not-so-furry discussion > general non-furry discussion

Active Duty vs Guard

(1/4) > >>

Varg the wanderer:
Yes, it does.     Thank you.  

Lascivus_Lutra:
Varg, I currently am the manager of a Technical Support team for a company that supplies power systems to telephone and wireless companies.

My time in the Marines gave me invaluable leadership training that is hard to come by in the civilian world.  Of course I was also trained in electronics and have many years troubleshooting various types of electronics systems.

Working on aircraft would give you a view of aircraft that many aeronautical engineers never get.  Honestly many engineers never get the real 'turning wrenches' experience.  They are book smart but short in real experience.  If you wish to go into aeronautical engineering, any prior experience would give you an edge over other engineers.

The college probably would give you limited credit for experience but you should have opportunities during your time in the service to pick up some general credits. ie math, english, history

I had friends that took college courses while in and then got out and continued their education.  So yes it is possible.

I hope this helps.........

Lascivus_Lutra:
Varg, sorry it took me so long to post.  I had distractions and today I remembered that I never responded to your post.

Ok, first off, you scored an 82 on the ASVAB, congrats.  Depending on how your sub scores split our you should not have any real limitations on any field that you want to get into.

Since we are on the topic of skills, with active duty most skills are available.  On the reserve side, well, you will have a certain number of reserve bases nearby.  Each of those reserve bases will have certain specialties that they need.  If you want to work on jets and there aren't jet bases nearby you can't do that in the reserves.  And they do put limitations on how far away from a base you can live and still be a reservist at that base.

Self control - very related to discipline, self discipline to be exact.  The Marines come to mind first, of course, I am biased.
Next would be the Army, then Navy, last Air Force.

You will have a greater opportunity to handle weapons on active duty than reserves.  More in the Marines and Army.  Quite a bit less in the Navy and Air Force.

You said your main motivation is defending this country.  You will be doing that equally on Active Duty or Reserves, any service.  It is a TEAM effort and everyone has a part to play to make things happen.

As an example, cooks.  When I was aboard ship I would be working on helicopters 12 hours a day 7 days a week.  Often up on the flight deck in the heat, cold and/or rain.  When it came time to eat you can bet I appreciated those cooks having some hot chow waiting for me.  MREs are ok but not 3 times a day, everyday.  If I was fed, I was happy, I fixed helicopters, the pilots got to fly they were happy.  They guys in the field got a flight out of the field instead of walking 10 miles, they were happy.  All because I got some hot chow.

I was a Recruiter about 10 years ago, so things may have changed but you had a better selection of jobs in the Army and Marines.  The Navy and Air Force categorized their offerings in broader groupings.

As far as whether to go to college now or later.  Its kind of up to you.  A lot of people (I was one) are not ready for college straight out of school.  They are not focused enough or they are living their parents dream.  I saw many of these when I was a recruiter.  I enlisted several after they dropped out after 1 or 2 semesters.

I am not trying to talk you out of college.  I am warning you, you must be focused.  There is a lot of fun to be had in college but if you get caught up in the fun and forget about school, wll you know thats not good.  Hve fun but take care of the important stuff first.

Finally if you start to seriously consider going into the service, "TAKE YOUR TIME!"  The recruiter wants to get you in and get on to the next candidate.  He/she may not have YOUR best intentions in mind.  Kinda like buying a car, BUYER BEWARE.  Do not sign up for something you do not want.  At anytime you can say NO.  And of course if you think they are jerking you around tuen the tables.  Tell them you are going to talk to the other services before you decide.

And of course, feel free to give a holler if you have questions or need help.  You can e-mail me, I check it nearly everyday.

Varg the wanderer:
I'm very seriously considering going into the services, but I'm torn between the WI National Guard and the Air Force.  The guard will pay 100% up to madison tuition for any collage I want to go to, but the AF recruiter said I can go to collage on base for free.  Does anyone know; this true?  is active duty worth it?  How about the guard?  I realise this decision is mine alone, but I know some of you are or were enlisted and I'd like your input.

EDIT: damn, this was waaaaayy off topic, sorry bout that  

Humbajoe:
I'm going into active duty for the Navy at the end of August.  All I know is that I'll be getting a regular paycheck, $35,000 from the Montgomery G.I. Bill, and supposively they pay for any secondary education I take while enlisted.

I don't know much about reserves.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page