Can I join the Army?

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

Will they take me? I'm 30 years old, relatively healthy but not in particularly good shape. I'm college educated and a career software engineer. What kind of assignment could I realistically expect? Anyone know?

[Loonman]

1. Check their site

http://www.army.mil/

[leanings]

2. I believe 27 is the cutoff. n/t

n/t

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. they're always looking for more cannon fodder

Take this pair of boots, a rifle and this uniform with a bullseye on its back....

[Aristus]

4. The enlistment cutoff is 35, I think, but it depends on what you mean

by *not in particularly good shape*. I was thirty pounds overweight when I joined, and took hell, pure hell, from the drill sergeants for being a "fatboy". Now, I lost thirty-six pounds in Basic Training and am now the masculine hunk you know as Aristus. But it was a long, hard slog. If you are reeeeeeally out of shape, you may have to go to a training camp the Army provides for guys who can't do a minimum number of pushups and situps upon entry. I did not suffer that indignity, fortunately, but wouldn't wish it on anyone, just the same.

Having said that, computer software guys are really in demand in the Army. You could get a pretty good position in Brigade or Division Ops with your experience. Or even be an intel analyst.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

7. I'm actually rather thin, but probably couldn't run a mile

I more of a drinker than a runner, let's say?

Is there anything in my past, oh let's say, association with political organizations that are not considered, er, mainstream, that would prevent me from joining, or getting a security cleareance? Or perhaps some bad behavior in my past? Do you know about these things?

[TSElliott]

5. You could probably get in as a civilian contractor.

You wont get to blow sh*t up and wear a nifty uniform but you will get paid a hell of a lot better.

[sventvkg]

6. I know someone who was 32 when they joined..

You could get it but you may be too old to be an officer..But you will go in right off the bat with a degree as an E4 specialist and if you may even become a warrent officer due to the high tech expertse you have..I would NOT suggest the Army though.If you are deadset on the military I would look into the Navy or Air Force...More tech positions and nicer amenities....Good luck.

[Loonman]

8. Medicare bill passed, I might join the Army

Or starve to death as an old man.

[NightTrain]

9. Why the hell would you want to?

Are you really that anxious to go to the desert and get shot at?

[latebloomer]

10. My question is WHY?!?

would you want to risk your life carrying out the mission of the Bush Reich???

[Tinoire]

11. They'll take you in a heartbeat

As far as the assignment is concerned... They'll at first try to give you the most enticing gonna-make-you-salivate-Who-Counts-The-Votes job(hell, they'll even talk to you about a job counting miltary votes and mean it) before shipping your ass to whatever hell-hole needs you the most.

Ask me in a PM lol. Don't you dare my friend!

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

12. oh I know all about recruiters

I know they lie, I know they will tell me what I want to hear ... but would they really just strap a gun on me? I thought they wouldn't trust an old cynic on the frontlines, I thought you had to get dumb young guys for that? Not sure if they would or should trust me with high powered weaponry and a big class chip on my shoulder :grin:

Eh, what about the Navy, that's what my Dad did?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

13. Any reason why the Army? What about Navy, Coast Guard...

even the Air Farce.... but God, the Army?

No way, no how.

[Frangible]

14. Sure, they'll take you

The question is, will you take them? Isn't kicking back and coding in a nice safe well paying job better than slogging it out in the desert and getting shot at?

[sexybomber]

15. Why would you want to do such a thing? (n/t)

[scottcsmith]

16. Be an officer

See if you qualify for Officer Candidate School, and then join the Air Force. They'd be more likely to need someone with your technical skills. Air Force bases are nicer and better maintained than other branches of the military. These guys call their barracks "dorms," that's how great it is in the Air Force.

[dreissig]

17. Please Reconsider

You will not like the Army. Maybe it has changed but I doubt it. Very few people like the Army - they stay in because they don't have alternatives.

If you're looking for a job, think of the Army as the last resort. It's really unpleasant work. Army recruitment films show guys at graduation from Basic Training, when they're feeling pretty good about themselves and about being in the Army. That feeling does not last, trust me.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

18. that's what I've heard

People straight out of basic training act like they're on top of the world, than a year later actually doing the work I've never heard anyone say something good about it.

What about Navy or Air Force?

[dreissig]

21. Burned Out Software Engineer

Software engineering is very difficult because you're caught in the middle among people with conflicting demands - users, managers, programmers, and your own IT budget. It's easy to get discouraged, especially if you're making good money and you don't see a way out.

