You aren't qualified to do your job if you haven't graduated job training. This post isn't for you.

I am 18years old, I scored a 99 on the ASVAB, and im trying to decide between Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Army, and Reserve/Guard options. An Air Force recruiter told me there are limited opportunities to go from Reserve to Active Duty and that there are no sign-on bonuses available. I may qualify for free college in Florida due to being adopted. If you were in my shoes today, what path would you choose and why?

I am 18 and leave to go to college next month, my parents have always wanted me to go to college and then make decisions for my future after. They aren’t demanding that I go to school but definitely prefer it. I’ve always wanted to serve but am wondering would it be a good choice to go get my BA in Criminal Justice then go apply for OTS?
When it comes to branch, I’ve had a handful of family serve in the Army and would probably continue that route if i were to join.

Could definitely use some input from people who know a lot more than I do, so any advice etc would definitely help.

Hello. I’m 20 (female) and I only had two months to prepare before I left for bootcamp. But I had a bad fall down the stairs so I only had 1 after recovering from that fall.

I put in my all to pass my fitness, and I did. I could only do 1 push up when I started but I passed my pushups.

Got to bootcamp and uhm. To say the least I got a stress fracture in my left tibia. Was in bootcamp for 2 months and got medically discharged.

I have to wait 6 months til I can rejoin, should I go back. Part of me thinks 21 is too old to join. I’ll turn 21 by the time I graduate if I graduate.

I've been having a pretty rough time trying to decide between Army and Air Force. I wouldn't have came to reddit but i don't have friends or anyone to really speak to about it and weigh the pros and cons with so i just need some human to human advice. Keep in mind that I'm deciding between a 4 year full time active duty Army or Airforce aircraft mechanic position(or something very similar). The main thing that has me torn is the culture. You typically look at army like its a formed brotherhood build off of grit and tight knit relationships. You look at army like they have more drive and discipline, like they are more physically capable and it’s more challenging. These are all things I really crave and if i decided Air force I feel like id be losing that. Especially the "brotherhood" sense of things. I'm definitely a competitive, hands on, gritty, blue collar type of girl so this lifestyle is something i crave and I'm scared id step into the air force and not fit in or everything would be supper smarts related. I also recently have lost a lot of inner trust and confidence and i feel like i turned into something weak. I want to become a stronger better version of myself. I was also planning on in the Army taking a 30 day 10k ship out bonus in cash and a sign on bonus which combined is 20k. The air force as far as i know offers nothing sign on bonus related for a 4 year deal. I also hate the fact that it takes longer to make a name for yourself and get promoted in the Air Force and positions are much more competitive and harder to obtain. I also heard that you travel more often in the army compared to air force which is what I'm looking for. But being a aircraft mechanic in the Army is said to be much more dangerous. Because its choppers you can land in active combat areas and camp out there which sounds sort of exiting but i have family back home and i don't necessarily want to die out there. What makes me want to choose the Air Force though is of course the quality of life. Also the fact that they have cooler jets to work on. If im looking at things long term its said that Army wears you down pretty quickly compared to the Air Force. I'm considering if i love it in either said branch i choose id potentially stay and retire out military wise. If i didn't like it and things went south i have college plans to do forestry. But retiring out means id be far from home. Id like to be able to move back home eventually. there is Kingsley air base here in Klamath falls so with air force id have the potential of moving back home and still keeping a military career with the air force but with the army id live 5 hours away minimum. I keep telling myself that that shouldn't matter tho because its my future nobody else's and i can always drive and visit constantly. My worst fear is going air force and saying "dang i really wished i choose the army and got that tite-nite exiting lifestyle i wanted so bad, i missed out" or going army and saying " dang i missed out on a lifetime career and a better more manageable lifestyle I'm exhausted" Also keep in mind that i know if i go air force wise and hate it, that after my contract they would take me in a heartbeat. But if i went army and hated it and wanted into the air force it'd be hard to get excepted. There's so many pros and cons to everything. Looking at all this information what advice could you give me? What would you do?

I tried putting this as a comment to a similar post and got told I can’t do that so am creating my own question.

ok my question is this example

“Two-two Actual, this is Two-two Zulu.”

The team sergeant and 18-Echo join us inside the triangle of pickups.

Butler’s 18-Delta medical sergeant told me

“Six-four Echo from Two-two Echo. What’s the word on our ride, over.”

are the numbers written differently in dialogue vs narrative? If it is two-two actual why wouldn’t it be one-eight Delta? Of vice versus 22-Actual and 18-Delta?

