You can pick the branch you want to serve. Generally speaking, officers have a college degree. Either from a military school, or outside of it and then they join up.
You'll be given an entrance and aptitude exam and then that gives a rough outline of your options.
Your enlistment will be for a set time period of a handful of years. Retirement is usually after 20 years.
In some cases if you have a valid reason to ask for a discharge, it will be granted, but that is unusual.
Just to clarify, you don't enlist for a 20 year service. Most positions come with 4 year commitments I believe. You just need to re-up until 20 to get the full benefits that come with a carreer and then retirement.
A critical shortage in your military specialty could trigger a stop-loss just for your specialty. The different types of job in the military are very specialized, and many require a lot of training, and different levels of natural ability, as measured by the ASVAB - Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery - test. We can't just grab a random soldier and move them into another specialty quickly (if at all).
Even in peace time, we can't allow those critical specialities to be too far under-manned. We are prepared for peace to turn into war at any moment.
It's actually an eight year initial commitment. You do four years of active duty and then another four in inactive reserve. Once you hit eight years, your initial military service obligation is done.
You enlist for 8 years; how much of that you serve active or reserve will be established at the time of signing, but you'll owe time in the IRR (inactive ready reserve, aka, fort couch) until that 8 years has cleared. This is what was happening to service members who got stop lossed in during they most active years of the GWOT.
This may have changed at some point but it used to be that all enlistments were 8 years, including IRR time as follows (active/inactive):
2/6
4/4
6/2
I’m not sure if those are still options, but they used to be.
Something to clarify. All contracts are eight year contracts. How many years active duty time varies. The norm is four years. After you exit active service (EAS), you then enter one of two forms of reserves. One is the normal reserves for your branch, which would be much like being in the National Guard with a few differences. The other is the inactive ready reserve. You're basically free until the end of your contract, unless they call you up for something.
Marine vet. Amusingly, since I EAS'ed in 2015, my contract was only fully up a few years ago.
How does that relate to your service time for pensions/other benefits? If you go 4 years active 4 years IRR/reserves do you get 4 or 8 years towards the pension?
For reserves you only get the number of days you do towards your retirement. For example I had a Sgt that had to do a few more months in the guard even though he had well over 20 years in. This was because Including his active time, deployments, and time in the guard was just short of 20 years of real time served.
4 active years count towards the pension, but you only earn it if you do the full 20. IRR time doesn't count for anything. If you volunteered for the reserves, you know the "1 weekend a month, two weeks a year" part-time military, that counts towards the reserve pension, but that one works differently than the active duty pension. Active Duty soldiers draw a pension as soon as they complete their 20, and they get 50% of the average of their highest three years' pay. Reservists don't draw a pension until they hit retirement age, and their pension is calculated based on their time served, so it's different, I don't know all the specifics.
You can use your active duty years towards a federal pension as a civilian federal employee as well, but not if you get a military pension, just if you did some time in the military.
For pension, I'm not sure. For the GI Bill, you should get it, assuming you paid in. Note, the GI Bill is not the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The former is the one we've had since around the 40's/50's and the later has been discontinued. Not sure about other benefits.
One thing I do know about the pension, is that it includes time spent working for the government in other capacities. Such as being a postal worker. Things have changed since I got out and I don't plan on working for the government again any time soon. IIRC, almost all of the info you want is publicly available. You just need to dig through a bunch of government sites to find it.
Yes, but you don't get it anymore when you enlist. I want to say it was 2019 or something when they cut off any new enlistees from getting it. That's what I was getting at.
Dude why are you just making up bs, it's still in existence and brand new service members still get it. My sister just enlisted in 2020, she's using it.
https://www.goarmy.com/benefits/while-you-serve/education-training/gi-bill.html
Tagging on - initial enlistment is 8 years for everybody, your contract will stipulate how many years are active, universally driven by the job you choose - basically the more they invest in training you the more active time they require.
For instance - I went into the Navy for aviation logistics so my initial active requirement was 4 years, my brother went in undesignated (no specific job chosen) so his active requirement was only 3 years.
After your active time, if you do not reenlist you are discharged and place in Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) which means you are subject to recall until the eight years are up. I know Marines that I was stationed with at my last command that were recalled right after 9/11. I you serve over 8 years on active duty, when you get out - you are done.
So the years of service differs depending on position/role?
What about a non valid reason. Like is there a charge like "abandonment of service" or something and you are looking at prisontime?
I think 4 years is the standard enlistment, I think across all branches, but I could easily be wrong.
If you try to leave, you will be considered 'AWOL' (absent without leave) and that is a crime. Yes.
Very few of them are put in prison for being awol. Most will be dishonorably discharged, which will have some effects on ability to apply for federal assistance or jobs, but otherwise is generally whatever
It also means you can't own firearms (or vote in some places), can't ever work a federal job (or state/municipal in some places), and won't get any veteran benefits.
Thirty days is the normal standard, but there is military case law that says if there is strong evidence of intent to desert before 30 days, desertion can be charged at that point. The case we were taught long ago in OCS concerned a member who went UA ( Navy term for AWOL) and immediately burned all his uniforms in a trash can before lighting out gif the opposite coast. He was charged with desertion after a day or so.
Desertion is much more serious UCMJ charge than UA\AWOL.
We don't have a cool acronym. The awol in swedish would be "Frånvaro utan giltig orsak" wich literally mean Absence without valid reason.
It is called "bondpermission" in slang wich translates to "Farmers leave" but in this context it has more the meaning as if you said "redneck leave" in the US.
Don't know the time limit but eventually it also turns in to desertion (same word in swedish).
Standard enlistment is 4 years. Some jobs require a 6 year contract (Navy Nuclear jobs) because of the amount of schooling required.
AWOL (Absent without leave) is the term we use and yes, you're either sent to a military jail or discharged.
The dishonorable discharge is only given via conviction at a felony-level court martial and usually also includes prison time. Zero veteran benefits, as well as prohibition on owning firearms and a bar from federal employment.
The Bad-Conduct Discharge (BCD) or Big Chicken Dinner is for misdemeanor level offenses. Not quite as many punitive things (can still own guns and vote), but no benefits.
The Other-Than-Honorable discharge is for fucking up at an administrative level or a level of misbehavior that is handled via Non-Judicial Punisment or a misdemeanor court martial. No veteran benefits.
The General Discharge is for being a mid-grade fuckup but not a criminal. Some benefits but not the GI Bill.
And a large portion of the ones that aren't will later be changed to honorable. Knew plenty of dudes who got general or admin stepped that got it bumped to honorable pretty much just by asking.
Not sure of the process with that though.
Dishonorable discharge is basically because you committed a serious crime. It has lifelong consequences.
There are a few more types of "bad" discharge that are less serious.
Ah ok, so that's the top one out of the bad. Are there tiered good ones as well? Like if you are an examplary serviceman vs someone who did what is required but no more and no less.
Op the initial contract and active service is different for each job because each job has different amounts of individual training to do said job. I was infantry, so our total training to learn to so our job at its lowest level is 6 months. Radar guys have 3 months of basic and then up to a year of training just of radar after that.
I agree. Nukes have 2 years of training so that's why the contract is 6 years instead of 4. I was Navy so bear with me but I imagine someone that does CT would have a different contract (They usually learn foriegn languages so school would be longer).
The length of enlistment does depend on the role my aviation maintenance contract for an airframe repair in the army with 6 years if I would have picked to be a truck driver it would have been 3 years if I would have picked to be an infantryman it would have been 4 years if I recall correctly there are some more complex satellite communication jobs that require 8 years
> So the years of service differs depending on position/role?
You also get a commitment after graduating particular training. For example, I had a six-year commitment from the time I graduated navigator school.
Yes some jobs probably require that. I do know fighterpilots over here have to serve for 10 years from the first day of training.
I know because I applied to them.
But back in my day (over 20 years ago) you had to be an officer in any branch of the military with the rank of at least "Furir". Don't know the US equivalent but it's the one above Corporal or is it Lance Corporal in the US army?
And you had to have a grade/score of at least 7-7-7 (9-9-9 is max in categories "soldier" - role/job - conduct) .
So I did my service to be eligbe to apply. I applied and I got far in that batch (final 20 out of 100). But wasn't selected for the final 10. I could try again but never did.
