How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I have 12 years in the USMC. Current MOS 8411 Recruiter had much "cooler" jobs but I'm way too old now and the body hurts way too much.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Hooah, lieutenant in the Army. Currently at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Going back to my unit after I finish my course out here in two and a half weeks.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

thank you.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I'm not a morning person.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I used to jump out of cold smelly crappy airplanes and rappel out of cool heliocopters [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

C130 going down the strip,
Airborne Daddy gonna take a little trip...

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Me. I wish I had never left.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

6 yrs in th Airforce, got kicked out cause of medical. It was a great experince that i regret none of. Most people dont consider the AirForce "military"

i was a c130 crew cheif

btw,
thanks for serving

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Petty Officer in US Navy before some of you were born.

Ever heard the expression "Spending money like drunken sailor"? That was me in port.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

13 years in the USAF. 5 in Supply, the other 8 in the JAG Department. A life full up ups and downs, but it helped me get to where I am today, and saw some pretty damn cool places.

Thanks to all who've served, wherever you are.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

6 years in the Army National Guard, Sergeant, deployed to Kosovo in 2003 and Louisiana in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.

11B - Infantry

Received an Army Commendation Medal for being selected as the Soldier of the Task Force while in Kosovo. I wasn't all about the Army, I just memorized about 500 answers to 500 questions, probably more.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Most people dont consider the AirForce "military"


[/ QUOTE ]
True, but its not like you were in the Coast Guard.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Most people dont consider the AirForce "military"

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't think that's true, most of the air force jokes i've heard have just come from members of other branches.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Most people dont consider the AirForce "military"


[/ QUOTE ]
True, but its not like you were in the Coast Guard.

[/ QUOTE ]

At least the CG does real, useful work. Going to war sucks but even in a war most people in the 4 "real" branches don't see combat. So what exactly does "military" mean to those who choose to not include certain branches? Someone who did nothing but train and paint rocks for 4 years > a CG rescue swimmer or an Air Force test pilot?

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

http://www.thebestlinks.com/images/t...ile_launch.jpg

14T for 4 years, still miss it 4 years later.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

question for the military guys, how old is to old to get started in a career? Ie, if I wanted to join at the age of 26, w/ the specific goal of being special forces, or black ops type stuff etc, is it too late?

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
question for the military guys, how old is to old to get started in a career? Ie, if I wanted to join at the age of 26, w/ the specific goal of being special forces, or black ops type stuff etc, is it too late?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not too old, but getting there. The max age to join SF is 30, so by the time you finished with Basic, AIT, and jump school you'd be pretty close to the cutoff. If you were determined you could definitely do it.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

2 1/2 years Army CPL. 92A currently a recruiter.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
question for the military guys, how old is to old to get started in a career? Ie, if I wanted to join at the age of 26, w/ the specific goal of being special forces, or black ops type stuff etc, is it too late?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not too old, but getting there. The max age to join SF is 30, so by the time you finished with Basic, AIT, and jump school you'd be pretty close to the cutoff. If you were determined you could definitely do it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Anyone in SF or something similar? What branch does the coolest stuff? what branch would you go into if you wanted to go into intelligence or the cia? Im 24 now, and have given myself abotu a year and a half to figure out what I want to do for teh rest of my life, and the military seems like a decent option as Im pretty once track minded if I can find something that requires a ton of work and is structured. I have a Bachelors of science degree, and will have an MBA by the tiem I decide btw, dont know how that factors.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I'm going to be a Navy Ensign in year and a few months.

So, me too!

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
question for the military guys, how old is to old to get started in a career? Ie, if I wanted to join at the age of 26, w/ the specific goal of being special forces, or black ops type stuff etc, is it too late?

[/ QUOTE ]Not if you want to go Army. Check this out for some more detailed info.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Be 150 miles off shore in 30 foot seas, knowing the only way your are getting home is with the coasties, then make dispariging remarks.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
question for the military guys, how old is to old to get started in a career? Ie, if I wanted to join at the age of 26, w/ the specific goal of being special forces, or black ops type stuff etc, is it too late?

[/ QUOTE ]

The AirForce special forces are called the tac-p i think, they seemed cool, i thought of going that way. There was also Sirs instructors, which train all the special forces in survival, that seemed the most intresting to me, but i changed my mind at the last moment...those would be 2 to look at tho

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Be 150 miles off shore in 30 foot seas, knowing the only way your are getting home is with the coasties, then make dispariging remarks.

[/ QUOTE ]

i have a friend here in college that got out of the coast guard recently. Hes a bad ass in a totally diffrent way, he has told me some crazy storiesabout jumping in 30-50ft waves and pulling out people.
But i am pretty sure hes an exception as he wanted to work and made sure he was stationed where he could help. The coast guard down here just have nice equipment....thats all i have seen them do

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Not in yet, but my tentative date for going to basic is mid may. Trying to join as a 25b, but color blindness might screw me.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
What branch does the coolest stuff?

[/ QUOTE ]

Depends what you like, and I think the job is more important than the branch. The Army is not the coolest branch but my job is cooler than almost any job in any other branch.

[ QUOTE ]
what branch would you go into if you wanted to go into intelligence or the cia?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't know too much about intel but I think every branch has intel people.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Could anyone field guids questions? I am also curious about the "elite" divisions in the different branches, and what qualifications one would need to consider going for it.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Everything you need to know about joining the Army's SF

Physical requirements are not that difficult, staying motivated enough to get through the entire process is probably the hardest part.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

2 years airborne, 8 months SF (discharge with knee injury meatbombing from 500)

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

10 months in swedish marine core as a guard, I have looked at more ids than anyone else on 2p2

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Navy is the best way to go: no matter what happens in the world, or where you are sent, you always get three hot meals and a bed.