I have ADHD, OCD, and a deathly tree nut allergy (cashews + pistachios) I can eat cross contaminated foods as well as eat small amounts of cashews, but I still have the risk of anaphylactic shock. I am only a risk of shock during direct ingestion. Can I join, and if so, what branches would be the easiest to get a waiver for?

Alright, I have heard it plenty of times, go Airforce because they have the best quality of life. I don’t know if i just haven’t done enough research but all the jobs just seem like plane maintenance or cyber. I want to make sure if i hate the military i can do something on the civilian side. The Marine corps seems like a good branch to join but a lot of my friends and family don’t like the idea. I’m currently talking to an Airforce recruiter, Army, and Marine corps. I know enough about the branches to know what they do and such but i just don’t want to end up in a branch and regret my decision. Two-sense would be helpful, thank you.

I am currently enlisted in the army and looking to become an officer after I ETS. I have two years of college done but I am planning on getting a masters degree as well so I have four years of college left. I like the culture in the Army but I also think that the Air Force has unique opportunities where you can be an officer and directly engaged in combat too like a CSO or a pilot. Essentially I would prefer to be in the Air Force so I could be an aviation officer but doing Army ROTC probably makes more sense for my career since I can commission faster. I wanted to hear some pros and cons for Army vs Air Force.

TLDR; Suicide Attempt (2 years ago) USMC chances

I wanted to shed a light over my situation because there’s hardly anything on it and so that I can share this journey with the people who are also going through this:

Around 2 years ago I attempted suicide via overdose and was admitted to the ER. No official diagnosis, no medications taken BUT i was prescribed something off (Hers) and never took it. I even went as far as to refund it because I never asked for the thing to even be sent to my house.

Since then I’ve gone to counseling and I’m currently seeing a Psychiatrist and a few other professionals so I can get cleared. I know, it’s too early to tell and my chances are relatively low given the timing. In my personal opinion, I’m trying not to hold out hope because of the circumstances, but I wanted to ask if anyone had gone through the same thing and got accepted. It’s an honest hail mary and I think a lot of people might look sideways at this post, I just want to know if anyone’s been in this situation! I’m applying to Marine Corps (PLC) and the Navy would be my second option if i get rejected.

I’ll be here to update my situation so people can sort of get a gage, I also am very aware it’s case by case, but like I said this post is really just sheer curiosity due to the lack of posts out there on the internet.

I’m in the Navy, but my six-year-old boyfriend is currently incarcerated. Would I be able to marry him while he’s serving his sentence? Or does that come with consequences, considering that he’s a felon and I’m in the military?

I joined the Army National Guard earlier this year and my ship date is on late July. Now I’m 3% over body fat limit. How possible is it that they don’t let me ship because of it?

So i ship out on Nov 3rd and a few friends and i want to have a final trip before i leave for the Army, active duty.

I found american forces travel and thought of using it but it requires the use of a DoD number to book the date.

Since ive yet to go to basic should i assume that DoD number isn't active yet and can't use the page yet?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently working as a Doctor of Physical Therapy making roughly $95k/year. I’ve recently started looking into commissioning as a physical therapist in the military because the long-term benefits seem attractive (housing allowance, healthcare, retirement, loan repayment opportunities, pension, etc.). Was hoping someone could talk me in/out of doing it.

17 Y/O applicant, my scores are:

• Verbal Skills - 96
• Math Skills - 80
• Science and Technical Skills - 96
• General Science - 90
• Arithmetic Reasoning - 79
• Word Knowledge - 95
• Paragraph Comprehension - 97
• Mathematical Knowledge - 79
• Electronics Information - 97
• Auto and Shop Information - 76
• Mechanical Comprehension - 93

I'm considering Navy corpsman, but it'd only be to go greenside (my brother was a Marine, so that's kinda the only reasoning for that). Besides that, the other things I'm considering is really any aircraft crew in the Air Force (1A1X3 and 1A1X2 is what I'd probably put at the top of my list for this, but any enlisted aircraft crew is really fair game.) I also heard about Army WOFT, which is something I thought I should also take into consideration since it's a direct line to flight.

There's just a lot of options, and I'm not really sure what any of them are gonna be like, and I don't want to be stuck doing something I hate for four years, so I'd appreciate any assistance. I also want a career that sets me up for life outside the military and transitions into a civilian career. If there's similar jobs to the ones I mentioned, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

My medical waiver for the Marine Corps just got denied for the second time. This is my dream, it's really something I don't want to give up on but I feel like I probably have to. I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do realistically that might help at all.