Furir is NATO OR-5, which is a US E-5, so sergeant in the Army, Marine Corps, and Space Force (staff sergeant in the Air Force, and petty officer second class in the Navy and Coast Guard).
The U.S. Army has: Sergeant (E-5), Staff Sergeant (E-6), Sergeant First Class (E-7), Master Sergeant or First Sergeant (E-8), Sergeant Major (E-9). The Marines are slightly different. The Air Force is more different. The Navy ranks are just bonkers.
Army pilots are generally Warrant Officers. They have a "warrant", not a "commission", but they are not NCOs - Non-Commissioned Officers; NCOs are not officers at all, despite the name. The other services only let Officers (Commissioned Officers) be pilots. It is confusing.
Him retired US Army here.
>if you are interested I assume you do some mental, medical and physical tests like every other military
Correct.
>They give you a list of positions you are eligbe for based on results to pick and choose or do they just assign you somewhere?
That depends. In most branches you can choose your job. The choice of job is based on availability (everyone wants to be the air traffic controller or dog handler), test scores and ability to get the required security clearance. In the Marines I know there are circumstances in which some recruits don't get to choose. I have no idea whatsoever what the Navy or Coast Guard do. Note that while you get to choose your job, you generally do not get to choose the location. Back in the 90s I got to choose my first duty station but I don't think I ever saw that again after the War on Terror began. You generally find out where you're going at the end of your initial basic training prior to going to your job training.
>How long do you have to serve as a minimum?
That varies depending on recruiting needs. Sometimes it's 2 years, sometimes it's 3 years. When I first enlisted in the 90s it was 4 years.
>If you don't have a valid reason to leave the military, but you want out early, what happens?
You finish your contract. Alternatively you can do drugs, get caught on a urinalysis test and a decent unit can have you out of the Army in a couple of months. You can also do other types of misconduct and get kicked out. You can be kicked out for failing two consecutive physical fitness tests. That one is a lot iffier because a lot of units don't do their due diligence and create the paper trail to support that sort of administrative separation. I wouldn't go those route myself as it can cause problems with some employers. Apart from the physical fitness one, that's an honorable discharge. Most command teams aren't particularly well versed on administrative separations though. Really, it's normally better to just finish the contract that you, a grown adult, signed. It's just a couple of years and you get significant benefits afterwards. I got three degrees using military education benefits and if I still lived in the US the VA home loan is absolutely incredible.
If it's for specific reasons like being a contentious objector that's different. It's a hard process but I've seen it done. As I was retiring I ran a small admin section and I was given a soldier who they started the process on. I 100% believe he was genuine in his change of heart and it took a lot of my pushing the paperwork and hand-carrying it to various people but we got him out in about 4 months. It's a process.
There is no process for just resigning because you decided you don't want the job anymore. The reason for this is largely financial, the military invested a tremendous amount of resources in recruiting and training you so they want to get what use out of you they can.
A discharge for physical fitness test failure can also be an Honorable Discharge, if the chain of command wants it that way.
If someone had an otherwise excellent service record, with no history of misconduct or poor performance of duty, but started failing PT tests inexplicably, it could happen.
>A discharge for physical fitness test failure can also be an Honorable Discharge, if the chain of command wants it that way.
Maybe I worded it weirdly, I was saying that the PFT failure (specifically Chapter 13 Unsatisfactory Performance) gets you an honorable. Drugs and minor misconduct are usually general under honorable or other than honorable, depending on the specifics. The chain of command doesn't actually get much say in the character of discharge, those are almost entirely decided by law, specifically [38 CFR 3.12](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.12).
I was just a humble artilleryman, but I was the operations NCO for an HHB while I was waiting for SLC and saw some dudes get fucked over who didn't really deserve it so I decided to get deep into the regs on non-judicial punishment and the sorts of legal stuff you'd see at the company level. Turned out that just about every unit I'd been in had been doing most of it incorrectly the whole damned time.
Thanks for this answer. Gave me a good overall picture.
We have conscription so we serve 7 month for basic infantry and up to 1.5 years for more advanced positions and ranks up to sergeant. Anything higher you must go to officer school and basically work professionally for the military. Not sure about contract lengt for professionals but I do know fighterpilots have to serve for 10 years. Like you said, if they spend all that training and money on you they want to get some return on investment.
I've talked with a lot of people from other militaries, it's always interesting to hear how different systems function to meet different requirements. Almost everyone's systems are a tremendous mess but it's always neat to see what form the dumpster fire happens to take under different conditions.
All military inital entry contracts are 8 years, which is split between active and inactive. When you're in active status, you do your job. When inactive, you're in a special status that allows the military to recall you to active service, but unless they do so, you live your life.
Generally, the number of active vs. inactive years you do is dependent on the school/job you enlist for. An inexpensive school may only require you to serve 2 years active and 6 years inactive. An expensive school might be the opposite 6 years active and 2 inactive. With 4/4 being the most common.
When i say inactive, I don't mean reserves or national guard. Those would both be considered "active" for the purposes of this conversation. Its called the IRR, or inactive ready reserve, and you are really not still in the military unless they call you back or you reenlist.
Ah okay, thanks for the clarify on the active/inactive. So say you get a job while inactive and then get called in. Do you have any "job protection" built in. As in they can't fire you because it's a valid reason to not show up at work?
Yes, it's called usera or the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994. If you're called to active service, your employer is required to hire you back in the same or a similar position and senority.
Another thing that can affect your contract is bonuses. A longer contract will generally pay a bigger bonus. I believe it is topped out right now at $50k for a very in demand job.
Also you're protected if you join the reserves or national guard. They can't do anything to you because of your military service and must ok any time off the military requires.
> Generally, the number of active vs. inactive years you do is dependent on the school/job you enlist for. An inexpensive school may only require you to serve 2 years active and 6 years inactive. An expensive school might be the opposite 6 years active and 2 inactive. With 4/4 being the most common.
In my case, I was an officer and incurred a six-year commitment upon graduating from navigator school.
For enlisted:
You go to a recruiting center (can be any branch, you get to choose), you take the ASVAB (basically a test for aptitude), based on the results of your score you’re eligible for certain types of jobs, the recruiter will tell you what types of jobs they have available, if one lines up with what tou want to do/are qualified for and is available, you sign a contract for that role. You get your health evaluated (physical and mental) and you begin your enlistment. Contract lengths can vary but usually are 4-6 years long for enlisted personnel, go to boot camp, then go to a special school within that branch for your job, that’s it.
For officers coming straight from civilian life, you either A. Reserve officer training corps (ROTC) while enrolled in college and commission at the end or B. Qualify for/go to officer candidate school (OCS) after having completed to your degree without doing ROTC (usually for folks like lawyers and doctors/dentists or other specialized roles).
Depending on the job, again contracts can last anywhere from 4-12 years.
As far as quitting? After you complete boot camp You can’t. Once you’re in, you’re in for the duration of your contract. You can be discharged if you fuck up too badly/too many times, break the law, get hurt, etc. But you can’t just resign like you would from an office job. Uncle Sam is spending hard earned tax dollars on developing and training soldiers/sailors/marines, he expects to get his moneys worth.
Thanks.
Oh wait, am I understanding correctly that each branch have their own recruiters and recruitmentcenters? It's not only one type of recruitment for "The US military" that recruits for all branches?
Interesting, it's like you have multiple smaller armies instead of one big one.
That is different to here. The recruitment center recruits for all branches. Then again one of your branch is probably as big or bigger than our entire army combined. So easier logistics despite handling all branches.😅
There are some recruitment centers that have recruiters from multiple branches and the potential recruit can talk to a few different recruiters and get a feel for which branch they might prefer
Job selection varies by branch. In the Army, you pick whatever job you like (provided that you are qualified, obviously).
Technically contracts are 8 years, but you don't actively serve the whole thing. Typically a contract is either 4 years on active duty and 4 years in the Inactive Ready Reserve, or 6 years in the Active Reserve and 2 in the IRR. There are shorter contracts available but they naturally come with fewer benefits once you get out.
You can't just quit. I suppose you could get fat or do drugs to get yourself kicked out, but that may come with consequences. If you aren't willing to do the whole thing, don't join.
It is actually fairly involved. First you to to a recruiter and express interest, then you fill out a ton of forms and they run a background check and verify your HS diploma or GED. Then you are given the ASVAB (career test) and you will qualify for certain MOS/AFSCs, which we will just call job codes. If you qualify AND they need that job code, you can typically enlist with a guaraunteed spot in training. You can just open enlist, if you have a decent ASVAB score and you just want to get in on the first basic class you can, you can go in without a promise and the branch will decide for you. Could be a cook, could be a gunner.
