Any army reserve guys here?

[Redfox]

I am considering on going into the Army reserve. I wanted to know more about it from people who may have been there or had a first hand experience. Recruiters tell you what they need to to get you to join, and I want a civilian's view on being in the reserve or what its all about.
Would the army reserve pay for me to go to automotive school even though I am a female? I am interested in any and all feedback on this.

Thanks

[Mr. Burns]

IBTL page 1 FIRST.

[Redfox]

IBTL page 1 FIRST.

:( I am being serious. I want to start a career that I enjoy and am happy with.

[mr.vang]

you should just be a stay home mom,, i kid kid...on a serious note, my cousin joined the Navy right after HS, He was there for 2 years and got mentally ill. He wanted to commit suicide so they pull him out. Now he is a happier person and attending a state school.

[mr.vang]

on the other hand, my first cousin joined to the Army 10 years ago and now he is a recruiter. he brings in close to 5G a month doing so.

[decay]

as a reservist, i was on active duty almost half of the time out of a 6-year stint. that's about the same optempo the active guys have, deployment-wise.

employers may give you lip service about "supporting the troops", but they still won't want to hire anyone who may deploy, this makes job hunting in between training/deployments less than fun.

this was especially true for me, as i found out about my iraq orders on my very first drill weekend after finishing AIT. (this was in 2007; that's less likely to happen to you now/next year).

if you're talking to one of the recruiters who's in an office at the local strip-mall or whatever, yeah, that's the wrong guy. find your local reserve/guard unit- there will be a recruiter there- that guy's job is mostly retaining currently-enlisted troops, rather than fishing for new ones. you'll be more likely to get something resembling truth/reality that way, and you can ask if the two of you can speak with the Readiness NCO to see if/what jobs are available at that unit.

but really, the times i thought "jfc i shoulda just gone active duty" were more than i could count on one hand.

[Redfox]

on the other man, my first cousin joined to the Army 10 years ago and now he is a recruiter. he brings in close to 5G a month doing so.

I'm sorry to hear about your cousin. I wouldn't want to be all out in the army, and I figured that the reserve would be a little easier since it's 6 weeks of boot camp and then one weekend a month. I was hoping for an easy way to pay for school, and I figure I would have a better shot learning to become something in the auto mechanic field if I went through the military to do it. I suppose I could check out vocational schools here, though I don't have the money to pay for that right now. My family is refusing to help with me going to school for anything automotive related as it's "unbecoming" of a female and "no daughter of mine is going to be a grease monkey" said mom.

I'm just trying to figure my options out at this point. I'm 20 years old and want to start a career, start saving for a home, etc etc at this point.

[BustaRhymes325i]

i did air national guard for 6 yrs, just got out in sept 2011. though i never deployed, it was an enormous pain in the ass to blow alot of your weekends going to drill.

i would say go active duty or don't go at all. leading a civilian life and military life at the same time is probably really difficult for someone who deploys alot. (you, if you were to join the army)

[decay]

6 weeks of boot camp and then one weekend a month.

haha. no.

first off, basic was 9 weeks when i went through; last i heard it had gotten longer.

second, you'll have AIT (job-specific school) to complete after basic; most of the time you finish BCT and ship straight there. as in, your drill sergeant shakes your hand, says "good job, get on the fucking bus, PVT". 63B (light wheeled vehicle mechanic) is a short school; only 5 weeks, but you really should not count on finishing your initial-entry training in less than 3 months.

third, regarding "one weekend a month"; see what i said above about optempo.

[Redfox]

haha. no.

first off, basic was 9 weeks when i went through; last i heard it had gotten longer.

second, you'll have AIT (job-specific school) to complete after basic; most of the time you finish BCT and ship straight there. as in, your drill sergeant shakes your hand, says "good job, get on the fucking bus, PVT". 63B (light wheeled vehicle mechanic) is a short school; only 5 weeks, but you really should not count on finishing your initial-entry training in less than 3 months.

third, regarding "one weekend a month"; see what i said above about optempo.

