Has anyone here been/is in the Army? I'm researching whether or not I want to join. I'm 30 years old, 3 kids, single...

Has anyone here been/is in the Army? I'm researching whether or not I want to join. I'm 30 years old, 3 kids, single. Just lost my job but I’ve been thinking about this long before. My last job just instilled a sense of fear in me that this is all there is to life. I have a BS that is basically useless and thinking about going back to school or the Army.

Reading their web page makes me wonder if it is as great as they say. I hear a lot of good stories and a lot of bad. But so far, the pros and cons, I think getting up early, having an uncontrollable schedule, lack of sleep, and possibly doing more work-out than my body could handle is my only real worry. I’m not in shape and have a few health issues. But you wouldn’t know it unless I told you.

So here are some questions:

1. What kind of sleep schedule am I looking at?

2. Is there some a fitness and mental test I can take to determine if I'm capable of going through with this decision? How about a test to determine what my starting pay would be if I got a chosen job? Or at the least, what can I do to my current lifestyle to mimic that of the Army during training and after training?

3. Can I choose to be stationed in Japan or Taiwan?

Other urls found in this thread:

airforce.com/careers/pay-and-benefits
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

4. What kind of days off are you looking at each month? Like weekends? 1 Day off? Always working as long as you are there? How much free/down time? What do you do/allowed to do? Internet? Weights? Socializing off base? A friend of mine got a track car built on base, so he claims, and participated in races. From what I've heard, this is bullshit and not allowed. But then again, he did show me pictures of his car. Another friend became incredibly depressed and tried to kill himself. They moved him off base afterwards but he kept serving out his remaining 2 years. He feels better now that he is out, but feels he accomplished something at the same time.

5. What can I REALLY expect for my first couple of weeks, first couple of months, and first year? I'd like to learn some sort of technical skill that will make me big money once my serving is over. Right now, I'm great with a camera. Won awards, etc.

6. Do I go right to Iraq? Friend of mine said he wanted to go to Germany or something and they just sent him to Iraq.

7. Money, how much can I expect to make while serving 2-4 years? How much can I get afterwards even if I’m no longer serving? My friend who almost killed himself makes something like $1800 a month now that he is no longer in service. But, he is in a medical field of work, and I’m not sure if this is part of a reserve program or if he is officially out. Money isn’t a huge issue, but I will most likely have to pay child support while I’m in so it is a little bit of a concern. Especially since I want to put my kids in a better school while I’m in service.

8. And lastly, are there any questions I should be asking that I'm not?

Feel free to ask me questions I can respond to in order to help provide me a better answer.

If you're 30 and thinking of joining the army, at this point you might as well kill yourself.

K, we got that out of our system. Now do we have any real advice?

Your too old to join now. Should just go back to school. GET A TRADE!

According to their site I can be 35-45 years old.

You could go officer with a bs, though I am unsure if your age would be a problemon for officer, won't be for enlisted. Honestly, go Airforce. Easier job, better Living conditions, better pay. Every rank makes equal base pay equal to that of an equal rank of another branch, but there are different benifits pay wise. ~5 years Army

At 30 youre better off just doing what youve been doing, honestly.

I'll take a look at Airforce, thanks.

I've never been in the army, but I tutored this guy once who told me joining the army was the biggest mistake of his life.

All my friends who went into the military chose chair force.

I will never be able to retire with what I've been doing. Even if I found a good job with a raise each year, I still won't retire till well after 90. I'm also genuinely afraid of going back to another 9-5 cubicle job working for some CEO prick who is running the company into the ground. I know I could do so much better with my life. I just don't see doing the same crap every day is a valid option anymore.

>Reading their web page
>this propaganda seems fine to me

>Says his BS is useless
>Wants to go back to school for another BS

Nigger, you don't learn well, do ya?

My advice is to jump off a fucking bridge.

