Military help!!!

[Philliagorillia]

Ok i need some help from people that have been in the military, preferrably army or marines. I am trying to decide which branch i wanna go into but i am making sure i get my associates degree so i can go in as an officer. One of my main concerns is how often will i be able to go to the weight room while active or living on base? And will they really care if i have dont juice in the past?

[groverman1]

To go in as an officer you need an bachelors degree. And yes there is usually no problem with working out on base.

[Symian]

Ok i need some help from people that have been in the military, preferrably army or marines. I am trying to decide which branch i wanna go into but i am making sure i get my associates degree so i can go in as an officer. One of my main concerns is how often will i be able to go to the weight room while active or living on base? And will they really care if i have dont juice in the past?

FYI: Bases are AF and Navy
Posts and Forts are Army and Marines

It all depends on what your MOS is(your job). If you have some POG job sittin behind a desk all day, you'll probably rarely go to the field, and you could hit the gym every day if you wanted. But if you have a combat arms job you might be in the field a month or more at a time, sometimes. So yes it could put a damper on your schedule.

Don't tell them you've done anything other that pot. And don't be put in a position later in your career that they find out that you used AS, cus then they can get you on false enlistment. I knew guys who juiced before, and it wasn't a big deal.

As going to OCS, in the army you need at least 3 years of a bachalors degree. And after OCS you finish the rest while in service.

Hope this helps.

Sym

[decadbal]

yea, associate degree wont make u an officer a bach degree will, if you get accepted to OCS(officer canidate school) you still have to pass that, along with boot and the rest, dependin on your mos will show how much time ucan workout, i was infantry and when your not deployed you will have some time, when you are or trainin, you will not... marines are stationed at naval bases and "camps", as far as the army, or infantry is concerned you will get enough PT to where you wont care about the gym, but i went so im sure you will too... if you wanna b something in the army, go ranger bro, its the only job and the best by far...other than sf. anyway good luck, and being a officer isnt all its cracked up to be, youll get alot more respect as a nco.... good luck

[Superhuman]

If you want to go kill people and get real tough (not that you aren't already) then go back home, join the marines.
If you want to go kill people, then stay to police the fu cked up country, join the Army.
If you want to be bored as hell on some piece of steal floating in the water (unless you plan to be a SEAL), then join the Navy.
If you want to get a small chance to actually fly a multi-million dollar jet, but most likely end up sitting at a desk or taking care of the jets, then join the Air Force.

Of the four, I would go Marines bro. BTW do you guys know what ARMY stands for?...
Aren't Ready for Marines Yet

[arthurb999]

If you're going to join the Army... why not go into the ROTC program.

[RP7]

From a Canadian reservist's POV... I have always had time to workout while training (not including basic training). Unless of course you're in the field, in which case you can do a homemade field workout if you have the energy (pushups, situps, bent over log rows, rucksack dips, rifle pullups, m249 core exercise circuit and my personal favorite the mortar bench press)

[Philliagorillia]

Well while reading all these post i learned a few new things, i have to admit i dont know much about the military other than a handful of things about marine snipers, have a few of those in the family, one served in nam. Personally i am leaning towards the marines, but i am also strongly looking into the ranger program if i go into the army, yes i know its tough to get in but i know i can make it. On the other hand i love to shoot my rifles, and have been shooting on rifle teams for quite some time now and am looking at trying to get into the sniper school in the marines, we all know they have the best shooting teams. Anyways i just want to make sure whatever i decide on, will help me get a good job when i get out. Do you think it will look good when i go to get a job and they see that i was a ranger or a marine sniper? Or will they think im a psyco pathic killing machine? Anywho thanks for all the info guys, anything or any suggestions will help me greatly.

