/fit on military

Retired Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff explains what military life really entails.

youtube.com/watch?v=_8rbHwMXMT8

I haven't taken it yet. I have a study book and it seems pretty straight forward.

On the ASVAB: 1. When you get your score back do they give you jobs you can have and you pick?
2. How do military contracts work in that respect? Are you given a job and sign a contract then go to basic or is it something else?

>4 years
>Not doing 20 so you can retire and sit on your ass for the entire back half of your life

Literally will not make it.

Work out the job you want with your recruiter. Tell him what you want AND MAKE SURE ITS ON YOUR CONTRACT.

Well he comes from a SPEC-OP perspective.

2/3rds~ of the positions in the military are support. Support positions don't have quite the same stressors that being in frontline combat entails.

But you deal with immense bullshit that feels hallow and sad. The bureacracy of the military is beyond words in how petty and stupid it can get.

I don't have an illusion that I'd be a hero or that I'm there to be 'murica.

I appreciate the looking out though

good luck user, whatever you decide on.

Am I guaranteed the job if its in the contract?

do navy or chairforce
pros
>free housing
>free utilities
>free medical
>dont work on weekends

cons
>pay is only 1200/mo starting but everything else is free
>you move every 2-3 years so you have a small time to find a waifu, you might get to a shit place like alaska or a great place like hawaii
>you might get 24-48 hour shifts
>6am-4pm jobs

It's better than being a civilian if you don't make at least double the minimum wage

I couldn't stand being on a ship or hearing steam boat willey whistled so I'll probably look more into the airforce. Moving around is something I'd like, I don't think I'd have the money in a civilian life to leave more than once a decade.

Yes.

Talk it out with your recruiter, and do your research online, too. If you do it right, you will get pipelines from BMT to the tech school of your chosen AFSC right off the bat.

DO NOT COME IN AS OPEN GENERAL. You WILL get made a sec to and have to deal with asinine bullshit like checking if cards at gates 12 hours a day six days a week for years.

>When you get your score back do they give you jobs you can have and you pick?

Two very different questions.

You're going to take it in a place called MEPs and the results, nowadays, are given back almost right after the test is finished. Do the shitty three practice tests online. It's a multiple choice test for the most part.

>jobs...pick

Okay this is where you do your own research. Get the job, search every branch's job thing except Coast Guard because good fucking luck, which provides the highest clearance for your score.

"Oh I got 81, that might qualify me for a job/rate/mos with a TS/SCI clearance..."

You do not have to pick or decide shit, regardless of how many times the recruiting office calls you. If you decide shit, tell them straight up that you're waiting for a particular job and you're not going to do shit until a space is open for that job.

As for military contracts, some jobs have longer training times than others. If school takes a year, then you have to tack on an extra year.

You don't have to actually go through with anything until you get on the fucking bus to boot camp. From the moment you enter that bus, you're the military's bitch.

>do 4 years in an actual useful field with security clearance and get a high paying contract/private sector job
>be in control of your own life, have more options

>do 20 mind numbing years in a job you're getting paid a third of what you'd be getting if you did the same thing as a civilian
>the government fucks with your retirement plan anyway and you end up with less money than you would if you got out
>due to 20 years of military lifestyle, you've been divorced twice and have 5 kids, majority of your retirement money goes towards alimony/child support

Don't fall for the retirement trap. If you want to do 20 because you genuinely enjoy it, do it, but don't do it because "muhhh retirement pension" otherwise you're going to be miserable and miss out on those years you can't get back.

They're all endurance based. Selection is gonna beat you to shit, it's gonna require mental and physical endurance so you better be getting 500g of carbs a day for months before the fact. Say goodbye to gains. Bye bye, gains. Then if you're a Ranger they'll send you to Ranger School (which is retarded, but not gonna get into it), or maybe if your S4 in Recon or on a SEAL platoon will decide you should go to RS.

