what is it really like to be in the military?? (Army, reserves)

[airbucket]

I know people who's husbands are in the military and I have read a lot about it on the net, but it still seems mysterious. My husband is 35 and still thinks about enlisting, having a college degree I am told he can enter in an advanced way (?), but what I dont ever hear about is his chances of dying. I also dont understand, do you enter the military and after boot camp start training in some field? Or do you go out to the battefield first? Or neither? Many people make the military sound like a career, and if so, then who does the actual fighting? I have heard that you must relocate every few years. I have learned bit and pieces about being in the military, but dont understand all the many options there seem to exist. Thanks for info or pointing me to a reliable source of simple info!

[Woland]

First off, your husband can only join the Army at this point. The military has age cutoffs:

Active Army - 42
Army Reserves (Including National Guard) - 42
Active Air Force - 27
Air Force Reserve (including National Guard) - 34
Active Navy - 34
Naval Reserves - 39
Active Marines - 28
Marine Corps Reserve - 29
Active Duty Coast Guard - Age 27. Note: up to age 32 for those selected to attend A-school directly upon enlistment (this is mostly for prior service).
Coast Guard Reserves - Age 39.

The way it works is they will go to basic training --> school for their selected job field --> assigned to a unit. He will then go where the unit goes.

If you consider the # of troops that have been to Iraq/Afghanistan and the # of deaths, the actual chances of dieing are pretty low. That said, would you want your husband to take the chance.

Their are career men that do the fighting.

[Poncho_NM]

There have been probably hundreds of books written about military life, there are millions of variations, there are the different services which can be very different and at times be similar. Difficult to explain and every bodies stories which you hear could very well be true, maybe with some exaggeration, maybe with some bad parts removed.

If he has a college degree he may be able to enter as an officer or into an officers training program.

After basic training there is usually another school for your specific job. These can be from a few weeks to over a year.

Battlefield? You get assigned to various commands which may be in combat or not. Some jobs require more combat duty than others.

I served in the US Army from 1968 to 1990, I served less than 90 days in a combat zone. I grew up in Miami and was drafted. Yes, I turned it into a career. I retired at age of 42, started drawing my retirement pay at age 42, not a lot, but I could live on it. I then had a second career.

There are so many options that it could not be put into a simple message.

Your husband might be reaching an age where he can not enter. He needs to go talk to all the recruiters and listen to them very carefully, then perhaps do it again....


I would do it again if offered the opportunity...


Rich

[TheJagMan]

Originally Posted by airbucket

My husband is 35 and still thinks about enlisting, having a college degree I am told he can enter in an advanced way (?)

Woland answered this very good; there COULD be age waivers or “exceptions”, I’m familiar with the exact rule for all services. If he has a degree he COULD be an officer, however it’s extremely competitive in all services except the Army; this could change tomorrow. In most services, professional such as engineers, nurses or lawyers have very high odds of getting in and their basic is shorter and easier than regular officer basic. The enlisted rank scale goes from E1 to E9; A college-less person who goes enlisted starts at an E-1. If someone has credits, I think it’s 60, they start as an E-3, that could be the advance way you speak of…

Originally Posted by airbucket

I also dont understand, do you enter the military and after boot camp start training in some field? Or do you go out to the battefield first? Or neither?

As the others have pointed out, you generally go through basic first. Some services give you a little break home, guard or reserve generally send you directly to your unit and you attend for school later. In the air force, it’s not uncommon for their security forces to receive deployment order while in school.

Originally Posted by airbucket

I have heard that you must relocate every few years. I have learned bit and pieces about being in the military, but dont understand all the many options there seem to exist. Thanks for info or pointing me to a reliable source of simple info!

Expect the worst with the military. You can pick one job and could be a blanket of 25 total different jobs. You might only move a few times during a 20 year career or you might move a couple dozen.

[airbucket]

thank you all for the thoughtful responses so far. they are very informative for us.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by Poncho_NM

If he has a college degree he may be able to enter as an officer or into an officers training program.

I'd bet he is outside the age limits of any commissioning program.

[Poncho_NM]

To attend Army Officer Candidate School (OCS), you must be a U.S. Citizen and a college graduate, at least 18 years old but not older than 40. GoArmy.com > Careers & Jobs > Becoming an Officer > Officer Candidate School


Rich

[lisdol]

You might want to scan the forums at military.com as well to get some ideas. If you want info from a spouse perspective, there is the "military life, spouses, and community" forum and there are also forums for the different services and there is at least one recruiter in the forums that tries to answer questions (of course you would need to see an in-person recruiter to get specific and binding answers and options).

In the Army, the career field is called "MOS", Air Force "AFSC", not sure what the Navy, Marines, CG call them. I know about.com has a breakdown of the Air Force AFSCs and I would bet they have one for the Army as well. Your husband may wish to get an idea of what kinds of jobs are out there and what he would like before he speaks to a recruiter. My friend got talked into a job in the Navy she did not really want b/c the recruiter (and her Dad -she was 18) talked her into it b/c it sounded interesting. 3 yrs later she was allowed to cross-train, but some people are not that lucky (esp in critically-manned fields) so its always good to know what you want and stick to your guns if one decides to join.

My husband has been in for 14 yrs. He is staying in at least til 20, probably longer. I think his goal is to make E9 before he retires. He, at any point in his career, can still go to a combat zone. As he advances in rank, it is less likely b/c he will be more of a manager than an operator, but the possibility remains. How often one deploys depends on the career field manning and the actual job.

Moving - like someone else said, its really variable. We average every 3-4 yrs or so. Officers move more often in the circles dh works in.

[Crew Chief]

There's nothing like launching your jet out in a cold rain. The scream of the engines. The aroma of jet fuel. Warming your chilled hands and jacket sleeves on the aircraft's heat exchanger air. Hunkering down as the aircraft next to yours taxiis out. You may feel miserable for awile, but when you give your pilot the "thumbs up" as he taxiis out, you know it is all worthwhile... Your experience may vary...

[marmac]

CrewChief---------I was drafted into the Navy and my final 4 months were served on the line as an A-6 plane captain.

Evidently ,a crew chief in the Air Force is similar to a plane captain in the Navy.

The final salute I gave the pilot as he taxis out ( hand salute in daylight, wand salute at night ) is what I remember the most.