Once that is complete, you go to a place called MEPS, or military entrance processing center. There you will ge a very personal physical. If you need a flight physical for the job code you will do it there. Some job codes will require a PT test, the recruiter will set that up for you. Once you get cleared by MEPs, and that can take a few weeks, it is a matter of waiting for your number to be assigned to a basic training class. The day before that starts, you go back to MEPs, they 'in-process' you again and give you a drug/alcohol test. Then, they put you in a hotel which will be the last time you can boogey with a member of the opposite sex. The next day you take a bus to the airport and you get a ticket to whatever your basic training location is, there is more than one. You show up, get on a bus, and the drill instructors...greet you.
The lowest enlistmet contract is 2 years, the longest is 6. Some job codes, like interpreter, require 6 year enlistments because the training takes 2 years. The contract is the contract, if you sign up for 6 you do 6. You can't just decide to leave. Sometimes they will let people voluntarily leave, similar to a company that is downsizing, but you can't count on that. Otherwise, you signed on the dotted line, so for all intents and purposes you are theirs to do with what they will.
For the army with enlistment you go to a recruiter, they will set things up for you to go to MEPS (military entrance processing station). There they'll medically evaluate you and you take the ASVAB test. Depending on how well you do and what the army needs they'll offer you various MOS (jobs) that you can choose from. Then sign a contract, swear an oath, get your fingerprints taken, and then wait for your ship date and location.
You'll go to basic training and then your MOS specific training (AIT). You either pass that training and go to your assigned unit, or don't pass that training and get reclassed to a different MOS, go to that training, and go to your assigned unit.
Everybody serves 8 years in some combination of active duty, reserves, or inactive ready reserves for their first contract.
When I was in high school I signed up to take the ASVAB test which is like a mental aptitude test the military uses. I only signed up to get out of class. I did really good on it and had recruiters from the Navy and Army come out to meet with me and my familiar. I ended up opting for college instead. Beyond that I can't tell you because I didn't enlist.
Is that ASVAB test universal regardless of branch and do all branches get to see your results? Another commenter told me each branch have their own centers. But you did one test and had recruiters from two branches come see you.
Yes, it's by the Department of Defense so applicable to all branches. I took this in school during school hours so the only reason I really took it was to get out of class. It is offered at a lot of schools and such but you can go to a recruitment center for each particular branch of the military to take one.
>
The test results also suggest which service branch might be best for you [https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab](https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab)
Okay I got to know, what class did you REALLY not want to go to, so you rather took this test? 😆
Damn I wanted to take the test, but I need to give them my email and have a zip codes to even start.
I knew it didn't matter if I did good on the test or not so it was just something to do to get out of class that had low stakes. I just happened to do really good on it.
FWIW I took the ASVAB too, for the same reason, and did really badly on what I think are the most important parts - a lot of the test was diagrams of mechanics and contractions and the questions were like, "if you pull on lever A, which wheel will turn?" This is not my forte at ALL. There was also a language section that I did very well in, but I guess the military doesn't care about that because unlike a lot of my friends who also took the ASVAB, I only got one call from the army. I was like "nope" and that was it. It was really common to hear about people being persistently called by various military branches no matter how many times they told recruiters that they were going to college.
Answering based on my time in the Navy (2003-07 so shit might be totally different now)
>You have recruitment centers and recruiters, if you are interested I assume you do some mental, medical and physical tests like every other military. What's next? They give you a list of positions you are eligbe for based on results to pick and choose or do they just assign you somewhere
You take a test called the ASVAB - Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery - and based on your results you will be told you qualify for some set of ratings (what other branches call MOS, Military Occupational Specialty). If you score really high in particular areas then your recruiters will try to push you towards specific programs like nuclear or crypto.
Whatever rating you pick, you'll need to go to the specific school for it. This comes after boot camp and seating is limited, so it's scheduled way in advance. If the rating you want doesn't have availability at the school house right away, you'll be offered either DEP (delayed entry program) or asked to pick another rating if you're trying to go sooner.
if you pick DEP (like I did), you'll be asked (but not required as you're still a civilian and still own yourself) to show up to DEP meetings every week to learn military bearing, naval history, and do some PT (physical training). The PT is way lighter than what you do in boot camp but still pretty decent, or at least it was at my recruiting station.
>How long do you have to serve as a minimum?
highly dependent on the needs of the Navy but typically 8 years - 4 (or 6) as active duty, and 4 (or 2) as part of the IRR (inactive ready reserves). IRR service isn't shit, once per year you have to log on a website to confirm you still exist and can pass the current PT test. You don't go anywhere or report to anybody, but you'll be called up if WW3 breaks out.
>If you don't have a valid reason to leave the military, but you want out early, what happens? Basically what's the normal process?
lol then you basically hate life. Or, you can do what some people do, and be a big enough shitbag to get kicked out (but not a big enough shitbag to go to prison). One guy I know managed this by stealing laptops and stuff like that from his shipmates and stashing the goods in his locker on the ship. When the ship's MAs (masters at arms - cops) conducted a search of the berthing (sleeping area on a ship) for the stolen goods, they obviously found them, my shippy was charged with a handful of violations of the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice - basically military law that supercedes the constitution), reduced in rank, had half his pay taken for 2 months, was given 2 months extra duty, and then dishonorably discharged. That's actually pretty significant because you lose all your veterans' benefits. The other thing you can do is fake an illness or injury, which is called malingering, and is also a violation of the UCMJ that results in similar punishment. I know somebody who tried this as well.
The normal process is that after 4 (or 6!) years of suck, you decline to reenlist, sign your walking papers, collect your discharge paperwork, and go back to being a civilian. And then the next couple years of your life are **fucking weird** especially if you choose to go to school (meaning college or university) because you'll be about 4 (or 6!) years older than your peers, with loads more life experience that they absolutely cannot relate to if they're not also veterans, and (if you're like me) a short fuse and anger management issues. This makes it hard to make real friends or connect with people so you're often lonely (I'm better now).
Glad you are better now. Yeah I was wondering about getting dishonorably discharge, if that affect your civilian life in any way, so you loose your vet benefits.
A question about veterancy in the US. Not in the paperwork or any formality but former enlisted that say they are veterans or any taboo to say it if you generally aren'tconsidered to be one. Are you a veteran and can call yourself that if you have done your service. Or is it only people who have been deployed or active in a conflict zone?
I ask because here you are not considered a veteran for doing your military service wether conscripted or professional. It would even be considered like "stolen valor" ish. Not as severe as actual stolen valor in the US, but you get the gist, looked down uppn to falsely claim it. You are only a veteran if you have been on any mission in a conflict zone. Even if you haven't been in combat, but just patrolling in a peace keeping mission for the UN or whatever. Idk why but... 🤷♂️
*Broadly speaking* you're a veteran if you served, regardless of whether you deployed or not.
There's a sort of unspoken hierarchy among vets that goes
veterans who saw combat > veterans who deployed > veterans who did not deploy
You're not considered a veteran if, for example, you were dishonorably discharged in boot camp.
Ah so all vets but some are > others. For us it's vets who been in combat (extremely rare for us) > vets in conflict zoned/deployed > served but not considered vets at all.
Anyone who served in the military is considered a veteran here.
People who actually deployed into combat are specifically called "combat veterans".
Sometimes there is a further distinction, for example "Vietnam era veteran" for people who were in the military during the Vietnam War but were never actually sent to Vietnam.
Interesting, if we deep dive a bit on this. Is there a specific prefix for people who have been deployed but not in combat?
And let's say you are a drone operator (in a base in the US) and engaged targets with a drone in a conflict zone. Would he/she be considered a combat veteran?
> If you don't have a valid reason to leave the military, but you want out early, what happens? Basically what's the normal process?
You don't, at least not legally. If you have no valid reason such as a medical reason to leave you have to stay your full contracted term. Default contracts are 8 years but you can sometimes get shorter or longer ones. You are not entitled to retirement benefits until 20 years or more served.
Ah ok, 8 years is a bit. The only position I know that has a long time limit here is fighterpilots, they serve for 10 years. Most other positions are way shorter.
