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TOP
Guest
What branch and mos are you considering, if I may ask? Tim
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aymanem
Guest
Army Airborne Ranger, ive been training for awhile and im close to getting the Ranger physical requirements. i am 5’ 9, 17 years old, 10% body fat, 167 lbs, and athletic.
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estesbob
Guest
Its youth with attitudes like yours that keep me from ever despairing about the future of this country. Thank you in advance for your service to our country.
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TOP
Guest
Hooah! I was an 11b1p (Infantry Airborne) in a LRS Ranger unit in MD. The 629th, Co. E. Never made it to rip because of medical. You sound gtg. Talk to the btdt’s at Socnet. Be cordial and polite on there as they will look you up, but they can help you out alot. Tim
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stanmaxkolbe
Guest
FIRST TEAM! HOOAH! I was infantry/signal. Never did jumped out of a good perfectly airplane, did repel out of choppers though. Man that’s fun!
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aymanem
Guest
Did you have to goto air assault school for that? Does airborne training only involve jumping out of planes?
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TOP
Guest
IM sent.
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stanmaxkolbe
Guest
No I did not go to Air Assault school my AIT was Signal Corps my first unit was in Korea and there I trained with the only Air Cav in the Pacific 4th Sqdn 7th U.S. Cav and that’s how I got my Infantry MOS 11D Armor Recon which was convert to 19D Cavalry Scout some years later. That I had got converted to 11B Infantry that was my secondary MOS that I worked my first twelve years.
I never trained at Fort Bragg the only thing I do know you will run a lot during Airborne training.
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aymanem
Guest
sounds like fun! Look forward to jumping out of planes lol
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panoikei
Guest
My step brother was attached to a Ranger unit. He jumped out of Airplanes and Helecopers. Broke his leg at least twice that I know about. He’s a wreck. Make sure that isreally what you want to do. My boss made 13 jumps in the guard and now walks with a limp. That happened about 40 years ago. I nearly got cut in half by a 577 and a duce n half truck…lucky to be alive. One of our boots in basic died just form slipping on a howitzer… the wind chill was -30…burrrrrrr… 14 cases of cold whether injury. That’s just a few stories. And I never saw battle. So make sure you know what you’re getting in. I was also forced to go to a Protestant service and listened to an anti-Catholic sermon… I said “I don’t care if I get court martialed…” and left. At the time I was preparing for the seminary. It was an NCO course…PLDC at Ft. Sill, OK.
Also, I nearly got court martialed for something a young LT. did on a night move… he jumped the fence and I tried to get him to stop… The next day I was given the 3rd degree… The only thing that saved me was the integrity of a First Sergeant… He told me he didn’t want to see a good NCO’s career ruined. You may think he was pretty good. Just think if he didn’t like me?..the lie would have stuck and I’d end up in prison for at least 2 years… dishonorably discharged, lost my Army College Fund. Am I painting a clear picture yet. That doesn’t even count my Natinoal Guard experience… There are lots of evil people in the ranks and unfortunately many of them get rank over time. Be careful…keep your nose clean… And love your parents and family for trying to talk you out of making a big mistake…whether it is or not. The point is that they really care for you. My parents did the same… And after boot camp they couldn’t stop bragging about me. I graduated with Honors… and all kinds of stuff… I was promoted to E-5 Sergearnt in 2 years. But I had 72 hours of college… My name kept popping up on ght OCS list… That’s another nightmare story…full of lies and stuff you don’t care to hear.
I’m proud of my military service. But I’m very glass it’s over with.
I’ll light a cangle for you tonight…
PAX
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DebChris
Guest
panoikei,
Where did you go to Basic Training?
Even at Ft. Ord, the wind chill can be an issue coming off the bay. Many of the fair haired Drill Sergeant candidates under me developed wind and sunburn. I had to care for those who developed hypothermia. I was in service when soldiers still ran in combat boots and developed achilles tendonitis in both legs from overuse. Leaders don’t quit.
