your husband caught one of the turd recruiters. Sorry to hear it, and it was definitely a case where he was taking advantage of. That is the reason anytime someone told me about something it got annotated and let the doctor review it. And in cases where you are talking about sever back pain prior to join he should have been told the military likely wasnt' for him. One thing I have learned in my time in is if you don't have back pain before, you will after.

52 minutes and nobody has remarked on the "former Marine" thing, impressive. I think we might have a record here.

Why'd you have to go and do that? I WAS going for a record. Until you ruined it.

Thanks a lot.

I was gonna make a joke on it, but I was so impressed that you had learned to use actual words instead of the usual Marine caveman like grunts.. Me Saba,,,ugh ugg, ohhhh, me hungry, LOL...just kidding

Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Non Essential

My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment.

Could be worse, Submarine Crew... 100 men go down, 50 couples come up

I'm not as familiar with the Army or Air Force recruiting processes, but I know for the Navy, recruiters get credit for every person who ships out for boot camp (i.e. those who take the oath and get on the plane to boot), but Marine recruiters only get credit for those who actually graduate boot camp. This leads to quite a bit of shit bag activity among Navy recruiters, including telling recruits to lie about any legal, medical, mental health, etc. problems they've had in the past and which may be disqualifying. This is why the Navy has what it calls Moment of Truth on the first day of boot, where they threaten recruits with the UCMJ into revealing things they've previously failed to disclose or only disclosed to their recruiters. Moment of Truth generally happens after recruits have been deprived of sleep for at least 30 hours so they have less psychological resilience to this kind of interrogation.

For the Army you get credit when they enlist. However, they have to ship off or you loose a credit. So let's say your quota is two a month, and this month one of the people says they won't ship and their contract is canceled, you now have to write another contract to make up the loss.

However, this changed a little now that the Army has gone to a team concept in recruiting. There is no longer each individual for self, the station has a mission and each recruiter plays a specific role in the recruiting process.

I do know the Army looks at trends though. For example recruiter A keeps having several people not ship off, or failing out of basic. They will look into that recruiter to see if something shady is going on,

Haha, it all makes so much sense now! I remember my recruiter telling me to not stand up at the Moment of Truth. I pretty much slept through the whole thing. Though I do remember us having to shout "Honor! Courage! Commitment!" at least two dozen times.

There's always a good amount of dumb asses who still stand up. "Oh man, the big bad Master Chief said they'll find out about the time I stole a lollipop when I was 4. I better stand up to tell them the truth."

I had a female applicant who was clean as a whistle, both medically and legally. She got nervous because so many other people who were processing with her had various medical things listed, so she tells the meps doc that when she drinks milk her saliva gets thick. They start asking about it and then she tells them when she eats seafood she gets a warm feeling in her tummy. They ask if she is alergic, to which she says no, she loves seafood.

They end up sending her for a psych eval because they think she isn't all there. The psych doc talks to her for a while and apparently determined she wasnt qualified due to psychological reasons. She was of course pissed and mad at us about it, but there was nothing we could ahve done, no way for me or anyone to know she was going to start rambling about some nonsense and make everyone think she was crazy.

How do you feel about what is going on in Iraq?

I feel like we sent our boys over for absolutely nothing. We wasted so many billions of dollars for nothing.

Well I am absolutely not speaking on any official capacity, but I think it's ridiculous. Everyone is pissed at Obama for getting us out of Iraq, when that was already in motion. And regardless, we couldn't stay there forever. In my opinion, my personal opinion we had no business there to begin with. Sadaam was a dirty, evil bastard for sure! but he kept that region in check. Now every half brain with an AK wants power.

That country is facing a civil war based between two religious groups. We couldn't possibly expect to solve a civil war in a single decade. Hell, we still have remnants of our own civil war here in America. We still have little pockets of hate crime going on many decades later. The people of that region have been fighting since biblical times, we can't change that overnight.

Do you feel anything could have been done differently by the US/Coalition to make the region more stable? Seems like the moment no-one was watching the various factions started fighting.

