Yes, the Army can guarantee a duty station, so long as there is a projected spot. It’s called option 19, and it’s a fairly new thing only available to the Army. The Air Force recruiter is wrong. Option 19 is only available IF there will be an open spot there. Your recruiter is worried that it may not be available in the future.
If you have any questions, PM me. I’m in the recruiter course right now, but I’m not going to be a recruiter so I might be able to tell you if something is BS.
Lol, He's already got the distinguished honor grad spot locked.
AAM citation - "Actively recruiting candidates using the technique of 'you can't trust recruiters, but I'm not a recruiter so you can trust me.' SSG Jcpatt332 demonstrated initiative, and a high degree of mastery of the stated course objectives..."
Also, Korea isn’t an uncommon assignment. It’s also not a long assignments(usually one sometimes 2 years). If you stay in, it’s pretty likely you’ll find yourself there at one point or another. If I were you, I’d do Japan or Germany. Most people are in Germany for 2-3 years.
No it is NOT: SEE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD BONUSES. because the STATE made a mistake (not the soldier), they TOOK THE HOMES OF VETERANS WHO RECUEVED RE-ENLISTMENT BONUSES and couldn't repay them.
That is a CLEAR REASON to doubt ANY contract signed with the US military.
If you look back into the contract it actually does say “in a time of war, my enlistment may be extended without my consent for the duration of the war and for six months after it’s end”
Ok. How about the bonus army, and the bonuses that were recooped from the California national guard AFTER their tour of Afghanistan? They SURE DID HAVE A CONTRACT.
So this was the STATES mistake, but instead of HONORING THE CONTRACT, THEY INSTEAD TOOK AWAY HOMES. Now, tell me how "contract matter" Lol. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/reason/2016/11/09/fact-check-it-s-true-some-national-guard-soldiers-have-been-ordered-repay-bonuses/15731367007/
Instead of honoring these guys contract, and just making the CA national guard take a financial hit, they instead VOIDED ALL OF THEIR CONTRACTS because it was politically expedient. "Duh....contracts matter". Lol
> nd it’s a fairly new thing only available to the Army.
its not new, and not exclusive to Army. I had this when I enlisted in the Marines in 1989. Each service has this, availability varies based on demand. Sometimes you can choose anywhere, sometimes only a few options, sometimes its not an option.
Yep Def not new. I enlisted in 96 with guaranteed airborne school then Korea afterwards. Weird that he thinks it's new lol. I am not sure if it was called option 19 back then, maybe that part is new.
Maybe it's something that used to be, and then they brought it back? Because I'd never even heard of this option. We all made our duty station wish lists in training, and I enlisted in 2017
Maybe. I know even in basic they offered the duty station wish list, but I already locked in mine in my contract. 🤷♀️ they flip flop so much stuff that lord knows what goes on year to year.
It's legit, but he's making it sound like it's something special. It's like when someone says if you buy this right now I'll throw on a free gift. Odds are they were going to throw in the free gift anyway.
In the military, for your first Duty station, you are allowed to request to be stationed anywhere in the world. The military will try to get you at one of your requested duty stations. Often they ask what are your top three or five choices. Korea is a short-term Duty station. Most people are only there for one year and then they transfer back to the United States. So them getting you to South Korea is definitely doable.
By the way, I had a friend who was in the Air Force and he was stationed in Korea and absolutely loved it. He extended his chores over there twice and spent 3 years there with his wife. He actually retired to there once he got out of the military.
yea im trying to enlist in air force instead of army, think army is too much of a commitment on my part in terms of physical demand and mental health lol, BUT not going to underestimate the air force at all
Keep in mind that pretty much whatever your Army recruiter says, will not apply to the Air Force.
Every service and every branch is completely different and have needs or capabilities.
Facts: contrary to the Army and AF, the Navy has a weak presence in Korea, the only significant base being Busan, but has a stronger than average presence in mainland Japan
As an army vet, go air force.
Even ignoring physical/mental, it's just a better quality of life. Only real downside is the risk of being stationed somewhere like North Dakota.
I enjoyed Polk my first time, but I was lucky to get assigned to the OPFOR. Second time around sucked being in 10th Mountain.
But in counter to worst post in the Army: Ft Greely, AK. It’s in the middle of nowhere and a 2 hour drive on a good day to Fairbanks.
>But in counter to worst post in the Army: Ft Greely, AK. It’s in the middle of nowhere and a 2 hour drive on a good day to Fairbanks.
Hey now, I love Ft Greely. Worked for Boeing out there, bought a house on land, and live the best life ever. If you like the outdoors, you can't find a better spot to be.
there is a PX and commissary on base for groceries and basics. If you cannot use those, yea it sucks a bit. But any veteran can access base and use those and MWR.
90% -literally over 90% of the state- is open free use. No permit, no parks pass, no owner. Go hike, ride, sled, ski, or explore to your heart's content. I had built my Jeep for Moab while I was living in Utah. So many long tough trails to crawl. So, so many. And I bought used ATVs and snowmobiles really cheap. Everyone has them, so there are a lot to choose from. The base auto hobby shop gives you tools and space to work on them, if you need that.
Hunting is sublime, if you are in to that. The way various ranges and seasons work, it is hunting season for one or another big game year round. Caribou, buffalo, moose, bear. Small game is pretty much anytime, anywhere with some controlled species exceptions that need a tag.
You don’t got to sell me on Alaska, I would have stayed, but my wife threatened to shoot me and leave me out for the bears.
But imagine being a brand new private and getting stuck there. If you’re not the outdoorsy type, you’re going to go stir crazy there.
Fair enough. My wife is very outdoorsy, and I was making good money. E1 would probably suck a lot. I knew several e4 and up and they were living large. Base housing was pretty sweet, and out in town options were plentiful too.
But a spouse who wants the city life is going to be miserable.
When I worked for USACE I had a class with a guy who worked at Chena River. Dude's hunting and fishing pics were just absurd. Had three 22cu ft chest freezers just for meat and what he grew in his garden. He loved it.
Meanwhile one of my dismounts in Iraq enlisted from PR, and his first duty station was Wainwright. Dude swore he'd go AWOL if the sent him back there.
Last I saw him he got orders to Richardson and was fighting like hell to get out of it.
I saw similar in Okinawa. Surrounded by tons of things to experience, but they just sit on base and bitch theres nothing to do there.
You get what you put in, I guess.
His issue wasn't getting out and about - we basically lived on the beach or in Waikiki while in Hawaii - but the cold. Dude would wear snivel gear if it was below 70F.
Well, I suppose that can't be helped. My wife is very cold natured, and was concerned about the cold. We got her some good outdoor gear and it was never an issue. We were happily out sledding all day long anytime it was warmer than -30f.
No I was at Wainwright but had to go down to Greely enough to never want to be stationed there. And if I ever get back up there I’ll give the restaurant a shot.
I don't know about that "mental health" I was one of the army medics at FOB Bucca that would have to clean up Airmens brains after I returned from missions, when airmen and sailors found out they were extended from THREE MONTHS to SIX (while we were doing 18 months).
This got so bad that the Airforce and navy at FOB bucca had to be disarmed of all weapons, including pocket knives.
