Reserve Enthusiast! 30 Years Old, What Will You Do?! (Army, reserves, AFR)

[Joaco]

Hey GANG,

Just join. Hoping to get great some cool answers. I'm VERY likely join the military to finally serve, get the mental itching out and milk the most out of a possible short term contract as an officer in the reserves(time in/time out after finishing contract) what branch will you chose base on these SPECIFIC interest of mine: (where can I donate/send beers here?!?!)

My Reality And Wants:
- 31 years old this June 14/2013, BBA Marketing 2.61 GPA(din't care about grades before)

- Primary objectives: [/b]*Finally* SERVE and earn O-2 to O-4 in the FASTEST earned way or maximum in less then a 6 years term AS A RESERVE officer

- Investment Priorities: permanent VA loan eligibility, GI Bill (starting/finishing MBA studies fully paid), PERMANENT healthcare benefits, gaining more leadership experience

- MOS: Intelligence Analyst, Civil Affairs Officer, Combat Systems Officer (top 3 MILITARY choices)

- Overall Ideal Preferences: more control over my duties in military and my life as a reserve officer, more travel, good civil time stability, more stable work schedule, mental demanding job, more brain and less muscle work, less combat zone possibility, best military command option in the military(from ANG or Army Reserve), more income opportunity/possibility as a reserve

Since I'll turn 31 years old on this year on June 14, I'd love to know what'll be your strategic approach if you were in my shoes with my the above objectives in mind. I spent HOURS making a full assessment based on what's best on this position with my age and how I could possibly be a best asset based on my own achievements and leadership civilian skills as of today.

So guys apart from talking to a recruiter(that is not enough in this case, can even see that coming) what would you in this case with the above goals I've to accomplish them?! Thanks again for your time and assistance here!

HOAH and GOD BLESS!

[oldsoldier1976]

First congrats on your decision to serve.
Second understand that being an officer comes with heavy responsibilities.
Third learn first to take orders before you give them.
When you do become an officer take suggestions from your Non Commissioned Officers NCO's (especially your First Sergeant). I cannot stress that enough. Too many officers become gung ho and get people killed because they didn't think something through or didn't take the experience of senior NCO's who know the soldiers better. Who know thier strengths and weaknesses. Who has had experience in many situations. Yes there are other ways to do somethings. Yes things have changed over the years. But still it is about leading when you are an officer. Earn the trust of your soldiers.

The last thing I will tell you. Never argue with your NCO in front of the soldiers. Take it aside. Discuss it. It is ultimately your decision and your NCO will accept it. He/she may not like it but they will accept it. They will work with you as much as they can and protect their soldiers. We know the job is dangerous and we might be hurt or die because of the mission. We accept it as soliders. That same feeling has to be with you as an officer.

Okay I am off my First Sergeant soap box. Carry on.

PS BTW I am 55 and a little over 4 years from retirement. Army National Guard "Go Guard"

[Joaco]

Originally Posted by golfingduo

First congrats on your decision to serve.
Second understand that being an officer comes with heavy responsibilities.
Third learn first to take orders before you give them.
When you do become an officer take suggestions from your Non Commissioned Officers NCO's (especially your First Sergeant). I cannot stress that enough. Too many officers become gung ho and get people killed because they didn't think something through or didn't take the experience of senior NCO's who know the soldiers better. Who know thier strengths and weaknesses. Who has had experience in many situations. Yes there are other ways to do somethings. Yes things have changed over the years. But still it is about leading when you are an officer. Earn the trust of your soldiers.

The last thing I will tell you. Never argue with your NCO in front of the soldiers. Take it aside. Discuss it. It is ultimately your decision and your NCO will accept it. He/she may not like it but they will accept it. They will work with you as much as they can and protect their soldiers. We know the job is dangerous and we might be hurt or die because of the mission. We accept it as soliders. That same feeling has to be with you as an officer.

Okay I am off my First Sergeant soap box. Carry on.

