trying to go in the army.was told this may be the place to ask

[Bogie]

You didn't answer.
 

Answer this now: You are 25. What do you want to be doing when you are 35? When you are 45? When you are 55?

YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF PLAN. Otherwise, you're quite likely to be one of the folks standing next to a road, guarding a gate that nobody ever goes through.
 
HOPING that  you'll make it through basic and AIT in decent enough shape, and uninjured enough to do jump school, and maybe pass, is _not_ a plan.
 
Do you have a prior or current service mentor who is going to the recruiter with you? The recruiter doesn't count. He's there to score warm bodies, and if a job's on the list, he wants to fill it. You need to sit down and very carefully go over EVERY option. The recruiter may not tell you every option.
 
I don't know what you did, other than get ink. I don't really care. At least you're being honest with the folks. That's a plus. Personally, I'd go as techie as they'll let you, and then wait for time in service/time in grade to negate your troubled yout days...
 
Also, you NEED to start eating more protein... On a low calorie high carb diet, your body burns EVERYTHING, including muscle. That's why you feel like crap. Gitcherself a jug of the protein drink stuff, and try to get at least 25-50 grams/day, while working out.
 

[KALIFORNIST]

You didn't answer.
 

Answer this now: You are 25. What do you want to be doing when you are 35? When you are 45? When you are 55?

YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF PLAN. Otherwise, you're quite likely to be one of the folks standing next to a road, guarding a gate that nobody ever goes through.
 
HOPING that  you'll make it through basic and AIT in decent enough shape, and uninjured enough to do jump school, and maybe pass, is _not_ a plan.
 
Do you have a prior or current service mentor who is going to the recruiter with you? The recruiter doesn't count. He's there to score warm bodies, and if a job's on the list, he wants to fill it. You need to sit down and very carefully go over EVERY option. The recruiter may not tell you every option.
 
I don't know what you did, other than get ink. I don't really care. At least you're being honest with the folks. That's a plus. Personally, I'd go as techie as they'll let you, and then wait for time in service/time in grade to negate your troubled yout days...
 
Also, you NEED to start eating more protein... On a low calorie high carb diet, your body burns EVERYTHING, including muscle. That's why you feel like crap. Gitcherself a jug of the protein drink stuff, and try to get at least 25-50 grams/day, while working out.
 

lol,bogie do you read what I post.I eat 175 calories worth of tuna and  250 calories of chicken breast.Thats close to half my daily intake in very high protein food.At 900 calories it doesnt matter what you eat you are gonna be tired let alone working10 to 12 hours at a physical job(I climb telephone poles and in attics on a daily basis,then ad a 2 mile run and push up,sit ups,and pull ups every morning.Whe I get to weight and go back to 2000 to 2500 calories a day I am gonna feel like super man lol.As far as my record I got charged with felony assault as a minor which was reviewed later by the DA and dropped to misd and sealed.My public defender just told me to plead guilty after talking to me for about 30 seconds so being a terrified 16 year old I did not knowing any better.Later in life I realized I never should have been charged with a felony and the DA after reviewing the case for me agreed and asked why I plead guilty in the first place.lol oh well live and learn.Not a big deal in life other then the military which doesnt care that it was reduced and sealed and will not give me security clearance.As far as a mentor I have you bogie and the other people who have been kind enough to post plus the hours I have spent reading up on MOS and what is required.As far as what I will be doing when I am 35...I will be hanging from a telephone pole making a honest buck working for a living and maybe at 45 I will have my contractors liscence and own my own company that has kids climbing poles for me.Hell I may like the army and stick around a while gaurding gates.

[Thor]

Kali, I know that the Navy would get someone in on  a waiver and then after a year or two, would allow them to change jobs after they've proven themselves. Might look into if the Army does something like that, too.`I'll be right honest, there are some jobs that need to be filled and it's the Army's job to fill them. Hopefully, it'll work out well for your goals. Take advantage of whatever they offer you and after you're in, you're GOING to lose weight in Basic training. Just be sure to KEEP the weight off while you're on Active Duty.

[Scout26]

YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF PLAN.

Nahh, I knew a guy who after his stint spent the next two years bumming around europe.  Sometimes just going on a lark can be rewarding.

Why do I say this ??  I enlisted in the reserves before I graduated from HS in '83.  I thought I wanted to be a computer programmer.  I had a plan, I listened to the recruiter, got advice from family, friends, mentors.  Here's what happened.  I'd spend all week at school pounding a keyboard in front of a green screen and hating it, then one weekend a month I get to go "Play Army".  My unit (Combat Support MP's) is out playing "Rat Patrol" in 1/4 tons and chasing "Spetsnatz" through the woods with blanks and all kinds of pyro toys.  And WTF am I doing ??  I'm locked in a 6'x6'x4' box and pounding a keyboard on a 1950's teletype machine.  Great flipping fun.    Not what I wanted, I wanted to run through the woods shooting crap or try hanging onto a Ma Deuce while the driver "tested" the impact absorbation ability our tanks' suspension.  I wanted to be a nine year old boy playing army, only with the real stuff.   I didn't want a job or a career, I wanted adventure.