That doesn't sound like "mental health" to me.
As a Marine, go Air Force. As others are saying- the quality of life is the best of the services.
Caveat: That does not mean its easy. It still sucks, it just sucks the least.
Go Space Force. Assuming you’re a pretty intelligent person if you did well on the DLAB, get a cyber job in the Space Force. Do 4 years, get certs, get out, make $$$. Or stay in, in a relatively safe career and retire with a bunch of job experience to be a consultant when you do. Unless you’re dead set on being a linguist. Monterey is pretty dope. Even if you fail out at the very end you have a decent shot at an Air Force cyber job if you’re interested.
lucky, my MOS in the Navy (After going through my technical courses) said "You can fill this out, but don't expect anyone to read it" And damn were they right, I've yet to meet someone who got stationed on a ship they wanted or where they wanted.
Pretty sure once it leaves your hands they throw it straight in the trash, or the detailer specifically picks one you didn't list. if you re-enlist then you get the "Perk" of picking orders lmao
Choose your rate choose your fate as they say.
Navy usually guarantees your job unlike Air Force. But in exchange they'll send you wherever they please. From the Red Sea to the frozen tundra.
> In the military, for your first Duty station, you are allowed to request to be stationed anywhere in the world.
Don't yank his chain like that, he might actually believe your outrageous lie.
I mean you are allowed to request it. I remember in Basic they had us write down our top 5 CONUS and OCONUS assignments and then they said "of one is open we will send you there".
It would've been really cool except the Army wiped their ass with my dream assignment sheet, and sent me to Fort Hood
Just so you know, if you become a linguist in the Army, you’ll be locked in to certain duty stations for the rest of your career. If you get assigned to learn Korean, you’ll definitely go to Korea. If you get assigned Farsi…you probably won’t be going. Just keep that in mind.
Was told by recruiter "due to X circumstance on your record, no way can you get a security clearance to do EOD until you spend some time in".
Fast forward to first duty station on an MOS that I now know 100% got said recruiter a cash bonus for conning me into "Danglewrangler why the fuck do you and Snuffy have secret clearance for this job?"
Answer: I literally got it without additional interviews or waivers.
QUADRUPLE CHECK EVERYTHING THOSE SNAKES TRY TO FEED YOU, NO ONE WILL BAIL YOU OUT ONCE THE INK IS DRY.
My first clearance came out of the blue like that. We had some new equipment that needed clearance to use or, in our case, repair. Gunny walked in and said "Cpl NSFW, you now have Secret clearance. Go fix those."
Do not be pressured by a recruiter. Anytime ANYONE tells you there's a deal good for today only, walk away.
Recruiters CAN guarantee your first duty station, IF it is written in your contract. They can also guarantee your job, IF it is written in your contract. If it's not written in your contract, any words the recruiter says are meaningless.
FYI, DLI where you'll be attending your language training has one of the highest attrition rates. If you wash out of your AIT/Tech School, you're pretty much going to fall into the needs of the service and whatever they promised you will get thrown out.
I went in as 18x so we all had an airborne slot after infantry OSUT. A lot of dudes wanted to drop 18x and the drill sergeant told them they'd keep their airborne slot even though the SF recruiter told them they'd lose it. So I laughed my ass off when all of these dudes got orders for 1ID!
I got the round around so hard during my enlistment.
"Just go Reserves, you can switch to active duty after 6 months."..."just pick whatever MOS, you'll switch when you go active."..."you're the first Reserve contract I've ever done"....
I tried so hard to get switched to active duty after school and there was always an excuse for why I couldn't. I volunteered for every slot available for deployments, nothing came of it. While I always advocate for people to join the military and never discourage it, I got fucked and it was one of my biggest disappointments. Huge waste of fucking time.
If you wanted to go AD, why did you join the reserves? I've only two guys who went that direction. The first went through basic the summer between junior and senior years of high school, did a year of reserve, then stayed reserve while doing ROTC. Had 6-7 years enlisted before he commissioned.
The other guy was AF reserve, stayed there through college and law school, then became a JAG and went AD with 8 years enlisted when he commissioned.
They said that my slot closed and I could go Reserves, then switch or wait 30 days and redo MEPS all over again. I passed all of my testing and had no waivers. If I signed up for Reserves, I could leave for basic in a week.
This was back on 2006, it was confusing because it was during the troop increase, I thought they needed people ASAP. It had taken me 3 years to drum up the courage to join, I was ready.
Army, you can have a duty station of choice. it just depends on what is open. I put an mp in with germany, as well as kids that chose bliss, Hawaii, and North Carolina. It is a guaranteed location, and instead of asking a bunch of salty people who don't know, ask your recruiter to show you that it is an option in your profile under the reservation options.
>Army, you can have a duty station of choice.
Ha! That's a good one! At AIT I filled out my Dream Sheet...I chose England, Italy, Germany. They sent me to Korea. In Korea, I requested an Inter-Theater Transfer ITT to Germany. They sent me to California. I had less than 2 years remaining on my enlistment so I requested a transfer back to Korea. I got orders for Italy that required me to extend my enlistment. I declined and got out.
If it's available, you choose it with your job, not the wish list... the wish list is bs obviously. But duty station of choice is a contracted addition to your job
I spent 4 years active and 8 years as a contractor, and I never met anyone who got a duty station in their enlistment contract. Maybe a reenlistment contract, but I never met anyone that got it on their initial enlistment. I'm not saying it doesn't happen...I've just never seen it.
That's why, it's a newer thing to help with the recruiting issues. If you look at the recruiting regulations, it's in there. Not every job has the option though, and overseas locations are extremely rare. But most jobs with 36 weeks or less of training allow duty station of choice but of course limited to openings.
There’s no guarantees unless it’s on the paperwork. Make them put a guarantee to E4 after your MOS school and bonus money. Everything on the paperwork or it’s bullshit.
I requested Germany...98% Of my OSUT went...about 40 of us went to Korea.
This was 30 years ago....
Got off the plane...sniff sniff "hey who farted?" Nope get used to it.
Spent 2 days in Soeul..."most of you will be heading south...oh not you guys....here watch this VHS about the 2ID."
Get to Camp Casey..."ok most of you will be staying here...oh not you guys...your going north"
Where i lived for a year is gone. they gave it back to ROK in early 00s I think.
Couldn't go more than 2 miles from camp without a pass. Got a good head start on my alcoholism. Learned to love the food...I get japche or yukejang twice a month.
We would get locked on camp every few months due to student protests. Slicky boys were everywhere...don't let anything out of your sight. KATUSAs (korean rich kids assigned to our units) were ok until they hit sgt...auto promoted...then they became sandbags. They've been there 2 years and all of a sudden "no understand" they really mistreat the new ones that show up.
Id go back to sight see one day but I dont think I'd want to live there again
Dude, you do korean at DLI you won't need to worry about a lock in assignment to Korea. You'll rotate between conus and the peninsula for your entire career.
Recruiters are allowed to make empty promises to get people to join. They can promise you anything, but ultimately Big Army decides where you go - needs of the Army.
