I know that this probably isn't the right place to ask questions but I'll ask anyway. I'm 20 years old and have less than 6 months left until I graduate college with an associates degree in HVAC ( heating and air). I've done some research and from what I have seen they offer several things I'm interested in ( hand to hand combat, survival training , weapons training, just to name a few) I was just wondering if I may ask ( without being rude) that if you served in the military( first off thank you for your service) would you be willing to give me any advise? Thank you for reading my post and thank you for any and all answers.

Are you wanting to go officer or enlisted?

Honestly I didn't know I had any option besides enlisted.

First of all, the Armed Forces are not for everybody. As a former Non-Commissioned Officer I can speak to your situation by stating this; Beyond what a recruiter may be telling you, you need to talk to a large number of former and/or current service members to build your own opinions before making a decision that will change the course of your life.

Keep in mind, the purpose of any Army is to train and develop soldiers to fight in wars. Period.

Think about what that might entail before moving forward.

Good Luck.

Sound advise. I work at a gas station and feed store and among the customers I've met that were veterans ( National Guard, Army, Marines, Air Force) I can only recall two that told me not to do it. The others said they never regret going into the service. Alot of my friends are in the NG and most of them love it. I recently asked one what basic was like and he basically said "it's hard but I would do it all over again". I'm thinking Army because I want full survival and hand to hand training.

With a 2 yr degree, you don't have any option but enlisted. With a 4 yr Bachelor's degree, you could become an officer. I served 26.5 yrs, and the military of today is not the military I joined 30 yrs ago. Talk to as many people as you can before making a decision. Good luck!

Things have changed since I signed up back in 1979. I was going to suggest that he get his 4 year degree and go OCS. But that is not for everyone either.

.......and here is why;

"because I want"

I Served for 10 years in the Marines. I left post 9/11

My suggestion is to take the ASVAB online and see what kind of overall score you get. Based on that it will tell you what you are qualified (brain wise) to do. This will help make an informed decision. You can look at the different careers they have and pick one based on the scores you got. I will tell you that All Marines are trained for combat, and learn hand to hand. The same isn't always true for other branches. I started as a Grunt and then moved into communications, but still spent most of my time with infantry. I was able to use those skills to get a job after i left in something that allows me to live comfortably. I went to college and now am very happy with my life. Find something that interests you, something that you could do afterwards.. Then while you are in make sure and finish your degree, but make sure it's in something that will support your family. Make a plan on where you want to be, find the steps that will help you get there, and do it.

Each Branch has it's specialty. There is a lot of overlap in jobs, but lets just say that there is a world of difference between a NG guy that shows up one weekend a month and plays soldier for the weekend, and someone that is a Grunt and does it every day.

If you want to roll in the mud, shoot things, and go to schools like survival, then NG is not it.
The Airforce is more of a life style. They do what they do well and have a large budget, but they act more like a job then a commitment.

I loved the time in the service, i don't regret it. I learned a lot.. I am not sure that i would join with the current president. It's just flat dangerous and undervalued. I have friends that are getting ready to retire, and tell me that they are just handcuffed and left out to hang before being able to defend themselves.

What most vets don't openly tell you is that WAR, is an ugly place, it's full of very ugly things that change you. It's something that most vets will tell you to not seek out and to avoid.
It has taken me years to come back from it. I have heard the sounds of gunfire in anger and run towards the sounds of it.. It's not something to seek out.

I will also share that I was a Marine hand to hand Black belt with red stripe, It's dangerous and you have to suppress it and in the few times that i wasn't able to just walk away from a situation, I had to be very careful to not just slide into habbits and training.
I attended 2 weeks of Jungle survival, Cold Weather survival, mountain, and desert survival schools. I also attended advanced cold weather training in Barrow Alaska with the Inuet (sp)
I would do all of those schools again before i would do SERE again. I took the advance SERE and will tell you that 4 years of college was a breeze compaired to 9 weeks of boot camp. Boot camp was a cake walk compaired to Combat school, and All ten years and all of the training was easy compaired to the two weeks of SERE school. Lets just say that the two times i was water boarded was a breeze compaired to what other things they have in there.

