[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Army Questions (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/13/2008 3:50:26 PM EDT
| How do I distinguish between what a recruiter says and what is actually true |
I actually had a good experience with military recruiters. The ones I dealt with were trying to get away from the nasty reputation. |
| well i was thinking about joining as an mp cuz i am apparently qualified as tells me, and it seemed like a good oppurtunity, it wasnt till later that he told me there you have to be in for 5 years to be one. and i wasnt too thrilled about that, but yeah they also offered all these signing bonues for joining like right now. and he calls me like every week with the same questions like- "are you thinking more about signing up?" and im like thinkin...yeah im just not sure yet....lol |
| no he said that i would have to commit for 5 years to be one. he was also saying based on my asvab i was eligible for a ton of jobs because i scored a 79, but apparently at their recruiting office they can only pull up 30 of the jobs, and i would have go to the place where you sign up to see all of them... |
|
First off, every contract is an 8 year contract. If you are signing a four year active duty contract, you are signing a contract for four years active and four years inactive ready reserve. Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR) essentially means you're a civilian, free to do what you want, but you can be called back to active duty at any moment. Note that you are not guranteed to go back to your old MOS (military occupational speciality, essentially your job). When enlisting, you can negotiate for what you want in your contract (i.e. airborne school, etc.). You will also choose your MOS. But just remember, there is no such as thing as guaranteed in the Army (Needs of the Army come first; same thing in the AF, Navy, and Marines). |
No, he's just trying to push you into a certain job. He knows the available MOS's. "the place" is MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and is where you actually become property of the U.S. Government. Do NOT sign anything there unless it is exactly what you want. Do NOT sign it if they tell you "we can change that, we can add this, blah blah blah". If it isn't in your contract, it might as well not exist. |
The Career Counselor is the one that draws up the contract, locking in whatever options you have such as MOS, first duty assignment, etc. Once you get this far, the recruiter is pretty much left by the wayside, unless you need him to go to bat for you concerning any waivers you might need (run-ins with the law, over or under weight, etc). Your recruiter trying to BS you like that with the MOS thing...he can only access 30 MOS's at his station...? That would've pissed me off. Mine was absolutely straight-up with me when I enlisted. |
|
if you are interested in dstance learning then dont go anything combat arms. you wont have time to do any of that shit, at least not until you make E6. this may be the case in some other jobs as well. MPs do shift work and here they dont go to the field so much so you may be able to pull it off with that. why exactly do you want to become an MP? or is it just something the recruiter is pushing on you? |
they only have access to jobs that are open at that station at that point in time. i got 4 choices when I enlisted. i could have waited for some more to open but considering the years it took me to get that far i was fixated on finding something that day. |
|
MP commitment was 5 years active when I was a recruiter. As mentioned earlier, every contract is for 8 years. If you do 5 years active, you'll have 3 years in the IRR. The recruiter doesn't have the ability to pull up every single job that is available. The recruiter does NOT sell jobs. He is supposed to sell the Army. The recruiter that sells jobs is a poor recruiter. OP, why do you want to be an MP? I am not an MP, but I think many kids have a different picture of what an MP does. |
Exactly |
|
My advice would be to get a list of MOS's you are eligible for, and then get a listed of job that has slots open. Pick your job, and dont get pushed into one because the recruiter says its awesome. They are just trying to fill shortages in MOS's. As far as being an MP there are two types. The ones that do base security stuff, and then the ones who deploy and do combat duties. So depending on the unit you get stuck in you'll either be an on base cop or you could go over to Iraq and do detainee ops. Personally unless you plan on doing this long term pick something with a skill you can use on the outside, or if you want something combat arms just have a plan. Lots of people join, get out, and then have no idea what they are going to do. Even if its combat arms you can use your GI Bill to go to college afterwards, and be sure to do some schooling while you are in. With the tempo of todays Army its hard to find oppurtunities to go to school, and your mil duties take precedence over going to school. For the majority of my enlistment I was not able to go to school. ETA: