| Author |
I'M LOSING MY HAIR! |
Crim
Fleet Admiral
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: March 16, 2003
Posts: 1336
|  Posted: 2005-06-02 17:32
I gotta tell you, join the navy. Yeah yeah, national guard get alot more days off, but the navy will do ALOT for you. When your called away from home, and in the states..They'll supply a house,appliances, car. Also, when your on board, you'll travel the world. The navy is awsome, wich is why Im planning to inlist when I turn 18.
_________________
|
Bobamelius
Grand Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: October 08, 2002
Posts: 2074
From: Ohio
| Posted: 2005-06-02 18:03
"You join the Navy to see the world, but whaddya see, you see the sea."
_________________
|
Coeus {NCX-Charger}
Admiral, I can't read,
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: February 16, 2004
Posts: 3635
From: South Philly
| Posted: 2005-06-02 18:08
Ports?
_________________
Darkspace: Twilight
|
Tael
2nd Rear Admiral
Palestar
Joined: July 03, 2002
Posts: 3695
From: San Francisco Bay Area
| Posted: 2005-06-02 18:18
Ares, dont know where you got your info, but that is so wrong... I was in the Marines for 8 1/2 years... Marines is under the Department of the Navy, we're just the Mens Department...
They dont do that at all.. I was in a high travel job for my last few years. They would arrange for me to have a rental car if i needed it, but I still had to pay for it and then wait for them to reimburse me, upwards of 3 months sometimes. But if I didnt pay the bill every month I risked loosing my rank even though they had 3 months from the end of my assignment to act on my expense report.
The will put you in barracks, not a house. If you are married you can sign up for base housing, but most bases unless you have kids you are looking at a long wait. Sometimes as long as 2 years (and you usually only spend 3 years on a station).
Remember, the recruiters will alter the facts, ALOT to get you to sign. So dont take anything they say for fact.
Now some of the things the military does do are:
- Move your personal items from duty station to duty station (limited to a max weight and volume of space depending on your rank and weither assignment is stateside or overseas)
- Arrange to store your stuff in a wharehouse with a public company should you be scheduled for more than 45 days deployed. (That also means they give your room up to someone else and you will be in a different one when you return. So turn off your phone and cable if you are lucky enough to have those available. Not all barracks do.)
- Store your vehicle in the base lot while deployed (but are not responsible for it, many people come back to find their cars damaged or broken into and the government is not liable).
- Most bases provided certain service facilities such as Auto Hobby shops for as little as $1 a day. These facilities have all the tools you could need to work on your car, but you have to do the work yourself or with a friend. Great for those people that love to work on cars.
- Some bases have stables and marina's where you can rent horses or small boats like canoo's or small sail boats for the day.
Base movie theaters are usually 6 months behind what is shown in town, meaning the movie is most likely on DVD already anyways.
Base commencaries and px's (stores) have been privatized and are no longer a "deal". Most items you can buy at the PX can be found in town for cheeper...
All bases do have Hostage Houses (Hostess House) which are sort of like cheep motel 6's, only not as nice... And limited capacity, so first come first serve. But you can stay in them for much cheeper than a hotel while traveling the country on a vacation. Just have to plan to stop at bases the whole way.
Space Available transport - While in the service and retired, you can goto most Air Force bases and fly "Space A" meaning if they have an open seat for you, you can hitch a ride for like $15. But you will be bumped for anyone with orders and often times the flights change their destination while in flight... So not a very reliable mode of travel. If you have the time to kill then go for it, but if you have to be back to base in 2 days, dont risk it. Fly civillian.
Moral Calls - while deployed you can use the pay phones that AT&T sets up in the field for you at normal international rates, But a little known fact is you are permitted (at your commands disgretion) one 15 minute per week moral call. Using the military Autodin phone system you call the base operator of a stateside base near where you want to call, then ask for an outside line for a moral call. They will give you 15 minutes and dial the number for you. But they can and sometimes do monitor those calls.
If you are not on per diem, you get a meal card which is good at any chow hall on the base so you can eat where you are or want. if you are on per diem (married people or those living in town with permission), anytime you are deployed or in the field for training, they subtract your meals from the per diem ammount or take you off per diem for the time completely. Good to note this because many people get use to that extra money and suddenly they are in a bind when they loose it.
Anyways, I am not against joining the military, I enjoyed my time in, the ups and the downs of it... What I am against is the blatent missinformation that recruiters speal out in order to get people to join. Just want you to know the facts. That way you are happier with your time in. If you go in believing the lies and stretched truths the recruiters pander out, you will not enjoy your time in and are more likely to be come disgruntled, do the minimum to get buy, or a disciplinary problem down the road while loathing the experiance.
[ This Message was edited by: Tael on 2005-06-02 18:22 ]
_________________
|
LordShard
Cadet
Joined: April 28, 2005
Posts: 140
| Posted: 2005-06-02 18:43
Oh yeah, the contract you get when you sign up, if you expect to goto college, read the contract! The recruiter might try to slip you a contract that doesn't have anything about going to college in it, in which case you'r screwed out of an education. However if you do get it, you can take all the classes needed for a bachelors degree except one low level class, then transfer to anoutehr degree and take all but take the low level clas you didn't take earlier last, and bam, 2 bachelors degrees. I know a guy who was in teh navy that did that.