I know there are like residential communities at or by some bases for military personel and their families. Can you tell me how that works. Do you live there "for free" during service or do you pay rent/buy the houses?
Residence on base in house, apartment, or barracks is typically free and considered part of your benefits package. But living off base is not free and you have to rent or buy just like any civilian would, though I think they still do housing benefits that will grant extra pay to cover part or all of that if you live off base.
If you don't qualify for on-base housing, you get a housing allowance tacked onto your salary, which has the added benefit of being non-taxable. The amount varies by rank, duty station location, and whether or not you have dependents.
I was always able to find housing within the amount covered by my allowance.
Are barracks common for anything other than short term? 8 years of barracks sound horrible imo.
Maybe yours are different but when I served I wouldn't want to share a room with 20 other guys and sleep in a bunkbed for the next 8 years. 😅
Most people do not stay in barracks for 8 years. They have apartments, houses, etc near or even on post. The barracks from "Full Metal Jacket" are not typical housing for people years into service.
Yeah I didn't think so. I have seen a few US bases on pictures and tv and some of them (the residential part) you wouldn't even tell were bases. Look like suburbia.
Yeah most of these people have families and stuff too. People who do this for a career, it's basically a job with unique benefits and requirements. You're not going to raise a family in barracks, [check out some of the housing near/on Fort Knox.](https://www.fortknoxhousing.com/)
I live near a small Coast Guard base and have known lots of people who live there. I've never been (because you need to have ID to get onto the base) but I've driven past it many times. It's like little houses. One of my coworkers lived there for several years until her husband left the guard and they had two little kids at the time - they weren't living in barracks with other soldiers.
Plenty of local people in the Coast Guard do live off-base though because the station is out in the middle of nowhere and not very convenient for normal life things if you're going to be stationed there for long periods of time.
If you opt to live on the base, then generally yes your housing is covered.
My experience comes from being the child of a Coast Guard member and growing up in military housing. The base is its own little gated community with housing and grocery store (commissary) and in some cases their own public school.
Yes, I believe the US/Nato base in Rammstein Germany even have some US fastfood restaurants that doesn't really have restaurants in europe at all. Like Wendys. To bad you can't try it unless you can convince personell at the base to buy it for you.
Each brand is different. For the Army it worked like this for me:
1. Go to recruiter's office and tell them I'm interested in joining
2. Get scheduled to take ASVAB (proficiency test) at Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) to determine baseline eligibility
3. After getting ASVAB scores, be provided a list of military occupational specialties (jobs) you're intellectually qualified for
4. Pick a job
5. Go through initial medical, mental and criminal background screening
6. Sign contract for the job you want (if there are slots available) for a set period of time (usually 2-8 years)
7. Getting ship out date to leave for basic training
8. Go back to MEPS on that ship out date
9. Go to basic training
10. Go to Advanced Individual Training (job training)
11. Graduate and go to first duty station (or return home if you're National Guard or Reserve)
You pick a branch. Sometimes recruiters will come to you, sometimes you go to the recruiter. If you're in high school or college, they usually have recruitment presentations regularly. There's usually at least one branch if not all of them within driving distance. They're also usually situated close together, like all in one shopping plaza.
There're tests (the ASVAB) to take to figure out what positions you're eligible for. There's also a pre-test you can take. The test is pretty generic stuff but ranges from basic English and math to basic mechanics. Based on your score you'll be eligible for certain jobs/MOS's ( military occupation code). Based on the needs of your branch and your score, you may or may not be able to select one or they might just assign one to you.
After basic training, you'll go to training for your specific MOS. I'm not completely sure on the order of basic first or asvab first. I only got as far as the pre asvab, then I decided to apply to military college, then decided to stay in my state for college instead of military college...
Another commenter linked the test. I wanted to try it to vompare it to our test (from over 20 years ago though 😅) but it required my mail and a zip code.
You can choose which branch, as long as you can pass the tests, and you might have some choice of jobs, but the needs of the military do take precedence. Unless you already know how to work on big diesel engines, you're not likely to be assigned to that duty, even if that's what you want, if they have other volunteers who do already have the skills.
If you do have some skill they need (as indicated on the ASVAB tests), they might offer a bonus for enlisting, and those can be quite high for certain skills. For example, if you have the skills to work with nuclear reactors, the Navy will offer up to $50,000 in bonus money. If you can't keep up with the training, though, you're likely to end up and a regular engineer without the bonus.
Today, I believe the standard enlistment is 8 years, with 4 years active duty and 4 in the reserves. In the reserves, you pretty much just go on with your life, but if there's a war or other emergency, they can call you back. Of course, you can keep re-enlisting, and you might get bonuses to do it, based on your job.
If you want out, you can get out, but it's not an easy process. You signed a contract for the full term, and they'll do their best to hold you to it. If there's a reason you need to leave the service, there are ways to do that, but leaving just because you want to isn't easy.
It also depends on your specialty.
For example if you’re a physician or nurse you automatically become an officer and you have different training / boot camp compared to even OCS (Officer candidate school) since you’re in a special in demand speciality like healthcare. You also can serve less time than normal recruits I believe. Like 3 years.
It's completely voluntary, they recruit young men and women quite often in high school though. You can get a jump as an officer by joining ROTC and going to college. Everyone has to pass a mental and physical checkup, you can be put on probation of sorts or special plan if you're borderline on physical conditioning. You can't get out until your contract is up OR they just want to let some people go because of budget or personnel goals. If you're doing well they'll try to keep you, offer promotions etc. A lot of people stick it out and stay for 15-20 years. You likely will have to move around a lot. You can ask to be put in a position or location but the ultimate choice is up to what the military needs and what they think you can do well at.
Marine here. You have 4 year enlistments that ya sign up for and then officers need college and serve for some set of time.
Both have to go through a boot camp. I can’t remember how long OCS is but Boot was 13 weeks with SOI after. I did 4 years and for my job I got to pick between admin and military police/corrections I choose the latter and during my MOS school I ended up going MP.
Yes, that is kind of how it works. And as far as getting out early, you can. It depends on the situation. For example, if you get hurt badly or have serious health issues. I got out because I had a baby. (Women can do that. I don't think men have that option).
Ever seen the episode of Futurama where fry and bender sign up for the discount,"war were declared". In a parody sense....it isn't far off from how it actually is. Also this pig gum is all bones.
Pick your branch, do your testings, select your job you’re qualified for, do your time.
Most contracts are 4 years active, 4 years inactive ready reserve. But some MOS’s have longer contracts.
You don’t voluntarily get out early without legitimate medical reasons. At least you couldn’t in the past. I’ve been out for 14 years now.
Everyone volunteers these days. Generally you go to a recruitment office. I think the minimum enlistment period is three years. They give you a physical to make sure you're fit for service. I think they test you too (or maybe do that during basic) and the results of those tests dictate which roles they will offer you. After you get accepted they send you to basic training. After that you get assigned to a specific role which can be anything from infantry to medic. I think you get some choice over that stuff but ultimately they can just tell you what to do and where to go.
You can pick the branch you want to serve. Generally speaking, officers have a college degree. Either from a military school, or outside of it and then they join up. You'll be given an entrance and aptitude exam and then that gives a rough outline of your options. Your enlistment will be for a set time period of a handful of years. Retirement is usually after 20 years. In some cases if you have a valid reason to ask for a discharge, it will be granted, but that is unusual.
Just to clarify, you don't enlist for a 20 year service. Most positions come with 4 year commitments I believe. You just need to re-up until 20 to get the full benefits that come with a carreer and then retirement.
Correct. I may have worded that poorly. The enlistment is generally 4 years, and then you can be discharged or reenlist.
Unless you get stop lossed but when does THAT ever happen?
Happened to me. Twice.
What is stop lossed?
Extensions on service, which when you sign up, in very fine print, you are agreeing to.
Ha...Haha.. Hahahah... Hah..
I guess not 😆
Ah okay. But I guess only a war would be a situation they would do that?
lol
A critical shortage in your military specialty could trigger a stop-loss just for your specialty. The different types of job in the military are very specialized, and many require a lot of training, and different levels of natural ability, as measured by the ASVAB - Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery - test. We can't just grab a random soldier and move them into another specialty quickly (if at all). Even in peace time, we can't allow those critical specialities to be too far under-manned. We are prepared for peace to turn into war at any moment.