Thing with PJs is "get in, get out" and their role as rescue swimmers, they don't LRRP for days at a time like Rangers or SF can.

If you went in as 11b/03XX, combat medic/corpsman, radio, etc., you can assemble a packet to go to RASP, SFAS, BRC, BUDS, whatever. Your chain of command may try to fuck you over so you stay if you're the only non-retard in your unit, but contact the recruiters for your SOF fields anyway, they'll point you to resources.

I got huge in Iraq 'cause of optimal sleep, food, and lifting due to mounted patrols in an urban environment. Afghanistan was about endurance and patrolling. Either way, you're gonna need that back. It's mostly running and calisthenics anyway, but the military is trying to catch up on fitness, especially in the SOF community.

Never give up, even when it's >hold your rucks over your heads until someone quits or you drive around for 15 minutes and see you're back at Cole Range

And don't be intimidated by bullshit recruiters. They need YOU, not the other way around.

Say as few words as you can say that mean something like 'No, I'm fucking waiting for this fucking job. Not this shit MOS/Rate/whatever you're trying to get me in"

Oh, I didn't realize you'd take the test and be given the score THEN have time to decide what job if any at all.

Thank you

>2/3rds~ of the positions in the military are support. Support positions don't have quite the same stressors that being in frontline combat entails.
Maybe if you're in Big Army. Guess who was on stand-by as CSAR in Ranger Batt? The cooks. Everyone pulls their weight and then some.

Don't sign a damn thing after the ASVAB. Just tell your recruiter "I need a week to think about this". the recruiter will call you after 3 days. But don't answer until a week passes.

DO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH. AVOID SUBMARINES.

jesus fucking christ, don't do submarines.

>tfw Marine

Fuck. Once my contract ends i'm fucking out m8.

I promise I won't do subs

If you have a degree and want to do an exciting job go navy and be a spec ops officer. The schooling is hard physically and academically but it pays off. You first go to dive school, eod school, jump school, then tactical school. In the end you get to be an officer in charge of an eod or diving/salvage unit and that shit is fun, (was attached to an eod unit) and all we did if not deployed would work out and do work related training. One deployment we did was at UAE and all we did was when's ship came in we'd check in the water for obstruction or hazards, then when off would drink all day.

Why is joining the Marine Corps a bad idea? Everyone tells me Marine Corps is a bad choice even if you're not going into infantry. Whys that?

because its fucking gay and you hate you're life.

we are the most underfunded too. nobody gives a shit about us

Dude PJ is hard as fuck
Difficulty imo (Training for TACP) is CCT>PJ>TACP
Cct and pj need swimming during pipeline while tacp doesn't
as an officer you won't be on ground as much as enlisted
My cousin is a major, says no one tells Special Forces what to do they get their own gym and shit

Goodluck bro, stop lifting and start running instead

I have a bachelors. I'll look into spec ops officer in the navy.

I was looking into the combat rescue officer in the airforce too.

Are special forces like the NFL where only 1 in a million get in?

man I want to experience sub or ship but I can't go in because I was tagged for pfps knee syndrome

What's so bad about subs?

how much running are we talking about? I do 3 miles right now

It's kinda like they want as many people as they can get, but at the same time they aren't going to just hand it to you

Youre good then...the "qualifier" test requires you run 1.5 miles under 8 minites
Focus on endurance and bodyweight rxercises. SF doesn't care how much you can bench or squat

think about it

Because you have marines in charge of you. Now this works great for wartime scenarios, but for general day to day life, you're being lorded over by people who hate their personal lives and need an outlet to take out their frustrations, ie anyone under them. Then those people resort to drinking because what the fuck else can they do, and they either say fuck it and get out, or become the miserable prick that they hated. And then you have the guys that feel they need to prove themselves, so they're just major hardasses all the time no matter what.

That's just my take on it though from experiences knowing marines and from shit like terminal lance. I'm just air force and the worst I've had it is having an ex marine supervisor and having back to back shifts on exercises.

