Thinking of joining the military

[Jimmy]

1 hour ago, h0llywood said:

Awesome what branch did you serve in?

Army. Active duty

[PandaPancake]

10 hours ago, h0llywood said:

Who doesn't like combat!?

People who are good at it.

[Anybodyhome]

19 hours ago, Jimmy said:

If you sign up, regardless of branch, let them know you want to be a linguist. After basic training you'll go to your MOS school. For linguists it is the Defense Language Institute/Foreign Language Center at the presidio in Monterrey, CA. Before basic you'll take the ASVAB and language test. Depending on how well you do on the language test it will give you your language category.  I scored very well so I qualified for CAT V languages and I chose Russian. CAT I languages are the easy ones (Spanish, French, German,etc). CAT V are the hard ones (Russian, Mandarin, Korean, etc). There are 5 categories. 

I was an intelligence analyst by MOS with a language identifier. 

Do it...Monterrey is awesome. It was my favorite base.

Monterey is also the location of the Naval Post Graduate School if you decide to go officer/Navy you could end up back there if you made a career of the service. 

[Jimmy]

7 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Monterey is also the location of the Naval Post Graduate School if you decide to go officer/Navy you could end up back there if you made a career of the service. 

That's right, one of my best friends while there was at the Navy Post Graduate School. 

[UpstatePanther]

On 3/7/2017 at 4:13 PM, Chimera said:

Spanish, French, Tagalog, German, and several other languages have tons of speakers in the military. If you really want a career as a linguist, https://dlnseo.org/content/flpb has a list of languages considered "strategic."

@UpstatePanther mentioned National Guard like it is a separate branch. There is the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. The National Guard is funded mostly by states rather than by the feds. If you join the SC National Guard, you probably won't be assigned anywhere outside of South Carolina.

The Reserve components are funded by the feds, but usually you're assigned close to home. There are exceptions to that, but there are very strict limits to travel reimbursement. It isn't wise to spend more going to work than you'll make at work.

I've never taken the DLAB, but I've heard it can be pretty difficult. It is designed to test your ability to learn a new language quickly, not to determine whether you actually speak another language.

In the Army, the process to become a linguist is very time consuming. Let's say you have a good ASVAB score and pass the DLAB with flying colors. A bachelor's degree means you can enter the service as an E4. That's about a $600 per month / $7200 per year pay jump over guys coming in as E1.

Basic Training is 10 weeks.

If you are not already fluent in a language, you will go to a language school after Basic Training. This can last up to 18 months, depending on the language.

Assuming you pass this course and pick up the new language, then you go to AIT to learn your job as a linguist. This course lasts another year. The list of languages differs from the previous list I linked to. Linguists specialize only in these languages:

Arabic Egyptian
Arabic Levantine
Chinese Mandarin
Persian Farsi
Arabic Modern Standard
Pashto

Now this is where things get tricky if you are dead set on commissioning as an officer. The Army does not have a "Linguist" officer branch. They are all considered MI Officers. http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/browse-career-and-job-categories/intelligence-and-combat-support/military-intelligence-officer.html is a list of Military Intelligence Officer career fields.

However, all is not lost. If you REALLY want to have it made and not deal with the everyday bullshit of being a commissioned officer, there is a Warrant Officer career field for linguists. MOS 352P. Seriously, read that fuging description. http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/prerequ/WO352P.shtml However, this is not a career field that you can jump in while you're young. You're required to have at least four years of experience and be a graduate of the second level of NCO development (Advanced Leaders Course) at a minimum.

@Chimera thank you so much for all that info! that really helps! There seems to be a discussion in this thread about whether it would be best for me to go commissioned or NCO. What is your input? Pay seems better for commissioned, and i wouldnt mind a leadership role. 

On 3/7/2017 at 6:10 PM, h0llywood said:

With all that you posted, solid advice.

My only thing is becoming an officer trumps enlisted and will translate better on your future CV/Resume. A 4 Year Captain/Major commanding a company is a lot better than 4 year corporal/specialist in charge of a squad. 

OP has a degree and it should be utilized. In addition, the pay is a lot higher as an O1 than it is as an E3. Base pay for O-1 is 3,034.80 and base pay for E-3 is 1,885.80. 

