What made you decide on the job you have or had in the military?

SCPO David Lockwood — Wed, 20 May 2015 11:50:23 -0400

I was an ABE (Aviation Boatswain's Mate, Equipment). We launched and recovered fixed wing aircraft and maintaining the equipment. I wanted to make rank as soon as possible and at the time this was the job to do it. I rose through the ranks to make SCPO (E-8) and spent 26 years in the Navy. It was a great experience.

Response by 1LT Nick Kidwell made May 20 at 2015 11:54 AM

1LT Nick Kidwell — Wed, 20 May 2015 11:54:45 -0400

I went Chem because I have degrees in the sciences and thought they would be more applicable.

I also never had issues with ProMasks of MOPP4.

Plus, blivet hot tubs.

Response by SGT David T. made May 20 at 2015 11:56 AM

SGT David T. — Wed, 20 May 2015 11:56:42 -0400

Initially I had two choices: Infantry or Field Artillery. I picked Infantry because that is what I thought of when I thought about the Army. When I reenlisted, I chose Petroleum Supply Specialist because I felt that it would offer me more transferable skills when I got out.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 12:01 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:01:01 -0400

I became a Horizontal Equipment Operator cause I love big toys and I like to work outside.

Response by SPC Nate Lamphier made May 20 at 2015 12:02 PM

SPC Nate Lamphier — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:02:59 -0400

I was a 91D (Generator Mechanic) and I absolutely hated it but luckily, for the most part, I was in positions I didn't have to do it too much.

I was looking at OCS but I wanted to get experience on the enlisted side (as well as the Military life in general) before I was put in leadership roles. Being in the education field, my thought process was that I would have a hard time respecting an assistant principal who had no experience teaching. I should clear up that I don't think there are good Officers out there who were not enlisted first, just the path I thought was best for me.

My contract was a three year enlistment (which I figured was long enough to allow me to make a decision if I wanted to go the path of OCS or not) and came with the student loan repayment. At the time I signed, this was what I wanted and the only MOS that provided that was the 91D. I had $45K in student loans that the Government paid off....I just saw that as an added $15k to my base pay at the time.

With that said, to this day I appreciate the experiences, knowledge and friends I built that otherwise wouldn't have been there without me going the 91D route.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 12:13 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:13:01 -0400

They said this is your job. Until, I transferred to Civil Engineering at my request.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 12:38 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:38:05 -0400

MASH -> army medic.

Was a no-brainer at the time. No regrets.

Response by SSG Paul Setterholm made May 20 at 2015 1:00 PM

SSG Paul Setterholm — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:00:15 -0400

My grandfather(ww2 European theater) and my great uncle (Korea) were both in the infantry. Proud to have done it but no civilian application.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 1:00 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:00:31 -0400

I decided on the 3D0X1 after I was DQ'd for a Boom Operator position in BMT. Was not my first choice due to being DQ'd for another AFSC . This AFSC had a good description and I knew a couple in my flight were slotted for this so I chose it. I am not completely satisfied with the AFSC but there could be worse ones and I will be in my retraining window soon and am currently considering my opportunities. I would like to retrain into Sensor Operator or Military Equal Opportunity. I feel both would offer new challenges and benefit from my previous experiences in my current AFSC. So we shall see

Response by SSgt Joe V. made May 20 at 2015 1:09 PM

SSgt Joe V. — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:09:25 -0400

My recruiter told me I could be a crew chief on a C-130 - You go where the plane goes and are basically a flying mechanic. Then he said he would reach out to the TACP recruiter and see if they would stop by two weeks into basic training to talk to me about being 'special'. Well MSgt Harris did stop by in Basic and I did become 'special'. Loved my job and everything about it.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 1:31 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:31:43 -0400

I didn't decide. I came in wanting EOD, but failed the color blind test the day before I left to basic which put me as open mechanical. My options then were continue and hope I got something I would like or back out and go home.

Now that I know what EOD does, I am grateful. The "recruiting videos" I was shown were so much BS. I actually had the belief that they just played with robots and used sniper rifles to blow shit up from a safe distance. To all the EOD guys, I have much respect for you guys, you some crazy mofos.