Youre better off joining a Trade.
Most apprenticeships are 3-5 years long depending on Trade.
Most apprentice pay out here in Ca is 18-22/hour plus 401k and healthcare

>I will never be able to retire
>2057
>retiring

Oh and after 25 years in you can Retire.
For us Laborers its 25 years.
Ive got a few Uncles that retired in their late 40s.

Its not easy or exciting work, and you'de have to work till youre 50 to get a decent pension. If thats okay with you, go for it.

Hey bro, not American, but I think you need to be aware that the military is NOT something you do for the $$.

Many countries militarys are paid fairly low, and America especially is paid shit (or so the story goes).

If you are really keen but have commitments (eg your kids, certain area you want/need to be stationed etc), why not look into the National Guard?

If its anything like Australia's Reserves you cop shit for "chocolate soldier", but you still get that experience AND can stick to your commitments and priorities (eg YOUR KIDS).

Just my 2 cents bro, best of luck with the decision.

If you're worried about a sleep schedule, you're not /fit/ enough to be in the army

Being 30 you are nearly at the cut off age and with that many dependents as a single father that might disqualify you.

Having a family alone could disqualify you really.

Join the marines, they got da nudes :')

I'd say try and do the air force or navy as an officer. I'm almost done with my 4 year contract and I'm making about 3
45k a year now. If you've been mostly sedentary your whole life you'll have problems. You could do it but you might get hurt.

>Many countries militarys are paid fairly low, and America especially is paid shit
>(or so the story goes).

The story? You know you can look up graphs that show exactly what you get paid for at each rank in the military (excluding bonus pay)

Officers in the Air Force, for example, can be making over 70,000 per year, not including housing allowances, food, healthcare, and so on. Not to mention they start with like 30(?) days paid time off per year.

If you add up all of the benefits, after 15 years in the Air Force, if you add in the money you're saving from the benefits, you could be making six figures doing more or less the same shit you were doing when you first joined for 35k a year.

Here's a thing, base pay in the military in based off of your rank plus your time in service, the Air Force even has a neat little tool that calculates it for you on their website:

airforce.com/careers/pay-and-benefits

Alright bro 'The highest paid members of the military get paid quite well'. This is true. This is also irrelevant.

>the highest paid members of the military

This is like the average for officers. If you've been in the air force for 10-15 years and you're not at least a Captain, there's something wrong, and the thing is the overwhelming majority of Captains eventually get promoted to Major, netting you your juicy 90k/year, then you can retire with full pension, which is 50% of your base pay for the rest of your life.

good luck being government meat

My father was in army for 12 years. Trust me it is hell,you wont see your kids very often,job is extremly hard . I think also that you are too old for army to join but idk.
1. Very very bad schedule
2. Yes there is but you cant mimic it trust me. Test are more about how much stress can you handle than how much pushups can you do etc.
3. I think not but i am not sure.

I realize this, but assuming hes gonna be an officer alone if kinda getting his hopes up. Best I can tell is that those guys go to military school exclusively for that shit or else have some kind of special education.

To add onto this, if OP joined the air force within the next two years as an officer he could ostensibly retire at around 50-55 making around 80-100k a year and get a 40-50k pension to live out the rest of his days

>mfw discussions about joining the military are largly financial and not about the probability of getting shot or serving your country

I did my time in the marine corps back when that meant something. You millennial trash make me regret my service.

who over the age of 17 honestly cares about that though? We have mortgages and shit to think about.

False. In the US military there's four ways to become an Officer.

1. Go through ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) which is basically a class you take in College for 2-4 years, doing the Officer equivalent of Basic Training between your 2nd and 3rd year, at the end of which you commission as an officer

2. You simply apply to the Air Force after getting your degree as long as you fit within basic physical and age guidelines, you interview for it like a real job, and get sent off to Officer Training School.

3. Enlist and work toward becoming an officer via the same

4. Go to the air force academy

OP is too old for options 1(?) or 4, but ostensibly could go through Options 2 or 3 without too much hassle.

