Introduction - Seeking Advice

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Moto22
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Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Moto22 »

First, thank you for taking the time to read my thread and providing your experiences/advice.

My name is Mike, I am 28 years old, girlfriend - no kids. I recently graduated college with a BBA in Finance (3.1 GPA) as well as two associate degrees in skilled trades. Anyway, I have always thought about joining the military. When I was 18 I tried to enlist in the navy but I felt like my recruiter gave me the run-around with my contract so I walked away and went to school. I came back to a recruiter when I was 21 to enlist in the army, during the process of getting my paperwork together I got an OWI. The recruiter shredded everything, all my med-docs, birth cert, and ss card.

I continued to stay in school and work. At 26, I went back to the recruiting station, worked with a recruiter for a few months. I got all my paperwork together again, went to MEPS, and submitted my criminal waiver. After all that, my waiver got denied. So I just decided to pursue my bachelors and I held on to all my paperwork.

Last week, I went back to the recruiter to talk about OCS and some of my options. I handed him my entire paperwork folder and he said he would contact the state or national recruiting station to see if my criminal waiver would get approved. They told him it would be a long shot for OCS which I believe and thats fine.

So my question is should I try to pursue OCS, enlist, or start my civilian career? He said he could get me an 11x option 40 or 18x contract. If you have served in the military, any advice and personal experiences is really appreciated. Thanks.
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Disinfertention »

Hey Mike, Welcome to ArmyRanger.com. Glad you found the site.

Moral waivers to go to OCS are going to be tough, just like you found out the last couple times with a criminal waiver. That being said, there is only one thing you can do. Try. Make them say no and work from there.

I would get your foot in the door in the military before you apply for OCS, especially since you will need a waiver to go. The Army, and military in general, has been pretty strict on OWI/DUI and alcohol related offenses.

I'd be interested to hear what you decide to do and if they will let you enlist or even apply for OCS directly. Like I said, make them say no.
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Moto22 »

Thanks for the reply Ranger Disinfertention. Can you give me some insight about your experiences with the army? It looks like you went from enlisted to officer in the regiment? Did you enlist with a degree?
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Moto22 »

I'm looking to get as much advice/insight as possible. Thank you
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

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I was cadre while at OCS which means I was an instructor there, not a student. The course is only 12 weeks long and I was there for three years. Not saying we didn't have some candidates do the extended tour while assigned to OCS, but three years would be pretty excessive. 8) I'm still dirty enlisted scum and I've been earning my degree for about the last 5 years or so.

Shoot me a PM if you have general Army questions. Try to start off with a few specific ones at first and if they are officer/ROTC/OCS related I can most likely answer the majority of them.
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Moto22
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Moto22 »

Update:

I went to see the recruiter last week, he said OCS would be a NO GO. Originally, he told me that we could still submit a packet but I expected that to get turned down before we did that anyway.

I still have a few more questions, I hope you can provide some insight.

1. Are you familiar with the TSP? The recruiter told me they match 10% - I could only find 401k match with contracts 6 years or longer. And even then it was a match total of 5% (3% dollar for dollar and 2% 50cents on the dollar)

2. 30 days paid vacation? Lol, do you actually get to use all 30 thirty days while in the regiment? I find that really hard to believe. He said that you get 2 weeks forced leave over July 4th and Christmas?

3. 11x option 40 contract minimum of 3.5 years? What is the usual length of these contracts? Enlistment contracts start the day you leave for basic?

4. As an E4, I would be in the barracks until E5 then I could move off base correct? The fastest promotion to E5 is with a waiver at 18 months TIS and 6 months TIG? I only ask because my girlfriend is supporting my decision and we want to live together. Also, when I am in the barracks, how often could she visit?

5. Transitioning from being a soldier back to civilian...Do you really have an advantage being a veteran? Does the army help with finding jobs/interviews? I am at a point in my life where I either start my career as a civilian or join the military for a few years (maybe start a career with the military).