As I see your situation, you are breaking for the wall. But it's an illusion. You won't get out of software engineering by joining the military at 30 years old. They'll take advantage of your civilian experience, and you'll do your old job for a lot less money.

At 30, you're not too old to start in a completely new field. Try social work! The demand for skilled social workers will only grow. Later, if you decide you've had enough of the bureaucracy and heartaches that come with social work (lots of heartaches!) you can go back to information technology. In fact, you will be pulled back to IT.

Do not join the Army. You will not be glad you did.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

23. social work?

I don't want to work with kids or anything. I could always go back to being a union organizer - the pay sucks but it sure was fun :)

[Loonman]

19. How about Marines?

http://www.usmc.mil/

SURVIVAL TACTICS FOR MARINE BOOT CAMP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Avoid eye contact. (It's harder for a Drill Instructor to intimidate you if you're looking past or through him!)
2. Bear in mind that no matter how traumatic things seem Boot Camp is only Temporary. In fifteen or sixteen years it will seem like a dimly-remembered cruel joke.

3. Trying your damnedest to achieve something is often more impressive than actually achieving it. Drill Instructors look for motivation and spirit more than anything else. Show it to them and they'll be happy. (You do want your Drill Instructor to be happy.)

4. Don't volunteer for anything.

5. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open.

6. Doing push-ups (you'll do plenty of these) with your fingers spread and your palms off of the deck is easier than doing them with your fingers together and your palms flat.

7. Never, ever, ask a Drill Instructor "Why?"

8. Never smile at or near or within sight of a Drill Instructor. You have no right looking happy in boot camp, and if a Drill Instructor sees you looking this way he'll take steps to remedy the situation.

9. When you have to say something to a Drill Instructor, make sure your words are of the one or two syllable variety. That way you'll be less apt to say something that'll get you in trouble. "No, sir" or "Yes, sir" are good ones to learn.

10. Eat quickly in the mess halls. Drill Instructors will occasionally abruptly terminate the time allotted for leisurely dining. ("We're having duck for dinner - duck in and duck out.") ***READ NOTE PLEASE

11. Begin and end every sentence with the word "sir" (i.e., "Sir the Private requests permission to speak, sir!" or "Sir, yes, sir!").

12. When you speak, speak loudly.

13. Avoid personal pronouns ("I," "me," "you," "they," "we") when speaking to Drill Instructors.

14. Despite what you may think the Sergeants, Staff Sergeants and Gunnery Sergeants are really your friends. The Officers may or may not be. If you have to confide something to someone, tell the Drill Instructor.

15. Reserve duty outside of boot camp is nothing like active duty during boot camp. As you may suspect, this is good. And as long as we're on the subject,

16. Don't tell anyone you're a reservist unless you have to. Everybody else will be on active duty when they get out of boot camp, and misery loves a companion.

17. Don't question for one minute your decision to enlist in the Marines. It's too late to do anything about it now and it's not a productive train of thought. (Anyway, in future years you'll be proud you did it.)

18. Make damn sure your boots fit. Foot trouble in boot camp can cause serious problems - like not graduating with your platoon.

19. Don't get sick. Getting sick in boot camp can cause serious problems - like not graduating with your platoon.

20. Stay awake during the classes. You don't want the attention Drill Instructors lavish upon dozing recruits.



***NOTE: Truth be told, while I was a DI we never rushed the recruits through chow or even eluded to that there wasn't much time to eat, why? Because rushed recruits don't chew, they swallow, and that leads to choking recruits, seen it happen a million times.

~difrompi (former Parris Island DI)

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

20. I'll be the first to admit

I don't think I could handle the Marines.

[dreissig]

22. Marines are Crazy

You never get out of the Marine Corps. I've never met an ex-Marine who was truly an ex-Marine. That's why when someone mentions they were in the Marine Corps, I express my sympathy for their family.

The sergeants are as crazy as the privates. Some of them are crazier.

[geniph]

24. Eh, my husband was a Marine

and he says he is very proudly an EX-Marine! He says that's the best kind of Marine to be!

[dreissig]

35. Ex-Marines

Your husband sounds like an unusual man. Most ex-Marines can't wait to join the Marine Corps League. They love hanging around and acting like rough tough Marines again.

But I'll give them credit for keeping up their discipline. When they march in patriotic parades, they keep in step and they look sharp. However I still say that Marines are crazy.