I think better attention could have been paid , but they wanted us out, so what could be done. Put it like this, those terrorist groups are preying on the weak. The military ran because they aren't defending their home turf. They fled from the Sunni areas becuSe they are Shiite. It would be the equivalent of white police standing up for African Americans before the civil rights movement. Until the people of that nation see each other as equals and grow tired of these terror groups the violence there will continue.

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Make sure you put that degree to use, join infantry to get the full experience.

Edit: I was infantry :(

On a unrelated note, I had a female one time come in wanting to join. Was dead set on enlisting, scored good on the practice test, and she keeps talking medical so I'm no thinking anything of it, her entire processing is rolling along till the day we go to pick her job. Her mother comes with her and is talking about how she is so excited her daughter will get to work with babies. I was baffled, how the hell is this girl thinking she going to work with babies.

So I pull up her job options and there is no medical showing. As I am about to tell her sorry she is like, "oh yes, there it is, that's the one" . She is pointing at infantry. I had to explain to her that infantry has nothing to do with infants. She of course didn't join, probably for the better

27 is good to go providing there are no other medical or criminal issues that would prevent it.

How much of a criminal record do you need to enlist?

Actually, if you have more than a couple misdemeanors for minor charges you likely can't get in. And even then it depends on what they are for. The recruiter will make a list of all your charges and then refer to the regulation to determine if you are eligible.

Do you know Leonard?

Yes, we go way back. He is friends with that blonde girl that works at McDonalds in your town.

Can a foreign citizen join the U.S. Army?

No, must have some type of citizenship documents showin you are legally allowed to be residing in the US.

Permanent residence, correct?

Under 10 USC 504, an applicant is eligible for enlistment if they are— (1) A citizen of the United States. (2) An alien who has been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence (8 USC 1101(a)(20)). The requirement to obtain U.S. Citizenship within 8 years of enlistment in order to continue serving has been rescinded for the Active and RC of the Army (3) A national of the United States (8 USC 1101(a)(22)). (4) A citizen (to include naturalized citizens) of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). These applicants are not authorized a clearance. (5) The SA has statutory authority to allow the enlistment of other persons not described above if such an enlistment is vital to the national interest. If the SA has exercised this authority, guidance on requirements will be available from DCS, G–1. b. An alien who has been lawfully admitted to the United States for conditional permanent residence is also eligible for enlistment. However, if a Soldier should forfeit a conditional permanent residence status for any reason, the Solider is subject to separation proceedings in accordance with AR 635–200, paragraph 5–10, and any other requirements mandated by the Army for those Soldiers who are not lawfully admitted to reside in the United States. c. Documents to verify eligibility include (return all documents to applicant after proper citizenship entries are made on the DD Form 1966)— (1) For U.S. citizens— (a) Birth certificate showing birth within the United States. (b) INS or USCIS Form N–550/551/570 (Naturalization Certificate). (c) INS or USCIS Form N–560 or N–561 (Certificate of United States Citizenship). (d) U.S. passport (unaltered and originally issued for 5 or more years to the applicant). (e) DD Form 372. (f) DS Form 1350 (Certification of Birth). (g) FS Form 545 (Certification of Birth Abroad of U.S. Citizen). (h) FS Form 240 (Consular Report of Birth Abroad of U.S. Citizen). (2) Permanent resident aliens. Applicants must present their I–551 (Permanent Residence Card) showing that the person has been admitted to the United States for permanent residence. I–551 cards issued after 1989 are only valid for 10 years and must be renewed. Applicants with expired cards keep their permanent residence status; however, they must apply for renewal of their permanent residence status I–551 card and must obtain verification in the form of an original receipt from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicating that the applicant has paid for an I–90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident) renewal application prior to enlistment. Applicant must have a valid I–551 Card prior to shipment to training. Any I–551 card with an expiration date within 6 months of accession date must be renewed and be valid for at least 6 months after the applicant’s accession date. (3) For nationals of the United States. Nationals of the United States include persons born in American Samoa or Swains Island. A native of American Samoa is issued a birth certificate that indicates the village of birth followed by the words, “American Samoa.” A U.S. national may also have a U.S. passport with a black bar over the word “citizen” inside the passport, indicating that the bearer is a U.S. national but not a U.S. citizen.

