maddmatt02

ok, I know this isnt really having to do with anything technical about toyotas but they are loosely related, in my mind at least. I took the asvab and signed all my papers for the USCg a long time ago then got into a bit of trouble to where I couldnt go in until all my court visits had been done and all fines/jail time paid/done. now I have been eligible for a long time but decided to delay it, now I am lookign into the navy or the USCG again. I have met with the recruiter from the navy recently and I dont believ something he told me, anyone in here should know if you are in the navy, he says he has ben in for 6 years and never on a ship once. said it depends on what job you choose, but i was told by someon I met once on a vacation that was in the navy and they said I would have to serve 60 days on a ship every year, something like that, I dont remember exact numbers but some required sea-time. anyways it isnt a big deal I just wanted to know. and my other concern is that if I were to enlist I wouldnt have much time for toys (I know of course no time during bootcamp and not much time during the schooling but once you start your job, would I have time to say, work on my truck, or driving RC trucks, or 4 wheeling either after work or on weekends? that money could help my projects come along alot quicker and would be real nice, plus I know I dont want to go to 4 years of schol and this is the only other way for me to make a decent paycheck.

Vato Loco

There's an off topic section for this kind of stuff.

yotafool

I'm enlisting in the Marine Corps June 1st this year as active duty and with that i do and go where ever they order me to. Have you enlisted yet? And if so for active or reserve duty. Reserve you go through basic, then maybe a couple of times a year are called up to train a little (just to get you prepared if they are going to activate you as full time). Active you would be serving on a ship, at least thats what one of my cousins does. He's an active duty search and rescue unit in the navy off of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. If you are afraid of getting stuck on a ship or activated then you might want to rethink your position, because these are hard times and a lot of people have been activated these last couple years.

tylus

I'm active duty navy, almost 4 years now. I have been to sea for about 1 year of that time. I still have plenty of time to play with my stuff. The question you should really ask yourself is if you are mature enough to take orders from other people and are you willing to fullfill your obligations even if the job isn't what you expect it to be.

To many people join the military and then later decide that the rules don't apply to them and that they are special and can do as they please. That attitude of course leads to trouble.

amusement

So true Tylus, ah so true.

maddmatt02

ok, well, I would go into active duty of course, how much money could you make in the reserves. and going on a ship isnt a big problem to me, sure I would like to stay on land but if it happens it happens, and about the taking orders, well I am not good at that, I have gotten better about it over the last couple of years though. as long as I dont let it bother me right when it happens Id be fine, its only when I let ist show that I am pissed is when I would get into serious trouble cuz of course hed start giving me a hard time cuz he knew he got to me and id get even more pissed and once I let it show , the angrier I get, my anger just makes me angrier, boot camp would be tough for me to keep my mouth closed in for sure, aafter that it shouldnt be "so tough" and I would be able to handle it I think.

I want to do the RC plane pilot thing first, I think I am gonna go into aviation and as I was told by the recruiter, once you get into school you kinda split off into either aviation mechanics or avation technicians.

amusement

Drill Instuctions will quickly find your weaknesses and prey on them. DI's are well educated practionitioners of behavior modification and social engineering. In short, by day 2 or 3, the DI's will have your anger dialed in and make an example out of you. Take care and resolve any differences before walking off the bus into boot camp.

It's real good to have a sense of humor but, don't start smiling. If you have faith in something, like religion, or people or whatever, that helps alot. You need to find something to take the stress away when you've been up a few nights and ran around like a monkey on a leash.

Do yourself a favor and study uniform code of military justice. Don't need to memorize them, just understand what your rights are. This will save you a whole lot of grief (IMHO).

