Wow, awesome to see so many CPAers were part of the armed forces.
Ferret~ So recruiters say anything needed to make recruits happy, eh? Well, the ones I talked to said with junior college out of the way, entering some sort of training program to become an officer would be easy for me. I hope ya enjoy the few months ya got left with yer family. Sounds bad to have to be so far for so long. As crappy as e-communication is, at least it beats the old slow paper letter routine.
Killer Joe~ I wish I woulda been required to go earlier, too. At 25, I'm almost out of time, so I'm racing to get myself fit enough to pass the entry requirements. The ASVAB preview was incredibly easy, even though I hadn't had any sleep and took it on the spot without any mental preparation. Not the real thing, though, but the recruiters said the preview gives a lower score than the real thing. Had joining been a requirement, I think I'd've been a lit better person today (which is one reason I'm entering). Money is really a secondary purpose for me (or maybe even tertiary). That Marine-style rebuilding of oneself and crazy dedicated service to country is what I'm after, primarily. Where is Camp Lajune? The recruiter I talked to muttered something real quick about training in Maryland when I asked about my MOS of choice.
conservative_infidel~ The MOS I'm aiming for is Combat Correspondant. When I asked each of the recruiters about it, their reply was, "Have you seen Full Metal Jacket? Well, Joker was a Combat Correspondant." I swear, that's pretty much what each said, nearly down to the exact word. They said it'd be an easy MOS to enter, one mentioned something like only 100 Marine Combat Correspondants serving at the time, meaning a need for more. What? No Marine has time in their busy day to blow stuff up people
and go back and write about it?
Chaos Turtle~ Yeah, having friends in the service can give ya an odd view of things. But then again, ya don't get to talk to them much. One friend who played cards in the local group went to the Air Force, something along the lines of those guys who sit in a computer room and direct bombs. I teased him a lot about playing "Nintendo warfare" by pressing buttons at a screen rather than go into combat with a gun. He seems to relly be enjoying it, though. My cousin turned his Marine training into coaching skills and really did well with coaching high school basketball teams in S. California. I'd be one more person you know who'd really enjoy it.
Homestar~ That happened to me, too! Except, I was a ninja. A Navy ninja. Who fought in space. Against mercenaries. Hamster mercenaries. Yeah...then I woke up, too. Knew it wasn't real from the get-go.
Wait, I made that whole thing up. Can I use your plane to help those poor Navy ninjas out?
train~ I agree with you entirely. For the separation reasons Ferret mentioned, best to be single while entering the military.
So the general theme is not to listen to recruiters too much. What specifically should I watch out for? I mean, I gotta keep contact with these guys to get into the service, and I really want to enter that Combat Correspondant MOS. How likely am I to get the MOS when they said it'd be easy? How much should I talk to them? One offered to periodically go on runs with me to make sure I'm getting fit enough to join. That sounded sincere, at least.
They even gave me the fitness training guidebook they give to new recruits (I am not a recruit yet--have to shed 55 pounds first) and told me to use that to get in shape. It basically goes through the fitness training of all the muscle groups needed for boot camp, and even ramps up the running, push-up and pull-up training to be ready for boot camp. It seems good. Glad they gave it to me. Anybody know about these things? Are they really as helpful as they look? Should I ignore its numbers and, say, go all its recommendations, but times two? Or times three? I have no idea how helpful this thing is, but it looks hella helpful.