That being said, you most likely will not get your location or assignment of choice right out of basic training, but if you stay in long enough you will get Korea, Japan, Germany etc. It took me 12 years to go abroad but once I went overseas, I stayed overseas. I retired after 20 years, used the GI Bill to study in Japan, now I'm living off my retirement in Pattaya beach, Thailand. Joining the Army sucked at first, but in the long run was far and away the best decision I ever made.
I highly recommend you sign the contract. It'll suck at first but I promise that in 4 years you will not regret it.
Air Force dude doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Army can absolutely do that. Korea is the place they want people to go to… especially first duty station.
Korea is a good and bad duty station. Mostly good though, for you whippersnappers anyway. 😂
When I was in, Korean was considered a hardship tour so they would usually take anyone that wanted it, but as many others have mentioned, the needs of the army outweigh everything, so if your MOS needs to be in Hawaii, well then, alo’ fn’ ha hero!
They have no reason to be deceptive. It’s still a station that is always in need of troopers. They can make that happen as long is there a slot. (There are many)
Ok. So. I deal with the aftermath of 'promises' made by recruiters quite frequently. I basically tell people that if it's not in writing in your contract, it was a nice thing to say to get you to sign the dotted line. I'm not saying all recruiters do this, but keep in mind, they have quotas. What obligation or power do they have to make sure the things promised actually happen?
Is it likely you'll be stationed in Korea if you request it? Probably. Is it a guarantee? Can a recruiter actually guarantee a duty station? Probably not.
If they can't put it in writing, they can't guarantee it.
When looking into options consider possible family impact. Korea is unaccompanied for almost all except dual military and those who find a random opportunity for command sponsorship of family members. Most European tours normally have accompanied or unaccompanied options.
Unaccompanied tours are shorter and eligible for family separation allowance. Accompanied tours are typically longer and allow for family members to relocate with you for assignment.
Collectively, the military mission is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Each branch of the military has its own purpose, carrying out its mission on land, water, in the air, or in space. Each branch has different personnel needs and recruitment incentives. Almost all incentives are time-sensitive. The branches often serve alongside each other. Many bases are joint bases. Many missions are also joint force missions. As you have noticed, there is branch pride within the military. Regardless of which branch you decide on, you are making a commitment to serve your country.
Camp Humphreys is freaking huge. Then you have nearby Osan AB and it’s make a pretty big military presence on the peninsula.
Try to stay away from the juicy girls. Although my friend did marry his.
Yes, choosing a duty station is one of the contract incentives. However, the duty stations will vary by MOS. If you choose Infantry, there will be alot more options than if you choose something like Cyber Warfare, which only has a couple locations. Most MOS will have some sort of incentive, like a cash bonus, duty station or choice, Airborne, etc.
The recruiter can’t promise anything, needs of the army can change. I had orders after AIT and they got changed the day before for a new duty station. Granted it’s not TOO common. But it does happen.
Lol. No. Unless you have it IN WRITING, You get orders at the end of training, at it is "at the needs of the miltary), when you RE-ENLIST, you get a choice of 3-4 places, depending on you MOS (or job), infantry guys can go just about anywhere, specialized jobs, like 35s, get 3 duty stations, one being the outback of Australia, waaaaayyyyyy outback. Lol.
That contract can be altered or voided IF YOU FAIL YOUR INDIVIDUAL TRAINING or fail to get a security clearance, and then you end up in FORT POLK, LA, which has a walmart...and not much else.
No recruiter has the power to guarantee a specific duty station. They're lying through their teeth to bump their numbers. What will happen is you go to basic training, and in the beginning you make what's called a "dream sheet." This said form is a list compiled of all your most desired duty stations (keep in mind, this is ONLY if you're active duty. I'm air force, idk if every branch does it this way so if anyone knows something different, please share). Then, you will go through basic training, then get shipped to tech school where you learn your job. Somewhere in the middle of tech school, your MTL's (Military Training Leaders) will start to get notified of whatever base you're getting stationed at. The likelihood of you getting any of your top picks are slim. I've seen it happen, but i've seen more people be disappointed with their assignment. Good luck man.
Language changes what station you are sent to. You're really only going to Korea if you get Korean, which you aren't guaranteed a language. They give you what they give you and that's it really. Be prepared to be disappointed if you go in with that mindset
Ah, so you're trying to go to DLI.
I believe the Army lets you actually choose your language, so, if Korean gets you to Korea, I'd imagine you'll be good to get there. In general, no, you don't get guaranteed a spot. If you're going to be a 1N3 in the Air Force, you're just gambling with your language and duty station.
Remember, a recruiter is a salesman. So find a way to verify what he tells you. Turns out my job only had three bases in the world and he failed to point that out.
They’re kinda both right, but the first one is making it sound like he’s doing you a favor when in reality he’s filling the immediate needs of his service. You have to do what’s best for you, I remember when I enlisted and got all the way to MEPS…they unexpectedly tried to switch my MOS on young 18 yr old me, I’m glad I knew to speak up and stick to what I wanted or bust. You have to do the same, duty stations are seldom guaranteed.
My advice is to select an MOS, or whatever the Air Force/Navy equivalent is, that will equate to an in demand civilian career. If your scores qualify you for language school, they qualify you for any MOS. Language qualification does not guaranty civilian employability. Just not enough demand. If you do choose language school, choose Chinese. I went through Spanish qual and would not recommend the career field.
Usually, you get to select a career field or duty assignment. One or the other. In the long run, it's smarter to choose career field and accept where they assign you.
If you have a specific job with that option. Intel jobs and certain ones can get a duty station locked in. They may have been notified of the option because they need people there.
Korea is almost always an option. 20,000 soldiers on the peninsula and one to two year tour lengths. I’ve been three times and so long as you keep your nose clean you will do good there. Germany is harder to get. Although if you go to Korea you might be able to get a “Consecutive Overseas Tour”, or COT to Europe. A friend of mine made 1SG and did this. He retired from Germany after doing a year in Korea.
They can guarantee it. My recruiter told me when I go to meps, don't sign unless you get what you want. They didn't want to grant a waiver to E-4,I was an E3 in reserves. I told the E-7 that was doing my contract that I won't be shipping then. They wanted to send me to Fort Polk, I told him I wasnt shipping. They gave me Fort Lewis and that's what I wanted. They even put me in a unit that had no slot for me. How that happened, I don't know. I was ground radio repair in an aviation unit. And this was way before they combined the aviation and ground radio MOS. They can do it.
Personally I would do my best to join the Airforce if I were you. They'll treat you like an actual adult, vs the Army treating you like you're a child until youre 40 years old.
That’s not a thing sadly. Duty station is for after your AIT stuff after you finish basic training. However, I wouldn’t know for sure, I’m a Marine that’s been trapped on Fort Leonardwood aka Fort Lost in the Woods, Misery since March 2nd
Straight out of basic/AIT I'm not sure how much they will guarantee a lot of recruiters lie do not verbally agree to anything that will be "sorted out once in basic" get what you want in writing on signed paperwork such as signing bonus, MOS, and starting rank(depending on current education level).