If you think pay differs between branches, you're retarded. Rank regardless of branch pays the same

>Reading comprehension

What he was saying was basically you get the same pay in the air force as in any other branch for a given rank, but you DON'T GET FUCKING SHOT AT

>who under the age of 17 honestly cares about that though? We have pokemon go and shitposting on Sup Forums to think about

fixed it for ya

Alright, I'll admit that its not beyond him to do this, but surely you realize that he would probably end up in some profession that would more-or-less preclude the opportunity of him ever earning a high income?

Lol not to much work equates to 6 years of complete bullshit and getting stepped on when your superiors want something

trips cannot be denied. You have exposed my pathetic lifestyle. kudos.

you should try being poor and see if that changes your mind

Obviously you don't know shit. There are vast amounts of jobs in both te army and marines that don't put you anywhere near combat.

why dont you sell drugs, no age restriction, taxes etc.

There's always people retiring out of the military, therefore, as long as you do your job well enough to be noticed by superiors, you shouldn't have any issues reaching at least the rank of Major by the end of 20 years of service.

Being an officer is basically the equivalent of being a manager of a store, you can be the equivalent of a store manager in charge of a relatively small group of guys at the lower end, and as you climb the ranks you're in charge of progressively larger groups of people or areas. (Oversimplifying it, but it's the general idea)

Funny enough if what my dad said was true, there's just as much corporate-style brownnosing in the military, too. So you don't get to miss out on that!

If you're a single father with 3 dependents, no branch will pick you up. You cannot go active duty and be a single parent at the same time unless you relenquish your custodial rights or marry.

There's even more of those in the Air Force, and like the guy said, general quality of life is better, and training is easier, all for the same pay :^)

as a brand new butter bar fag (2nd LT) in the CA National Guard I'd recommend going into the Air force or Navy as an officer, no point in enlisting with a degree, what is your BS in?

I know I wont change your opinion, but for most people, being an officer is far beyond what we can expect in the military. It isnt even about the aptitude test, theres something else that most people dont have. If youve found otherwise that I cant even express how lucky youve been in your career.

That's a fair statement, though I like to operate under the assumption that if OP really wants to change his life and retire with a decent pension before 80, he'll buckle down and get it done.

If he finds out he can't, or is worried that he might not, he needs to go in with some sort of plan B, or spend another couple of years at school getting a degree that could serve as a plan B when he gets out.

Otherwise, besides mental barriers and potentially his three kids, there should be nothing stopping him from becoming an Officer in the Air Force if he so desires.

Let me answer all these honestly for you.
1. Dont count on having a solid sleep schedule. You don't get to choose when work needs to be done and thugs always come up unexpected. You are on the job 24/7.
2. ASVAB determines what jobs you can choose from. Starting pay you dont get choose. Look at a pay chart by rank. You can go in as an E- 3 if you have a degree. E- 4 if the job you take automatically advanced on completion of raining.
3. No, you go where they need people, plain and simple. Typically highest scoring person in training may get to choose orders, but don't count on it.
4. Is ridiculously annoying to answer. It's like a normal job if you're stationed in the states. Weekends off, etc. Always can be called in to work at a moment's notice. Stationed overseas? Treated like a child no matter your age. Rank is the only thug that matters
5. First couple years, new guy, you suck. You get the shit jobs. Cleaning, painting. Cleaning. Deal with it
6. You're not going to Iraq. Though that depends on what job you want. Don't go infantry. There are plenty of trade related jobs hat yu can get certified for through the military and take it with you as a civi.
7. Look at a military pay chart.
8. It's not a physical game, it's a mental one. Don't take all the "worst decision I've ever made" talk from the kids that did 4 years and got out.

unless his officer recruiting officer is a retard

Typed his on my phone real quick. Didn't spell check and for some reason things became thugs...