PS BTW I am 55 and a little over 4 years from retirement. Army National Guard "Go Guard"

Thanks so much for your advice. I can immediately see the wisdom in every single line. Thank you so very much. I'll be speaking to my recruiter on Monday, but I've doubts and question I believe a recruiter might not provide the correct answers to, so I just joined this fine forum. I'm very enthusiastic for the possible opportunity and I have sooooo many questions to keep asking. Just hoping my enthusiasm doesn't annoy anyone here as intend to ask questions before and after recruiters.

Adding to the initial post, so you guys can get a better picture of my situation. I'm usually a likable person and when I want to excel at something I do, my worries are with the short amount of time I've for doing it in the military as I really want to have a full-time civilian living without MANY or hardly ANY military interruptions once my 6 year term contract is done. By seeing the 2004 enlistings form, the Army or all of the military seem to be in control of you once you've even retired and done of such duties. Maybe everything got updated now or is way more reasonable once someone finishes there duty and contract. Just read elsewhere of fine folks re-enlisted after 12 years of an excellent service/career once being retired from the Army, that's a situation right there for me that's constantly/deeply being given thoughts as of now. The Army might just be a better fit for me, even if ANG might be simpler and even easier I could say based on my desired MOS and deployment activity.

ANG combat system officer looks great and I believe I'll do great with usual studies for scores, but it seems that not only I'll have to do hard work and volunteer as usual like civilian work, but I'll also have to be a 'professional kiss a$$'. Much reality here as that's how it works on the civilian world in many fields and shouldn't be much different in some military branches as we're all humans with feelings and emotions. Hard work and dedication for getting promoted, not relying on a great luck % for getting promoted. I just know if it's through direct commission and I am not liked by someone, my promotions can be slowed down or halt. Will like to avoid the possibility of this, if t all possible.

With so much experience in your belt 'golfingduo' (or anyone else) what do you believe will be best for someone wanting to do Reserves and get the most out of possible promotions as an Reserves officer? Is it a myth or real that being in the reserves you get promoted in the same speed as active duty, all according to MOS? Can you comment on what's even remotely possible when it comes to gaining ranks on the reserves and what kind of promotions I could possibly get 'should I get accepted as officer and pass' for a 6 year part time term?

So many questions, very thankful for your initial post

Blessings from 'La Isla Bonita'

[curtisc83]

Have you taken the ASVAB yet? If so what's your GT score? I was enlisted active duty and hear getting into OCS is very competitive these days. With your low GPA how likely is it to get a slot? In order to do the MOS's you mentioned you would need a clearance. Do you have a relatively clean background to include your credit? Also the Army values STEM majors over anything else. This is why the USMA doesn't offer BA's in English. ROTC is a different story then OCS. So you see all sorts of wacky majors from ROTC cadets then OCS. So I'm not sure if your BBA will distinguish you from being another face in the crowd or not.

I think the common misconception is anyone can be in the military. That can be true if you wanted to be a enlisted combat arms soldier like a 11B. But becomes less true in more technical MOS's. I was a 25F and the GT requirement was 110 or higher. Same GT required to become a officer. Not trying to discourage you but based off what you said I didn't see anything that stood out from anyone else. In order to lead anyone you have to be able to keep up yourself. How do you stack up APFT wise? Army is trying to downsize so all this stuff matters more so then before.

[oldsoldier1976]

Originally Posted by curtisc83

Have you taken the ASVAB yet? If so what's your GT score? I was enlisted active duty and hear getting into OCS is very competitive these days. With your low GPA how likely is it to get a slot? In order to do the MOS's you mentioned you would need a clearance. Do you have a relatively clean background to include your credit? Also the Army values STEM majors over anything else. This is why the USMA doesn't offer BA's in English. ROTC is a different story then OCS. So you see all sorts of wacky majors from ROTC cadets then OCS. So I'm not sure if your BBA will distinguish you from being another face in the crowd or not.