Sorry, but you are wrong here.

You can join the US armed forces if you already have legal permanent residence in the US (a green card). You can only serve as enlisted as a foreign citizen (no Warrant or CO ranks). You can however apply for US citizenship after two years service.

That's what I posted in the long paragraph just below that. Read that one.

Former (and proud) 19D here. I'm mad at you guys. I never got my goddamn dirtbike!

Look out, the Cav scout here. The enemy probably took your dirt bike when you weren't looking. Bad scout. ..

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Minimum age is 17, with parental consent. Average age is 17-24. And proof will come in the form of birth certificate that is required for enlistment.

I just finished getting a Master's degree, and am finding jobs that will allow me to actually pay back my loans kind of scarce. Does the military offer any particular incentives for people holding advanced degrees?

First, you have the OCS route which would be your primary option to consider with an advance degree. Alternatively the enlisted route you would come in as an E4 with your degree and could select student loan repayment as an enlistment incentive. Unless it has changed the Army was paying back up to $65k in student loans for qualified applicants.

What's the deal with a ten year old RE-4 from the USMCR enlisting in the army? 97 ASVAB no criminal record. Still a no-go?

RE-4 is a permanent ban from enlistment. Not sure what got that put on there, if you want to elaborate, or you can private message me

I'm an RE-4 but it was due to "homosexual conduct" in 2005. It was a witch hunt. Would I be eligible to reenlist since DADT has been repealed?

Don't quote me exactly on this, but I have heard that since the repeal you can submit your DD214 for an appeal and have it reversed. If successful you would be eligibile.

If I were to join the army in 2018, would I realistically be able to expect deployment?

I can't answer that definitively. I'll tell you what I always told applicants. You are considering joining the military. We deploy, it's what we do. You might not deploy, it happens, but there is a greater chance you will. If you can't accept the idea of deploying or possibly being I harms way, the military is not for you.

Hi there, back a few years ago I looked seriously into getting a degree and applying for an officer commission. Now it's a fairly long story but the concise version is I got blindsided by medical problems and dropped out of college, and I didn't do it cleanly. How realistic are my competitive chances to apply again if I've got some rather spotty gpa inconsistencies, and if I graduated in say 3 years from now would they even look at me seriously? I could still get a navy commander's recomendation as well.

It's doable. The GPA will be a factor though. There is always another route though, go enlisted, then after a year or two being in you put in an OCS packet. It will give the military something to judge you own besides your GPA and current resume.

What your personal opinion on the negotiation to get Bowe Bergdahl back?

I was always under the impression that we don't negotiate. But if our leaders have some grand scheme that made this worthwhile they are operating on information that neither myself or others at this level have. So just have to go with it and hope they made the right decision. However, I do worry that this will lead to more attempts at kidnapping .

Hey saaaarnt', got a few for you. Are they still giving deployment patches for Kuwait? I was talking to my buddy the other day who said they just stopped, while I was under the impression they stopped a while ago. Elaborate? What was the weirdest or rarest MOS you saw a future soldier come back with? Did it align with what they originally wanted? (I got offered Laundry Specialist which none of my NCOs have even heard about. But I'm Cav) Lastly, when I went in, I took the pt test and passed, finished my Future Soldier classes online, and also had a buddy recruit, from my understanding I should have come in as PFC. Everything at the office had PFC on it, but at MEPS I was informed I was fuzzy. Any clue what happened there? Thanks!

If you deploy to Kuwait you get a deployment patch. There was questions to that since they took away combat pay effective 1 June. No combat pay seems like it would be no combat patch. All I can say is we done a patching ceremony for our new guys Friday who had never deployed before.

Most of the guys coming back I were doing so for their old MOS, Otherwise they went with combat jobs since that was all that was being offered when I was on the recruiting assignment.

As for your rank, it sounds like your recruiter failed to submit the proper documentation showing you had completed all promotion requirements. There is a long form that has to be completed and uploaded to your file. Then once MEPS sees that they annotate it in the system.

Is there any way to get you to stop calling?

I took the ASVAB test when I was 17 just to check out my results. Its been over 5 years and I still get monthly calls asking me to enlist.

