Greetings Ladies and Gents, this is a clan dedicated to our armed forces and armed forces veterans. The purpose of this clan is to work as a forum for military related affairs, whether it's about recruiting, military life/culture, weaponary or whatnot. Give opinions or suggestions for how you want the clan to be organized!

GROUND RULES:

1. No flaming or insulting remarks
2. Be respectful. That means keep out if you're just going to bad mouth the members or talk about baby killing.
3. This is not a penis contest. Please, don't be a dumb fanboy here.
4. This isn't really a political forum, so avoid politics. It's not about philosophy either. Think the military is evil? Great, but it has no place here. Go to the debate forum for that.
5. This clan is focused on general military affairs, so historical battles will probably be better served in their respective culture sections
   
   
   

Members:
Suijen
Tinman01
Aardvark


I'll organize these by ranks sometime.


Helpful Links:
http://usmilitary.about.com/

Tinman reporting for duty sir...
Nice rules and thank you for the consideration
I will talk about the USN to start the ball rolling.
The Navy does in fact offer quite a few opprotunities for travel. I would venture to guess more than the other branches. On one Med deployment you may see as many as 10 different countries for a week at a time if your lucky.
Standard major deployment in my day was 7 months but as long as 9 months. I hear that they have reduced the time to a max of 7 months.
Food aint too bad, health care is pretty good. Work day on average at sea is 12 hours.
Feel free to ask questions..

Hey Tinman, excluding that you have to be on call 24/7, what are the hours that soldiers usually work? Depend on MOS/CO?

I read the book Jarhead.

Is that what military life is really like?

Does U.S have conscription?

I've been thinking about joining either the USMC or Army, but I've heard about a lot of discrimination against non-whites in the military, especially against Asians. If you guys have any input on the situation, I'd like to hear it.

Working hours are varied based on job/mos. Shore based sailors often work civilian hours believe it or not. They pull a weekend duty once per month and maybe 1 duty day per week where you have to stay after hours.
No Jar head didn't reflect actual Marine corps life. It was a book written by someone disgruntled with the corp or the author had no clue. The Marine sniper is a disciplined warrior highly trained and motivated.
I knew a few and found them to be quite professional and equally stable.
Nope the US does not have a draft its all volunteer and they actually have the highest standards today than ever in our history. The Air force has the highest as far as base recruit and advancement. Discrimination in the military? Hmmmm Well it happens on occasion. When it comes out it is dealt with rather harshly.
Fact the guy in the foxhole next to you maybe the guy that saves your life... You depend on each other much more than any other job. In the military trust means everything. Its lives that are on the line including while training.
Example. I may not like Joe as a person, hell I may not like Italians in general. I am in a fire fight, do you think I have time to wonder about Italians? Nope I worry about my flank and its Joe covering it. Tomorrow I may be covering his. That's why the military steps on racism hard when it raises its ugly head.
All great questions.

How flexible is the military contract? For example, if I wanted to serve 5 years, but decided I liked it and wanted to serve another 3, can I do so?

Military rules of conduct. ( U.S. Military)
The law of the military is called the UCMJ or uniform code of military justice.
It is a no nonsence rule book. It is not plaqued with loopholes as is civilian law. I found it to be profoundly fair and understandable.
Example. No one can be compelled to commit an unlawful act or follow an unlawful order.
What that means is Pettyofficer tinman orders you to rape that civilian woman. You have the right to say no.
Further more you are expected to say no and report the violation. Harsh analogy i know.
P.O. Tinman has ordered you to help him do something that seems wrong to you. You can request explanation of said order, if you still find it to be questionable follow the chain of command. P.O tinman may be wrong or misunderstood the order himself.
The down side is there is no such thing as double jeopardy. No need for search warrants etc.

What's the difference between a marksman and a sniper? I know it has something to do with squads but I've never really known.

That is called an extension. Yes you can do it, I did it. Normally done towards the end of an enlistment.
You must have an acceptable evaluation and job history. For many there are reenlistment bonus involved. My job was 24,000 for a 5 year reup.
For you Suijen I would anticipate you as an officer. That is called a commision and those rules I am not familiar with.

^ Yeah that tends to be conveniently overlooked in the media. I know soldiers have to swear that in too. It's orders from the top brass so it's an order.

Marksman is a level of qualification..
Sniper is an MOS a job title and the skill level difference is huge. A sniper is a hunter of men... Very demanding and it takes a lot of training

for the mainland Im ready to server sir !

A marksmen deploys with his squad. Basically he's like a rifleman, but he usually carries a semi-automatic rifle designed not for stealth, but to extend the range of his squad. He's not a sniper per sé, just a guy who knows how to use a long ranged rifle very well.

A sniper deploys in the company (or higher) level. He doesn't work with a squad, and aside from a spotter, he does his objective. It might be to kill an officer, scout, etc. but he's no Rambo who goes around killing squads of men at a long distance. He usually carries a bolt action rifle, significantly slower than a marksman's rifle but more precise.

Snipers require a lot of patience and lying on his stomach doing nothing. A marksmen moves with his infantry squad.

I myself refused orders based on questionable reasons given by those issueing the order.
Thats not to say if we are facing an armed mob that is shooting at me and I am ordered to return fire that I can decline. That would be a lawful order. I would be court martialed for failing to follow a LAWFUL order.

Yeah, those soldiers who pleaded they were "following orders" (Abu Gharib) are boned.

If I'm planning on becoming a G.I., what would the be difference between the Army or Marine Corps?

btw: sorry for so many questions, but I'm seriously considering enlisting and I want to find out more before I do it.

well said.... Snipers also work with a spotter. They prefer to work on their own with just that 1 partner. They tend to be a bit anti social and dont form bonds outside of their units easily.


