Want to Join the Military? Read This First

[Spâtha]

Originally Posted by sjguy

In 1970 I got busted when I was 17 1/2 for drugs and got the choice, Vietnam or jail. You did not see the end of war in 1970. Prime draft age was 19. I figured I'd do my time & get drafted anyway. So I enlisted at 17 1/2. Of course I did not study for any & all of the tests. I did extremely well. My GT (general technical kind of like an IQ score) was 136. To be an officer you have to have 110. I was young, dumb (intelligent scholastically but dumb in life) & heavily addicted to drugs. At that time they did not care who or what you were, just anothe body to send to Nam. No such thing as flunking tests, lol.

Since I had a high score I was told I could pick any MOS I wanted to. The recruiter told me I could be a Huey mechanic & that I did not have to fly. He lied. I would also be a door gunner & we were next to grunts as the most heavily killed.

But when I was waiting to get into class at Ft. Rucker, Al. & since I had a high GT score I was asked if I wanted to be an air traffic controller? Of course I said yes. I passed with a 91.5% avg. & 4th out of 14 people.

I got my orders to Nam 1 week before my 18th b'day. I went AOL for 44 days not cuz I didn't want to go to Nam but cuz I just wanted to party hearty before I went.

I arrived in Nam on Aug. 31, 1971, my b'day was May 27. I also ended up in the 101st Airborne Div. with no control tower. I was told I was a door gunner. By the grace of God I made it home.

LIBBIGOTS in America made me feel humiliated to have went to Nam & risk my life & serve my country. LIBBIGOTS are scum of the earth.

Sjguy, you sure bring back some memories...
Did you ever see the Stacy Keach movie, 'Twinkle, Twinkle Killer Kane'?
I saw it the first day out and went back to take some friends the next weekend and it was gone, or so I thought - they had renamed the movie!
It was re-released with a new title. 'The Ninth Configuration"
Review:
"This is a well written and tightly crafted novel. The dialogue, while often full of angst, is witty and clever. The premise of the book is certainly unusual.

A secret facility houses militairy officers, all brave men, who have, for reasons unknown, become mentally disturbed. Housed without hope, a militairy psychiatrist enters their lives in a most unexpected way.

Yet, it appears that he has his own issues with which to contend, issues that lie at the heart of his seeming understanding of their problems. Things are not always what they seem. Be prepare for a shocking surprise. This book is definitely a thriller in every sense of the word."

I think you can still get it on DVD At Amazon


Once in a while I break out the Jack and Killer Kane for a quiet evening alone...

[snoluver]

This is a great post. My son is 16 and has already determined the military is not for him. I have not argued for or against since it's his decision. The military is for those determined to be in it and way too many join and then are shellshocked to find out it isnt near what they expected. Joining because you dont know what else to do in my eyes is not good reasoning.

[neocon1225]

Originally Posted by Susanna

When my son enlisted, he didn't study for the ASVAB. In fact, neither he nor I knew it was possible to study for it. He still got a good score! The first I heard about that you could study for it was from a guy who had flunked it a couple of times!

I had no idea what the ASVAB was until my recruiter took me to take it. I ended up getting an 88, so I guess I didn't need to know.

[Newman]

Originally Posted by neocon1225

I had no idea what the ASVAB was until my recruiter took me to take it. I ended up getting an 88, so I guess I didn't need to know.

I got a %95 on it in 1981....unfortunately, the Army had a weight requirement then, and I was over it by about 50 pounds....they gave up on me after about 6 months...

[Fantasy Chaser]

I scored an 83 without studying. I didn't even know at the time that there were ASVAB study guides. Pretty cheesy, in my opinion.

[Susanna]

Originally Posted by Fantasy Chaser

I scored an 83 without studying. I didn't even know at the time that there were ASVAB study guides. Pretty cheesy, in my opinion.

I thought you had a 93.

[Fantasy Chaser]

Originally Posted by Susanna

I thought you had a 93.

Nope. 83.

[mtemptyspace2008]

I tried to join the Air Force in the 70's. I flunked the test.
Embarrasing, but true.
I had my son so I decided to go to community college instead.
I regret that I didn't try to enlist again.

[Bucks]

Originally Posted by Newman

I got a %95 on it in 1981....unfortunately, the Army had a weight requirement then, and I was over it by about 50 pounds....they gave up on me after about 6 months...

Thread jack alert.

This jogs my memory about boot camp.

Back then the Marine Corps was...........shall we say...........NOT politically correct. Any way, we were doing the physical readiness test everybody needs to do once per year, and we were running past a recruit who the drill instructor called a "fat body".

