Military. What should I be planning for?

[Deric]

Once you are in it is much harder to retrain into a spec ops career field than if you would have joined with that job from the get go. Also don't exclude other branches special ops such as Air Force Pararescue..

The motivation you will have coming straight from BOT/OTS/Basic will aide you going straight into indoc/buds. If you waited till later in your military career that gung hoe motivation wears off..

Those are really good points. Thanks for the advice.

My dad was in the Army Infantry during Vietnam....

Just remember there is more to all this then just school and being cool. Learn how to sniper crawl for a few hrs moving only a few meters. In a ghillie suit during the hottest summer day or coldest winter day. Make a ghillie, you will need a hat, I put pads on my pants and made some halfass vents trust me they take time and they suck, not as cool as the movies make them look. And, NO...don't buy one. Make one before you go to school and if you don't stay up late and help other guys. Well....it won't turn out good. Go get a Sniper manual and you will find ALOT of helpful info. But if you think this is for you and you go to combat zone and make it home. Remember, you are not alone.

Great story and good tips. I'll have to think about all that. Thanks!

My suggestion: Go Rangers or SF. Rangers are a great starting point to a career in special operations if you want to have the option to move up to greater positions.

My words of advice: You sound like an intelligent guy so do your research thoroughly before making any decisions. You have to consider what will give you the best odds of accomplishing the adventure that you want even if you fail your primary goal at first. I knew a lot of BUDS duds as they would drop to our Battallion in a POG job which is the exact opposite of what they wanted to be doing, but the Navy doesn't have much in the form of a grunt corps so there's limited opportunity to go infantry in the Navy if you fail BUDS. If you fail going out to be a Ranger or a Green Beret, you could get sent to an infantry unit like the 82nd where you will gain valuable experience and move up and learn how to prepare yourself to retry the challenge you weren't prepared for before. A big part of being successful in the military is just kbowing what to expect and having the familiarity to mentally prepare yourself for what is going to come your way. Most civilians simply have no idea how bad it can suck. It took me almost a year, year and a hlaf in the Marines to feel what real suck was. Boot camp and ITB were just tiny stepping stones for children, but at the time they seem impossible sometimes. You go to some of these indocs and you'll laugh at ever thinking the basic training was even remotely difficult.

Good luck.

Thanks. Those are good points. I'd hate to go into it not knowing what to expect. I've thought about the side effects of not making it through buds and ending up not wanting to be in the navy. Luckily for me, I realize that SEALs are well over my head. Its been a good training goal though. Its hard to get any real training up here in MN when lakes and trails are frozen over half of the year.

I look at alot of responses here but a lot of these are not exactly what they seem. They all sound cool and like great careers in print...

I have seen so many people not make it and they were on contracts and have become miserable because now they are stranded in an MOS they do not want to be in. You cannot just re-class from one MOS to another, its not that easy.

Heavily think this thru before you make any choices.

Right, but isn't that the point of shooting for something you want? Sure, the jobs I have an interest in arent all action and fun all the time. But I assume the same can be said for the jobs I am not interested in. I'd rather be disappointed by not getting what I want than putting in effort towards something I don't want, just to avoid a possible let down.

Are you thinking active duty or guard? Active duty will be much harder to get a flight packet accepted. The guard may be a bit easier, as you deal directly with them and they may prefer your civilian leadership experience/intellect. You could keep your civilian job, and supplement your life by flying as well. Just giving you things to think about.

That's really good info. That's something I had not thought about because I didn't even know it was an option. Thankfully we have forums like this to learn from. I'm going yup look into that. Thanks!

 

[Branhammer]

That's really good info. That's something I had not thought about because I didn't even know it was an option. Thankfully we have forums like this to learn from. I'm going yup look into that. Thanks!

That's actually a good idea. I'm in the guard full time now, and while a full time job is hard to land, some of our pilots are making a living flying for us "part time" because there are so many chances to come out and fly sorties. Some of those guys come out 3-4 days a week flying "part time." We call that "guard bumming."

My suggestion is join the guard somewhere that has large jets with four jet-engines. C-17's, any variation of the C-135, C-5, etc. If you get qualified on a four-jet aircraft, you can fly just about anything on the civilian side. We have one guy who flies for us but works full-time at UPS and, apparently, they pay their pilots very well.

 

[TaraFirma]

U.S. Army Pilot here.
Nothing else I'd rather do in my life right now. It's such a bad ass feeling every time I go fly. Instant and long lasting smile on my face.
Iraq deployment pics.

 

[Josie Wales]

I retired after 24 years of AD service in 2011 and still serve as a Civil Servant in Germany - don't have time to say what I want to at the moment, but will reply soon.

 

[Marineflyboy]

Concur with Snake. Pilot FTW!

I would recommend going to Marine Corps Officer Candidate School on an Air Contract. You would be guaranteed to fly something as long as you pass all your training. It doesn't guarantee jets but I personally don't think you can go wrong with any mission Marine aviators fly regardless of aircraft. Although as a Marine Hornet pilot I might be slightly bias...

Your local Marine Corps Officer Selection Officer (OSO) will have current info on officer programs.

 

[Gibs07GTcpe]

Go where the money is in the military, working your ass off for beans sux. Trust me. If you think you can, well go get it! I work with some of the best to wear the uniform. To get your dream job, never quit. I am not one of those guys though.... just lucky enough to know/work with a few of them from several services.

 

[Deric]

Thanks for all the info guys! Its great to hear all your personal experience. Those helo pics are awesome!

What are typical office hours for a recruiter? Our local air force guy doesn't have much info online and I've been working 6am to 9p.m. recently so I rarely have time to stop in during the week. I've called a few times with no answer and no voice mail option.

 

[Regulars520]

Thanks for all the info guys! Its great to hear all your personal experience. Those helo pics are awesome!

What are typical office hours for a recruiter? Our local air force guy doesn't have much info online and I've been working 6am to 9p.m. recently so I rarely have time to stop in during the week. I've called a few times with no answer and no voice mail option.

Easiest way to get ahold of them is to go online and fill out a info form, your phone will ring off the hook for weeks. P.S this also works awesome for annoying the hell out of a buddy, fill one out in his name too!!!!

 

[04SloSnake]

I know I'm a little late to the party but thought I would throw out an option. Marine Reconnaissance is an initial MOS with a little more capability than snipers. Might be something to look into if that is the route you decide to go. Marine aviation would also be good because they have some good missions and stay employed. All the things you are looking at have a very high operational tempo so you need to be prepared for that.