For a short period of time the company commander of the unit to which I was assigned was a Ranger. It didn’t matter that I was a woman. He insisted that I do everything the men did, at a time when the role of women was limited. A picture of me plucking feathers from a chicken killed while on bivouc made it into the Army Times. My sister said she saw it in the Navy Times(which is basically the same paper). This was the unit to which I was assigned before being sent to the Leadership Academy as an instructor.
Where did you go to Basic Training?
Even at Ft. Ord, the wind chill can be an issue coming off the bay. Many of the fair haired Drill Sergeant candidates under me developed wind and sunburn. I had to care for those who developed hypothermia. I was in service when soldiers still ran in combat boots and developed achilles tendonitis in both legs from overuse. Leaders don’t quit.
For a short period of time the company commander of the unit to which I was assigned was a Ranger. It didn’t matter that I was a woman. He insisted that I do everything the men did, at a time when the role of women was limited. A picture of me plucking feathers from a chicken killed while on bivouc made it into the Army Times. My sister said she saw it in the Navy Times(which is basically the same paper). This was the unit to which I was assigned before being sent to the Leadership Academy as an instructor.
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ladylinguist
Guest
To the OP:
How long have you been thinking about joining?
There are some people who like the military (as evidenced by a couple of posters on this thread), but there are also a lot who don’t. So reaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllyyyyyyy think about it before you go. Once you take the oath of enlistment your life is no longer your own. And if you hate it? There’s no way out. You’re stuck. Stuck in an organization that tells you where to live and what to do. And not just with your working hours, but they can steal as much of your time off as they want to. They can treat you as badly as they want and you can’t do anything about it. Once you’re in the military, you are their little plaything to do with what they will.
Perhaps I sound a little extreme? I just think so many people (especially recruiters) gloss over the reality of military life. It’s annoying. So, if you are at all the type of person who doesn’t do well with unquestioning obedience, don’t join. You really need to have a high tolerance for BS.
Oh, yeah. One last thing. Take everything a recruiter tells you with a very larger grain of salt. Their goal is to meet their quota and I’ve never met one that didn’t lie (even if it’s a lie of omission).
Just my two cents. Good luck with whatever your decision may be.
How long have you been thinking about joining?
There are some people who like the military (as evidenced by a couple of posters on this thread), but there are also a lot who don’t. So reaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllyyyyyyy think about it before you go. Once you take the oath of enlistment your life is no longer your own. And if you hate it? There’s no way out. You’re stuck. Stuck in an organization that tells you where to live and what to do. And not just with your working hours, but they can steal as much of your time off as they want to. They can treat you as badly as they want and you can’t do anything about it. Once you’re in the military, you are their little plaything to do with what they will.
Perhaps I sound a little extreme? I just think so many people (especially recruiters) gloss over the reality of military life. It’s annoying. So, if you are at all the type of person who doesn’t do well with unquestioning obedience, don’t join. You really need to have a high tolerance for BS.
Oh, yeah. One last thing. Take everything a recruiter tells you with a very larger grain of salt. Their goal is to meet their quota and I’ve never met one that didn’t lie (even if it’s a lie of omission).
Just my two cents. Good luck with whatever your decision may be.
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Donna_Vecchia
Guest
I won’t address whether you should or should not join the military. Like so many choices in life, military service is what you make of it.
For a number of reasons, military members and their families tend to be very strong Christians–maybe because of the deep moral issues they are trained to deal with. Fundamentalist Protestants tend to dominate, particularly in the chaplains’ corps. But practicing Catholics are also represented disproportionately in the military than in the general population. There is a separate Catholic Archdiocese of the Military Services (www.milarch.org) to which Catholic priests in the military report (in addition to serving in the military chaplaincy.) Most military bases and posts have active and vibrant religious activities for service members and their families.
So if you do join the military, make a point of becoming active in Catholic parishes wherever you are stationed. You will grow deeper in your faith and meet some awesome Catholics.
