In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Idsman and other military folk.
Big Sky Redneck
Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
It's getting to the time in my life where I'm either gonna get another career or retire doing what I'm doing now. The question I have is can I benifit from a hitch in the military now? As far as education, will the GED keep me from getting in? Medicaly, I have bone spurs in the base of my neck and an inflamed disk in the same are, will that keep me from getting in? If I do this I want active duty followed by reserves or guard. Who pays more for civillian trained truckers, Army or Marines? I talked to the only recruiter around here and he is worse than a door to door vaccum cleaner salesman, can't get a straight answer. I would like Marines for a couple reasons, one is so I can say I'm a Marine and get my Dad going, he's die hard Army and thinks all Marines are crazy jarheads. Plus the Marines have a better chance of combat and for some goofy reason which I cannot explain I want combat time. Now, Dad tells me that the Army would be easier for me to get what I want as far as driving the big trucks and the recruiter already told me I will need no additional training for trucks but in the Army I would have a hard time getting to combat driving their trucks. I want a big truck and an M16. As far as the money, I need enough money to pay for this house while I'm active. How much money can I make starting out in either branch and how soon can the family come with me after basic?
Can I get additional training for a different field at my age(32) that would benifit me after I leave? If I can't drive a truck in the military I want to train in something different so I can get a good job as a civillian. Also, aint sure I can handle being a grunt. I'm 5'11" 185lbs and out of shape. Been smoking since I was 15 and siting in a truck for the last 10 years.
Whataya think, should I try it? Can I get in? Will it be worth it? I do have a house that I need to pay for so will the money be there? I aint some teeny bopper wanting free colledge money, I want to do this because it has always been a dream and I feel I owe it to my Dad to do this, but I have a family and bills so if I do this I need to take care of them at the same time.
Any info, good or bad will be appreciated. I need this info from someone who will not benifit from the answers they give like the recruiter here, he will say anything to get me to sign and I'm not happy with the answers he gives.
Can I get additional training for a different field at my age(32) that would benifit me after I leave? If I can't drive a truck in the military I want to train in something different so I can get a good job as a civillian. Also, aint sure I can handle being a grunt. I'm 5'11" 185lbs and out of shape. Been smoking since I was 15 and siting in a truck for the last 10 years.
Whataya think, should I try it? Can I get in? Will it be worth it? I do have a house that I need to pay for so will the money be there? I aint some teeny bopper wanting free colledge money, I want to do this because it has always been a dream and I feel I owe it to my Dad to do this, but I have a family and bills so if I do this I need to take care of them at the same time.
Any info, good or bad will be appreciated. I need this info from someone who will not benifit from the answers they give like the recruiter here, he will say anything to get me to sign and I'm not happy with the answers he gives.
Comments
Trinity+++
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."(Proverbs 22:6)
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." -Plato
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
Not quite sure about the age limit, either 32 or 34??, as far as the health problems you stated I see this as a future problem possibly, again only IDS can answer these with honest answers. What I can tell you is that you will have problems getting in with your height and weight. If I'm not mistaken that's over the tape tests. 5'11" would give you something close to that number, however, not as much to lose as Bullzeye
As far as the pay goes, you probably won't be making nearly as much as the civilian sector, for awhile at least. Base pay for an E1 with no time in service is around $600 or so during basic, and upon completing this it skyrockets to the amazing levels near $960(exact figures????, it has been awhile). You will also be eligible for BAH (basic housing allowance) which is on a sliding scale with your pay grade. It also depends on where you are stationed. For example at Ft. Drum as a SSG I'm eligible for around $630-700 (I'm in gov quarters now), however when I get up to Anchorage the BAH jumps close to $1,400. As a cherry PVT it is going to be very hard to make ends meet paying for a house you don't even live in, although you could rent.
Anyway this is just my two cents worth,
Ferg
Some people just shouldn't be allowed to breed
As far as housing, do they put my family in a dorm type place or do we get an apartment on base?
As far as the money, it does get better with rank right? How fast can I advance ranks not being a grunt? My old man tells me that a grunt in the Army can advance fast, but motor pool/truck drivers have a hard time advancing.
He also said something about 2 active and 4 reserve, is that a good deal? Can I do 2 active in the Corp and go to reserves or is that a no no?