I've asked then to take me off their list EVERY SINGLE time.

The moment you ask to be removed from the calling list we are required by law to do so. If you are still getting calls ask for the persons name, phone number, and address. Play it smooth like your just gonna come down.. Once you have that information politely inform them that you are reporting them for continued calls after being asked to removed. If possible get their commands name an number and you can report it to them.

I persoanlly use to tell all the high school classes I talked with to tell me that line, it meant I got to delete a number from the call list. By the end of the year I would have almost emptied my computer of numbers. So when they told me to pick up the phone, I had no reason to.

Say you enlist, pick a job, have a sufficient ASVAB score, and everything. Once you're in, can the Army just assign you a different job? Like if a guy went in thinking he was going to be an MP, but ended up as a mechanic or something?

No. Your job is part of your contract. However, your contract does say to receive that MOS certification you must meet and maintain all requirements to hold that job. So, say you join then you can't pass the class, they will either kick you out or give you the option to reclassify into a new job.

This is why the ASVAB is used to determine what jobs you are naturally good at. Just cuz you don't qualify for a medical job doesn't mean you couldn't bust your ass and pass a medical school in the civilian world. It just means you would have to work harder at it. The military isn't going to offer you a job you don't have potential to excel at because the courses are short, and a lot of information has to get fed to you. So they don't have time to hold up the class for someone struggling.

Thanks for doing this AMA. Can a person join the Army if they're on anti-depressants? edit: capitalization.

No, you can't enlist if you require ongoing medication for an issue. Anti-depressants, Ritalin, blood pressure meds, anything. Especially with anti-depressants they are going to look at your psych history to determine was it a short term issue that you were treated and got last, or it's an ongoing thing that could be dangerous to you if you joined,

Wait a second, so would being a horribly depressed and anxious person stop me from being drafted! Id be so happy right now if it weren't for the previous sentence.

What will stop you from being drafted is that we have an all volunteer force now. The selective service is still around, but there is no serious talk of a draft happening. It would have to come down to a WWIII scenario before the draft to even be considered remotely. And if we reach a point where a draft becomes a serious idea they are going to snatch up every able body just like in Vietnam. I can assure you the will overlook being depressed or anxious.

Did my time in the USMC. Always wanted to know how often you guys hooked up with possible recruits.

That's a major no-no. If it's discovered you will get booted from recruiting quickly, likely get demoted, and even put out the Army. I saw a couple guys loose their careers over that mess.

How hard is it to get a waiver for a misdemeanor drug charge? And can you guys really find out if you've been prescribed antidepressants before?

Depends on the branch, and which drug? For the Army last I heard they weren't doing drug convictions. Not sure about other branches, or if it has changed. This is one of those questions that the standard changes. You would have to check with a current recruiter.

As for finding out your medical history, you are """required""" to tell your entire medical history, But a recruiter or the MEPS only know what they can SEE or what YOU tell. So if someone was to "forget" they had ADD for example and didn't tell anyone they would easily process

Anti-depressants though is a tricky one. I mean you could forget it, but then again what happens if you start feeling down and needing them?? You don't want to leave out something to get in that will come back to bite you in the ass later. I.e., lying about having asthma, then end up having an asthma attack while trying to run and dying. The stuff most recruiters would overlook is when you went to the doctor cause you stumped your toe, or stuff like that.

So if someone was to "forget" they had ADD for example and didn't tell anyone they would easily process

Classic ADD move.

I was once told I had....OMG.. Something shiny !!

I got out of the navy honorably in 2011 and ive been thinking about going to the army do i have any change of returning to the military or am i shit out of luck with the way it is with priors trying to return.

Prior from another branch have an easier time coming Army, compared to prior Army coming back in. But for a detailed and concise answer you would have to refer to a current recruiter as this is one of those things that can change frequently.

Do recruiters ever outright lie to the people they're trying to sign up? If so, is it common or mainly limited to a couple bad eggs?

Also, while looking for your previous AMA I noticed that you were gay. Are you treated much differently in the military for that? Did anything significantly change after Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed?