The "fat body" just happened to be a fellow I went to school with. The drill instructor had everyone yell "move it fat body", as part of our cadence. I kinda felt sorry for the guy. To this day I never saw the guy again after boot camp. I always wanted to know how he made out.

Someone like that you might think the Marine Corps would give up on, but I saw him once more in the "special training battalion" (STB was a place for all sorts of "problem recruits") before I graduated boot camp.

Thread jack over.

.

[Newman]

I had the USMC after me too then....they told me they did'nt have the weight requirement....

"The Marines don't recruit men.....we MAKE Marines."....was what he told me....scared the hell out of me since I was 19 at the time.....hehe

[Dacabeti]

My oldest son is talking about joining the NG. I asked him why. His answer was that there are somethings bigger then me. Good answer, I'm proud of you. His friend also has talked about it. I asked him the same question "Why?". His answer was "because Ben is, and it might be fun". I told him don't join, thats a dumb reason. You will only end up hating the time you spend in uniform.

[Susanna]

Originally Posted by Dacabeti

My oldest son is talking about joining the NG. I asked him why. His answer was that there are somethings bigger then me. Good answer, I'm proud of you. His friend also has talked about it. I asked him the same question "Why?". His answer was "because Ben is, and it might be fun". I told him don't join, thats a dumb reason. You will only end up hating the time you spend in uniform.

Good advice, Dac!

[Gordon1]

Originally Posted by EthanLeeVita

I'd love to, but I'm just not a physical person. Got an invitation to West Point and one of my bosses has a son-in-law whose uncle is the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. Good referral there if I ever get in shape. Like the idea of salary for going to college. Plus, its a good background for a political career.

Your gonna be offended by this but if your turning down an opportunity like that just because you don't want to get off your butt then you should be ashamed of yourself. the best things in life come with a little effort and somtimes a whole lot of effort. Saying I'm not a physical person sounds like more of an excuse than a reason.

[Gordon1]

Originally Posted by Bucks

Thread jack alert.

This jogs my memory about boot camp.

Back then the Marine Corps was...........shall we say...........NOT politically correct. Any way, we were doing the physical readiness test everybody needs to do once per year, and we were running past a recruit who the drill instructor called a "fat body".

Someone like that you might think the Marine Corps would give up on, but I saw him once more in the "special training battalion" (STB was a place for all sorts of "problem recruits") before I graduated boot camp.

Thread jack over.

.

Are you sure his name wasn't Pyle?

[blueyedbyrd]

I have a little something against military recruiters. They always came to my poor public school where the ceiling was caving in to offer poor kids college education. They never once visited the local private schools.

BYOB Why do they always send the poor? System of a down

[Gordon1]

Originally Posted by blueyedbyrd

I have a little something against military recruiters. They always came to my poor public school where the ceiling was caving in to offer poor kids college education. They never once visited the local private schools.

BYOB Why do they always send the poor? System of a down

Not sure what the last sentence of your post meant but as for the for the rest consider this. The military is opportunity to make a better life for yourself. People always think that these recruiters are preying on the poor when they are in fact offering a way out of the vicious cycle of dependency and poverty perpetuated by the welfare system in this country. Yes they do ask for some sacrifice in return but the quality of life, pride in self and the values you are taught as a member of the military represent a huge return on that sacrifice. To simply ignore or insult the people who offer this opportunity based on some ill conceived belief that they only want you because you are poor and can't do any better than the military is ignorant. It's no different than stabbing at the hand of someone who's trying to help you out of the path of an oncoming bus. I have never pulled recruiting duty but I know that it is demanding, stressful and necessary job in an all volunteer military. Sure, there are recruiters out there that are unscrupulous at best but the majority are dedicated members of the military who have seen first hand what the military can do for a person and sincerely want to provide that chance to anyone who might want it. You should be thankful that the opportunity is even there. Personally I think military service should be mandatory upon graduation from high school.

[Susanna]

They should have a right to go to public schools; I'm sure they would go to private schools if they were invited, but that is the only way they should go there.

[Neil Peart]

Originally Posted by Gordon Eatley

Are you sure his name wasn't Pyle?

LANGUAGE WARNING!

YouTube Video

[RonaldReaganHero]

I was in the Army, and we had a worse incident than that one in basic. It involved an orange hidden under a guys cap. I was standing at attention looking face-foward and watched the orange roll all the way down the middle of the floor to the other side.

We got smoked.

[Bellwolf]

Spent 20 years in military and the best memories was when I was in the Berlin Brigade especially the night that the Ex East Germans opened the wall and check point Charlie and other crossings points. Heck they ran out of Beer on the Ku dam that night.