_________________
Don't press Ctrl W!
|
Crim
Fleet Admiral
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: March 16, 2003
Posts: 1336
| Posted: 2005-06-02 18:59
This info was given by my uncle, father, and cousin. They've all spent over four years in the navy. o.O
_________________
|
Captain_Savage
Cadet
Joined: September 30, 2003
Posts: 144
| Posted: 2005-06-02 19:05
RRSP?
_________________
|
Webstar
Cadet
Joined: March 28, 2004
Posts: 110
From: Liverpool, England
| Posted: 2005-06-02 19:57
Aye.! Tanks aint that bad im in the army! im in the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment but at the minuite im in with 3 signals but tanks aint always that bad. and most tanks like the Challenger MkII have support like humvees or another tank and artillary isnt that easy! i knew a corporal in DRA (Royal Artillary) and his unit came under attack and sum1 from his unit got wounded. so its still likely to get hit on both sides.
When the war started in iraq i was sent in and i came under fire my SA80 jammed and well i got shot in the arm so i was sent home and ive been looking after the signals unit after i took my officers course and well on Monday! ill be sent to Cyprus to go to the 2RTR HQ and well who knows
but if i wer to pic another unit i would pick engineering or signals and maybe logistic corps (very easy but if u mess up u get it bad) o and 1 word of advice NEVER tell ur section or platoon commander that u wanna run or say u have nothing to do!
_________________
|
Captain_Savage
Cadet
Joined: September 30, 2003
Posts: 144
| Posted: 2005-06-02 20:18
tanks are very good, don't get me wrong, the M1A2 is second only to the Challenger. if this were a mmore conventional war i'd be a tank gunner right now. but i will not be caught dead in any armored vehichle in this kind of fighting. tanks are bullet magnets.
i really want to go into ordinance, but there ain't no units like that around. so, i got arty by default. however, if i can't go into the artillery, i'm definately gonna go for cavalry. because even though i'd be a priority target, i'd be a well protected priority target.
_________________
|
Fatal Rocko Willis
Fleet Admiral
Fatal Squadron
Joined: March 01, 2003
Posts: 1336
From: Kentucky
| Posted: 2005-06-02 20:38
OK.. most of what Tael said is very true... I have traveled to many bases, both Oversease and InConus (In Continental US).
I was just recently stationed at NAS Lemoore and the US navy and DoD spent 70 Million, yes 70 Million US$, to build the recent additions to goverment housing. Now one thing about goverment housing.... It is only available to those on active duty. Not reserves on active duty. It is also based on rank and how many people are in your family. You and wife equal one Bedroom and one bedroom for each additional child. So once they figure out your rank and size requirments then they can put you on a waiting list. Teal is correct in the average wait is around 2 years but this does vary base to base.
NAS Lemoore had a 1 year wait for a 3BR-2BA duplex... (all houses where duplexes except for senior enlisted/officer houses). I would like to also point out that, based on your job your shore tour can be as short as 2 years but as long as 4 years based on requirments.
If it does not say anything about educational benefits in your "Enlistmant Agreement" (they tend not to call them "contracts" anymore... for legal reasons) do not worry... once you enlist and arrive at your first duty station go to the "Navy Campus" department on the base... they will get you everything you need to get hooked up for school (off duty education of course). If you are wanting a US Navy "A" school then you need to make sure it is included in your "Agreement" otherwise you will be sent to the fleet as a "undesgnated striker" which means you don't have a specific job to do. This means they can put you in any job they want to as long as it is in the core source rating you were assigned... Airman, Fireman, Seaman...
Airman = Aviation related jobs...
Fireman = Engineering related jobs...
Seaman = Everything else...
And as far as outside (off-base) housing... With the current Housing Allowence (As of Jan 1st 2005) it will cover 80% of your rent expense (but they are working on increasing that evry year till it is 100%)
Navy PX's (Navy Exchange) is controlled by NexCom... Though true we have civilians who manage it, it is still controlled over all by the Navy... Navy Commisaries are still overseen by Deca (Defence Commisary Agency if I remeber correctly). As far as price... the Navy Exchange or NEX for short has a price match garentee... they will match any price advertised... you may ask how does this save you money.... In the NEX you do not pay Tax on anything.... yes NO TAX.... And the Commisaries I have shoped in have saved me 15-25% on my shopping bill.
There are many benefits to military life.... but even though the Tael was a Marine, which is part of the Department of the Navy, you should talk to or better yet get your recruiter to take you to a Navy Base to see for yourself.
If you want my 20 years experiance with the Navy let me know... I would be happy to tell you what you need to know.
Oh and by the way.... USMC (The Marines) stands for...