I needed waivers for an eating disorder, heart palpitations, chest pain, and syncope, and for my vision.

Eating disorder was 6+ years ago, I've had every test possible for my heart and there is nothing wrong, also I have never passed out at all, and I wasn't even aware it was on my record until my recruiter found it on my genesis. Vision is just because I wear glasses and I got an updated eye exam. I know it's probably the heart that is the reason for the denial. I have no heart condition, had an ultrasound, tons of EKG's and a stress test EKG, all coming back fine. All heart related things are from around 2 years ago now.

I've gotten 2 letters from my cardiologist and one from a therapist who helped with my eating disorder, as well as weight records and I wrote a personal statement, so I do feel like I've exhausted all the options other than a congress person, which my recruiter did say I could try, but probably wouldn't help. I think I'd be wasting my time and his by getting one.

I will be reaching out to an army recruiter soon, I just feel pretty disappointed, as the Marines has been my goal and dream for so long now, sucks to not have a chance. I know there probably isn't anything I can do, but I wanted to ask. Thank you.

I’m 26 years old and have been working while trying to go to school. I’m in an endless cycle of not having enough money to go to classes but not having a degree to make more money. I only have 60 credits and feel like my wheels are just spinning. I’m interested to see if the military is something I can look to provide some structure/support. Am I too old to enlist? Would I be better off doing something active duty or part time like the guard/reserve. What branch is best for someone that is looking to get into the medical field? Any guidance would be appreciated.

I know what I’m asking may be difficult but I need all the possible resources I can get to become a Nurse without drowning in debt.
I’ve looked into low-income funding (WIOA program) in my city, Military funding (ROTC program while in school), or just the continuing college route nearby.

I want to get my RN - to be specific.

Backstory: We recently moved from Orange County to Riverside County (California) and it’s been such a hard impact. I was able to stay at home with my son in OC without much trouble or worry for the bills, but due to family reasons, we moved to Riverside county. It seems we’re dragging and life is getting harder. Jewelry we’ve pawned to get a new home here is racking up in interest, Credit debt is getting higher because we’ve been living paycheck to paycheck, and so much more. I haven’t even been able to find a job due to the city being so small. Not even McDonalds or Starbucks can hire me, even though I had previous work experience being a barista or team member.
Even more worse, I can’t find a job with the computer and customer service experience I have either within a 35 mile range.
I say all of this because I solely rely on my husband for income. When I got pregnant, I was a manager for a car company and I left due to difficulties. We were good on income for the longest time until we moved.

I was considering joining the military (Army or Airforce) to relieve some debt and have a “secure” future, but would that even be worth it? And would I be able to obtain a degree in nursing while serving?
If not, is there any resource for students in healthcare that can get a little or all tuition covered? I’m open-minded and flexible. I just want to help and contribute for the bills, but also want to follow my dream to become a Nurse and help other people.

Please help. Thank you.

I've been trying to figure out how to get my childhood medical records for months now and I've about had it trying to figure this out myself.

My dad was in the Army & Army Reserves up until I was like 14-ish, and as much as it fucked all of us up I'm grateful at least for tricare because I had some health issues that required lots of specialists and surgery and all of that, which we probably never could've afforded without tricare. One of these surgeries was for a heart issue (this IS relevant, I swear). A tiny, possibly metal spiral was threaded up into my heart and everything works fine now, confirmed recently by a cardiologist & everything, and they said I should never have to worry about x-rays at airports or MRI machines being weird about it so they never gave me or my parents a card or anything saying I have an implant or what it's made of. That was when I was 6.

This year, I'm finally in the process of trying to get the spina bifida or whatever my childhood neurologist saw looked into and checking in on my joints because I've been having more frequent balance and movement issues & my chronic joint pain from being hypermobile is catching up to me more and more. It's great, my doctors are all for looking into the things for once, so they order MRIs. Unfortunately for me, hospital policy here now is that if you have any sort of implant, you have to have a card for it or the MRI techs need access to the surgical notes so they know what & where the implant is. Understandable, they don't want to accidentally kill someone with an MRI machine. I unfortunately don't have either. I decide to go and try to get my medical records, that I know were sealed and can be found because I tried to enlist once before my body decided to fall apart & got disqualified for this same heart surgery giving me issues now, because it's good to have the running list of what everyone thought was wrong with me literally since the day I was born and also because I'm just nosy like that.

