Before I go on more, I got the idea to do this from a soldier who enlisted in a similar MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) or job as I have. I found it very insightful and reassuring of what to expect; especially given the fact that I should be following a similar path as he did. Thank PFC McGuire!
Now some of you may be wanting to ask a few questions. The main one tends to be...why?
Why....? There are so many reasons why. I could tell you that I have always wanted to serve my country, what way is better? There is also the fact that the military pays for schooling. This is a much better way to have my graduate degree paid for while I get paid to serve my country. I could also mention that the pay or intrinsic benefits are not too bad and could provide stability for my wife and I. What better way to have school paid, while serving my country and not have to worry about paying the rent? I do not have to mention that answers a deep down, testosterone-based-male-need to satisfy; shoot and blow up stuff!
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| Where else can I get paid to learn to blow a tank up with this? |
Joining the military has been something I have always wanted to do. Just about all the men in my family have served. My sister is kicking gluteus-maximus in the Air Force. The one thing that always prevented me from going in was my weight. It prevented me from getting in the ROTC program at UCF and the Air Force Academy in high school. I always kept telling myself "Hey you will lose at some point, just hang tight" or "once your done with college, the weight will be done" or "You will lose it by the time your 25" . Well all of those happened , and the weight had not came off. It was not as if I was morbidly obese or anything, but it was enough weight that I could not excuse as water weight.
Stardate: Jan. 1st 2010
Not as a New Years resolution, those never work, but as a commitment to myself and still fresh bride, I vowed to lose the weight to get from 245-250 lbs to 200-195lbs by the May of 2010. If you know me, I did acheive this!
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| This is before, not to mention before Thanksgiving & Christmas |
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| This is after, right around the time I had reached my goal. |
Having finally reached my goal, I started looking at joining the Air Force. Mainly I wanted to apply for Officer Training School. However, upon inquiring, I was informed that they just canceled the next two boards (basically an interview) and would not see anymore for about 8 months...maybe. I guess the combination of the current adminstration views of seeing a smaller military force and a bad economy has created a stagnant recruiting need. Being an equal opprotunity future service men, I spoke with the guys at the Army. I know the Army the best because of tenure in JROTC in high school, and have a bunch of friends who were in and love it. They offered more guarantees then the Air Force could. So I started doing more research into the Army life. There were differences that I could live with for a while. I found out that I could transfer to the Air Force should I dislike my time in the Army too much.
Upon starting the application process for Army OCS, Officer Candidate School, I found out that I was way behind the fitness performance requirements of what was needed to be approved for entrance. Upon more digging, I found out that I could get a guaranteed job as an enlistee and as an E-4 or Specialist. I have always wanted to learn more about computers and networking and would be able to get some really great certifications by doing this. I could also apply for OCS later down the line. This would give me the experience as a guy at the bottom and understand what they go through. I decided that I would take the leap and enlist and get my military career started!
HOOAH!
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