2% for SEALs IIRC

As always, go for the job with the highest clearance. I'd recommend some sort of linguist position because they'll send you to Monterey Bay (DLI) to learn a language and then put TS/SCI on top of that.

It doesn't have the same pedigree but if you learn an asian language...well there's a lot of asian females who would jump on the cock of a western dude.

5 miles at least once a week. At 8min mile pace. Then you can keep doing interval training or whatever. PJ is mostly swimming, more so than seals.

>mfw PFT next month

Terrible everything. Had to load crates of food labeled "Not fit for California Penal System". Terrible everything.

It's a terrible fucking deal for how much of your life gets fucked with. It's full of ostensibly "intelligent" people who are degraded into mere technical monkeys.

It's a trap for technical monkeys who can't think of life strategy.

I'm not subs or navy, but imagine being stuck on a boat for 6 months, only having the shit available on the boat. Now turn that boat into a submarine and take away about 80% of the amenities that at least a boat would offer. Plus probably all the other shit involved like your actual job having to be on alert all the fucking time.

Wanna know the funny part?

Being out on sea is less stressful than being docked. When you're docked, you work 4x the amount almost any other naval force works (with maybe SEALs and special teams being an exception) for an insulting amount of extra cash.

"Oh yeah, here's 75 extra dollars a FUCKING MONTH."

You can almost see the shit eating smirk of the people who drew up the pay scales.

thanks. I'll start running more
I didn't think about the security clearance aspect. Is there a way to see the high security jobs?
Thanks. I'll bump up my running over lifting

this you, bro?

They'll specify SECRET or TS/SCI. But I never was an officer.

Ancedote: Chick with English degree becomes head of electrical division on a frigate.

My advice is mostly for enlisted.

What's the hardest SF group to get into, and which one is the coolest?

SF is kind of a scam unless your genetics maintain an Olympian profile at all times.

Everybody who drops becomes a super Navy bitch allocated to other positions without choice.

mines in sociology and criminology so that's reassuring

The hardest physically is prob PJ, those guys are huge on running and swimming, Army Special Forces is more of a quantity over quality thing, but all special force teams have their dive teams, halo teams, anti terrorist ect. Seals is prob the coolest cause there budget is huge and they do more of the underwater shit, but also more pew pew then special forces, also BUDS is about 85% wash out rate, and prob harder for officers.

chair force checking in.

Ask any veteran what branch you should join. They will all say chair force

I am trying to get involved with ROTC at university so I can get in the Navy as a METOC officer. It'd be a dream come true to finally get to that point.

I have zero desire to do billy badass pew pew shit

What sort of rates would carry TS/SCI clearances?

I'm in the same boat as OP, minus the college degree...and I'm likely older than OP. But I was looking into the USAF, with very little desire to pew pew. So I'll be monitoring this thread.

There's a list of jobs on each forces website. Just look at list. IIRC, they say what clearance is required.

But for example, look at "cryptologic linguist".

Lmao "I wanna do ParaRescue" just like that

Literally a grueling 2 year pipeline, you don't just get to be a pj

There's a military enlistment general thread on k everyday.

Go there instead.

Ok, so anything where you'd have to pass the SSBI thing. Thanks.

Ay devil dork swing by the BAS and skate with us for a bit if you feel like shit

Go big or go home. CAG, Delta Dorce, Devgru, Marine Raider, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, etc.

What's a pipeline?

I'm in the recruitment process right now for chair force. I took the ASVAB and scored really well on it, I qualify for any job I want with ASVAB scores but the recruiter said I have to take testing for special jobs also since they're short staffed. Right now I just have to lose like 4 more pounds (41 lbs lost already, former fatass). I'll probably end up in some autistic job which might be fine because I suspect I'm on the spectrum.
My question is about jobs though, are there any I should avoid? Are there any I should aim for? I'm not a fan of physical labor as much as something like a desk job. The most complicated job also seems to be "Technical Applications Specialist" (AFSC: 9S100), does anyone know anything about that job? All I've heard is it's pretty autistic.