You stated that you were looking into the Navy. How good is your swimming?

Im an okay swimmer. and i love to swim, so im sure the Navy would teach me how to swim well lol. I appreciate your advice to pursue a commissioned rank. O-1 vs WO-2 was one of my biggest questions.

On 3/8/2017 at 9:19 AM, Bama Panther said:

UP, I don't know that I can really give you an reasons to choose the Air Force over the Navy. I've only ever known the Air Force, so I wouldn't have any basis for comparison. However, I have truly loved my time in the Air Force. 

As far as assignments go, I'd think you can't go wrong with either branch. The Air Force has some great locations, and the Navy bases are always around water (which I love). The biggest thing about the Air Force is you won't be spending months at sea. You may deploy, but it will be on land, not the water. Although I love the ocean, I don't know how I would do with being on a ship for months.

I'd echo some of the other sentiments. With your degree, do not, and I mean DO NOT, go enlisted. You worked hard for that degree, so you should reap the benefits of it. One such benefit in the military is being commissioned. Good luck in your journey. Thank you for raising your hand to serve this great nation of ours. 

I will definitely pursue officer training. as you said, i worked hard for that degree. i dont intend to let it go to waste. plus. learning and speaking languages is one of the few things im REALLY good at. lol.

On 3/8/2017 at 1:02 PM, Anybodyhome said:

When I was at the War College in Newport, RI, I met an Air Force E-8 who was a Mandarin linguist. He spent his days translating and, at some point, flew aboard large AWACS-type aircraft and monitored Chinese communications. When he sat in class, he took notes in Mandarin....

I'll be the first to tell you I had a great career, enjoyed it up to the end. Thing is, I would have stayed for another 10 and completed a 30-year career, but in the early days of the Clinton administration following the 92 election, we (the collective military) knew there were some major changes coming down the road regarding retirement, benefits, etc. Consequently, I decided to retire in 1993 after 20 years. I've been out and away for 24 years and maybe I'm not the best to tell you what it's like.

But I would hesitate to recommend the military as a career right now. I believe this country is going to be lured into yet another major conflict or war on foreign soil and I have a real issue with the cause for that being nothing more than ego. 

Well... i hear your concerns and share them. but i think it would have been that way either way. honestly this is the fastest way into my career as i can see things right now. im sure i will enjoy it as much as you did, especially the travel. i love the idea of being in a different port every so often. 

19 hours ago, Jimmy said:

If you sign up, regardless of branch, let them know you want to be a linguist. After basic training you'll go to your MOS school. For linguists it is the Defense Language Institute/Foreign Language Center at the presidio in Monterrey, CA. Before basic you'll take the ASVAB and language test. Depending on how well you do on the language test it will give you your language category.  I scored very well so I qualified for CAT V languages and I chose Russian. CAT I languages are the easy ones (Spanish, French, German,etc). CAT V are the hard ones (Russian, Mandarin, Korean, etc). There are 5 categories. 

I was an intelligence analyst by MOS with a language identifier. 

Do it...Monterrey is awesome. It was my favorite base.

i know all about the language categories! lol. ive studied Spanish extensively and alittle bit of Russian as well. What branch did you serve in?

[Chimera]

1 hour ago, UpstatePanther said:

@Chimera thank you so much for all that info! that really helps! There seems to be a discussion in this thread about whether it would be best for me to go commissioned or NCO. What is your input? Pay seems better for commissioned, and i wouldnt mind a leadership role. 

There are reasons to be an officer - better pay, generally better living conditions, better opportunities for career advancement, to name a few.

However, behind the scenes, a whole lot is expected of officers outside the realm of your duties. Officers are expected to be present for many social events - Command/Staff rides, formal balls, formal dining ins/outs, lunches, book clubs, etc, on top of everything else they're tasked with. Many happenings are political - you're all but required to have your nose in your commander's ass. Also, some field grade officers will be quick to cannibalize you at the first mistake. Any mistake that your Joes make was due to your negligence.

Plus, you won't ever have a chance to "get your hands dirty" after you've been a platoon leader. After that, it's all color coding excel sheets because the Colonel wants the information without having to read. Or a billion different schools (16 week MI BOLC, 21 week MI Captains Career Course, plus whatever specific requirements from your higher commands).

