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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 29, 2009 23:44:30 GMT -5
So I got all my paperwork in order now waiting to be sent to meps. Still talking with the Navy but now he is telling me that linguist jobs an nuke field is pretty much the only thing they are offering anybody now an won't have an jobs available till like 2010 sometime an I don't really wanna be nuke field just not interesting to me an linguist hell I don't really wanna speak another language to much not interesting an not sure if I could pass the second test to get either of those. So at this point Im thinking Marines or Army or should I wait I don't really wanna wait any longer im not getting any younger. Well thats the update I guess.
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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 29, 2009 23:45:23 GMT -5
Also they haven't accepted anybody with an asvab score lower than a 50 in about 6 months which isn't a problem of mine because I had a 74
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Post by John Wilson on Sept 30, 2009 1:38:56 GMT -5
Johnny, I had this long post all written out and then I just deleted it. Why? Because it comes down to brass tacks, so let's cut to it.
Marines / Army. Don't compare the two just because they're both grunts. Marines and Army are not even close cousins. No disrespect to anyone, but Marines live ten times harder than Army soldiers do unless you're talking elite Army units.
Nuke school. Do not confuse this with any other course of study in any other branch. Nuke school is one of the hardest curriculums on earth. It is much harder than a University. Why? Because the Navy has two years to put you through four years worth of physics. They also have to give you a skilled trade first and that's crammed into those same two years. Nuke school is 15 hour days, seven days a week. Think I'm kidding? I'm not even smiling. I got a great education in this program but it sucked major balls every single day. There are a tiny handful of nuke jobs to be had when you get out and I'd rather stick a screwdriver in my eye than work in the nuke field. But that's me.
Johnny, think of a job you'll find rewarding and go for it. If you want to be married soon, the Marines is out. I don't care what anyone says, unless you get an office job.
Linguistics is a cool job and will offer you a LOT of opportunity for overseas billets and Washington jobs. If you want to shoot people and live in a hole then they're always hiring for those jobs, Marines or Army.
If I had it to do all over again I'd go SpecOps, regardless of branch. SEALs, EOD, Marine Scout Sniper, Force Recon, Rangers. You have to be a Ranger to go Special Forces *or at least you did back in the day.
Now that I'm an old broken bum by miltary standards I'd go Combat Photographer if I had to do it today.
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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 30, 2009 10:21:04 GMT -5
Yeah the language thing would help me get some great jobs so would the Nuke field but the nuke field is very hard to do as you explained an im not sure I could do the schooling I love physics those types of math but I suck at them. Math isn't my strong point. Linguistics just doesn't really interest me. Special forces would be awesome I have always wanted to do it but it is so very hard to do those boys are no joke. If I go Army I have thought about doing rangers or Scout Sniper in Marines if I do that. The SEALS are the absolute best imo though. The Initial Entry Test to qualify for that program is a workout most people can't even do. idk though I don't really wanna wait around the longer I wait the more stuff that could happen.
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Post by John Wilson on Sept 30, 2009 10:50:16 GMT -5
Time is on your side. Being in a hurry is when people make mistakes. Yes, you have to be prepared to jump on opportunity, but in this case opportunity isn't going anywhere.
Linguistics in the Navy can be two things, but usually it refers to Cryptgrapher Tech / Translator. (CTT the name may have changed) It means you eavesdrop on communications and translate what they are saying. It's a cake job and it's a great opportunity. It comes with a Secret clearance which will help you greatly to get a gov't job when you get out.
SEALs and Marine Corps Force Recon are basically the same thing. Force Recon is a much smaller outfit and you don't hear about them much. Air Force Para Rescue falls into that category too, but they focus on rescuing downed pilots and kicking ass is just a part of the requirement to complete the mission.
Navy and Marine Corps Spec Ops are some of the few that take recruits and put them directly into special warfare roles. Unless something has changed, the Army requires you to make E5 (sergeant) before you can go SF. You begin as a Ranger. Again, that could have changed. Army snipers are not full time snipers. That's a school you go to when the unit needs to fill a sniper position, unlike the Marine Corps where Scout Sniper is your MOS.
Marine Scout Sniper is as good as it gets. Shooting is a very small part of the total package. I'm not saying they don't do a lot of shooting, far from it. But shooting in and of itself is not what makes a Scout Sniper. It is an intelligence gathering job. Shooting bad guys is a small percentage of what a Scout Sniper is required to do.
Don't overlook Navy EOD. If you like to blow stuff up and scuba dive a lot it fits the bill. They don't go in to take down tangos, they get called in to eliminate the traps and bombs the SEALs stumble onto, and they get called by EVERYONE in Iraq and Afghanistan. Warfare in the middle east has become a bomb war more than a shooting war. EOD has their hands full. *Army has EOD, too. My next door neighbor's son is Army EOD. It's an awesome job but it's not the same thing as SEALs from a hard core warfare standpoint. EOD calls SEALs crazy M'Frs and the SEALs call EOD crazy M'Frs. I'd say they're both badasses based on that alone.
