Need some advice,info ....uhm anything?

[Aussieee]

I know many of you have been in the service or are right now. I was trying to get some information from your own experience..... what do you have to say about the air force, navy, army, marines, national guard or coast guard. Which 1 would be a good fit for a female and would let me spend good amount of time with my family? Which 1 would be the safest and offer the most benefits? Which 1 wouldn't require so much moving? I was thinking of joining as a reserve ..... is it a good idea or should I just go for the full time? I was really hoping to go with the air force but from what I found out I think I am already 2 old lol...... Any help or opinion would be very appreciated.

[Nexx]

http://www.airforce.com/
http://www.goarmy.com/
http://www.navy.com/navy/
http://www.marines.com/
http://www.gocoastguard.com/
http://www.peacecorps.gov/


Should help you out with whatever it is you're looking for.

[Aussieee]

Should help you out with whatever it is you're looking for.

Yeah I went to the websites already and red and everything but was looking more for info from personal experience

[Jay203]

awwww aussieee
what brought this on?

[Aussieee]

awwww aussieee
what brought this on?

uhm trying to fund my schooling lol...... and why not? Adventure?

[Jay203]

uhm trying to fund my schooling lol...... and why not? Adventure?

okie~
stay safe or i won't be able to make fun of minimonbon anymore

[Ryan1616]

normally id say dont join. My hubby was in and it was a hellasious deal for us.... but if you had to and thought it was best for you Air Force can be pretty safe... i mean they call it the Chair Force for a reason. AF reserve or something like that might be a bit more to your fittings.


Any choice you pick i hope you Be safe Best luck with your new adventure

[Buggss]

Considering current events and all the cuts going on right now doesn't seem the ideal time to try and join up but whichever you choose to do be careful and stay safe.

[Beld]

Having been in Army, Air Force and both types of reserves.

Reserves are ok, get a lot of the benefits, including the GI Bill, while only having to do Basic Training and Tech School as active duty, and Air Force is the least called up of the reserves based on my experience.

Sometimes, depending on your job and unit, you can get in some active duty during school breaks or if you volunteer which is nice to add to your retirement account, if you are planning on retiring from the service at a later date.

There are also some programs that you can start in the reserves or guard and move to active duty, not sure since I haven't been in the military in about 15 years how it works now, but I did know some guys that did that to get around the age requirement.

Army will get you called up, not really sure about Navy reserves, but Navy will usually get you shipped out for months at a time, which makes school a little harder.

Marines is the same as Army, if you join the Marine Reserves, you will most likely end up getting called for active duty at some point.

Good luck, don't volunteer for anything if you do end up joining .

[Fon_Win]

Here's my advice.. looking back on having served during the cold war. (which means many of the experiences i had no longer apply, the armed services are very different from 20 years ago). I fully realize you probably won't take my advice .

I wouldn't recommend joining for adventure, If you want adventure put 20$ away a week/paycheck and take a vacation once a year. as you earn more money put more aside and take a more adventerous vacation. Or take up sky diving, Go hoboing for 2 weeks... whatever. Seriously, the kind of adventure you can find in the military can be fun, it can also be harrowing to you and your family.

Don't join to pay for your education. If you can't afford a 4 year school, go to a 2 year school, study ( as in do your homework, and study, not party 6 days out of the week). You'll get straight A's and then get a scholarship to pay the rest of the way, tutor other students to pay the rest of way.. whatever.

If you want to join FOR an education then by all means do so. I went Nuke electrician (navy) and i've been riding that schooling for most of my life. Decide what kind of education you want, and go for that speciality. (see recruiter statement below though ).

If you want to join to serve you country, by all means do so. It's a proud tradition, and I salute all the members of our armed forces for serving.

If you want to join for a career, by all means do so.

Do NOT trust your recruiter, do NOT sign on your first visit. If you're lucky, you'll get a great recruiter, odds are you won't. Take what ever tests they want to give you etc. go home and think about it, carefully. You'll be making a decision that doesn't just effect the next 4 to 6 years of you life, it will change you fundamentally as a person.

