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Did you serve in the military? If so, when and what service?

radcen said:
Did you serve in the military? If so, when and what service?

I served in the Army from 1982 to 1985, three year enlistment. Worked on weapon systems on Cobras. Only "war" that happened during my service was Grenada. I was in Germany at the time, we went on alert, and it was pretty much over by the time we even heard what happened.

In many ways I loved it and still miss it, but on the flip side I hated the uber bureaucratic mentality that pervades the service and for that reason I chose to not re-enlist. Did my enlistment quietly and left.

I do not have any special or heroic stories to tell. I did gain a few awards, but hell, a couple of those were for just doing my job, though I'm still proud of them nonetheless.
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Swiss Army, Quartermaster for 15 months.

Yes, it's the Swiss Army... so it's kinda ridiculous compared to what you guys did :lol:
 
US Army 2014-Present. Satellite Communications System Operator and Maintainer.
 
Cisero said:
Swiss Army, Quartermaster for 15 months.

Yes, it's the Swiss Army... so it's kinda ridiculous compared to what you guys did :lol:
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Are you still on call for life with the rifle behind the front door?
 
molten_dragon said:
No. I briefly considered joining the air force in high school, but when I did some more research and discovered what my chances of getting to fly fighters was, I decided to go to college and study aerospace engineering instead.
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Like my recruiter told me, if you want to fly planes, join the Navy ;)
 
braindrain said:
Still serving in the Army. 1st as an 11B in the 82nd and now as an 18C in 1SFG. Spent quite a few years at Ft Lewis and now out at Okinawa. While no doubt there are things I hate about the military, overall I really enjoy it. Work with some of the greatest guys who ever lived, travel all over the world and get paid to do things that most people have to pay lots of money to do. Going to be sad when it's all over to be honest.
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Since you are SF, I want to ask a question as I am considering going SF in the future (3 or 4 yrs from now): Is going to Selection worth it? I mean, I was talking to guys who were at selection and they enjoyed it and all, but then they didn't get chosen.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
Since you are SF, I want to ask a question as I am considering going SF in the future (3 or 4 yrs from now): Is going to Selection worth it? I mean, I was talking to guys who were at selection and they enjoyed it and all, but then they didn't get chosen.
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You really have to find this out for yourself. There is a navy program for people who want to join navy to become SEALS, and they all come away with different opinions of the program. I have known about a dozen of them and they were always drilling me with questions beforehand. I was a "SNIPE", so what ever I told them couldn't help much. I believe the Army selects from people already enlisted?
 
RetiredUSN said:
You really have to find this out for yourself. There is a navy program for people who want to join navy to become SEALS, and they all come away with different opinions of the program. I have known about a dozen of them and they were always drilling me with questions beforehand. I was a "SNIPE", so what ever I told them couldn't help much. I believe the Army selects from people already enlisted?
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You can go straight to SF if you qual on ASVAB and PT score.
 
Lutherf said:
You sit behind the pilot and shout "Over There!!! Over there!!!" from time to time.
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You just described my wife when we owned our own airplane. "Hey dummy the airport is OVER THERE!" :)

As for me I wanted to fly and my eyesight wasn't good enough so I went the civilian aviation route. Some days I regret not postponing my aviation training and spending some time in service.
 
We've many old timers, apparently.

A few days after units began deploying to Gulf 1, I left a swank private university enlisting with an '11x 82nd' contract. Had to take delayed enlistment (Aug-Dec) to get the unit guaranteed. The air war started while I was in basic. The ground war started and ended, a week later, while I was in jump school. No combat for me.

With only peace on the horizon (1994) I took the GI Bill/College Fund instead of Ranger school when my enlistment ended.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
You can go straight to SF if you qual on ASVAB and PT score.
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Cool. I was wondering about that.

I worked closely with the SEALS for short periods doing outboards and hull work. Great guys, but they were hell on the equipment. ;) I had many of them as neighbors over the years and still keep in contact with a few of them.

Every now and then I meet a young kid on a construction job that wants to be a SEAL. I just give them a kind smile and tell em to go for it.

They are best of the best that the Navy has to offer.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
Since you are SF, I want to ask a question as I am considering going SF in the future (3 or 4 yrs from now): Is going to Selection worth it? I mean, I was talking to guys who were at selection and they enjoyed it and all, but then they didn't get chosen.
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To me it was very worth it. Had I not been selected at SFAS I was not going to stay in the Army. I just couldn't take all the stupidness that the Army is famous for. Here that BS is kept to a minimum. Also like I said I get to do lots of things pthat other people have to pay money for. I actually have a free fall jump scheduled today if the clouds break up and Tuesday and Thursday we are on the sniper range. Next week is all shoothouse work. You will be busy and gone a lot. I have been to pretty much every country in Asia most of them multiple times and of course the trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. But if you don't mind that I think it is very worth it.
 