I think the common misconception is anyone can be in the military. That can be true if you wanted to be a enlisted combat arms soldier like a 11B. But becomes less true in more technical MOS's. I was a 25F and the GT requirement was 110 or higher. Same GT required to become a officer. Not trying to discourage you but based off what you said I didn't see anything that stood out from anyone else. In order to lead anyone you have to be able to keep up yourself. How do you stack up APFT wise? Army is trying to downsize so all this stuff matters more so then before.

curtisc makes a lot of excellent points. You have to have a GT score or 110 or better. They have to be looking for those MOS and as officers. I am not as concerned about your GPA but the other points he makes are very important. A clean police record and no credit problems are vital. Being the 11B is not the rock mentalitiy it used to be so you need to have some intelligence but you don't seem to have that as an issue. His last point is physical, can you run and do push-ups and sit-ups. That APFT is still in but they are supposed to be changing it but most locations still do the three even PT test.

Originally Posted by Joaco

Thanks so much for your advice. I can immediately see the wisdom in every single line. Thank you so very much. I'll be speaking to my recruiter on Monday, but I've doubts and question I believe a recruiter might not provide the correct answers to, so I just joined this fine forum. I'm very enthusiastic for the possible opportunity and I have sooooo many questions to keep asking. Just hoping my enthusiasm doesn't annoy anyone here as intend to ask questions before and after recruiters.

Adding to the initial post, so you guys can get a better picture of my situation. I'm usually a likable person and when I want to excel at something I do, my worries are with the short amount of time I've for doing it in the military as I really want to have a full-time civilian living without MANY or hardly ANY military interruptions once my 6 year term contract is done. By seeing the 2004 enlistings form, the Army or all of the military seem to be in control of you once you've even retired and done of such duties. Maybe everything got updated now or is way more reasonable once someone finishes there duty and contract. Just read elsewhere of fine folks re-enlisted after 12 years of an excellent service/career once being retired from the Army, that's a situation right there for me that's constantly/deeply being given thoughts as of now. The Army might just be a better fit for me, even if ANG might be simpler and even easier I could say based on my desired MOS and deployment activity.

ANG combat system officer looks great and I believe I'll do great with usual studies for scores, but it seems that not only I'll have to do hard work and volunteer as usual like civilian work, but I'll also have to be a 'professional kiss a$$'. Much reality here as that's how it works on the civilian world in many fields and shouldn't be much different in some military branches as we're all humans with feelings and emotions. Hard work and dedication for getting promoted, not relying on a great luck % for getting promoted. I just know if it's through direct commission and I am not liked by someone, my promotions can be slowed down or halt. Will like to avoid the possibility of this, if t all possible.

With so much experience in your belt 'golfingduo' (or anyone else) what do you believe will be best for someone wanting to do Reserves and get the most out of possible promotions as an Reserves officer? Is it a myth or real that being in the reserves you get promoted in the same speed as active duty, all according to MOS? Can you comment on what's even remotely possible when it comes to gaining ranks on the reserves and what kind of promotions I could possibly get 'should I get accepted as officer and pass' for a 6 year part time term?

So many questions, very thankful for your initial post

Blessings from 'La Isla Bonita'

As for being an officer in general terms it is quite political. That is not to say other aspects of life are not either but as you said you might need to kiss some a$$ particularly in staff positions.

In the reserves I have very little experience. My time was spent 8 years of active duty and 25 years of National Guard. I did 10 months of army reserve but after spending every weekend sitting around reading PS magazine and not working I had to leave it (not every unit is like that just the unit I was in). So in terms of how it is to get promoted in the reserves as officers I imagine it is much like the guard. You need to hit particular points of military schooling at the right time. You will need to get good recommendations from your superiors. Learn to write your own OER (Officer Evaluation Report) that tells your higher ups what you have done and what you are capable of accomplishing.

