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[themailman]

I took the ASVAB this year (junior in highschool) and scored a 93. The guy sitting next to me got a 3...

bs on your story. oh, and cool story brah.

[DREADNOUGHT78]

bs on your story. oh, and cool story brah.

I took the ASVAB in 2009. I had been out of school for 15 years scored a meager 53. The 17 year old kid next to me who was about 7 weeks away from H.S. graduation scored a 17. He showed me his little yellow post-it right before he handed it to his Marine Corps recruiter. His recruiter said "are you serious" shook his head. I couldnt believe it, In order for someone to join the Army without a H.S. diploma you needed to score a minimum 52 I made it by 1. If you do have a diploma all you need is a 30 and your in.

[MRX9989]

As far as the officer/enlisted debate goes, you need to ask yourself what kind of a job you are looking for. Officers, including 2LT's, spend a lot of their time planning and overseeing the "big picture". Enlisted and NCO's take point with the hands-on training training and mentoring.

Also, Soldiers will only respect their officers if they possess competence and character, not by counting up how many years they spent enlisted. New officers always have tons of questions about how the Army works, which is why they are almost always paired up with a senior NCO.

[dogg007]

I would not join the military as a last resort. Join because you want to serve, not because you don't have better options. If you go in with that mentality it'll show & you won't have the respect of those you are chosen to lead.

Best advice here. You will regret joining and end up being nothing more than a disgruntled employee.

[Foriegn power]

like everything in life a lot of thinking involved, and don't think of it as my last resort. I always had a thought behind my mind since leaving high school the military is an option.

[ChuckBooty]

In my experience (six years recruiting for the Army National Guard) people who come to me with the intent to enlist as a "last resort" rarely, if ever, are able to enlist. The military is over-strengthed right now, it's VERY difficult to enlist. I'd start the process with a recruiter, pass your asvab (scores good for two years), pass your physical (good for a year, if I can recall correctly) and pass your background check. It's only THEN that you can consider this a viable "last resort"

[phrogdrvr]

Please don't join the service as a last resort, we need folks who have a desire to serve their country- that's what carries you through the "tough times". I'm afraid you may be kicking rocks on the way to work every morning if you join just because you felt you had no other options. Also, as a Marine who was enlisted and worked my way up to Staff Sergeant then earned a commision (currently serving as a Major), I agree in part with those who say you would gain some experience by enlisting first. I will however offer my opinion, for what it's worth, if you are going to join and have the option to come in as an officer do it. You will have some growing pains as a young Lt but if you listen to your Staff NCOs and learn from them you will be just fine and in the end you will come out ahead- particularly financially.

Maj Tom

[Zorrm]

pass your physical (good for a year, if I can recall correctly)

6 Months actually.

[thebloodsonthewall]

If you are going to join look deep inside yourself and decide if it is something you really want to do. There were plenty of National Guard guys in basic that joined for the college money and they hated every minute of everything we did.

There are a lot of hardships that come along with this job. For example, I have been in for 20 months and I have spend about 3 months of that with my wife. My son was born on Christmas and I didn't meet him until 4 days ago. He was 7 weeks old when I met him and I have to go back to Iraq in a week and a half. That being said, I love what I do. If I didn't then life would probably suck.

Don't be an MP, everyone hates them.

If you go in as an officer, make sure you are squared away. There is nothing worse than a jacked-up LT.

One of my buddies came in with a degree. He put in his packet out in Iraq, went to a board and he is just waiting on his OCS date now. You will come in as an E-4 if you go enlisted. You wont make as much money but you will probably have more fun. The LT that used to be in my platoon would have to go to a morning meeting, go out on mission with us, come back and do paper work all night and do it again the next day. Us enlisted guys just go out on the missions.

Think long and hard about your decision because it will change your life, good or bad.

[doc1buc]

You would be suprised.

Like I said, a college degree doesnt make you smart or anything else, it just makes you a guy who can regurgitate information from a book. During my tour on recruiting duty I made it a point to find OCS candidates because most recruiters are too lazy to do the work involed in getting them in. I had 10 successful OCS candidates is 2 years, I had at least that many jokers who wanted to go OCS who couldnt make the required scores on the ASVAB. I had a few who couldnt even pass the ASVAB with a qualifying score to enlist and one knucklehead that graduated from CalPoly Pomona with a BS in Finance who score a 12 on the ASVAB.... twice. When he asked me what he should do, I told him to go back to the school and ask for a refund.

Colleges dont do PT tests or background checks, they just take your money and give you pieces of paper that say you know stuff. The Military on the other hand is a little tougher to get in to for some folks.

Concur. Just because you got a piece of paper that says you have been indoctrinated into the accepted thought process of one of our finer educational institutions doesn't make you smart.

To the OP:
Frankly, as a service member, your "last resort" stance on joining the military leaves me with the initial reaction to punch you in the face and tell you to kick rocks. Join because you want to serve and better yourself, not some last ditch effort to earn a paycheck.

You are going to find that it is even harder to get into the service now anyways and waving your "BS" degree in the air isn't going to get you into the express lane like it used to. Maybe you should try McDonald's, I'm sure you could get hired on as a shift leader if you SE HABLA ESPANOL.

Oh, if you do join, go Airborne or condemn yourself to being called a dirty nasty leg by your betters. I really don't think you will though.

[ankyle62]

My best advice to you is to think about going enlisted first for a couple years, to get into the field/job that you would like, and then going into Officer Candidate School after that. Get your feet on the ground and figure out what the military is all about, and how to actually be a soldier. You will earn a lot more respect from your subordinates this way, as well as be a much better leader in the long run by doing this.

Go officer first if you can. Dont waste your time on the enlisted side if you dont have to. You are older and most likely more mature than the people that will be your peer group, it get's old really really fast.

[ankyle62]

Yes I do have the Military Police behind my mind, also I saw that the USMC has a civilian military police opportunity open, that says you need L.E background, military, or educational. I guess that is also a route?

I believe that that's a GS-5 position at entry level which basically only requires a bachelors. A lot of those law enforcement positions on the federal level are really hard to get into unless you have an in.

[r3dn3ck]

Zorrm's suggestion +1. If you make officer, you'll open doors down the road after your military career.

[Annonymous]

bs on your story. oh, and cool story brah.

Jealous?

[Zorrm]

Don't be an MP, everyone hates them.

Careful now, those are fightings words