ASVAB scores are back, now what?

M

macgregor22

Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
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I got a 93 AFQT.
I'm finishing up my junior year so I still have over a year before I sign anything.
Right now though I'm just trying to figure out what to do, its always been my desire to try to become a Ranger but I have been getting alot of "Oh you should become an infantry officer or a engineer" etc.
So what do you guy think?

thanks,
Jed
 
Ken C. said:
Join the USAF.

Combat Controller

http://www.airforce.com/opportunities/enlisted/careers/general/combat-control-apprentice-males-only/

Pararescue

http://www.airforce.com/opportunities/enlisted/careers/general/pararescue-apprentice-males-only/

SERE Instructor

http://www.airforce.com/opportuniti.../survival-evasion-resistance-and-escape-sere/
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Ditto... any of these three will kick your butt (training is tough and each have very high wash-out rates... I suspect Rangers also have high wash-out rates).

[DANGER! war story]

One afternoon I was standing beside a road at Lackland AFB TX. in 100 degree sun, talking with a Pararescue instructor (MSgt. I think)... just shooting the breeze. As Pararescue, they all wear a dark maroon beret and you can easily identify that they are Para's by that head-gear.

Up the road comes a "herd" of Para students, I'm guessing about 30 of them, in formation, all running in their maroon shorts with their towel wrapped swim fins, goggles and snorkels tucked up under their left arm (you'll never see a Para student walking anywhere... they ALWAYS run... not "jog"... they RUN, and they always have their swimming gear with them).

As the Sgt. and I chatted, he nonchalantly looked over his shoulder behind him as the formation was about to pass us and yelled "GET DOWN YOU MAGGOTS!!" and he continued his conversation with me like nothing was going on behind him.

The Para students all stopped (on a dime) and in unison, came to attention, and yelled "YES SARGENT!". Then they all dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups and counting them out; ONE-TWO-ONE, ONE-TWO-TWO, ONE-TWO-THREE, ONE-TWO-FOUR, etc. etc.

The MSgt. and I continued our conversation for at least another 5 minutes or so while the students kept pounding out push-ups... The Sgt. never batted an eye or even acknowledged what they were doing... he just kept talking.

As we finished our conversation, he turned his head slightly over his shoulder toward the students and yelled "GET THE HELL UP AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!"... again, he never broke stride in our conversation.

The students (in unison) all stopped doing push-ups, picked up their gear, came to attention and yelled "YES SARGENT"... then they all took off again at a dead run (to where every they were headed).

The MSgt. and I said our "so-longs" and he walked away like nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary.

I was amazed. I don't know how many push-ups those guys did... probably about 75 or so, but it seemed that they would have kept doing them until the SGT. gave them permission to stop.

I was amazed... and frankly quite glad that I WASN'T a Pararescue-man or Para-student.

It was a VERY impressive display.

Them is some "bad dudes".

[/end war story]:D
 
was the la casita still there? if mac joins the air force he will like that place if its still there and he gets some free time. i was right across the street from it.
 
macgregor22 said:
I got a 93 AFQT.
I'm finishing up my junior year so I still have over a year before I sign anything.
Right now though I'm just trying to figure out what to do, its always been my desire to try to become a Ranger but I have been getting alot of "Oh you should become an infantry officer or a engineer" etc.
So what do you guy think?

thanks,
Jed
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I'd vote for the officer route myself. Maybe eventually you could become a Ranger Officer. It's cool being all bad and all, but one would think it would be even better to be all bad and all AND be able to tell other people what to do. Also officers tend to get very good civilian jobs when they retire / leave the military, the average grunt (even highly trained really bad ones) are typically not so lucky.
 
richard j said:
was the la casita still there? if mac joins the air force he will like that place if its still there and he gets some free time. i was right across the street from it.
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La Casita??? I don't recall it. Club? Restaurant?
 