I mean, some people thrive at this stuff. You may love it. It's just that I personally believe Officers are very overburdened. Just a few years ago, the Pentagon reported that the Army is rife with false reports of completed training. The number one reason for falsely reporting that training occurred was that there literally isn't enough time in a year to hit all the requirements.

All of these issues also exist on the enlisted side, but on a much smaller scale. Pay is worse and you're stuck with a lot of menial tasks. Have you ever seen a mother fuger mop a parking lot in the rain? Because that's some poo that happens to enlisted personnel.

In all honesty, the best officers will rise above the rest. The best enlisted Soldiers will never be mopping a parking lot in the rain. However, if you do mess up, you'd probably prefer to be mopping a parking lot in the rain than have to deal with what officers deal with. Enlisted will get chance after chance. Officers' careers can be ruined on a single mistake, depending on the officers above you. 

[UpstatePanther]

12 minutes ago, Chimera said:

There are reasons to be an officer - better pay, generally better living conditions, better opportunities for career advancement, to name a few.

However, behind the scenes, a whole lot is expected of officers outside the realm of your duties. Officers are expected to be present for many social events - Command/Staff rides, formal balls, formal dining ins/outs, lunches, book clubs, etc, on top of everything else they're tasked with. Many happenings are political - you're all but required to have your nose in your commander's ass. Also, some field grade officers will be quick to cannibalize you at the first mistake. Any mistake that your Joes make was due to your negligence.

Plus, you won't ever have a chance to "get your hands dirty" after you've been a platoon leader. After that, it's all color coding excel sheets because the Colonel wants the information without having to read. Or a billion different schools (16 week MI BOLC, 21 week MI Captains Career Course, plus whatever specific requirements from your higher commands).

I mean, some people thrive at this stuff. You may love it. It's just that I personally believe Officers are very overburdened. Just a few years ago, the Pentagon reported that the Army is rife with false reports of completed training. The number one reason for falsely reporting that training occurred was that there literally isn't enough time in a year to hit all the requirements.

All of these issues also exist on the enlisted side, but on a much smaller scale. Pay is worse and you're stuck with a lot of menial tasks. Have you ever seen a mother fuger mop a parking lot in the rain? Because that's some poo that happens to enlisted personnel.

In all honesty, the best officers will rise above the rest. The best enlisted Soldiers will never be mopping a parking lot in the rain. However, if you do mess up, you'd probably prefer to be mopping a parking lot in the rain than have to deal with what officers deal with. Enlisted will get chance after chance. Officers' careers can be ruined on a single mistake, depending on the officers above you. 

sheesh. wtf am i getting myself into?! lol 

i still think officer training would be my best bet. if im not cut out for it, thats okay with me. high risk, high reward.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

12 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

i still think officer training would be my best bet. if im not cut out for it, thats okay with me. high risk, high reward.

When you initially talk to the recruiter don't give him/her the impression that you'd be willing to consider joining as enlisted (if necessary, you can do that at a later date).   Otherwise, if their quotas have been met, they may attempt to persuade you to enlist instead.  They'll likely mention special commissioning programs for enlisted members to entice you to join now rather than to wait.   While these programs do exist, there are a lot more enlisted college graduates than there are officer candidate slots available.  The process is very competitive and most applicants end up completing their military service commitment as enlisted.

You really can't go wrong with either the AF or Navy.   You would likely benefit from not committing to either one too soon.  Give each branch a chance to make their best pitches to you.  You will never have more leverage than you do now... prior to signing on the dotted line.  Also, make sure to get any promises the recruiter should happen to make to you in writing... verbal promises are worthless... I cannot emphasize this enough. 

Here is your best source for current information...

https://www.airforce.com/chat-live

http://www.ocs.navy.mil/contact.html

Here is the Coast Guard as a bonus...

https://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities/programs/officer-candidate-school-ocs

[stirs]

If service is your thing, then the military route makes sense

If it is more travel and adventure, then the military still might be your ticket but with some risks for the future.

Airlines that have routes and hubs in Central and South America could be an option.

Certain int'l business often need linguists for their executive and legal branches.

Maybe some int'l sports leagues(soccer) jobs

Just some options

[Chimera]

17 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

sheesh. wtf am i getting myself into?! lol 

i still think officer training would be my best bet. if im not cut out for it, thats okay with me. high risk, high reward.

