Those who have or currently serve in the ARMY please

00siandrew · Post by **00siandrew** » Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:10 am

Well I am excited to say that after years and years of contemplation I have finally decided it is time to step up and enlist. Reasons in the past to put it off have consisted off school and the military being an ice cold enlisting environment due to the economy. I know it's still an ice cold environment but I have actually had a job reserved for me that I am super excited about.

Thursday, the 8th, I go to have my physical and sign my contract. I have had mos 19D Cavalry Scout reserved for me and it is in my contract. I have been doing a bunch of research on the mos and like anything else you get mixed reviews. Some love it and say it's very rich in tradition, guys who aren't Scouts have less than nice things to say haha.

I am curious of what people with experience here have to say about the mos. Mostly I am curious of where I will likely end up being stationed. From what I've seen Ft. Hood and whatever base(s) are in Germany are likely areas because of the Armor Divisions. If you've been a Scout, or know a Scout well please tell me what kind of stuff you know. Thank you all in advance, as well as, to those of you who have served, thanks for your service in the military!

exnissanguy · Post by **exnissanguy** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:02 am

from my experience in the military, your mos is not necessarily what you will do. I was an 88m and i worked in the armory. ITs good if you are single and want to travel, deploy etc, but married i wouldnt recommend it. It was an experience that pays for my college so that rocks!

civicex · Post by **civicex** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:24 am

well I was 25u which was pretty boring (signal systems support specialist) I'm sure 19d is fun my old ds was one he's was 25 and a e7 which is ridiculous as fuck. as for advice keep your thoughts off home learn your Three general orders soldiers creed id say more but I'm on my phone. you'll probably get stationed at ft bragg i think if you're a 19d you go to airborne as a perquisite I may be wrong but good luxk man its a great experience and don't get married id you're not already.

florist · Post by **florist** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 2:48 am

congrats on figuring out what you would like to do

, my brother lives in germany and does mapping for the airforce.

exnissanguy · Post by **exnissanguy** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:34 pm

now i can answer well, last time i was in a rush. If you are sure you are going to join, study up and memorize the soldiers creed, and study the rank system until you have it down pat. The get your 2 mile run and your sit ups, push ups and pullups high so you can get a great first pt score. If i remember correctly you can test in before you actually get to boot camp and you if you get enough of the general knowledge right you can start off as an e3 or higher (more money, and the higher the rank you are while in basic, the better chance to be squad leader). You will lose your squad leader position no matter how good you do, so dont feel bad..... I started off as an e3 and got to e4 quickly since i have an associates degree. I left as an e4 promotable, but i was just lazy and didnt want to rank up and have more responsibility.

Boot camp is weak and not bad at all, time will fly, just get used to getting up about 20 minutes earlier than everyone else so your bunk will be made and you can get shaved and ready earlier than everyone else. Make sure you step up to any challenges of leadership that the drills give you the opportunity for. Watch out for your battle buddy, and get to know em well, since they can help you with any uniform discrepancies or something you arent doint right and vice versa. In unarmed combatives.......remember the guillotine choke and the collar choke (no one uses it or expects it)and you will go far in the company combatives tournaments. i was only 170lbs and i literally took out 17 people and placed 14th out of like a 250 soldier tournament, and im by no means a badass....im just little and quick) I literally did the same move about 10 times in a row before people started to approach me differently when we were fighting. Trade your skittles and candy away for the main courses in your mres so you wont be hungry lol.

With your mos you will probably be stationed at bragg(awesome place imo) GO AIRBORNE, its an extra 150 to 200 a month if i remember correctly and isnt bad at all either. The training sucks because you have a bunch of pussies that fall out with you and you have to help em alot but just keep your mouth shut and the 6 weeks go quick. Please please remember to never lock your knees when you are about to hit the ground when jumping. Ft bragg has alot of jump sites with concrete drop zones so always remember to drop your leg pack/rifle pack by a soft area,too hehe. Remember while at fort benning (airborne training) that you will be called a pogue since you aren't infantry but fuck em lol, youll have more usable skills when you come out of your term of service.