I'd rather see you suceed than fail in boot camp, tech school and beyond. I suceeded in boot camp but, failed in tech school and beyond. Don't let this happen to you.

maddmatt02

I am sure I will succeed in bootcamp, I have been working out.jopggin lately and am getting in pretty good shape, im sure nothing that will prepare me for the 21 hours a day of work or whatever bootcamp is, but I am sure more prepared for it now than I was last time i was about to go in. and where will I find the uniform code of military justice? and if the school is something I will enjoy learnign about I will for sure succeed, even if it is something that doesnt bother me, like in school, english I failed once, and hidstory I failed once, but ws 3 years ahead in math and got A's or B's all the way til I quit after trig, and science I had b's in, got only a C in biology cuz it was first clss in the mornign and I was late EVERY day.

and electronics is like my favorite thing to mess with, so I am sue if I go into some kind of electrical feild then ill do fine.

Jesters_taco

I am in the Coast Guard, been in almost 5 years. I am a Helicopter Flight Mechanic. The orange one that you used to see in baywatch somedays. I love it. I work m-f 8-4 weekends twice a month. I stand duty every 4th day. I love my job. I work on helicopters on the ground and I am Aircrew as well. Shoot me an email if you want more info.

UKMyers

Guessing your ASVAB wasn't high enough for the AirForce? Not knocking at all on the Navy guys but if you have your choice at any of the branches why worry about going to sea at all? No matter where you go it's a very dynamic time in the Military right now and your going to be gone away from home ALOT!! I am active duty AirForce for 6 years now and I've been gone probably close to a third of that time. The rest of it I was at home modding my Toyota and doing everything else normal people do. As far as bootcamp there's nothing you can do to prepare yourself mentally. Only advice I can give is dont' be first don't be last don't give up and don't volunteer for anything. Remember that they only have 8 weeks to instill a whole career of values into you so it's going to be intense. Also remember that once your done and out of a training enviromnment it'll be different. Good luck in your adventure. I'm crossing the ocean for about the 35th time next week. Been to over 30 countries and done things I would have never in my wildest dreams imagined.

Mystickal

Be warned, many recruiters will outright lie to you. Others will tell you the truth, but it is the same truth that Bill Clinton told when he said he had not had sexual relations with that woman (ie he never had intercourse, so his answer was technically accurate, but very misleading).

That said, I just left the Navy after ten years. What he said is *technically* true - there are a few jobs where you will have very little time aboard a ship - quite possibly even none. However, those jobs (ratings) are few and far between, and there is always the chance that you will be stationed on a ship at some point. Even with the non-sea intensive ratings, it is still generally a good career move to spend some time on a ship - though ET (Electronics Technician) is a sea-intensive rating.

After boot camp, there is plenty of time for hobbies - even in "tech school" (we call it "A" school). When I was in "A" school a buddy of mine took me 4-wheeling not far from the base several times, and I had a blast. Throughout your career, your time to spend on hobbies will be dependent on several things - even when you're stationed on a ship, you will have time for 4-wheeling when you're not at work - as long as the ship is in port (which occurs more often then you'd think, but not as often as you'd hope). You'll also be able to do smaller hobbies on the ship - it will depend on how much space you have available and how much space the hobby takes up. I took my mountain bike with me on cruises, and did a lot of mountain biking in Europe. Most likely you'll have enough space for some basic RC stuff - if you're trying to take an RC plane with a 6 foot wingspan, you may have problems, but we had a guy who had an RC Helo on board. In addition, there is sea-shore rotation, which means that you spend a certain amount of time stationed on a ship, then a certain amount of time stationed on a shore station. When you're on shore duty, it is fairly like a normal job (usually - there are some exceptions).

In your early career, you'll most likely be on a ship, and that will also be the place that you live (usually, the low ranks don't make enough money to be able to afford to live in a house or apartment, unless a bunch of them ban together) so you won't have the amount of space that you're used to. This will change over time.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

~Bill

Mystickal

Gee, that's kind of snide, isn't it? While the Air Force has higher AFQT requirements than the Navy, it doesn't take a rocket scientist. Just FYI, my AFQT was a 99 (can't score any higher than that), my father was in the Air Force, yet I still joined the Navy. Why?

