What's the U.S. Army like?

I'm sorry, I had a moment of rage that had nothing to do with you that got translated with my posts...I'm dealing with some tough stuff and I'm sorry I crossed some lines.

I don't have any mental problems so it shouldnt be a problem.

And its alright. Hope your okay.

Ill be fine, thank you. I wont post it on your thread.

I would choose between military or law enforcement. Is there a police academy nearby you can go to? Id be concerned of how much schooling you can get done in the military and where youd be stationed and your job title

Most police academies require you to have a bachelor's degree to enter...

DaX: This will be a difficult post for me to write; I'm not writing it for me - this is for you.

Many people walk away from the military happy, healthy and glad they chose the path they did. Many more don't. My experience is atypical and most people don't have anything like the experience that I did but I believe it is important to know what can happen - no matter how unlikely. What I experienced, though perhaps rare, is telling because it shows the military serviceman and woman's worth to the military. Before I get into that though, let me say that after bootcamp and specialty training, I'd guess that something over 90% of servicemen and woman can take online, and in some cases, brick and mortar classes. Sailors on board ship or any member of the military in a war zone or certain remote locations cannot, but this is an exception rather than the rule.

Okay, so here's the deal: I joined the Navy at seventeen years old with the idea of getting into nursing school. My recruiter assured me that this would happen. It didn't. In fact, once in, I was ridiculed once in for being so naive as to think that they were going to send me to school just because the recruiter told me that they would.

During boot camp, at a swim test, we were asked if anyone wanted to try out for the SEAL team. None of us knew what that was but after the 'best of the best' talk, twelve of us raised our hands. I was one of three that passed the swim test designed to weed folks out but as the third place person, and knowing that I didn't hold back at all, I knew I wasn't going to succeed in their next test. Next test though was an interview.

During that interview they discovered that I scored a 99% on my ASVAB (entrance test) and that I spoke fluent Russian. We were in the middle of the Cold War at the time. "You don't want to go into the SEAL's," they said, "We've got something better for you!" I ended up an enlisted translator attached to a Force Recon (Marines) team. First mission out, the corpsman (medic) was killed and two other men were seriously injured. The attending doctor when we got back credited my first aid with saving their lives and I was sent to corpsman school for further training before rejoining my team.

Six combat zones, two purple hearts - we were everywhere we weren't suppose to be. During our last mission, I was captured. I spent about nine months in a cage in the former Soviet Union. My legs are horribly scarred from that stay and I have severe nerve damage. The military declared my entire team AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) because we weren't 'officially' supposed to be where we were. So they didn't try and rescue us but let us languish there. Politics at its finest.

So, when I got back, I was given a general discharge under other than honorable conditions - the only discharge (besides a bad conduct discharge) that would be consistent with their position that we were not authorized to be where we were captured. I assure you that we were following orders. So, my general discharge did not allow me to get VA medical help for the severe injuries I suffered during my nine month stay. No GI Bill, no nothing. I served honorably but it served the military's purposes to deny me an honorable discharge and so they did. Four members of my team died in the Soviet Union and never made it back.

Will something like this happen to you? Probably not. BUT...if it serves the military's purposes to throw you under the bus, they will - without hesitation. Today, I would not choose to be in any type of relationship with someone who values my life so lightly.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

here is a link that tells you what to expect with the US military.

Entering the Military ? Today's Military

every ones experience is a bit different depending upon why they are enlisting, which career they are enlisting for, for example someone entering the military with a goal of mechanics (garage work on vehicles/ planes/ ....) will have different training process then someone who's goal is to become a soldier on the front lines vs someone who enters with the goal of being a medic.

for some people boot camp is easy and for others its hard. example someone who was great at high school PE activities like rope climbing, balancing, jungle gyms and track and field will have an easier time then those who did not excel in high school PE class.

for some people the testing process is easy and for others its hard depending upon ones education and performance anxiety with test taking.

for some people the medical exams part of the process is easy and for others its hard depending upon how well someone is at handling being naked in front of their peers, going to the doctors, showering with others of the same gender ...well you get the point.

I'm going to respond more in-depth when I get up. I'm using my kindle now and hate typing longer posts on it.

I was in the Air Force for 11 years, I took an early out after desert storm. I can give you some pros and cons from a woman's perspective working in a mechanical field.

Ill follow up in a couple hours.

Unless things have changed a LOT, that's not true. There are options to attend college classes while serving active duty. It can be challenging though and the mission does come first.

Boot camps are tough. If you don't like being told what to do, discipline, critical thinking, being awakened in the middle of the night to stand and wait, being yelled at when you think you're doing the right thing, or don't like mind games (for it's all mind games) you won't like any service branch. Check out the various branches and don't talk to any recruiters unless you're asking what the problems are by being in one of the other

On the other hand, especially the Army, as you progress you can take Army (officer) trainings to continue to advance... all good education. Once you're out, the benefits for education are magnificent. My son did 24 years career and within 4 years of being retired he earned his PhD... compliments of country because of his service.