As far as Fed Ex goes, they went all owner operator. You HAVE to own your own truck to drive for them, except for delivery trucks. They have some very strict requirments and one late delivery can cost mucho deniro!
Where the heck is IDSMAN?
Pay gets better with rank and all that jazz. I live in a 2 bedroom, 1 and 1/2 half bath, 1 car garage on base and it's pretty nice for a redneck like me!
will the redneck.
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." -Plato
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
on other threads i have seen height and weight refered to for getting in the millitary... what are the restrictions for height and weight? i'm 6'1" 195-200 lbs would i make it on the restrictions? just courious not trying to get in.... probably to old now just about 35 yrs
thanks doc
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." -Plato
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
We only have a few special years with our children in which they desire our time, attention, and love. After that time is over, it is gone forever, and we will be the ones that desire their time, attention, and love. Make those few, short years count -
My mind is rather numb so you will have to bear with me on this one. You will be paid based on your rank. If you have some college education you may come in at a more advanced rank depending on the number of credit hours you have. If you come in as an E-1 you will clear about 1000 dollars after taxes. If you are single you will live in the barracks (read "college dorm life"). If you are married you will get base housing or will receive a housing allowance to pay for rent and you will receive an extra $225-$260/month for grocery money. The amount of the housing allowance will depend on the cost of living where you are stationed. If you have a GED you will need to score at least a 50 on the ASVAB. Last time I checked, the Army is the only service accepting people with GED's right now that have no college education behind them. If you want to drive trucks, you are set. You need to tell the recruiter that you are looking for "88M" (read eighty-eight mike). Your medical issues could be a serious hindrance to your eligibility. You will need to provide all medical documentation for your conditions but, honestly, I believe you would be disqualified from all services based on what you have stated here. However, I am not a doctor and you would be shocked at what passes medical screening and what gets screened out. The Doctor at the Sioux Falls Military Entrance Processing Station cleared a guy this year that has a rod in his back! Failure to reveal this information can result in serious consequences and would fall under the term "Fraudulent Enlistment".
If you come in as an E-1 you will have a hard time paying for the house unless you are single and have no one that is legally/morally dependent upon you for financial support. If you are single and this is the case, then you should be able to make it financially. It may not be easy at first but you can do it if you are smart with your money. If you are single, you will be living in the barracks with some very young soldiers. This could truly suck. Imagine living in freshman college dorms. When I was stationed at Fort Drum I spent most of my time over in the NCO hallway of the field artillery barracks with "13fister" and "InstrumentOfWar". Most people your age will have already attained at least the rank of E-6 and will not be allowed to "hang out" with you due to the fact that such activities would constitute fraternization. With that being said, I have seen many people come into the Army at your age and make it just fine. The Army will give you guaranteed training of choice provided you qualify with your test scores and qualify medically and an opening exists in the MOS that you are looking at. There always seem to be openings for the 88M positions. Get your medical documents together and tell the recruiter that you want to take the ASVAB. You will need a minimum score of 50 on the ASVAB. Four of the ten segments of that test comprise that score. Those areas are Arithmetic Knowledge, Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. I don't have the regulation in front of me but your score on one of the other areas of the test will determine if you are qualified for the specific job of 88M. I seriously doubt that the recruiter with whom you spoke knew what the hell he was talking about when he said that you wouldn't have to go through the training. I don't think that prior civilian experience can get you out of the 88M training but I can double-check that for you when I am at work.
I maintain a great working relationship with the other services' recruiters. As a matter of fact, someone who is disqualified by one service may be eligible to join another service. My efforts in maintaining this good working relationship has yielded some results for me. The Navy recruiter tells everyone that is disqualified from joining the navy to walk across the hall and ask for me by name. Instead of going to the next recruiter who is in line for a "walk-in" it goes to me because he asked for me by name and is considered a referral directly to me. Each service has its own role and mission. Naturally, each service claims to be the best. If you don't think you are the best then you have no business being affiliated with that service. Since money is important to you then I think that I should tell you that you will not be receiving a full paycheck while you are in basic training for the Marine Corps. Part or all of your paycheck will be going towards payment for your uniforms. The Army gives you your uniforms. You don't pay for them. You receive your full paycheck while you are in Army basic training. I do not say this to be spiteful towards the Corps. I love those guys like brothers in spite of the competition.