I'm Air Force and have been in 19 years, will retire next year. The Air Force has civil engineers, and in your case, HVAC technicians that take care of the HVAC on base and deployed locations. With your prior experience, I could see you excelling in that career field.

[quote=hunter22mag]I know that this probably isn't the right place to ask questions but I'll ask anyway. I'm 20 years old and have less than 6 months left until I graduate college with an associates degree in HVAC ( heating and air). I've done some research and from what I have seen they offer several things I'm interested in ( hand to hand combat, survival training , weapons training, just to name a few) I was just wondering if I may ask ( without being rude) that if you served in the military( first off thank you for your service) would you be willing to give me any advise? Thank you for reading my post and thank you for any and al


The training you are "seeking" won't do you much good on your journey through life. But the military experience will teach you a lot about all the different walks of life in a short period of time compared to your life journey. I received the training you are looking for and I would have to say looking back that I am glad I went in the Army and had the experience but sure wish I would have done something different. Combat and war are not fun and not as glamorous as they have been made out to be. There is a lot of hard work and personal sacrifice but in the end it will teach you a lot about people and make you a stronger person.
For feeding a family, providing them security,taking care of them, giving them & you a better life you would be better off with HVAC. It will provide you with more financial gains than the military would.
You are only 20 years old so if you are thinking of the military now is the time to do it. Enlist for three years after you graduate...get the training you think you want, and if you don't like it get out and pursue your HVAC career. Your military experience should help you obtain employment and may open up some opportunities for you. Another plus for the military is the fact you can retire at a lot earlier age than working on the outside. I am sure you could also get into HVAC in the military if you wanted to.
I wish you the best in whatever you decide and hope that if you choose the military you go into it with a open mind willing to learn because believe me...it isn't for everyone!!!
US ARmy 1968-1971

I joined the Army not knowing what I wanted to do. I just wanted to get away from the neighborhood, no jobs, etc. and see what was out there. That was back in 1971, fresh out of high school and during Viet Nam. I had many MOS over the years and when I decided to leave and start a family, the counselor told me there was no civilian application for my set of skills.
Know what it is you want before going. The Army will teach you just enough hand-to-hand combat to get your a$$ kicked in a bar fight. I've studied martial arts for over 40 years now so I know. Survival schools? Get a Boy Scout handbook from the 1950's and teach yourself. If you're on this forum, you probably know enough about hunting to feed yourself in the wilderness already. There is good money to be made in HVAC and you may even start your own company after awhile.
If you are serious, get in to the best physical shape you can but do not drop your BF% below 15-18%, run 2 miles for time, lots of pushups/pullups/situps and then think Airborne, not Special Forces. Airborne will be easier, then Ranger school and after reaching e-5, look at Special Forces if you think that's what you want to do. Martial arts are taught on most every base and after hours.
Be ready to take a lot of crap but when you graduate from training, you will look back and think you would do it all over again.
US Army 1971-85

Jump Instructor; Today we will be jumping at an altitude of 5500 feet.
Me; Uh, sir...wouldn't it be faster if we jumped at, say 500 feet?
Jump Instructor; You idiot! At 500 feet, your parachute will have barely enough time to fully deploy!
Me: Ohhhhhh, I didn't know we were going to have parachutes.

You really need to do a serious and very honest self evaluation, as well as possibly a series of career aptitude tests before making that decision...

If you don't mind putting your self (and daily life) totally in the hands of others in authority, considering that you may not always think their decisions are either fair, or safe, then you might be a good candidate for the military...As stated before, the military today is not what it used to be, some of the standards seem to have dropped a little to accommodate different types of applicants...

I'm certainly not 'anti-military', but have dealt with many that were sold down a somewhat 'primrose path' as to what they would encounter prior to enlistment, only to find out that they were blatantly lied to by the recruiter in an effort to boost his/her numbers, and once you are in, you are in for better or worse...Just like a marriage...

If you would like to talk in depth about your expectations and get a realistic idea of what it will be like feel free to pm me your contact info and we can talk about it. It is not a decision to take lightly. But I am one of the ones that can tell you I do not regret one second of it.