I didn't want to join the military, so I joined the USAF. 1977-1981. After endless schools, I spent my remaining time at Dover Country Club... errr... I mean Air Force Base as an Avionics Specialist on C5's.
 
natsb said:
I didn't want to join the military, so I joined the USAF. 1977-1981. After endless schools, I spent my remaining time at Dover Country Club... errr... I mean Air Force Base as an Avionics Specialist on C5's.
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I laughed, then got to the C5 part and thought "oh, he was not kidding about not wanting to join the military...". Well played sir!
 
USAF '80 to '93. Combat medic/SAR/ and other things. Multiple bases in TX, FL, AK, WV, VA WA, HI, UT, AZ, CA training then the field trips and government funded outings began in '83 with Grenada, then a few places in Asia, Panama, Central America, A couple places in Africa that don't exist anymore, Gulf I, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Somalia, back to Bosnia/Kosovo/Macedonia with side trips to other places we weren't actually in, and then Yes Ma'am said that was enough. My first son was born right before Gulf I and my youngest was born right before Somalia. I had given her full power of attorney and when I came home after a particularly harry mission, I found out she had filled out and submitted my ROR forms and mustered me out already. All that was left for me to do was to get the OpSec debrief and exit briefing, get cleared by medical, turn in my secret squirrel crap (that they knew about) and then wait out my mandatory leave earned from the last mission I was on.

Now you know why I call her Yes Ma'am.
 
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Mr. Invisible said:
Since you are SF, I want to ask a question as I am considering going SF in the future (3 or 4 yrs from now): Is going to Selection worth it? I mean, I was talking to guys who were at selection and they enjoyed it and all, but then they didn't get chosen.
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Speaking as someone who did Selection twice and wasn't selected, if your buddies said they enjoyed it they're probably lying about something.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Speaking as someone who did Selection twice and wasn't selected, if your buddies said they enjoyed it they're probably lying about something.
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Yeah I am glad I only had to go once. While there were parts that weren't that bad and some that I actually had fun in I for sure wouldn't say I enjoyed the whole thing overall.

If you don't mind me asking what years did you go
 
braindrain said:
Yeah I am glad I only had to go once. While there were parts that weren't that bad and some that I actually had fun in I for sure wouldn't say I enjoyed the whole thing overall.
If you don't mind me asking what years did you go
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March 06 then again in June 06. Med drop the first time for a pretty severe achilles tendinitis, the second time 24 day non-select, which wasn't particularly surprising considering I had multiple stress fractures in my feet that turned into full fractures because I knew I wouldn't get a third chance so I just pushed it. Just taking my boots on and off was excruciating. I was stupid enough to join with an 18x contract as a 17 year old, so I had several more years of grunt work to look forward to after that.

Anyway, long story short my body is definitely not built for that kind of abuse and ultimately I'm glad I didn't make it. When did you go? One thing I noticed between the two classes is that the first one was actually fairly relaxed, had a relatively fair amount of sleep per night, 4-6+ hours, and tons of people got selected. The second time was way, way worse. 80+ hours of no sleep, 3 hours if you're lucky, heavy abuse and almost nobody got selected. Really the second variant was probably the best, because just because you get selected then move your family to Bragg doesn't mean you won't be dropped at the 100 other opportunities along the Q-Course, which most are.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
March 06 then again in June 06. Med drop the first time for a pretty severe achilles tendinitis, the second time 24 day non-select, which wasn't particularly surprising considering I had multiple stress fractures in my feet that turned into full fractures because I knew I wouldn't get a third chance so I just pushed it. Just taking my boots on and off was excruciating. I was stupid enough to join with an 18x contract as a 17 year old, so I had several more years of grunt work to look forward to after that.

Anyway, long story short my body is definitely not built for that kind of abuse and ultimately I'm glad I didn't make it. When did you go? One thing I noticed between the two classes is that the first one was actually fairly relaxed, had a relatively fair amount of sleep per night, 4-6+ hours, and tons of people got selected. The second time was way, way worse. 80+ hours of no sleep, 3 hours if you're lucky, heavy abuse and almost nobody got selected. Really the second variant was probably the best, because just because you get selected then move your family to Bragg doesn't mean you won't be dropped at the 100 other opportunities along the Q-Course, which most are.
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Was selected in the fall of 06 and graduated the Q in the early spring of 08. Knowing quite a few guys who have been selection cadre through the years they all say that while how the course is run, 24 days like when I went 21 or, 17 days they say they try and maintain the same number of miles you put on your feet and spend the same number of hours doing events. They try and keep the course different to keep people from knowing exactly what to expect. They also say that every once in a while for what ever reason some classes just seem to be filled with super studs and other classes that are filled with guys that just don't belong. And you are right about the Q course. The rucks just get heavier and the movements get longer. My robin Safe ruck weighed right at 135lbs and our infil lasted a full 2 days with 99% of it on our feet walking.


