I’ve always felt that I’m destined to serve in the military at some point.  If I should join after I graduate from college, would I then be made to go to some kind of officer’s school or something, or could I go enlisted even with a degree?  Does being an officer require more of a commitment, and how much paperwork must they do?

What is a unit armorer?  Is it a MOS that you enlist as, or is it some kind of extension of the infantry?

How can a soldier avoid vehicles?  I can’t imagine anything worse than working on tracks all day, or hanging out at a motor pool wrenching on crap.  I hate all things mechanical, other than guns.

Is it at all possible to pick where you are stationed if you are active duty?  If not, I’d have to go guard or reserves, because I have friends and stuff that I’m not willing to leave for years at a time.

How long is a tour of duty, and how likely is a frontline soldier to die?  I can accept a high level of risk, but I hardly want to bother finishing college and getting married and crap if I’m probably going to die in combat, anyway.

Do enlistment bonuses apply to officers?  Do officers go through the same basic training as enlisted?  Are enlistment bonuses some kind of trick, or do they really give you like $10,000 for a 3-year stint in the infantry?

Quoted:
I’ve always felt that I’m destined to serve in the military at some point.  If I should join after I graduate from college, would I then be made to go to some kind of officer’s school or something, or could I go enlisted even with a degree?  Does being an officer require more of a commitment, and how much paperwork must they do?

Branch dependant. I don't think being an officer requires any more or less commitment than being an NCO. They're just different spheres of work.

You can go enlisted with a degree, you will probably enlist as an E-4. (I did)

If you're considering both college and an officer's commission, might want to consider ROTC. Probably cheaper, and you don't need to do the Basic/OCS combo.

What is a unit armorer?  Is it a MOS that you enlist as, or is it some kind of extension of the infantry?

It's an MOS, his job is the company-level repair of small arms and crew-served weapons. It's considered quite a fun school, you get to shoot everything in the Army's inventory at least once. There is an armourer per company, and I presume it's any company of any type.

How can a soldier avoid vehicles?  I can’t imagine anything worse than working on tracks all day, or hanging out at a motor pool wrenching on crap.  I hate all things mechanical, other than guns.

Well, 19K is definitely out for you then...  Go light infantry or something. Or if you want to be an armourer, you should be safe. Be warned that being an officer does not mean you don't get to pull track maintenance if you think that might get you out of it! (You will end up doing less, due to your other duties, but you are still expected to make an appearance in the motor pool from time to time)

Is it at all possible to pick where you are stationed if you are active duty?  

I believe so.

If not, I’d have to go guard or reserves, because I have friends and stuff that I’m not willing to leave for years at a time.

I've got news for you. You'll be gone for at least a year and a half! (Four month spin-up, about a year in theater, and a month-long spin-down)

How long is a tour of duty, and how likely is a frontline soldier to die?

Average for Army is one year in Iraq or Afghanistan. Probabilities of death are probably inversely proportional to how careful you are. Of course, you can always just have a really bad day regardless of how careful you are. By the way, are you particularly attached to your limbs or genitals?

I can accept a high level of risk, but I hardly want to bother finishing college and getting married and crap if I’m probably going to die in combat, anyway.

There's an optomistic viewpoint. Suggestion: If you go in expecting to die, please make sure you're not in charge of anything at the time. It would be most unfortunate if you took someone with you, and you'll make no end of paperwork hassle for the unit S-1. Admittedly, any death is a horrendous waste of all that has gone before it, but if you get killed, you won't be in a position to regret your education and wife, will you? Besides, what if.. gasp.. you survive?

Are you really sure you want to do this?

Do enlistment bonuses apply to officers?

Generally, no. Though I have heard something about such in the last month or two, so I might be out of date there. Since I signed on as an officer candidate, I did not get the $5K bonus for being a tanker as I would have done if I had signed on as a 19K.

Do officers go through the same basic training as enlisted?
Depends on the route. I did. Then I did OCS, which is kindof like Basic except you don't get by being Jones in the Third Rank. ROTC don't. West Point is its own unique animal.

Are enlistment bonuses some kind of trick, or do they really give you like $10,000 for a 3-year stint in the infantry?

If that's what they're advertising, yes. Bear in mind, however, that you are always comitting yourself for a minimum of eight years. You just may not need to show up for the last five, but they can still call you. It's called the IRR.

NTM

Quoted: How can a soldier avoid vehicles?  I can’t imagine anything worse than working on tracks all day, or hanging out at a motor pool wrenching on crap.  I hate all things mechanical, other than guns.

Given the option, I'll ride any day of the week. Walkings for the young guys.

Is it at all possible to pick where you are stationed if you are active duty?  If not, I’d have to go guard or reserves, because I have friends and stuff that I’m not willing to leave for years at a time.

Are you ready for any sort of military service? Even in the Guard you'll probably be deployed in todays world, in case you didn't notice.

How long is a tour of duty, and how likely is a frontline soldier to die?  I can accept a high level of risk, but I hardly want to bother finishing college and getting married and crap if I’m probably going to die in combat, anyway.

Maybe you should consider some desk job for the Coast Guard or Air Force?