I'm active duty Air Force with almost 18 years, retiring right at 20 years and not a minute later. As most have already said the military has changed a lot over the years, regardless of which branch of service. I started out with my first 12 years in vehicle maintenance, specifically heavy equipment and flightline vehicles. The last 4 years of that I was an instructor at the vehicle mechanic tech school. Then I was told too many of my rank in that career field, so pick another job with a shortage or take a hike. I cross trained into education and training, which basically traded my tool box for a desk and computer. Now I run the aircraft maintenance training center on Joint Base Charleston in SC. I did 2 years on an Army base in Italy and 4 years on a Navy base so I have a little bit to compare to, as well as many friends and relatives in other branches.

I don't know you obviously, so without knowing your aptitude and long term goals it's hard to recommend a branch that fits you well. So...from my own life experiences of been there done that and looking back on a lot of things, here is my recommendation. Sign up for the AF and do 4 years, period. You will get the post 9/11 GI Bill, veterans preference the rest of your life, tuition assistance while you're in, invaluable life experience and when you are done you will only be 25, which is still young. Get a "job" in the military that relates to what you are good at and want to do...HVAC. Pick up hand to hand combat and survival as a hobby...so you can turn it off and on when you want. When you do it as a job day in and day out, it will lose it's luster and what will you do with that when you get out? Get a job and skill that will pay your bills and support a family when those priorities in your life change and evolve. Right now you "want" to do combat and survival, but when you are 40 and raising a family you will have different "needs". As previously mentioned, HVAC falls under the Civil Engineer Squadron (CE). CE is a great unit to be a part of...they have a good time and just kind of do their own thing...somewhat of the "rogue" unit on base sometimes.

My own priorities changed over the years between when I joined and now. For about the first 13 years I drank too much and chased easy women, lived through things I probably shouldn't have and had too much fun for one guy...I wouldn't change any of it. Once I got my head screwed on straight, my priorities changed. The military has paid for my bachelor's degree in human resources and is now paying for my master's degree that will be done when I retire. I transferred my post 9/11 GI bill to my wife and we didn't pay for anything but books for her master's AND doctorate in nursing...I won't have to worry about it in 2 years when I retire....all done and paid for. The new GI Bill can be transferred to your dependents, spouse OR kids...so when you do have kids and 20 years down the road you are looking at paying for their college...that check to the college from the GI Bill instead of your bank account will make that 4 years VERY well worth it.

Also as previously mentioned, talk to as many people with first hand knowledge and experience that you can. Most of your recruiters are great people, some just happen to be in a spot where they have to meet quotas and work for leadership that is non-flexible..."meet your numbers or else". I was lucky to have a great recruiter that gave me straight answers and honest expectations, quite a few others haven't been so lucky. If you were close enough you could come to work with me for a few days and I would take you around base to show you as many different jobs as possible...folks are quite often surprised at how many different jobs or careers are involved base wide. How far are you from Little Rock?...I may have a couple friends still there that could do that for you.

I could fill this whole page on pros and cons, do this or do that, and even contradict myself on it 10 times in the process. If you have any other specific questions feel free to ask all you want or send me a pm.

I spent 24 years in service First with the US Navy and then switched over to the US Army. (Ex-wife didn't want me to go back overseas), anyway I have seen and worked with ever branch of service and I can tell you form experience that the army will not get you the training you want. I have 2 kids in service right now both in the Air Force. I push for the air force for one they take better care of their people and you can get more training that be of more use in civilian life if you decide to get out.
I always tell someone to go in for 4 years and in that 4 years you take advantage of everything uncle sam has to offer. Get the GI Bill and any college you can on his dime and then if you decide to get out you are set with good job training and some schooling as well as being able to go back to school if you want to. But if you decide to stay in you reenlist for another 4 only.
anyone who says they are going to go in and do the 20 and retire are fooling themselves because 9 out of 10 times they will hate the first 4 and then want out and not do anything to secure themselves a good future. take advantage of everything in the first 4 years and like I said if you decide to stay in just keep doing it. also remember that in the first 10 years or until you make E5 you can change your MOS. But like others have also said if you have the training and schooling in HVAC I would continue in that field and get as much training as the military can give you. Its a good field to learn for a civilian career later on. Good luck

I would suggest if you do go into the Military do something that would help your career if you get out. You might not want to do the long haul but the technical jobs that military has will help you in the long run. I honestly would not worry about the survival schools (SERE), airborne, air assault, Ranger etc unless you pick a job that will need it such as infantry. I look at it like this. The government invests A LOT of money in you why do it on something you can switch over. Now I understand if you have to deep desire, need, morale capacity to want to do infantry, cav scout, artillery etc but just to did because you don't know... Nah you will probably hate your life. I say if not active duty go Reserves it will help pay for more college. It is currently paying for my Engineering degree.