Sorry if this is a lot of random questions. Enlisting in the military is something I have always wanted to do, I just want to weigh out all my options, pros and cons. If I decide it's what I want to do, I want to be fully committed, thats why I have so many questions. Any advice and input is really appreciated, thanks.
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

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Hey again Mike. Glad to see you interacting with a recruiter to get you lined up with what you want... I'll toss some responses in bold to keep it somewhat organized.
Moto22 wrote: April 11th, 2018, 8:17 am Update:

I went to see the recruiter last week, he said OCS would be a NO GO. Originally, he told me that we could still submit a packet but I expected that to get turned down before we did that anyway.

I still have a few more questions, I hope you can provide some insight.

1. Are you familiar with the TSP? The recruiter told me they match 10% - I could only find 401k match with contracts 6 years or longer. And even then it was a match total of 5% (3% dollar for dollar and 2% 50cents on the dollar)
I know what the TSP is but I do not use it, probably to a fault of my own. Only thing I would do is type it in to Google and research it. That, and they recently reworked the whole retirement program for new recruits so I am really behind on TSP and the new retirement system.
Best to trust the recruiter or maybe try one of the Army forums to get an explanation on it or pointed to the correct and current information.


2. 30 days paid vacation? Lol, do you actually get to use all 30 thirty days while in the regiment? I find that really hard to believe. He said that you get 2 weeks forced leave over July 4th and Christmas?
Yes, you will be given chances to use it. Sometimes Christmas leave is available but it depends on the requirement of the organization. It's not that cut and dry in Regiment. Usually about twice a calendar year you will be provided an opportunity to take around 14-18 days of leave.

3. 11x option 40 contract minimum of 3.5 years? What is the usual length of these contracts? Enlistment contracts start the day you leave for basic?

Again, I don't want to give you bad information but that doesn't sound off. I have heard of people getting OPT40 with a 3 year enlistment but that was several years ago. Normally people start with 48 months or so with an OPT40. Initial contracts go as low as 2.5 years and as long as 6 years to the best of my memory. And yes, your enlistment contract generally starts when you ship to basic training.

4. As an E4, I would be in the barracks until E5 then I could move off base correct? The fastest promotion to E5 is with a waiver at 18 months TIS and 6 months TIG? I only ask because my girlfriend is supporting my decision and we want to live together. Also, when I am in the barracks, how often could she visit?
This is by far the worst part of the military for lower enlisted -- especially those coming in already established in life. Just because you are promoted to SGT does not mean you will get to move off base. If you are single you could be required to live in some form of barracks even as a SSG (E-6). Don't take this the wrong way, but the only way to ensure you can live with your girlfriend is to be legally married. There is a lot more to it to that and I really recommend you PM me if you want more information as my thoughts on the topic are more personal and not for the masses. Visiting is usually controlled by the Staff Duty area and rules may vary a bit by post or unit. Generally speaking though all guests have to be out of the barracks by a specific hour, say 11pm. We rarely followed these rules the years I lived in the barracks but that was a long time ago.

5. Transitioning from being a soldier back to civilian...Do you really have an advantage being a veteran? Does the army help with finding jobs/interviews? I am at a point in my life where I either start my career as a civilian or join the military for a few years (maybe start a career with the military).

I am still in so I am not a good person to answer this. But I have lots of friends who have/are retiring or separated from the military. Yes, companies like to hire Veterans in general for various reasons. For most jobs you are more marketable. The Army does provide help with setting you up on your way out but if you are relying on the Army for that you need to network better while you are serving. That being said, if you do just 4 years or so and get out there are numerous programs to get you into a career field of your choice, generally speaking.

Sorry if this is a lot of random questions. Enlisting in the military is something I have always wanted to do, I just want to weigh out all my options, pros and cons. If I decide it's what I want to do, I want to be fully committed, thats why I have so many questions. Any advice and input is really appreciated, thanks.
Hopefully this will give you some insight. Let me know if I can clarify any. I think I put caveats with everything so you take all my words with a grain of salt.
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Moto22 »

Roger Ranger Disinfertention, thanks for the reply. PM Sent
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Disinfertention »

Moto22 wrote: April 16th, 2018, 8:20 am Roger Ranger Disinfertention, thanks for the reply. PM Sent
I didn't get a PM yet, in case you thought it sent. 8)
USASOC 2015-2023
HHC 2/75 2012-2015
HHC & Cco 1/75 2010-2012
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Moto22
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Re: Introduction - Seeking Advice

Post by Moto22 »

Pm sent again lol
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