>Checked

This isnt meFor some reason it bothers me to think you would make that mistake

Checked back

Navy here.
You're old and single with dependa's, you're already disqualified for enlisting.
1. Little to none. You'll be lucky to get more than 4 hours on average a night.
2. Look up the fitness regulations, aim for the highest score in your age bracket. Your base pay will be shit, the highest rank you can pushbutton to from basic is E3, and that's for the best and brightest. Your job will be determined by your ASVAB score and where the army needs you.
3. You can request it, but you're going to the middle east where they want you. Get fucked.
4. Free time is a commodity, do with it what you will and appreciate what little you get.
5. Nothing you did as a civvie before the service matters and your life will be shit until you are out. Get fucked.
6. You will most likely go to Iraq. Get fucked.
7. You will make less than minimum wage unless you are a lifer, 20+ years. The other benifits are okay though.

>isnt me
>some reason

Obvious E- 3 or below here.
Shit no rank, don't listen to him.

This. Also don't join the army if you're really REALLY opposed to the idea of spending your weekends partying in the desert surrounded by mudslime shitskins

Honestly OP. The military can be really helpful. And there are plenty of jobs way better than that you typically hear about. Go be a aircraft mechanic, an air traffic controller, a steam turbine specialists. Something hat will help you out after the military.
Do your research first. This is not the place to ask people about a decision that will potentially change your life.

Satan must be obeyed

MM1, E6. Get fucked.

Making bad decisions isn't just for kids, silly rabbit.

But yeah, pretty much what this guy has said. Be prepared to suck some major cock if you want to go anywhere though. From my experience, most people that have worked decent jobs before the army (instead of going in straight out of school) tend to fucking hate it because that whole trust and respect for your coworkers ethic is no where to be found.
It's perfectly possible to earn the respect and loyalty of your subordinates without expecting them to prostrate themselves before you.
Personally, from my experience, the only signaliers that are of a rank above e5 are typically reclasses, since most signal soldiers are smart enough to gtfo after a few years.

Liar. Go back to cleaning the fucking deck drains. Shove your foxtail up your ass faggot.

It depends what most you choice. Some are incredibly physically easy and your degree will be helpful to you. Look into some jag paralegal or finance. If not try anything medical that not a combat medic. Aviation is good too, just don't be an actual maintainer, pick something like bench testing avionics. Don't pick any combat arms.

Says the kid who doesn't have his warfare pin. Fuck yourself, nub.

True. But its peoples bad decisions that get everyone treated like kids.

I agree with just joining the Airforce. Joining with a BS will put you in a higher rank to start off, and if being around later on for your kids is a thought in your mind then Airforce is probably the safest bet without joining the TardGuard and being a joke.

You're probably wearing that criminal warfare badge right now, huh

In the army currently.
Stationed in Korea currently.
Joined when i was 18. Youngest one in basic training. Currently 19
Youngest person in my platoon at the moment.
In Area 1 of Korea. E-3 make almost 1k every 1st and 15th
Pretty fucking easy but thats because i have it easy. Mos is in the 91 series mos not telling the specific job.
Army is a good organization but the way to get promoted is just plain retarded. They value how many targets you can hit out of 40 when shooting way way way too much. I wish i knew the promotion system before i joined cause it litteraly puts people who can shoot well, have a high physical fitness test score, and other shit get promoted faster. You can have shity person be good at all that get promoted faster than a hardworking person who has health problems. I dont suck at any of those by the way. Im just giving you insight.

Strategic deterrence and dolphins, nigger.
Not that you skimmerfags know what a real warfare pin is.

Dude don't join the Army. If you've got a degree, become an officer in the Navy. Literally all they do is chill, and they make close to six figures starting off, especially with BAH. You might not go to Germany, but you'd probably be somewhere like Japan, San Diego, Washington State, Virginia or Florida.
I've worked with all branches and to be honest, the Air Force has the best standard of living (that's if you don't want to live in the middle of North Dakota). The Navy is the best branch to join, I guarantee it.

Source: I've been in the navy for four years. I plan or adding on to my contract too.