I was enlisted for 12 years before getting my degree and commission. If you want to join the "New Military" I would recommend continuing your education and get a commission? Being in charge of a company shows future employers your managerial skills and that will take you places and get you jobs that you wouldn't ordinarily get from being a grunt. I know........done both, got the scars.

The army has very many opportunities that most don't ever even consider that can really give you a let up in the civilian world. You can look up some of the cool 35 series jobs. Those seem to be in high demand

I got out a few years ago on a medical retirement i fought for a long time. I should have been forced to retired for medical reasons but i fought it do to all the schools as ASI I had the Army agreed to just recluse me it was in a job I hated the put a guy who could barely spell my name and had memory problem in an office after 14yrs in line units. I can say the army I left was not the one i joined, and they know this that is whay they are cutting back. they dont need every all the bodies that the needed to keep up op tempo in theater 2 my of neighbors were forced to retire at 17 years if your going to go in go for something in the signal corp it was my last duty station I worked in an office on a training base some of the soldier wold get kicked out befor they graduated because the had job offers while they were in school There schooling was close to a year or longer the worked with the satellites systems these coppery wold send head hunter to hang out were the students hung out and they would poach them with large incomes and sign bonuses my first 14yrs in the army despite all the schools i had I never got to work in those filled there were just quificitions and schools that looked good in paper just because you go airborne does not mean you will ever be in an airborne unit it or air assault ranger school you will ever be a ranger its just a reciting tool. They say if you sign we will send you to airborne school you get 5 jump something to wear on your uniform and that it. I am 4th generation Army I served in Iraq 2 times for almost 3yrs I came home with a few metals Managed to survive 7 IED in an unarmed HMMVE for my efforts I receive 100% disability a few purple hearts and a few others afused spine 7 pinched nerves in my lower back sever joint problems from my ankle to my shoulder lost a large chunk of my memory have almost no short term memory suffer night mares every night can hardly walk most days Lost all the soldiers I started off with except 1 I am on 2 different morphine long and short actingot to mention a fentynol patch not to mention the muscle relaxants for the spasms the bring me to tears they are sill pulling shrapnel out of my back and neck suffered a skull fracture Burns on my neck and back it took me almost 6 yrs to get to this point in my reading writing and grammar as you can tell it is horrible i have a pice of a bullet loged agents my spine pushing on nervs that cant be removed Despite being all tore up and usless by my 35th birdie I would do it all over agin what makes the Army or another Branch of service good or bad is your leader ship and the guys you in your squad and Platoon. as stated earlier its not for every one, it has to be something you want to do if you are on the fence it may not be for you all the schools listed above the odds of you doing them is slim unless you have it in your contract or you are just lucky to get stationed with the airborne units or air assault just because you go the Ranger school does not mean you will be selected to go to a ranger unite you will just have a tab and something on you d214 saying you attended. SERS forget unless your special ops or a pilot but you have to remember they Military is cutting back to options are slim guys are being forced to retire early I live Next to Ft Hood the larges military base we have; its across the street from me. My wife still works on Post. Yes i get a disability income but I cant do much do to all my injurys during my deployments. like mentions before no mater what job you pick the main purpose is to fight wars most my replacement soldier were mechanics pulled from supply or cooks so just know that going in you dont have to be in combat ares unite to end up there driving around in a sector over and over for 12 hrs if nothing happen a lot of days we were going there e18-24 hrs do to making contact being struck by IEDs waiting on EOD if you were smart you would look in to the coast guard they are pick very picky who they accept my son was excepted but after collage next year we are moving back to Thailand the cost guard lets you try the job for a bit the let you decide if you like it or not if you dont like you pick something els and try it. till you find a fit sorry for the crappy writing spelling and grammar like i said i suffered a sever head injury while in Iraq I lost a big part of my memory and i dont trust what i do remember i also have almost no or very little short term memory i can for get what i did 5 mins ago or if i get side tracked dont go off what the requited says They cant lie to you its illegal but the can and emphasis and make an job sound great and show you a high speed video of anything and make it look and sound cool thy will not always tell the whole store about a job so like said above do your research or if you were like me you just did not care you just wanted to join it wont matter what you choose one thing you need to look at is the jobs promotion rate. when I joined for
SGT and SSG the points were at the lowest they can be for those ranks after i was promoted to Staff Sargent the points maxed out an are still maxed to this day making rank means more pay but also more responsibility not only for your actions but those how serve under you

