ASVAB what!?

[JustGone]

So tomorrow morning I go to take the practice ASVAB test for the Army. But while I am there I wanted to ask some more questions that I didn't think of last week. Sooo I was wondering if yall could help me out with what questions I should be asking my recruiter about the Army and what not?

 

[MyGlockRocks19]

What specifically do you want to do? From what I gather, your ASVAB score is a big determiner of what kind of jobs they'll lay out in front of you before you enlist.

GET IT IN WRITING. Everyone told me this the moment I started talking to a recruiter...they can offer you the moon, but if its not documented it doesn't count for anything. Anything from locations to training to your MOS...get it down on paper.

 

[JustGone]

I'm going for infantry, but I had a whole bunch of questions ready to ask about Army life and what he could tell me but then I forgot them all and can't seem to recall what they were! lol

Hows NC?

 

[ThrottleJockey]

If it comes from a recruiter it's a lie. Get it in writing, ask people that have no vested interest in getting you to join, and remember that even after taking the oath of service etc, you are still a free man until you graduate basic training. The ASVAB is a breeze, unless you were born with your brain on the outside of your body, you'll be fine.

 

[bulldog]

I've never heard of a practice test.The results of the test definitely determine what you will be trained for.IE if you scorre high on mechanical aptitude portion and they need mechanics, thats right you get assigned to work on vehicles, after training of course.Pray tell why do you want to serve in the Army?

 

[MyGlockRocks19]

I'm going for infantry, but I had a whole bunch of questions ready to ask about Army life and what he could tell me but then I forgot them all and can't seem to recall what they were! lol

Hows NC?

Its not Indiana, but its ok. I'm looking forward to moving back ASAP.

I dunno about specific questions, I guess its all about what important to you...my main concerns were where I'd be stationed, and what I'd be doing in the military.

 

[hornadylnl]

The army goes mostly off of gt score. You'll get an overall asvab score but gt is usually the one they go by to see what jobs you are available for. A monkey can pass well enough for infantry but you want to do well so that when you get tired of infantry, you can reclass at your first reenlistment. A 110 gt should qualify you for any job you want. 130 is the max. This is the way it was in 95 when I went in.

You'll want to decide what part of infantry you want. When I signed up, I let the recruiter talk me in to 11 X which is unnasigned. Then, there was 11B leg, 11C mortar, and 11M mechanized. I don't know if they've changed the classes since then. I was told as 11X I'd get to pick which of the 3 I wanted but uncle Sam said I was going to be 11M.

If you want airborne or ranger, you MUST get it in your contract. As 11M, they don't send you to airborne school. Your recruiter will tell you that you can get it once your down there. That's a lie. You MUST get it in your contract when you enlist. Usually you can get it at reenlistment but they will you a choice of duty station, mos change or a school like airborne. You only get to pick one so you don't want to waste that on airborne school in case you want to reclass.

Just remember that recruiters are used car salesmen.

11M 2/58 House of Pain

 

[H.T.]

I was 11X, they picked me to be an 11C. 11B,11C,11H,11M. When I finshed Basic & AIT. They gave us a paper on it we could pick 3 bases we'd like to be assigned to.
Just remember to read the fine print...Some where it says. You are assigned to Ft. Benning Infantry school for blah,blah to be trained as blah blah....Then it's says at the needs of the Army...Meaning that you can be placed in another job. Not somthing you need to worry about thses days...If you want to be an 11Bang,Bang..They'll be more than happy to put you behind the trigger. You can do practice ASVAB from your home Computer.
Also once you get to basic..You arn't free. Tell an Infantry instructor your a free man. Let me know how that goes for you. Just remember to tuck and roll.lol.
Also don't let them try to pressure you into signing anything your not sure of you have the right to read it over and come back later once you've thought it through. If you know anyone who's in or was in the service,take them along.