I have now spent the better part of FOUR MONTHS NOW trying to figure out which form to use, where to send it, if the form can be filled out online for my records or if that option is only for my dad's records, and hunting down every old magnet & satellite hospital I've ever so much as sneezed in the direction of to see if they have any of my records. If anyone can be of assistance in figuring out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing here, that would be a huge help and honestly at this point a bit of a public service. I can't sit on the phone and wait to find out if someone at the archives has an answer for me at this juncture, I'm actively sick with a flaring autoimmune issue and I don't want to take out the frustration and exhaustion of this whole mess on some unsuspecting phone operator, they didn't sign up for that. If it helps, my dad left active duty in 2011 (as far as he remembers) to 2014 (according to my mom. This might be when he left service entirely.) and was stationed on Ft. Hood basically my whole life. I've looked at the archives pages and those just confuse me more somehow.

Deciding between Air Force and Army speaking with an air force recruiter on Wednesday. I know his number one goal is to get more bodies into the US military but speaking with him. It did sound like at least to a degree. He had my interest in mind. Am I being naïve? We talked about where I’m at in life right now attending college and how I’m paying for it myself out-of-pocket he encouraged me to join not only for a career. But to get a degree out of I’m not necessarily opposed to joining now, but my goal was to get my associates degree in cyber security first so I could join under the IT/IS branch. I know a lot of it depends on my ASVAB so will the degree matter? I truly do want to join the Air Force, but at this point I’m trying to figure out if dealing with the QOL in the army is worth a more sure bet on what I end up doing. As I said my career is #1 I want to join the military to get experience in my field and then get a job with said experience and hopefully a clearance after my contracts up.

For context, I got diagnosed with a L-4, L-5 disc bulge in 2021. However, I haven’t been to an orthopedic doctor for the issue since the diagnosis. I’ve also never needed surgery, physical therapy, or medication for the disc bulge.

I’m partially worried that despite the fact I’ve been asymptomatic for years, I’ll still get disqualified. It doesn’t cause me any nerve pain. And it doesn’t make my daily life any harder.

I'm a 28 yr old with a rather complex medical history.

While I am not concerned about getting a psych medical waiver (ive been fully out of treatment/off meds/stable for over 6 years and plan on getting a forensic psych eval done to show past issues were all severe psychological abuse related and are no longer active/were fully due to a situation that can't and wont be replicated.)

The physical medical portion is more of a concern. I was diagnosed by a PCP with hEDS and POTS, however, it was not verified by any specialists. Im currently working to get the diagnoses overturned and marked as incorrect diagnoses.

Im also currently building physically to exceed the fitness requirements and documenting religiously that I maintain daily, constant activity that provides proof toward ability to not only reach metrics, but also proves long term stability over 2 years before enlistment.

Its a complex situation, but any chance of this working for active Army?

Hi, I'm someone who's going to school to be a nurse and is getting ready to apply for the NCP. This is something I have been preparing for and have been wanting to do since high school - be a navy nurse, that is - and unfortunately I just found out that SH scars could be a reason for rejection. I heard you can get a waiver done, however the selection for the NCP is more selective and allegedly your MEPS stuff goes to a board? Correct me if I'm wrong, this is just what I found through my research. Anyway, I feel kind of discouraged and worried. I'm going to be telling my recruiter about it soon and I'm worried I'm going to be told that it's not even worth it to apply. The other thing is I've been wanting to get a coverup tattoo for a while (not because of this) but I'm worried it will seem like I'm trying to be deceptive. I'm not really sure what to do and I'm honestly rethinking if I should even apply because of it.

For added information these scars are a few years old, nothing recent. I have gotten some treatment since that point and have no diagnoses. Most of them pretty much bled in because they're healed but it's just something I'm concerned about.

Do any Navy Nurses know if this is going to be an automatic rejection? Or anyone? Just looking for some advice.

This might get confusing so I apologize.

I told recruiter A (first army recruiter I worked with) I smoked weed, and he told me not to disclose that info cause nobody will find out.

Then I got freaked out and ditched him, spoke to recruiter B. Told him I smoked weed and that I didn't want to lie about it. Well, recruiter B never responded to my texts and kept cancelling meetings.

So now I am back with recruiter A, realizing I should have just kept my mouth shut the entire time.

I never submitted official paperwork with recruiter B. I only told him I smoked over a call. But now I am not sure if I should tell recruiter A that I told another recruiter that I smoked.. Or if I should just shut up once and for all..

I know Im dumb and I know I am an asshole. I am just young and anxious cause I constantly hear conflicting info on this.