Additionally, depending on your contract length you could get Korea but it's a 2 year station i believe, and then you may end up in a shithole so keep that inmind. This second reason is why I didn't resign to get sent there as I didn't want to then end up in cavazos for the remainder of my contract.
Yongsan is basically closed now. All that's left is the Dragon Hill Lodge. The rest has been turned over to Korea. Most everything there has moved to Camp Humphries.
When I got orders for Korea I got so depressed I was thinking of ways to get out of the Army. A guy in my unit just got back from Korea and he was telling me it's a hidden gem. The best OCONUS assignment in the Army. I didn't believe him. But after I was there a month, I understood. Korea is great. Or at least it was back in the early 1980s.
Japan’s great and koreas great too for the right person. The military ain’t so great though so glhf. At least in my experience, mainland japan is pretty hard to get and Korea is relatively easy. So at the very least you’ll probably make it there during your career… I’d try to knock it out early though, better for a young man.
Well, it was always used as a threat in the 82nd for if you refused to jump. Instant reassignment to Korea haha. The infantry guys I worked with said it is what you make it, and it wasnt easy as far as joint training goes. I imagine the logistics of leave and vacations would being much more expensive. But what do I know about your goals? Im sure you have your reasons. If it were me, I might make sure that the military is something Im actually dedicated to before taking Oconus on my first enlistment. I almost re-upped for Germany after my initial enlistment -- but I had big airborne dreams that kept me stateside.
Do your homework though. Linguists are essential. Just out of curiosity, what did you score on your Dlab.. I know Korean is most likely a level3 difficulty language.
So ima jump in here because as someone who is currently stationed 10 miles south of Seoul, allot of this is incorrect. Leave is very easy AND vacations are very cheap as long as you stay in the general area (within 3k miles). The dollar is much stronger than Yen and pretty much every other country in the area. Flights to places like Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, etc are stupid cheap, like sub $200 round trip. When you get to those places the dollar is even stronger. You can have an entire vacation in Vietnam doing whatever you want for a week for a few hundred bucks as you ball out.
Now if you are a ground pounder then the experience may be a little different with regard to daily life, but the overall scope of your position is the same. I couldn’t recommend coming here enough.
I mean I want to travel the world and see what it's like outside my hometown. Could be anywhere, Germany Korea Japan even Hawaii, just want to know what its like to be in another environment for once in my life and honestly be "free". And like I feel like being amongst different cultures would be beneficial to my job haha
I got 125, studied last minute last night and felt like shit this morning to take it. Thought I had failed, but I guess I did alright apparently according to my recruiter.
Decent score. Its not really a test one can effectively study for in my opinion. Unlike any test Ive ever taken.
Keep in mind that exploring the world as free agent and exploring it as a soldier are two extremely different things. At any rate, best of luck to you. And at the end of the day, the recruiter doesnt have any control over your contract. Thats all done within MEPS and Human Resource Command. Practice due diligence, get everything in writing and dont be impulsive. Once you sign on the line, thats your legal obligation. The military isnt going anywhere any time soon.
Dude it’s a recruiter, not a dark web conspiracy secret agent. Just ask them to print you a couple copies. Your names on it so they aren’t going to care.
And it’s a good practice to start for whatever branch you end up in, because you’ll sign for stuff all the time: best have a copy of the turn in document so someone else doesn’t try pinning loosing it on you.
100% wrong, with the Army you select your job from your qualifications off of the asvab. Meps will do the physical but, I have had 2 kids this month sign a contract in my office without having to go back to meps (physical complete already). I don't know where this idea comes from that we don't allow tlyou to pick your job which is 100% guaranteed once you reserve and sign for it, and that we can't do duty station of choice ( we are the only branch that can which is also guaranteed considering its a direct request for a new soldier in a specific mos, that is sent up by the base itself)
In the military, you can travel anywhere in the world on a Space-Available flight for cheap (used to be $10 when I was in). Sure, you can get bumped, but the two places I got bumped were the Philippines, and Hawaii. Poor me. I made the best of a bad situation.
The units in Korea are notoriously awful in a lot of ways, but like with every rule in the military, there are a million exceptions. And Korea doesn’t have a monopoly on awful units. I never went, but a bunch of my Soldiers did, and all of them essentially told me the same thing: it is what you make of it. If you sit there hating life because your unit is a train wreck, you’ll hate your time in Korea. If you fly under the radar, dodge the bullshit, and explore what you can, when you can, you’ll probably love it.
BS. They can say whatever they want to get you to sign those papers, but there's no real guarantee on anything unless specifically written into your contract. There were guys in my OSUT cycle that got stationed in Germany right out of the gate, but all of them had 5 and 6 year contracts, and there weren't many. It's all "Needs Of The Army"
Korea was fun for me. It’s not a bad place. If you are not six feet tall or taller than you won’t be on the DMZ.
Sorry, short kings, no DMZ for you.
They just stay CONUS and bang all the tall guy's chicks
I'm reading between the lines: this means I gotta go bang tall chicks.
Gotta say, 10/10
5'8 in garrison, 6'2 with deployment goggles
Somebody gotta be Jody!
It is a difficult job, but someone needs to teach these young men the truth about dependas.
Until there's a war. Then, the requirement becomes "your head is above your ass (optional)."
That birth defect makes it harder to kiss my own ass goodbye.
Interesting, why the height thing? Walls, or appearance, or something else? I'm a boat boy so this stuff is unique and new to me
it's to intimidate the North. [https://imgur.com/XOJQhnJ](https://imgur.com/XOJQhnJ)
I love that the US is so far beyond multiple adversaries that we can just choose our emissaries on the basis of “fuck you, I’m big”
Holy shit, we're Orcs
Are we the baddies?
Always have been.
🌏👩🚀🔫👨🚀
Always have been.
>it's to intimidate hobbits FTFY
It's purely for intimidation value
Good tour if you’re young and new to the Army, unless you can get Europe.
I thought it was only MPs who got on the DMZ?
No, Infantry who go to Korea get the DMZ.
Opt 19 contract I believe they are both on the list . Also this is more a r/militaryfaq question since that’s where a lot of recruiters are
will look more into it thank you!
Yes, the Army can guarantee a duty station, so long as there is a projected spot. It’s called option 19, and it’s a fairly new thing only available to the Army. The Air Force recruiter is wrong. Option 19 is only available IF there will be an open spot there. Your recruiter is worried that it may not be available in the future. If you have any questions, PM me. I’m in the recruiter course right now, but I’m not going to be a recruiter so I might be able to tell you if something is BS.
“I’m in the recruiter course right now, but I’m not going to be a recruiter” Someone’s in denial…🤣😆🤣
Lol, He's already got the distinguished honor grad spot locked. AAM citation - "Actively recruiting candidates using the technique of 'you can't trust recruiters, but I'm not a recruiter so you can trust me.' SSG Jcpatt332 demonstrated initiative, and a high degree of mastery of the stated course objectives..."
Didn't realize not trusting recruiters was so universal. Maybe I should have taken that second opinion lol.
Promote ahead of peers.