Save the partying for when you get done with AIT. Don't get too wild while you are there since you will have free weekends,

Get the extra kicker for your gi bill as it helps out alot, and save, save, save while you are in the barracks if you are single. Get in good with your 1st sgt and youll be untouchable. I used to do paperwork at night for the my 1st sgt and it was awesome because i got special treatment lol. Once you return from a deployment, dont be dumb and spend all your cash on 26 inch rims for your 1994 chevy lumina like half your friends will.

For your insurance, and your families sake opt for the 500000 life ins coverage.

Take advantage of your gi bill and if you have the opportunity, go to night courses to rank up and move forward after youve been in for a few years.

here are a few sites to check out

HOPE this all helps and good luck and thanks for serving. There are only a few of us that wlll do it.

rank up info
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin ... edrank.htm

list of stuff to bring for basic so you dont look dumb
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin ... basic1.htm

learn most of the first section of the soldiers handbook to stand out.

ricky dicky

exnissanguy · Post by **exnissanguy** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:38 pm

I can tell you one thing, dont pick your mos by bonus alone. I received a large bonus for truck driver 88m(20000)at the time, and i wish i would have picked one that would have trained me for a high paying real world job,(ie if you are mechanically inclined, try for a helicopter mechanic or anything that would transfer to a&p in the civilian world. I got a job out of the army making 21 an hour which is ok, but had a buddy in the air force that was in fiber optics, that got a job offer two weeks out of the military for a 75k a year job where he digs holes and checks fiber optic span conditions. Just dont jump on the band wagon and do infantry, take advantage of the skills the military can teach you that will specialize in a certain kind of lucrative field

00siandrew · Post by **00siandrew** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:12 pm

exnissanguy;273163 wrote:now i can answer well, last time i was in a rush. If you are sure you are going to join, study up and memorize the soldiers creed, and study the rank system until you have it down pat. The get your 2 mile run and your sit ups, push ups and pullups high so you can get a great first pt score. If i remember correctly you can test in before you actually get to boot camp and you if you get enough of the general knowledge right you can start off as an e3 or higher (more money, and the higher the rank you are while in basic, the better chance to be squad leader). You will lose your squad leader position no matter how good you do, so dont feel bad..... I started off as an e3 and got to e4 quickly since i have an associates degree. I left as an e4 promotable, but i was just lazy and didnt want to rank up and have more responsibility.

Boot camp is weak and not bad at all, time will fly, just get used to getting up about 20 minutes earlier than everyone else so your bunk will be made and you can get shaved and ready earlier than everyone else. Make sure you step up to any challenges of leadership that the drills give you the opportunity for. Watch out for your battle buddy, and get to know em well, since they can help you with any uniform discrepancies or something you arent doint right and vice versa. In unarmed combatives.......remember the guillotine choke and the collar choke (no one uses it or expects it)and you will go far in the company combatives tournaments. i was only 170lbs and i literally took out 17 people and placed 14th out of like a 250 soldier tournament, and im by no means a badass....im just little and quick) I literally did the same move about 10 times in a row before people started to approach me differently when we were fighting. Trade your skittles and candy away for the main courses in your mres so you wont be hungry lol.

With your mos you will probably be stationed at bragg(awesome place imo) GO AIRBORNE, its an extra 150 to 200 a month if i remember correctly and isnt bad at all either. The training sucks because you have a bunch of pussies that fall out with you and you have to help em alot but just keep your mouth shut and the 6 weeks go quick. Please please remember to never lock your knees when you are about to hit the ground when jumping. Ft bragg has alot of jump sites with concrete drop zones so always remember to drop your leg pack/rifle pack by a soft area,too hehe. Remember while at fort benning (airborne training) that you will be called a pogue since you aren't infantry but fuck em lol, youll have more usable skills when you come out of your term of service.

Save the partying for when you get done with AIT. Don't get too wild while you are there since you will have free weekends,

Get the extra kicker for your gi bill as it helps out alot, and save, save, save while you are in the barracks if you are single. Get in good with your 1st sgt and youll be untouchable. I used to do paperwork at night for the my 1st sgt and it was awesome because i got special treatment lol. Once you return from a deployment, dont be dumb and spend all your cash on 26 inch rims for your 1994 chevy lumina like half your friends will.

For your insurance, and your families sake opt for the 500000 life ins coverage.