Air Force boot camp is the easiest, but I wouldn't call it the "Holiday Inn" either.

Ok, so as I mentioned previously I was in the Air Force. I served from 1981 to 1992, and took a voluntary early out in the military cuts after Desert Storm. I was an Aerospace Ground Equipment Technician, which means I worked on generators, air conditioners, heaters, air supply, air compressors, lighting units, hydraulic units and more, all which were used to perform maintenance on Aircraft. This typically was a male dominated field.

Basic training (Air Force) is heavy physical fitness, a LOT of mind games, m-16 training, drill, classroom education on ucmj, military history etc and mind games (yes I know I repeated that) and more. If you are in good physical shape, had fairly good grades in school and can handle being called every name in the book at any given time for no reason, you can handle it.

I do know there have been some issues the last few years about tuition reimbursement due to funding issues. So you would want to look very closely at the current policies in place before you make a decision (this applies to all services).

But in general, yes you can take college classes while active duty. For the Air Force, you take them under the umbrella of, "The Community College of the Air Force" for general education classes. I'm sure you can also attend Universities in the area you are stationed too. All permanent bases (possibly not remote assignments) have a program in place. I'm sure there are online opportunities now that widen the options. Basically you sign up for a class, do some paperwork (might be online now), it's approved, you take your class. As long as you pass the class, the tuition is paid for, can't remember if the books are too. If you fail a class, you have to pay back the tuition assistance you received.

Can you get a Bachelors degree during a 4 year stint in the Air Force? Not likely. The mission comes first and deployments happen. If you can get in two classes per year, I would say you are doing good. If you aren't likely to get deployed, you could probably do more. You can however, get a good start on your degree. I didn't have a lot of luck with college classes when I was in. I did take some, but I also was subject to deployment on a moments notice (I got a two hour notification to report for deployment one time). On the other hand, my brother, who attended college for his Bachelors degree under the ROTC program (full tuition, fees, housing), and had to serve 8 years when done, did finish his Masters degree while active duty. I used my benefits after I got out to get my Bachelors Degree and also a 10 month vocational school training program for Computers. All tuition paid, no debt.

I know you mentioned Army. A friend of my daughter joined the Army National Guard during her senior year. She attended drill one weekend a month during the last part of her senior year, up until she went to basic training in July, followed by additional training. She finished that in February. She gets her college tuition paid for and starts this fall. Has to do one weekend a month and I'm certain a couple weeks each year for her guard duty, but I'm not sure for how many years. She could be subject to being called up for deployment. Considering your goals, the guard might be something you should look into as it would allow you to go to school more full time. I don't know what the limits are (Associates only? Bachelors? Beyond?) I'm sure the other services have similar programs.

Military life in general -- yes the pay sucks, but if you are single, you get a free room (Air Force dorms are generally pretty nice), free food at the chow hall, free medical, free dental. That is worth a lot. If you are married, you can get free base housing, or an allowance added to your pay for off base housing, and you get an allowance for food also. Bases are generally have quite a bit to do leisure-wise. Overseas bases are better (except remote or deployment bases) equipped that stateside bases.

A very real concern for women in the military is sexual assault. Not only does it happen, the rates are higher than in the general population and women are less likely to report it than in the civilian population. It is important to know self-defense, watch your back and hang in groups of people you trust. This is true for all branches of service.

Most of what I've written here is based on my experience a long time ago, things change. Bottom line is do your research, don't count on recruiters to give you the information, or make any promises. Recruiters has quotas, they are sales people. They want people to sign up and while some are very good, some just want to make their quotas. Count on being deployed for weeks to months. You may end up in a job that doesn't require that, but you can't count on that. If you don't think you could handle being deployed and living in make-shift bases for months at a time, don't sign up.

Good luck with your decision and do what is best for you.

I'm so sorry that happened. But I want to thank you greatly for taking the time to write all that out. It was very helpful.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to write all this!

I'm also thinking of maybe doing the Navy because of the travel

My older sister did 20 years in the Navy, including a few years on a tanker during desert storm.

Could someone please address this? I dont like to leave it hanging, and i wasnt sure how to take it.

Like maybe explain what a deployment is? Idk.

Thanks.

A deployment is when a soldier goes into a combat situation. In today's environment, most deployments are usually 6 months to a year but it can vary. It's the difference between stationed and deployment. Station simply means you are going to be placed somewhere for a period of time, usually for a year or longer.

Actually a deployment isn't necessarily a combat mission. It can also be for training and for support of recovery efforts after natural disasters or humanitarian efforts. In my time, it was primarily for training, although there were some of a different nature.

These days though, more deployments are for combat or combat support though.

We still have troops/airmen/Marines deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries. They go for 6-12 months at a time.

Your job would be determined by your ASVAB scores; score well and you'll have lots of options in different career fields. If you score poorly,you are placed in career fields that are less desirable.