Response by CPO Jack De Merit made May 28 at 2015 3:17 PM

CPO Jack De Merit — Thu, 28 May 2015 15:17:32 -0400

I was a Chief Lithographer. For those who don't know, that is a fancy name for a Printer. My father was a printer and he was stuck with taking me to work until I was old enough to go to school. Being 4 years old, I was pretty smart and easily bored so I learned the alphabet and the typecase layout. At 41/2, unable to read words, I became a typesetter. I know it saved my father a great deal of time as most typesetting back in the Stone Age was by hand. I actually learned to read upside down and backwards, which is how hand-set type is done. Being a printer so young, I made Chief in 9 years. Being a miscellaneous rate, I only saw ONE advancement to Senior Chief and ONE advancement to Master Chief in 28 plus years of service. Sad to say, it was not me.

Response by CPO Jack De Merit made May 28 at 2015 3:18 PM

CPO Jack De Merit — Thu, 28 May 2015 15:18:35 -0400

Response by CPO Jerry Smith made May 28 at 2015 5:13 PM

CPO Jerry Smith — Thu, 28 May 2015 17:13:08 -0400

I looked at my choices during boot camp and thought Navy Hospital Corpsman and all those nurses hum, so I became a Hospital Corpsman. No one ever said that Hospital Corpsman served with the Marines until after getting orders to hospital corps school. Served with the Marines in Viet Nam and retired as an instructor at San Diego Hospital Corps school in 1991 as a Chief Petty Officer after 23 years.

Response by SCPO Daniel McKinnon made Jun 17 at 2015 8:30 AM

SCPO Daniel McKinnon — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:30:47 -0400

I went in as a Seabee Construction Mechanic. I didn't really know much about the military when I went in at 17. My step-father was an old school retired BM1 and just told me to get down to the recruiter, because as soon as I graduated high school I was out of the house. I enjoyed helping a friend work on his car and the recruiter said there were two mechanic jobs available, EN and CM. While in recruit training the classifiers tried to get me to change over from CM to Nukes, but not knowing anything about the Navy I declined, as I thought mechanics are needed no matter where one goes. I didn't plan on making a career, as it was after Vietnam, pay was low, moral was extremely low, equipment was old and promotions were low due to the after war drawdown. Many guys back then were E5 waiting for their 20 to retire and a few E6 were approaching 20 years and hoping to make Chief on their last try. The Reagan came into office and the military build up improved moral, training was better, equipment newer, and promotions were on the rise. Once I received my clearance I was able to perform some awesome missions that I never would have dreamed of. I wanted to stay in longer but I was getting too much pressure from my now ex-wife, because I was transferred back to Sea Duty after I picked up Senior Chief five weeks into my Shore Duty and there were no E8 Shore Duty billets opened at the time. I was transerred to my 3rd battalion and deployed two times before retiring. It was a super experience for me, but hard on family life.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 17 at 2015 8:50 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:50:33 -0400

I wanted to be airborne infantry but it was not available. I got 31C instead with the airborne option. I thought I was going to be the radio guy in an infantry squad.

Well, I blew out a knee in Tower Week, so the airborne thing went away. In hind sight, I made the right decision for the wrong reason. 23 years later, I love working with radios and have a skill that I can use on the outside.

Response by CPT Bruce Rodgers made Jun 17 at 2015 9:02 AM

CPT Bruce Rodgers — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 09:02:48 -0400

Wait you mean you get a choice? Oh yeah one of the good points of when I was enlisted

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 17 at 2015 9:14 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 09:14:50 -0400

What made me decide? Orders. The said you are now a *****

I did request to move to civil engineering to enhance my employment opportunities after service.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 17 at 2015 9:28 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 09:28:19 -0400

I went into the Navy wanting to do something that would translate to a civilian career. I chose Electrician's Mate... after being told "No" on Equipment Operator and Master At Arms (both were closed at the time). I did 6 years on Two Aircraft Carriers and was able to learn a lot from a lot of great people. Flight Deck Equipment, Aircraft Elevators, Food Stores Conveyors, Main Space/Propulsion stuff, Electrical Generators, Electrical Safety, blah, blah, blah!!!

6 years later I got out and went into the Air Force Reserves. I chose 3PO51B, Combat Arms Instructor. I loved working with firearms, teaching marksmanship fundamentals, training people how to take care of their weapons, and maintaining small arms. I was able to fill multiple roles in the Security Forces Squadron and was classified with a Primary AFSC of 3PO51B, a Secondary of 3PO71 (Sec For. Craftsman/Supervisor), and had a special Identifier of 8F000 (First Sergeant). I hurt my knee and was not fit for duty for 6 months and missed my oportunity to go to the First Sergeant Academy, and became the NCOIC of the Combat Arms Instructor Section for my Squdaron. That lasted for about 2 years and I chose to be a Security Forces Trainer and OJT Monitor. This allowed me to mentor more Airmen.

