?'s about joing the Military

Co-brat

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So, my career / job has been on a steady decline due to the recession and Its starting to look pretty bleak for winter time work. I already didn't work for 4 1/2 months last winter and I dont know if ill be able to do it again as it is a struggle to find work in the summer as it is now.

I have contemplated joing the Military because it has always intrigued me for some reason. I have thought it would be a great adventure and a chance to serve my country and hopefully learn new skills for another career. I have not thought about any specific branch as of yet but I the appeal is really growing on me. Im kinda thinking Marines, but not sure if I can cut it now (ill explain this below) or Army or Airforce, sorry the Navy does nothing for me.

Here is the real question (and dont laugh) - Am I too old? Too out of shape? I am currently 26 years old (27 in December). I know im overweight at 220+ Lbs. 5'10". I smoked cigarettes for 12 years however I have quit for about a year and half now. Could I or would I cut it?

I would like to hear the brutal truth for some service men and women. Are there people you know who are my age and have joined and sucessfully made it? Let me here some opinions please from active duty, reserves, and veterans.
 

Serpent

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join the air force brother.

take it from a marine that joined KINDA late (21) and im 24 now. you will be older then your peers and putting up with kiddie BS, specially dealing with shit heads with seniority that joined right after high school with no REAL world experience.

i got a buddy that joined when he was 29, (hes 33 now) and if he went in like his highschool friend he would have been an E7 (Gunnery Sergeant). BUT he got screwed too and got out as an E4 instead of getting E5 sucky part is he had to do a 3rd deployment.

yea man the air force is the SMARTEST/BEST choice IMO, for somebody like you ( 26 years old, has a REAL profession)
 

svtfocus2cobra

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I can't really give you any solid advice but where at in Wa are you? I joined the Marines out of the Bellevue office and the guys there are really cool and went all out to help me get where I wanted to go.
 

Sapperstang

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As a former army paratrooper I say join the Air Force or go all out and go airborne infantry. You're nowhere near too old lol. However I am sure you will need to lose a lot of weight. Forget the marines, don't fall for the hype.
 

mellor_21

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don't rule out the navy so quick..
navy or airforce, they both offer tons of careers

off topic, i ship in 17 more days =)
 

Mike K

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Another vote for Air Force. You have a better chance of walking away with a Secret security clearance when you get out, which equals money in the civilian world... even more if you start contracting overseas. I also feel that the Air Force jobs are more marketable in the civilian world. Air Force is also easier and has better living conditions. Now, with that said, it also depends what career you go into. This is just from what I have seen. What do you plan on doing? I was a vehicle mechanic in the Air Force; if you happen to have any questions about that career field, just let me know.

The age cut off was 36, but i think it has gone up. I am 6' and have always been 200+ lbs, but never really had a problem with the Air Forces PT. However, when i was getting out they were starting to step it up a notch, so I would ask somebody who is in know what the requirements are. What ever it is, start a physical training program now and you should be ready by the time you are ready to join.

Best of luck!
-Mike
 

THE_STIG

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What do you want to do in the military job wise? Do you want to work on planes, steer a ship, jump out of planes? Gotta give us some info.


BTW Air Force 2A3X3 here
 

THE_STIG

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I have heard that the Navy is the quickest to use the newest technology available and also gives out a lot of security clearances.

Last I heard from my Navy friends was that the Navy was at 97% capacity for the year. I cannot confirm that though.
 

mellor_21

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yeah my recruiter was telling us we're all at capacity atm
i had to get top security clearance, it was a bitch
but yeah op, what do you want to be? there are members of all branches on here and someone will be able point you in the right direction. trust me, i went from signed up as an military policeman for the air force to a nuke with the navy because someone told me to talk to a navy recruiter (this was three days before i would have shipped)
 

yosemiddysam

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As a former army paratrooper I say join the Air Force or go all out and go airborne infantry. You're nowhere near too old lol. However I am sure you will need to lose a lot of weight. Forget the marines, don't fall for the hype.

It is people like you that make me glad that I am a Marine!!!!!!!!!!! Next time capitalize it!!!!!!

Now on to the OP...... If you are already over weight as much as I hate to say it, steer clear of the Marines. I have been in for 14 years and they are really starting to enforce the weight limits. They will not hesitate to punt you if you can not conform to the height/weight regulations. This is the body fat paramaters. You are here, high lighted in red. The first is a body fat percentage.
MALE
AGE 17-26: 18%
AGE 27-39: 19%
AGE 40-45: 20%
AGE 46+ :21%

Here is the height/weight parameters
Height in inches Maximum Weight/Minimum Weight

58 132 91
59 136 94
60 141 97
61 146 100
62 150 104
63 155 107
64 160 110
65 165 114
66 170 117
67 176 121
68 181 125
69 186 128
70 192 132
71 197 136
72 203 140
73 208 144
74 214 148
75 220 152
76 226 156
77 232 160
78 238 164
79 244 168
80 250 173

Now I am not saying that if you really did want to join you could not get within standards but it will be hard! If you are dead set on the military then find out who will give you what you want. I am not just talking about who has the bigger bonus for joining!!!!! Make up your mind what you want to do and go to the one that will GAURANTEE it in writing!!!!!!! Dont forget about the Coast Gaurd. They are often overlooked and under estimated!!!!
 
