When you first joined the military, was it all you expected it would be?

2015-02-28T18:56:11-05:00

When you joined the military, was your experience how you expected it to be? Did you get a true impression from your friends, your relatives and your recruiter? We've been talking about this a lot at work and the general consensus is that the experience has not been as expected for most. Some thought it would be better, some worse. I personally feel that it is very different than I expected, not better or worse, just different. Basic Combat Training was not how I expected it to be. AIT was worlds different from BCT and definitely not what I thought it would be. Firt duty station you ask? Oh no, not even close. I would like to get some opinions on how you thought your career would start off and how it ended up being.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2015 7:56 PM

2015-02-28T19:56:45-05:00

It turned out to be much better than what I expected. All I had to go on was war stories from uncles and other relatives. I was a VERY naive kid when I joined up at 17. The Army was the best choice I could have made for my life, but I didn't know it at the time (at 17). Looking back, I am SOOOO glad I joined the Army. It shaped the rest of my life, and I served my country in the process.

Response by MSgt Michael Durkee made Mar 1 at 2015 9:37 AM

2015-03-01T09:37:23-05:00

I didn't have any family members to rely on for first hand information, all I had was Full Metal Jacket which had come out a year or so before I reported for Basic Training. Obviously, being Air Force, my BMTS was nothing like the movie :)

Throughout my career there have been highs and lows, but overall I wouldn't change anything, it has made me the man I am today.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Mar 1 at 2015 9:39 AM

2015-03-01T09:39:02-05:00

I went into Basic training with an open mind because most of the people I spoke with about Army basic training had not attended in so long I could not necessarily rely on their accounts.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 5:24 PM

2015-03-01T17:24:15-05:00

I entered at age 17. While serving I completed a college degree and gained skills that allowed me to earn a decent living for myself and my family.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Mar 1 at 2015 5:32 PM

2015-03-01T17:32:43-05:00

I joined in the summer of 1986.....its been much better then I thought and I say that because of the people in our military. I've had an opportunity to serve alongside members of all five branches and feel honored to have served amongst our nations best. Enjoy your time in service, and enjoy the people around you....and make sure you start investing now in your financial future (recommend you look at the TSP)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QplWbNg57h4

Army Commercial - Be All You Can Be (1986)

Originally recorded on VHS tape from KTVY, channel 4 in Oklahoma City, on May 8th, 1986.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 5:47 PM

2015-03-01T17:47:59-05:00

Had to go with the neutral answer, even though it's not exactly true. It's been better in some ways and worse in others. That averages out, I think. To be completely honest though, I didn't have a whole lot of expectations from the get go.

Response by SGM Billy Herrington made Mar 1 at 2015 5:50 PM

2015-03-01T17:50:38-05:00

I remeber being a kid and going on summer vacations. We would see the national guard convoys going to annual training and I thought it was cool. My dad spent 25 years in the Air Force. He was in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, he told me that was the way to go but join the Air Guard. I can finish college and serve part time.

As I got older more stories emerged. Weekends of dice playing, beer drinking, and general asshattery were coming to light. At the age of 18 and a few weeks I joined the guard. Dad said go air guard; I wanted a challenge I wanted to be Army like my uncles were. He just chuckled and said whatever you want son.

As I sit here thinking about it I haven't seen any beer drinking or grilling in the field at summer camp. I've seen a few games of dice though. It's been better than what I thought; it's been more interesting than what I can imagine. It's also given me some of the worst memories of my life and tempered me for anything in life that comes. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world, well, I would like to grill out and drink beer on a bradley range.......

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Mar 1 at 2015 6:06 PM

2015-03-01T18:06:39-05:00

Although some extended family members had served in the military, I never had access to them. Thus, when I enlisted, all I knew of the military was what I had seen in movies or read in Beetle Bailey comics, and little of that left a favorable impression. Thus, I was open to many happy surprised.

The DIs were dedicated to preparing us to fight effectively on the battlefield and survive. And yes, the food was actually quite good. No, it wasn't the same as what mama fed us, but still good.

Sure, there were things that annoyed me. I well remember my first day at the Reception Center at Fort Jackson. We were ushered into a large classroom to fill out paperwork (the beginnings of our military records). They treated us like idiots, repeating instructions ad naseum. Fifteen minutes was spent explaining how to complete the entries for name and home address on the first card alone. When we were finally allowed to pick up a pencil and begin filling in those items, and ONLY those items, I was ready to hit someone or something. However, I immediately felt the man to my left raise his arm to ask a question. A question? Seriously? I turned to my right to share my disgust with the man there and discovered him looking at what I was doing. That's when I realized. They treated us like idiots because we were idiots.

Thereafter, I settled in and accepted it all...

Response by SGT Edwin Claudio made Mar 1 at 2015 6:12 PM

2015-03-01T18:12:36-05:00

I joined straight of HS in 99 with the expectation that as an MP I'd be patrolling bases if we went to war.

14 years later I'm glad it wasn't what I expected. I enjoyed every deployment, FTX and range density leading Soldiers as much as my time between behind my patrol car and desk SGT as a desk SGT.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 6:41 PM

2015-03-01T18:41:11-05:00

I was an Army brat. My dad was EOD. It was a pretty tight unit. Naturally, I assumed that the entire military functioned similarly. Soldiers liked blowing sh*t up. Cool. Sign me up.
Oh, no females in EOD? OK. How about MP? No slots? Aviation...so we shoot planes from the sky? No?
Oh, so I get to ride in helicopters and make things go boom? Woohoo!

My recruiter was a lyin' sonofabitch.

