Looking to join the army, came here for some advice.

[whitehall]

Hello everyone, I am new here and am looking to join the Army. My brother has served for a long time and has done 2 tours to Iraq. I recently graduated high school and am looking to improve my skills as a fighter. I like fighting in army call of duty, it is super fun and I think I would be pretty good at it in real life. I actually am one of the best snippers on the scene and I have won so many tournaments that I drown in puss everyday. So do you reccomend any other games I should play before I sign up? does it take long to get 10th prestige in the real army? and can I call snipper?

My guess is that this is a foreign troll or a kid with a fantasy. Nobody in civilian life thinks he is a sniper unless he is impaired in some way. Learn how to spell sniper before you join up.

 

[JohnDB]

Were you a recruiter at one time in your life? Because the above post sounds an awful lot like the bullshit that recruiters would tell people to try to get them to go to MEPS.

Why do I say this? Because I was the person at the MEPS who had to undo all the bullshit notions put into their head by the recruiters who just wanted to get a contract. I was LPO and Head Classifier at Amarillo MEPS.

Does the Navy offer enlistment bonuses that sound too good to be true? Yes. They do. BUT..............you have to qualify for a program that is paying those big bonuses, as well as enlist specifically for that program (subject to availability of billets). The big bonuses for enlistment were mainly for the programs that it was very hard to get into (i.e. nuclear engineer), and to qualify for those programs it was a 2 tier process. First, you had to qualify for enlistment (ASVAB, physical and civil screenings), and then, if your initial enlistment qualifications made you look like you might qualify for the more advanced programs, they would do a second screening. For the nuclear program, if you had a high enough score on the ASVAB (over 75), then we would give you a nuclear test. IF you scored high enough on the nuke test, then we would see if there was a billet available and if so, enlist you for that program with all that sweet bonus.

HOWEVER....................the bonus comes with strings attached. First, you only get part of the money upon SUCCESSFUL completion of the nuclear school (and many people wash out due to not being able to handle the academics, and it's a 2 year training pipeline), then you get half of the bonus, with the other half being paid out in yearly increments for the rest of your 6 year enlistment.

Does the Navy have snipers? Yes. They are SEALs who successfully completed training for SEALs, and were further selected and trained to become snipers. VERY few will ever get to that point, because VERY few make it through the initial training.

Air Traffic Controller or something in electronics or communications? You bet. The Navy has all of those programs, but again, just like nuclear programs, your ASVAB score has to be high enough to qualify for the program, there has to be a billet, and you have to complete training for it.

Security or MP? Yep, the Navy has those programs as well. BUT, in order to qualify for those, you must first enlist, then after you make Petty Officer Third or Second Class, you have to volunteer and be selected, then sent to training. After completion of training, then you are redesignated as an MA (Master At Arms).

If your ASVAB scores are too low, or there is no billet currently available for that particular job, you will be offered something else you might be interested in, or told you will be enlisted as non designated (SN/FN/AN), and told how to try to qualify for those programs after you complete boot camp and apprenticeship training and sent to the fleet.

As far as "coming back to the ship with only boxers, ID and a smile"? Nope. That is pure fiction, because if you come back with only boxers and an ID, you WON'T have a smile, because that means you've just gotten seriously mugged.

But, if you do have a bit of game, and know how to milk the mystique of being a US Navy Sailor, you will come back to the ship MISSING your boxers, looking fairly disheveled, with a big grin on your face.

But....................that is a rare occurrence, as on a 3-5 day port visit there generally isn't enough time to sweep some girl off her feet........................unless of course you have the opportunity to go to some of the fabled ports like Australia. Palma Mallorca and Ibiza during the summer time are also good places for that to happen because there are lots of European women on holiday (which is the equivalent of the US Spring Break).

As far as the marriage thing? If you have a good strong marriage when you go in, you might be able to stay married while you are in, but yeah, spouses cheating on their husbands while they are deployed is a sad reality. In Norfolk, we called 'em "Med Widows". I also remember that in the month or so before we deployed, there was a whole bunch of people getting married, but when we came back from cruise, there was a whole bunch of people getting divorced. Me? I got married halfway through my first enlistment, and ended up getting divorced a couple of years later. Decided to stay single until I got out (either retirement or EAOS, and I stayed until I retired), and was much happier in the Navy as a single man. Yes, there are lots of women out there that like the cachet of dating a Sailor.