Now granted that was during the Reagan years and the only real danger was of the "Balloon going up" in either Europe or the Koreas.

I'll say it again.  Nothing wrong with going in to have the adventure.  Be advised that you will go someplace not fun and you may get more adventure then you want.   But do not live with regrets.

 

[Hawkmoon]

Seriously: If you are good with communications stuff, go after it.
 
Also, we like you. It is better to be in a tank that gets hit by Abduhl while on a virgin quest than to be walking or in a Hummer...
 
Also, keep in mind that commo guys in the rear with the gear RARELY have to hump 60 pound rucks while carrying two full .308 ammo cans, and a rifle, vest and helmet. And they just as rarely have to move 75 pound artillery shells... And they usually get hot food. How many MREs have you eaten in your life? I can tell you that I've got you beat. And that was before they got "good."

Bogie has a point. I admire you for wanting to serve for the sake of serving, but there is a philosophy (expressed differently by different religions and different philosophies) that essentially says "God takes care of those who care about themselves." Face it: The United States military is woefully under-manned at present, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. It doesn't matter what your MOS is going to be, you WILL be a soldier, and you WILL visit some interesting but not exactly touristy locations around the globe. You WILL be serving. Remember, Jessica Lynch and her roommate were in a Quartermaster unit ... They were supposed to be REMFs, not front line casualties.

Consider seriously the advice you have been given to look at your options while you still have options. If you don't like commo because it's boring, how do you feel about blowing things up, for example? Combat Engineers is sometimes referred to as front line infantry (hey, who do you think builds the air strips and landing pads where the infantry carrier aircraft touch down to off-load?), but you also get to do some fun stuff -- like build bridges, or blow things up.

[Bogie]

One of my most vivid memories is of a giant spider who lived in a latrine in Panama. Someone finally caught the thing on fire trying to flamethrower it...
 

[Scout26]

Remind me to tell the story of the "Improvised NBC Simulator using artillery/grenade simulators and 5 lb bags of flour." 

 

[cosine]

Remind me to tell the story of the "Improvised NBC Simulator using artillery/grenade simulators and 5 lb bags of flour." 

 

Now's as good a time as any.

[RevDisk]

Remind me to tell the story of the "Improvised NBC Simulator using artillery/grenade simulators and 5 lb bags of flour." 

 

Under specific circumstances in volume, distribution and proper aerosolization, you can turn flour (or any other fine powder) into a fuel air explosive.

[Thor]

That's why one doesn't use flour in an attempt to put out a kitchen fire.

[Bogie]

Something tells me that some 2nd LT, 1st LT or even Captain thought that it'd provide nice evidence of contamination so that they could have something to wash off the MOPP suits...

Kalifornist: As an 11-bang-bang grunt, you will be at the mercy of people in the above ranks. Some of which are "getting their ticket punched" so that they can move on to Bigger and Better Things... Those numbnuts can get you killed.
 
People in the rear with the gear rarely hear the words "MOPP Level 4."
 

[Thor]

Bogie, during Desert Shield/Storm, we were in MOPP Level 4 several times and they weren't drills. I was USN.

[Balog]

Don't be open contract, whatever you do. Some of the least desirable MOS's (postal and the guys who distributed money to us in Iraq, forget what they're called) are actually made up of mostly open contract guys. I only met one open contract in the infantry. Being a grunt is a *expletive deleted*it job, but lots of angry young men want to do it. So let me say it again, DO NOT under any circumstances be open contract. You'd be amazed how many really crap MOS's there are that only get filled by people who were open contract.

As others have said, you'll be serving no matter what you do, so do something you'll enjoy. The Army needs it or they wouldn't let you do it.

Tank mos's are pretty damn fun, engineers get to do cool stuff, crash fire rescue (Marines version of firefighters, not sure what the Army calls em) get to do some really fun stuff but it's more difficult to get into, translators (or language specs, whatever the name is. They're a subset of intel) are awesome. Take the DLAB (defense language aptitude battery iirc) and try to get over 100. I got a 99  .

Anyway, I think I understand where you are coming from; it sounds a lot like my own attitude when I first enlisted. However, please listen to me and others who've BTDT and avoid the infantry like the friggin plague. It isn't what you think it is, and it isn't what you want. Trust me. Tanks have the good stuff of the grunts and much less of the bad stuff.

[KALIFORNIST]

ok I am sold 19k armor crewman will be my first choice followed by 11x with airborne in my contract then 13b cannon crewmember.

[Balog]

Good luck dude. Be sure to keep us updated. Feel free to PM me about anything you want to know specifically.

[KALIFORNIST]

update.  I ship jan 30th for army osut as a 11x with airborne school.I couldnt get a security clearence so I was severly limited so I figured screw it I might as well go infanty with jump school and try for clearence if I re enlist.plus side though I got a 15,000 bonus I didnt even ask for.

[Perd Hapley]

Say "Hi" to Sand Hill for me.