As curtisc says you first need to take the ASFAB tests. See where you fall on the GT score. Each of the exams give a point score as well and your highest score might not be in the field you desire. I am living example of that. I didn't want to be a mechanic but my highest score pointed to that MOS field. I joined as a radio operator many years ago. Well I had talent there all of my scores were high enough to pick any one. I now know that I would have made an awesome mechanic. It is just the way it went with me. Almost 20 years into my career and I change to be a mechanic and life just opened up for me.

[ArtyGuy]

Joaco-

Your post is a little confusing to me so forgive me if I'm not answering questions you asked.

I was in a recruiting battalion from 2003-2005 and I know some things have changed. As the operations officer, one duty I had was to sit on OCS boards as a voting board member. That said, I don't know what the rest of your packet looks like but your GPA is going to hurt you. I hope you can counter that with a strong history of employment and other areas of achievement.

Here is a question I asked every single OCS candidate- "If you're not selected for OCS, will you enlist?" The answer I received heavily influenced my narrative write up that board members send forward with nominee packets. If I were you, I'd start thinking about that question- your answer will tell you a lot about your own commitment to serving.

Reference your wanted career fields. You wouldn't be an intel analyst. You'd be a Military Intelligence (MI) Officer. I have no idea what a combat systems officer is but if I had to guess, you want to be a Signal Officer. Civil Affairs (CA) is not a basic branch. While it's mostly found in the USAR, I believe you'd have to be an MI officer, as an example, before you could transition to a CA unit. CA is what we call a functional branch.

[Joaco]

Originally Posted by curtisc83

Have you taken the ASVAB yet? If so what's your GT score? I was enlisted active duty and hear getting into OCS is very competitive these days. With your low GPA how likely is it to get a slot? In order to do the MOS's you mentioned you would need a clearance. Do you have a relatively clean background to include your credit? Also the Army values STEM majors over anything else. This is why the USMA doesn't offer BA's in English. ROTC is a different story then OCS. So you see all sorts of wacky majors from ROTC cadets then OCS. So I'm not sure if your BBA will distinguish you from being another face in the crowd or not.

I think the common misconception is anyone can be in the military. That can be true if you wanted to be a enlisted combat arms soldier like a 11B. But becomes less true in more technical MOS's. I was a 25F and the GT requirement was 110 or higher. Same GT required to become a officer. Not trying to discourage you but based off what you said I didn't see anything that stood out from anyone else. In order to lead anyone you have to be able to keep up yourself. How do you stack up APFT wise? Army is trying to downsize so all this stuff matters more so then before.

About 3 years I took a pre-test ASVAB practice as the recruiter said it'd give us good ideas of were I could be, I got a 68 score in the practice test. I'm hoping my GPA won't get to be a problem as I hardly studied ANYTHING in college as it was all rum and chicks which still it is, but one of the main reasons I want to join, to get something additional done that's meaningful. That's all great and dandy, I know...

But uhh you mentioned credit I might have a problem(waiver possibility need as of my research) with traffic tickets, 5 tickets in the past 5 years. 2008 to 2012, most for stuff that din't deducted me points, total of $350 with penalties of $25 each for paying them after 30 days. Puerto Rico traffic laws are just way different then the states, for example, you can be speeding 100+ miles in an urban area and you'll get a traffic ticket. Driving here and traffic laws are way to flexible, which may come to be an advantage when it comes to an evaluation or possible waiver if it comes to this area.

In order to lead I've to keep up, good point and reminder mate. This actuallycould be a competitive advantage point for me. I've my own successful business right now, the military will probably notice I want to do this for the long term benefits and believe I'll be a little nuts by wanting to join with what I am currently earning, probably will vary depending the recruiter. Will see I guess.

Army trying to downsize is good I suppose. For some reason all I keep reading is that they are short on officers and saturated with enlistees, which should be good according to their current needs and my possible evaluation, reasons for joining and possibility of me getting 110 in my score for making officer, which shouldn't be a problem as I've taken similar test for self-employment jobs and passed. I guess it'll all come down to studies.

