So here is the situation. I just got a 99 on the ASVAB. I will be getting my BS in physics this spring, and I have never been in trouble. I am in top physical shape and I know 4 languages (including fluent in Arabic). I am trying to decide if I should go AD or reserve. Oh and I am not a citizen (but I do have my green card) so I can't be an officer.
The only problem is this: I am in a seroius relationship and I might propose soon. My gf is a top-notch student and she is thinking about graduate school soon. She has a very specialized major and is considering top tier schools like Harvard and other big ones. I know the needs of the Army come first, but I want her to realize her dreams and I would hate to have her choose between coming with me or going to graduate school. Since I can't get station of choice, there is no telling where I might end up for my first assignment and that would likely prevent her from getting the education that she always wanted. I wanna make things work for both of us.
Tell me if this plan might work: I am thinking of joining the reserve for now, and a year or so later I am thinking I could go AD. Would that be considered re-enlistment? Would I be able to get a station of choice or at least know where we're going? (granted that we're married by then)
If I can do that, then maybe we can do it so she can apply to a school close to where my assignment would be. Also, she would love to live overseas. Would it be possible for me to request an OCONUS assignment like Germany or Japan?
If I can't do that, would it be possible for me to become an officer if I had my US citizenship by then? How would that work? Would I have any say in where I wanna be stationed?
Another quick question about my MOS. Can't find anything interesting that I am eligible for (due to my citizenship situation) so the closes I found was 21R (Interior Electrician). I am hoping that if I do that for a while then I can switch it if I got my citizenship down the road. How long do I have to wait to switch? Can I switch upon going AD? How long do I have to wait to go AD if I am in the reserve?
A few year back, I heard of a Turkish citizen who had been educated, on exchange, at West Point. The day after graduation, he hopped on a train, went down to NYC, and walked into the recruiting station in Times Square. He explained that he had just graduated from USMA, that he was a Turkish citizen, and that he wanted to join the American Army. The deal that he got, I was told, was this: enter as an E-4 with enough promotion points to pick up E-5. He joined, went through AIT, got his green card, and became a US citizen. When he picked up E-5, he got picked up for OCS. Just over a year after his classmates at USMA, he got his commission. Is the story true? I don't know. I heard it from a MAJ I know who knew the guy.
The biggest advantage that you have going for you is that you have a bachelor's in physics and, more importantly, you have highly sought after language skills (i.e. Arabic). I'd reccomend going to talk to a recruiter and find out for sure what MOS's you can and cannot do. The Army needs Arabic speakers, so you may be surprised in this area.
If you want to maximize your options for posts, it is wise to pick AG, Med Service, or another support branch like this. They go not only to the big posts, but small ones as well. There are even a few active jobs at reserve posts. At the very least, you could get set-up in the DC area. Not knowing your GF's field of study, I can't rule out posts for you.
Go talk to a recruiter and get the answers you need. Find out your limits, as well as where you could be stationed for your MOS choices. If you go active, it is more of a roll of the dice. If you go reserve, you'll have more of a choice of where you can live, but the unit with your desired MOS may be on the other side of the state, so you may have a big trip ahead of you when you need to report. Reserve usually has a 5 year rotation cycle for deployment, where as active is typicallly 12months on, 12monhs off.
Be upfront with a recruiter, tell them your concerns, play up your education and language skills, get answers to your questions, and find out what kind of deal they can give you. After that, you'll have all that you'll need to make your decision.
You can go active duty from the Reserve or Guard at anytime that you want, unless your current reserve unit is in Stop Loss. Meaning, you can sign a contract for 6 years and go active two years in. The Guard allows soldiers to attend their version of OCS at anytime, once they meet the requirements. So, if you are National Guard (I'm not sure if the Reserve has a similiar program) and are enlisted and you meet the requirements for commision (educational etc) you can apply for the state military academy and you will attend that for one year as your battle assembly (one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer. After graduation, you are commisioned as a 2LT. A high school friend of mine did this and is now a captain...my state (S.C.) actually let him attend the military academy while he was still in school and commisioned him before he graduated, he had to complete his B.S. within a certain time period from his commision date to keep his rank.
Anyway, point is, I don't think that you will have any trouble getting commisioned once you meet the requirements, from what I understand the Army is short on officers now...especially captains. With your language skills you may even be on a fast track for O3 if you go into an area where the Army can use your skills in Arabic.
Posts: 263 | Location: I AM a Drill Sergeant.. | Registered: 16 November 2006
Originally posted by Edge11A: A few year back, I heard of a Turkish citizen who had been educated, on exchange, at West Point. The day after graduation, he hopped on a train, went down to NYC, and walked into the recruiting station in Times Square. He explained that he had just graduated from USMA, that he was a Turkish citizen, and that he wanted to join the American Army. The deal that he got, I was told, was this: enter as an E-4 with enough promotion points to pick up E-5. He joined, went through AIT, got his green card, and became a US citizen. When he picked up E-5, he got picked up for OCS. Just over a year after his classmates at USMA, he got his commission. Is the story true? I don't know. I heard it from a MAJ I know who knew the guy.