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Post by Anthony Snook on Sept 30, 2009 11:56:57 GMT -5
Johnny, I had this long post all written out and then I just deleted it. Why? Because it comes down to brass tacks, so let's cut to it. Marines / Army. Don't compare the two just because they're both grunts. Marines and Army are not even close cousins. No disrespect to anyone, but Marines live ten times harder than Army soldiers do unless you're talking elite Army units. Nuke school. Do not confuse this with any other course of study in any other branch. Nuke school is one of the hardest curriculums on earth. It is much harder than a University. Why? Because the Navy has two years to put you through four years worth of physics. They also have to give you a skilled trade first and that's crammed into those same two years. Nuke school is 15 hour days, seven days a week. Think I'm kidding? I'm not even smiling. I got a great education in this program but it sucked major balls every single day. There are a tiny handful of nuke jobs to be had when you get out and I'd rather stick a screwdriver in my eye than work in the nuke field. But that's me. Johnny, think of a job you'll find rewarding and go for it. If you want to be married soon, the Marines is out. I don't care what anyone says, unless you get an office job. Linguistics is a cool job and will offer you a LOT of opportunity for overseas billets and Washington jobs. If you want to shoot people and live in a hole then they're always hiring for those jobs, Marines or Army. If I had it to do all over again I'd go SpecOps, regardless of branch. SEALs, EOD, Marine Scout Sniper, Force Recon, Rangers. You have to be a Ranger to go Special Forces *or at least you did back in the day. Now that I'm an old broken bum by miltary standards I'd go Combat Photographer if I had to do it today. "Live ten times harder"?  WOW! In the desert the Marines where living it up in big a$$ AC'd tents and I was "living it up" in a three man hex tent(pressure cooker) under LSS. The Marines had showers where you turned the water on and off with a handle(ran off a pump), and I was in the sand with a plywood box with a water can on the roof that let the water come down through a hole in the plywood(gravity fed). State side I lived in barracks that were built in the 40's until I got married and moved off post. The Marines had benches and steel weights. We had cheap a$$ Wal-Mart cement dumbells. In some cases the Army may live better, but not all sir. There are probably more bad a$$es in the Marines. I was with some guys and ladies that would have never made it in the Girl Scouts...............and should not have been given a gun with ammo. |
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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 30, 2009 11:59:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the knowledge. I think I would like the other branches just as much as the Navy. Why you say no Marines if I plan on getting married though?
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Post by John Wilson on Sept 30, 2009 13:33:59 GMT -5
Because the Marines (if you end up in a rifle company or forward deployed unit) will keep you gone. I'm not saying it can't be done, but don't go in with this illusion that you're going to go home every night. A recruiter's job is to get you in, bro. Just remember that. Marines go to sea just like the Navy does. The Marines are a part of the Navy if you get down to it.
Snook, I apologize if that came out wrong. Yes, the Army eats its share of shyt sandwiches but on the whole the Corps gets two servings of that shyt sandwich.
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Post by Anthony Snook on Sept 30, 2009 14:04:39 GMT -5
No need to apologize. I have learned to like $hit sandwiches  |
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Post by Hungry Hippo on Sept 30, 2009 14:43:29 GMT -5
A recruiter's job is to get you in, bro. Just remember that. That's the truth!! My Army recruiter fed me all kinds of BS. When I go to basic, 90% of what he promised vanished. Better make sure it's what you want Johnny. Remember your just an ID number to them. They told me in basic that "my freedom was gone and that civilian people are the ones with the freedom now". Not trying to change your mind on it, just want you to be somewhat aware. I commend U.S soldiers for what they do, without them we wouldn't have "OUR" freedom!! |
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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 30, 2009 19:33:24 GMT -5
So it was that bad huh Snook are you saying go marines?
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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 30, 2009 22:07:19 GMT -5
I mean I could just go to meps with the Navy an see if I get offered anything an if not take the dlab to see if I qualify for the language job. Or take the nuke one an see if i qualify or just take my physical an wait till something opens up regardless my physical will be out of the way an I'll know if I am qualified or not.
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Post by John Wilson on Sept 30, 2009 22:29:04 GMT -5
Just don't be in a rush. The folks at MEPS will probably act like this is your last chance, LOL. Time is on your side.
Just remember one thing: if the Navy is showing few openings they can't do that forever. It always slows down in the fall and winter when the kids graduating high school stop showing up in droves. It won't be long (probably weeks) before anything you want opens up. There are schools full of instructors everywhere. All those schools and instructors can't sit around idle. As they say in Nuke School, "The pipeline has to stay full."
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Post by Johnny Edwards on Sept 30, 2009 23:02:39 GMT -5
What your missing those is they are cutting the force size down they are actually turning people away right now because they don't have jobs supposedly until feb. That Army recruiter was all over me lol wanting me to meet him tomorrow. IDK though I already have all my paperwork with the navy done just gotta go to meps so im unsure.
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Post by John Wilson on Sept 30, 2009 23:49:19 GMT -5
They say the same thing to everyone, Johnny. Every year this happens. Also the Army and MC need bodies so the other branches cut back on heads. Each branch has a head count allocation. It changes month to month. That's how they manage openings. A few weeks from now it could be open season.
The term for it is 'frozen'. During the fall / winter the service schools cut back on class loads. And if there is a shortage of one rate, guess what.... that's all they offer anyone until the shortage is filled.
Tell the recruiter what you want. Tell him to call you when it's available and not before. Suddenly there will be an opening, LOL. Tell him you're going to talk to the Army recruiter because they offered you an enlistment bonus. He'll pretend you're making the biggest mistake of your life then he'll call you a week later, "Johnny, man, guess what??! There's this new offer that just came out TODAY!"
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WOW!
