Yep, I'm joining the Army.

Just reserved my job today

68W - Health Care Specialist (Combat Medic). I also get Airborne training, which means I'll be jumping out of planes with a parachute. Fun stuff.

I haven't actually signed on yet. That would be this Friday. I'm shipping out to BCT in Fort Brenning this September, and will finish my training sometime in April next year.

Just posting this now before I forget, so you guys will know what happened when I stop posting for the next year or so.

Anyone here have military experience that can give me any needed advice?

the airborne combat medic? have fun in those blackhawks and the parachutes and saving lives.

here is a little "Help" for ya in the army. [size=7px] (Anime, does not get more American then that.) [/size]

Wow! Well, I'm not sure what to say but good luck.

You are selfless in your service to this country.

I wish you the best.

Thanks. I actually wanted something in Intel, or maybe Electronics Maintenance, but those are only open to citizens, which I am not. This would help me in that though. I might try to transfer after 3 years, if I decide 68W isn't for me.

A 4 year enlistment was the minimum. Hope I won't come to regret this

What do you mean you're not a citizen?

I really hope everything works out for you.

I mean exactly what I say. I am not currently a US citizen, though I do have my green card. I can't get the required security clearance for the Intel jobs and stuff, and wouldn't have been able to apply for another 3 years I think.

Of course, once I finish Basic, I'll be able to apply for citizenship, and am informed by recruiter that I'll get it in about 6 months. And I get to enlist as an E-3 (PFC), for all my college credits, and after a few months with my unit, auto-promotion to E-4 (Specialist)! I also get a guaranteed job interview with participating companies after my 4 years. whoo

Also, an artillery guy on another forum I frequent tells me that "68W is one of, if not the, most difficult MOSes in the army" (MOS means Military Occupational Specialty). Really lookin' forward to that.

Oh. I just assumed, living in Virginia, that you were a US citizen. Oops.

If you don't mind my asking, what country were you originally from?

Anyways, that sounds like a pretty good set up, save for that Most Difficult MOSes in the Army bit. That doesn't sound too good.

Good luck with your plans Kab.
(dunno what else to say, there is no such thing as an army here...)

not even a defense force?

Nope.

Good luck Kaboodles. I'm sure you'll do well.

Just wondering, as a Combat Medic, do you mean patching up squad mates during the heat of battle, or are you one of the guys who are on the front lines, but stay back and people are delivered to you? I'm not very army job-savvy.

The Philippines.


Apparently if I fail 3 tests in AIT (Advanced Individual Training), they'll cut me out and put me in the AIT for whatever that's available for an MOS nearest to me, which would probably be something very crappy.



I believe that would depend on the unit I'm assigned to.

Thanks guys.

Good luck in the field dude. Even though you're going to be a combat medic, try and stay away from the dangerous zones.

I had a buddy enter the armed service not too long ago. He's using it to get into a good college. He needs to go for something crazy, like 10 years, in order to receive all the benefits.


So why did you choose the Army? If I were to join the armed forces, I'd much rather be Navy or Coast Guard.

BTW, give me a call when you become a Sergeant.

Wow.

Godspeed.

Hey! Good luck to you!

I do hope it works out for you, 4 years min is quite something And remember, don't go AWOL

Good luck.

I was on army enlistment office last week, i will know all the details in june.

Best of luck to you Kab. I was thinking of joining myself, but I decided against it, considering I'm still wanting to finish up every bit of my schooling (college) before I even think about later stages of life.

Good luck man!..

And i wish you well and may you never have to fight in a war..

And may you only benefit from the strict descipline..

Hey good luck, hope it all works out for you.

Godspeed Kaboodles!

I've had a couple of buddies in the military- US and UK. One was in a light infantry regiment and the other had his MOS in Psyops- Psychological Warfare.
Good Luck dude! Your fellow soldiers will depend alot on your skills as a medic!

Good Luck!

Good Luck Kab, just don't get killed over a bunch of oil.

i have one thing to say about it.
GET OUT OF THERE!
unless you're a psychopathic murdering maniac who wants to rape, torture and KILL.
THERE IS NO HONOR IN MURDER. it doesn't matter if you salute the damn flag or not.
murder is murder.
and that is what the army is supposed to do.

if you are not a bloodthirsty psychopath, please do understand that you will have to support this kind of people.
even when they are slaughtering innocent people and even children.

Pacifism is a belief that relies on fighting and dieing of others to practice said belief. These kinds of people (like the one above) is someone who has no respect for the people that protect this country or its beliefs.