>They need YOU, not the other way around.

The guy I went to for a recruiter literally talked me out of joining, by trying to force bullshit on me that I wasn't interested in. I have a degree in robotics, and I went to the Air Force to see what they could offer me, because I want to get out of this town. He had me take the practice ASVAB, and I scored an 88, and he tried forcing shit I wasn't interested in like Linguistics and shit.

I'm just like "Wtf does this have to do with robots? I know you got robots nigga, just let me work with them.

and then?

He kept trying to steer me away from anything to do with robotics, so I just stopped answering his calls.

>military
>doesn't want the 9-5 life

Bro, I did 6 years in the Navy, commissioned from day 1, and that means substantially less BS, but it can't be avoided

You'll likely work over 40-50 hours a week on salary, it will mimic more than a 9-5

The biggest misperception about the military is the assumption that it's a lean, efficient, productive machine.

The military, from what I've witnessed, is a largely political, affirmative action motivated, COC dick sucking competition.

You were on a sub and you say life was worse in port than underway?
I call bs right there. Sub guys are proud of what they do, but I have never met a single one of them who didn't absolutely hate being out at sea.

If you mean in general among all ships, I still disagree. I spent time on a destroyer for 3 years and a carrier for 1. A typical day on a carrier I would be on my way home by lunch time, but worked 12 hour shifts underway. And I worked quite a bit on the destroyer in port, but again, not nearly as much as underway.

Also sea pay for an E-4 after 3 years is an extra $350 a month, which I find pretty substantial.

>I spent time on a destroyer for 3 years and a carrier for 1

Just shut the fuck up. You don't know fucking shit. Your opinion is fucking meaningless you cock sucking surface navy bastard.

Subs are a bad fucking deal. An extra $350 is still pathetic in light of all the bullshit we have to go through. Why do you think 90% of them are alcoholics?

My old man has taught college for years (both CC and normal), he's had a lot of ex-military students and 95% of them said they wished they went AF, or were glad they did. Best average food and living conditions.

I'm in AF and so far have worked on joint bases so I see all the branches. Navy seems like the worst gig. Make sure you do some research on the jobs first, I went in with basically no idea what job I wanted and I ended up wasting time and getting reclassed. DO NOT sign for an open job, find a job you like and wait for that.

PT requirements is pretty easy. Getting a 100 on the appraisal is roughly 9 min mile, 60 push ups and 60 situps in a minute each.

Pay seems low but you have basically no expenses besides phone/internet/car.

>You don't know fucking shit.
I knew not to enlist under a sub contract like they wanted me to.

>wanting to live to be that old

Ah, far wiser than I was. Man, I'm fucking glad I'll never have to stand duty on my birthday and on Christmas ever again.

At least I wasn't stationed in Norfolk

I'm at PoS in CA right now for linguistics. Recruiters push that job in particular because it's one of the few they get kick backs for getting people to sign for that. It's one of the hardest jobs to qualify for and the tech school is about 1.5 years with a ~50% drop out rate, so they just throw as many people as they can at it to try and get the most successes.

I dropped out of korean cause it's hard and fast but I got a pretty solid reclass.

I'm assuming it's like that with Spy as well? Because that was the other one he was pushing crazy hard.

"Just say the word and you'll be in Pasadena next week training to be James Bond!"

And I'm sitting there thinking "Nigga, I'm not going to listen to static for 20 hours a day to find out what Putin had for breakfast"

youll look through a catalog of jobs
youll pick one
youll work 9-5

Anyone here know anything about the new army 17C mos, that's the one I'm going for.

>any downsides to military life?
Military life is a downside

Apart from prison its one of the worst places on earth you will ever visit.