I'd give you my email address but I have a Melissa-type virus messing with my email right now and I don't feel safe using it until I can re-format my hard drive. Let's keep the discussion here on GB.
Edited by - idsman75 on 04/30/2002 04:30:54
Apparently an overweight 38 year old lifetime smoker and sedentary truck driver has a better chance than me.
As for the rest of his comments, I wonder who the naive and immature one is:
"Like i said I want to get close to combat without being a grunt."
"I WANT TO GO AND KICK SOME ARAB *!"
"...but I may break easy!"
"Now let's get this straight. I gotta hang out with teenie boppers?"
You sound like America personified. Give me the gun, and the glory, but dont you dare make me work for it!
A fine cigar gladdens the soul."Remember, there are only two: The Quick, and the Dead"
I hear BullDaddy calling...
Munkey
Don't worry about the bullet with your name on it, worry about the fragmentation grenade addressed 'To Occupant'.
Some people just shouldn't be allowed to breed
If I hadn't been a fister I would have loved to keep up with carpentry (used to be a framing carpenter). Some of the actual building mos' will keep you traveling, especially during the storm seasons in South America.
Edited by - instrumentofwar on 04/30/2002 15:11:45
Edited by - 7mm nut on 04/30/2002 17:11:27
I hear BullDaddy calling...
Munkey
That would have to mean Clouder is one of my personalities, which is simply impossible. I'd lose half my IQ and develop a wicked case of lumbago.
My point still stands, by the way.
If I dared to say anything half as immature as what 7mm said, I'd get torn a new a**hole and you damn well know it, monkey. I'd never live it down. But apparently he gets a free pass for some reason.
A fine cigar gladdens the soul."Remember, there are only two: The Quick, and the Dead"
Idsman, the bone spurs I have ar in the base of my neck and the only problem they give me is from time to time I get pins and needles in my left arm. I have learned to cope with it and how to move so it doesnt bother me. Do you think that will cause me problems? I can still lift and do pushups. I had the transmission out of my pickup this weekend and with a little help from the wife I all but bench pressed it back up to the engine with the transfer case still on it and I can still move around ok. And before Bullzeye or anybody else comments on that, the wife pushed the tail up while I used my legs and arms to get it to the dowells so I didnt handle all the wieght on my arms.
I never said nor implied that I was anything close to perfect. In fact, I went to the trouble of ASKING ON THIS VERY BOARD for help in dealing with one of my imperfections. And you did nothing but mock me and tried to discourage me at every possible turn.
You are an utterly arrogant and conceited man. In a way, I actually hope you DO join the Marines. They would take that RIGHT out of you.
Here, you totally skirted the point and covered it up with emotional pandering.
You could be a pauper or the President, it doesnt matter. Everything in life takes effort and struggle and sacrifice.
You may have had a hard life.
You may have hit some rough patches.
You may have learned a lot from it all.
Everyone has it tough sometimes. Some more than others. But it's called life. You take it as best you can, lick your wounds, and move on.
But to sit there and print a list of your every misfortune and say at the end "I'VE HAD IT HARD, SO I DESERVE (SO AND SO)!" is ridiculous and insulting to any American who works their fingers to the bone to achieve their goals.
That's the kind of line you hear from welfare recipients. "My momma was mean when I was a kid. My daddy ran off when I was little. I never had no one tell me right from wrong. I got a major crack habit. So I think I deserve some welfare!"
Plus, the whole idea that a tough life somehow entitles you to your every whim in the US military is the dumbest thing I've heard in weeks. You didnt honestly think I would swallow something so silly, would you?
Maybe if my house burns down I'll get to be President. Yeah, it's that dumb.
A fine cigar gladdens the soul."Remember, there are only two: The Quick, and the Dead"
I might have missed so please don't be offended. Are you saying that BullDaddy is really our favorite blow hard incognito?
Don't worry about the bullet with your name on it, worry about the fragmentation grenade addressed 'To Occupant'.
He needs new types of stimulation just to keep his heart beating these days.
