Military Service? Army Reserve

The other day they raised the age for army reserve enlistment to 39. Anyone have any comments? If you were in your mid-thirties and had a high-salary and good benefits would you consider joining up? My job gives me 90days away while enlisting. That would cover basic training but not the advanced individual job training after.

Do you know if they allow a gap of time beteween Basic and Job training so I could return to work in between and not risk losing my job?

Would you do it if you were in your mid thirties and had a very good career going?

Thanks.

I am 39 and thinking of the same thing, I wonder if they will have "old fart" boot camp for us. I guess the only way is to call or stop by.

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Originally Posted by sp9

The other day they raised the age for army reserve enlistment to 39. Anyone have any comments? If you were in your mid-thirties and had a high-salary and good benefits would you consider joining up? My job gives me 90days away while enlisting. That would cover basic training but not the advanced individual job training after.

Do you know if they allow a gap of time beteween Basic and Job training so I could return to work in between and not risk losing my job?

Would you do it if you were in your mid thirties and had a very good career going?

Thanks.

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i cant believe you are asking this.. i would stay with the nice job. but if you are one of those guys that it doesnt matter too and would rather get paid **** and risk dying by getting blown up or shot. then go for it. what does your heart tell you

There are federal and individual state laws that garantees your job if you are activated full time. Best bet is talk to your employer.

Hung, we have the ability to knock over buckets with our ejaculations unlike you :wg:

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Originally Posted by 1victor

Hung, we have the ability to knock over buckets with our ejaculations unlike you :wg:

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hahahaha :lol: oh **** you vic!! i had to get that out.. i hope you have a great easter you pos! haha

I have alway felt like I sherked some of my responsibilty as a citizen by not serving.

Problem here is I can have my job back for reserve training only if its 90days or less. So the initial basic training is within that. I think the expect you to go into advanced individual training right after. If the two end up being around 16 weeks which some jobs take, then I am told I would have rights to a comparable job but if my manager needed a replacement for my specific position I can't have my original job back.
The 16 weeks off would be without pay so I would have to come up with money for the mortgage and other bills.

Active duty is different, my company is friendly to that. They continue to pay me and give me benefits for up to 9 months of active duty which is beyond what the law requires.

This is a tough decision for me. I don't have a wife or any kids so it seems like this would be a good time to consider it, but then again I have a few years left now where I could join.

Anyone know if there are an benefits when joining if you have a 4 year degree, or a masters degree? I am two classes away from a masters.

You will still get educational funding

Oh and with a degree you can become an officer, better pay , better jobs

I know when I first went in, there were some people that had completed basic the summer before. That may have been an exception for high-schoolers though. :spudniklu

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Originally Posted by sp9

I have alway felt like I sherked some of my responsibilty as a citizen by not serving.

Problem here is I can have my job back for reserve training only if its 90days or less. So the initial basic training is within that. I think the expect you to go into advanced individual training right after. If the two end up being around 16 weeks which some jobs take, then I am told I would have rights to a comparable job but if my manager needed a replacement for my specific position I can't have my original job back.
The 16 weeks off would be without pay so I would have to come up with money for the mortgage and other bills.

Active duty is different, my company is friendly to that. They continue to pay me and give me benefits for up to 9 months of active duty which is beyond what the law requires.

This is a tough decision for me. I don't have a wife or any kids so it seems like this would be a good time to consider it, but then again I have a few years left now where I could join.

Anyone know if there are an benefits when joining if you have a 4 year degree, or a masters degree? I am two classes away from a masters.

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if you have a masters, in what i might add?, then they can enlist you as a lt. or maybe a capt.. with opportunities to go higher

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Originally Posted by hung-solo

if you have a masters, in what i might add?, then they can enlist you as a lt. or maybe a capt.. with opportunities to go higher

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Haha!! I know what you mean, but you can't "enlist" to become an officer right away. You either go in as one, or do some enlisted time first for those that might not know. There's only one exception I can think, and that's for aviation warrant officers. :spudniklu

Don't enlist if you have a 4 yr degree. Go for a comission.

No, no old fart boot camp. But boot camp these days is pretty sissified. 99% of the members of this board would have no problem with it.

Who joins the army at 39? Two types of people. Highly motivated, altruistic, patriotic individuals of high caliber, and losers who don't know what else to do with their lives.

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Originally Posted by The Baron

Don't enlist if you have a 4 yr degree. Go for a comission.

No, no old fart boot camp. But boot camp these days is pretty sissified. 99% of the members of this board would have no problem with it.

Who joins the army at 39? Two types of people. Highly motivated, altruistic, patriotic individuals of high caliber, and losers who don't know what else to do with their lives.

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Exactly. Go for a commission. With a masters, you COULD go in as a captain. :spudniklu

It also depends what you want out of it...
If you just want to do service to your country go in with a commission, but if this is just an extracurriculor activity then go in as a pvt as you will make way more buddies than you will as an officer....
Although with you being older officer may be best as they will be on the same wavelength as you, either way you should do it ive been in the military since 18 and just come back from iraq...
i love it!

Thanks for the input guys. I was talking with a guy at work who has been out for 16 years and he was telling me about how hard core they used to be in boot camp and now days they really don't lay a hand on you anymore when before you would get your ass kicked for virtually anything. He was telling me about one guy who managed to sneak his personal pistol on base and pulled it on his sgt. MP's pretty much disabled the guy for life.

Probably go talk to a recruiter about my options.

I have an undergrad in Business and Computer Science. Grad degree will be an MBA in Finance the end of the year.

It will be a really interesting situation having some 24 year old sgts in my face calling me grandpa and all kinds of bs. I am sure i wont look forward to the mass showers, or lack of privacy while taking a dump.

Peace!

sure join up if u love your country 1 weekend a month, and 2 weeks a year..

Go for it.. but I'd suggest the Naval Reserve instead

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Originally Posted by Decadbal

sure join up if u love your country 1 weekend a month, and 2 weeks a year..

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And you get shipped to Irak the second your basic training is over :)

Red

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Originally Posted by Red Ketchup

And you get shipped to Irak the second your basic training is over :)

Red

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keeps me from going... screw the IRR..hahahaha

You wouldn't go in as a capt, but you could go in as the lowest level commissioned officer, which is 2nd LT. Thank you for considering serving. I am an air force ROTC cadet myself.

hmmmm - didnt realize that - might consider it actually - always missed that - and since I have 1 masters and half of another one in national security that might be worthwhile - but yeah I would have to be going in as officer. Me as a grunt would be a joke.

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Originally Posted by slizzut

You wouldn't go in as a capt, but you could go in as the lowest level commissioned officer, which is 2nd LT. Thank you for considering serving. I am an air force ROTC cadet myself.

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You can go in higher than a 2nd LT. However, it's usually those with masters degrees and higher that are offered the chance. :spudniklu

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Originally Posted by Red Ketchup

And you get shipped to Irak the second your basic training is over :)

Red

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Yea, it would be more than two weeks a year nowadays. When I went to basic, I had two 34 yr old guys in it. One got a medical discharge because of something with his knee, and the other guy did ok cuz he had a lot more discpline than the young gunz. I'd say do it if you don't have a family to hold you back, as for the job, I'm pretty sure your guaranteed by law to keep it, but I'd look into it further before signing the dotted line. Also, if you went enlisted, you'd prob be an E3 out of basic with a degree. Best of Luck with your decision. :lift:

i was looking into this too. the air force officer candidate school was only 10 weeks long. did their age go up too? how tight is the AS testing for officer candidates? could we maintain our "hobby" after we get out of basic.