I dunno what job you mean exactly by spy but yeah probably. No branch does James Bond type shit these days (or if they do, they tell no one about it).

If you're into robotics stuff, there's a pretty good amount of shit for that, both on the mechanical and electrical side. My old roommate got an Avionics job and he loves it.

No idea, he just said spy.

And I'm more on the electrical side, and I was looking for something like that. Before I did the practice ASVAB he was trying to get me to go EoD, and then afterwards, Linguistics and Spy. He also wanted me to lose my hard earned gains, because my BMI had me as overweight (despite being 11% bodyfat).

He was the worst salesman ever. I had a coworker who was a retired recruiter from the Army, who had literally spent a week talking up the military to me, then that idiot recruiter talked me out of it. My coworker was pissed.

Yes. If you're into fitness but don't wanna PT or medical, military is awesome. Keeps you competing well past HS/College sports, is enjoyable most of the time if you're not a pussy, etc.

dubs of truth, and
except maybe consider volunteering to help instead to recognize the fact that they played their role too instead of being a self righteous cunt

Yeah, recruiters can vary a lot. Some are volentold to do it, some sign up. My recruiter was great, I went to basic with all my paperwork done and didn't have to worry about all the forms and shit other people had to do during. I know a few friends who were basically lied to constantly by their recruiters.

Military sucks dick, don't do it if you have any semblance of a life, don't do it if you enjoy time to yourself, don't do it if you're even slightly intelligent.

The guy is an idiot, the "guys who call in airstrikes" are elite special forces with very heavy selection.

I'm leaving for bmt for ANG, will be working on helicopter avionics. After I get back I'll be working on my Bachelors. I've always thought about operating and I'd like to, but after my 1st enlistment is there a good opportunity to make big $$ civillian side?

>tfw joining chair force as an intelligence analyst in 2 months

did i fuck up

>I have a college degree but don't want the 9-5 life.

Become a pro wrestler.

It's all the debilitating physical abuse and low pay as military, but without leeching on the teat of society as a useful idiot to the military-industrial complex.

Also, you get to dress up like a jackass and get paid for it.

For the military in general, in the US civilian jobs in general are wary of you. They'll say thank you for your service and such to your face, but then fantasize about you coming in and shooting up the office and not employ you.

JTAC has one of the longest lists of quals in the US military tho, you're a fully qualified air traffic controller, as well as taking some leadership/management courses. So that can open some doors. If you mean in avionics then yes those are also good quals, I think most techs are military because the civvie side is closed off somewhat.

Merc work would be open for you too if you wanted that. But I would just be aware it can be a hindrance if you're hoping to get a quiet office job somewhere afterwards.

Is vet status that much of a liability? Especially in CA?

ty fampai

USMC all the way man.

I know the east coast better and I know a significant number of people that even 10 or 15 years after being out of the military have serious trouble when it comes to job hunting. It tends to be guys on the ground that have this problem, and it may well be the guys themselves causing it, but imo they seem like normal dudes on the face of it. Obv I'm not sitting in on their interviews so who knows.

Elsewhere in the world they're a lot less likely to be thankful to your face but they won't see military service as bad in general. So if you want to work in Europe it's probably easier. I think there's a few hoops for EASA quals but I believe it's fairly straightforward.

Cali might be alright, but I dunno.

Spy shit isn't true at all. You havent heard of other smu's except cag and devgru?

It's like embracing the suck hard enough to suck but not hard enough to be a cool guy.

Is 28 too old? I have no degree and I work in a steel factory, feel like I missed my shot at life. I make decent money but I feel trapped.

You can still get in at that age. You might need a waiver though.

I'm 28 without a degree as well. It's not too late, according to what I've read, but it depends on what you want out of it. For example, the cut-off age to be a pilot is 28. You'd also have to be an Officer first.

So, do some research and think about what you want out of it and see if your age will at all be a factor in your success/failure.