Glad to know I'm helping the elderly.
quote:
Yo Instrumentofwar - that's right, I did four years as Grunt Paratrooper. What is your point? Anyway, I thought Combat Engineers had heavy equipment.
X - 11B2P , Keep up the Fire!
X - 11B2P , Keep up the Fire!
What????You lost me? What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
If we're keeping score 3 years at Bragg, 3-319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. Going on three years in Ft Drum, 3-6th Field Artillery Regiment, also 1st Brigade COLT (combat observation lasing team) NCOIC. And upon returning from Kosovo I'm on my way to Anchorage to the only Arctic Airborne FIST PLT in the world.
Not to mention that I can walk the legs off a grunt any day.13F3P
Some people just shouldn't be allowed to breed
As far as the sob story I gave you, that was to show you that I'm not a quitter, that I can succeed when all the cards are stacked against me. What I have I EARNED. I do not feel that because I been thru alot that the Army owes me anything, all I want is a chance to prove I can do it. I owe it to myself to do this. It's something I want and one thing I found out is if you want something bad enough you can do it. The biggest hurdle I have with this is the physical limitations if I go infantry. If I try and fail, atleast I tried. If I succed at it it will be great for me because I have beaten the odds. This is very personal to me and something I have always wanted. But due to mistakes I have made I was not able to give it a try.
One other thing, you want to talk about life, get away from your mothers tit and give it a try. With your atitude you won't get far.
You piss all over me for just earnestly asking advice, and then expect me to nod and smile when you bust out a huge list of childish demands?
Then I call you on it and you start with the SOB story.
Same old song and dance, boss. I've seen this show before.
PS- I've got plenty of freedom. I pay for my own car and most of my own food and clothes. I buy my own guns. I clean the house, do my homework, and work 20 hours a week part time.
And I didnt have to drop out of f***ing high-school to get it either. So kindly shut your ignorant yap.
A fine cigar gladdens the soul."Remember, there are only two: The Quick, and the Dead"
Clouder..
But he cleans his room.
And he pays for most of his clothes.
And he does his homework.
You are a good boy laddy BULL$%^&.
And I have seen a lot of nasty things said on this board, but these comments you posted are the nastiest. YOu should be ashamed of yourself.
Its funny how the one who wheezes for poofs the most, who cries to administration when his feelings get hurt, who is always in need of a diaper change, is the one who contributes the malicious, nasty posts above.
Happiness is a warm gun
quote:My school, apparently to silence the shrill grousing coming from the PTA, has arranged for a State Police trooper to "patrol" the school grounds on a daily basis.
Now, I can tell you right off the bat, we are in no need of that kind of drastic security. There's maybe one incident a month, usually a fistfight. The students are by and large respectful, the community is tight knit, and drugs have not had nearly the same impact it seems as they have had on other, larger schools nearby.
In any case, this officer has turned out to be a real horse's rear. He is about 5'4, with a big bulging belly, and looks like he's been out of the police academy for about 10 minutes.
I havent seen one incident in which he wasnt given proper respect, yet the guy is, simply put, a jerk.
He roars into the parking lot at about 40 miles an hour, going the wrong way into a one-way horseshoe turnaround, and parks at a 45-degree angle over two handicapped spots at the front of the building.
No, I'm not joking. It gets better.
He calls all of the students "kid" or "Hey you!" (he never bothers to learn anyone's name). He'll walk around with a notepad randomly asking people's names. Reason: "I think I mighta' seen the likes of you somewheres before..."
He's constantly trying to eavesdrop on conversations between groups of students, and he will on occasion march unannounced into a class in progress and remind everyone (with his trademark scowl) that "I'm the law around here, and if anyone hears anything about a party or some weed, you better come'n tell me or I'll see to it that you catch an accessory charge!".
And the really sick thing is, he seems to REALLY enjoy what he does. You'd think he was in the Rampart division of the LAPD or something.
Naturally, the students (including me), without exception, hate his guts.
The principal considers this officer's actions to simply be "proactive intervention". She's clearly delighted with all of the extra time she has now, since Officer Friendly has gladly taken up the duty of catching smokers behind the building and dragging them in by their ears.