The only problem I see with this story is he joined THEN he got his greencard....this could not have happened as you have to have at least permanent residence (greencard) in order to join....also there is no way he got picked up for SGT a year after he joined, since he would need at least 16 months TIS in order to attend the board, in the secondary zone, then if he was recommended he would have had to wait 2 months to get pinned, then go to OCS and all that to get COmmissioned....
Lead by Example!!!
Posts: 1308 | Location: Somewhere in the US | Registered: 13 September 2007
When you get picked up for OCS, per regs, ( can't remember now) you get promoted to e-5, i don't know if he would were the rank, or if it was for pay purposes only
" I think we should thank SFC Hulka for being our Big Toe"
Posts: 80 | Location: FT lewis | Registered: 22 September 2006
Good god......get your commission before you go to active duty. A degree in physics and enlisted dont go together. Am I saying enlisted arent higher educated? Not entirely, but how many enlisted do you know with a degree in physics? Not many. One can only take so many stories about girls missing teeth they met at a bar. If you go Reserve or National Guard and are then deployed, you can request active duty OCS which will pay you to go to school (E6 pay per month).
Originally posted by Edge11A: A few year back, I heard of a Turkish citizen who had been educated, on exchange, at West Point. The day after graduation, he hopped on a train, went down to NYC, and walked into the recruiting station in Times Square. He explained that he had just graduated from USMA, that he was a Turkish citizen, and that he wanted to join the American Army. The deal that he got, I was told, was this: enter as an E-4 with enough promotion points to pick up E-5. He joined, went through AIT, got his green card, and became a US citizen. When he picked up E-5, he got picked up for OCS. Just over a year after his classmates at USMA, he got his commission. Is the story true? I don't know. I heard it from a MAJ I know who knew the guy.
The USMA at West Point is a four-year university. When you graduate, you are a commissioned officer.
Originally posted by Edge11A: A few year back, I heard of a Turkish citizen who had been educated, on exchange, at West Point. The day after graduation, he hopped on a train, went down to NYC, and walked into the recruiting station in Times Square. He explained that he had just graduated from USMA, that he was a Turkish citizen, and that he wanted to join the American Army. The deal that he got, I was told, was this: enter as an E-4 with enough promotion points to pick up E-5. He joined, went through AIT, got his green card, and became a US citizen. When he picked up E-5, he got picked up for OCS. Just over a year after his classmates at USMA, he got his commission. Is the story true? I don't know. I heard it from a MAJ I know who knew the guy.
The biggest advantage that you have going for you is that you have a bachelor's in physics and, more importantly, you have highly sought after language skills (i.e. Arabic). I'd reccomend going to talk to a recruiter and find out for sure what MOS's you can and cannot do. The Army needs Arabic speakers, so you may be surprised in this area.
If you want to maximize your options for posts, it is wise to pick AG, Med Service, or another support branch like this. They go not only to the big posts, but small ones as well. There are even a few active jobs at reserve posts. At the very least, you could get set-up in the DC area. Not knowing your GF's field of study, I can't rule out posts for you.
Go talk to a recruiter and get the answers you need. Find out your limits, as well as where you could be stationed for your MOS choices. If you go active, it is more of a roll of the dice. If you go reserve, you'll have more of a choice of where you can live, but the unit with your desired MOS may be on the other side of the state, so you may have a big trip ahead of you when you need to report. Reserve usually has a 5 year rotation cycle for deployment, where as active is typicallly 12months on, 12monhs off.
Be upfront with a recruiter, tell them your concerns, play up your education and language skills, get answers to your questions, and find out what kind of deal they can give you. After that, you'll have all that you'll need to make your decision.
I know that although the military academies are strictly for US citizens, some accept foreign students. That is usually done through agreements between foreign governments and the government of the US. The foreign government sends the student to get the military training but usually he/she is expected to return back to their country and serve with their military. But it is kinda weird the fact that he got his green card through the military. Maybe what you meant is that he got his citizenship?
I think then I'll go through with my plan and join the reserves and then I'll see if I can get my commission if I ever got my citizenship.
I have been talking to my recruiter and recruiters only know so much. They have to follow the regulations. At this point, without a citizenship, all I can do is enlist, and I have very few MOS's to choose from. As far as my arabic language, all that qualifies me for is the arabic translator aid MOS (09L I believe.) Not to sound cocky, but I have a solid background in science and math and academia and I wanted something more challenging, yet academically oriented. I was hoping for something like electronics. But at this point all I can do is enlist, wait for my citizenship, and then if that ever comes through then I'll have a lot more options.
