When I went shopping at recruiters- I already knew I wasn't Gung-Ho enough to be a Marine.
Army- We can get you anything you want in Combat arms- and a HUGE signing bonus.
Me- What about the Corp of Engineers?
Army- HUGE signing bonus- Combat arms!
Me- Ummmm, no...........
Air Force- (this was early 80's) Basic training DORMS!!!!!
Me- What about Red Horse?
AF- DORMS! Look at what they put you in in the Army and Marines-> shows pics of WWII barracks<- and they have A/C!
Me- What about Red Horse?
AF- Dorms!!!one!!!!
Navy-
Me- I want to be a Builder.
Navy- a what?
Me- Builder, a SeaBee. My grandfather was one in WWII.
Navy- Ohhhhh.............
Here, take this sample ASVAB and see what you can do.
(This was about 2 years after I graduated as a mediocre student because I didn't apply myself)
Me- Here ya go.
Navy- Lets get you scheduled to go to Chicago for MEPS and take the real one.
Me- But........ I'm not sure about enlisting right now.
Navy- You're not obligated to anything, the real test will let us officially offer you jobs.
Me- >bus ride down to Chi-town and then a crappy hotel before being woken for the bus ride to MEPS and a. LOT. of. waiting. then bus ride back<
Navy- Good news. you got an 87 and we can offer you a lot of jobs.
Your choice- Nuke, Radar Direction Finder (GM+) some kind of Airedale or CE.
Me- But I want to be a Builder.
Navy- Dude, you scored too high, there's a lot of openings for CE and better advancement. Besides, they're still Seabees.
Me- Okay >did the MEPS thing again and off to Great Mistakes in a MLB sponsored company<
23 Comments
One of the best Lieutenants (Aviator type) I ever worked for once said, "All I ever wanted to be was a fuckin' Bosun's Mate."
ReplyDelete"Dude, you scored too high" sounds all too familiar. If I had it all to do over, I might make a point of scoring lower, so I could get the positions I actually wanted, instead of the ones they wanted me to take. Would have been less lucrative but probably happier.
ReplyDeleteYour Army recruiter was an idiot. Engineers are combat arms.
ReplyDeleteDamn right, and in the eighties the Army was just starting programs like up or out, positive MOS and handing out enlistment bonus like Christmas candy!
DeleteI did hometown recruiting duty right next door to the Navy office, they had crap to offer compared to us. We constantly stole their recruits and we didn't even try. We just played chess! Play chess, drink joe, order bagels, sign up em up!
And don't even try the intelligence angle, the US Army and the Air Force were tied with the highest ASVAB scores for admittance with the Navy second and the US Marines last!
I pulled in one the highest ASVAB scores ever recorded in the State of Florida, they wanted to send me intelligence.
I said Tanks, please.
They said how about you sign for six, we send you to USC for four on us and we'll make you an interpreter?
I said tanks please.
I signed up as a 19k1 M1 Tread head got to MEPS, they said sorry, all sold out how about a nice job in something technical? I left, right on my DEP date.
My recruiter said you will stand by the agreement, he's a treadhead or he's a civilian. Back to MEPS I went and shipped out to Ft Knox as a 19K1 with a skeeter wing on my sleeve!
Long story short the Army is bigger than all branches combined and as such you can not match their potential for advancement.
And as far as building goes?
Yeah the tallest locks in the world along the Tenn-Tom were all built along with that entire waterway system by the US Army Corps of Engineers, a domestic engineering feat that still has no equal.
So yeah Angus, his Army recruiter was an idiot, the OP should have gone mean green!
Same thing happened to me with the Navy - - I scored so high on the ASVAB that they immediately started talking Nuclear Power and made me take a test for it - - which I blew off, as I didn't wish to work near a reactor. They also made me take a Morse Code test, which drove me crazy - - I didn't want to copy code for a career. I settled for CTO - - the equivalent of Radioman with a much higher security clearance.
ReplyDeleteI was a mechanic for years. Kept trying to get a service writers position. I always got "you're far too valuable for me to take you off the line. Maybe in a few months if we can find some more mechanics."
ReplyDeleteAnd when I would tender my notice they would ALWAYS act surprised that I was leaving.
99% of managers are too stupid to pour piss out of a boot
Me: (Terrible student but scored high on ASVAB) Wanted USN Nuclear Machinist Mate. Qualified and enlisted for 6 with a guaranteed A School. During Basic got called aside one day to go meet with some detailer type.
ReplyDeleteDetailer: Bad news, you're color blind.
Me: Yeah, I got that news a long time ago. Your point?
Detailer: Well, for MM A School you're required to have normal color perception.
Me: I have a guarantee.
Detailer: Hmmm, so you do. Well you muster out then, go home, today.
Me: I may muster out but I'll be dipped if I go home. What else you got?
Detailer: Well there's only 2 rates that don't require normal color perception. Journalist and Data Processing Technician.
Me: Journawhat?
Detailer: DP it is then. Go back to your Company and we'll see if we can get you that A school.
They did and I took it. They knocked a year off my hitch and off I went to NTC San Diego to be a janitor for a few weeks before a spot opened up in a class. Did my 5 and left, never to work in the computer field again.
I'm actually kind of surprised they took that year off.
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