There are some bad eggs. Some intentionally lie, but more often then not it's just bad understanding or lack of official knowledge on the recruiters part. For example, someone ask a question about a specific job and the recruiter doesn't honestly know much about that job. Instead of saying so they try and explain it instead of seeking more help. Or you get the recruiters who been away from the real Army for so long they are out of touch with how things are done in current times.

As per your second question, there are very few people who ever gave a damn. In fact, before the repeal a survey was sent out to everyone asking insight and thoughts in the matter. If I remember it was well over 90% said it made no difference to them. The only people who were making a media stink out of the idea was people who weren't even in. So no, there was no significant change after it was repealed. There were a couple closet cases who came busting out of course, but for the most part, those of us who are in the service who are act and carry ourselves professionally at work, so many people hardly know unless they ask.

Have you ever suggested people not join the army if they wear glasses? Is it okay as long as the vision is corrected to army standards?

Never suggested they not join because of glasses, no. I did have a kid who wanted to join for college, but he was a ward of the state and the state was already going to pay for his college. He wasn't aware of that, so I did tell him to go do that first, then if he still wanted to come in go for it.

Marine Recruit here. Leaving in Dec. I'm not sure if the Army has a program similar to the "mustang program" for Marines. But if you do how hard is it to get in? My recruiter told me with my Asvab score of 97, I should be a shoe in. Is this accurate? He also told me I would only have to wait until I'm a corporal, to be eligible. Again, is this true?

Not sure what the mustang program is, you might have to explain that one to me. As far as what your recruiter is telling you about your score, and getting corporal first, well, hahaha, hate to say it, but sounds like your getting the carrot in the stick.. Just come on in,,,you will get all that later, sure, whatever you want,, sign here,,,,you get that after you ship....

Bottom line up front: if it's not in your contract, it's not guaranteed. Anything not in writing is recruiter sales tricks.

Has there ever been a guy who got contracted and later told you they didn't want to do it? If so what goes through the recruiters mind when he decides to back out?

Yes, I had a couple drop out. Typically it was because they got offered a good job, in which case I couldn't fault them for finding a job they enjoyed, that's after all what I was offering, a job. Then there was the ones who met a girl/guy who don't want them to leave... Now these type we try to reason with. Nine times out of ten they drop out, a couple months go by and the relationship goes to shit and they show back up. Now the job they had is no longer available, and the recruiter is skeptical about working with them because we are afraid they will drop again.

Honestly, when you first hear they are reconsidering you go into "oh shit" mode and try to sit down with them. You want to find out what changed their minds, remind them of why they were doing it to begin with. You want to see if there is a logical reason they no longer want to do it, or maybe it's just cold feet and they need a little reassurance.

The "buyers remorse" as it's commonly known happens a lot, that's why I always took it slow with an applicant. Made sure they knew what they were getting into. Made sure they were happy with their contract, got what they wanted, and made an overall informed decision. A lot of recruiters will try and hype someone up, get them processed as fast as possible. Then, once the dust settles the person starts second guessing everything an drops out,

When you were a recruiter what was your policy on medical issues? I have come across two camps: Be 100% honest to your recruiters and MEPS/DoDMERB and the other; be 100% honest with your recruiter, and if it won't kill you or your future platoon, don't say anything about minor medical issues (i.e. broken toe in high school, minor non-systemic allergies, etc.) to the medical facility?

I left this up to the applicant. My spill on the medical portion of questions went like this. The MEPS and I will only know what I can see on your body such as surgical scars, stitch marks; or what you tell us. Once you tell it or we see it we will need all medical documents pertaining to it. Those medical documents will include your patient history which will reveal any other conditions you didn't tell, and we will ten require those docs. Depending on what you tell and your ability to acquire the documents for the issue you may or may not be qualified.

The moment you tell me something it gets wrote down. If you tell me, I know it, and will annotate it correctly. I won't risk my career for anyone else. Then, I proceed to ask the medical questions.

If the person reads between the lines and decides to not mention they went to the doctor when they were five years old because they kicked a car and their toe hurt for a couple days ,,, then I don't know it. What I don't know I can't do anything about,

Do you and other recruiters enjoy helping future miltiary members an actually want to see them succeed?

