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Calgunners in Service This forum is a place for our active duty and deployed members to share, request and have a bit of home where ever they are. |
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#1
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I wish I could talk to young soldiers before they join the USAR
I just had to sign a Letter of Acceptance with a waiver for a low Line Score for a new soldier.
It's done. Merely a formality on my end since the recruiters already got to the soldiers. Anyway, one of the motivations for entry into the Reserves was for education benefits. WHAT education benefits????? Nothing Vests toward the GI Bill without Title 10 long term orders and deployments. The annual tuition assistance is nothing better than what other employers typically offer and they wont conflict with a school schedule or change things dramatically. So they are going to get out of Basic, and essentially have no education benefits, and stuck in a system that will jack them up the next 6 years in actually trying to get an education in terms of scheduling. Because of the low line score this soldier couldn't go Active Duty. WTF........... So the reserves can take them?????????? ******* I was fine with the waiver, because the soldier is still in high school, so a few points for such a young person shouldn't hinder them as they mature into their 20's. I'd be hesitant if the person was 25+ Anyway............. Wish I could have been there to tell the kid, hey, you know, why don't you study up a few months, take the ASVAB again, and go Active Duty. Your life will be vastly different. Put college on pause for three years while Active. Knock out a year's worth of on-line school over those three years, get out, and finish your BA/BS with essentially a full ride and California BAH for 36 months ($150K) Just take the ASVAB again, and don't be so eager.
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Before there was Polymer there was Accuracy. |
#2
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Man thats sad.
I kinda was in the same boat before i went active. I thought the reserves was the best way to go and get free school. However, when I took a look at it, Reserve and NG Education benefits suck right out of the gate. Decided to go Active and within 1 enlistment, I am 1 semester away from my BS. We really do need to help the next generation of Joes, not only for their sake, but also for the organization as a whole. |
#3
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It’s a weird situation. I do recall in basic training that a lot of the kids with waivers for ASVAB were reserve. On the one hand I get the point about a reserve recruiter selling him a pos so the recruiter gets an applicant. At the same time, I remember a good recruiter pointing out to me once that if they don’t get to some of these kids right away, by 19 or 20 they’ll have done so many drugs or been arrested and can’t pass MEPS.
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#4
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As a high school teacher teaching JROTC temporarily and 17 years CAARNG and now USAR, I can tell you, this isn't going to bode well for the new breed. In part I blame recruit command...they push for quotas so hard that people who wouldn't otherwise qualify are being given these "waivers" just to get numbers.
No more 20 year pensions, if I understand the new system correctly, and Snoopy is right: the education benefits are not the panacea everyone thinks they are. Must have 36 months T10 (or there is ONE specific case of T32 that counted) and they should (although it's NOT required) be deployments. You have to know what code on the bottom of the orders counts. It's that far in the weeds. Many times, I try to tell the kids the same thing...stop trying out of high school. Get the ASVAB after you've gotten some higher math and maturity. Maybe even go to a junior college and get an AA degree first, which helps with enlisted promotions. I have had to admonish recruiters coming to my school about not telling kids the requirements in full; ie hiding the realities. I then take the kids aside and speak to them candidly about all of this. The recruiters hate me...I'm not good for them. There's one kid in my high school who has to wait because he was heavily into MJ while in high school and the recruiter couldn't get him to pass the blood tests. The kid is a fail and is going to get thrown out of the military anyway, but that's beside the point. kevman0154: it's not help they need. It's a swift kick in the arse. The previous generations of military saw the greater good served as they served. The current pool of possibilities in high school is so wrapped up in themselves that soon they may be asked to go to war and they're going to look at their SGTs and go "WTF?! Are you kidding? Pfffttt...not me!"
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--Magazines for Sig Sauer P6 --Walther P-38. Prefer Pre 1945 --Luger P08 |
#6
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OK............ I started........... While the change in the retirement system is about neutral for ACTIVE DUTY, the new system is a 401K matching contribution system. So if ACTIVE it's OK, they match your contributions over the entire month you work. But if you are a RESERVIST and you contribute they match you on the days you were drilling. So you are getting a prorated contribution based on 2 days of pay. So you are essentially contributing JACK!!!!!!!!!!!! So this goes both ways for Enlisted and Officers. So while a CPT ($600) might get paid twice as much as a SGT ($300) for a drill weekend, that's only on two DAYS. So over the period of a month who really cares about 5% on $300. Now we are only talking about an additional $15.00 more a month a CPT might get put in his retirement account over a SGT. WHO GIVES A SH@T???????????? ********* I'm on the OLD system. Active duty gets 1 point per day for a total a 360 points a year. Those who drill on weekends get a total a FOUR points (two a day). It's not a lot of points. There is a CAP of only 48 of these points a year. But for my time I'm basically getting TWICE the retirement benefit as Active Duty. All in............ If I don't deploy again, AND I make it to LTC I could see $1500 a month in pension for what effectively is marginal work commitment. This is a HUGE RETENTION INCENTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My spouse is looking at getting only $2200 a month for her old type retirement pension from her company, but that was for 20 years of FULL TIME WORK. I'll be looking at 70% of that for 1/3 the work. If I came now, I'd be looking at next to nothing, having the same headaches I currently do, and the constant reminder if I walked away I'd lose next to nothing. This is all going to catch up with us in two enlistment cycles. Soldiers are going to be looking down at the re-enlistment contracts and asking themselves: "Why should I sign this again?" For the retirement? But don't I get to take my 401K WITH ME when I leave? Yes......... Well then see you later...... The only financial lever the army now has are up front re-enlistment bonuses. So expect to see some insane numbers. For example............... re-enlistment of PVT's who are MOS qualified as warehouse clerks are getting $20K as reservists. What is is going to cost to keep a Civil Affairs (they deploy a lot and isn't an entry level MOS) SGM not on the old system?
