Son joined the Army today

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Originally Posted By: disneyfire

fool and completely 110% incorrect.



I'm not saying he is totally right, but the military isn't what it used to be. I have 3 friends that are serving or have served in different branches of the service, and my cousin is a Navy Airman. Corruption combined with some of the not so great recruits getting promoted is a bad combination. Just do a search on rape/assault in the military. One of my friends (male) was threatened by his roommate with a knife. He brought it to his superiors and they did nothing. He actually got into trouble for living in a different section of the barracks because he was afraid to go back to his own living quarters.

Another one of my friends (female) has to go to therapy because of the sexual abuse she encountered during the time she served in the National Guard. I know not all of the military is like this, so please don't take this as a generalization. Just be cautious when you jump to say someone else is "110% wrong". I highly respect those who serve our country, and it should be our duty to make sure they are kept safe while they fight for us.

I will keep the OP's son in my prayers, and he should be very proud that his son has the courage to take on such a patriotic duty. All I can tell the OP is that even if you don't agree with your son's choice, just be as supportive as you possibly can.
 
Best of luck!
Thank him for his service.

P.S. i'm sure some of dad's love for tech things got on him, so he may have a jumpstart on mech/tech skills.
 
There's bad apples everywhere.
Military, law enforcement, healthcare, education, retail, ...., etc,...

Ultimately the military is what you make of it. Some use it as a stepping stone while others get in trouble and get nothing out of their military service.
 
Good luck to him, a couple of my friends went in, the enlisted guys are out after trips to the sandbox. One that went to Annapolis is now on his way to being a Major in the Marines and is not sure if he is going to stay to much longer. I don't think he had very good experience in Iraq or Afghanistan.


One of my lawyers is a full bird Colonial in the Army reserves and loves it.


From I have seen it seems the guys who like the military and stay in are not the ones humping the rifles and absorbing the bullets. I'd try to get a good job, artillery looks fun, just not as a forward observer.
 
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Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
From I have seen it seems the guys who like the military and stay in are not the ones humping the rifles and absorbing the bullets.

Generally.

Notable exception: Special operators...
 
OP has not replied at all. I wish he would elaborate on his own feelings. Or may be it is just too personal to get in to? Being father of two sons, I can imagine how I will feel if my kid were to make similar announcement, sure lot of pride but heck lot more worries!

Please thank him for volunteering to serve. I hope that is what he truly wants to do.
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Generally.

Notable exception: Special operators...


Yeah, but those guys, at least in the Air Force, get paid quite a bit extra for what they do. Depending on grade it can be as much as $20k extra every year.
 
Not in other services as far as I know, and certainly nowhere near enough to make anyone want to take on that kind of work for the money. I'm pretty sure they keep the compensation mediocre so that only those who REALLY want to do the job stick around.
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Not in other services as far as I know, and certainly nowhere near enough to make anyone want to take on that kind of work for the money. I'm pretty sure they keep the compensation mediocre so that only those who REALLY want to do the job stick around.


People may not choose to enter that type of work for the money, but once they're in it and they see just how much they're making, they may choose to stay in it for the money. A six or seven year E-5, that far removed from high school, with no education, doing CSAR work, is making between $80k and $90k a year (or more depending on how you choose to do the math).

Yeah, it's a dangerous job, but it's well rewarded.
 
Originally Posted By: Mykl
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Not in other services as far as I know, and certainly nowhere near enough to make anyone want to take on that kind of work for the money. I'm pretty sure they keep the compensation mediocre so that only those who REALLY want to do the job stick around.


People may not choose to enter that type of work for the money, but once they're in it and they see just how much they're making, they may choose to stay in it for the money. A six or seven year E-5, that far removed from high school, with no education, doing CSAR work, is making between $80k and $90k a year (or more depending on how you choose to do the math).

Yeah, it's a dangerous job, but it's well rewarded.


Other than hazardous duty pay while deployed, what do they get that others of the same rank don't?
 
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Other than hazardous duty pay while deployed, what do they get that others of the same rank don't?


Like I said, the reenlistment bonus for SOF members is pretty substantial in the Air Force. I looked it up, and it's also substantial for the Army as well. I assume the Navy is the same.

Military pay in general tends to be under-estimated. About 40% of the pay, which comes in the form of allowances for food and housing, isn't taxed. This saves people thousands of dollars every year that they would otherwise have to pay. Never mind that fact that none of their paycheck for a month is taxed if they're deployed to a location near people who want to kill them, which happens quite frequently if it's your job to jump out of the back of an Osprey to recover lost aircrew in a contested battlespace.
 