For a number of reasons, military members and their families tend to be very strong Christians–maybe because of the deep moral issues they are trained to deal with. Fundamentalist Protestants tend to dominate, particularly in the chaplains’ corps. But practicing Catholics are also represented disproportionately in the military than in the general population. There is a separate Catholic Archdiocese of the Military Services (www.milarch.org) to which Catholic priests in the military report (in addition to serving in the military chaplaincy.) Most military bases and posts have active and vibrant religious activities for service members and their families.
So if you do join the military, make a point of becoming active in Catholic parishes wherever you are stationed. You will grow deeper in your faith and meet some awesome Catholics.
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ladylinguist
Guest
Have you really had this experience? I’ve observed the opposite. People leave home and suddenly forgot everything they’ve been taught about morals and faith. Which, of course, is not to say that there aren’t faithful Christians among the military. I’ve just seen it to be the exception rather than the rule.
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Brendan
Guest
Not a fun as night fire excercises with Abrams main gun.
Forget that jumping and repeling stuff, go Armor
Not only does it save your shoes from all that infantry walking stuff, but you can even keep coolers full of iced gatorade in the turret bustle racks (and lawn chairs too
)
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estesbob
Guest
My Father said the best way to go was navy. Three hots and a cot was the way he put it.Not a fun as night fire excercises with Abrams main gun.
Forget that jumping and repeling stuff, go Armor
Not only does it save your shoes from all that infantry walking stuff, but you can even keep coolers full of iced gatorade in the turret bustle racks (and lawn chairs too
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JimR-OCDS
Guest
Donna Vecchia;
Also, when I was in the Marine Corps, the behavior of every one including myself, while out on liberty in Okinawa, was anything but Christian. Its a part of my life that I’m ashamed of.
Jim
These are very much in the minority in the military. If it were the majority, we would not have seen the disgusting photos from Abu Ghraib.
Also, when I was in the Marine Corps, the behavior of every one including myself, while out on liberty in Okinawa, was anything but Christian. Its a part of my life that I’m ashamed of.
Jim
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duskyjewel
Guest
Holy flippin…
As the wife of a former active duty AF captain who is now in the process of joining the Army Nat’l Guard, it truly turns my stomach to see what some of you people think of him.
OP, your mother was WAY out of line! No matter how worried I am about my DH or would be about my children, hateful venom would not be my response. Calling you a hypocrite because you are willing to lay down your life to defend the innocent? Tell her that one is in the Bible too, and Jesus called that the greatest love there is!
I just hope all these people who bash our military someday realize that their peaceful homeland and absence of attacks since 9/11 is greatly due to those men and women.
As the wife of a former active duty AF captain who is now in the process of joining the Army Nat’l Guard, it truly turns my stomach to see what some of you people think of him.
OP, your mother was WAY out of line! No matter how worried I am about my DH or would be about my children, hateful venom would not be my response. Calling you a hypocrite because you are willing to lay down your life to defend the innocent? Tell her that one is in the Bible too, and Jesus called that the greatest love there is!
I just hope all these people who bash our military someday realize that their peaceful homeland and absence of attacks since 9/11 is greatly due to those men and women.
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RWMorris
Guest
I am an Air Force veteran and my husband served in the Air Force for 24 years. It was and is a great way of life.
My husband served during Vietnam and subsequently during the Cold War. He was a Ranger and also served in Air Intelligence, so I am not sure of everything he did during his service. Some things he still cannot tell me because of national security.
The military takes care of its own, contrary to what the media is saying about poor health care, etc. If you go in the military you will have a lot of adventures, some good, some bad, but life will never be boring.
And for lots of us, that’s the REAL reason we join the military!
My husband served during Vietnam and subsequently during the Cold War. He was a Ranger and also served in Air Intelligence, so I am not sure of everything he did during his service. Some things he still cannot tell me because of national security.
The military takes care of its own, contrary to what the media is saying about poor health care, etc. If you go in the military you will have a lot of adventures, some good, some bad, but life will never be boring.
And for lots of us, that’s the REAL reason we join the military!
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