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Before there was Polymer there was Accuracy. Last edited by Snoopy47; 06-10-2019 at 11:22 AM.. |
#7
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Not sure about the change being neutral for Active Duty. Remember...under the old system at 20 years an LTC will probably net about $5K per month beginning at retirement (42-44 yo?). For the same LTC under the new system, he is now relying on someone managing a portfolio of his for the next 20 years. Does the Army Finance Branch now have a retirement investment branch like Charles Schwab? If so, maybe I'd consider it. But if it's more like Uncle Sam's Money Management, ticker USMM, do you trust your future to an over worked, underpaid SPC to make those life changing money management decisions? I just don't know. As far as reenlistment bonuses go, if you look at it holistically, the bonuses aren't much either. $20K for another 4 years is $5K per year. A pittance; Esp. when a Civil Affairs SGT gets deployed all of the time and it interferes with his civilian job. I know...I know...that's illegal and all, but we all know it happens. It's just that some employers are really dumb about it and they get caught. Never mind the tax hit he takes if it jumps him into the next bracket. I agree also that new TPU/MDAY Soldiers are coming into a system that simply does not benefit them at all. To me, this is simply a political move that has the expedient explanation of saving dollars over the long term.
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--Magazines for Sig Sauer P6 --Walther P-38. Prefer Pre 1945 --Luger P08 |
#8
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Just hitting my 15 year mark of straight reserve time. I'm trying to find any reason to hang on for the next 5 years, but I'm coming up empty. Just talked to retention, they told me $3,000 for 6 years bonus. Oh. and in four months when I hit 15 years I will no longer be eligible for any bonus at all. I'm on the board for E7. At best I'd get 700-1000 for a pension, which I can't draw till I'm 60. Not sure thats worth all the time lost from family and damage to my real job that actually pays the bills. Not to mention the stress of dealing pure incompetence from army leadership. If I had any brains I'd have had this discussion a decade ago and popped smoke a long time ago.
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Urban legends are a poor basis for making public policy. |
#9
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I have an associate degree so decided to go finish the bachelor's...
Unfortunately attending a public university puts me on the spam list for recruiters. I get bombarded during certain times of the year. I don't get mad anymore. I have fun. |
#10
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http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php Thank your neighbor and fellow gun owners for passing Prop 63. For that gun control is a winning legislative agenda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Dj8tdSC1A contact the governor https://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php In Memory of Spc Torres May 5th 2006 al-Hillah, Iraq. I will miss you my friend. NRA Life Member. |
#11
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Well, I scammed the USAR, joining in 1989. I signed up out of h.s. went to boot camp at fort knox KY. Then, after my AIT, I no longer felt like drilling . . . so, I stopped showing up to drill. so what did they do? they put me in a situation where I never had to drill ever again . . . They put in the IRR individual ready reserve.
Then, 8 years later, they sent me a letter states that I completed my reserves. by that point, it was time for me to do something with my career so I joined the air force and got my med. school paid for. The IRR was no detriment to me; my bad drill attendance, was of no consequence. So, if you don't like drilling, just stop drilling. |
#12
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#14
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Now, that said, we (Reserve unit Commanders) were told not to submit any such discharge packets until soldiers get to 27 - TWENTY SEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! So no one with a star on his shoulder is looking at anything less than 27 U's. My plan to make 20 is to use my new found commander skills to navigate unit manning reports and inventory status and mission requirements of potential units I might want to transfer to. There I can find units to transfer to without equipment, and a mission tied to CONUS, and only fill staff positions that have no command responsibility. I can get all the way to LTC that way.
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Before there was Polymer there was Accuracy. |
#15
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There is a reason the best soldiers get out on their first term. I made E5 in 24 months TIS, but my mind was already made up. The ones who have drive bail early and the freeloaders hang around. The military reminds me of a boiling pot. Most of the good stuff boiled off early and what’s left after time is the sludge. This post reminds me of the same type of people that plague our VA system and claim every disability rating under the sun. I run into them a lot and being a combat infantryman I feel a mix of emotions when a welder, or mechanic, or whatever POG tells me about the 50-70% disability they receive for PTSD.
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Kunar Prov, A'stan '08-'09, 1-26 INF |
#16
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"People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” "Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently-talented fool." "The things that come to those who wait may well be the things left by those who got there first." |
#17
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#18
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OP, you should see what many employers offer towards paying for education, 401k matching, etc - NOTHING!
Sure, if you get a job with a premium employer it's a different story. Even then, you're on the hook to stay with that employer for several years until you "pay off" your education. You can't just quit the day you graduate and not expect your employer to come after you for reimbursement. But the likelihood of getting hired by a premium employer is pretty low for a guy that scored sub-standard on the ASVAB (one of the easiest tests I ever took). |
#19
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When they do go in, it hurts them and it hurts the unit they wind up in. AFTER that came encouraging kids who should be there, instilling respect for the military in kids who didn't necessarily want to go, teaching the importance of self-discipline, all the official purposes of JROTC. |
#20
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He sounds like LT material already! |
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