[geniph]

25. Here's the actual information

from the Army's website:

http://www.goarmy.com/army101/twopaths.htm

To enlist as an Active-Duty Soldier in the U.S. Army you must be:


• Between the ages of 17 and 34
• A U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident Alien
• Healthy and in good physical condition
• In good moral standing

To enlist in the Army Reserve you must be:


• Between the ages of 17–34
• A U.S. citizen or registered alien
• Healthy and in good physical condition
• In good moral standing

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

26. what does "in good moral standing" mean?

no, seriously, what does that mean exactly?

[dreissig]

31. No Felony Convictions

It may not be an across-the-board prohibition of felons. Grand Theft Auto is a felony but may not keep you out of the military. A conviction for a sex-related felony definitely will.

[geniph]

34. It means they don't want ME!

:evilgrin:

[Dr Satan]

27. haha "in good moral standing?"

i guess that means having no problem killing humans for corporations.

[tom_paine]

28. You would join the Imperial Forces of the Amermacht?!?

You've gotta be joking!

And I am a USAF Veteran.

Don't get me wrong, During the Days of the Old Republic, when you actually protected and defended the Consititution, rather than in today's Empire where you carry out Imperial Policy and there is no Constitution left to protect and defend, anyway...

For myself, I could NEVER now serve in Imperial Forces, any more than I could serve in Hitler's Army. And although, for the moment, the Imperial Amermacht is "kinder and gentler" they are still ruled by a dictatorial cabal with roots (and this is no coincidence) to the American financiers of Hitler, namely Grandpa Prescott Bush.

Again, I say...you've got to be joking.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

29. what was that date exactly?

When did the "Old Republic" turn into the "Empire" - and don't tell me 12-11-2000 either.

[tom_paine]

32. Nope...it's 12-12-2000

:evilgrin:

I expect future historians to argue over the exact date (provided the Age of Totalitarianism doesn't see the ultimate fufillment of Orwell's vision first) as historians today argue over when exactly the Roman Republic Fell.

Was it when Caeser crossed the Rubicon 48BC? Was is 3-12-44BC, when he accepted the crown? Was it in 31 BC, when Octavian won the Battle of Actium, or was it 27BC, when he changed his name to Augustus and accepted the Imperial Senate's laurels and acclaim officially as Emperor.

So, ok, I guess you can put me in with th 48BC Rubicon crowd, because 12-12-2000 was an equivalent watershed event. There will be other, more prominent events which people can hang their hats on, though it matters nothing to the Public Treasury or to the people who just got the sh*t beat out of them in Miami as the Imperial Forces tighten their Iron Fist around the Homeland...or to our enslaved great-grandchildren who shall reap in spades what the Imperial Subjects of Amerika today have sown.

I guess I like being ahead of the curve, so I choose to stick with the 2000/48BC moment.

So, we can argue as gentlemen over the exact moment...hell, some might say it was when the Busheviks assassinated JFK, RFK and MLK.

But the fact is that there is something like a 90% chance that the Old American Republic is either dying or dead.

And still, I cling to that 10% hope, and so will NEVER GIVE UP striving and trying to make it not so!

But YOU should rethink a decision to join the Imperial Forces and serve nothing more than lining Bushevik pockets.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

33. it's not the first time it happened - how about Teddy Roosevelt?

I want him gone too, but I'm not ready to declare America dead - he'll be gone in two years...

[tom_paine]

36. From your lips to God's ears

And what about Teddy Roosevelt? You thinking of Rutherford B. hayes in 1876 or Benjamin Harrison in 1888?

Among the other significant differences that make Amerika more Imperial Roman-like in 2000, such as being the sole "superpower", is that each of these 2 instances followed the Constitution to resolution.

Whatever backroom dealings and other shenanigans resulting in the election of Hayes and Harrisonoccurred, they occurred within the proper Constitutional framework of dealing with disputed pResidential elections.

But no where in the Consititution is the Supreme Court mentioned as a mechanism of resolution for pResdiential elections

Which makes 2000 a Coup, plain and simple...wholly outisde Constitutional framework for perhaps the first time in American History.

Finally, I said I thought there was a 10% chance that the Old Republic might be restored, and I am going to write and work and donate my ass off to see that it heppens.

But I look at the Imperial Subjects of Amerika (including myself) and that 10% chance is looking pretty slim.

[Name removed]

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