Quoted: I’ve always felt that I’m destined to serve in the military at some point.  If I should join after I graduate from college, would I then be made to go to some kind of officer’s school or something, or could I go enlisted even with a degree?  Does being an officer require more of a commitment, and how much paperwork must they do? What is a unit armorer?  Is it a MOS that you enlist as, or is it some kind of extension of the infantry? How can a soldier avoid vehicles?  I can’t imagine anything worse than working on tracks all day, or hanging out at a motor pool wrenching on crap.  I hate all things mechanical, other than guns. Is it at all possible to pick where you are stationed if you are active duty?  If not, I’d have to go guard or reserves, because I have friends and stuff that I’m not willing to leave for years at a time. How long is a tour of duty, and how likely is a frontline soldier to die?  I can accept a high level of risk, but I hardly want to bother finishing college and getting married and crap if I’m probably going to die in combat, anyway. Do enlistment bonuses apply to officers?  Do officers go through the same basic training as enlisted?  Are enlistment bonuses some kind of trick, or do they really give you like $10,000 for a 3-year stint in the infantry?

It is often said by enlisted men that we actually "work for a living."

Officer is cool, if you like signing up for 8year stints.  If I was going to be a career military person, I would definitely be an Officer.

Of course you can go enlisted with a degree.  You'll get higher rank before/during Basic Training and whatnot, and college helps on promotion points.


Like he said^, Armorer is a school you go too.  In my unit, we have 2 people signed up for Armorer school coming up.


Avoid vehicles?  Dont be a mechanic.  Or dont be Mechanized Infantry.  We dont really do major stuff, but if the track breaks while on maneuvers, the driver and crew will be fixing it.  Check oil, hydraulic fluid, that sort of thing...


Possible, yes.  Likely?  Not really.  You can put down your top 3 choices if you go Active, but they dont have to put you there.  Army's needs.


Likely to die?  Most of the people that are dying that are Army, arent necessarily Infantry.  We have Field Artillery doing Infantry's job, escorting convoys and shit, mechanics, cooks, etc....
There are no "frontlines" in Iraq.


Yes, enlistment bonuses apply for officers.

Yes, you can get $10k for signing up.  I'm not sure how that breaks down, but if you reenlist for 6 years, you get 50% of the 15k at the start and 50% upon completion.

Depending on what you do to become an Officer, you can/will go through BT/AIT like enlisted, if you became enlisted first.
Which is what I'd STRONGLY recommend.
OCS, state or federal, is like BT/AIT all over again.

I would not join the military because some people I know that were in it say "If I knew what I know now I wouldn't join either."
 
.

This so so freakin eat up with the _________(you fill the blank in)


Jynx

Quoted: I’ve always felt that I’m destined to serve in the military at some point.  If I should join after I graduate from college, would I then be made to go to some kind of officer’s school or something, or could I go enlisted even with a degree?  Does being an officer require more of a commitment, and how much paperwork must they do?With a degree, you enter as an E-4 (E-3) for rangers.  You can go OCS right out of basic, depends on the degree and what kind of school you went to.  JUCOs with managment arts degrees don't go far.  Commitment time wise is the same for officer and enlistment,  Personal committment is much higher for junior officers (as is KIA rate) What is a unit armorer?  Is it a MOS that you enlist as, or is it some kind of extension of the infantry?   Its an additional duty, and isn't that great.  You are a handreceipt holder and can only do the level of maintenance you are authorized for.  You can go ordanance and do higher level maintenance, but then you are ordanance and never get to do cool stuff. How can a soldier avoid vehicles?  I can’t imagine anything worse than working on tracks all day, or hanging out at a motor pool wrenching on crap.  I hate all things mechanical, other than guns. Go 11 series.  Best way out of the motor hole is to be infantry and hope for light.  Nearly every MOS is mechanized to one degree or the other. Baby SF (18X) also works.  That being said, I always enjoyed the maintenance portion of Combat Engineers and someday, with 80 lbs on your back, you will curse that fucking DAT as he cruises by. Is it at all possible to pick where you are stationed if you are active duty?  If not, I’d have to go guard or reserves, because I have friends and stuff that I’m not willing to leave for years at a time. You do get to pick your first duty station (generally speaking).  If you go active, you will find your friends aren't as cool as they once were. How long is a tour of duty, and how likely is a frontline soldier to die?  I can accept a high level of risk, but I hardly want to bother finishing college and getting married and crap if I’m probably going to die in combat, anyway.You aren't going to die, and 1st term enlistments are apparantly as short as 15 months.  3 years are standard.  If you want something cool with a good bonus, a 4 year enlistment is more likely. Do enlistment bonuses apply to officers?  Do officers go through the same basic training as enlisted?  Are enlistment bonuses some kind of trick, or do they really give you like $10,000 for a 3-year stint in the infantry?Bonuses for officers are only for transition from active to guard.  Bonuses are real, though collecting them can be a bitch (occassionally).  The bonus gets the tax off the top, so they aren't as cool as they seem.  10K is a pretty low number right now.  The real bonus is the GI Bill and Montgomery College Fund.  Those are some serious cash when you get out.

