33 replies to this topic

[KommandantBlack]

Hey mates! So Ive got my ship date for Air Force BMT (Basic Military Training).
So I was just curious of any current active, or retired military servicemen on the forum?
I think Nel was the only active military I talked to. Well that and Zen, but I haven't
heard from Zen in years. I just wanted to let people know whats up with me
and perhaps even have a chat with others currently on active duty.

Btw this means I will need someone to watch my nation while Im gone.
But that will not be necessary for another 2 months and some change.

[Prince Arutha]

congrats bro. not in the military but, all the respect in the world to ya

[Nelchael]

Aye, congrats. Basic's changed a lot since I went through, but I imagine the advice is the same: never volunteer for anything in basic, volunteer for everything after

One of the old AF BMT tricks I once heard about was actually to ask for volunteers, then ask who has a driver's license... all fucking hands go up, then the volunteers end up moving bricks somewhere or some such crap.

What's your AFSC, etc.? Hit me up on MSN and we'll chat about it

[Deadpocketss]

Active Army here. Good luck in your [easy peasy] AF training.

[Nelchael]

Pffft, like army is all that tough either... and your OCS is a joke. Short of qual course and ranger school they're all easy

[Deadpocketss]

You're right Nelchael. I just had to talk some shit.

[KommandantBlack]

My AFSC is 3P0X1 (Security Forces/Police) and yeah I got a lot of advice on
BMT . I never thought I'd get enough advice on it.
Anyways. Yeah Nel I am just now getting MSN messenger so Ill message you
once I get the chance.

So Nel are you still active or what happened?
And wasn't Fed in the military or am I mixed up?

[Nelchael]

I'm out, probably not going back in.

What in the hell made you decide on 3P0?

Fed's not in the military, and I'm quite sure he never was. I remember him saying he was police and that he was SWAT and that he had a master's in... chemistry? I'd take it all with a very large grain of salt. Actually, I'd take it with a few salt flats.

[Shaunbing]

hey KB I'm not in the military yet but march 14th is when I start my basic army training over here in the UK. 14 weeks of pain, running, and being shouted at....goooood times

[KommandantBlack]

Nelchael said:

I'm out, probably not going back in.

What in the hell made you decide on 3P0?

Fed's not in the military, and I'm quite sure he never was. I remember him saying he was police and that he was SWAT and that he had a master's in... chemistry? I'd take it all with a very large grain of salt. Actually, I'd take it with a few salt flats.

Well future career choice to be honest. After I get discharged (unless I decide to retire) I wanted to get into law enforcement.
Not to mention it interested me the most of the options I had. I was considering Cyber Defense. But I wanted to be going out more than
being stuck in an office or the setting of one.

By your wording of the question I am guessing that Security Forces isn't the best choice in your opinion? Lol

[KommandantBlack]

Shaunbing said:

hey KB I'm not in the military yet but march 14th is when I start my basic army training over here in the UK. 14 weeks of pain, running, and being shouted at....goooood times

Why such a long wait? I remember you were signing up and joining a while back.
What branch did you join? Because 14 weeks sound like hell
USAF training is only 8 and half, but then there is schooling of course...
I am actually hoping to get an assignment to England (the bases are located near Cambridge)
but I doubt they'll station me there. =/

[Shaunbing]

To be honest it's taken me forever to get onto basic training, I could have done it quicker if my physical training before my army selection was more then 2 x 3 mile runs and a few push ups!! But I still got through with a high b grade pass because my brain bailed me out.

My basic training is 14 weeks that's what every soldier in the british army has to do first before anything else. Because of my job choice after my 14 weeks of basic training i'm off to train for ~9 months to become a fully qualified communication systems engineer.

[KommandantBlack]

Oh thats awesome systems enginner!
Man 14 weeks sounds like just too must...
I think 2 months is perfectly fine to get someone in shape
and mentally ready. Not to mention the schooling
that there is to do afterwards. However the U.S military
job training ranges from a couple weeks to a couple months.
Either way Shaun that sucks!

I thought you wanted to do some soldiering? I cant remember exactly
what you said, but it was something about combat.