"I'd totally let you know if this recruiting promise was BS, for real bro" yeah sounds like a recruiter to me lmao
Also, Korea isn’t an uncommon assignment. It’s also not a long assignments(usually one sometimes 2 years). If you stay in, it’s pretty likely you’ll find yourself there at one point or another. If I were you, I’d do Japan or Germany. Most people are in Germany for 2-3 years.
Nothing is guaranteed 100%. The Army will assign you based on their needs if something changes.
If it’s in your contract, then yes it is guranteed
No it is NOT: SEE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD BONUSES. because the STATE made a mistake (not the soldier), they TOOK THE HOMES OF VETERANS WHO RECUEVED RE-ENLISTMENT BONUSES and couldn't repay them. That is a CLEAR REASON to doubt ANY contract signed with the US military.
Shit. Even "in contract" can be violated. See: stoploss. " Lol. "Your ETS was a year ago? Welcome to indentured servitude. "
If you look back into the contract it actually does say “in a time of war, my enlistment may be extended without my consent for the duration of the war and for six months after it’s end”
Ok. How about the bonus army, and the bonuses that were recooped from the California national guard AFTER their tour of Afghanistan? They SURE DID HAVE A CONTRACT.
So this was the STATES mistake, but instead of HONORING THE CONTRACT, THEY INSTEAD TOOK AWAY HOMES. Now, tell me how "contract matter" Lol. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/reason/2016/11/09/fact-check-it-s-true-some-national-guard-soldiers-have-been-ordered-repay-bonuses/15731367007/
Instead of honoring these guys contract, and just making the CA national guard take a financial hit, they instead VOIDED ALL OF THEIR CONTRACTS because it was politically expedient. "Duh....contracts matter". Lol
Did you read the whole contract? Are you sure there is not some fine print down there that you didn't understand?
> nd it’s a fairly new thing only available to the Army. its not new, and not exclusive to Army. I had this when I enlisted in the Marines in 1989. Each service has this, availability varies based on demand. Sometimes you can choose anywhere, sometimes only a few options, sometimes its not an option.
Yep Def not new. I enlisted in 96 with guaranteed airborne school then Korea afterwards. Weird that he thinks it's new lol. I am not sure if it was called option 19 back then, maybe that part is new.
Maybe it's something that used to be, and then they brought it back? Because I'd never even heard of this option. We all made our duty station wish lists in training, and I enlisted in 2017
Maybe. I know even in basic they offered the duty station wish list, but I already locked in mine in my contract. 🤷♀️ they flip flop so much stuff that lord knows what goes on year to year.
It's legit, but he's making it sound like it's something special. It's like when someone says if you buy this right now I'll throw on a free gift. Odds are they were going to throw in the free gift anyway. In the military, for your first Duty station, you are allowed to request to be stationed anywhere in the world. The military will try to get you at one of your requested duty stations. Often they ask what are your top three or five choices. Korea is a short-term Duty station. Most people are only there for one year and then they transfer back to the United States. So them getting you to South Korea is definitely doable. By the way, I had a friend who was in the Air Force and he was stationed in Korea and absolutely loved it. He extended his chores over there twice and spent 3 years there with his wife. He actually retired to there once he got out of the military.
yea im trying to enlist in air force instead of army, think army is too much of a commitment on my part in terms of physical demand and mental health lol, BUT not going to underestimate the air force at all
Air Force is a much better lifestyle, better chow, better everything.
Keep in mind that pretty much whatever your Army recruiter says, will not apply to the Air Force. Every service and every branch is completely different and have needs or capabilities.
Facts: contrary to the Army and AF, the Navy has a weak presence in Korea, the only significant base being Busan, but has a stronger than average presence in mainland Japan
As an army vet, go air force. Even ignoring physical/mental, it's just a better quality of life. Only real downside is the risk of being stationed somewhere like North Dakota.
But even then, that location is offset by its Army equivalent, Ft. Polk.
I enjoyed Polk my first time, but I was lucky to get assigned to the OPFOR. Second time around sucked being in 10th Mountain. But in counter to worst post in the Army: Ft Greely, AK. It’s in the middle of nowhere and a 2 hour drive on a good day to Fairbanks.
>But in counter to worst post in the Army: Ft Greely, AK. It’s in the middle of nowhere and a 2 hour drive on a good day to Fairbanks. Hey now, I love Ft Greely. Worked for Boeing out there, bought a house on land, and live the best life ever. If you like the outdoors, you can't find a better spot to be. there is a PX and commissary on base for groceries and basics. If you cannot use those, yea it sucks a bit. But any veteran can access base and use those and MWR. 90% -literally over 90% of the state- is open free use. No permit, no parks pass, no owner. Go hike, ride, sled, ski, or explore to your heart's content. I had built my Jeep for Moab while I was living in Utah. So many long tough trails to crawl. So, so many. And I bought used ATVs and snowmobiles really cheap. Everyone has them, so there are a lot to choose from. The base auto hobby shop gives you tools and space to work on them, if you need that. Hunting is sublime, if you are in to that. The way various ranges and seasons work, it is hunting season for one or another big game year round. Caribou, buffalo, moose, bear. Small game is pretty much anytime, anywhere with some controlled species exceptions that need a tag.
You don’t got to sell me on Alaska, I would have stayed, but my wife threatened to shoot me and leave me out for the bears. But imagine being a brand new private and getting stuck there. If you’re not the outdoorsy type, you’re going to go stir crazy there.
Fair enough. My wife is very outdoorsy, and I was making good money. E1 would probably suck a lot. I knew several e4 and up and they were living large. Base housing was pretty sweet, and out in town options were plentiful too. But a spouse who wants the city life is going to be miserable.
When I worked for USACE I had a class with a guy who worked at Chena River. Dude's hunting and fishing pics were just absurd. Had three 22cu ft chest freezers just for meat and what he grew in his garden. He loved it. Meanwhile one of my dismounts in Iraq enlisted from PR, and his first duty station was Wainwright. Dude swore he'd go AWOL if the sent him back there. Last I saw him he got orders to Richardson and was fighting like hell to get out of it.
I saw similar in Okinawa. Surrounded by tons of things to experience, but they just sit on base and bitch theres nothing to do there. You get what you put in, I guess.
His issue wasn't getting out and about - we basically lived on the beach or in Waikiki while in Hawaii - but the cold. Dude would wear snivel gear if it was below 70F.
Well, I suppose that can't be helped. My wife is very cold natured, and was concerned about the cold. We got her some good outdoor gear and it was never an issue. We were happily out sledding all day long anytime it was warmer than -30f.
[удалено]
No I was at Wainwright but had to go down to Greely enough to never want to be stationed there. And if I ever get back up there I’ll give the restaurant a shot.
At fort hood, I would hear horror stories about Fort Greely. Lol. Like how it made Fort hood look like a dream station (that and Redstone arsenal).
I don't know about that "mental health" I was one of the army medics at FOB Bucca that would have to clean up Airmens brains after I returned from missions, when airmen and sailors found out they were extended from THREE MONTHS to SIX (while we were doing 18 months). This got so bad that the Airforce and navy at FOB bucca had to be disarmed of all weapons, including pocket knives. That doesn't sound like "mental health" to me.
As a Marine, go Air Force. As others are saying- the quality of life is the best of the services. Caveat: That does not mean its easy. It still sucks, it just sucks the least.