Worst case scenario, if all goes well I can end up in the simplest line of work of all for getting an 'ok' score as a Civil Affairs officer or as an unlikely e-4 in the Civil Affairs line of work, which I just confirmed today it's available and Army is currently looking for this MOS.

Which a proper question out of all this scanning of heck of a lot of fantastic answers will bring me to:

- Civil Affairs MOS = how risky is it currently or could it become in times of war and in time of peace
- 96b Intelligence Analyst MOS =(which I am confident I'll score well by studying 3 months now) = how risky it really becomes in time of war and peace
- Combat System Officer MOS = I believe this is the less risky of deployments of all, but since deployments aren't really a big of a deal form, moving in ranks and making the most of my experience is for me, what possibilities could I possibly have here in ANG moving ranks as I still believe someone has to die or move to actually get promoted locally in my country for reserves in Air National Guard

Would love to have the opportunity to train and go 'airborne' , recruiter might have different opinions here and this is yet another good questions for others as it might vary by experiences and needs I guess. Which of the 3 mentioned positions are the best ones for getting accepted for 'airborne', I believe it's the first two Civil Affairs and 96b MOS..additional ideas here, could also be

As far APFT oh yeah, possible challenge there, I am able to finally keep up with Shawn T in the "Insanity" program workout as I am starting my 3rd week tomorrow and have already lost 9 pounds, currently 228lbs but I'll have no problems making it to the required 190-195 to be healthy and pass Army requirements..so help me god!

Curtis, thanks for being realistic, writing your experience and telling me what I need to read like all the other folks here so far!

HOAH!

[Joaco]

Originally Posted by golfingduo

curtisc makes a lot of excellent points. You have to have a GT score or 110 or better. They have to be looking for those MOS and as officers. I am not as concerned about your GPA but the other points he makes are very important. A clean police record and no credit problems are vital. Being the 11B is not the rock mentalitiy it used to be so you need to have some intelligence but you don't seem to have that as an issue. His last point is physical, can you run and do push-ups and sit-ups. That APFT is still in but they are supposed to be changing it but most locations still do the three even PT test.

As for being an officer in general terms it is quite political. That is not to say other aspects of life are not either but as you said you might need to kiss some a$$ particularly in staff positions.

---------------------------------

Loving it men Nothing beats experience and added intelligence to the mix of power players at any field. Always grateful for this advances. GT score by personal experience will be about me seating my ass long long hours and about 30-45 days 5-6 hours a day for 5-6 days a week sacrifice and getting it done. That's how I did for passing my Real Estate certification license, while 62% failed, I passed. So confident is good here, but I know it's a different story in quite a few areas (mechanical scores, among a few other scoring areas) so GT with a pre-test taken already for ASVAB and having made 68 points without studying years ago when I was married, shouldn't be a problem now that I am single and STILL without kids..as always just basing my end with probabilities based on previous experiences which greatly assist dropping good conclusions.

As for APFT I am currently doing Insanity and I can finally run again 20 minutes at 5 mph-6mph which begs the new question, would this be enough. With the amount of months I've I should be in the 7mph straight for 10 minutes like when I was 18-23 which I was physically in my peak. Not much nookie and partying as I use to months ago, just straight on focus Black Mamba style and hoping not to get injured now. So I am alright, but I still need to drop 30 more pounds to really be peace of mind free. Wondering if it'll be when I sign or before I sign..this one I can ask to my recruiter as it's a simple straight up question and doesn't require much analysis..no worries for the lbs pund area. I'll make APFT, but I'll turn 31 in June 14 which still pulls my question of maximum joining/entry for officers at OCS which it says 33 years of age in site.

In the reserves I have very little experience. My time was spent 8 years of active duty and 25 years of National Guard. I did 10 months of army reserve but after spending every weekend sitting around reading PS magazine and not working I had to leave it (not every unit is like that just the unit I was in). So in terms of how it is to get promoted in the reserves as officers I imagine it is much like the guard. You need to hit particular points of military schooling at the right time. You will need to get good recommendations from your superiors. Learn to write your own OER (Officer Evaluation Report) that tells your higher ups what you have done and what you are capable of accomplishing.