Money. Navy ranks advance faster than Air Force ranks. I made E-4 before I had been in 18 months. I was an E-5 with 4 years in. I was an E-6 after 7 years. There are more bonus pays available, so that not only do we get higher paygrades quicker, but we can make more when we get there.

And I spent 10 years in the Navy as a Gunner's Mate (very sea-intensive rating) and, if you counted up all the days I spent away from home, it would probably add up to about 2-1/2 to 3 years.

~Bill

amusement

From my experience, Mystickal is correct.

I served in an Air National Guard and took a year for my initial active duty. I trained with to Navy personnel in microwave and satellite communications courses in USAF schools in Biloxi, MS. At that time, 1986, the USN, promoted faster and provided a greater level of experience than USAF. During my Cisco training in the mid 90's I was able to meet several USN and US Marines whom indicated the same. In the world of US military I would say the USAF and USN electronics programs are equal. The physical requirements of USAF were less than USN during the late 80's. It took me three years to rise to the rank of E-3. I started at a E-2. Just prior to my end of my enlistment I rose to an E-4. My former ANG unit had over 300 staff. 70% E-5 with previous military service. Most of the E-5 drank, took drugs, sold drugs or slept. It was disgraceful. But, that's another story.

maddmatt02

ok, I cant remember my asvab score but I know my pretest was something like 70 and I was dissapointed cuz that semed to me l;ike it sucked, but I do know on ym real asvab I had really good line scores and one of the best math sections my recruiter had sen for a while, in the coast guard I had the choice of any carrer I wanted cuz of my score. I am now considering the USAF, i wanna be a pilot, have for a long time, but never really wanted to go to college then the USAF, but can you go to the USAF and go to school while they pay you and become a pilot, if that is so then I wana do that. and the pay is the same between all branches isnt it, I used to have the link to the pay scale but dont you make the same amount of money if you are an E4 in the navy as you would in the army or the USCG or USAF or whatever as an E4? and my RC's are trucks, the nitro powered ones though, they dont take up too much room. and the more I think of it the more my mind is saying "sign up" I mean Im alreasy 20 and got nothing really going for me right now, I can go fishing every hnow and then (went end of last year for 45 days) and then live off the pay for a while and go out again but working 16 hours/day 7 days/wk on a boat SUCKS! and it isnt really setting me up for retirement or a carrer outsied of fishing. I am still talking to the cheif engineer I know on one of the boats what I got to tdo to become asst engineer because they only work 12 hours a day and they dont have to load/unload the 15000 cases of fish or the millions of cases of bait or any food at all. that would be nice. I think my parents just shouldve gotten rich before I was born so I could just be rich!

Mystickal

Congrats on the ASVAB score, a 70 is a good score. A lot of people think it is a percent like what you would get on a test, but what a 70 means is that out of 100 people that took the same test as you, you scored better than 70 of them. So if you had scored as low as a 50, you would still be better than average (albeit only slightly).

The pay scales in all the branches of the military are the same. What I meant when I said that you make more money in the Navy is this -

First of all, you make rank faster, so you reach the higher paying portions of the paychart faster than other branches.

Second of all, there many special pay types available. You can get (on top of base pay, BAH (for housing), and BAS (for food) which all branches are able to receive) sea pay, submarine pay, hazardous duty pay, jump pay, dive pay, flight deck pay, demolition pay, deployment pay, and family separation allowance. I do believe that these extra pays are available to other branches, but most of them are much easier to receive when you're in the Navy.

If you want to be a pilot anytime soon, you will have to go to college. You can get the military (any branch) to pay for it while you're active duty, you can go to the military academy, or you can go on your own. But currently, only officers fly, and to be an officer you must have a degree (not really, but if you don't have a degree it takes a really long time).

If you don't like working long hours on a boat then don't join the Navy, because that's what they do when they deploy. The Navy does own more aircraft then the Air Force, though. Of course, the Army owns more boats than the Navy.

