Sure. Right now the list includes the following:
CMF 18 - Army Special Forces
153A - Rotary Wing Pilot (Involves appointment to Warrant Officer)
38B – Civil Affairs
37F – PsyOps
31D – CID Agent
35L – Counter Intelligence Agent
35P – Cryptologic Linguist
35Q – Army Hacker/Counter Hacker
12D – Army Diver
12P – Power Plant Installation and Maintenance
51C – Contracts/Acquisitions
They have trouble filling those roles??? Or they have trouble finding qualified candidates?
Both. Depends on the job. In the case of Contracting and Aquisitions, I think it is more along the lines of nobody wants to do it. In the case of Special Forces, not enough people can pass the training. In the case of CID Agent and CounterIntel Agent, it’s that not enough people can meet the prerequisits. For Army Hacker/Cyber Warfare Specialist, I think the jury is still at. It’s a brand new MOS, so right now the problem is they are trying to fill a bunch of open positions in a brand new job. I can’t imagine that they will have difficulty finding people who meet the standards, want the job, and can handle the computer training. I mean, current enlistment bonus is something like $30,000 at a time when most jobs don’t even have a sign on bonus anymore. Plus, the Soldier will receive all kinds of computer network and ethical hacker training and certifications that directly translate to the civilian world. I don’t know why any person fresh out of high school or in college who is interested in a computer based career in Network Security or Ethical Hacking wouldn’t sign up immediately.
Hell, I have a job, and I’m a full time student, but for $30K I’m thinking about signing up.
On top of that, you can complete your degree for free and still collect FAFSA even while the Army pays for your tuition. Then, after you serve out your enlistment, you still have the GI Bill to pay for secondary education, and will even pay you for food and rent while you’re doing it. Or, instead of getting out, you can agree to stay in and collect another 30,000 to reenlist after 4 years…
Your job training is in North Florida= bonus!
Your starting pay would be $1787 - $1979 depending on how much college you have. At least a AA puts you at the lower one. At least a BA is the higher amount. If you’re married, you can add about another $1300 - $2000 a month for housing on top of that, and then about 300 bucks for food. Pay raises every year to at least match inflation, step increases, promotion opportunities, discounts at the movies…
I don’t see why this isn’t more appealing to a larger number of people.
+1 to Bear Nenno. Every Soldier gets their MOS in their MEPS contract. If they don’t give you the job you want, don’t sign the contract. That’s what I did, and it was the best choice I ever made because the recruiter looked at my scores and offered me a job that was way more awesome than the ones I was originally interested in.
But to get back to the topic, the Army does not just hand you whatever MOS it wants when you get to Basic. Doesn’t happen. As mentioned above, you CAN be re-classed as “Needs of the Army” if you fail some essential and non-waiverable training. If you flunk AIT, then it is entirely possible. Now that the Army is drawing down, some perfectly qualified Soldiers are being told their only re-enlistment option is “Needs of the Army,” because the Army is trying to reduce headcount. However, they still have the choice. I’ve never even HEARD of a Soldier getting his MOS arbitrarily swapped without a good reason.
If you do get Station of Choice as an enlistment / re-enlistment incentive, they are only sending you to a geographic area. So you could ask for “Fort Hood” but you would have no say in which Fort Hood unit you were assigned to.
I do not understand the relevance of a Vietnam-era draftee to a discussion about the modern VOLAR practices. Apples and oranges. Over the last decade, the Army went through the longest, hardest conflicts its seen since 1972, and they did it without resorting to a draft. Could it happen tomorrow? Sure. And when it does, the rules will change. But as of 6 NOV 13, the Vietnam-era draft practices are utterly irrelevant to MEPS.
31D – CID Agents are typically Warrant Officers as well, at least according to my good friend who was the battalion S6 of the CID battalion for Iraq/Afghanistan in 2008-2009.
That is correct. But to submit a Warrant Officer packet for WO CID Agent (311A), the Soldier must be already serving as an MP or CID Agent.
When I was in Basic I was given the opportunity to take a couple of tests I didn’t know existed and as a result I was offered a MI job for a substantial (for the time) bonus to change my contract. I declined. I still went to school for my original choice without repercussions. There was no hint of making me change.
Bear would know better than I since I’ve been a part time soldier for a long time now but I believe that most of the draw downs and bars to reenlistment have been self eliminated. There were enough soldiers with bad marks in their career that they didn’t have to go after soldiers with spotless records. The big downside is that someone with a mistake years ago that they thought they had gotten past suddenly found they were paying for it again. So good soldiers with one lapse in judgment found themselves out the door.