 

[joegrunt]

Well if you are going to join the Infantry, I say congradulations. I spent my time there as well. Everyone is correct, if you want something specific get it in your contract. There are 11B infantrymen and 11C mortar men. If you want to go to airborne school, get the recruiter to put it in your contract that you attend after OSUT (one station unit training) at the beautiful Fort Benning, GA.
Or you could go even higher and talk to him about Ranger School. There was a time when you could sign a Special orces contract, you went ot OSUT, then Airborne school, then Fort Bragg NC where you worked until you made E-5 (I think) and then they sent you to Special Forces Selection. Not too sure on the entire process of it though.
Hope this helped, good luck on the ASVAB, and thanks for serving!

 

[Indecision]

I'm going for infantry. Hows NC?

I would talk to several infantryman before you make that statement, and national guard doesn't count. I'm stationed in NC, the state isn't bad, the city around Fort Bragg wouldn't be bad, but there's so many people. Traffic is ridiculous.

I've never heard of a practice test.The results of the test definitely determine what you will be trained for.IE if you scorre high on mechanical aptitude portion and they need mechanics, thats right you get assigned to work on vehicles, after training of course.

There is a practice test so that you can talk to your recruiter about what jobs you may qualify for before actually taking the test. Also, the scores just qualify for certain jobs, it doesn't force you into any thing like you make it sound.

The army goes mostly off of gt score. You'll get an overall asvab score but gt is usually the one they go by to see what jobs you are available for. A monkey can pass well enough for infantry but you want to do well so that when you get tired of infantry, you can reclass at your first reenlistment. A 110 gt should qualify you for any job you want. 130 is the max. This is the way it was in 95 when I went in.

True a 110 will qualify you for any job in the army. It also is the minimum to go 18x (special forces) or to Ranger Bn. The current max is 140 for GT score.

You'll want to decide what part of infantry you want. When I signed up, I let the recruiter talk me in to 11 X which is unnasigned. Then, there was 11B leg, 11C mortar, and 11M mechanized. I don't know if they've changed the classes since then. I was told as 11X I'd get to pick which of the 3 I wanted but uncle Sam said I was going to be 11M.

This is true. I went in 11X being told the same thing. They choose for you. Every mortar dude I know hates the job. If you want to be infantry get 11B. Period. Though you could still wind up in a mech or cav unit.

If you want airborne or ranger, you MUST get it in your contract. As 11M, they don't send you to airborne school. Your recruiter will tell you that you can get it once your down there. That's a lie. You MUST get it in your contract when you enlist. Usually you can get it at reenlistment but they will you a choice of duty station, mos change or a school like airborne. You only get to pick one so you don't want to waste that on airborne school in case you want to re class.

Kind of true.

If you have a high enough pt score in basic, you may be offered Airborne during basic, I know a few dudes that were in my basic.

Also, a Ranger contract means you will go to the Regimental Indoctrination Program (RIP). NOT to Ranger school. That will come later. Also, if you just want the Tab from Ranger School, any decent infantry battalion will gladly send you, so don't get wrapped up in that. They may also offer RIP to you in Airborne School, again, I know a people that did in my Airborne School.

Also, if you DO get an airborne contract, and you are not going to RIP or SFAS (special forces selection). You will (guessing) 90%+ chance go to beautiful Fort Bragg, NC with the 82nd Airborne (ask me how i know). The only other 2 airborne units are Alaska 25th ID and Italy 173rd Airborne, both of which are only Brigade sized elements and most people don't go there straight out of Airborne School though some do.

Just remember that recruiters are used car salesmen.

11M 2/58 House of Pain

D 2/58 for Basic here.

Also dude, if you have more questions PM me. I will give you no crap answers.

I've been in over 2.5 years as an 11B, now on my 2nd deployment with the 82nd, and I went to RIP. And it was recently, so I have a pretty good recollection of how things are.

 

[hornadylnl]

Thanks for clarifying my earlier post. I was posting from my iphone so I didn't want to get too in depth. Here are some more thoughts.