Hope that all makes sense... Good luck!

[Buggss]

...I wouldn't recommend joining for adventure....

Reading this brought something back to me.

An old friend who had always been desperate to join the fire brigade ended up doing other jobs first. One was what most think of as the greatest job in the world: RAF pilot flying Tornados at the time. However it seems 90% of the time he simply flew them back and forwards between various countries most of which was spent looking at water.

As Fon said, ask every question under the sun before you take the dive, things may not be quite as you expect...

[Ashurr]

If it's mainly to fund education I do not recommend the Marines. The dedication required to endure the ass-kicking that is Marine basic training weeds out those not "in it to win it" REAL quickly.

[petegunn]

Anything but the infantry, you'd be best joining the reserves first to find out if you'd like lifestyle.
Its a rather large commitment for you and your family, so its prudent to find out what the different services have to offer you first. If you join the Army first and formost you'll be a soldier, so you'll be required to do what they do no matter what trade you end up. Good luck

[cardmj1]

Veteran Navy here.

My advice is first don't join any, but if you must go, go Air Force because it will provided the most stable home life of all the forces. But first, I would go to the local college and talk to a financial advisor (state school not private). Find out what scholarships are available to you, there is more than $10 million in scholarship money out there that no one ever applies for because they don't want to write an essay or whatever. Do the work and get the money before considering joining the military.

[lord_of_rage]

normally id say dont join. My hubby was in and it was a hellasious deal for us.... but if you had to and thought it was best for you Air Force can be pretty safe... i mean they call it the Chair Force for a reason. AF reserve or something like that might be a bit more to your fittings.


Any choice you pick i hope you Be safe Best luck with your new adventure

The Airforce is a perfectly good alternative to military service.. But they still will not promise your MOS in writing.

[Nysrock]

I myself spent 4 years active duty and 4 reserve in the Air Force. I loved it. Let people call it the "chair force" if they want but while on tour in Saudi Arabia I was heading for the base pool on my off time while watching the Army in full gear doing calisthenics.

The thing with the Air Force is that about 80-90% is what they consider non-deployable. The main groups that get deployed are the pilots and support for the pilots. IE: Security Forces, Fire Dept, Civil Engineering, Mechanics, etc. You will generally have better living conditions with the Air Force then some of the other branches.

Whatever you decide I wish you the best.

PS: I was a Firefighter in the Air Force. Great job IMO as you only work every other day. 24 on then 24 off.

[DrenglisEU]

Go DDO-force!!

[stainer]

I know many of you have been in the service or are right now. I was trying to get some information from your own experience..... what do you have to say about the air force, navy, army, marines, national guard or coast guard. Which 1 would be a good fit for a female and would let me spend good amount of time with my family? Which 1 would be the safest and offer the most benefits? Which 1 wouldn't require so much moving? I was thinking of joining as a reserve ..... is it a good idea or should I just go for the full time? I was really hoping to go with the air force but from what I found out I think I am already 2 old lol...... Any help or opinion would be very appreciated.

Former Army here. These are my opinions.

Air Force has the nicest living arrangements.
Navy, Army and Marines would keep you on the move.
Reserves, National Guard are one weekend a month, 2 weeks a year. 3-6 month initial training.
Coast Guard from what I understand may be a little more stable about the moving around piece. You would also be stateside, unless there is some deployment system that I am unfamiliar with.

[Folonius]

Speaking from experience, don't join the Army unless you want to be a grunt. They are always on the move, and always working. It's not a bad thing, but you are very busy, and at times depending where you are at, can be very dangerous.

Navy will put you in the water and relativly safe, but you will always be on the move (similar to army but not quite as dangerous). If I had to do it all over again, I would join the Air Force.

[mystafyi]

navy vet

N ever
A gain
V olunteer
Y ourself