Everyone's story is a little different. I loved it when I was a private, but that's because they sent me overseas then, I got to shoot stuff and be hard as woodpecker lips. I went from pouring belts of ammunition from a 240 and generally being a gnarly [beeep] to picking up cigarette butts and helping with arms room layouts. I hated being in garrison because it always felt like my leadership was finding excuses to keep me there, normally until after the chow hall had closed, for literally no reason. Like, sitting outside waiting on formation for 4 hours every day type waiting, sweeping sidewalks over and over again to ensure they'll pass inspections that'll never happen. When I made sergeant I only got treated worse, but also had to keep privates motivated despite their higher CoC's penchant for dishing out paperwork and article 15s like candy and refusing access to the friggin chow hall you're paying for (try explaining to your soldiers they can't eat like everyone else in the battalion because your company command is doing it's THIRD LEADERS HUDDLE OF THE DAY AND IT'S 1830 HRS). Needless to say my battalion was pretty much all e7 and above ranger qualified, and would micromanage even the company FRG meetings to the point that it was mandatory that you attended and paid for the terrible lunch comprised of burnt hot dogs and assorted potato chips even if you were single. This was usually a few days after you sat through classes all day, once a month or so, to remind you not to shoot yourself in the face because you hate your life (My gosh why? I freaking love feeling like I'm 50, being treated like I'm 5, but really being 21), and not to rape people because that's bad too, m'kay? Of course this was when we were downsizing, so everyone was throwing everyone under the bus religiously just to hold on to their jobs. Get stationed in Hawai'i they said! It's mother****ing paradise they said!
As you can see, my hatred flows like the Mississippi. I had some good experiences too, don't get me wrong, but after 4 years of this, I was completely over it despite making e5 fast as [beeep]. You've got to really want it, and understand you're going to make sacrifices not just for your country but for your leaderships careers, whether you like it or not. It was worth it when I was 18, it wasn't anymore when I was 22. I wish I could paint a brighter picture, but I served while there was a Democrat in office, and I'd rather shove a wet noodle up a bobcats rear than do it again.

Lol buddy I understand your frustration. I went in in 07 during the surge. It was a crazy few years but I remember loving the army life. And deployment for w 5 months is a struggle but nothing compared to garrison life. All that being said. Before you make the same mistake I have along with most other guys I know, think hard about getting out. Especially now that we have a pro military pres. I was glad I was out for the first 2 or 3 years then it hit me that I'll never get to do anything quite like that again

*15 months

I will admit it was a journey that built a better me. I appreciate things like food, water and sleep like most civilians will never imagine. I do get bored, but I have a garden and a will to hunt that's very real, and they keep me happy. My brigade was the last to head over with full combat intent in Kunar, so the Colonel made sure we were always making someone's day worse than ours. Nothing beats The rumble of 155's after a hot tic. The guys that relieved us got pasted every time they left the wire from what I hear, they did everything we told them not to do, and paid for it. Mainly they rarely patrolled. They were all out of shape e4s and a sprinkling of pfcs. We had one e4 in our platoon, the rest were pfc and below, with e5 team leads. Discipline was handed down like the hammer blows of Thor and it showed, only a few wounded. You'll never be in control of your experience past being squared away and liked by your leadership until you are the leadership, then you've gotta be on top of your game 24/7.

welcome, and now you know. It's not something anyone can really teach you. The hard work, exhaustion, and training as hard as you can. (living by the no one drown in their own sweat theme) makes a lot more sense once you get there and spend 99% board and 1% wishing you trained more.

Glad you made it back, wish you the best.