[Shaunbing]

To be honest I would do most things in the army but they told me to my face I couldn't be a driver because "I was too smart" and "it would be a waste" so they pushed me into something more technically and skilled. Not that I'm complaining now, I will get promotions quicker, get more pay when I get these promotions because of the way the pay system works. I will be learning something that will stand me in good stead when I come to leave and I think it'll be pretty interesting to learn about the shiz they are doing

I'm looking forward to it, the first 3 months is going to be hardest, the next 9 are going to be hard. Then went I get sent to afghan or iraq it should get easier

[Nelchael]

KommandantBlack said:

However the U.S military job training ranges from a couple weeks to a couple months.

Hey, speak for yourself! I ended up doing over two years of training, and even then it was another year or so before I could operate solo.

Actually, the training really never stops. You just get to the point where you're instructing people at lower levels and with the basic stuff while you're doing your own training towards the advanced... come to think of it, it's actually a lot like grad school.

KommandantBlack said:

Well future career choice to be honest. After I get discharged (unless I decide to retire) I wanted to get into law enforcement.
Not to mention it interested me the most of the options I had. I was considering Cyber Defense. But I wanted to be going out more than
being stuck in an office or the setting of one.

By your wording of the question I am guessing that Security Forces isn't the best choice in your opinion? Lol

lol... yeah, I'm not a big fan of security forces as a job... and quite a few of them rubbed me the wrong way. There actually is some cool work you can do in it, but there's pretty much zero chance of that during your first enlistment. You'll probably be guarding some access point and functioning as a security guard for a year if not longer... and there's a bit of a power trip culture within the field.

For law enforcement, I'd probably start out in some other job (linguist/intel, IT, communications, maintenance) and then apply to OSI after a few years. For the AF, think of OSI as about the FBI equivalent while security forces are everything from gate guards to traffic stops. I'm sure security forces will still give you a good jumping off point for law enforcement, but it all depends on what you want to do and where you want to do it.

[Deadpocketss]

US Army.
35P - Cryptologic Linguist
That's what I'm up to.

[KommandantBlack]

Well actually to be honest... yeah I wanted to get into the FBI career after
my discharge, but there is also the off chance that I'd want to continue my military
career and go into OTS. But either way I just wanted a simple job. Ive heard some
crazy stories from retired security force personnel and they said they had a pretty good
time. But I mean everyone usually ends up having a good time in their career field just
as some would despise it.

Also I didn't actually mean that training (especially on the job training) is just a couple weeks or months.
I just meant the tech training that you go through after bmt is. But thats besides the point
Either way I will look into my opportunities during my military career.
Also I signed up for that 6 year bonus deal. I didnt really sign up for the bonus
I just signed up because 6 years seemed promising. Probably could be viewed as stupid,
but not like I had anything better on mind.

Also Im going in as a family man perhaps you can give me some tips on that?
Oh and more detail on the Security Forces. I'm intrigued.

[Nelchael]

Easier to hit me up on MSN tbh... I know you were referring to tech training, I was correcting that . Pararescue and Linguist (esp. airborne) are typically 2+ years, and there are quite a few others that come close. I'm not kidding you when I tell you I know quite a few people who exited the phase program because they made SrA (and not below the zone) before they finished tech school.

Yeah, 6 years is probably a bad idea, to be honest. It does have a few advantages, esp. if they are still doing the deal where you get E-3 after 6 months, but if you have enough college credits or anything else to get your E-3 sooner you're better off not doing 6 years. You need to look up the SRB (selective re-enlistment bonus) for your AFSC and see the $$ difference if you re-enlist for 4 at 4 years vs. 4 at 6 years... and also how that'll affect you because you can re-enlist AGAIN at 8 years vs. your third enlistment at 10 with the 6-year track.

[Nelchael]

I'll try to give you some family advice later... for now, just know it's tough. Things are winding down, but you're still probably going to be deployed and you're still not going to be home as much as she's going to want you there.

[Prince Arutha]

Nelchael said:

I'm out, probably not going back in.

What in the hell made you decide on 3P0?

Fed's not in the military, and I'm quite sure he never was. I remember him saying he was police and that he was SWAT and that he had a master's in... chemistry? I'd take it all with a very large grain of salt. Actually, I'd take it with a few salt flats.

yea, and take anything nelchael gives you with a shot of penicillin.