I'm curious about military recruitment

In My Humble Opinion
1

From reading this thread in the Pit, I’m curious about military recruitment, specifically for the American Forces. Although other countries are more than welcome.

I would like to know the specifics from walking through the door of the recruitment office, to finally leaving for service.

I have recently went through recruitment for the Candain Forces and the two processes sound very different. So I’m curious to see what it’s like for the American Forces.

I’m am relatively ignorant about military matters, having recently learned the difference between a officer and regular recruit, so please keep that in mind. And my apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.

2

I enlisted in the Navy a couple years ago. I’d taken the ASVAB in highschool and scored… something up there, anyway. The Navy talked to me back then, but I decided to give college a whirl. After a few years of that I was just getting tired of paying an ever increasing amount of tuition for an ever decreasing return on that investment. I went down to see the recruiter about taking the ASVAB on a Monday, took it on Tuesday, had the medical screening at the local MEPS on Thursday, and had signed a good chunk of my life away by the end of the week. Since they have to regulate the class sizes further down the training pipeline for the particular job I wanted, I got put into the Delayed Enlistment Program for about 7 months. Basically, I had to go spend one weekend a month at a DEP meeting hanging out with my recruiter and some other local kids waiting to go to bootcamp (all forces, though, not just Navy).

The pit thread is pretty accurate as far as recruiters not telling you a lot of things. If the recruiter gets you on the bus to bootcamp, this qualifies as a sucessful recruitment. If some dirty secret the recruiter told you not to worry about comes back to bite you, well, that’s not his problem. His job is to tell you what you want to hear. Unless it’s told to you in writing, though, it never, ever, happened. Get copies of all paperwork to keep for yourself if possible. Once you’re at bootcamp, though, just keep your head down and do what you’re supposed to do. They’ve already got you, it’s too late.

If you didn’t know the difference between Officer and Enlisted, they surely won’t tell you about it. If you score well on the ASVAB, you may want to ask about seeing an officer recruiter. If the primary reason you’re joining the military is the “money for college” angle, DEFINITELY talk to an officer recruiter. The military will pay to send you to college, before you serve, at which point you come in as an officer and get paid way way more money. Don’t screw up in college, because they will expect you to pay them back, one way or another.

All things considered, I didn’t really have a bad experience with my recruiter. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories, though. Keep on your toes.

3

My binary brother-in-arms has it right, really. I spent a lot of time in the DEP. And yes, so long as you get on the bus, it’s a successful recruitment. I remember seeing a Jehova’s Witness back in basic. His recruiter told him he wouldn’t have to carry a weapon or salute the flag. Needless to say, he went home with a quickness.

4

That’s pretty interesting. From what I’ve read here, it sounds pretty risky.

I’m going for the Canadian Forces, being Canadian. I’ve accepted a position, actually. I’m just a little concerned about the misleading stuff, and wondering if I’ll experience the same.

I’ll tell you about my recruiting experience.

I went to the recruiting office last summer, as a promise to my cousin. Once there, they had be watch a video on Basic Training. That was a good video. It’s what made me fill an application. It was real; in that it showed regular people going through it, and the difficulties they had. They didn’t glorify boot camp.

Anyway, after that I talked with a recruiter. We sat down at a table where they have a sheet with all the positions that are currently available. On the wall they have a rack with descriptions of the positions and where the training will be done. Once I picked the trade I was interested in he explained the application to me.

For the application you need the usual, name, address etc. Then I had to do a physical fitness test, on my own, stating my results. Then I needed two references, a ten year history, and a security check form. That security form was basically origin of birth and citizenship information.

Once I handed those in they made an appointment for a apptitude test and a physical fitness test. I passed both, and qualified for any job on the apptitude test. They didn’t give us the results back from that. After that they made an appointment for a medical physical test, where they physically checked me over. I had some issues there, so that took a month to clear up.

Once that was cleared up they made an appointment for an interview. It was to be treated like a job interview. I was nervous for that. There they checked to see if I knew what my trade would be and my knowledge of the Canadian Forces. They also asked about any issues I may have had with other people, meaning racism, or problems with homosexuals etc. At the end of that he told me I had passed and that it was a matter of waiting for the call.

They didn’t pressure me too much. There are trades where they need people, but after I told them I wasn’t interested they didn’t press it. The trade I wanted was open when I initially went down, but was closed by the time I had finished to process. The last time they had openings was three years ago, so I settled in for a wait.

I got a call about a month ago, to redo my physical fitness test. On the phone I was told they wanted to clear it up for year end. Less than a week later I got the call. I swear in on April 21, after that I’m on leave without pay until the first weekend of May when I leave for Basic. Basic starts on May 4.

I fully intend to go through with it. I know the armed forces are different between our countries, yet I’m worried about being jerked around and not getting the position I applied for. I’ll find out for sure on the 21. I don’t think there will be a problem because they told me on the phone that I had that job, and what uniform I would be wearing.

Anyway, that’s been my experience for the CF. I really hope there isn’t any problems.