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Impetuous

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I'm not going to suggest a branch until you say what do you like or would like to do. I'm AF and I've been in for 10+ yrs and would recommend the AF, but everybody is different. I work with Army and Navy and both branches have their differences. I honestly like the soldier way of the Army if you know what I mean until certain point. IF you don't want to get treated like a kid at your age don't go Army. Just my .02 cents.
 

BigSweezey

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I was 21 when I went in the AF, and the hardest part was dealing with all the 18yr olds and the stupid rules that get placed on you because most people this is the first time they are away from mama and daddy.
Depends on what you wanna do. I went AF mostly because everyone said "Go air force" which I shouldn't have done. I had no plans to stay in past my 4 years. I wanted to get in, get a skill, get my experience, and get out. I really should have went Army or Marines. I actually wanted to fire a rifle more than one time, I wanted to get deployed, I wanted to actually feel like I was in the military. I felt like I was just doing a normal job, except I was in BDU's. In my section there were about 15 of us....5 of which were civilian contractors.
I'm not saying the AF was bad, just didn't fit for what I was looking for. Normally, having been on multiple installations(ft. gordon, ft. bragg, Pope AFB, Keesler AFB, Cory station, misawa AFB and Yokosuka Japan(navy base)....the AF has better stuff than the rest of the services, like food, housing, ect. Although some places the Navy isn't far behind.
 

Co-brat

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thank you to everyone that has posted and thank you for your honesty. As for what I would like to do... I really have some mixed feelings here. I really like aircraft and being around them though I dont have much experience with them at all. The thing is I would probably join anything in less than a split second if it was guarenteed that I could become a pilot somewhere flying anthing from a heli to a cargo plane but I know the reallity of that situation is super slim to none. I wouldnt even get my hopes up for that. On the other hand, I really get jazzed up watching footage filmed by soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan. Especially when they film bombing missions and shit like that. I just kinda feel like I want to be there and experience that sort of thing. I know that statement probably sounds really naive about what going to war as a soldier is really like but thats how I feel. Im just not sure about being stuck on a boat for months on end, unless I was guarenteed some hot filipino or vietnamese ass at least one a week:banana:

So I guess it kinda comes down to kicking ass or working on or around some type of arcraft. But I also need to look into it deeper and see what else is offered too. I know the Aircraft thing could transfer into the civilian world later on but then theres the whole "once a Marine, always a Marine" thing that I like too.

Oh, and what do you guys mean when you say "they give out security clearences?"
 
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mellor_21

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you need certain clearances to work with certain classified information

you can sign up to be an aircraft mechanic in the navy.. but you ARE kinda stuck on a boat for awhile. you won't get foreign ass every week, actually i'm not sure how often you go to port.

if you REALLY want to kick some ass, check out the SEALs haha.

but it's looking like you'll want army or marines, air force and navy rarely engage in battle (besides fighter pilots) fact is, nothing can come close to matching US ships and aircraft. marines are their own kind of people, once you meet a few you'll know what i mean. but i've found them to be loyal to the end and overall great guys (from the few i know personally)

so, whats worth more to you, a career or kickin afghany ass?
 

L1ghtning

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if your smart... be a nuke in the navy. It transitions to the outside very well. You can go get a job at any power plant when you get out and you are in demand. Also the enlistment / reenlistment bonuses are through the roof. I have been in 8 1/2 years. You will advance much quicker being in the nuclear pipeline. I made E-6 at five and half years and have been up for E-7 twice. you also get a ton of college credit going through the school.
 

BadBlue98GT

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The maximum age to join the Army has been upped to 42 so obviously they don't think 26 or 27 is "too" old. Science has proven that you don't start reaching your physical prime until you hit your late twenties anyway, which is why that age bracket is the hardest on the Army Physical Training Test.

There are a lot of older Americans joining the service for a number of reasons so you wouldn't be out of place; however, the GWOT has led to the rapid promotion of a lot of young soldiers within the Army so if you would have a problem taking orders from someone that is 5 or 6 years younger than you, you might want to think about a different branch. My $.02 worth...

At any rate, join up and become part of the 1-2% of Americans that actually earn the right to enjoy their freedom...
 

ToyoFl

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So do all of yall in the air force have like normal civilian jobs? How is the camaraderie, and social environment? What job would you recommend to someone who wanted to travel the world?
 

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