Yes....
Not going to argue with a bit of what you are saying....I was stating mine with a bit of a facetious edge. You do need to go with your eyes wide open and understand the game you are competing in.
Nobody just gives you stuff in this world. You had better bring something to the table other than a high score on video game consoles.
Something like aptitude, education, ability or experience. (Just like you said)

A video game high score will get you scraping guano in Guam. That's it.

Two of my three uncles did the boxers and ID return to ship. Yes, of course they got mugged...of course they paid for sex....of course they weren't the brightest or most moral guys....did have educations and did have aptitudes and two of the three got careers when they got out. One as Airport traffic control and another in security/safety related systems. The third? Nada....nothing....didn't go in with anything and left the same way.

 

[WinterBorn]

Depends. If you are color blind, you will never be able to work in aviation for the Navy.

Most people who fail out of A school get sent to the fleet as non designated SN/FN/AN.

SN (Seaman) - you are put in Deck division and will work on basic ship maintenance (needle gunning, painting, basic seamanship).

FN (Fireman) - you will work in Engineering department as a non designated Fireman who will clean out bilges and do whatever nasty work that doesn't require much in the way of training.

AN (Airman) - you will work in Line division doing basic aircraft handling duties (chocking and chaining, washing aircraft), and if you are good enough at doing that, MAYBE you will be designated as a plane captain who is responsible for making sure the maintenance is completed on an aircraft.

After I took the ASVAB test the Navy recruiter was all over me. Apparently I was eligible for any job I wanted. Then he found out I was Red/Green colorblind. There were like 10 ratings I could do. All admin or supply.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Or perhaps a Biplane.

The have LGBTQ airplanes now?

Holy crap.

WW

 

[Dadoalex]

LMAO, back off buddy. My mental is just right for the line of work I want to go into. Don’t talk about stuff you know nothing about.

" I like fighting in army call of duty, it is super fun and I think I would be pretty good at it in real life. I actually am one of the best snippers on the scene"

After reading that I wouldn't hand you firearm and neither would any responsible DO.
But go on ahead. The army needs rats too.

 

[Concerned American]

After I took the ASVAB test the Navy recruiter was all over me. Apparently I was eligible for any job I wanted. Then he found out I was Red/Green colorblind. There were like 10 ratings I could do. All admin or supply.

I had a strange experience as well. Left high school on my 17th birthday and joined the Marine Corps. By all rights, I should have been cannon fodder at the height of Vietnam. During testing they announced a bunch of acronyms which I had no idea of the meaning. Turned out one was for journalism. I took the qual test and the rest was history. Spent four years as a basic military journalist. Escorted civilian news folks in Vietnam for a year making sure the American public didn't see anything we didn't want them to see.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Hello everyone, I am new here and am looking to join the Army. My brother has served for a long time and has done 2 tours to Iraq. I recently graduated high school and am looking to improve my skills as a fighter. I like fighting in army call of duty, it is super fun and I think I would be pretty good at it in real life. I actually am one of the best snippers [sic] on the scene and I have won so many tournaments that I drown in puss everyday. So do you reccomend [sic] any other games I should play before I sign up? does it take long to get 10th prestige in the real army? and can I call snipper [sic]?

Someone who believes that childish video games would indicate him to be good solider material is probably not mentally-sound enough to qualify for the military.

Have you ever picked up and fired a real rifle? Not in a video game, but in real life, a real, tangle rifle firing real ammunition? You think yo0u can learn to accurately shoot from a video game?

And you can't even spell the word “sniper”.

Or did you mean to say that you think the army needs you as a landscaper, snipping hedges? Do your silly video games teach you to be a good hedge snipper?

 

[WinterBorn]

The OP was never hear for advice. He wanted us to express our awe at his video game skills.

 

[skye]

Run along snowflake. You don't want advice -- you want an echo chamber to advance your fantasies. Because somebody doesn't give you the answer you want to hear doesn't make them a hater. If you don't want an honest answer, don't ask the question.

^^^That!