~Bill

midiwall

The physical side of bootcamp is less than half of what bootcamp is.

The other half is learning to work as a team, learning that you're no better than the guy next to you, and breaking you HARD into the simple state of following orders - no matter what they may be.

Go up again and read what amusement said. The DI's are there to REALLY rail on you. That's their job - it's about removing individualism and promoting TEAM.

Not everyone breaks in basic, but from what I see you saying in terms of how you get pissed and into trouble, you WILL break.

The good side of this is that if you stick it out, then the personality traits that have gotten you into trouble will be gone - or substantially reduced.


Right here:

http://www.military-network.com/main_ucmj/main_ucmj.htm


Good luck.

maddmatt02

thanks for the link, and I knew about the BAH, BAS, and jump pay, didnt klnow of all the others, and you listed a point that I wasnt sure of and still am not real clear on it. if I were to enlist in the USAF, will they pay me the 1100 a month or whatever it is for E1>4 months while they are paying the 70% of my college for me to get a degree so that I can become a pilot?

or would I have to go to college myself and then enlist? or do they have their own a school I could go through for it?

thanks for all the help so far everyone

amusement

I think there's some confusion here.

Pilots are commissioned in the USAF. To be a commissioned officer you either need to complete any of the following; ROTC, Officer Training School or an military academy (USAF Academy in Colorado or West Point). You can cross over from enlisted to officer but, would still need to complete Officer Training School. In the older days of the 70's there were "mustangs" that were able to move from the non-commissioned officer rank to a commissioned officer.

maddmatt02 you would need to complete a bachelor's degree and complete one of the following;

ROTC
Officer Training School

Dan_90SR5

Alright, I got tired of reading all about what everyone was posting on here. You wanted to know about the Coast Guard, so I'm your man. Actually I think there is one other guy on here too.

Alright, you are more likely to get underway in the Navy than the Coast Guard. I personally would go with the Coast Guard because I loved what I did while active (4yrs). The Coast Guard is alot less structured than the Navy and other branches so that might be better for your anger issues. I do not recommend aviation rates in the Coast Guard. You will wait at least a year if the school is even open. If you do go aviation, I hope you are in great shape. Start swimming miles now.

What you heard about what you do controlling if you get underway is true. We have a saying, "Choose your rate, choose your fate." If you have questions about any rate you can send me a private message. I will be more than happy to help you, because I do not want anyone enlisting to feel like they have been screwed by their recruiter. I'll even call your recruiter if he is giving you the run around.

I think at this point in time, the Coast Guard is a really good route because alot of things are changing now that it is in the Department of Homeland Security. Things are getting alot better. Again, feel free to send me a private message and we can discuss it more.

Oh yeah, BASIC TRAINING........it is all a game to try and break you down. Think about that all the time while you are there. Just play the game and don't let it get to you. Always be loud and proud even if you aren't sure and you will do fine. Trust me, you will not challenge your Drill Instructor, Company Commander, etc (whatever all branches call it). Keep a good possitive attitude, you'll see at the end that they are real people and they are doing all of that stuff for you.

Eric

I've just got my A&P liscense (airplane mechanic) and am looking forward to wrencing on planes. however I also own my own buisness that pays MUCH more than starting A&P wages.

becuase of this, I was thinking of going into the local Air National Guard to work on the F-16's, and eventually flying them.

The recruiter I talked to said I could enter with an E-3 pay grade since I have my AS, and be a crew chief on the F16 (after training of course)

Also since my vision is 20/10, and jump through all the hoops, she thinks I have a good opertunity to fly. Unless this recruiter was VERY good and manipulating the conversation, she was not blowing smoke up my ass, but giving me her honest opinion.

I was set on signing up with the ANG, but my buddy who is in the AF reserves said it is easier to become a pilot through them than through the ANG, is this true?

My main thing is I want to fly, which is the best way to get into that?

all this just happened recently, so I haven't had time to talk to a AF reserves recruiter.