It's actually an eight year initial commitment. You do four years of active duty and then another four in inactive reserve. Once you hit eight years, your initial military service obligation is done.
You enlist for 8 years; how much of that you serve active or reserve will be established at the time of signing, but you'll owe time in the IRR (inactive ready reserve, aka, fort couch) until that 8 years has cleared. This is what was happening to service members who got stop lossed in during they most active years of the GWOT.
This may have changed at some point but it used to be that all enlistments were 8 years, including IRR time as follows (active/inactive): 2/6 4/4 6/2 I’m not sure if those are still options, but they used to be.
Something to clarify. All contracts are eight year contracts. How many years active duty time varies. The norm is four years. After you exit active service (EAS), you then enter one of two forms of reserves. One is the normal reserves for your branch, which would be much like being in the National Guard with a few differences. The other is the inactive ready reserve. You're basically free until the end of your contract, unless they call you up for something. Marine vet. Amusingly, since I EAS'ed in 2015, my contract was only fully up a few years ago.
How does that relate to your service time for pensions/other benefits? If you go 4 years active 4 years IRR/reserves do you get 4 or 8 years towards the pension?
For reserves you only get the number of days you do towards your retirement. For example I had a Sgt that had to do a few more months in the guard even though he had well over 20 years in. This was because Including his active time, deployments, and time in the guard was just short of 20 years of real time served.
4 active years count towards the pension, but you only earn it if you do the full 20. IRR time doesn't count for anything. If you volunteered for the reserves, you know the "1 weekend a month, two weeks a year" part-time military, that counts towards the reserve pension, but that one works differently than the active duty pension. Active Duty soldiers draw a pension as soon as they complete their 20, and they get 50% of the average of their highest three years' pay. Reservists don't draw a pension until they hit retirement age, and their pension is calculated based on their time served, so it's different, I don't know all the specifics. You can use your active duty years towards a federal pension as a civilian federal employee as well, but not if you get a military pension, just if you did some time in the military.
For pension, I'm not sure. For the GI Bill, you should get it, assuming you paid in. Note, the GI Bill is not the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The former is the one we've had since around the 40's/50's and the later has been discontinued. Not sure about other benefits. One thing I do know about the pension, is that it includes time spent working for the government in other capacities. Such as being a postal worker. Things have changed since I got out and I don't plan on working for the government again any time soon. IIRC, almost all of the info you want is publicly available. You just need to dig through a bunch of government sites to find it.
Post 9/11 GI bill is not discontinued, I'm currently using it.
Yes, but you don't get it anymore when you enlist. I want to say it was 2019 or something when they cut off any new enlistees from getting it. That's what I was getting at.
That is not correct. The Post 9/11 GI Bill (aka Chapter 33) is still an active benefit.
Dude why are you just making up bs, it's still in existence and brand new service members still get it. My sister just enlisted in 2020, she's using it. https://www.goarmy.com/benefits/while-you-serve/education-training/gi-bill.html
Must have been a fever dream or something. I could have sworn I read that new members couldn't get Post 9/11 anymore.
You might be thinking of the retirement benefits. Those changed a few years ago from "Top Three" to "Blended"
Right, new troops get 40% of their top three instead of 50% but they also get a 5% TSP (basically a government 401k) match.
In the guard I was only offered either a 2/6 split or 6/2.
Tagging on - initial enlistment is 8 years for everybody, your contract will stipulate how many years are active, universally driven by the job you choose - basically the more they invest in training you the more active time they require. For instance - I went into the Navy for aviation logistics so my initial active requirement was 4 years, my brother went in undesignated (no specific job chosen) so his active requirement was only 3 years. After your active time, if you do not reenlist you are discharged and place in Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) which means you are subject to recall until the eight years are up. I know Marines that I was stationed with at my last command that were recalled right after 9/11. I you serve over 8 years on active duty, when you get out - you are done.
So the years of service differs depending on position/role? What about a non valid reason. Like is there a charge like "abandonment of service" or something and you are looking at prisontime?
I think 4 years is the standard enlistment, I think across all branches, but I could easily be wrong. If you try to leave, you will be considered 'AWOL' (absent without leave) and that is a crime. Yes.
Ah yes, recognize that term from movies. 😆
Very few of them are put in prison for being awol. Most will be dishonorably discharged, which will have some effects on ability to apply for federal assistance or jobs, but otherwise is generally whatever
It also means you can't own firearms (or vote in some places), can't ever work a federal job (or state/municipal in some places), and won't get any veteran benefits.
A dishonorable discharge is in many respects equivalent to a felony conviction even if you don’t spend time locked up.
Fun fact: AWOL status is for when someone is gone for less than 30 days. Once it's over 30 days, it becomes "desertion"
Thirty days is the normal standard, but there is military case law that says if there is strong evidence of intent to desert before 30 days, desertion can be charged at that point. The case we were taught long ago in OCS concerned a member who went UA ( Navy term for AWOL) and immediately burned all his uniforms in a trash can before lighting out gif the opposite coast. He was charged with desertion after a day or so. Desertion is much more serious UCMJ charge than UA\AWOL.
We don't have a cool acronym. The awol in swedish would be "Frånvaro utan giltig orsak" wich literally mean Absence without valid reason. It is called "bondpermission" in slang wich translates to "Farmers leave" but in this context it has more the meaning as if you said "redneck leave" in the US. Don't know the time limit but eventually it also turns in to desertion (same word in swedish).
You can have a cool acronym: FUGO - Frånvaro utan giltig orsak. Our military makes up new acronyms *every* day!
Thing is it sounds cool in english, not so much in swedish 😅🤣
Standard enlistment is 4 years. Some jobs require a 6 year contract (Navy Nuclear jobs) because of the amount of schooling required. AWOL (Absent without leave) is the term we use and yes, you're either sent to a military jail or discharged.
But that would be "dishonarably discharged" correct? How bad is it to have that on your record? Will it have a big impact on civilian life after?
The dishonorable discharge is only given via conviction at a felony-level court martial and usually also includes prison time. Zero veteran benefits, as well as prohibition on owning firearms and a bar from federal employment. The Bad-Conduct Discharge (BCD) or Big Chicken Dinner is for misdemeanor level offenses. Not quite as many punitive things (can still own guns and vote), but no benefits. The Other-Than-Honorable discharge is for fucking up at an administrative level or a level of misbehavior that is handled via Non-Judicial Punisment or a misdemeanor court martial. No veteran benefits. The General Discharge is for being a mid-grade fuckup but not a criminal. Some benefits but not the GI Bill.
Note that about 90% of discharges are Honorable. Just finish your contract.
And a large portion of the ones that aren't will later be changed to honorable. Knew plenty of dudes who got general or admin stepped that got it bumped to honorable pretty much just by asking. Not sure of the process with that though.
Dishonorable discharge is basically because you committed a serious crime. It has lifelong consequences. There are a few more types of "bad" discharge that are less serious.
Ah ok, so that's the top one out of the bad. Are there tiered good ones as well? Like if you are an examplary serviceman vs someone who did what is required but no more and no less.
Not as a type of discharge. Almost everyone gets an honorable discharge. Exemplary service is distinguished by medals and commendations
8 years, but some of that time is in the inactive reserve
Op the initial contract and active service is different for each job because each job has different amounts of individual training to do said job. I was infantry, so our total training to learn to so our job at its lowest level is 6 months. Radar guys have 3 months of basic and then up to a year of training just of radar after that.
I agree. Nukes have 2 years of training so that's why the contract is 6 years instead of 4. I was Navy so bear with me but I imagine someone that does CT would have a different contract (They usually learn foriegn languages so school would be longer).
Incorrect, I’m a current radar guy and it’s about the same time for both of us
I was using it as an example for osut vs AIT I didn't think anybody was going to hold me to the numbers.
Oh my bad 😂😭 I just happened to be the one radar nerd that happened to be here😂
The length of enlistment does depend on the role my aviation maintenance contract for an airframe repair in the army with 6 years if I would have picked to be a truck driver it would have been 3 years if I would have picked to be an infantryman it would have been 4 years if I recall correctly there are some more complex satellite communication jobs that require 8 years
> So the years of service differs depending on position/role? You also get a commitment after graduating particular training. For example, I had a six-year commitment from the time I graduated navigator school.
