411was_an_inside_job

Without alcohol anyway.

Post 9-11 GI Bill is great. When I'm done with my BS I'll still have enough to cover my masters.

Ten year veteran here. There's no simple way to say how the military works. Each unit and branch have their quirks and policies that change on a daily basis. I'd say the only real constant is there is a rank structure. As for education benefits, it varies by branch. The Air Force covers tuition 100% while you are serving. If you opted for the Montgomery GI Bill, you can receive pay from that while taking classes. If you separate honorably or retire, you can also use the Montgomery GI Bill OR you can use the Post 9/11 GI Bill which provides tuition coverage up the the highest rate in the state you reside, a stipend for books up to $1000 a year, and an allowance for housing based on your campus' location if you take enough classes (national BAH average for an E-5 if all of your classes are online). On active duty, troops that live off-base receive an allowance for housing based off of rank and if they have dependents. They also receive an allowance for food but that rate doesn't change.

I wouldn't say it's so much that recruiters lie, more like they say things that people don't understand or question. Some people only hear what they want to hear and a lot of the terms recruiters use may not make sense when others first hear them. Some recruiters don't have experience in a career field they're asked about and have to ask around for information. Some things just don't have a written guide to go off of, so the info they get comes from other people's experiences that may or may not be typical.

Any time I had a new troop talking about how their recruiter lied, we'd talk about it. With one exception in ten years, it was a simple misunderstanding and the recruiter had been honest, just a little confusing. Understandable too, a lot of people are nervous when they're signing up and just want to get to basic training and get started. The one that turned out to have been lied too wasn't alone, his recruiter was shady and ended up losing his position and getting demoted.

Oh yeah, BAH is sweet. Since I go to school in MD with UMUC I get 2100 a month while I'm taking 6 credits at a time. They're semesters are broken up into 8 week sections too so I can do 12 credits a semester and blaze through.

Willing to bet they are Security Forces since they mentioned both. Even in places like Iraq and Afghanistan it wasn't SOP to arm the others with an M9 and an M4 whenever I was there. Of course, things do change all the time.