MEGA - Thinking about joining the military.

[chrissie]

A friend of mine just became a police officer and he's your average white guy. I dont see why that has anything to do with it. If that's what you want to do, you should go for it.

 

[forgotten]

E4 in the AF is a sergeant...

I though E4 in the Air Force was a Senior Airman?

 

[tathra]

my friend, who used to be in the navy for 13 years or something, always says stuff like, "hey, we were all seamen at one time," to defend the navy. he freakin rules. comic relief when stuck out on mission for weeks.

"you know why marines are on navy ships? because sheep are too obvious" :D

anyway, i'm in the army, in the infantry no less (there's only 2 jobs in the military--infantry, and infantry support), and i am definately not a mindless killer. right now i'm trying to get my shit together so i can go Airborne Ranger and then on to Special Forces, but i'm still not a mindless killer. nobody i know in the military is anything close to a 'mindless killer,' and practically everybody i know thats in is in the infantry. actually, most of the guys are really fuckin talented in lots of different ways and smart as fuck.

so yeah, that remark bothers me.

drgreenthumb, what you should do is join the national guard. tuition support, GI Bill, all that good stuff if you're in school; something like 75% tuition assistance goes all the way up to Masters Degrees, but that might be different by state. you get the same training as everybody else, you just get to be a civilian most of the time.

 

[Web]

I though E4 in the Air Force was a Senior Airman?

You could be right... then again, it might be a rank with twoo different titles, just like the Army (Specialist/Corporal)... I supppose we could find out on the website, I just might have to look it up.

 

[simply_rhythmatik]

If you join and become an MP, be prepared for A LOT of time standing at the front gate checking ids and waving people in. My friend that is an MP in the AF has also got to go through some pretty cool training though. When he was stationed in Vegas, he got to do various training exercises and schools with the DOE and other government agencies. Mind you, the chances you will ever get to use any of these skills while an MP are slim to nil.

Also, do you want to be the equivalent of a beat cop or an investigator? If you join the AF, they have an MOS (can't remember the title off hand) that does investigative work and counter-intelligence. I think it would be a little more high speed (I use high speed lightly when referring to AF) then being a regular MP would. I do know that the investigator positions are some of the most highly coveted spots in the AF.

 

[forgotten]

If you join the AF, they have an MOS (can't remember the title off hand)

It's called the Office of Special Investigations, or OSI. You have to hold the rank of SrA before you can become an OSI agent.

 

[Cyc]

How is it that any thread that even hints at the U.S. military turns Orwellian within 5 posts?

 

[drgreenthumb00]

drgreenthumb, what you should do is join the national guard. tuition support, GI Bill, all that good stuff if you're in school; something like 75% tuition assistance goes all the way up to Masters Degrees, but that might be different by state. you get the same training as everybody else, you just get to be a civilian most of the time.

people have advised me to do this before.. However I will receive no veteran preference when I go to become a cop. You have to be either marines, army, navy or air force. the national guard just doesnt cut it. Also I have no intentions on going to grad school.

 

[michael]

Re: Airforce or Navy? (experienced individuals help please!)

I want to become a cop but im your average white boy and people say there is no way i will become a cop unless i was in military or a minority.

'people' are not always right - i know 6-7 cops and they all share the same characteristics - average white boys with no military experience. so take that into account.

 

[drgreenthumb00]

michael i know people too that are ya average white boy and no military experience who are on the force. However each one of these individuals scored 98 or 99 on test. I cant score anything higher than a 93

 

[laovienax]

nobody i know in the military is anything close to a 'mindless killer,'

hm, maybe not if you interpret it as "dumb"

but you are expected to kill when ordered to do so; it's not like your intelligence or great talents will make any difference to that simple fact; your mind doesn't matter except to the extent that it enables you to carry out an order someone else has conceived;

so in that sense i do think the infantry consists of "mindless killers"
-------

in a democratic framework that might be not that bad and certainly necessary to make the army work; but it doesn't change the fact that you subjugated yourself to someone else's mind and that there is a potential for abuse...