Make sure what you want is in your contract. Even if its an "automatic" bonus make sure its listed in the contract. If they "forget" to put it in there you're SOL. Getting a job with a security clearance can make it easy to get a job after your enlistment or even career. Lots of people hire people who just go out just based on them having a clearance especially if they do on base work. Lots of people in my field get jobs with General Dynamics. It also shows you are trustworthy... If you join work out prior to going to basic, and you'll be a lot better off. Even if its just getting over the initial shock of working out its better than getting there, running one run, and being sore as fuck for a few days. When I went through there was a whole fuck load of idiots that couldnt even pass the initial fitness test to go from reception to basic, and spent weeks in the PT platoon and doing kitchen duties. My recruiting station did weekly PT for an hour, and even that helped me. Prior to that the longest Id ever run was 1 mile. It will also help to go on longer walks with a pack to get your body used to the weight, and break your feet in a little bit. Study the rank structure, general orders, and basic stuff like that. Learn some basic land nav stuff, first aid, and basic stuff. During basic take care of your body, keep yourself clean and hydrated (its hard to drink too much water but very easy to drink too little). And above all else keep a positive attitude, and be just another person in the crowd. If your DS has to think what your name is towards the end you are doing a good job. If he thinks about you on his off time you're fucked. And dont be one of the weenies that finds religion and skimps out of barracks cleaning on Sundays. Keep your shit organized how they tell you to, do your laundry, and generally keep your shit squared away. Dont fall asleep during class, and use the time you have to keep yourself going. Call home when you can, write letters, and have a good time. I enjoyed basic, and had a good time because I went into it prepared, and had always wanted to join so it was natural for me. I fit in like a glove, and had an easy time. I only got dropped induvidually ONCE the entire time. There were idiots who spent hours a day getting smoked because they made themselves a target. |
the recruiters are also job counselors now. they actually pull up the jobs available at the station and discuss them with recruits. they can start a contract with an MOS on it that, pending qualification, the recruit can take to MEPS and use. |
|
hoping you are sincere. if you want to be guaranteed anything that is important to you it needs to be in your contract. the analogy of the recruiter/salesmen is not far off, so be a smart recruit/consumer and negotiate. just know that serving your country is just that, sacrifice is part of the game and i applaud you. keep us updated |
|
Let me say this.... First off, THANK YOU very much for even going as far as you have (Talking to the recruiter, taking the ASVAB and considering an MOS)  Second though, ask yourself...."Do I really want to be an MP?" I'm not a recruiter so I don't know about any "minimum" active enlistment times for given MOS's but, as someone else already mentioned, wether it's for 3yrs or 6yrs, you ARE going to be "on the hook" for 8 yrs WHATEVER MOS you choose so, if you DO decide to enlist (?), fer God's sake choose an MOS you have a passion for and NOT one that "Sounds" good for post service employment. I KNOW I'll be going against the grain here by saying this but, whatever, you'll have all sorts of educational opportunities on the tax-payers dime both while IN and AFTER you get out of the service so, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, you can literally be anything you want to be down the road. Accepting an MOS that the recruiter thinks is "Good" for you can be great or....not so great. If you had to serve for free...what would YOU want to do? I had the highest ASVAB scores in the state (Oregon) for the month I took them and always KNEW I wanted to crew tanks so, all the other "Pie-in-the-sky" offers the recruiters made me were wasted....I just wanted to go to 'Knox and be "Odd-Ball" with an M-60A1. What "turns you turgid" and "Trips your trigger" man? You have ALL the power at this point. You're comtemplating a HUGE commitment, make it worth while (And FUN) for yourself. |
Then what's the point in negotiating? If I have a signed contract with the military and they don't honor their promise to slot me into the position we agreed on in exchange for my service then what good is it to sign a contract anyway if they don't have to abide by it? |
Keep it simple. Pick a good, active combat arms job for 3 years. Deploy, return, get out, use your MGIB for school, become a cop. |
It's a lie if it's not on paper. |
i wouldnt want an MP's job when deployed. either dedicated forcepro (tower and gate guard....  ) or dealing with stinky detainees. now that i think of it, i wouldnt want their job in garrison either, issuing out tickets to peers. everyone in the military hates MPs in garrison.