You get some people come through and your like, I just want this guy out of my hair, he gets on my nerves. Then you get others where you sort of bond with. You work with them and their family so close during the process that you actually get close with them. I have had several of the people I recruited keep in contact with me after they got in. I had a mom who used to stop by every other Friday to bring us lunch, hang out and chat for a while. She even a tarted calling me her other son after a while, haha.

Some that I keep in contact with will still hit me up for advice on stuff to which I usually try and refer them back to their current supervisor so as to not step on their bosses toes, but if they legitimately, need help I help them, so yes, for some we doe joy helping them.

Guy with strabismus and Stereoscopic blindness here

Would I be allowed to join?

That would be sent to the medical doctor for review. I am leaning towards saying not likely. I don't honestly know what those are, but you have to have some level of good vision, at least correctable to get in. But that's where the medical doctor make a the determination of.

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I believe it is a good and respectable career that offers many benefits and opportunities to those who enlist, yes. Do I think it means your some super hero who everyone should praise and love because your doing a job.. no. I probably shouldn't say it, but I nver drank the Kool Aid. To me this is a job, yes its an honorable job and all but its still a job.

Do I believe in it... well I have been in for 16+ years. I have earned my Bachelors in Criminal Justice with a focus in Homeland Security and currently working towards my masters with only four classes to go. I have an Associates in Logistics Management. I have numerous certifications including; forklift operator, CDC license, Hazmat license, Certified Logistician, Equal Opportunity, and plenty more. In just about four years I will retire at the age of 37. I currently own two houses and in the process of buying another (rental properties). So I think I am doing ok considering I come from a lower middle class family with next to nothing.

The military isn't for everyone, but if you come in, get the training, take the college money and get right back off, you are still better off than when you first came in. At very least you wont bury yourself in a mountain of debt trying to get an education.

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I would say maybe too late for ROTC, but once you finish there is the student loan repayment program. When you go officer you select the branch you want in order with your top five choices. Quartermaster covers logistics, and of course ordnance covers the mechanical side. so either of those options should be up your lane.

How much impact does bad credit and past defaults have on the likelihood of being recruited? Would it limit my options or exclude me altogether?

it will prevent you from getting a security clearance. but otherwise you would likely be able to join and take a job that doesn't require a clearance.

Im a white male with a 2 yr degree, got a 83 on the p-asvab and want to become an atc for the faa. What branch and what steps can I take that would give me the best chance to actually have an ac rating and get trained for atc? I have been told that because I am white and male im pretty much sol because the military is trying to "diversify".

First, your race has nothing to do with anything. Second, I have to say go Army, and not just cuz it's my branch. The Army actually guarantees specific jobs before you sign a contract, and it's in your contract. The other branches don't typically put a specific job in your contract before you sign. You might get promised a job, or a job field, but you typically don't know before you sign. I actually recruited two people for ATC. one ended up deciding to change and go Cav Scout for some reason.

In fact, working aviation supply I am working along side a couple ATC guys, they are working on getting their FAA certifications out here.

Could you please explain the road to becoming a helicopter pilot (any model) for a college graduate with a reasonable GPA/credentials?

Similar to regular enlistments. Fill out the standard documents. Plus have a resume, a full length photo of you in a suit with plain background (best done at a photo lab like CVS where you do passport photos) , three reference letters from someone of influence if possible, a handwritten and typed letter on why you want to be an army pilot, vision test with 20/20 or better, pass the physical fitness test...and go before a board.

This may sound stupid. But what's the process in signing up for any branch of the military

In a nutshell: talk to recruiter, take practice ASVAB to see if your ready for real thing. Fill out all paperwork, gather all required documents such as birth cert, driver license, medical documents; go to MEPS to get full medical physical done, pick a job, sign contract, wait to ship off.

Why is it legal for you to knowingly lie to people to recruit them?

It is not legal at all. And a recruiter caught intentionally deceiving an applicant can face trouble,

When you're overseas are you still able to get some vagina?

I am married, so no.... But in a simple answer, yes. If your into that sort of thing.

I wonder who down voted you for your answer (it was not me).