Triton said:
I'd vote for the officer route myself. Maybe eventually you could become a Ranger Officer. It's cool being all bad and all, but one would think it would be even better to be all bad and all AND be able to tell other people what to do. Also officers tend to get very good civilian jobs when they retire / leave the military, the average grunt (even highly trained really bad ones) are typically not so lucky.
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Absolutely, 100%, "Hell Yeah!". Let the military put you through college and OCS. You can still be a bad-ass like Triton said (special ops need officers, too), but you'll likely make a much better living the rest of your life.

No offense to ANY vets, I respect you all, but let's face it... most guys that come out of service as an enlisted man or NCO become blue-collar workers or maybe foremen. Officers become CEO's.

Take advantage of every opportunity presented to you while you serve our country. :thumbup: In the meantime, keep your grades up and do lots of running and push-ups. :D
 
Good work. Make sure you can run like a mofo before you attempt any of the above. run like mofo = 6:30/mile pace.
 
James_Terrio said:
Absolutely, 100%, "Hell Yeah!". Let the military put you through college and OCS. You can still be a bad-ass like Triton said (special ops need officers, too), but you'll likely make a much better living the rest of your life.

No offense to ANY vets, I respect you all, but let's face it... most guys that come out of service as an enlisted man or NCO become blue-collar workers or maybe foremen. Officers become CEO's.

Take advantage of every opportunity presented to you while you serve our country. :thumbup: In the meantime, keep your grades up and do lots of running and push-ups. :D
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CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation was a Corporal in USMC.
 
I'm in the Army, and if I had it to do over again, I'd go Airforce. They just take better care of their people overall, and the soldiers tend to be better educated (not a bash on the Army, but it's big and can't afford to be as picky...the Army has some very bright people, but not as many percentage-wise as the Airforce...Airforce enlisted don't get promoted very quickly though) As for the officer's getting better jobs thing, that's true in certain MOS's, but it's not a steadfast rule...technical jobs for which there exists a civilian counterpart are probably better filled by enlisted who can be masters of their job rather than officers who are more generalized. Quality of life is many orders of magnitude better for officers though, so it's a good route, especially if you are politically savvy (as in you can play the political game well). With those scores you should have a wide array of MOS's available to you. Take your time and don't rush into anything, despite what your recruiters might want. Only sign up for the amount of time you want, not what the recruiters tell you you will have to sign up for, and hold out for what you want. Recruiters have a very difficult job, but it's not on you to make it easier for them. Be straight about what you want and don't settle. If one recruiter can't get you what you want (within reason), go somewhere else, and make sure you get everything in writing. If they tell you they might be able to get you something, make sure it's on paper. Recruiters are all about trying to get you to sign...often they will tell you exactly what they think you want to hear, but what's important is the contract. Keep that in mind. (I'm not bashing recruiters here...they have some of the toughest jobs in the armed forces, but they are not always as forthcoming with the truth as they seem, and they do have quotas to fill...Just do your research and don't let them talk you into something you don't want to do, so that you don't end up being one of those soldiers who say that their recruiters lied to them.)
 
macgregor22 said:
I got a 93 AFQT.
I'm finishing up my junior year so I still have over a year before I sign anything.
Right now though I'm just trying to figure out what to do, its always been my desire to try to become a Ranger but I have been getting alot of "Oh you should become an infantry officer or a engineer" etc.
So what do you guy think?

thanks,
Jed
Click to expand...

Whilst this is not from a U.S perspective, some might be applicable.

Many people will tell you to get some form of technical training out the the Army if you have any form of education.
Personally I believe this is not the right approach as the idea is to give not take, and one needs to want to do the job as opposed to hope for benefits from it potentially many years down the line.

If you have a passion for mechanics or gunsmithing for instance engineering is a great choice, otherwise it's difficult to put your heart in.

If the infantry is what appeals to you that is the best option to take, not a compromise.
A far as I am aware the Rangers tend to take candidates who are already serving infantry, not recruit from the off.

If I'm right in the above look at joining one of the airborne divisions like the 82nd.
 
If I was you, I would find a nice college with a ROTC program and apply for a military scholarship to go to said college. If you do receive a ROTC scholarship then not only will the military pay for most of your expenses (Books, credit classes, probably not room and board though) and they will provide you with a monthly check to do with what you want, the check starts coming after you pass your PT test.