 

[Infernal]

Ok, there are incredible amount of choices that you have to consider when joining either branch.

**NAVY**
-College: The Navy College program allows for a bonus prior to joining the military it also allows 100% of paid tuition while you are active duty. However, due to work schedules a good many militray members struggle to find the time for college during their first two years.

-Housing: Navy Housing is considered "critical" in most areas. This means that their are generally not enough on base houses for members so the Navy pays you extra to live on the economy. WHich is good but base housing tends to be rather shabby. However, the Navy is actively revamping all of its military housing.

-The Job: MAs or Master-At-Arms is recognized as one of the best schools for police in all of the miltary. Few pre-requisites are required to obtain your Investigators license and many do it at relatively low paygrades. Also, MA is considered an 'open' rate meaning that advancement is good. Navy MAs can be stationed at any military command.

**AIR FORCE**

-College: The AF has an established college program and most AF training (classes, correspondence courses) count towards your college education. Due to more relaxed training cycles many AF personnel find time for college.

-Housing: Hands down the best housing in the military. However, due to the large amount of money that the AF has dropped on base housing many housing units are far too small for military members.

-The Job: MP or Military Police is far overstaffed. Advancement is practically non-existent resulting in many members meeting the higher tenure (too low of a rank and too many years means they seperate you). Investigator Schools are only offered to officers and AF MP can only be stationed at AF bases.

Both have advantages and disadvantages.

 

[simply_rhythmatik]

If you only want to be an MP, then why wouldn't you want to go into the army or Marines? I think (and I admit I'm biased due to the fact I've grown up around it) there is more pride in being a Marine than in any other service. I don't know remember where I read it, but there is a saying that if you ask someone in the military what they do, they will say: I'm in the airforce, or I'm in the army, but if you ask a Marine, they will say I AM a Marine.

Anyway, regardless of what service you decide to go with, I would recommend you try to spend as much time overseas as possible, since I think this is one of the greatest benefits the military has to offer. If you join the AF, there is an excellent base in Okinawa called Kadena, and it tends to be the envy of all those in Oki who happen to not live there. There are also benefits to living overseas such as not paying taxes and sometimes having the opportunity to save more money.

 

[sweet0ne]

:D ARMY

 

[anonymousjoe]

Edited for content

 

[anonymousjoe]

I though E4 in the Air Force was a Senior Airman?

You are right...

USAF Enlisted Ranks USAF Officer Ranks

E-10 Chief Master Sergeant of the AF
E-9 Chief Master Sergeant
E-8 Senior Master Sergeant
E-7 Master Sergeant
E-6 Technical Sergeant
E-5 Staff Sergeant
E-4 Senior Airman
E-3 Airman First Class
E-2 Airman
E-1 Airman Basic
O-10 General
O-9 Lieutenant General
O-8 Major General
O-7 Brigadier General
O-6 Colonel
O-5 Lieutenant Colonel
O-4 Major
O-3 Captain
O-2 First Lieutenant
O-1 Second Lieutenant

Courtesy of:
http://wilkes1.wilkes.edu/~aas/warrior_knowledge/ranks/

 

[Acidfiend]

air force has better food and less shit to do.

 

[PassMeTheVicks]

Being a USAF veteran I can say go for the USAF.... WHy? Well, they treat you better (more humanly) and the living conditions and food is better as far as I know. Its said that the USAF is more brains than physical.

PM me if u have any more doubts

 

[Web]

E-5 Staff Sergeant
E-4 Senior Airman

This is what confused me about AF ranks... in the Army and Marines, E-5 is sergeant and E-6 is staff.

 

[bstn785]

Dude go airforce, its freaking cake. DOn't go Navy, I've seen guys come off ships with missing teeth and black eyes...those close quarters are no way to live.
The military blows, but it will help you with college money and keep you in the right direction until you're old enough to f yourself up responsibly.