My Recruiter steered me away from a combat MOS. What should I do?

I unfortunately was a recruiter at one time. Your recruiter’s job is to qualify you for the military service. He doesn’t tell you what jobs you qualify for- the career counselors do that. If you qualify for under water basket weaving, and twenty other jobs, you pick the MOS. A good recruiter will tell you his or her opinion on MOS’s, but that’s all it is: their opinion. Ultimately, it’s your decision. One that you’ll have to live with for at least one enlistment. Who knows? You may love the job you pick, or you might hate it. In which case, you can elect to change your MOS when and if you decide to re-enlist. Good luck, and thanks for stepping up! We need more commuted young people to take their place in the line.

Men who thrive in hostile conditions do not need advice from others in determining their future. Go for a 15F if it's still an MOS and available. Then be really nice to your readiness NCO and your command. Maybe once in an aviation unit you can join DART and who knows, maybe you'll get a chance to do something "exciting."

My godson enlisted in the Army Reserve as a helicopter mechanic and within 18 months was deployed to Iraq. He came home showed up once a month then found out a full-time gig as a civilian mechanic was open, he applied and was selected (volunteering for a special project to perform an engine upgrade helped) He went to WOC and is at Fort Rucker learning to fly. It took about 10 years, but he’s a very happy camper.

It's possible that 11X was not available to you. If you want to fly then the recruiter may have tried to give you the best route to reach that goal.

You can still go in i any combat MOS go 11B

Become an ER medic in a combat zone and you will see lots of action. Even when stationed @ Andrews AFB it was not boring at all. I provide clinical consultation to vets as far back as Korea. They present layers of trauma from seeing so much death and destruction. Be prepared to kill women, children, and aged like we did during the Vietnam Conflict. In fact more civilians were killed than enemy combatants on both sides combined!

I became a medic to save lives, not take them.
Rich

ask yourself what you want after your time in the service...an honorable discharge is the same for a clerck or a seal...

As a former recruiter, he's looking at what your future goals are. By "steering" you into a 15 Series MOS; he's attempting to set you up for success. Knowing the equipment that in the future you may be flying will set you apart from the other individuals with only a rudimentary knowledge for the selection process to flight school. Ultimately the decision is yours; which ever MOS you want to select upon taking the ASVAB, passing the physical and what is listed available for the next 90-180 days for enlistment. But I ask that you take into consideration what your recruiter is trying to help you do; which is help you achieve your future goals.

15 Series flies in the right air-frame, and can be considered a combat arms MOS. What you want is mechanic, which will put you inline to be a crew chief later on down the road, and as a crew chief you will fly with that aircraft, and as a mechanic you may be able to operate as a door gunner.

The bonus to this too, is that if you decide to ply your aviation trade as a civilian, you can go pilot AND mechanic.

Many people have commented about combat after effects, What they missed was telling you that combat in and of itself is boring. There are many people who deploy, and NEVER hear a shot fired in anger. Let alone leave the wire and get shot at. As an air crewman on any type of Helo your chances of getting shot at, and killed, are higher than most MOS' save MP. IN MY EXPERIENCE.

Someone said it well, this is NOT Hollywood. When you watch band of brothers you think these guy were on the line and in combat 24/7 for 3.5 years. read the book. The epilogue will explain that in the time that Easy Company was deployed it spent a total of 4 months on the line or "in combat", that is about 1 month a year.

When you look at platoon, it covers an entire year of a single mans tour in Vietnam, and they had what two major engagements?

Full metal jacket is also based upon a book, that draws form a marines deployment, and there is one engagement.

Jarhead tells the story of a guy deployed in Operation Desert shield/Storm who never fired his weapon. This happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and WWII.

My Grandfather was in WWII, he did a single stand up cruise on the USS California before contracting Scarlet Fever and getting discharged.

My Father served in 1965-1967, never deployed to Vietnam.

We had a family friend that served in the Army Air corps in WWII, was stationed in China, and by his own admission, never touched a weapon once. He was also in Vietnam where he earned the purple heart, while moving a piano, and had a mortar round, break some glass that fell on him.

My tour in Iraq had four major actions The two battles for Fallujah, Mosul, and Sadir city during the elections. four major engagements in 13 months of being deployed.

Army life is not like civilian life. We have this mystique of being high speed low drag STRAC guys; and yet we spend an incredible amount of time sitting on our cans waiting for something to happen. THAT is the truth of Army life, and it does not change in combat. The only units that you are going to see non stop action in are in the special operations communities, of which their is an actual aviation regiment.

Your enthusiasm is mostly from being young (i hope), and ignorant. Many of the people who have responded to you probably felt exactly like you when they first enlisted in the military. There is nothing wrong with being excited and eager; But, thinking your going to win a bunch of medals and be a hero, will do only one thing. Get you dead. Look at the awards for people with the medal of honor, you will find the reason it says above and beyond the call of duty, is because most of those guys ARE DEAD.

No one, in their right minds, in any unit wants a hero running around. Makes life hard for everyone, because you can not rely on him to do his job and be where he needs to be, as he is out seeking glory.

The LtC said it best too. The military SHOULD BE a calling. For many it is not. And that calling means you are the unsung hero. The "top" soldiers in the Army, DELTA, perform their jobs in complete anonymity. Guys like Chris Kyle and that Lone survivor guy, are assholes. Both trying to make themselves look like they are super soldiers, looking for public recognition. If doing the job is not enough, do NOT join.

Awards are just as political now as they were in Vietnam. And for every Bronze star that is awarded their are probably 10 that were overlooked, or flat out denied because of politics. You need to understand this BEFORE going into the Army. Doing something that can get you an award is relatively easy just a matter of being in the right place, at the right time; being recognized for it is the hard part.

I was shot up three times in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. The enemy could hear us coming from miles away. Almost ten per cent of the names on the Viet Nam wall were air crew members. My grandson in law worked his way up to being a crew chief and now is a full time recruiter and crew chief on drill weekend. Do you have a college degree?? If not start working on that if you want to be a pilot. Go into the Army and get your 15 MOS and then start working on the degree if your long range plan is to be an aviator.