:D I am almost in the same boat as you, 96 asvab, 26 act. So I have applied for a Army ROTC scholarship to a private school. But if you are set on enlisting then I would go with the Air Force or Navy. Air Force you get treated and taken care of a little better than some other branches and with the Navy you can do a lot of traveling. (I wasn't branch bashing, I have respect for all men and women who have served or are serving.)
 
Thanks guys, some stuff to think about.
The boy that lives across the street is joining the airforce with the intent of being a PJ or a SERE instructor, he is fit as I think you can be.

Richard, were you in the Air Force? :D
 
Something to think about if you are trying to make the choice of ultimately being a soldier or an officer, is whether you take pressure and responsibility well.

Be honest with yourself: do you like to have the weight of the world on your shoulders, do you thrive under pressure, can you take heavy stress from all corners all at the same time?

Or do you prefer to do a task until it's done and then move on or have free time, do you like your peace and quiet, and do you prefer to get things done on a timetable rather than on a deadline?

Some people can not handle leadership roles or responsibility for other people. There's nothing wrong with that, everybody's different. A person that can't take that stress will be really miserable. On the other hand, some people can't take being a cog in a machine with only a bare minimum of say in their affairs; likewise those people get miserable as grunts.

You'll save yourself a lot of frustration if you can somehow figure that question out, it's a big one. My advice if you can't decide is to go to a camp or long term activity this summer and seek out a leadership role. If you aren't happy, chances are you wouldn't be happy as an officer.
 
I am an active duty Army Infantryman. I've been in 4 years, I'm in my second deployment, and I'm an E-5 squad leader.

Do not go Airforce. Anyone who isn't infantry spends most of their time trying to be like us. Why be a POG and try to pretend to be high speed when you can just do it right the first time? Besides, pararescuemen don't get to do half the cool shit an Army grunt does regularly.

You won't learn many job skills in the military that are applicable to the civillian world anyway. For example an Army mechanic only knows how to work on HMMWVs and MRAPs.

However in the infantry you learn how to manage, train, and lead men in extremely stressful situations.

The last poster hit the nail on the head as far as choosing to go the officer route. If you are not good under stress you will not make a good infantry officer. Leading under stress is a skill most of us have to learn.

My advice go Army infantry, whether officer or enlisted, and make sure you go to an Airborne or Light unit. Stay away from mech. They are typically undisciplined, out of shape (IE. fat), and not as well equipped. If you are physically capable getting into Ranger batt is as easy as a 4187 and speaking with your branch manager if they have open slots. FYI most Infantry officers attend ranger school.

Since no one has mentioned the USMC I will speak briefly about them. They suck. They get their funding from the Department of the Navy. Then the majority of what they get goes into their aviation. The grunts get very little. This translates into less training and shittier equipment. In Hawaii the Marines have to use our facilities to train, because apparently they don't have enough of their own. My unit on the other hand practically lived at the range and the MOUT site. They compensate as most underfunded third world militaries do. They can't afford ammo and shit to train, so they focus on PT instead. As a result their tactics suck from whenever I watched them.
 
If you've always wanted to be a Ranger then that's what you should go for IMO. If you follow the advice of others and go into a field that doesn't interest you then you probably won't be happy.

the_viking93 said:
Since no one has mentioned the USMC I will speak briefly about them. They suck.
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There's an old saying..."It's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
 
the_viking93 said:
Since no one has mentioned the USMC I will speak briefly about them. They suck. They get their funding from the Department of the Navy. Then the majority of what they get goes into their aviation. The grunts get very little. This translates into less training and shittier equipment. In Hawaii the Marines have to use our facilities to train, because apparently they don't have enough of their own. My unit on the other hand practically lived at the range and the MOUT site. They compensate as most underfunded third world militaries do. They can't afford ammo and shit to train, so they focus on PT instead. As a result their tactics suck from whenever I watched them.
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LOL. That hurts to read but is mostly spot on. Marines still get the job done better than army and they get laid more. If I read this right, your unit is the 25th Infantry "Tropic Lightning". You can quit bragging.
 
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