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

It sucks, almost broke my body and mind. OK some say my mind is broke. You are hungry, tired, bored, then terrified most of the time. You serve when the thermometer says 140 or -25. And you will like it. You will come home to an indifferent public who moved on with your wife or GF seeing a Jody. You will see your best friends get hurt and a few die. More will kill themselves later.

Get the audiobook "HUE 1968 by Mark Bowden". One of the best descriptions of Combat more than I ever experienced. But talking to a Hue survivor who was one of the books subjects it's the way it it.

And if I could do it again I'd do it twice.

"I wanna fly later on" You do realize that if you take a job you don't want now, the chances of you flying "later on" are pretty much zero right? If you want to fly, then insist on a flying job right away. Don't wait. Also, join the Air Force.

Mr. Hay: You don't necessarily have to have a infantry, tanks, artillary, etc, mos to be in the action. I was non-combat for 15 years and was called out several times to experience of hearing bullets coming just a little to close. Take your time; you know not what you really want yet. There is no glamour in combat. Ask any veteran who served in the current conflicts, or Nam, or Korea. Take your time.

If you want to be a pilot join the Navy. If you want to fly Med-evac learn to fly a chopper. Otherwise find a new recruiter that will work with you. Most just look to fill gaps, and you don't want to end up in "motor-pool" for your time. Go to School, get a degree in something, get a pilots license in aviation either choppers or air plains and then apply to OCS. Don't be sad and don't be blue, my recruiter screwed me too is actually a normal cadence in the military. Get better choices or a better recruiter! Good luck and when you get in "Thank you for your service."

doing daily maintenance on the helicopter is just one aspect to be a helicopter crew member. You will be flying with the pilots, and observing them, the helicopter as you do missions. Eventually you may have the opportunity to go to warrant officer school and become a pilot yourself. I have several friends that are aviation SGMs, and CSMs. They really enjoy what they do. IF you don't like your MOS after your do it for your first enlistment then you can change. But the more technical knowledge you have will help you get promoted and when and if you get out these skills will make you very marketable in the civilian world.

Oh Man~ Boring?? Infantry .. THAT'S Boring! 99.9% waiting .01% action..
I was a Crew Chief on Pave Low Helicopters. AF Special Ops.- I've been shot at, shot back, landed on ships, landed in the middle of firefights.. rescued people in the desert and mountain tops. AND I got a high paying skill that I can use when I got out.. It ain't all action like a video game kid. and it will be over before you know it... Even if you do 20.. It's better to prepare for your life than prepare to end it. Before you ever knew how awesome it could be.
Just my $1.50 thoughts.. (inflation)

Take the technical training. You can always go combat arms on your second enlistment. The technical training stays with you for life. Something to fall back on after your service...

kids these days. they all wanna be GI Joe. Nobody wants to stay in the back and fix the equipment that GI Joe inevitably breaks. don't be in such a hurry to show how brave you are.

Mr Hay there is an old saying be careful what you wish for as you might get it. I have to agree with LTC Martin I have seen both sides of the face of action in Vietnam and working as a LO in New Jersey. Boring is to be desired in both occupations. Cpl Reed has also hit a solid note as I have experienced much of what he says. On my last tour with the 3rd Infantry Division I was out in the woods for over 200 days, not contusive to a good home life unless you have a good wife. As for the rest combat is for young dedicated troops, but what they don't tell you is down the line it will catch up with you. Go down to a DAV meeting, or American Legion or VFW talk to the old guys with the funny hats. Asked them about Agent Orange, old bullet wounds and PTSD. Speak to the younger veterans ask them about the effects of oil smoke and IEDs see what they have to say. Just possibly you should stay well out of it and count yourself lucky.

Go kiss the recruiter on the lips. If they’d steered me away from a combat MOS, I wouldn’t have been walking with a limp for 50 years.