That's odd, since someone I know had told me that it was 6 weeks of boot camp and she was only sent out once a month on weekends. I guess it isn't what it's all cracked up to be, but then again she wants to go active duty from this point on and I am not interested in that.

[FLYNAVY]

There isn't just one uniform schedule that Guard/ANG/Navy/USMC Reserve units all stick to. It varies from unit to unit, specialty/community, and most importantly the sort of deployment schedule your unit may or may not be part of. I know a number of folks in the Navy Reserve that do a whole lot more than a weekend a month (or longer periods but less often), and I also know people who do basically that and only that. I'm willing to bet that the different services boot camps and training syllabi probably also vary....I know it does on the commissioned side of the house. FWIW I am active duty, so I only write about what I have observed through friends/acquaintances.....take what I say or leave it as just that.

[RondoAcapriccio]

Don't go Army.

[emerson.]

This^
If your a smart person go air force reserves depending on your location. Air force takes better care of there troops and when you do get deployed its usually in a better, more cosh location.. depending on what you want to do job wise, if its more technical, then air force is better because more time is spent on training, which in turn means more active duty time.. I enlisted Oct. 2010.. I left for basic in January, from January to September I was on active duty orders. Then from Oct 2011 to Oct. 2012 I was on active duty orders doin a program the reserves has called seasonal training, (basically on the job training). I've gone on several one week deployments to go fix a broken plane in different countries and this time next year will be on a deployment to turkey for 4 months.
Been enlisted for 2years and 2months, all but 3 months have been active duty lol

[Regnar75]

my two cents. im currently active duty in the army living in savannah GA which is amazing and i couldnt be happier. i dont take home a substantial amount of money due to my rank but job wise i love it and it doesnt hurt to have all medical and dental and such paid for. i wish i wouldve gone to college while ive been in but my unit is pretty fast paced and i wouldnt have time. a lot of units work just like a 9-5 job (maybe more of a 6-3) and have great benefits plus you can take courses at night. depending on your job will usually dictate your deployments although alot of that stuff is slowing down for big army units. Look, im not one to diss other branches of the military as they all have their strengths but to sum up your best option into "army, reserves, airforce etc" would be ignorant and most likely cause you to be unhappy with your decision. you should choose on the job and qualifications/training it gives you and not the branch as a whole (i say this because of the "dont go army" post above) i am definitely not the armys poster boy (as i hate most other members in the army) but i can say that i enjoy my job a lot. you really should look into the different jobs that each branch offers and get some first person advice on the actual jobs. im sure theres more suitable forums out there then R3V. also stop worrying about how long basic is or AIT, do what you want because you might love it not because its a shorter basic/ait. Basic training is a cake walk compared to RASP or Ranger school, never mind my training cycle. just think of the end results (being a mechanic or whatever) also after the military you can still get the GI bill to pay for college and also have previous employment (great on resumes) and also job experience working in whatever field you go for. plus the military offers 2 year contracts too, i mean...ive signed cell phone contracts longer then that. ;)

[Holland]

I'm sorry to hear about your cousin. I wouldn't want to be all out in the army, and I figured that the reserve would be a little easier since it's 6 weeks of boot camp and then one weekend a month. I was hoping for an easy way to pay for school, and I figure I would have a better shot learning to become something in the auto mechanic field if I went through the military to do it. I suppose I could check out vocational schools here, though I don't have the money to pay for that right now. My family is refusing to help with me going to school for anything automotive related as it's "unbecoming" of a female and "no daughter of mine is going to be a grease monkey" said mom.

I'm just trying to figure my options out at this point. I'm 20 years old and want to start a career, start saving for a home, etc etc at this point.

I will say right now, if you are looking to become something like a dealership or independent mechanic, it's going to be hell. I say this not because you are a girl, but because of the long hours, minimal pay, free work, warranty work, etc.

I thought it could be a job to get into until I got in at a dealership, and saw the reality of it. Cars are mostly computers today and everything is strictly replacement. Normal people don't like paying for preventative maintenance and the amount of people willing to dump cash on accessories is low.

That's when I decided to keep fixing and modding cars as a hobby.