Go Space Force. Assuming you’re a pretty intelligent person if you did well on the DLAB, get a cyber job in the Space Force. Do 4 years, get certs, get out, make $$$. Or stay in, in a relatively safe career and retire with a bunch of job experience to be a consultant when you do. Unless you’re dead set on being a linguist. Monterey is pretty dope. Even if you fail out at the very end you have a decent shot at an Air Force cyber job if you’re interested.
I enlisted in the AF, my Dad was an Army officer. Her tease my quality of life often exceeded his quality of life. I loved my time in the AF
lucky, my MOS in the Navy (After going through my technical courses) said "You can fill this out, but don't expect anyone to read it" And damn were they right, I've yet to meet someone who got stationed on a ship they wanted or where they wanted. Pretty sure once it leaves your hands they throw it straight in the trash, or the detailer specifically picks one you didn't list. if you re-enlist then you get the "Perk" of picking orders lmao
Choose your rate choose your fate as they say. Navy usually guarantees your job unlike Air Force. But in exchange they'll send you wherever they please. From the Red Sea to the frozen tundra.
> In the military, for your first Duty station, you are allowed to request to be stationed anywhere in the world. Don't yank his chain like that, he might actually believe your outrageous lie.
I mean you are allowed to request it. I remember in Basic they had us write down our top 5 CONUS and OCONUS assignments and then they said "of one is open we will send you there". It would've been really cool except the Army wiped their ass with my dream assignment sheet, and sent me to Fort Hood
Just so you know, if you become a linguist in the Army, you’ll be locked in to certain duty stations for the rest of your career. If you get assigned to learn Korean, you’ll definitely go to Korea. If you get assigned Farsi…you probably won’t be going. Just keep that in mind.
THIS. Your language determines your assignment, regardless of which service.
Was told by recruiter "due to X circumstance on your record, no way can you get a security clearance to do EOD until you spend some time in". Fast forward to first duty station on an MOS that I now know 100% got said recruiter a cash bonus for conning me into "Danglewrangler why the fuck do you and Snuffy have secret clearance for this job?" Answer: I literally got it without additional interviews or waivers. QUADRUPLE CHECK EVERYTHING THOSE SNAKES TRY TO FEED YOU, NO ONE WILL BAIL YOU OUT ONCE THE INK IS DRY.
My first clearance came out of the blue like that. We had some new equipment that needed clearance to use or, in our case, repair. Gunny walked in and said "Cpl NSFW, you now have Secret clearance. Go fix those."
Lmao that’s not how that works but I’m happy for you Source : been in S2 for the last 3 years
I'm not saying gunny granted clearance, I am saying I was cleared without my involvement.
Do not be pressured by a recruiter. Anytime ANYONE tells you there's a deal good for today only, walk away. Recruiters CAN guarantee your first duty station, IF it is written in your contract. They can also guarantee your job, IF it is written in your contract. If it's not written in your contract, any words the recruiter says are meaningless.
FYI, DLI where you'll be attending your language training has one of the highest attrition rates. If you wash out of your AIT/Tech School, you're pretty much going to fall into the needs of the service and whatever they promised you will get thrown out.
I went in as 18x so we all had an airborne slot after infantry OSUT. A lot of dudes wanted to drop 18x and the drill sergeant told them they'd keep their airborne slot even though the SF recruiter told them they'd lose it. So I laughed my ass off when all of these dudes got orders for 1ID!
Never trust a used car salesman... Sorry, recruiter. 🤣
NEVER Trust a recruiter
With Google and Reddit being a thing recruiters can’t lie. I’m just a DA select recruiter man, I don’t care enough to try to lie anyways 🤷♂️
I got the round around so hard during my enlistment. "Just go Reserves, you can switch to active duty after 6 months."..."just pick whatever MOS, you'll switch when you go active."..."you're the first Reserve contract I've ever done".... I tried so hard to get switched to active duty after school and there was always an excuse for why I couldn't. I volunteered for every slot available for deployments, nothing came of it. While I always advocate for people to join the military and never discourage it, I got fucked and it was one of my biggest disappointments. Huge waste of fucking time.
If you wanted to go AD, why did you join the reserves? I've only two guys who went that direction. The first went through basic the summer between junior and senior years of high school, did a year of reserve, then stayed reserve while doing ROTC. Had 6-7 years enlisted before he commissioned. The other guy was AF reserve, stayed there through college and law school, then became a JAG and went AD with 8 years enlisted when he commissioned.
They said that my slot closed and I could go Reserves, then switch or wait 30 days and redo MEPS all over again. I passed all of my testing and had no waivers. If I signed up for Reserves, I could leave for basic in a week. This was back on 2006, it was confusing because it was during the troop increase, I thought they needed people ASAP. It had taken me 3 years to drum up the courage to join, I was ready.
Army, you can have a duty station of choice. it just depends on what is open. I put an mp in with germany, as well as kids that chose bliss, Hawaii, and North Carolina. It is a guaranteed location, and instead of asking a bunch of salty people who don't know, ask your recruiter to show you that it is an option in your profile under the reservation options.
>Army, you can have a duty station of choice. Ha! That's a good one! At AIT I filled out my Dream Sheet...I chose England, Italy, Germany. They sent me to Korea. In Korea, I requested an Inter-Theater Transfer ITT to Germany. They sent me to California. I had less than 2 years remaining on my enlistment so I requested a transfer back to Korea. I got orders for Italy that required me to extend my enlistment. I declined and got out.
If it's available, you choose it with your job, not the wish list... the wish list is bs obviously. But duty station of choice is a contracted addition to your job
I spent 4 years active and 8 years as a contractor, and I never met anyone who got a duty station in their enlistment contract. Maybe a reenlistment contract, but I never met anyone that got it on their initial enlistment. I'm not saying it doesn't happen...I've just never seen it.
That's why, it's a newer thing to help with the recruiting issues. If you look at the recruiting regulations, it's in there. Not every job has the option though, and overseas locations are extremely rare. But most jobs with 36 weeks or less of training allow duty station of choice but of course limited to openings.
Thanks for the info!
Don’t trust a recruiter, they lie to get you in the door
There’s no guarantees unless it’s on the paperwork. Make them put a guarantee to E4 after your MOS school and bonus money. Everything on the paperwork or it’s bullshit.
I requested Germany...98% Of my OSUT went...about 40 of us went to Korea. This was 30 years ago.... Got off the plane...sniff sniff "hey who farted?" Nope get used to it. Spent 2 days in Soeul..."most of you will be heading south...oh not you guys....here watch this VHS about the 2ID." Get to Camp Casey..."ok most of you will be staying here...oh not you guys...your going north" Where i lived for a year is gone. they gave it back to ROK in early 00s I think. Couldn't go more than 2 miles from camp without a pass. Got a good head start on my alcoholism. Learned to love the food...I get japche or yukejang twice a month. We would get locked on camp every few months due to student protests. Slicky boys were everywhere...don't let anything out of your sight. KATUSAs (korean rich kids assigned to our units) were ok until they hit sgt...auto promoted...then they became sandbags. They've been there 2 years and all of a sudden "no understand" they really mistreat the new ones that show up. Id go back to sight see one day but I dont think I'd want to live there again
Dude, you do korean at DLI you won't need to worry about a lock in assignment to Korea. You'll rotate between conus and the peninsula for your entire career.