|
+1 |
ive heard from a lot of sources in both civilian law enforcement and the he military that MP is not a good choice to transition to LE upon your ETS. combat arms is the way to go in that respect. something about the two mil and non-mil professions being night and day in training and doctrine. |
I'm not buying the no guarantee thing either. We had options for guaranteed duty station, MOS, Airborne school and such when I signed. I chose MOS and Airborne school. As long as you kept up your end of the contract, DA kept theirs. Duty station was pretty much needs of the Army though. Lots of cooks and such in Basic said their jobs were chosen for them CHRIS |
|
DO NOT GO ACTIVE DUTY! Trust me on this....you really, really do not want to go active duty right from the get-go. What happens if you hate your MOS and/or the Army? You are stuck living that lifestyle for the next 4+ years. If you are bent on joining the military, start with the guard/reserves first. If you absolutely love it that much, it is an easy transition to go from guard/reserves to active duty. However, if you start out active duty, you will have to finish your contract before you can go to the guard/reserves. again...DO NOT GO ACTIVE DUTY!! |
|
Does the Army still give secondary MOSs? When I was an instructor, we had a few soldiers in the classes. Some of them had a hard time understanding the material. We found out that they signed up for their guaranteed MOS and were also given a secondary. After their schooling in the primary, they were assigned to jobs in the secondary, usually for several years. By the time they were put in their primary, they had forgotten a great deal. |
BULLSHIT |
| well i looked at all the jobs that they had in the handbook thing that tells you how good the army is, and mp was really the only one that appealed to me besides "motor transport operator" aka truck driver(random) lol. but yeah not too many of them looked very appealing, especially since i didnt really understand half of them |
huh? everyone i know that went that route was extremely pissed with their decision. stuck in an E3 slot for 4-5 years, and having their units drag ass on releasing them to active duty. |
Bullshit nothing!! We just transitioned a guy to active duty. I have seen it done COUNTLESS times. Now try being on an active duty contract and deciding you want to do the rest of your time in the guard/reserves...they will just laugh in your face. |
Yes, but not like the example you used. Secondary MOSs are usually granted to people that reclass, or OJT to another MOS. |
That it's horseshit... is horseshit. Requirements for manning change all the time. This is based off of Army Human Resources Command need in each MOS, current manpower, past trends and fore-casting manpower needs. They give bonuses for each MOS based on conditions like current numbers, fore-casted losses, certain losses, MOS popularity, MOS attrition rate, applicant availability, shit like that. MP is a popular job... a lot of people find the law-enforcement field attractive, and to prevent a high turn-around rate, HRC places an enlistment requirement for time. They aren't even minor deities, some are shitbags... but most recruiters don't give recruiters the "car salesman" reputation. They need return business, the best way to stay in business is to represent themselves as best they know how. Otherwise, that branch of service gets a bad reputation and the other branches rake in all the recruits. In my experience it's school officials, the mass misinformed, people that join for the wrong reasons and those that gave themselves a bad experience in the military that talk the most shit about recruiters. |
No one will "get stuck" as an e-3...the slots can ALWAYS go up-to e-4 because it is a command given promotion and has nothing to do with state hq. And even if they were to "get stuck" at a certain rank, I would rather be dealing with that for one weekend per month than dealing with the day in / day out active duty BS. And yes, I have been in both roles. |
well ask away. what jobs do you want info on? i hear truck drivers 88M have an insane bonus right now. theres a reason for that. transportation units deploy all the time, and in theater they spend their days driving endlessly in convoys on IED infested routes and in insane heat. if you get to a BCT instead of a transpo unit then it will also be hard for you to advance with not that many slots for your MOS in the FSC. |
I say again....  Transfers from Guard/USAR are purely up to the personalities at hand. Sure, it's just a signature on a DD368  . Just because it is easy in your little corner of the world,m doesn't mean it is universal.
|
Telling him to go 88M? Yeah, be a truck driver if you want a shitty, risky job with no real skills to get you a decent job if you decide to get out. Check out any of the jobs in Military Intelligence, medical, etc. |