 

[LuckyDuck]

Hello everyone, I am new here and am looking to join the Army. My brother has served for a long time and has done 2 tours to Iraq. I recently graduated high school and am looking to improve my skills as a fighter. I like fighting in army call of duty, it is super fun and I think I would be pretty good at it in real life. I actually am one of the best snippers on the scene and I have won so many tournaments that I drown in puss everyday. So do you reccomend any other games I should play before I sign up? does it take long to get 10th prestige in the real army? and can I call snipper?

Forget the stupid video game. There's
absolutely no realism there. I was in the military for 23 years. Here's my advice if you want to join:

1. Do not enter if you do not believe in upholding the oath you will swear on entry, to defend the United States Constitution from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
2. That you understand that you are military, 24 hours a day and your on-time is determined by the military, regardless of how tired you may be.
3. When you go to any foreign nation, you are in essence, an ambassador for your country and how you conduct yourself, reflects how the people of those nations will see your nation.
4. You will be part of a team and you will rely on the person next to you and them on you for possible survival. Even if the person next to you, should you be in a conflict zone, is an a**hole, you rely on that person. Treat each other with respect.
5. Ignore that Rambo and Chuck Norris types in the movies, they aren't reality.
6. No matter how trivial orders given by Drill Instructors in Boot Camp may seem, just obey, it's to teach obedience to following orders and repetition to learning attention to detail.
7. Last: In combat EVERYONE and I do mean EVERYONE is afraid. It's a matter of overcoming that fear and focusing on accomplishing the assigned mission. PS: You'll never get used to that "snap" sound going by your head from time to time. It's just your enemy missing you with his/her shot.

 

[ABikerSailor]

ABikerSailor - think we should tell the OP not to join the military and sign up for the Air Force instead?

WW

Yanno...................I do share the view that the Air Force is mostly a bunch of glorified civilians, but they do have some decent pilots. One of which was Capt. Smiley (yes, that was his real name). He was an AF pilot who qualified for the Air Force version of Top Gun and was sent to be part of a Navy squadron for a tour. Only reason I knew that such a program existed was because when I was with VFA-131, he ended up getting orders to be part of our squadron and I was wondering what in the hell an AF pilot was doing in a Navy squadron. Damn good pilot though, if just a little off. He had a big plaque on his desk that showed a POW tied to a tree, with an inscription underneath that said "As a US fighting man, we have the obligation to afford our enemy every possible chance to die for their country."

I also remember one time when we went on detachment to an AF base. The TAD (Temporary Additional Duty for you civilians) rooms were 2 man rooms with queen size beds and a shared head with only 1 other room. Not only that, but the second day we were there, I came back to the room to find it had been cleaned, the beds had been re-made (we had made our beds before leaving that morning, and while passable, weren't as nice as what we returned to), and there was A FREAKING CHOCOLATE MINT ON THE PILLOW!!!!! Happened every day for the week that we were there! Not only that, but the chow hall was top notch with an excellent salad bar. Say what you will about AF types, but they sure as hell live large compared to the rest of the military.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

Hello everyone, I am new here and am looking to join the Army. My brother has served for a long time and has done 2 tours to Iraq. I recently graduated high school and am looking to improve my skills as a fighter. I like fighting in army call of duty, it is super fun and I think I would be pretty good at it in real life. I actually am one of the best snippers on the scene and I have won so many tournaments that I drown in puss everyday. So do you reccomend any other games I should play before I sign up? does it take long to get 10th prestige in the real army? and can I call snipper?

Troll or moron ?

 

[WorldWatcher]

Yanno...................I do share the view that the Air Force is mostly a bunch of glorified civilians, but they do have some decent pilots. One of which was Capt. Smiley (yes, that was his real name). He was an AF pilot who qualified for the Air Force version of Top Gun and was sent to be part of a Navy squadron for a tour. Only reason I knew that such a program existed was because when I was with VFA-131, he ended up getting orders to be part of our squadron and I was wondering what in the hell an AF pilot was doing in a Navy squadron. Damn good pilot though, if just a little off. He had a big plaque on his desk that showed a POW tied to a tree, with an inscription underneath that said "As a US fighting man, we have the obligation to afford our enemy every possible chance to die for their country."