>Literally all they do is chill, and they make close to six figures starting off

If close to six figures is like, 35k not including benefits

Yupp! Pulling cq right now. sweeping mopping and picking up the trash in the parking lot every hour on the hour. Its sucks but I joined out of high school cause idk what to do with life but now I do. College get a nursing degree then reenlist for Physician assistant school or just do it on my own

Don't ever fall for the nuke meme. Those fuckers are miserable.

Again, whatever there recruiter tells you, don't become enlisted. You've got a degree, BECOME AN OFFICER.

>17
you called it. All these guys are full of shit

E- 3 IN Korea only making 1k a check? What's you're guys cola? When I was in Japan as an E- 3 i was making what an E- 5 stateside makes

I know They've got like the highest suicide rate. I'm in Public affairs/ media. Despite what most people think, it's not a cake job, but I fucking love it dude.

Actually shipping out soon (can't give the date for OpSec reasons).

As far as sleep schedule, be prepared to wake up at 0400 and go to bed around 2100

2 is a long ass question:
They wont send you if you aren't prepared (let me just put it like that)

Your pay is determined by your rank. Which would probably be E1 unless you have college under your belt.

You actually pick your job up at the MEPs station after taking a test to make sure you don't eat paste. (It's multiple choice so now worries on that front)

I'd say start working out now, get use to running (a fucking lot). At get use to not sleeping for a few days at a time because basic is gonna be shitty (especially if you get Benning)

3. Depends on your job. The army will usually send you where they need you.

4. For the most part, you'll have weekends "off" unless you have some kind of duty or shift. No one gives a shit what you do when you're off. Just don't do drugs or anything fucking stupid or illegal.

tl;dr of the first couple months: you're gonna have a bad time. once you get to AIT (job training) it usually isn't too bad.

as far as jobs go, since you said you where good with cameras look into COMBAT DOCUMENTATION / PRODUCTION SPECIALIST (25V) or CIVIL AFFAIRS SPECIALIST (38B). With the latter of the two, you'll most likely get picked up by an alphabet soup agency.

6. Depends on where the army needs you. For me being a crypto guy, I'll probably never leave the states, so it's dependent on your job.

7. I'd say just look up the paycharts by rank. They're easy to find. And as far as civilian sector pay, it depends on your job.

8. Ask yourself why you're joining, you have to have a reason to stay motivated. Without motivation you wont make it.

>whatever the recruiter tells you

Literally don't take anything that the recruiter tells you at face value, assume that everything is a lie to get you to sign that paper. Get everything in writing, read everything you sign 100%, and get everything verified from a third party before agreeing to shit.

These guys are worse than used car salesmen, they get paid for getting you to sign your life away, make sure that they're not fingering your ass in the process.

Nukes are always the smelly fucks who dont shower and play yugioh on the mess decks. God I hated them when I was in.

I joined the Navy 2 years ago at 26 years old

I'm a physical therapist so didn't have to enlist, was a direct commission - went to a less intense OCS, called ODS - geared towards healthcare and JAG officers

Pros
>steady predictable income
>travel
>housing provided, or supplemented to your income


Cons
>highly political work environment
>military healthcare is not user friendly
>paperwork filled out for essentially everything, and half the time they lose your paperwork
>pace of your life is on their terms, there was a problem with my direct deposit for 3 months after being stationed at San Diego, I wasn't being paid during those times and it took a while to correct. Finally got paid 5 months in for all my lost pay
>vacations are not as "free" as they make it seem, you apply for a time slot, this is subject to being changed on Navy terms, or cut short on their terms
>the quickest route from A to B is just that, going A to B. However, in military logistics the quickest route is A to Z then back to B (this applies to paperwork, healthcare, all types of processing)

It's not bad on the brass side of things. If you're a low enlisted personnel then life is shit. I've literally seen dozens of times where a dick senior enlisted would just walk up to newly enlisted that were casually walking on base and they made them drop and do push-ups and shit. If you're 30 and you're enlisting, you're not going to have a good time taking orders from 21 year old immature kids who will give you busy work just for the sake of fucking with you.