As far as my girlfriend, she is going into Sociology of Religion (go figure.) She was looking into going to University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA.) Are there any Army installations close by? She would also like to live overseas for a little while if I can be stationed overseas. I just don't wanna end up stationed somewhere where she can't do much, I'd feel bad.
I can't wait to join! Do you guys think going for that 21R (interior electrician) through the reserves would be a good idea? I don't know how it would affect my future plans but my recruiter thinks it is a good idea and he thinks I can re-classify later on or better yet, become an officer.
Moneer81- Let me throw my two cents in. As a Sergeant, going to Warrant Officer school here shortly, I think I might be able to shed some light on your situation. You sound like you have an awful lot going for you, some bargining chips if you will. To be honest, to simply enlist on the promises of a recruiter with the 'hopes' of things working out for you, seems like a bad idea to me. The recruiter most likely (again, being honest) has one thing on his mind, and that's him making his monthly quota. You have way too many qualifications to simply enlist just because he's telling you "Sure, you can do all that down the road..." Furthermore, I'm not sure what you're looking for in an MOS, but you mentioned wanting to be challenged and to utilize your skills. Not knowing anything about Interior Electritions, I can still tell you this...it isn't going to be anything like you think it will be, or like the recruiters tell you it will be. Assume for a minute that any joe bloe 18 year old high school drop out can come along and take the same job, and still be able to perform it to standard, and that's pretty much the level of the people you'd be working with. I'm by no means trying to discourage you from anything you may have planned up, I'm just putting the truth out there that the only one looking out for you, is you. I'd encourage you to maintain your relationship with your g/f (since that's what's most important in the long run), get your citizenship as soon as possible to give you even more leverage and options, then come back and see what new doors open to you. The Army's a great career, but don't rush to make a decision you can't unmake. The Army will still be here once you get all your stuff in order, I can promise you that. Bottom line, take care of what's really imporant in life before you throw yourself at the mercy of whatever someone tells you to fill a quota.
-WO1 Pringle
Posts: 35 | Location: Ft Rucker, AL | Registered: 06 July 2007
Originally posted by reconbyair: Moneer81- Let me throw my two cents in. As a Sergeant, going to Warrant Officer school here shortly, I think I might be able to shed some light on your situation. You sound like you have an awful lot going for you, some bargining chips if you will. To be honest, to simply enlist on the promises of a recruiter with the 'hopes' of things working out for you, seems like a bad idea to me. The recruiter most likely (again, being honest) has one thing on his mind, and that's him making his monthly quota. You have way too many qualifications to simply enlist just because he's telling you "Sure, you can do all that down the road..." Furthermore, I'm not sure what you're looking for in an MOS, but you mentioned wanting to be challenged and to utilize your skills. Not knowing anything about Interior Electritions, I can still tell you this...it isn't going to be anything like you think it will be, or like the recruiters tell you it will be. Assume for a minute that any joe bloe 18 year old high school drop out can come along and take the same job, and still be able to perform it to standard, and that's pretty much the level of the people you'd be working with. I'm by no means trying to discourage you from anything you may have planned up, I'm just putting the truth out there that the only one looking out for you, is you. I'd encourage you to maintain your relationship with your g/f (since that's what's most important in the long run), get your citizenship as soon as possible to give you even more leverage and options, then come back and see what new doors open to you. The Army's a great career, but don't rush to make a decision you can't unmake. The Army will still be here once you get all your stuff in order, I can promise you that. Bottom line, take care of what's really imporant in life before you throw yourself at the mercy of whatever someone tells you to fill a quota.
I appreciate the thoughtful contribution. What do you recommend I do then? A premanent resident (like myself) has to wait 5 years before being eligible to apply for naturalization. One way to avoid this wait is being in the military. I don't wanna wait for 5 years. If I wait that long I probably won't join then. I agree though, I hate the fact that I might find myself working with highschool drop outs and people that I usually don't associate with. My consolation is the fact that the Army will hopefully make better men and women out of those people so I am hoping I'll be around serious and mature people at least. I am sure I'll still run into some bad apples...
Only you can make those decisions for yourself, I only meant to shed some light on what I can almost assure you would come as a disappointment. Again, I'm by no means dismissing the Army as a career, I encourage it in fact, I'm just suggesting that with qualifications like yours, you owe it to yourself to at least enter the military at a level that will allow you to excel. In the mean time, have you ever looked at other government jobs like customs/border patrol/etc that might allow you to attain citizenship quicker? I'd start with what getting what you want (citizenship) then deciding the quickest means to that end.
-WO1 Pringle
Posts: 35 | Location: Ft Rucker, AL | Registered: 06 July 2007
As far as my arabic language, all that qualifies me for is the arabic translator aid MOS (09L I believe.)
SO many opportunities for a 09L. We had 2 deploy with my unit last year, and they both got their citizenship there, and got promoted automatically (to SGT). 09L is such a resume builder and good for experience.
Posts: 169 | Location: Afghanistan | Registered: 24 January 2007
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