As curtisc says you first need to take the ASFAB tests. See where you fall on the GT score. Each of the exams give a point score as well and your highest score might not be in the field you desire. I am living example of that. I didn't want to be a mechanic but my highest score pointed to that MOS field. I joined as a radio operator many years ago. Well I had talent there all of my scores were high enough to pick any one. I now know that I would have made an awesome mechanic. It is just the way it went with me. Almost 20 years into my career and I change to be a mechanic and life just opened up for me.

-------------------------------

If there's great possibility of me being unproductive I'd highly consider not joining, in 16 hours I can do a lot of good $ and lots of things, but since it might just be 6 years I could keep very patient just for my long term healthcare and VA loan objectives to remind myself of a few, so this could pass. My worries are after 6 years and finishing my contract, how LIKELY is it to get activated 10 years from now. Read in articles of soldiers getting activated after being retired with a full civilian life. That's NOT good at all, I could expect 2 additional years or something, but being retired 12 years after and being force to serve based on what you sign on paper? I read the 2004 enlistee form pdf on Google, perhaps there are new policies to this at least from the Army's side.

I am sure the mechanic area must have been one heck of a fun experience, definitely little to no need to call up someone to fix what may seem to be simple home leaks or issues..you just do it yourself..oh yeah! Saves good $$ and I bet you can work anywhere in that specialization.

The worst thing that could happen is me not getting in because of tickets, which I believe shouldn't be a problem. The next worst thing, is possibly not getting 96b or the combat officer in ANG and going with Civil Affairs position be it as an officer or enlistee. Enlistee being unlikely as right now it might JUST not be a good idea with my goals to accept e-4 right of the bat instead of taking advantage of the real posibilites comparison with my good current full time civilian 8-12 hours a day work as a self-employed business dude and as a publicist.

I'm wondering which of this positions at time of deployment or activation from reserves will be the riskiest one overall and the one that you need to use your brain the most for at least staying out of IEDs:

Civil Affairs MOS
96b Intelligence Analyst MOS

Not so worries on IEDs or getting killed, but thinking of all goes wrong with my scores Civil Affairs will be the most mediocre score I get and the one I could end up as it's available, so just wondering the rewards on the field vs the risk involved for the above two positions. Combat System Officer is one of my best choices, but being on airplane won't have as many risks (I believe) as the above MOS.

Appreciate the Sunday pre-BBQ responses amigo. You have one heck of a career.

[Joaco]

Originally Posted by ArtyGuy

Joaco-

Your post is a little confusing to me so forgive me if I'm not answering questions you asked.

I was in a recruiting battalion from 2003-2005 and I know some things have changed. As the operations officer, one duty I had was to sit on OCS boards as a voting board member. That said, I don't know what the rest of your packet looks like but your GPA is going to hurt you. I hope you can counter that with a strong history of employment and other areas of achievement.

Here is a question I asked every single OCS candidate- "If you're not selected for OCS, will you enlist?" The answer I received heavily influenced my narrative write up that board members send forward with nominee packets. If I were you, I'd start thinking about that question- your answer will tell you a lot about your own commitment to serving.

Reference your wanted career fields. You wouldn't be an intel analyst. You'd be a Military Intelligence (MI) Officer. I have no idea what a combat systems officer is but if I had to guess, you want to be a Signal Officer. Civil Affairs (CA) is not a basic branch. While it's mostly found in the USAR, I believe you'd have to be an MI officer, as an example, before you could transition to a CA unit. CA is what we call a functional branch.