No REGERTS!!!

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Jun 17 at 2015 9:59 AM

CPT Aaron Kletzing — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 09:59:51 -0400

I was a 13A (Field Artillery Officer) because FA is the King of Battle, unlike CPT Private RallyPoint Member's Queen of Battle (Infantry) -- and who wouldn't want to be King?

Response by 1LT William Clardy made Jun 17 at 2015 10:11 AM

1LT William Clardy — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 10:11:08 -0400

I plead mental imbalance and an admitted talent for breaking things (sometimes spectacularly).

So I chose 11C, Indirect Fire Infantryman, learned to love yelling "Hang it! Fire!" and got to hang out with similarly demented folks while bouncing my way up (and down) the ranks until I conned a few good folks at TRADOC into picking me for a Bootstrap ROTC scholarship. I spent a few more years hanging out with some not-quite-so-similarly-demented cadets and cadre, spent my first couple of years as a lieutenant being mentored by a very smart Ordinance lieutenant colonel, then went all demented again and spent my second summer at the Benning School for Boys running through the woods completing the resident portion of IOBC.

I still haven't decided what I expect to be when I grow up....

Response by SPC David Hannaman made Jun 17 at 2015 10:58 AM

SPC David Hannaman — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 10:58:48 -0400

I was a young dumb punk that took the ASVAB because it sounded more interesting than the three high school classes that I got to skip.

I checked the box "Recruiters may contact me about my score" with a passing thought of "Sure why not?"

I took the test and only missed one question. Needless to say the recruiters in my area contacted me. Living in a depressed economy with no clear prospects for the future I started listening to what they had to say.

I rejected the Navy right away because the idea of being stuck on a submarine for 3 months with no girls and "hot racking" didn't appeal to me.

I rejected the Marines because it sounded like the Navy, but with mud.

The Air Force offered me a job working on turbine engines, but my dad was aviation and I wanted something different (I kicked myself later).

The Army said they would guarantee me any job they had, come on down to the MEPPS station and see what's open, sign up only if you see something you like.

35G - Biomedical technical equipment repair. Two slots open, five year hitch (a year and a half of school), $150k a year in demand job as a civilian (this was 1989, I think my Dad made $40k a year), and signing bonuses if I reenlisted.

B-med school was tough... I didn't have the math skills to make it through the second cycle, drinking and partying didn't help... I got reclassified as a 68B, helicopter turbine engines... how ironic since that's what I turned down at the Air Force.

Less than six months later I was stationed at Ft Campbell, and on my way to Desert Storm. Somewhere along the line I managed to pull my head out of my ass.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 17 at 2015 10:58 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 10:58:49 -0400

When West Point sent me home because they didn't like my eyes after Beast Barracks, I started college. Then I pulled a draft number of 2. So I went down to the Navy Reserve and took their test. Apparently the score qualified for "Radarman" which was in the hurt locker for manning. So I guess it chose me. During A School, they changed the name to Operations Specialist, OS, or as we quickly named "Oh Shitter". They also cross trained me in Electronic Warfare, EW. Found out later that saving the ship's bacon meant you got even less sleep.

I shifted off active to reserve because I wanted to finish college and did so with an engineering degree. At that point I liked the notion of going back active and the Civil Engineer Corps was the ticket.

Response by SPC Clifton Peacock made Jun 17 at 2015 11:34 AM

SPC Clifton Peacock — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 11:34:36 -0400

Chose 19K because a close friend of mine's roommate had just come off 5 yrs as a tanker and couldn't stop talking about it. I walked into the recruiter's office with the mindset that I already wanted to join and when I was at MEPS, it was one of the many MOS's offered to me.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Jun 17 at 2015 12:26 PM

SrA Matthew Knight — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 12:26:06 -0400

I have to say specifically that I really didn't want the job I am in, however I did put it on my list so I will just use my reasoning for that. I threw weather on my list because I enjoy severe weather/thunderstorms and the likes. Although I am not a huge fan of forecasting as a job I do appreciate the knowledge I have received on how and why storms develop and what to look for that could indicate a storm becoming severe as it will help me regardless of what I do outside of the Air Force.

Response by SCPO David W McDonald, MS, LPC, CACIII made Jan 21 at 2016 10:16 AM

SCPO David W McDonald, MS, LPC, CACIII — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 10:16:54 -0500

Hey Senior Which CV 's did you serve in?