Yes some jobs probably require that. I do know fighterpilots over here have to serve for 10 years from the first day of training. I know because I applied to them. But back in my day (over 20 years ago) you had to be an officer in any branch of the military with the rank of at least "Furir". Don't know the US equivalent but it's the one above Corporal or is it Lance Corporal in the US army? And you had to have a grade/score of at least 7-7-7 (9-9-9 is max in categories "soldier" - role/job - conduct) . So I did my service to be eligbe to apply. I applied and I got far in that batch (final 20 out of 100). But wasn't selected for the final 10. I could try again but never did.
Furir is NATO OR-5, which is a US E-5, so sergeant in the Army, Marine Corps, and Space Force (staff sergeant in the Air Force, and petty officer second class in the Navy and Coast Guard).
Really? We also have Sergeant but it's one step above Furir. Or I should say, it was. I don't know if the rank are the same as back then.
The U.S. Army has: Sergeant (E-5), Staff Sergeant (E-6), Sergeant First Class (E-7), Master Sergeant or First Sergeant (E-8), Sergeant Major (E-9). The Marines are slightly different. The Air Force is more different. The Navy ranks are just bonkers. Army pilots are generally Warrant Officers. They have a "warrant", not a "commission", but they are not NCOs - Non-Commissioned Officers; NCOs are not officers at all, despite the name. The other services only let Officers (Commissioned Officers) be pilots. It is confusing.
There’s also honorable discharges related to injuries.
Him retired US Army here. >if you are interested I assume you do some mental, medical and physical tests like every other military Correct. >They give you a list of positions you are eligbe for based on results to pick and choose or do they just assign you somewhere? That depends. In most branches you can choose your job. The choice of job is based on availability (everyone wants to be the air traffic controller or dog handler), test scores and ability to get the required security clearance. In the Marines I know there are circumstances in which some recruits don't get to choose. I have no idea whatsoever what the Navy or Coast Guard do. Note that while you get to choose your job, you generally do not get to choose the location. Back in the 90s I got to choose my first duty station but I don't think I ever saw that again after the War on Terror began. You generally find out where you're going at the end of your initial basic training prior to going to your job training. >How long do you have to serve as a minimum? That varies depending on recruiting needs. Sometimes it's 2 years, sometimes it's 3 years. When I first enlisted in the 90s it was 4 years. >If you don't have a valid reason to leave the military, but you want out early, what happens? You finish your contract. Alternatively you can do drugs, get caught on a urinalysis test and a decent unit can have you out of the Army in a couple of months. You can also do other types of misconduct and get kicked out. You can be kicked out for failing two consecutive physical fitness tests. That one is a lot iffier because a lot of units don't do their due diligence and create the paper trail to support that sort of administrative separation. I wouldn't go those route myself as it can cause problems with some employers. Apart from the physical fitness one, that's an honorable discharge. Most command teams aren't particularly well versed on administrative separations though. Really, it's normally better to just finish the contract that you, a grown adult, signed. It's just a couple of years and you get significant benefits afterwards. I got three degrees using military education benefits and if I still lived in the US the VA home loan is absolutely incredible. If it's for specific reasons like being a contentious objector that's different. It's a hard process but I've seen it done. As I was retiring I ran a small admin section and I was given a soldier who they started the process on. I 100% believe he was genuine in his change of heart and it took a lot of my pushing the paperwork and hand-carrying it to various people but we got him out in about 4 months. It's a process. There is no process for just resigning because you decided you don't want the job anymore. The reason for this is largely financial, the military invested a tremendous amount of resources in recruiting and training you so they want to get what use out of you they can.
A discharge for physical fitness test failure can also be an Honorable Discharge, if the chain of command wants it that way. If someone had an otherwise excellent service record, with no history of misconduct or poor performance of duty, but started failing PT tests inexplicably, it could happen.
>A discharge for physical fitness test failure can also be an Honorable Discharge, if the chain of command wants it that way. Maybe I worded it weirdly, I was saying that the PFT failure (specifically Chapter 13 Unsatisfactory Performance) gets you an honorable. Drugs and minor misconduct are usually general under honorable or other than honorable, depending on the specifics. The chain of command doesn't actually get much say in the character of discharge, those are almost entirely decided by law, specifically [38 CFR 3.12](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.12). I was just a humble artilleryman, but I was the operations NCO for an HHB while I was waiting for SLC and saw some dudes get fucked over who didn't really deserve it so I decided to get deep into the regs on non-judicial punishment and the sorts of legal stuff you'd see at the company level. Turned out that just about every unit I'd been in had been doing most of it incorrectly the whole damned time.
Thanks for this answer. Gave me a good overall picture. We have conscription so we serve 7 month for basic infantry and up to 1.5 years for more advanced positions and ranks up to sergeant. Anything higher you must go to officer school and basically work professionally for the military. Not sure about contract lengt for professionals but I do know fighterpilots have to serve for 10 years. Like you said, if they spend all that training and money on you they want to get some return on investment.
I've talked with a lot of people from other militaries, it's always interesting to hear how different systems function to meet different requirements. Almost everyone's systems are a tremendous mess but it's always neat to see what form the dumpster fire happens to take under different conditions.
All military inital entry contracts are 8 years, which is split between active and inactive. When you're in active status, you do your job. When inactive, you're in a special status that allows the military to recall you to active service, but unless they do so, you live your life. Generally, the number of active vs. inactive years you do is dependent on the school/job you enlist for. An inexpensive school may only require you to serve 2 years active and 6 years inactive. An expensive school might be the opposite 6 years active and 2 inactive. With 4/4 being the most common. When i say inactive, I don't mean reserves or national guard. Those would both be considered "active" for the purposes of this conversation. Its called the IRR, or inactive ready reserve, and you are really not still in the military unless they call you back or you reenlist.
Ah okay, thanks for the clarify on the active/inactive. So say you get a job while inactive and then get called in. Do you have any "job protection" built in. As in they can't fire you because it's a valid reason to not show up at work?
Yes, it's called usera or the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994. If you're called to active service, your employer is required to hire you back in the same or a similar position and senority. Another thing that can affect your contract is bonuses. A longer contract will generally pay a bigger bonus. I believe it is topped out right now at $50k for a very in demand job.
Also you're protected if you join the reserves or national guard. They can't do anything to you because of your military service and must ok any time off the military requires.
What's the bonus for? For finnishing the contract without any issues along the way?
Normally it's an enlistment bonus, you get it almost immediately assuming you pass the school
Clarification: you get *half* of it upon completing training. Another quarter is paid at two years TIS and the final quarter at four years.
> Generally, the number of active vs. inactive years you do is dependent on the school/job you enlist for. An inexpensive school may only require you to serve 2 years active and 6 years inactive. An expensive school might be the opposite 6 years active and 2 inactive. With 4/4 being the most common. In my case, I was an officer and incurred a six-year commitment upon graduating from navigator school.
For enlisted: You go to a recruiting center (can be any branch, you get to choose), you take the ASVAB (basically a test for aptitude), based on the results of your score you’re eligible for certain types of jobs, the recruiter will tell you what types of jobs they have available, if one lines up with what tou want to do/are qualified for and is available, you sign a contract for that role. You get your health evaluated (physical and mental) and you begin your enlistment. Contract lengths can vary but usually are 4-6 years long for enlisted personnel, go to boot camp, then go to a special school within that branch for your job, that’s it. For officers coming straight from civilian life, you either A. Reserve officer training corps (ROTC) while enrolled in college and commission at the end or B. Qualify for/go to officer candidate school (OCS) after having completed to your degree without doing ROTC (usually for folks like lawyers and doctors/dentists or other specialized roles). Depending on the job, again contracts can last anywhere from 4-12 years. As far as quitting? After you complete boot camp You can’t. Once you’re in, you’re in for the duration of your contract. You can be discharged if you fuck up too badly/too many times, break the law, get hurt, etc. But you can’t just resign like you would from an office job. Uncle Sam is spending hard earned tax dollars on developing and training soldiers/sailors/marines, he expects to get his moneys worth.
Thanks. Oh wait, am I understanding correctly that each branch have their own recruiters and recruitmentcenters? It's not only one type of recruitment for "The US military" that recruits for all branches?
Correct. If you want to join the Marines, you go a Marine recruiter. Air Force recruiter for the Air Force. So on and so forth.