Edit: Still will never regret it, though :)

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Mar 1 at 2015 8:09 PM

2015-03-01T20:09:55-05:00

I signed up as an 11X
I knew what that meant
29 years later, it was everything i expected, wanted, earned.

Response by SFC Art Davenport made Mar 1 at 2015 9:07 PM

2015-03-01T21:07:54-05:00

No it wasn't

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2015 9:11 PM

2015-03-01T21:11:09-05:00

I was yelled at more than I expected. But I still blame my Recruiter for that.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 10:38 AM

2015-03-02T10:38:53-05:00

I went in wanting to be Security Forces, law enforcement specialist. That's what I got. The only downside was that when I graduated, they combined both the LE & security fields & I was thrown into a security job after having only 3 days of training at tech school in security

Response by GySgt Joe Strong made Mar 2 at 2015 11:23 AM

2015-03-02T11:23:20-05:00

Oh crap, even with the amount of intell I had gleaned from my Uncle and Brothers, I had no friggin' idea what a wild ride I was in for.

I LOVE this stuff, (Getting Old sucks - but it beats the alternative).

I got to go places, see stuff, meet people, work on neat equipment (after I paid my dues working on the pedestrian stuff of course).

Bad Duty Stations? Never had one, and that's with 2 or 3 years at 29 Palms and a year on Okinawa. Even "the Warehouse" in Kuwait was pretty sweet all things considered.

One major conflict with a higher up on AD. He was (factually and morally) wrong and I was principled. Ouch. Sometimes being in the right(factually and morally) doesn't pay the way we'd like it to.

Somehow my Joint Service time didn't get looked at in a way that led to promotion and thus retention ( I thought I was doing great work there even if it was fun and interesting) - would have liked to have finished on AD, but I had fun in the Reserves too.

I would have liked a few different outcomes(very few though considering we're talking about 20+ years), but I wouldn't trade it for anything any of my peers did, especially the civilian peers.

And, then the training I received in the Corps(of course, I also wasn't shy about seeking new training and new opportunities as they arose either) parlayed into a decent Civilian job with Retirement benefits so the double-dipping will eventually commence.

I would absolutely do it all over again.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 12:10 PM

2015-03-02T12:10:27-05:00

As you have stated, not really better or worse. I actually had a great recruiter (well as great as any recruiter can be that is) that broke down what it would be like. At one point I thought he was exaggerating just to peak my interest. He knew that I was on the fence between wanting to join the Marines or the Navy. My love of ships won out. However, I keep getting told at every duty station it isn't the "real" Navy. So after almost 12 years (12 in April), I hope that one day I can see this "real" Navy so many talk about.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 12:27 PM

2015-03-02T12:27:46-05:00

I joined at 31, BCT to me felt like high school. The physical demand wasn't as high as I expected, maybe the long ruck marchs were the worst but the mornings PTs were a joke. AIT destroyed all the hard work done in BCT, all that pizza and junk food wasn't good for some APFTs failures. First unit station, well, being a 92Y in a MI unit is different and if you are in the S4 shop is more different. The experience is being better than I expected, being in a non deployable unit for my first unit station have my wife more calm and, whenever I get to deploy, I think we'll be more prepared for it since we have time to settle in the "army life". Economically, if you have good money management, you don't have to be a NCO to live comfortable.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 12:36 PM

2015-03-02T12:36:31-05:00

I though Parris Island was easier that I read about. I was 22 when I enlisted, living by myself and working to 40 hour a week jobs just to try to save money for school. Parris Island provided me more sleep, exercise and food than I was accustomed to. I could see where if you were living at home, 17 and just graduated from high school it could be perceived worse.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 1:46 PM

2015-03-02T13:46:29-05:00

Better question...Was Marraige.............

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 1:52 PM

2015-03-02T13:52:41-05:00

I don't know about way worse but I can remember that first week of basic training laying in my rack thinking "What the hell did I get myself into?" But as time passed my experiences improved, enough that I stuck around for 29 years.

Response by SFC Michael Jackson, MBA made Mar 2 at 2015 1:58 PM

2015-03-02T13:58:27-05:00

When I first join, it was difficult transition. Didn't like it at all, Wanted Out! There's something inside me that wouldn't let me quit though. I overcame, developed in a Soldier, and ultimately had what I consider a successful career. Had a good NCO who helped changed my career and life. No screaming, punishment, COPE, he just gave me some perspective on life. Had discussions about life priorities and how immediate decisions would affect me long-term. Once I understood why I should change my outlook, I did.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 2:03 PM

2015-03-02T14:03:30-05:00

After ariving at my first duty station i felt like i was rowing upstreem without a paddle, good God what did i do, every day a struggle and hated everything. It took me about 2 years to figure out i needed to stop letting outhers influience my thinking, grow up turn that canoe around. When i did my whole prospective changed, and i found my calling. It meant leaving some behind but i was and am the better for it.

Response by Cpl Jerry Millar made Mar 2 at 2015 2:06 PM

2015-03-02T14:06:29-05:00

It was pretty close to what I expected! Granted I wasn't exactly "recruited", in the sense that I just woke up one day having decided I wanted to be a Marine and went to the recruiting office to sign up. My recruiter set a very honest expectation and was instrumental in getting my parents on board; I signed up through delayed entry between my junior and senior year of high school. I loved 90% of my service days and learned to like an additional 9% along the way =)

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 3:15 PM

2015-03-02T15:15:40-05:00

The military is what you make of it, if you don't like what your doing re-enlist and change your mos.

Response by SFC Collin McMillion made Mar 2 at 2015 9:46 PM

2015-03-02T21:46:02-05:00

If I had joined voluntarily, I would probably be able to make a comment.