But those white uniforms look horrible on fat guys like me (see Rip Torn at the end of "Down Periscope"), so I couldn't join the Navy.

I'm too laid back to be a Marine, so that was out. It was either Army or Air Force for me. Flying sounded cool, so I went to the AF recruiter first:

HIM: Can I help you?
ME: I'm thinking about enlisting.
HIM: (skeptical) To do what?
ME: I dunno. Fly planes, maybe?
HIM: Do you have 20/20 uncorrected?
ME: I don't think so.
HIM: Then you can't fly a plane. Do you want to fix planes?
ME: (I don't like this guy's attitude) No, I don't.
HIM: Well, if you can't fly planes, and you don't want to fix them, I can't use you.

So that's how I ended up in the army.

Somebody asked about intelligence MOS's. I put up super-high numbers on all the aptitude tests, so they steered me towards MI (military intelligence). I was a 98G (Intelligence Interceptor/Analyst). My job was sit on the DMZ, strap on some headphones, and listen to the North Koreans (this was WAY before 9/11/01, the North Koreans were the closest thing to a viable threat at the time).

After Basic Training, I was sent to the DoD's Foreign Language school in Monterey, CA, where I was given a one-year crash course in Korean. My work day was in a classroom, 7 AM to 3 PM, M-F, with about 4-6 hours of homework/studying each night. Because they want you to focus on your studies, they didn't make a big deal about making your bed perfectly ("civilian bedding authorized" means, "Just throw a comforter over it!") and crap like that.

After sweet, cushy year in beautiful Monterey, the plan was to go to Fort Huachuca in Arizona to learn about the radio equipment I'd be using...then off to DMZ land. Lucky for me, I got discharged at the end of my stay in Monterey (overweight--not "lazy and malingering", but "busting my ass and still unable to get below the max numbers for my height"). My friends who went on tell me that Korea sucked ass, big time. They each had to room with a Korean soldier, and they were told to only speak Korean whenever possible (it's the only way to learn). Major suckage. Korean is HARD. It's not Spanish or French.

I don't understand all the love for the "elite" units like Rangers and Seals. That stuff's hard. Go MI, it's easy!

"C-130 coming down the strip
Ain't no MI on that trip
MI, MI, working hard
Drinking coffee, playing cards!"

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I did 6 1/2.. got out at the end of 2003. Did it all as an Intelligence Analyst (96B)

Spent time in Wiesbaden Germany, Bosnia, Turkey, Fort Campbell and MacDill AFB when I was in.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

6 years active duty
3/187th Infantry RAKKASANS 101st Airborne

Afgan - Iraq

LEST WE FORGET

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

YTF, that starts off similar to my story, except the AF recruiter was never in her office, and the Army recruiter told me I could fly in the Army despite not having 20/20 vision and not having a college degree.

rakkasan, air assault holla.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I leave for Parris Island in a couple months.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

11B, E-5, 82nd Airborne, 2000-2004, OIF 2003.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

Air Force for 4 years, have 3 months left and headed to vegas after.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Could anyone field guids questions? I am also curious about the "elite" divisions in the different branches, and what qualifications one would need to consider going for it.

[/ QUOTE ] SF FAQs should answer all your questions and then some.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

I'm thinking about enlisting, does eyesight matter much in the Marines/Army? Eyesight is pretty bad, and I think I'm probably too young to be an ideal candidate for LASIK surgery. My foreign language skills are good.

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
3/187th Infantry RAKKASANS 101st Airborne

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you really butchered the spelling of "Arkansas" there.

(It's probably old news to you that's an anagram of Arkansas, but I was pretty impressed with myself for spotting it right away.)

Re: How many of you have been or are in the military?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
question for the military guys, how old is to old to get started in a career? Ie, if I wanted to join at the age of 26, w/ the specific goal of being special forces, or black ops type stuff etc, is it too late?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not too old, but getting there. The max age to join SF is 30, so by the time you finished with Basic, AIT, and jump school you'd be pretty close to the cutoff. If you were determined you could definitely do it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Anyone in SF or something similar? What branch does the coolest stuff? what branch would you go into if you wanted to go into intelligence or the cia? Im 24 now, and have given myself abotu a year and a half to figure out what I want to do for teh rest of my life, and the military seems like a decent option as Im pretty once track minded if I can find something that requires a ton of work and is structured. I have a Bachelors of science degree, and will have an MBA by the tiem I decide btw, dont know how that factors.

[/ QUOTE ]


You'll be okay age wise going into an OCS program, but the physical part is another question. Regardless of what a recruiter may tell you, if you haven't participated in athletic competition throughout your life - you'll never make it into the elite elements of the military.

I went the Marine (Battalion) Recon route (87-00) so I can't speak for all the Branches, but we (1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division) weren't classified as special forces or special operations forces, but we we're at least acknowledged as being special operations capable. So if you think you would like or can go that route, here's your reading list:

amazon: Generation Kill

Like I said, I can't speak for all the Branches, but you'll get the gist of the atmosphere, attitudes and climate prevalent at the tip of the U.S. spear from this book.

But in all sincerity: just because I can shoot an apple off your head at 500 yards, doesn't mean I know what apple to shoot at. We all play a part in this, and it's more of a devotion to the cause, than the role you play - A 231 year-old tradition of Honor will figure that out.

(If you're serious, PM me. I don't lie.)