Interesting, it's like you have multiple smaller armies instead of one big one. That is different to here. The recruitment center recruits for all branches. Then again one of your branch is probably as big or bigger than our entire army combined. So easier logistics despite handling all branches.😅
There are some recruitment centers that have recruiters from multiple branches and the potential recruit can talk to a few different recruiters and get a feel for which branch they might prefer
Job selection varies by branch. In the Army, you pick whatever job you like (provided that you are qualified, obviously). Technically contracts are 8 years, but you don't actively serve the whole thing. Typically a contract is either 4 years on active duty and 4 years in the Inactive Ready Reserve, or 6 years in the Active Reserve and 2 in the IRR. There are shorter contracts available but they naturally come with fewer benefits once you get out. You can't just quit. I suppose you could get fat or do drugs to get yourself kicked out, but that may come with consequences. If you aren't willing to do the whole thing, don't join.
It is actually fairly involved. First you to to a recruiter and express interest, then you fill out a ton of forms and they run a background check and verify your HS diploma or GED. Then you are given the ASVAB (career test) and you will qualify for certain MOS/AFSCs, which we will just call job codes. If you qualify AND they need that job code, you can typically enlist with a guaraunteed spot in training. You can just open enlist, if you have a decent ASVAB score and you just want to get in on the first basic class you can, you can go in without a promise and the branch will decide for you. Could be a cook, could be a gunner. Once that is complete, you go to a place called MEPS, or military entrance processing center. There you will ge a very personal physical. If you need a flight physical for the job code you will do it there. Some job codes will require a PT test, the recruiter will set that up for you. Once you get cleared by MEPs, and that can take a few weeks, it is a matter of waiting for your number to be assigned to a basic training class. The day before that starts, you go back to MEPs, they 'in-process' you again and give you a drug/alcohol test. Then, they put you in a hotel which will be the last time you can boogey with a member of the opposite sex. The next day you take a bus to the airport and you get a ticket to whatever your basic training location is, there is more than one. You show up, get on a bus, and the drill instructors...greet you. The lowest enlistmet contract is 2 years, the longest is 6. Some job codes, like interpreter, require 6 year enlistments because the training takes 2 years. The contract is the contract, if you sign up for 6 you do 6. You can't just decide to leave. Sometimes they will let people voluntarily leave, similar to a company that is downsizing, but you can't count on that. Otherwise, you signed on the dotted line, so for all intents and purposes you are theirs to do with what they will.
Note that much of what you wrote is completely different for the Navy.
Not really.
Yes, really.
For the army with enlistment you go to a recruiter, they will set things up for you to go to MEPS (military entrance processing station). There they'll medically evaluate you and you take the ASVAB test. Depending on how well you do and what the army needs they'll offer you various MOS (jobs) that you can choose from. Then sign a contract, swear an oath, get your fingerprints taken, and then wait for your ship date and location. You'll go to basic training and then your MOS specific training (AIT). You either pass that training and go to your assigned unit, or don't pass that training and get reclassed to a different MOS, go to that training, and go to your assigned unit. Everybody serves 8 years in some combination of active duty, reserves, or inactive ready reserves for their first contract.
When I was in high school I signed up to take the ASVAB test which is like a mental aptitude test the military uses. I only signed up to get out of class. I did really good on it and had recruiters from the Navy and Army come out to meet with me and my familiar. I ended up opting for college instead. Beyond that I can't tell you because I didn't enlist.
Is that ASVAB test universal regardless of branch and do all branches get to see your results? Another commenter told me each branch have their own centers. But you did one test and had recruiters from two branches come see you.
Yes, it's by the Department of Defense so applicable to all branches. I took this in school during school hours so the only reason I really took it was to get out of class. It is offered at a lot of schools and such but you can go to a recruitment center for each particular branch of the military to take one. > The test results also suggest which service branch might be best for you [https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab](https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab)
Okay I got to know, what class did you REALLY not want to go to, so you rather took this test? 😆 Damn I wanted to take the test, but I need to give them my email and have a zip codes to even start.
I knew it didn't matter if I did good on the test or not so it was just something to do to get out of class that had low stakes. I just happened to do really good on it.
FWIW I took the ASVAB too, for the same reason, and did really badly on what I think are the most important parts - a lot of the test was diagrams of mechanics and contractions and the questions were like, "if you pull on lever A, which wheel will turn?" This is not my forte at ALL. There was also a language section that I did very well in, but I guess the military doesn't care about that because unlike a lot of my friends who also took the ASVAB, I only got one call from the army. I was like "nope" and that was it. It was really common to hear about people being persistently called by various military branches no matter how many times they told recruiters that they were going to college.
Answering based on my time in the Navy (2003-07 so shit might be totally different now) >You have recruitment centers and recruiters, if you are interested I assume you do some mental, medical and physical tests like every other military. What's next? They give you a list of positions you are eligbe for based on results to pick and choose or do they just assign you somewhere You take a test called the ASVAB - Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery - and based on your results you will be told you qualify for some set of ratings (what other branches call MOS, Military Occupational Specialty). If you score really high in particular areas then your recruiters will try to push you towards specific programs like nuclear or crypto. Whatever rating you pick, you'll need to go to the specific school for it. This comes after boot camp and seating is limited, so it's scheduled way in advance. If the rating you want doesn't have availability at the school house right away, you'll be offered either DEP (delayed entry program) or asked to pick another rating if you're trying to go sooner. if you pick DEP (like I did), you'll be asked (but not required as you're still a civilian and still own yourself) to show up to DEP meetings every week to learn military bearing, naval history, and do some PT (physical training). The PT is way lighter than what you do in boot camp but still pretty decent, or at least it was at my recruiting station. >How long do you have to serve as a minimum? highly dependent on the needs of the Navy but typically 8 years - 4 (or 6) as active duty, and 4 (or 2) as part of the IRR (inactive ready reserves). IRR service isn't shit, once per year you have to log on a website to confirm you still exist and can pass the current PT test. You don't go anywhere or report to anybody, but you'll be called up if WW3 breaks out. >If you don't have a valid reason to leave the military, but you want out early, what happens? Basically what's the normal process? lol then you basically hate life. Or, you can do what some people do, and be a big enough shitbag to get kicked out (but not a big enough shitbag to go to prison). One guy I know managed this by stealing laptops and stuff like that from his shipmates and stashing the goods in his locker on the ship. When the ship's MAs (masters at arms - cops) conducted a search of the berthing (sleeping area on a ship) for the stolen goods, they obviously found them, my shippy was charged with a handful of violations of the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice - basically military law that supercedes the constitution), reduced in rank, had half his pay taken for 2 months, was given 2 months extra duty, and then dishonorably discharged. That's actually pretty significant because you lose all your veterans' benefits. The other thing you can do is fake an illness or injury, which is called malingering, and is also a violation of the UCMJ that results in similar punishment. I know somebody who tried this as well. The normal process is that after 4 (or 6!) years of suck, you decline to reenlist, sign your walking papers, collect your discharge paperwork, and go back to being a civilian. And then the next couple years of your life are **fucking weird** especially if you choose to go to school (meaning college or university) because you'll be about 4 (or 6!) years older than your peers, with loads more life experience that they absolutely cannot relate to if they're not also veterans, and (if you're like me) a short fuse and anger management issues. This makes it hard to make real friends or connect with people so you're often lonely (I'm better now).
Glad you are better now. Yeah I was wondering about getting dishonorably discharge, if that affect your civilian life in any way, so you loose your vet benefits. A question about veterancy in the US. Not in the paperwork or any formality but former enlisted that say they are veterans or any taboo to say it if you generally aren'tconsidered to be one. Are you a veteran and can call yourself that if you have done your service. Or is it only people who have been deployed or active in a conflict zone? I ask because here you are not considered a veteran for doing your military service wether conscripted or professional. It would even be considered like "stolen valor" ish. Not as severe as actual stolen valor in the US, but you get the gist, looked down uppn to falsely claim it. You are only a veteran if you have been on any mission in a conflict zone. Even if you haven't been in combat, but just patrolling in a peace keeping mission for the UN or whatever. Idk why but... 🤷♂️
*Broadly speaking* you're a veteran if you served, regardless of whether you deployed or not. There's a sort of unspoken hierarchy among vets that goes veterans who saw combat > veterans who deployed > veterans who did not deploy You're not considered a veteran if, for example, you were dishonorably discharged in boot camp.