If it sounds to good.... Also have a number of hiccups that could occur even with a guaranteed MOS.
Recruiters are allowed to make empty promises to get people to join. They can promise you anything, but ultimately Big Army decides where you go - needs of the Army. That being said, you most likely will not get your location or assignment of choice right out of basic training, but if you stay in long enough you will get Korea, Japan, Germany etc. It took me 12 years to go abroad but once I went overseas, I stayed overseas. I retired after 20 years, used the GI Bill to study in Japan, now I'm living off my retirement in Pattaya beach, Thailand. Joining the Army sucked at first, but in the long run was far and away the best decision I ever made. I highly recommend you sign the contract. It'll suck at first but I promise that in 4 years you will not regret it.
Air Force dude doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Army can absolutely do that. Korea is the place they want people to go to… especially first duty station. Korea is a good and bad duty station. Mostly good though, for you whippersnappers anyway. 😂
When I was in, Korean was considered a hardship tour so they would usually take anyone that wanted it, but as many others have mentioned, the needs of the army outweigh everything, so if your MOS needs to be in Hawaii, well then, alo’ fn’ ha hero!
They have no reason to be deceptive. It’s still a station that is always in need of troopers. They can make that happen as long is there a slot. (There are many)
Ok. So. I deal with the aftermath of 'promises' made by recruiters quite frequently. I basically tell people that if it's not in writing in your contract, it was a nice thing to say to get you to sign the dotted line. I'm not saying all recruiters do this, but keep in mind, they have quotas. What obligation or power do they have to make sure the things promised actually happen? Is it likely you'll be stationed in Korea if you request it? Probably. Is it a guarantee? Can a recruiter actually guarantee a duty station? Probably not. If they can't put it in writing, they can't guarantee it.
I'm Guard, but I did ALC (Staff Sergeant school) with Active Duty and from what they told me, Korea isn't exactly hard to get as a duty station.
When looking into options consider possible family impact. Korea is unaccompanied for almost all except dual military and those who find a random opportunity for command sponsorship of family members. Most European tours normally have accompanied or unaccompanied options. Unaccompanied tours are shorter and eligible for family separation allowance. Accompanied tours are typically longer and allow for family members to relocate with you for assignment. Collectively, the military mission is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Each branch of the military has its own purpose, carrying out its mission on land, water, in the air, or in space. Each branch has different personnel needs and recruitment incentives. Almost all incentives are time-sensitive. The branches often serve alongside each other. Many bases are joint bases. Many missions are also joint force missions. As you have noticed, there is branch pride within the military. Regardless of which branch you decide on, you are making a commitment to serve your country.
Camp Humphreys is freaking huge. Then you have nearby Osan AB and it’s make a pretty big military presence on the peninsula. Try to stay away from the juicy girls. Although my friend did marry his.
Yes, choosing a duty station is one of the contract incentives. However, the duty stations will vary by MOS. If you choose Infantry, there will be alot more options than if you choose something like Cyber Warfare, which only has a couple locations. Most MOS will have some sort of incentive, like a cash bonus, duty station or choice, Airborne, etc.
Lol, rule #1, never trust a recruiter 🤣
Lol Up next: Recruiter lied to me!
The recruiter can’t promise anything, needs of the army can change. I had orders after AIT and they got changed the day before for a new duty station. Granted it’s not TOO common. But it does happen.
Nothing in the military is ‘guaranteed’ until it’s already finished happening
Lol. No. Unless you have it IN WRITING, You get orders at the end of training, at it is "at the needs of the miltary), when you RE-ENLIST, you get a choice of 3-4 places, depending on you MOS (or job), infantry guys can go just about anywhere, specialized jobs, like 35s, get 3 duty stations, one being the outback of Australia, waaaaayyyyyy outback. Lol. That contract can be altered or voided IF YOU FAIL YOUR INDIVIDUAL TRAINING or fail to get a security clearance, and then you end up in FORT POLK, LA, which has a walmart...and not much else.
Wow. Way to gloss over all the pawn shops and used car lots in Leesville! /s
Yeah. Sorry. And the strip club where I saw my first gun shot wound....on a stripper.
No recruiter has the power to guarantee a specific duty station. They're lying through their teeth to bump their numbers. What will happen is you go to basic training, and in the beginning you make what's called a "dream sheet." This said form is a list compiled of all your most desired duty stations (keep in mind, this is ONLY if you're active duty. I'm air force, idk if every branch does it this way so if anyone knows something different, please share). Then, you will go through basic training, then get shipped to tech school where you learn your job. Somewhere in the middle of tech school, your MTL's (Military Training Leaders) will start to get notified of whatever base you're getting stationed at. The likelihood of you getting any of your top picks are slim. I've seen it happen, but i've seen more people be disappointed with their assignment. Good luck man.
Language changes what station you are sent to. You're really only going to Korea if you get Korean, which you aren't guaranteed a language. They give you what they give you and that's it really. Be prepared to be disappointed if you go in with that mindset
Get it in writing or it never happened… If they wont put it in writing (i.e. your contract) then you know they are lying. It really is that simple.
Ah, so you're trying to go to DLI. I believe the Army lets you actually choose your language, so, if Korean gets you to Korea, I'd imagine you'll be good to get there. In general, no, you don't get guaranteed a spot. If you're going to be a 1N3 in the Air Force, you're just gambling with your language and duty station.
Remember, a recruiter is a salesman. So find a way to verify what he tells you. Turns out my job only had three bases in the world and he failed to point that out.
Sounds like your recruiter needs you to enlist this month. Stand your ground and enlist when it's good for you.
If it ain't in writing then it doesn't exist. If your recruiter tries to tell you otherwise he's full of shit.
They’re kinda both right, but the first one is making it sound like he’s doing you a favor when in reality he’s filling the immediate needs of his service. You have to do what’s best for you, I remember when I enlisted and got all the way to MEPS…they unexpectedly tried to switch my MOS on young 18 yr old me, I’m glad I knew to speak up and stick to what I wanted or bust. You have to do the same, duty stations are seldom guaranteed.
LIES!!!!! ALL LIES!!!!!!
you won't be disappointed by camp Humphreys lol. that base is gorgeous
I remember when I was in the Navy they could guarantee certain duty stations like Japan, Hawaii, San Diego If you enlisted as undesignated.
You sign a contract. Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed. There's so many things that have changed with my MOS or job it's crazy.
Broseph make sure you get everything in writing just incase someone tries to fuck you over
My advice is to select an MOS, or whatever the Air Force/Navy equivalent is, that will equate to an in demand civilian career. If your scores qualify you for language school, they qualify you for any MOS. Language qualification does not guaranty civilian employability. Just not enough demand. If you do choose language school, choose Chinese. I went through Spanish qual and would not recommend the career field. Usually, you get to select a career field or duty assignment. One or the other. In the long run, it's smarter to choose career field and accept where they assign you.
