Question for the Army people on my friends list.....

[patgund]

My nephew Jessie is joining the Army. The recruiter is, of course, promising the stars and the moon to him. His father, who got out of basic just as the Vietnam war was drawing to a close and did two tours of duty in Korea as a heavy equipment operator, doesn't have a problem with him joining but wants to make sure he's got everything in writing first.

Anyone want to let him know what he's in for and offer advice or suggestions for him?

Comments

[loli-cat.livejournal.com]

I'd just say FOR SURE to get it in writing. I don't know the details but a friend signed up because they promised him a posting in either Hawaii or Japan after his tour of duty in Iraq. Well, he's finally in Japan after TWO tours in Iraq... :-P

[firedrake-mor.livejournal.com]

I agree with Dad -- get everything in writing. Everything. I got all sorts of promises, too.

Don't believe anything the recruiter says about special privileges in training, choices he's not willing to put into writing, or duty station choices.

Get it ALL in writing.

Srsly.

[jeran.livejournal.com]

Anything he wants, get in writing. Preferably signed by someone senior to the recruiting officer, someone who can actually make promises the military has to keep. If it's not in writing, they're not obligated to do it. Also keep in mind that just because it's in writing doesn't mean you're going to get it. "Choice of posting" can mean they'll give you your choice of posting, and 2 weeks after you get there "needs of the service" will demand that you be reassigned somewhere else. Nowhere in there did it say you'd keep that posting for any specific length of time.

Finally, remember that the term is a minimum of 8 years. Read form DD-41. And if you are enlisted at the start of a war, or enlist during a war, your term ends no earlier than 6 months after the end of the war. No, there's no definite upper limit. You're in until the war ends or until the service says you can go. When they offer you a 2-year or 4-year enlistment, anything less than 8 years, what they mean is 2 or 4 years or whatever on active duty and then 6 or 4 years (8 years minus your active-duty time) in the ready reserve, subject to being called back to active duty at any time. Given the state of the active-duty and reserve forces right now, that means he's probably going to be in until we've managed to untangle ourselves from Iraq and Afghanistan. Assuming, of course, that Georgia doesn't blow up and we get ourselves tangled up there.

[ophy.livejournal.com]

I believe that is the single most terrifying thing I've read in a month.

I imagine your average Patriotic-hearted 18-year-old fresh outta high school doesn't know that, do they?

[jeran.livejournal.com]

Well, they should. DD-41 spells all of it out clearly, if you bother to read it. Best guess, maybe 1 in 20 of those fresh-faced kids actually reads that form before they sign it, and the one that does figures they don't really mean it.

[tepintzin.livejournal.com]

jeran, this is not actually correct. They can only stop-loss you twice, I believe. As I told Pat, electorprince is the best person to ask; he's been stoplossed twice and has now ETS'd over the Army doing their best to entice, cajole, and threaten him into staying.

[jeran.livejournal.com]

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/pdf/enlistment.pdf

That's the form I'm going by. 9(c) doesn't have a 2-stop-loss limit in it. I think service policy currently is no more than 2 stop-losses for a service member, but I'm not sanguine about the military not changing their mind on that.

[libertarianhawk.livejournal.com]

They made it pretty clear to me back in the 80s that it was 8 years, 4 active, 4 reserve, plus wars.

Heck, I'm still eligible to be called up, not that they want me.

[tepintzin.livejournal.com]

The only thing you can count on is the MOS and educational benefits and bonus, which will be in the contract signed just before he swears in. Otherwise, everything else is up to the Army.

In a nutshell, if he signs a contract saying he's going to be a 19K (tank driver) he'll be trained as one, because that's in the contract. Ask electorprince about how often he got to drive a tank, though. Or me about how often I purified water. If his recruiter tells him he'll receive a certain duty station, your nephew needs to call him a liar and walk out. If he's going Active Army (i.e. not reserve or NG) he'll be deployed to someplace within 15 months. If USAR or NG, it depends on when his unit last got deployed. However there is nothing to assure that he wouldn't be picked out of the unit to go downrange.

The only reason I've not gone downrange yet is pure luck/grace of God(s), and I know my time is running out on that.

If Jessie really wants to do this, as I did, tell him to check the contract to make sure he'll get what he needs financially because the rest is not up to him. If it's The Calling the way I got it though, I say Hooah! and best of luck to him.

[dragonessfaire.livejournal.com]

You should contact Billie... I can ask if she minds I pass on her info if you'd like. She's an Army Gulf War Vet. But I think you knew that...