Appreciate the heads up points here, good ones as I know most recruiters won't come close to this level of edifying points and beneficial suggestions for my end. If there are still a lot of voting board members the question will now be how bad will having 5 traffic tickets in 5 years total($350 or so I strongly remember being the total) and what will it look to them being a successful $50-$60k net income per year civilian 30-31 years old dude looks like at the moment of having to make a decision for my packet. Mmm

As far employments, reality as always, regular civilian part-time jobs and full-time jobs varying from getting hands dirty with food to regular entry bank jobs until 2010 when I took charge of my life by being self-employed.

Here is a question I asked every single OCS candidate- "If you're not selected for OCS, will you enlist?"

Good one indeed, still depends as I don't have all the answers for getting my primary objectives met which are getting VA Loan eligibility, getting PERMANENT veterans healthcare free healthcare or at very affordable fees and getting the 'HOAH' experience that keeps itching for me. As a self-employed I'd love to have free healthcare to cover all my possible issues in the future and hopefully get free healthcare or greatly discount for healthcare insurance for my immediate love ones when I decide to finally have a family which could very likely be between 35-37 years of age. Already had a 6 years relationship, good one, and that's enough for me for a little while..I guess I earned this possible opportunity now.

If I don't make OCS, also worst case scenario, REALISTICALLY, I really want to serve. It's just an honoring itch I really have. However, real world reality as always and speaking my mind as I should in this case, how much of a 'professional' kiss a$$ will I PROBABLY have to be to a % (I just hate luck ) and for the part that really should matter for make it as an officer, how many points will I've to make(if it'll be about points here) for to make direct commission as an enlistee Arty?

Reference your wanted career fields. You wouldn't be an intel analyst. You'd be a Military Intelligence (MI) Officer. I have no idea what a combat systems officer is but if I had to guess, you want to be a Signal Officer. Civil Affairs (CA) is not a basic branch. While it's mostly found in the USAR, I believe you'd have to be an MI officer, as an example, before you could transition to a CA unit. CA is what we call a functional branch.

96B seems the afrodisiac MOS for me, but thinking worst case scenario, Civil Affairs (38) MOS is available for reserve officers only and 38b Civil Affairs Specialist is available for both active duty and reserve enlistees. Both available right now as of today's diligence and not making the scores for those is just unlikely for my end as I study for weeks and months when it comes to certification if 96b goes bye-bye for my end. Position 37 as a psychological operation officer is fantastic also, but I am just unaware of the rewards also. Just hoping serving brings a good balance with rewards you know.

From all the below positions, which ones are the riskiest ones is one of my big questions now..

Combat System Officer (this is Air National Guard) position, they're also here in Puerto Rico.
96B Intelligence Analyst - I believe I can make it here if available, my traffic tickets can be waived and I can surely pass my physical
Civil Affairs 38 or 38b - ground unit that's supposed to serve in peace times, but I highly doubt this
Psychological Operations - similar to 38 office MOS

All the healthcare benefits + long term potential benefits are good for me, coupled with $300-$500 per month for working two days on average every 30 days is acceptable and well balanced for me when it comes to serve and reward. Again, I am 30 soon 31 on June 14 with a $good$ self-employed career 2 years as a civilian for those of you looking to post and drop possible writing conclusions and assist. $300-$500 per month is acceptable and the long term objectives really makes it a go for me now that I am single.

Continued worries, not making officer, can I actually get the long term benefits and acceptable $300-$500 per month for 16 hours or more of my time Saturday's and Sunday's. I'll be losing money and lots more of that if I go below $300 right now for two days, but I could manage a little lower if I am almost sure I can get higher rank promotions and be productive as a reserve + get the benefits. Lots to conclude I guess.

SO MANY reasons this forums should continue to exist, a recruiter can't make up for it 100% in most cases!

Thanks for your experienced input, it's so worth it to!

[ArtyGuy]

Just an observation-- you're far too interested in avoiding risky/combat related fields. The US military defends the country. If you're not willing to sacrifice your life in defense of our nation, you need to reconsider your motives for joining. You should pursue branches that interest you but using risk aversion as the entry argument for your decision making process is, in my opinion, the wrong approach.