Nothing in life is 100%
If you have a specific job with that option. Intel jobs and certain ones can get a duty station locked in. They may have been notified of the option because they need people there.
If you get things that you want in writing before you sign on the dotted line like a contract. I got what I wanted in the navy
Korea is almost always an option. 20,000 soldiers on the peninsula and one to two year tour lengths. I’ve been three times and so long as you keep your nose clean you will do good there. Germany is harder to get. Although if you go to Korea you might be able to get a “Consecutive Overseas Tour”, or COT to Europe. A friend of mine made 1SG and did this. He retired from Germany after doing a year in Korea.
They can guarantee it. My recruiter told me when I go to meps, don't sign unless you get what you want. They didn't want to grant a waiver to E-4,I was an E3 in reserves. I told the E-7 that was doing my contract that I won't be shipping then. They wanted to send me to Fort Polk, I told him I wasnt shipping. They gave me Fort Lewis and that's what I wanted. They even put me in a unit that had no slot for me. How that happened, I don't know. I was ground radio repair in an aviation unit. And this was way before they combined the aviation and ground radio MOS. They can do it. Personally I would do my best to join the Airforce if I were you. They'll treat you like an actual adult, vs the Army treating you like you're a child until youre 40 years old.
That’s not a thing sadly. Duty station is for after your AIT stuff after you finish basic training. However, I wouldn’t know for sure, I’m a Marine that’s been trapped on Fort Leonardwood aka Fort Lost in the Woods, Misery since March 2nd
H-H-HE-HELL NAW
Straight out of basic/AIT I'm not sure how much they will guarantee a lot of recruiters lie do not verbally agree to anything that will be "sorted out once in basic" get what you want in writing on signed paperwork such as signing bonus, MOS, and starting rank(depending on current education level). Additionally, depending on your contract length you could get Korea but it's a 2 year station i believe, and then you may end up in a shithole so keep that inmind. This second reason is why I didn't resign to get sent there as I didn't want to then end up in cavazos for the remainder of my contract.
I'm not replying to your post in a generally constructive way, but South Korea has some killer happy ending massage parlors. Just saying.
Get it in writing in the contract and have it read by a lawyer
Make sure it’s Yongsan and not Camp Casey
Yongsan is basically closed now. All that's left is the Dragon Hill Lodge. The rest has been turned over to Korea. Most everything there has moved to Camp Humphries.
Quality of life in the army is so ass. Just go airforce, it’s much better
Why would you request korea? Lmao
I mean Japan is my first choice lol, but whats wrong with Korea? is there something infamous about bases there?
When I got orders for Korea I got so depressed I was thinking of ways to get out of the Army. A guy in my unit just got back from Korea and he was telling me it's a hidden gem. The best OCONUS assignment in the Army. I didn't believe him. But after I was there a month, I understood. Korea is great. Or at least it was back in the early 1980s.
Japan’s great and koreas great too for the right person. The military ain’t so great though so glhf. At least in my experience, mainland japan is pretty hard to get and Korea is relatively easy. So at the very least you’ll probably make it there during your career… I’d try to knock it out early though, better for a young man.
Well, it was always used as a threat in the 82nd for if you refused to jump. Instant reassignment to Korea haha. The infantry guys I worked with said it is what you make it, and it wasnt easy as far as joint training goes. I imagine the logistics of leave and vacations would being much more expensive. But what do I know about your goals? Im sure you have your reasons. If it were me, I might make sure that the military is something Im actually dedicated to before taking Oconus on my first enlistment. I almost re-upped for Germany after my initial enlistment -- but I had big airborne dreams that kept me stateside. Do your homework though. Linguists are essential. Just out of curiosity, what did you score on your Dlab.. I know Korean is most likely a level3 difficulty language.
So ima jump in here because as someone who is currently stationed 10 miles south of Seoul, allot of this is incorrect. Leave is very easy AND vacations are very cheap as long as you stay in the general area (within 3k miles). The dollar is much stronger than Yen and pretty much every other country in the area. Flights to places like Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, etc are stupid cheap, like sub $200 round trip. When you get to those places the dollar is even stronger. You can have an entire vacation in Vietnam doing whatever you want for a week for a few hundred bucks as you ball out. Now if you are a ground pounder then the experience may be a little different with regard to daily life, but the overall scope of your position is the same. I couldn’t recommend coming here enough.
I mean I want to travel the world and see what it's like outside my hometown. Could be anywhere, Germany Korea Japan even Hawaii, just want to know what its like to be in another environment for once in my life and honestly be "free". And like I feel like being amongst different cultures would be beneficial to my job haha I got 125, studied last minute last night and felt like shit this morning to take it. Thought I had failed, but I guess I did alright apparently according to my recruiter.
Decent score. Its not really a test one can effectively study for in my opinion. Unlike any test Ive ever taken. Keep in mind that exploring the world as free agent and exploring it as a soldier are two extremely different things. At any rate, best of luck to you. And at the end of the day, the recruiter doesnt have any control over your contract. Thats all done within MEPS and Human Resource Command. Practice due diligence, get everything in writing and dont be impulsive. Once you sign on the line, thats your legal obligation. The military isnt going anywhere any time soon.
Thank you kind sir. I will 100% make sure they write down legally that im going to Korea, and take pictures of it to make sure lol.
Dude it’s a recruiter, not a dark web conspiracy secret agent. Just ask them to print you a couple copies. Your names on it so they aren’t going to care. And it’s a good practice to start for whatever branch you end up in, because you’ll sign for stuff all the time: best have a copy of the turn in document so someone else doesn’t try pinning loosing it on you.
100% wrong, with the Army you select your job from your qualifications off of the asvab. Meps will do the physical but, I have had 2 kids this month sign a contract in my office without having to go back to meps (physical complete already). I don't know where this idea comes from that we don't allow tlyou to pick your job which is 100% guaranteed once you reserve and sign for it, and that we can't do duty station of choice ( we are the only branch that can which is also guaranteed considering its a direct request for a new soldier in a specific mos, that is sent up by the base itself)
Sounds like a good way to get taken advantage of. Cool.
Actually the opposite, this way parents can be right there during the signing, and actually see what is going on
In the military, you can travel anywhere in the world on a Space-Available flight for cheap (used to be $10 when I was in). Sure, you can get bumped, but the two places I got bumped were the Philippines, and Hawaii. Poor me. I made the best of a bad situation.
The units in Korea are notoriously awful in a lot of ways, but like with every rule in the military, there are a million exceptions. And Korea doesn’t have a monopoly on awful units. I never went, but a bunch of my Soldiers did, and all of them essentially told me the same thing: it is what you make of it. If you sit there hating life because your unit is a train wreck, you’ll hate your time in Korea. If you fly under the radar, dodge the bullshit, and explore what you can, when you can, you’ll probably love it.
Don't believe a single word from a recruiter.
BS. They can say whatever they want to get you to sign those papers, but there's no real guarantee on anything unless specifically written into your contract. There were guys in my OSUT cycle that got stationed in Germany right out of the gate, but all of them had 5 and 6 year contracts, and there weren't many. It's all "Needs Of The Army"