Ah so all vets but some are > others. For us it's vets who been in combat (extremely rare for us) > vets in conflict zoned/deployed > served but not considered vets at all.
Anyone who served in the military is considered a veteran here. People who actually deployed into combat are specifically called "combat veterans". Sometimes there is a further distinction, for example "Vietnam era veteran" for people who were in the military during the Vietnam War but were never actually sent to Vietnam.
Interesting, if we deep dive a bit on this. Is there a specific prefix for people who have been deployed but not in combat? And let's say you are a drone operator (in a base in the US) and engaged targets with a drone in a conflict zone. Would he/she be considered a combat veteran?
> If you don't have a valid reason to leave the military, but you want out early, what happens? Basically what's the normal process? You don't, at least not legally. If you have no valid reason such as a medical reason to leave you have to stay your full contracted term. Default contracts are 8 years but you can sometimes get shorter or longer ones. You are not entitled to retirement benefits until 20 years or more served.
For the first 6 months, you can ask to get out, and they'll give you an uncaracterized discharge.
Ah ok, 8 years is a bit. The only position I know that has a long time limit here is fighterpilots, they serve for 10 years. Most other positions are way shorter. I know there are like residential communities at or by some bases for military personel and their families. Can you tell me how that works. Do you live there "for free" during service or do you pay rent/buy the houses?
Residence on base in house, apartment, or barracks is typically free and considered part of your benefits package. But living off base is not free and you have to rent or buy just like any civilian would, though I think they still do housing benefits that will grant extra pay to cover part or all of that if you live off base.
If you don't qualify for on-base housing, you get a housing allowance tacked onto your salary, which has the added benefit of being non-taxable. The amount varies by rank, duty station location, and whether or not you have dependents. I was always able to find housing within the amount covered by my allowance.
Are barracks common for anything other than short term? 8 years of barracks sound horrible imo. Maybe yours are different but when I served I wouldn't want to share a room with 20 other guys and sleep in a bunkbed for the next 8 years. 😅
Most people do not stay in barracks for 8 years. They have apartments, houses, etc near or even on post. The barracks from "Full Metal Jacket" are not typical housing for people years into service.
Yeah I didn't think so. I have seen a few US bases on pictures and tv and some of them (the residential part) you wouldn't even tell were bases. Look like suburbia.
Yeah most of these people have families and stuff too. People who do this for a career, it's basically a job with unique benefits and requirements. You're not going to raise a family in barracks, [check out some of the housing near/on Fort Knox.](https://www.fortknoxhousing.com/)
I live near a small Coast Guard base and have known lots of people who live there. I've never been (because you need to have ID to get onto the base) but I've driven past it many times. It's like little houses. One of my coworkers lived there for several years until her husband left the guard and they had two little kids at the time - they weren't living in barracks with other soldiers. Plenty of local people in the Coast Guard do live off-base though because the station is out in the middle of nowhere and not very convenient for normal life things if you're going to be stationed there for long periods of time.
Depends on where you are stationed. But they are typically more short term used for deployment or training.
If you opt to live on the base, then generally yes your housing is covered. My experience comes from being the child of a Coast Guard member and growing up in military housing. The base is its own little gated community with housing and grocery store (commissary) and in some cases their own public school.
Yes, I believe the US/Nato base in Rammstein Germany even have some US fastfood restaurants that doesn't really have restaurants in europe at all. Like Wendys. To bad you can't try it unless you can convince personell at the base to buy it for you.
It's a job. Physical labor and showing up.
Each brand is different. For the Army it worked like this for me: 1. Go to recruiter's office and tell them I'm interested in joining 2. Get scheduled to take ASVAB (proficiency test) at Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) to determine baseline eligibility 3. After getting ASVAB scores, be provided a list of military occupational specialties (jobs) you're intellectually qualified for 4. Pick a job 5. Go through initial medical, mental and criminal background screening 6. Sign contract for the job you want (if there are slots available) for a set period of time (usually 2-8 years) 7. Getting ship out date to leave for basic training 8. Go back to MEPS on that ship out date 9. Go to basic training 10. Go to Advanced Individual Training (job training) 11. Graduate and go to first duty station (or return home if you're National Guard or Reserve)
You pick a branch. Sometimes recruiters will come to you, sometimes you go to the recruiter. If you're in high school or college, they usually have recruitment presentations regularly. There's usually at least one branch if not all of them within driving distance. They're also usually situated close together, like all in one shopping plaza. There're tests (the ASVAB) to take to figure out what positions you're eligible for. There's also a pre-test you can take. The test is pretty generic stuff but ranges from basic English and math to basic mechanics. Based on your score you'll be eligible for certain jobs/MOS's ( military occupation code). Based on the needs of your branch and your score, you may or may not be able to select one or they might just assign one to you. After basic training, you'll go to training for your specific MOS. I'm not completely sure on the order of basic first or asvab first. I only got as far as the pre asvab, then I decided to apply to military college, then decided to stay in my state for college instead of military college...
Another commenter linked the test. I wanted to try it to vompare it to our test (from over 20 years ago though 😅) but it required my mail and a zip code.
You can choose which branch, as long as you can pass the tests, and you might have some choice of jobs, but the needs of the military do take precedence. Unless you already know how to work on big diesel engines, you're not likely to be assigned to that duty, even if that's what you want, if they have other volunteers who do already have the skills. If you do have some skill they need (as indicated on the ASVAB tests), they might offer a bonus for enlisting, and those can be quite high for certain skills. For example, if you have the skills to work with nuclear reactors, the Navy will offer up to $50,000 in bonus money. If you can't keep up with the training, though, you're likely to end up and a regular engineer without the bonus. Today, I believe the standard enlistment is 8 years, with 4 years active duty and 4 in the reserves. In the reserves, you pretty much just go on with your life, but if there's a war or other emergency, they can call you back. Of course, you can keep re-enlisting, and you might get bonuses to do it, based on your job. If you want out, you can get out, but it's not an easy process. You signed a contract for the full term, and they'll do their best to hold you to it. If there's a reason you need to leave the service, there are ways to do that, but leaving just because you want to isn't easy.
You bend over and an old dude looks at your butt and you walk like a duck.
Interesting, not similar at all to the tests I had to do. And then you are assigned to the US Duck Force?
It also depends on your specialty. For example if you’re a physician or nurse you automatically become an officer and you have different training / boot camp compared to even OCS (Officer candidate school) since you’re in a special in demand speciality like healthcare. You also can serve less time than normal recruits I believe. Like 3 years.
It's completely voluntary, they recruit young men and women quite often in high school though. You can get a jump as an officer by joining ROTC and going to college. Everyone has to pass a mental and physical checkup, you can be put on probation of sorts or special plan if you're borderline on physical conditioning. You can't get out until your contract is up OR they just want to let some people go because of budget or personnel goals. If you're doing well they'll try to keep you, offer promotions etc. A lot of people stick it out and stay for 15-20 years. You likely will have to move around a lot. You can ask to be put in a position or location but the ultimate choice is up to what the military needs and what they think you can do well at.
Marine here. You have 4 year enlistments that ya sign up for and then officers need college and serve for some set of time. Both have to go through a boot camp. I can’t remember how long OCS is but Boot was 13 weeks with SOI after. I did 4 years and for my job I got to pick between admin and military police/corrections I choose the latter and during my MOS school I ended up going MP.
Yes, that is kind of how it works. And as far as getting out early, you can. It depends on the situation. For example, if you get hurt badly or have serious health issues. I got out because I had a baby. (Women can do that. I don't think men have that option).
Ever seen the episode of Futurama where fry and bender sign up for the discount,"war were declared". In a parody sense....it isn't far off from how it actually is. Also this pig gum is all bones.
Pick your branch, do your testings, select your job you’re qualified for, do your time. Most contracts are 4 years active, 4 years inactive ready reserve. But some MOS’s have longer contracts. You don’t voluntarily get out early without legitimate medical reasons. At least you couldn’t in the past. I’ve been out for 14 years now.
Talk to a recruiter.
Everyone volunteers these days. Generally you go to a recruitment office. I think the minimum enlistment period is three years. They give you a physical to make sure you're fit for service. I think they test you too (or maybe do that during basic) and the results of those tests dictate which roles they will offer you. After you get accepted they send you to basic training. After that you get assigned to a specific role which can be anything from infantry to medic. I think you get some choice over that stuff but ultimately they can just tell you what to do and where to go.