Honestly if you ask 100 people about their experiences in the military, you will get 100 different answers.

As I said, some people absolutely thrive in such conditions. Some do just enough to get by and some simply don't make the cut. My post also cherry picked some of the top negatives of being an officer. Not all of those experiences apply to everyone. You may have a completely different experience. It is what you make it. Toxic leadership affects both enlisted and commissioned personnel.

[UpstatePanther]

6 hours ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

When you initially talk to the recruiter don't give him/her the impression that you'd be willing to consider joining as enlisted (if necessary, you can do that at a later date). <- I'll definitely keep that in mind!  Otherwise, if their quotas have been met, they may attempt to persuade you to enlist instead.  They'll likely mention special commissioning programs for enlisted members to entice you to join now rather than to wait.   While these programs do exist, there are a lot more enlisted college graduates than there are officer candidate slots available.  The process is very competitive and most applicants end up completing their military service commitment as enlisted.

You really can't go wrong with either the AF or Navy.   You would likely benefit from not committing to either one too soon.  Give each branch a chance to make their best pitches to you.  You will never have more leverage than you do now... prior to signing on the dotted line.  Also, make sure to get any promises the recruiter should happen to make to you in writing... verbal promises are worthless... I cannot emphasize this enough. 

Im definitely waiting to see what the recruiters offer. Thats what my choice will really come down to. I intend to talk to all four of the AF, Navy, Army, and Army Guard and see what they offer me. and even then, i'll probably take a week to talk with my family and pray about it. I feel like the Navy is where i would fit best, and where i would have the most opportunity for advancement and enjoyment, but if another branch gives me an offer IN WRITING (lol) that i cant refuse, then i may chose them instead. 

3 hours ago, stirs said:

If service is your thing, then the military route makes sense

If it is more travel and adventure, then the military still might be your ticket but with some risks for the future.

Airlines that have routes and hubs in Central and South America could be an option.

Certain int'l business often need linguists for their executive and legal branches.

Maybe some int'l sports leagues(soccer) jobs

Just some options

i hear you. but rest assured, service is definitely part of this. i love my country and, though i dont always agree with its leaders (had problems with both Bush and Obama, and have problems with Trump now lol), the idea of protecting my friends and family and the rights of every fellow citizen very much appeals to me. obviously i would rather that protection take place in peacetime, but i have no qualms about serving in war either. terrifies me, but who doesnt it? getting a civilian job will come one day, but the military seems to be a great place to get an entrance and free training along the way. and after 20-30 years in my field, i will have an impressive resume to take to any civilian employer.

58 minutes ago, Chimera said:

Honestly if you ask 100 people about their experiences in the military, you will get 100 different answers.

As I said, some people absolutely thrive in such conditions. Some do just enough to get by and some simply don't make the cut. My post also cherry picked some of the top negatives of being an officer. Not all of those experiences apply to everyone. You may have a completely different experience. It is what you make it. Toxic leadership affects both enlisted and commissioned personnel.

i understand. Youre just giving me your perspective, and thats what i need. i want to hear the good and the bad right from the horses' mouths. cant make a good decision otherwise :)

[CamMoon]

Go officer in the Air Force. Training is a breeze, the assignments are head and shoulders the best in the Military, and you will basically be a civilian wearing the uniform.

Sent using the amazing CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[Davidson Deac II]

On 3/9/2017 at 3:07 PM, UpstatePanther said:

Im an okay swimmer. and i love to swim, so im sure the Navy would teach me how to swim well lol. I appreciate your advice to pursue a commissioned rank. O-1 vs WO-2 was one of my biggest questions.

Just wanted to point out that the object of being in the Navy is to stay out of the water.  :)

Don't know the requirements for officer, but for enlisted, you just have to be able to stay afloat for a specific time period, about 5 minutes of treading water from what I remember.  

[UpstatePanther]

25 minutes ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Just wanted to point out that the object of being in the Navy is to stay out of the water.  :)

Don't know the requirements for officer, but for enlisted, you just have to be able to stay afloat for a specific time period, about 5 minutes of treading water from what I remember.  

sounds like a bit of an oxymoron... joining the Navy to stay out of the water. lol ;)