[borderbound]

its not that hard to get into the rangers assuming you have the mental and physical ability , marine sniper program well the army has aboput 1000 rangers for ever sniper the marine has and trust me a recruiter will not tell you how there are plenty of grunts that never got the chance to be sniper
so if you want a garrentee you do the work the army will make you a ranger
i dont know that you could say that about being a sniper in the marines

either will look good on a resume in the future
niether one will allow you to be a serious weightlifter/bodybuilder on a year-round basis

[decadbal]

Rangers Lead the Way

[navydevildoc]

Well while reading all these post i learned a few new things, i have to admit i dont know much about the military other than a handful of things about marine snipers, have a few of those in the family, one served in nam. Personally i am leaning towards the marines, but i am also strongly looking into the ranger program if i go into the army, yes i know its tough to get in but i know i can make it. On the other hand i love to shoot my rifles, and have been shooting on rifle teams for quite some time now and am looking at trying to get into the sniper school in the marines, we all know they have the best shooting teams. Anyways i just want to make sure whatever i decide on, will help me get a good job when i get out. Do you think it will look good when i go to get a job and they see that i was a ranger or a marine sniper? Or will they think im a psyco pathic killing machine? Anywho thanks for all the info guys, anything or any suggestions will help me greatly.

Well, if you like to shoot, the Marines are an even better choice. The Marines have a motto - "Every Marine is a Rifleman". Everyone goes to the range constantly, no matter what your MOS is.

I have an interesting job in the Navy as a hospital corpsman (now in the reserves after 6 years active duty), I am in the Navy, attached to a Marine unit that does a lot of work with the Army. My civilian job as a defense contractor puts me in with lots of the Air Force guys.

While I have a ****load of pride for the Navy, the Marines are very close to my heart, after spending most of my military career being attached to them. But basically, if you like shooting things, having high PT standards, blowing things up, and basically living the more "extreme" military life, go USMC. Plus their three major bases (Pendleton, Lejeune, and Okinawa) are really not in that bad of places. Well, OK, maybe Lejeune is a ****hole. Pendleton is cool. Marines are almost psychotic about fitness, they have the biggest, although not really the newest stuff in the gyms. There is a lot of grunt work and head games in the Marines tho. After over 4 years, I had to transfer back to the real Navy to keep from killing someone. They also do 6 month deployments as "Marine Expeditionary Units", floating around waiting for things to go wrong. They are trained in Embassy staff extraction, pilot rescue, humanitarian relief, etc. When the president calls "911", he gets a Naval battle group with a MEU emabrked. Planes, missles, and jarheads that can reach out and touch someone.

If you want to get into high tech while still going some places, go Navy. Unless you are SEALs, EOD, or Medical like myself, you will be on a floating city. You could get stationed pretty much anywhere there is ocean (San Diego, Norfolk, P-Cola, Washington State, Japan, and Italy being the biggest). They have really good gyms on the ships usually tho (even if they are kinda small), and the ships rocking makes for some interesting times. The hours are long, and the Navy has 24 hour duty that you stand anywhere from every 3 to 8 days while in port depending on the ship you are on.

If you want to live in the ****tiest places you can think of, do the grunt work of the military, and do peacekeeping duty in the third world, go Army. They are also the biggest branch, which seems to reduce you to a number in the system, more so than in the Marines.

If you want to fly a desk and work out by sweating your ass off on the flight line next to a jet, go Air Force. If you are an officer, you work out on E-Mail watching your guys sweat their ass off on the flight line from your air conditioned office.

Just so you know, the Marine Corps of Vietnam and today's Marines are totally different. My dad was a marine in Vietnam, and the **** he talks about just doesn't exist these days.

Anyway, my advice would be Marines. If you are going to be an officer, be ready for The Basic School, which is basically boot camp for officers. You gotta have your bachelors to do it. Also, don't buy any crap where your recruiter says something like "don't worry about having your degree now, you can enlist now, finish your degree while you are enlisted and then get your officers commission". You won't have the time, and switching from Enlisted to Officer midstream is not really as easy as it sounds.

Hope this helps....

-ndd

[Symian]

Anyways i just want to make sure whatever i decide on, will help me get a good job when i get out. Do you think it will look good when i go to get a job and they see that i was a ranger or a marine sniper? Or will they think im a psyco pathic killing machine? Anywho thanks for all the info guys, anything or any suggestions will help me greatly.

There's one thing you need to understand before you go in. If you go any combat arms field don't expect ANY civilian employer to give a rats ass! If you want a military job that will get you a good job when you get out, go to the Navy or Air Force. If you want to do some cool high speed $hit, get into the "special" side of Army or Marines, do your 20, and get out and pull retirement.

