Joining the Army. What Do I Do?

[Desolane900]

So I'm going up Thursday the 25th to finalize paperwork with the Army recruiter but I'm undecided in what I should do. Leaning on MP or Infantry but I figure some other opinions from CM couldn't hurt. What do I do?

[apophis775]

I was former army. It depends what you want to do.

Do you want everyone to hate you, or do you want everyone to treat you like total shit?
Cause, that's yer 2 choices with MP vs Infantry...

[DMAN]

I say do whatever you want, and stick with it. Everyone has different experiences, and that's life for ya. ;^}}

[Desolane900]

I was former army. It depends what you want to do.

Do you want everyone to hate you, or do you want everyone to treat you like total shit?
Cause, that's yer 2 choices with MP vs Infantry...

Well my MP buddy was telling me to do MP over Infantry and a Marine I talked to told me not to do Infantry but go with Mech and a Naval Logistics guy I talked to at my local Legion told me to go Ranger for some odd reason (though he may have been hammered.) so I'm torn with all these decisions.

[DMAN]

Well my MP buddy was telling me to do MP over Infantry and a Marine I talked to told me not to do Infantry but go with Mech and a Naval Logistics guy I talked to at my local Legion told me to go Ranger for some odd reason (though he may have been hammered.) so I'm torn with all these decisions.

Do whichever one that you would enjoy doing the most. Try to stick with something that appeals to you.

[Desolane900]

Do whichever one that you would enjoy doing the most. Try to stick with something that appeals to you.

MP sounds the most appealing... And getting people to hate me comes easy. Might do that.

[DMAN]

MP sounds the most appealing... And getting people to hate me comes easy. Might do that.

No matter what, you'll always have people that hate you. It's as natural as breathing.

[Killaninja12]

I'd probably go for MP. That's just me though.

[Solacian72]

If he was serious about going Ranger, I'd go with that. However, it depends if you want to be fighting the bad guys head on or just being in a base. Being an MP does sound fun and shit, it just depends on what appeals to you.

[Sargeantmuffinman]

Juat don't pick the EOD job.

[KeyWii]

Armor Crew.

► Show Spoiler

Because reasons.

[matchafrappe]

Well my MP buddy was telling me to do MP over Infantry and a Marine I talked to told me not to do Infantry but go with Mech and a Naval Logistics guy I talked to at my local Legion told me to go Ranger for some odd reason (though he may have been hammered.) so I'm torn with all these decisions.

Well, my cousin faced a similar situation several years ago when he joined the military. At the time, we had my uncle who was a retired SpecOps Marine(he won't tell me anything beyond that), and any advice he gave was welcome because it always ended up producing a positive outcome. My family has yet to witness any of his advice to go sour. Not sure if this is relatable, as I may seem biased, but, when my cousin asked our uncle why he always makes good decisions, his response was: "You either succeed or fail your mission." However, this could also apply to other divisions of military. Perhaps you should go with the marine's idea. Another nugget of wisdom that my uncle mentioned: "Do what makes you happy."

[Desolane900]

Armor Crew.

► Show Spoiler

Because reasons.

Well my father was in a tank crew for the better part of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I'm not really tech savvy though.

[Desolane900]

Juat don't pick the EOD job.

If I do EOD, atleast there won't be any pain when I die. Just a brief "oh shit" millisecond before I get vaporized.

[MrGabol100]

If I do EOD, atleast there won't be any pain when I die. Just a brief "oh shit" millisecond before I get vaporized.

I just imagine a dude in a full EOD suit, going over to the bomb place, everyone around the area really far far away, and he just cumbersome walking to the place with his hands, then he starts defusing, and when he realizes his fail takes a radio and says:

-Eh... Guys?
-*Heavy breathing* What is it now!
-I, Missed a cable... Heh.

*BOOM*

[Rey]

Well do try to think of your future, if you go infantry for example there isn't much you can do after you get out, apart from more infantry (or perhaps a police officer). Where as being a Medic or an Information Systems Operator etc, lets you on a bit of a head start in that general area. I just hope this makes sense as I am a bit hammered.

@MrGabol100,
Wouldn't that be a beach.

[Desolane900]

Well do try to think of your future, if you go infantry for example there isn't much you can do after you get out, apart from more infantry (or perhaps a police officer). Where as being a Medic or an Information Systems Operator etc, lets you on a bit of a head start in that general area. I just hope this makes sense as I am a bit hammered.

@MrGabol100,
Wouldn't that be a beach.

That's another thing that worries me. What will the job situation look like in America in four years? Or longer if I decide to make a career out of it.

[Sadokist]

All I gotta say is don't let them bullshit you into something you're not too interested in. My friend went in to do one thing and after basic they ended up puttin' em down in Oklahoma doing artillery which got old after a week and he was stuck there for good.

[LordeKilly]

If he was serious about going Ranger, I'd go with that. However, it depends if you want to be fighting the bad guys head on or just being in a base. Being an MP does sound fun and shit, it just depends on what appeals to you.

If you want to be a ranger, you can't go in by default. You'd have to get your tabs and you should get your airborne tab and go with infantry. I believe you can be from a variety of different places, but infantry with an airborne tab would give you a good chance at getting your ranger tab.

[apophis775]

If you go infantry, to prepare for service, ensure you know how to use the following:

Leaveblower
Trashbag
Lawnmower

90% of the time you are stateside, those will be your tools. You see, most combat jobs, don't have much to do outside training stateside, so they are used for "work details" across the base, ESPECIALLY low-ranking people. It's one of the reasons they have such a high turnover of "4 years and hour".

If you go MP, expect literally anyone who isn't an MP to hate you. There's a big "brotherhood" in the military, and MPs are the exception (at least stateside). Your the police force, but your seen mostly as "snitches". When you write someone a ticket, it isn't a "$65 ticket you pay", it's a Ticket you pay, and a notice to your commanding officer. MPs make a LOT of enemies, VERY quickly.

If you scored well on the ASVAB there are a LOT of interesting jobs, that have stateside roles and overseas roles. Communications, Intelligence, Logistics, Personnel. These jobs almost ALWAYS come with Secret clearances and training to make you useful outside the military.

[TheSlapDoctor]

I've no experience with the military, but it'd probably be in your best interest to pick a role that will teach you a trade, like becoming a mechanic or something. You'll need work after the military too.

[Biolock]

It depends what you want out of the military IMHO. Getting your Ranger Tab does not make you a Ranger, contrary to popular belief. If you earn your Ranger tab people may call you a Ranger, but the only Actual Rangers are those who made it through RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program), now RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program), wear the tan beret (You don't get that for completing Ranger School, and serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment (A special operations unit). I would argue with Apop in the sense that everyone hates MP. I wouldn't say people HATE the MP, but I've never met a soldier is friends with an MP. If you do choose to be MP, it's less glamorous than a lot of people might think. I know that because when I was first enlisting, the 31 series (Military police) was hot on my radar. It's a lot of sitting in your car, writing tickets. Apop is correct about infantrymen being very tactical janitor; unless there's a war, the only people going into combat are SF and special operations. Hope that helps, if you (or anyone else) has any questions about joining the military, feel free to message me.