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
So their pay and allowances are the same as everyone else of the same rank.


Yes, their basic pay and allowances are the same. It's the bonuses they get for doing their specific jobs that set them apart. The issue is that the "entrance exam" for these fields weed out a large portion of applicants, so they use bonuses to keep the ones who make it for as long as possible.

When you're 22 and are being told that if you reenlist you'll get a lump sum payment of $30k tax free, with another $30k to be split up and given to you annually for the rest of your enlistment it gives you something to think about.
 
Originally Posted By: Mykl
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
So their pay and allowances are the same as everyone else of the same rank.


Yes, their basic pay and allowances are the same. It's the bonuses they get for doing their specific jobs that set them apart. The issue is that the "entrance exam" for these fields weed out a large portion of applicants, so they use bonuses to keep the ones who make it for as long as possible.

When you're 22 and are being told that if you reenlist you'll get a lump sum payment of $30k tax free, with another $30k to be split up and given to you annually for the rest of your enlistment it gives you something to think about.


All bonuses are based on rank, time of service, and the length of the reenlistment.

The current highest bonus is for a Staff Sergeant (E-6) with 10-14 years of service who re-enlists for 60+ months: $27,000. 36 MOS's currently qualify for a bonus, in the fields of Infantry, Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, Special Forces, Armor, Signals, JAG, Military Police, Military Intelligence, Psyops, Civil Affairs, Ordnance, and Missile Maintenance.

The fact of the matter is there is no extra compensation for special operations troops. Linguists, MP's, cannon crews, special forces, and a host of others all get the same. While the MOS's on the critical list change from time to time, it is never just Special Forces, and it is exactly the same for all of them.
 
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Originally Posted By: Mykl
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
So their pay and allowances are the same as everyone else of the same rank.


Yes, their basic pay and allowances are the same. It's the bonuses they get for doing their specific jobs that set them apart. The issue is that the "entrance exam" for these fields weed out a large portion of applicants, so they use bonuses to keep the ones who make it for as long as possible.

When you're 22 and are being told that if you reenlist you'll get a lump sum payment of $30k tax free, with another $30k to be split up and given to you annually for the rest of your enlistment it gives you something to think about.


All bonuses are based on rank, time of service, and the length of the reenlistment.

The current highest bonus is for a Staff Sergeant (E-6) with 10-14 years of service who re-enlists for 60+ months: $27,000. 36 MOS's currently qualify for a bonus, in the fields of Infantry, Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, Special Forces, Armor, Signals, JAG, Military Police, Military Intelligence, Psyops, Civil Affairs, Ordnance, and Missile Maintenance.

The fact of the matter is there is no extra compensation for special operations troops. Linguists, MP's, cannon crews, special forces, and a host of others all get the same. While the MOS's on the critical list change from time to time, it is never just Special Forces, and it is exactly the same for all of them.


ETA: As of 02/01, there are 39 MOS's elilible for flat rate bonuses, and 61 eligible for bonuses to reenlist in a combat unit. The numbers have changed, but still nothing different for SF.
 
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
All bonuses are based on rank, time of service, and the length of the reenlistment.

The current highest bonus is for a Staff Sergeant (E-6) with 10-14 years of service who re-enlists for 60+ months: $27,000. 36 MOS's currently qualify for a bonus, in the fields of Infantry, Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, Special Forces, Armor, Signals, JAG, Military Police, Military Intelligence, Psyops, Civil Affairs, Ordnance, and Missile Maintenance.

The fact of the matter is there is no extra compensation for special operations troops. Linguists, MP's, cannon crews, special forces, and a host of others all get the same. While the MOS's on the critical list change from time to time, it is never just Special Forces, and it is exactly the same for all of them.


In the Air Force it's a multiplier. You get a number, then multiply that by your base pay and then again by the number of years you're reenlisting by.

Yes, non-SOF career fields also may be eligible for a bonus. But the only career fields that are consistently on that list are SOF fields.

It sounds like the Army SOF guys are getting the shaft. An Air Force PJ/CCT at the rank of TSgt with 12-14 years in who reenlists for 48 months gets an $81,000 bonus. Heck, in 2002 I got a $36,000 bonus as a SrA reenlisting for 48 months, you're telling me that I got paid a better bonus than any soldier could right now?
 
My 17 year old grandson is in Basic Training at Columbia,SC this summer. Will finish his senior year in High School when he gets home on August 7. We are proud of him...facebook has pics of them and all soldiers in basic, just type in the training company they are in...
 
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