Looking Into Joining Some Branch of the Military

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JCook5003

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
122
(Mods I think this is relative here but if you dont think so feel free to delete)

Hey Guys-

Being Young (21) and in college I have been thinking about joining some branch of the military.....It seems like it could be a pretty good life.

I am mostly interested in the Coast Guard also some interest in the Navy and Air Force as well, I am thinking about entering one of their College student pre commisioning programs, the way I see it since I am going to be a junior next year I can sign into the Coast Guards pre commisioning plan get paid while I go to school and then put in four years as an officer in the Coast Guard.

I mostly want to get some info what it's lke in the military, Specifically the Coast Guard, Navy or Air Force when you enter as an officer.

If you guys were going to do what I am planning on doing which branch would you enter and why? What expiriences can you share to help me make a decision.

Thanks
Josh
 
Well, coming from a Marine Corps background, my first instinct is to tell you to become one of the few and the proud. That said, all 3 branches mentioned are good to go. I know next to nothing about the whole officer thing, but a piece of general advice for you is to take care of your troops and they will take care of you. You don't have to be drinking buddies or anything but take care of them. Another thing is if you're considering the Navy or Air Force because you don't want to come over here to my sand box, you're wrong. We have quite a few squids (sailors) out here being augmented to Marine Units because we need bodies. There's plenty of Airmen out here too taking the same direct and indirect fire as the rest of us. I can tell you next to jack squat about the Coast Guard except word on the street is that they are severely Bad Arse. I've heard them compared to SWAT on the sea, regardless of MOS.
 
I'd go USAF if I was you. I was ex USN myself. If you like water and being at sea for many months though go Navy! What exactly would you like to do in the military?
 
I'm not entirely sure what I want to do I will graduate with a Bachelors in Information Technology so I think that puts me towards some kind of communications or intelligence field.......

I wasnt going to join the Air Force or Navy to aviod going to the Middle East I know it's a possibility any service I join maybe short of the Coast Guard.

Good Info guys keep it coming........

The Marines do have a certain air of history about them, maybe it effective recruiting material or maybe it's true but they do seem to be "The Few The Proud" ever marine I have ever met truly have seemed like they felt every other Marine was their brother.
 
Moonclip asked the best question. Know what you think you want to do first. Then go from there.
 
I've always thought I would enjoy the Coast Guard the most, I have a love for boats, and the sea.......not to mention the majority of them stay very close to home and close to the coast......I always wanted to live near the ocean
 
Well it's definately true. There's this brotherhood about Marines that is really hard to understand.

I wasn't trying to accuse you of trying to skip out on the war, btw, just throwing that out there to make sure.

If I'm not mistaken, in any of the branches Officer's Candidate School, your MOS is assigned to you. You could have a degree in underwater basket weaving and instead of being an underwater basket weaver, they could assign you to Military Police or Com. But I could be wrong. I know that's the case with the Marine Corps.
 
feel free to pm me any questions you have about the CG. Ill at least try to give you a better resource then my self...

t
 
IIRC the Coast Guard is deployed in the Persian Gulf. I think my dad had a friend that went to Vietnam who was wounded who was in the Coast Guard.
 
IIRC the Coast Guard is deployed in the Persian Gulf. I think my dad had a friend that went to Vietnam who was wounded who was in the Coast Guard.
Click to expand...
correct, theres a number of units over there. at the moment its voluntary; only due to the fact that theres more people willing to go then there are billits currently. my grandfather was also in vietnam as a coastie.

t
 
Retired Air Force myself and I've never regretted my career choice. I checked out when I was 37 years old with a monthly check and free medical for me and the wife for life. Began a new career and never looked back. My daughter is an Army veteran and my son is currently in the Army in Iraq.

I really enjoyed my service and the closest friends I have to this day are folks I served with. Jeez, been retired 16 years this year...
 
Learn about the various officer programs in each service and see what you think. I would suggest contacting officer program recruiters (not just any old recruiting station) from each service and they should be most happy to at least give you printed brochures on the programs for which you might qualify, and to give you their spin on each. (I used to use R&R periods on my ship, like when we had just pulled in from patrol, to do OHARP duty, which got me a free trip home to "work" in the local recruiting office without burning any leave. Gave me a better appreciation of the good the bad and the ugly with recruiting. Recruiters are not all evil, just use your sense and remember that YOUR best interests and the recruiter's best interests may not totally coincide.)