Uncle Sam's Misguided Children
Rocko
JARHEAD!!! LOL
_________________
|
Tael
2nd Rear Admiral
Palestar
Joined: July 03, 2002
Posts: 3695
From: San Francisco Bay Area
| Posted: 2005-06-02 21:10
Yeah all Marines know that one... and the ever so popular (since i was almost always deployed on it) yoU Suckers Missed Christmas...
As far as the base PX's goes, that again depends on the base... Back in the 1990's all of the PX's on Marine bases reverted to AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange System). Several Naval bases have also since been turned over to AAFES (Norfolk Virgian for example). AAFES "use" to be a military organization but in the 90's was privatized. There are some Military laison personel working in the company, but the majority of the company are civillians and the company is run by civillians.
For more info check out: http://www.aafes.com/
_________________
|
Coeus {NCX-Charger}
Admiral, I can't read,
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: February 16, 2004
Posts: 3635
From: South Philly
| Posted: 2005-06-02 21:15
Ahhhh... I see a new story forming out of this... 
_________________
Darkspace: Twilight
|
Captain_Savage
Cadet
Joined: September 30, 2003
Posts: 144
| Posted: 2005-06-02 22:53
but i'm not going into the navy. i'm going into the Army National Guard, prefferably the Field Artillery.
why?
well, i'm doing this for alot of reasons;
1. i wish to carry on the tradition of military service in my family which dates back to the civil war.
2. being a true patriot, i wish to serve my country in this time of need.
3. being really into teh boomehs, i want to use the biggest they've got; the 155mm Howitzer.
4. being poor as all hell, i want to make a little bit of money, ven if they tax 2/3 of it, it'll still be a big improvement over what i have now.
5. i'll be able to afford my gunsmithing traning finally.
and finally,
_________________
|
Sauur
Chief Marshal
Praetorian Wolves
Joined: November 30, 2004
Posts: 475
| Posted: 2005-06-03 00:07
Good luck to ya
Was in artillery for 4 ½ years of my career and it put 30kgs on my frame - never been fitter.
As long as ya fit and like lifting heavy things you will love it 
Got out about 10 years ago and now joining the Airforce - looking forward to the more lush side of military life - if you can refer to the Airforce as military that is (j/k)
Never to old to serve!
_________________
 [IMG]
|
Supertrooper
Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: March 18, 2004
Posts: 1895
From: Maryland, U.S.A
| Posted: 2005-06-03 00:41
Woob hate to break it to you and all of you people out there that think that the government won't do it... but, they will institute a draft if need be. And at the rate that recruitment is going it's likely to happen. Another reason for a possible draft is the fact that the military is getting dpread too thin throughout the world and with things heating up between the U.S. and Korea more and more each day the more deployments we will see. If this thing with Korea really escalates then yes I honestly believe Bush will institute a draft.
I was at a carnival tonight... doing recruiting for my unit and I was very impressed at how many young people came up to me and were interested in joining. Then again I did have one guy come up to me and spit on me while I was in uniform. Do you know how I felt? I felt absolutely disgusted at what had just happened... of course I did'nt do anything because I was in uniform and I know better not to lower myself to that level of crap. Of course I had the guy arrested for assaulting a uniformed soldier. IMHO if you don't like what the military is doing for you, which is trying to preserve our way of life, then leave and go live somewhere else.
Yes it's true the military will screw you when it comes to deployment but you should know full well what you are geting yourself into when you sign those papers. If the military goes into a stop loss then deal with it and drive on.
Savage, so this is gonna be your first enlistment right? If so, then if you sign a 3 year contract you are truly signing for 5 years. 3 years of drilling and stuff and 2 years of inactive ready reserve which is basically who they use for deployments to fill slots when they can't get anyone else to fill it. They also use it when in a stop loss... this last stop loss anyone on that IRR list was eligible for deployment and alot of the names on that list were drawn. Just offering you some facts for thought. I still encourage you to enlist but before you do sit down and talk to the recruiter and ask him to level with you about your contract and everything like that.
Having been in the guard for 4 years myself I have seen many things. One thing which I won't go into detail about here is my expiernce on sept. 11th. After the plane hit the pentagon my unit was one of the ones that got called to go there for clean up. I still have bad dreams about what I seen there. Like I said won't go into details as it was very gruesome. Before that day in 2001... you know what I reason I joined the military for was? To get an education. On that day I realized there was another reason I had joined. And that was to protect my and everyone else's way of life here in the U.S. On that day I felt like I had failed that duty and I felt violated. I am more of a patriot now, then I ever was before. Some say this war on terrorism is wrong but I say it's right and after sept. 11th what happened here in the U.S. does'nt need to happen to anyone else ever again. I'll end this here. I think I have said enough about my views and my patriotism.
ARMY 4TW!!!! sorry had to be done.... ohh and btw.... ARMY stands for Ain't Ready to be a Marine Yet LOL.... MARINE stands for..... Muscles Are Required Intelligence Not Expected or My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment. Just a few jokes Probably gonna get fried for the marine ones though hehe. ohh here's another army one..... ARMY spelled backwards ( YMRA) stands for Yes My Retarded Ass signed up LOL. ok I think that's all of em hehe
_________________
|
English
Deutsch
Nederlands
)