I also remember one time when we went on detachment to an AF base. The TAD (Temporary Additional Duty for you civilians) rooms were 2 man rooms with queen size beds and a shared head with only 1 other room. Not only that, but the second day we were there, I came back to the room to find it had been cleaned, the beds had been re-made (we had made our beds before leaving that morning, and while passable, weren't as nice as what we returned to), and there was A FREAKING CHOCOLATE MINT ON THE PILLOW!!!!! Happened every day for the week that we were there! Not only that, but the chow hall was top notch with an excellent salad bar. Say what you will about AF types, but they sure as hell live large compared to the rest of the military.

I give the Air Force shit, one of my favorite pass times as our daughter is an Air Force JAG.

When I was in VAW we had an exchange Pilot and an exchange NFO (from the RC-135 community) at different times, they did know their stuff.


WW

 

[hjmick]

Troll or moron ?

The two are not mutually exclusive...

 

[whitehall]

I had a strange experience as well. Left high school on my 17th birthday and joined the Marine Corps. By all rights, I should have been cannon fodder at the height of Vietnam. During testing they announced a bunch of acronyms which I had no idea of the meaning. Turned out one was for journalism. I took the qual test and the rest was history. Spent four years as a basic military journalist. Escorted civilian news folks in Vietnam for a year making sure the American public didn't see anything we didn't want them to see.

I joined the Marines around the same time but I don't recall any acronyms or tests related to journalism. Maybe you have it mixed up with the movie FMJ.

 

[Vrenn]

" I like fighting in army call of duty, it is super fun and I think I would be pretty good at it in real life. I actually am one of the best snippers on the scene"

After reading that I wouldn't hand you firearm and neither would any responsible DO.
But go on ahead. The army needs rats too.

I don't think he knows what it takes to be a sniper in the Military. The Shrink eval throws out many that have the skills with the rifles. You have to compartmentalized where your shot isn't part of your normal life. When you are dealing with one part, the other part does not exist. The danger involved is that you could be changed into a souless killer who won't stop after they leave the military. The Shrink Tests make MOST fail.

 

[Mushroom]

And with that signature the Army guarantees you will get the school you want. But no guarantee that you will work in your MOS. As long as the Army sends you to the school before the end of your first enlistment, they are covered.

The Army does not work that way at all.

You pick an MOS, and that is what you get. And you are sent to that school and trained in that MOS as that determines where you go to Boot Camp. It if is the 11 series, you go to Benning. If it is for the 25 series, you go to Gordon. If it is air defense or artillery you go to Sill. And they are not going to waste money training you in one MOS, only to at a later date send you to be trained in another. Nobody who has a contract saying they will be a 25X gets sent to Benning and trained as an 11B, only to then be sent to Gordon later in their career to be trained as a 25B.

As far as I am aware, about the only service that regularly offers "Open Contracts" where you are assigned an MOS purely at the needs of the military is the Marines Corps. The Army has not done that in decades.

 

[Mushroom]

In the German, European NATO and many other nations Armed forces you would need to qualify as a member in an elite unit first.

Not true at all. Most Infantry units have them.

Case in point, every Marine Infantry Battalion has snipers who are assigned to the STA platoon.

One foes not have to join an "Elite Unit". A lot of regular units have them also.

In the Army, the requirement is that one has to be an 11B or 19D. If the unit has a need and they select the individual, they will then be sent to Sniper School.

But snipers are not only in "elite units".

 

[Mushroom]

Playing a video game is nothing like the Army, or anything.

If it was, then the way to heal yourself after you drown is to drink water.

 

[Mushroom]

Yeah? And what happens if you flunk out of the school for that MOS? The military has played that game for at least sixty years that I know of.

At that point you are given a choice, be assigned a new MOS or get out.

One example I saw was that at the PATRIOT school, we got a hell of a lot who had washed out of the EOD school. They already met all the requirements of working with the PATRIOT system, and also had a security clearance. So fail that, and odds are you ended up in PATRIOT.

And if you failed the PATRIOT course, then you got sent to being an 88M truck driver. At Fort Bliss there was actually an 88M school for that very reason.

Not a lot of people "flunk out" of most schools. And they already have chains of schools they send people to after that. After all, it makes no sense to take somebody that fails a school with a high score requirement and security clearance and make them a grunt or cook.