Quoted: Quoted: I’ve always felt that I’m destined to serve in the military at some point.  If I should join after I graduate from college, would I then be made to go to some kind of officer’s school or something, or could I go enlisted even with a degree?  Does being an officer require more of a commitment, and how much paperwork must they do? Branch dependant. I don't think being an officer requires any more or less commitment than being an NCO. They're just different spheres of work. You can go enlisted with a degree, you will probably enlist as an E-4. (I did) If you're considering both college and an officer's commission, might want to consider ROTC. Probably cheaper, and you don't need to do the Basic/OCS combo. What is a unit armorer?  Is it a MOS that you enlist as, or is it some kind of extension of the infantry? It's an MOS, his job is the company-level repair of small arms and crew-served weapons. It's considered quite a fun school, you get to shoot everything in the Army's inventory at least once. There is an armourer per company, and I presume it's any company of any type. Not exactly correct. The unit armorer is the M-TOE position. The actual title for the MOS is Unit Supply specialist. You go to the Unit Supply Specialist Course, CMF 92Y at Ft. Lee, VA. You spend about 7 weeks learning how to be a Unit Supply Specialist and 1 Week of learning how to be an armorer. You don't fire shit at this course. All that you do in the Arms room portion of the course is learn how to disassemble and assemble everything from the M9 to a MK19 and that is no greater than skill level 1 (-10). The highest rank you can attain as a unit armorer might be SGT/E-5. Now if you want to work on small arms in-depth, you want to be a Small Arms Repairman, CMF 55 I think. They are usually at the 3rd echelon of Maintenance or higher. I believe that the school is at the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD. How can a soldier avoid vehicles?  I can’t imagine anything worse than working on tracks all day, or hanging out at a motor pool wrenching on crap.  I hate all things mechanical, other than guns. Well, 19K is definitely out for you then...  Go light infantry or something. Or if you want to be an armourer, you should be safe. Be warned that being an officer does not mean you don't get to pull track maintenance if you think that might get you out of it! (You will end up doing less, due to your other duties, but you are still expected to make an appearance in the motor pool from time to time) Is it at all possible to pick where you are stationed if you are active duty?   I believe so. If not, I’d have to go guard or reserves, because I have friends and stuff that I’m not willing to leave for years at a time. I've got news for you. You'll be gone for at least a year and a half! (Four month spin-up, about a year in theater, and a month-long spin-down) How long is a tour of duty, and how likely is a frontline soldier to die? Average for Army is one year in Iraq or Afghanistan. Probabilities of death are probably inversely proportional to how careful you are. Of course, you can always just have a really bad day regardless of how careful you are. By the way, are you particularly attached to your limbs or genitals? I can accept a high level of risk, but I hardly want to bother finishing college and getting married and crap if I’m probably going to die in combat, anyway. There's an optomistic viewpoint. Suggestion: If you go in expecting to die, please make sure you're not in charge of anything at the time. It would be most unfortunate if you took someone with you, and you'll make no end of paperwork hassle for the unit S-1. Admittedly, any death is a horrendous waste of all that has gone before it, but if you get killed, you won't be in a position to regret your education and wife, will you? Besides, what if.. gasp.. you survive? Are you really sure you want to do this? Do enlistment bonuses apply to officers? Generally, no. Though I have heard something about such in the last month or two, so I might be out of date there. Since I signed on as an officer candidate, I did not get the $5K bonus for being a tanker as I would have done if I had signed on as a 19K. Do officers go through the same basic training as enlisted? Depends on the route. I did. Then I did OCS, which is kindof like Basic except you don't get by being Jones in the Third Rank. ROTC don't. West Point is its own unique animal. Are enlistment bonuses some kind of trick, or do they really give you like $10,000 for a 3-year stint in the infantry? If that's what they're advertising, yes(before taxes). Bear in mind, however, that you are always comitting yourself for a minimum of eight years. You just may not need to show up for the last five, but they can still call you. It's called the IRR. NTM

You have all been very helpful, thanks.  No, I don't want a desk job; joining the military for me would mean some kind of combat-related job.  I'm not really interested in dying, but I can deal with the risk.  As a matter of fact, if deployed, I think I’d probably do everything in my power to avoid dying.  However, I, unlike some people, happen to realize that fighting in combat can sometimes involve dying, involuntarily.

Most people say I really shouldn’t join the military, because I’m not willing to dedicate my whole life to it, and they may be right.  That is why I’d probably join the guard.  I don’t mind serving in a war; that would probably be the main reason the military exists, what I wouldn’t wanna do is ship all over the country living on bases and all that typical military crap.  That is not for me.  I’m sort of interested in a military job where I can use my skills at both kicking ass and thinkin' to benefit both my country and myself, while still being able to have a kind of regular civilian life going on, as well.

Colesteel, you might have me there. I might have gotten confused with the ordnance position. I seem to recall somewhere at some time two weaponsmiths boasting that they got enough practise time on all the weapons that they qualify 'expert' with everything the Army has.

Damned if I can't remember where this was though. They weren't company level though, so your ordnance theory might be right.

NTM