I joined the USN to serve in submarines during the cold war, I was all motivated as hell by books like Hunt For Red October well before it was ever a movie, and I wanted the "front lines" such as they were in those days. Had I known then what I know now about what's going on and where "the main show" is, I likely would have done something else like the Army or Marines. I still think the Navy has a lot to offer, but so do all of the services depending on what kind of work and potential career path interests you.

If I were you, I'd take notes as you talk to recruiters about each option on
-what are the qualifications for this program (i.e. USN nuclear power officer program requires either a science or engineering degree, or if not that, at least calculus through differential equations and a year or more of calculus-based physics, just to get an interview for the program. Special warfare includes among other things demonstrating certain physical readiness skills and abilities. Pilot wannabe, IIRC you need perfect uncorrected vision to fly fixed-wing aircraft)
-what kind of career path do people in this program have? What could you expect and where would you expect to go? Are there many opportunities for advancement?
(For instance if you were a business major interested in say the USN Supply Corps, and you wanted to be involved in submarines, you'd need to learn that Supply Corps officers only do one tour on a deployed submarine and that's it, then they have to move on to other assignments since by the time the make O-3 and are looking to make O-4, there are no at-sea submarine billets for Supply Corps people. This situation applies somewhat to all specialties in all the services. If you want to do a particular kind of thing, make sure you won't be locked out of it after attaining a certain rank or seniority).

I will say that in my 8 years in the service and meeting people from all the services, in the 1990s anyway, that the US Coast Guard and US Air Force people seemed happiest with their lot compared to marines, sailors, and soldiers. Whenever I got stationed somewhere, I almost always went over to the local USAF base to use their commissary, exchange, gym, etc) since the USAF always seemed to have nicer, newer, and better-stocked bases than the Navy did.
 
Go Navy!

Former sailor myself, and I'd recommend it if you're thinking of hitching up anyway. We've got more airplanes than the Airforce, more equipment than the Army, and own all the Marines' crap anyway

Why USN is better than USAF:
Advancement is faster in the Navy, that relates directly to paychecks. Technical skill is greater due to shipboard requirements.

Better than Army:
I prefer to do my shooting at folks from over the horizon with guns measured in inches, with missiles for good measure.

Marines:
They have to listen to us squids make smart comments.
 
You started off right by asking questions. I was in the Army and I was an NCO. I enjoyed it. There were some tough times but there were some great times also and I met some great people all over the world.

Do your research. There are several things to choose from. I think all the branches have something to do and offer.

If you become an officer remember to listen to your NCO's. Most know what is going on and what to do. I ran into some 1st and 2nd LT's that seemed to have a chip on their shoulder and they had a rough time. A good NCO can help make you have a rough time.;)
 
Coast guard

If you have any questions about the Coast Guard you can PM me. We do alot of Law Enforcement and search and rescue and yes, we have units deployed to the Persian Gulf.

We also work with the Navy and Marines alot. Good Luck in whichever branch you choose.
 
If you expand your views I can tell you all you want about being an Officer in the Army. Feel free to PM me.
 
On the other hand, officers serve "at the pleasure of the president". After long service in the ChAir Force, 20,000 of us were simply told to go home in '92.:(

"Thank you for your interest in the defense of the Republic." Nothing more.:banghead:

The worst thing I ever did was trading my stripes for bars.:eek:

FACT: only one of ten (10%) of any group of new lieutenants ever retire from the ChAir Force.:what:

NEVER SAY THAT def4pos8 DIDN'T WARN YOU!

Daughter the Space Engineer will be commissioned during May. She'll do her four and run like hell. Talent helps. She is a scarce commodity. The Strategic Defense Initiative mob and NASA also wanted her. She may disappear into Spook Central before her initial service commitment is up.:scrutiny:
 
You can take your degree to OCS for the Army, get a commission and they will pay off all your college loans (or most of them). You won't be able to pick your job that way but the benefits are a little better than enlisted. Or you can pick your job and go enlisted and get your bills paid off and get a tidy bonus as well.

I suggest talking to recruiters from each service (don't commit until you talk to all of them) and make a choice based on what you want to do.

You can PM me as well. I am over there now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
Which branch to join?
Replies
8
Views
887
hso
hso
B
  • Locked
I guess watching Full Metal Jacket 3 times yesterday got to me....
Replies
17
Views
1K
Happyshooter
H
F
  • Locked
Range Report: Collegiate Pistol Nationals
Replies
12
Views
604
falconer
F
T
  • Locked
Which branch of the military?
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
Ala Dan
A
A
  • Locked
Need advice on joining the military
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
ojibweindian
ojibweindian
Back
Top