If I was into that sort of thing and was stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan where would I go to get laid?

skanks. In every branch there are girls who will do anything for anyone willing.

Are any of them good looking?

Will they even bang the ugly guys?

Hahaaha. The pretty girls get theirs.. It's the ugly people that win. There is a term we use, "Desert Princess" , where after being deployed so long you tend to put on "desert goggles". ...aka, your standards start to slip. That girl that was maybe a four in the states is suddenly a 7. It's funny to see actually, you see guys hitting on someone completely hideous and it's like, yep, he got his desert goggles on, desperation kicking in.

My goodness. It's kind of a truckers version of "lot lizards".

Since there are so few women as compared to men are there a lot of incidents of STDs??

Not really. Before deploying everyone goes through a medical screening. Most things are caught at that point and treated. And the ratio of men to women isn't that bad really. And of course they do sell contraceptives here for people to be safe.

Haha, well that's where it can get real....sketchy. I have know people to hookup in various places, from their rooms when their roomie isn't there, vehicles, workplaces. Hooking up on a deployment is almost like highschool all over again.. People will find a place .

Where are you currently deployed? Also, have you killed anyone in combat?

Currently in lovely Kuwait working on my tan and getting sandblasted. As for your second question nobody likes talking about that stuff.

Alright, it is an AMA but thats always a pass I guess. Speaking of Kuwait, I've just being kinda looking at the Gulf War and all the secret service guys that came from that war. How bad really was it? Something like 250 American soldiers dead

The gulf war was well before my time, I was in high school then. So I really can't speak to that,. And fair enough response to your first question. Yes, I have, it was an us or them situation which left me with a clear conscious about the decision. I can only say I hope to never have to do it again.

How much bullshit do you feed to someone that is seriously interested in joining?

You don't. I always took the time to thoroughly explain all their options, what to expect pay and benefit wise. Give them a practice get to see if they are ready to take the real ASVAB, then start their processing if they are.

can you guys stop standing in front of my school telling me how great the army is?

Sure, get your school to decline all public funding and become a private school. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all schools which receive public funding grant the military the same level of access as they do college recruiters. It's an all volunteer force though, so no matter how great someone says their branch of service is you have the choice to ignore them and keep walking.

How do you feel about sending the young and naive to die under the pretense that its patriotic?

How many young and naive die working at fast food places? How many die just driving to school yet we require people to go to school in the US? Not a single person I recruited has died or been injured in the line of duty thank The gods. Don't give me that baby killer sending kids to die BS.. It's a damn job. Nobody is forced to do it. The benefits and expectations are laid out clearly. Nobody get suckered into this kind of work without honestly knowing there is some level of danger. However, I would like you to show me one single statistic that says your more likely to die in a military career as opposed to other career options.

I don't pretend to be some holier than thou person offering people some magically safe wonderful job. Nor am I some crook trying to play patriot games with someone's life, get over yourself.

I just came here to say Fuck You.

Please hold that thought while I count the fucks I give.

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Please, that's the best insults you got. I gave less than two shits about your comments last time. I wouldn't be doing this if numerous people didn't ask for it so go choke on something quietly.

There is a tree somewhere. And this free is working tirelessly day and night to create the oxygen you need to breathe and speak. You owe that tree an apology.

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I'd suggest that from what I've read this man is being as honest as he can with people he recruits. Yes, he could be lying and glorifying every part of it to anyone that even pauses to listen. But he's also doing an AMA that was requested and has answered questions both here and previously that have been posed. Ask a question, start a debate, but just slagging him off makes you look small and petty minded.

Thanks duckley. Only doing this AMA out of request. But rest assured, not one of the haters here are bothering me. I can assure you I have been called worse, by better.

Someone's a little mad, isn't he?

Aww, did he leave, and I was hoping to try out some of my better insults that I been saving. I get that not everyone likes the military, but some people actually get off on trying to troll and insult the service. It's not going to hurt my feelings, I'm just answering questions and offering insight that people asked for,

At the end of the day none of these haters provide the three F's in my life (Feeding, Financing, Fu&$ing) so their opinion of the military or me for that matter bothers me none.