Take advantage of your gi bill and if you have the opportunity, go to night courses to rank up and move forward after youve been in for a few years.

here are a few sites to check out

HOPE this all helps and good luck and thanks for serving. There are only a few of us that wlll do it.

rank up info
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin ... edrank.htm

list of stuff to bring for basic so you dont look dumb
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin ... basic1.htm

learn most of the first section of the soldiers handbook to stand out.

ricky dicky

Thank you very very much for the long response.

I will be going in as an e3 because I have a boat load of credit hours. A lot of what you said is very helpful because it's little details a lot of other people fail to mention. I can't wait to read more about the ranking up because I've been curious how quickly I can expect to move up. My recruiter says by the end of the 3 years I should be an e5.

There is no bonus for my mos and I admit I know it's not one that particularly teaches me a lot of skills for the civilian world. Really more than anything I want to experience some exciting stuff and hopefully have some stories to tell when all is said and done. Again I will be a Cav Scout. As my recruiter tells me, "you will see some shit". There isn't one thing in the world I want to do career wise so I couldn't really go to the ARMY and say I want "this" job. I'll be alright when I get out. I've got a good work ethic and no line of work is below me.

Plus I'm currently only a year away from a bachelors which I am really going to try and finish while in. I'm not finishing now because up until now I've managed to keep my loans low, but this last year a lot changed and I would have doubled my student loans in order to go back and finish. Realistically I'm hoping to leave the ARMY (if I don't re-enlist) with a bachelors degree, ZERO debt, and a small chunk of savings to put down on a house.

Thank you again very much!

dclduke · Post by **dclduke** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:59 pm

Exnissanguy has a ton of great points. Especially the inside stuff like trading your skittles and m&m's for money or better food. We had some guys selling skittles and m&m's for $20 a bag. Also, try to stay away from the cheese omelette mre, it's disgusting.

As a 19D if you're stationed in Germany it is going to suck. I am currently stationed here and everybody told me it was awesome...they lied. I'm currently in the middle of bum fuck egypt and the only fun thing to do is get drunk and go troll the chicks at the red light district. Luckily as a 19D you have much better chances of being stationed somewhere less shitty. I'm a 91B(wheeled vehicle mechanic) but I'm in the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! And make sure you take advantage of every available resource to get education and extra pay. Airborne can be dangerous, even career ending, but is definitely worth the extra pay.

Getting in good with your 1SG can be good but there is a good chance you'll end up doing a ton of bitch work. More than you will already be doing.

Get started on PT nao! Everything he mentioned but the pull ups. They will help but aren't a requirement for the Army. The 2 mile tends to be the hardest but if you can manage at least a 7 minute 1 mile right now you'll probably do fine.

Last thing I have is if you're going to fuck up, do it in TRADOC. Once you leave AIT if you fuck up you may end up kicked out. The military is doing some serious downsizing and you don't want to fuck up the great opportunities available to vets.

P.S. I'm a little drunk and the stuff I post may not be perfect but you get the idea.

Edit: I applaud your decision to serve and wish you the best of luck in your time in the military. Stay safe!

Fenian · Post by **Fenian** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:38 am

dclduke;273183 wrote:
SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! And make sure you take advantage of every available resource to get education and extra pay.

I can't speak from personal experience, as my tattoos disqualified me from serving in the Air Force, but that is excellent advice.

I've had friends that pissed away their military service buying cars they can't afford once they get out or partying all the time. Make sure you take full advantage of any educational opportunities you have and save as much as you can. Get your bachelors and keep going for a masters; don't settle for one degree. Education is the one thing they can never take away from you. As someone with student loans from 2 degrees, it is well worth the cost and it is even better if you can get the gov't to pay for it.

Thank you for serving.

/I sound like an old man
//I feel like one

00siandrew · Post by **00siandrew** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 1:59 am

Much thanks to everyone who gave me advice. I am staying at the Millennium tomorrow night to have my physical Thursday. Thankfully the only emotion at this point is excitement. I am waiting for the nervousness to set in haha.

On a side note, I've begin running. So far I am running just under 3 miles at a time and my brother (who got done serving 10 years ago) is going to help me prepare for the kind of running I can expect in basic. He said lots of sprinting so I need to not focus only on running longer distances.

Thank you again to everyone who responded.