MM, I fix valves and pumps when they're broke dick and stand watch otherwise. I just have to be strong, know how to put a tool to a component and know how to do a proper tagout. Shit's cake.

We had a furry on our boat, made the faggot tap out.

Currently in the Army, didn't read your whole post but I'll answer the first couple questions. Can you do 15 push ups, 20 sit ups, and run a 10 minute mile? If so, they can get you the rest of the way. Also about the Japan thing, when you finish basic training, they have you write down your 5 prefered places to be stationed. Everybody writes Hawaii, Germany, Japan. Most get stuck in Texas. It's all up to chance and what your MOS is (and, what MOSs the stations are currently looking for).

Retards never have a good time anywhere. This is not a good example.

Bravo Zulu shipmate

This guy right here.

ANY PAPERWORK THAT YOU MUST TURN IN SHOULD NOT BE THE ORIGINAL IF YOU CAN HELP IT. And original or not ALWAYS HAVE EXTRAS. You paperwork WILL be lost. Frequently.

Not cake my asshole.
Media goons are the happiest go luckiest faggots on the ship. Sitting in their fuckig A.C. all day. Computer access whenever.
Anytime some media day came into our shop, we'd always kick em out. No one that really works had any respect for media people. AND YOU BASTARDS TOOK SUDOKU OUT OF THE SHIP PAPER!

There are ways to find postings that are actually eligible for any given mos. the problem is that most people don't know about it and instead give vague posting desires. If you do their job for them they are typically more inclined to send you to the open positions you've found.

Do you want to watch all your mates die?

Face death everyday you step outside to take a shit?Start a patrol knowing that the real danger could be under foot and you will likely die without seeing an enemy?

Fuck yeah,you want to feel like a big man.Shooting people and shit.

Take a look at yourself in the mirror and grow da fuck up!

>implying that everyone in the military shoots people, or even goes on foot patrols
>being this retarded

Not even one percent of people who join combat trades even get the pleasure of killing anyone. Isnt that disappointing?

Nigga,you don't even know what i've been through.

Lurking beta bitch

nigga ill fucking fight you shut your bitchass up and get to steppin

>1.
Depends entirely on your mos, what they have you doing and if you're talking boot/other training schools like jump or active. My boot experience was get up at 4:30 doing pts/training until lunch, run 4-5 miles, more pt/training etc. Some mos you get standard 9-5, some you're doing shit all day if they need you.

>2...
All pt and pay grade info is right there on their website last I checked, if not plenty of other places have it. Really comes down to pushup/pullup/situp / 2 mins and a 2-3 mile run but that's not all you're gonna be doing. Unless you're aiming for sf which you probably won't get into at your age just aim for 10-15% higher than the minimum so you don't look like you just don't give a fuck

You're gonna get paid absolute dog shit until you hit E4 or so, become a high demand pog or get other pay bonuses, you need to talk to a recuiter to see whay you're eligible for.

>3.
You get sent where they need you but afaik you can still put your preference. If you put 11b you will 100% get infantry but it may not be 11b. Same applies to other mos types like engineers, radio operators or whatever. If you don't want to see combat choose a low risk mos.

>4.
Again depends on mos and where you are. I don't know much about pog schedules but infantry shifts. You're assigned your tasks like a post, patrol or whatever and then if they absolutely need you for something after you're going. Doesn't happen all that often though, again speak to a recruiter. Bombaconda for example had an olympic/indoor swimming pool, movie theater, fast food chains and all that shit. You'll have free time and I'm guessing that's amplified if you're a pog so don't even worry.

>5.
Can't speak for pogs but for me it went boot>jump>deployment>sit around doing nothing all day. If you want valuable skills then see what's available and especially check the high demand positions. I'm content with security for the rest of my life so I never bothered with that. will cont

My specialty is not being seen.I'd have you before you even heard my footsteps

My specialty is hiding dicks in my ass, so if you came behind me, I'd have you covered in dicks before you knew what happened