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

I joined specifically for Infantry with the Airborne option. My recruiter was accommodating but, when I went to MEPS, the career counselor was pushing Cavalry Scout really hard and told me he didn't have any slots available for Infantry with Airborne School. I said OK and I got up and walked out. I went down the hall, called my recruiter and told him "the career counselor is jerking me around, I'm out of here". He asked what the problem was and, after a more thorough explanation, he asked if I could hive him 15 minutes because his 1SG was on his way. To make a long story short, I left with an Infantry contract with the Airborne option. Don't let them waste your time. If you qualify for the particular MOS you want, don't settle for anything less. Certainly there is another recruiter within 50 miles who needs to make his monthly quota and will be more accommodating. Its not like you're asking for a highly technical job with a very small number of slots.

William, war is hell, not, action. I felt rather like you as a young man and the fighting was in Vietnam. I wound up in a small boat unit in Naval Special Warfare. Innocence is the first casualty in any armed conflict. The, "Coming home, marrying your sweetie, and, living happily ever after was B.S." After a year kicking around I figured out I did not mind putting my ass on the line, but, would rather do it to save lives rather than take them. While in the Navy I worked with a guy that was a "Coastie" first. I wound up in the Coast Guard and became a flight medic. On changing my MOS from Gunnery to Health Service Technician I got to do a lot of search and rescue, shipboard independent duty, clinical and health care administration. They kept me busy for the next twenty four years. Did I miss the action of my old Navy job. Not really as I got to help a lot of people. You may want to at the Coast Guard for "action" as well a meaning for a life in rotary or fixed wing aviation.

Do what you want to do - recruiters have missions and the needs of the Army are their responsibility. If you truly want a combat MOS, you can seek the Marines as well.

Refuse to sign the dotted line until you get what you want. Until you sign, you have all the power. Though, considering how unassertive you seem, maybe combat arms isnt for you.

Get a transferable civilian skill..after some time in, you can try out for the big leagues. Whatever the outcome, you will always be able to get a job as an X-RAy tech or mechanic or whatever...

Well it's ultimately up to you what you do, but I spent about 7.5 years as an Army Tanker (19E & 19K) because I wanted to be in-action if a war or skirmish broke out somewhere (never saw / experienced any). Ironically, after leaving the Army I joined the Air Force and went into Logistics and Aviation Maintenance. When OEF and OIF came along, I ended up seeing a lot of Action with my last deployment mission being part of an Air Force Expeditionary Force / Personnel Augmentation for Army Convoy Missions via a Gun Truck Platoon in Iraq. Moral of the story is that these days, the dynamics of war has changed to the point that you could see action and / or be located in a Forward Operating Base / Area. Also, I used to be a Private Pilot and if you are interested in becoming a Pilot either military or civilian, learning to work on aircraft is a PLUS.

This was posted a year ago.....update please Mr. William Hay.....

First off, by the sounds of it... you're an idiot. You're complaining because you're not infantry? Fuck outta here man. You obviously have no idea what it takes to do any kind of job in the Army. Your recruiter should've told you that you're too stupid to join, go suck on a pacifier.

Any one, I mean, ANYONE can go to war. My MOS is non-deployable, but fuck it, the Army told me otherwise. Spent time downrange. Yeah, I even left the wire, every day, few times a day.

I "got into the shit" by being blown up, shot at, finding IED's, etc...

So again, I don't want you in my ranks. You're thinking you're god's gift to video games. Go back to call of duty and leave the desk jobs to those who really can't to serve.

For your info, aircraft crew, get shot at. Blackhawk, chinook, kiowa helicopters aren't just desk job mos's.

I wonder where you are at right now? Had I seen this thread a year ago this would have been my response: Everyone wants to be in the action until they are in the action. Being in the Infantry isn't like Call of Duty. Every morning I wake up early to get my joints working. I have a permanent injury in my shoulder and a slight limp due to a bad left knee. I was never in a declared war but all the hard training in harsh environments took a toll on me. When I eventually got out no one wanted to hire me. Why? No job skills. 'Shoots well' isn't something 99% of employers look for. That being said, would I trade my time in the Infantry for any other MOS? No.
Repairing things might seem boring but guess what...who do you thinks repairs most of the things wrong with Infantry vehicles? The Infantry. Who mops floors? The Infantry. Who cleans latrines? The Infantry. Who digs ditches, builds bridges, works on electrical infrastructure and has to be a jack of all trades? Yup, you guessed it; the Infantry. Guess who gets shot at in a war zone? EVERYONE.
Good luck and stay safe no matter what you do.

Join something else where your crying and whining will be accepted. You say that you want to fly. That means that you need to be an officer. If you only want to ride then go for flight crew. If you want something, then work to earn it. If you truly want to be part of a team then allow the recruiter to attempt to do his/her damn job and steer you in the right direction. Anybody can become a "grunt". Usually recruiters will send more people to the grunts than any other field.