No need to say your sorry..
G I stands for government issue.... LOL and when you join you become gov property in a way.
The army and Marines have a different mission. Often they overlap.
Marines are first in, called by some the presidents own. The prez doesnt need to ask congress first before sending the marines into action.
The army is a bit more relaxed than the corp but still highly trained.
1 thing to remember once a marine always a marine it is a true brotherhood. Short of special forces nothing else exists like it.

Me too.

Army and Marine Corps are considered the most "combat" of the military forces.

The Marines are considered more gung ho, and their basic training reflects that. They train 13 months compared to the army's 9 months. The saying goes that all Marines are rifleman before their MOS.

Is that to say that Army soldiers are all 2nd class fighters? Not at all. If you're up to the challenge, you can apply into Army Infantry/Army Rangers/Special Forces. They're gung ho also.

Interesting enough, the Marines Corp, starting 2003, has their own special forces now: Marine Expeditionary Unit.


In general, in the Marines you will be more combat ready than an Army soldier if you both take non-combat MOS's. However, the Army has more MOS options than the Marines. If you're really gung ho, in all honesty, either branch will do.

They knew what they were doing was wrong..... They did it anyway, not only that but they were so thrilled with it that they took pictures... Dumb asses.LOL They could have said no I will not commit a crime and take it up the chain of command. They would have won. Nobody could have forced me to do what they did. What I hated most was how the chain of command melted and started pointing fingers. They disgraced themselves.
Leave spook work to the spooks.

One more thing, do recruiters overlook small felonies committed when I was a minor?

Yeah that was lame. Cover ups cause a lot of mistrust among the media.


Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you, how much combat would a soldier see, especially infantry? As much as the media portrays it?

You both need to think about something. What do you want to do after you serve??? Find a job in the services that reflects your ultimate goal. Believe it or not its not enough to just serve. You need to have an end point to it all or else you will be like wtf after 12 months. I made that mistake fortunately the Navy saved me from me and gave me a job I was born for.


I have heard that it is weeks of boredom capped off by a few minutes of frantic terror... LOL
I am sure it depends on your unit, your mos, and luck.


depends if they are on your adult record...
Airforce and navy can be hard asses

Just be honest with them and explain what you did. They might overlook it if it's not too bad.



The army doesn't really have an MOS that I plan on seeing myself in though. I do plan on using the college tuition grants after I'm done serving though. In actuality, officer positions put in decent bucks later, especially with the benefits stacked in.

But probably the military isn't a good career option for a married man right?

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divorce rate is very high. Navy like 80%
airforce is lower because it is most civilian like.
Didnt know you were married or considering it lol

^ No, it's much better to let them know that you were in that than to get caught and get booted out after. Maybe they'll be forgiving.


Tinman: Frequent leaves and frequent time away from home right?

honesty first. your recruiters will know what to do. It may hurt you for getting a security clearance though. although those files should be sealed/


30 days a year leave. you also get weekend liberties etc. depending on the branch it can be rather civilian like. Air force is most followed by the coast guard.

30 days vacation or 30 day deployments away from the base camp?

Leave = vacation
deployment = work. LOL so deployments can suck

And how often would a soldier expect to be deployed?

Normally 1 year or 18 months depends on the deployment

Damn for all this time I thought the author (Anthony Swofford) was part of the marines. I actually thought his reaccount was what military life was really like.

But I thought that in the U.S you must service your country for a set term?

Question 2: Just say you are in college and you are serving in the military then will you recieve special bonus?

So quite arbitrary and depending on circumstances.



He was, but he's unusually whiny about it.

Yeah, contracts are 8 years.

Not really, but you can apply to become a commissioned officer, which is much harder if you don't have a degree.

The miltary will give you money towards your tuition

Or pay off student loans.

How many ways are there to becoming an officer? And are there significant differences between them?

Also, if I got into the Naval Academy at the end of high school, is it still possible for me to go there if I'm at a community college right now?

LOL that too for a few years payback.


academy is by invitation or if you get a few congressmen to recommend you.
OCS= officer candidate school= most common officer
academy= the alleged cream of the crop

So what the author is a bit / is a big sissy?

he is a malcontent disgruntled idiot. his book / movie was an insult

ah ok. How is it an insult?

he portrayed them as disfunctional retards

Question I hope you dont get offended by this:
Is military life retarded?

Dammit, I should've taken that admission a little more seriously then.

NO. Its a life of commradery and trust. Discipline and duty. Its about honor, its about being a warrior, its about dedication to something bigger than yourself . The only thing retarded about it is how limp wristed reporters portray it.


never to late to try

ah ok. Damn those reporters and the media. So are you guys like one big happy family?

LOL not at all. but when it hits the fan we are a machine. The friends you make in the military are friends for life. My best friends from the navy are still my best friends today

Thanks for answering my questions tinman01 and suijen! I really appreciate it

anytime little brother anytime

There are a couple ways.

First off, go to a military academy. It's basically like college except all paid for and you serve your time in the military after.

While in college, you can apply for ROTC, in which you train in your university as a reservist of a sort and leave as an officer.

And as Tinman has mentioned, through OCS. This is for people who already have a degree.


One question that may arise is, "Do I need anything higher than a bachelors?". If you intend to get to the ranks of Major and higher, you will need a post graduate degree or something of that caliber. One of the MOSs I really liked was the Foreign Area Officer. It starts you at the rank of Major, but guess what: You need a post-graduate degree.