F*ckin' Hippies

Good luck Kaboodles, keep your head down, and make sure you pay attention to your DI. Do what your instructors tell you and dont go in there thinking you know something about something. Any bad habbits you pick up now, will hopefully get erased by your training.

i'll tell you something... the army doen't protect anyone.
but kills... a lot.
i mean... what kind of threat was iraq for the U.S.
none.
you'll probably ask: and what about al qaida, 9/11?
you know... al qaida doesn't exist... yes there are a few "disorganised" muslim extremists in afghanistan but that's it. you people really underestimate the capability of individuals. it takes ONE person to hijack a airplane and fly it into a skyscraper. just ONE single person.
and don't you think the government has the capability to brainwash an entire nation? yes they have that power and they use it as much as possible.
it's called propaganda.
look into this: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1037.htm
and by the way... i'm not a Hippie... i'm a Anarchist.
i have compassion with people who have been so badly brainwashed that they now think it is moral to murder in the name of the U.S.

MMM:
First of all, I'd like to point out that Kab is applying for a post in which he'll probably save more lives than waste them. And are you saying all soldiers are rapists, murderers, and torturers? People in the army are civilians who signed up because of nationalistic pride, not some insane urge to go shoot puppies. This isn't Rape of Nanjing: Middle Eastern Edition. Saying every American in Iraq is a barbaric slaughterer comes across as cynical. I'm not saying that it is right to kill innocents, but you are dehumanizing people who, at heart, are most likely just like us. And if you think these supposed "hopelessly brainwashed" Americans think murdering is moral, why would they come home from their tour of duties, and in some cases, need extensive counseling and medications? They have a conscience, they have guilt, they did what they did because of self-preservation at the time, nationalistic pride, which may be propaganda, but on television and the internet, I have NEVER seen a commercial that justifies the killing of innocents.

You also sound more like a conspiracy theorist, and not an anarchist. The true anarchist nonviolently hates the government, and prefers a society with no government or no social institutions, believing that such things bring out the worst in all men and women. And I'm sorry if I come off crude, but this Information Clearing House looks very amateur, there are no concrete facts or evidence, and you never eliminate the possibility that this site can ALSO be a propaganda site to convince people to turn against the Iraq War. There's nothing that bars either side (The American government OR sites like the one in the link) from using propaganda. You should look at both sides of the coin before covering your ears and ignoring one place while eating up the words from another.

I would also like to pose a question on your 9/11 thing: Why would there be more than one person, at the exact same time frame, hijacking multiple planes and, in your perspective I presume "coincidentally," aim at targets at about the same level of importance? And is Al Qaeda the ONLY possible terrorist group in the world? What about Hamas? Hizballah? Or even a far-fetched, unrelated one such as the Tamil Tigers? Jumping on to the conspiracy bandwagon here, Hizballah or Hamas could have easily spread their influence covertly, orchestrating events under the guise of a non-existent terrorist group.

The Army doesn't protect anyone... huh. If we erased the entire U.S. Military, from ground troops to tanks to nukes, we wouldn't be here. Radicals would have the wide-open opportunity of wiping us off this planet. Sure, the U.S. Army does go in to a country for unjustifiable reasons at times, but they are a necessary "evil," if you can call it an evil.

I am not trying to anger you or inhibit your 1st Amendment Rights in ANY way, but I feel that your antagonizing the US and it's soldiers is a bit over the top and shaky in foundation.

Well said good sir. I agree 100%

Thank you, Kylin Rage. Bloody good argument!
There's alot of people at my university who usually say that the Armed Forces are evil- when I go around to take donations to send care packages off to the Army, USMC, etc. I usually can't stand these so called pacifists.
The last time I remember pacifism doing something reasonably good was with the Chinese official Qin Hui betraying his country just to get a short term peace during the Song Dynasty era between Song and Jin- which never really succeeded at all since after the treaty was signed, the Jin went in and destroyed the majority of Chinese cities from the 1200's onwards. Afterwards, most Chinese now hate the official Qin Hui for being a pacifist.
For me, Pacifism equates betrayal of country, and as such, I hate pacifism.

Whoa. You do not imply someone is a rapist/murderer/whatever just because he signs up for the armed services, especially not Kaboodles.

For crying out loud, he's training to be a MEDIC.

I understand your views may differ from others, but if you wish to speak your mind, do NOT do it in such a way to offend members of this board.

MMM, you have been warned.

He has displayed this behavior in the past as well, the Russian propaganda bit being quite memorable.

MMM, if you wish to keep making completely thoughtless, insulting statements, then at the very least cite reliable sources. I can say right off the bat that no reliable source suggests that 100% of the US army are rapists or murderers, much less our very good friend Kaboodles, who wants to save lives and serve for his country.

You are obviously very easy to feed with conspiracy theories and propaganda, so I expect this to happen again, in which case we will take stronger actions than a mild warning.

I hope I made myself clear.