I've been there, bro. Had a special job in the USAF, and now that I'm out, especially being right after 9/11, you'd think everyone would be all about giving a former soldier a chance. NOPE! You're just another joe that had some great experiences that you can look back on, but can't do dick with. My best friend was a tanker, M1A2 not fuel, and was one of the first units in Afganistan. He fought for his country, and has multiple awards and medals. Did he get a break? HELL NO.

Sym

[Symian]

If you want to live in the ****tiest places you can think of, do the grunt work of the military, and do peacekeeping duty in the third world, go Army. They are also the biggest branch, which seems to reduce you to a number in the system, more so than in the Marines.

So true! It seems like the Army always finds the most desolate mass piece of crap land that it can build a post on.

If you want to fly a desk and work out by sweating your ass off on the flight line next to a jet, go Air Force. If you are an officer, you work out on E-Mail watching your guys sweat their ass off on the flight line from your air conditioned office.

While this describes only about 1/4 of the AF it's accurate none the less.


Some advice for if you do want to go Ranger. Don't let the recuiters push you into the 11X bullsh*t. Have the Ranger option IN YOUR CONTRACT. ALWAYS HAVE EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!! You'll have to wait for a slot to open, that's what you have to do. It's worth the wait.

Sym

[RP7]

There's one thing you need to understand before you go in. If you go any combat arms field don't expect ANY civilian employer to give a rats ass! If you want a military job that will get you a good job when you get out, go to the Navy or Air Force. If you want to do some cool high speed $hit, get into the "special" side of Army or Marines, do your 20, and get out and pull retirement.

I've been there, bro. Had a special job in the USAF, and now that I'm out, especially being right after 9/11, you'd think everyone would be all about giving a former soldier a chance. NOPE! You're just another joe that had some great experiences that you can look back on, but can't do dick with. My best friend was a tanker, M1A2 not fuel, and was one of the first units in Afganistan. He fought for his country, and has multiple awards and medals. Did he get a break? HELL NO.

Sym

Same scenario rang true after WWI and WWII.... bloody shame it is. Quite unfortunate.

[1badcamaro]

go seals, they're crazy m***** F******

[Totenkopf]

i spent 4 yrs in 3rd Ranger BN back in early nineties. Its something you have to be 100% dedicatied to you cant half a$$ it thier or they will kick you to the Line. As far as bein an officer there you would have to have a command someplace else before goin thier like 82nd or 101st. they dont take cherry officers. You want to go to war and get some experience then this is the best place.There is also a 3 week try out period. I think your plan is to come in as an officer. it would take about 2 yrs before you could go to a ranger BN. Do some research there is alot of info about the 75th Ranger Rgt. Dont Listen to the marines there just jealous they havent really been used since the Vietnam war ( intended joke )

[Commando_Barbi]

As far as revealing or not revealing prior service drug use....you take a chance there. If you don't plan on getting into a career field that requires a clearance, then you might be ok. If you require a background check for a clearance and they start asking around and find out you did MORE than pot, you not only stand a good chance not getting your clearance, you will probably get processed out for a false enlistment.

I don't know what the recruiting requirements are as far as prior drug use. I see a lot of people that come in on Drug Waivers, and I clear a lot fo people that have prior service drug use. I also process a lot of people OUT of their clearances and watch them become civilians because they didn't reveal their drug use and someone blabbed during the interviews. They talk to teachers, coaches, co-workers, friends, neighbors, former employers, etc. If it's there, they will 95% of the time find it.

If you want to get in and see what the military is all about, there are many commissioning programs for enlisted to officer. Think about those too. You get a lot more respect from your subordinates (IMO) if you have some enlisted service under your belt.

Good luck in whatever your career choices.

C.B.

FYI: Bases are AF and Navy
Posts and Forts are Army and Marines

It all depends on what your MOS is(your job). If you have some POG job sittin behind a desk all day, you'll probably rarely go to the field, and you could hit the gym every day if you wanted. But if you have a combat arms job you might be in the field a month or more at a time, sometimes. So yes it could put a damper on your schedule.

Don't tell them you've done anything other that pot. And don't be put in a position later in your career that they find out that you used AS, cus then they can get you on false enlistment. I knew guys who juiced before, and it wasn't a big deal.

As going to OCS, in the army you need at least 3 years of a bachalors degree. And after OCS you finish the rest while in service.

Hope this helps.

Sym