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

You will be genuinely surprised at how many noncombat arms soldiers are in the fight. If you are going 15 series and want to make a differance, I might suggest going into 160th SOAR. you will make a difference wherever you go. NSDQ.

I'm going to be as "nice" as possible here and honest. Although I wasn't with you when you went to see the Recruiter but I find it somewhat odd that he would say that. I have this gut feeling that they might have suggested this because they felt you were not mature enough and also they may have felt that your heart is not in the right place. Joining the Military is a serious thing and a lot of heart felt thought must go into it. I see by your profile picture that you have a pilots license? Or working on one? That's great and all but it takes a hell of a lot more then that to ....being a Soldier. Being in the Army (all branches) is a a very skilled position and we take it very seriously. I (we) need to depend on each other and ALL other Branches of the Service's. So bottom line here is I think the Recruiter feels you need to grow up some more and really think about what you want to do. He was trying to save your life for now.....

Be careful what you wish for. Sadly you would know the truth in these words only after you've stepped through the veil. If you want to fly... stick to that, and your recruiter was right to steer you in that direction. It will be much easier for you to get a warrant officer flight packet to go through as a mechanic than a prior Infantry soldier. Believe me... I'm aspiring flight myself coming from an 11 series. You will know intimately the frame you have worked on from the ground up, and to have that experience would be invaluable. This gives you the ability to make sure your flight chief is on top of his/her game. I too once wanted to know the fray... signed up as an Airborne Ranger. I didn't make it, but I am glad. It was bad enough going over there once let alone multiple times. The guys I came to know and love, who died... leave you with a hole... you think about them every day, and it's not an idealistic thought... you see them how they died. Every. Day. And when you happen to be blessed to not see them a day or two in a row, you feel guilty. You feel guilty that you are experiencing life while they were cut short. Every 4th of July, every Veterans Day, every Memorial day, every single Holiday... you think of them and pay homage. Sometimes you think of the mistakes you've made and you wish it were you who died and they had survived... somehow idealizing their possible ability to live life beyond mistakes or struggles. I love my brothers who've died. I miss them intimately. I blame myself sometimes. But these are thoughts that are unproductive. Cherish your life. Cherish the fact that you are complete, whole, sound, secure. Make peace with the fact that you have your whole life ahead. And fly above the fray. Not saying that flying above the fray makes you immune to the struggle... plenty of pilots get shot down, and plenty of flight crew have picked up casualties they couldn't save. This profession isn't without trauma. I just hope you are ready for it mentally. If not, it may be rough regardless of your chosen path. I wish you luck, as I wish the luck of all the soldiers that have sought my counsel through the years. God speed. See you on the other side.

Maybe your recruiter is looking out for the rest of us.. see what life is like before going gung ho on this.. you might realize that military life isn't what you see on tv..

Well just because you’re in aviation doesn’t mean your missing out on “action” or anything and I don’t know what you define as “action.” deployed and stateside as a crew chief on a Blackhawk or a chinook I get to fly in a helicopter, do multiple missions a week, and then there’s aerial gunnery where you qualify with your weapon while in a moving helicopter. That’s pretty good “action” for me. And you have the added benefit of being around pilots who, some, would be more than happy to mentor you into flight school and give you recommendations. So you can go be a ground pounder and get stuck filling sandbags for the majority of your time or you could go fly. It’s a lot more than it’s cracked up to be.

Make it through basic training and AIT first. Then worry about being in the action.
And do some serious growing up in the process.

Why don't you do some research. See what it takes and look at the path and see if you are smart enough. You have two choices. You can be a grunt, or you can be a pog. One is a ton of boring with a little action, the other is all boring with a little action

No smart soldier wants war. If you are joining any branch of the service bc you want to be in the action, kindly do all of us and all of our friends still on active duty a favor and don’t join!

Every single job in the military serves a purpose. If you want to fly then double check and make sure his path he wants to put you on will help you get to your end goal.

Thank him.

A Combat Arms MOS may be beneficial in the future based on type of position being sought however, all military MOS are respected