Well...spent my Thursday and Friday in Chicago being tested, poked, and prodded...but I passed the ASVAB and the physical.  As of 4:30PM Friday evening I was officially sworn into the Army.  Due to ship out to Fort Jackson, South Carolina in March for basic training and then off to Fort Benning, Georgia for my AIT.  From there who knows where I might end up   Not quite my original plan, really wanted to get into the Air Force but due to financial issues and a credit score in the crapper apparently they wont take me.  So I went with my second option.  Will be doing maintenance on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.  Another job I didn't really want but due to not getting security clearance with bad credit it was the best job out of the options I had.  So a long road ahead, total enlistment is 4 years including basic and AIT.  Kinda looking forward to it but at the same time there's still that little guy on my shoulder screaming WTF DID YOU DO  

Really wanted to get into ATC...I don't understand why a bad credit score would keep someone from getting security clearances but whatever...I was joining one way or another so I took what I could get.  Now just waiting to ship out and hoping I made a good decision   Its not the fact I just signed 4 years of my life away that bothers me, its the waiting game of several months before I ship out when anything could happen, contract has been signed so there's no backing out now

A bad credit score can be looked on from two ways. Firstly with a bad credit score and a position that requires a high security clearance, the chance you could be tempted to clear that "financial issue" for a few seconds work are deemed high. Saying that, even the lowest of the lowest of the low can come across useful information. I would suspect that it is more likely that reason number two is the reason for not getting into the air force. There is such a demand for places, that it is being used as a way to filter the numbers down a bit. Where as the army seems to have (if the news is to be believed) a manning crisis. I read that they are now taking people with not so minor criminal convictions to fill the ranks. Any way on that cheery note, congratulations, and may your deployments involve minimal sand!!

Matt

One thing to consider, when you establish your good military reputation, you may well find they're willing to overlook 'civilian' blots on your record and willingly discuss career adjustments.

expat wrote on Oct 4^th, 2010 at 3:14am:


expat wrote on Oct 4^th, 2010 at 3:14am:

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Not quite true. Until you raise your right hand and swear in the day you leave for boot camp, you're not contractually obligated. Skipping out on shipping out is probably not the brightest idea, though...

  Congrats on your decision to serve your country!  I mean, you should have joined the Marines, but close enough   

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Eh...figured it wasn't a firm contract yet.  Too long between now and shipping out for anything to happen and not be able to or not want to go by then.  Plan to go through with it, only thing that could keep me from doing so is if my freak chance I land my dream job before March and its going to be long term and better pay...but I don't see that happening

Its something I've wanted to do for a number of years now, though really wanted Air Force more then anything.  Biggest thing is the benefits that come with it, not just the money, but I'll finally have the dental work done that I so desperately need but can't afford, will be able to take schooling aside from my main job...plan after AIT and I get stationed somewhere to take a course in Chinese since it would be very helpful to me.  Then when I get out finding a job should not be nearly as hard, hopefully the economy will improve by then but either way businesses around here are more likely to hire ex military before someone else.  No matter what it will benefit me a lot more then it will hurt.  Figure its only a 4 year enlistment, at the end I can go either way, stay in and make a career out of it or cut myself loose and move on with life.  Figure now is the time to do it, not tied down with a family to support and really needing to make a few changes in this road that is life.  Its still going to be hard leaving everything I know for the term but at the same time when I get back things will be so much better. 

Getting deployed is almost a guarantee...its to be expected, but hopefully the sand will be kept to a minimum when the time comes.  All I know is right now the weekly PT is going to take some getting used to, attended the first one last night and though I knew I was a little out of shape I had NO idea it was that bad   I'm just sick of the paperwork, had to go to the office again today and fill out even more pages....who knew there would be so much paperwork just to get into the military.