Surprised you were able to get an 18X contract at 17. All of 18Xs that I know had to be at least 20 to enlist. Which I think is good as I honestly don't think the vast majority of 18 year olds are mature enough to handle this job. In fact I would prefer to do away with the 18X program altogether and if not that raise the age limit to 23-25.
 
braindrain said:
Was selected in the fall of 06 and graduated the Q in the early spring of 08. Knowing quite a few guys who have been selection cadre through the years they all say that while how the course is run, 24 days like when I went 21 or, 17 days they say they try and maintain the same number of miles you put on your feet and spend the same number of hours doing events. They try and keep the course different to keep people from knowing exactly what to expect. They also say that every once in a while for what ever reason some classes just seem to be filled with super studs and other classes that are filled with guys that just don't belong. And you are right about the Q course. The rucks just get heavier and the movements get longer. My robin Safe ruck weighed right at 135lbs and our infil lasted a full 2 days with 99% of it on our feet walking.

Surprised you were able to get an 18X contract at 17. All of 18Xs that I know had to be at least 20 to enlist. Which I think is good as I honestly don't think the vast majority of 18 year olds are mature enough to handle this job. In fact I would prefer to do away with the 18X program altogether and if not that raise the age limit to 23-25.
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I think from the soldier's viewpoint, 18x is the worst idea in the world. From the army's standpoint it's the best idea in the world. Either they get an SF soldier, or the other 99% of the time they get a 5-6 year infantryman. It's a pretty sweet deal for them, they can't lose. I also think it makes no sense because someone coming fresh off the street with no life or job experience has nothing to offer the team. When someone spends a few years in a normal MOS then switches they can at least bring something with them, even if they're a cook, mechanic, or whatever.

It took me a while to get over because I was really dedicated to it, but like I said I'm glad I didn't make it. I was stationed in Germany right after I failed out and met my wife 2 weeks later. I'm a much better engineer than I ever was a soldier. In retrospect I should've joined the AF for something super technical, but then I always would've wondered about the more adventurous side of the military and regretted it. Anyway, good luck to you.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Speaking as someone who did Selection twice and wasn't selected, if your buddies said they enjoyed it they're probably lying about something.
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braindrain said:
To me it was very worth it. Had I not been selected at SFAS I was not going to stay in the Army. I just couldn't take all the stupidness that the Army is famous for. Here that BS is kept to a minimum. Also like I said I get to do lots of things pthat other people have to pay money for. I actually have a free fall jump scheduled today if the clouds break up and Tuesday and Thursday we are on the sniper range. Next week is all shoothouse work. You will be busy and gone a lot. I have been to pretty much every country in Asia most of them multiple times and of course the trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. But if you don't mind that I think it is very worth it.
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Thanks for the info! I appreciate it :)

I'll keep what you guys said in mind.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
I think from the soldier's viewpoint, 18x is the worst idea in the world. From the army's standpoint it's the best idea in the world. Either they get an SF soldier, or the other 99% of the time they get a 5-6 year infantryman. It's a pretty sweet deal for them, they can't lose. I also think it makes no sense because someone coming fresh off the street with no life or job experience has nothing to offer the team. When someone spends a few years in a normal MOS then switches they can at least bring something with them, even if they're a cook, mechanic, or whatever.

It took me a while to get over because I was really dedicated to it, but like I said I'm glad I didn't make it. I was stationed in Germany right after I failed out and met my wife 2 weeks later. I'm a much better engineer than I ever was a soldier. In retrospect I should've joined the AF for something super technical, but then I always would've wondered about the more adventurous side of the military and regretted it. Anyway, good luck to you.
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Oh I agree it's good for the Army as a whole. Just not good for SF. At least with the age being 20+ those guys have at least some life experience and can usually bring something beneficial to a team. I have known 18Xs that before they joined were mechanics, construction formen and one who was an ER nurse so they can and do bring some outside skills. I was always told that the average age of an 18X is right around 24 or 25 so you get few who don't at least have some sort of skill.

It's definitely not a life for everyone and it's good that you are happy with how things turned out.

Take care.
 
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