Just last week, I left my English report in my car. School policy is that you need to get permission from a teacher if you need to go back to your car, and so I did.
Officer Friendly, who happened to overhear the covenversation, followed me out of the building, surreptitiously got into his car, and waited until I had unlocked my car door and stuck my head inside to get my report, at which point he punched the lights, tore into the student lot, and rolled up not four inches from my bumper.
I was then required to show my license and explain "What the HELL you're doin' down here!". I told him the story, he snorted, looked at my report, handed it back to me, and slammed his car in reverse, showering me with gravel.
I am about at my wits end here.
He's unnecessary, he's rude and contemptuous, and he's nasty.
I've been nominated by the student body (at our Friday student council meeting), to do something to try and get this situation fixed.
As is, it's like having an especially militant version of Robert Mitchum patrolling a church social with a Tommy gun.
If I felt the situation was bad enough that a police officer would help, I'd be the first one to welcome him. But this is just insane.
I would like some comments on how might be the best way to go about resolving this. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
PS- I did consider talking to him directly, but I decided that I wasnt in the mood for a knuckle sandwich
Now, you want to talk childish? And in now way did I make demands. Now if you wish you may do like you did a little while ago, you may pull certain words and fit them to your liking to make me look bad but no way did I make a demand. Now do the world a favor and go join the Taliban Army so you may fight with your superior weaponry.
"What we have here... is Failure to Communicate"
7mmNut--I didn't get into work until 11am today. The boss let me sleep in since I didn't get home from work until 3am. I've been running on all cylinders since I got here today and haven't been able to reasearch the finer points yet.
According to Army Regulation 601-210 2-9a(1) you are disqualified from enlistment if you are "married and, in addition to the spouse, have three or more dependents under the age of 18". This is the same for the Army Reserves and Active Duty Army. You will be on active duty while in Basic Training and you can't go into ANY active duty (including basic training) if you do not meet the dependency requirements. That portion of the regulation conflicts with a previous paragraph which implies that there is a possibility of a waiver. I'm going to be blunt and honest here but I do so with all due respect. You are potentially disqualified in more than one way. A recruiter works 70-80 hours a week just trying to find one or two people that will join the Army and are qualified to do so. The recruiting office in your area may not be willing to spend all of the man-hours that will be required to run these waivers just to find out that you are disqualified. Time management is critical. Managing time and spending less time with people that are higly likely to be disqualified means having more time to find qualified applicants. That translates into spending more time with the wife and kids.
Give it a shot. You may be surprised. Right now I have a guy in the back-burner because he is disqualified in all sorts of ways. I have a couple of qualified college-educated folks that I have been working who I am trying to push through for this month. It's a time-consuming process. I want to have this Saturday off considering that it will be my ONLY Saturday off in the month of May.
There are all sorts of openings for people that want to be tankers.
gotta run. I'll add more later
SSG idsman75, U.S. ARMY
Posting Guidelines
Posting Guidelines
In general we expect everyone to act like adults and to show respect for each other, just as you would if the other parties were guests in your home. If you are looking for an unmoderated free-for-all you will not be at home here.
We do not allow the posting of 'For Sale' or 'For Trade' listings anywhere on these message forums. If you have something to sell, please post it on our auction site at http://www.gunbroker.com We do not allow `For Trade' listings anywhere on our auction site or message forums.
Other stuff we automatically delete:
Auction tech support or billing questions. If you have a tech support or billing question click Help Center from the top of any auction site page.
Complaints or criticism about GunBroker.com, its staff, its policies, or any buyer or seller on that site. If you have a problem with an auction transaction use the auction feedback system and/or contact tech support.
Complaints or criticism about these message forums or their moderators.
Complaints about businesses, persons, or transactions unrelated to this site (in general all complaints will be deleted).
Questions about why a post was deleted. This page explains why.
Commercial advertisements for any product, service, or web site.
Posts containing links or references to any competing site.
Posts containing links or references to any web site critical of this site.
Posts containing links or references to any web site we do not like.
Profanity, nudity, vulgarity, racism, etc.
If we deleted your post it means that we did not want it here. If we delete a post and you re-post it we will revoke your access privileges.
Kind of figured that after I posted and was away from the computer.
Some people just shouldn't be allowed to breed