Remember that your recruiter is a scumbag who only cares about getting another notch on his evaluation by getting you to sign up. You don't owe him a single ounce of respect until you sign that contract. Make him work for you. If he won't give you what you want, get up and leave because you don't owe him anything. The power is in your court.

Some may not like this but your military experience needs to be 1 million percent about you. All the glamor and glory sounds great until your sleeping out in the rain or 6 inches of snow and you realize that welfare queen is still getting a free lunch for nothing more than spitting out babies, your government doesn't give 2 about you and accuse you of war crimes, liberal hippies despise you, and on and on.

As far as infantry goes, only do it if it fulfills a goal you have. If you get a hard on at the idea of being told to run head first into a brick wall, the infantry is for you. You'd especially like being a ranger. If you are the analytical type and still insist on being infantry, I'd go for SF.

Also, remember that the xray technician who works in a nice warm building and never goes to the field makes the same money as you do as a grunt. I had a friend that was a dental tech who was going to the field for the first time after being in for 4 years. In the 2 years that I was in Germany, I was in the field or deployed 14 months.

Are you planning on going to college? If so, strongly urge you to consider going to college now in ROTC and becoming an officer. Pay is a lot better. Do you already have college and student loan debt? They should have programs to pay many thousands toward your student loans by enlisting. Also, you usually get to start at a higher rank by having college. When I was getting out, I think the percentage of gi bill and college fund money that actually got used was around 10%. About 90% of those that get out never use their gi bill or college fund money. I got a $25k college fund that I never used. If they offer a cash bonus or college fund, take the cash. Also realize they will rape about 30% of that bonus for taxes.

Please, please don't join if one of the major factors for joining is money. The money and bonuses are a joke in the grand scheme of things.

My overall point is be as selfish as you possibly can. Think about other jobs that will give you training that you can use when you get out. Think about jobs that will give you the best duty stations for traveling, etc. Make it work for you

 

[Indecision]

+1, i've been in since May 07. Here's a small break down of what i've been doing.

May-August 07 Basic Constant smoking, lots of field time
August-Sep Airborne School complete joke
Sep-Nov Rip constant smoking, lots of field time
Nov-Dec07 Prepare to deploy
Dec 07-May 08 Afghanistan (caught the end of a 15 month deployment)
May-December08 misc ranges, training, and jumps
Jan09-march09. Intense training cycle, live at ranges for 3 months
april09 JRTC, louisian in the field for a month
may-july prepare to deploy
august to now. Afghanistan round 2.

may to dec 08 and may to august this year is really the only "down" time we've had not counting leave. xray tech... all of that time is down time.

 

[hornadylnl]

When it came time for reenlistment, they offered me 29 different jobs. I told them to give me x ray tech and Germany for 3 years and show me where to sign. They told me that they couldn't give me MOS change and duty station of choice. I wanted to take my new wife to Germany but I sure wasn't going to do it as infantry.

 

[Lars]

So How'd you do?

 

[Indecision]

When it came time for reenlistment, they offered me 29 different jobs. I told them to give me x ray tech and Germany for 3 years and show me where to sign. They told me that they couldn't give me MOS change and duty station of choice. I wanted to take my new wife to Germany but I sure wasn't going to do it as infantry.

I'm trying to get Cryptologic Linguist and Germany right now. I'll probably settle for just the MOS though. It's a good way into the SF community, take out Ranger School while I'm there, then i've already got a tab and language out of the way. That means i would only have a year in the Q course. Who knows if I'll go through with any or all of it right now though.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

I'm not knocking the grunts but think about the 11 series MOS's long and hard before you sign the contract .

As pointed out already it doesn't matter if it's raining , snowing or 100F + outside , you'll be in it for longer than you'd care to .

How many jobs are there for trigger pullers out here ?

 

[JustGone]

Well I just got back from MEPS to take the ASVAB and I got on the AFQT percentile score: 89 and GT: 125

Idecision: I'll PM if I have any further questions or anything pops up, thanks! And he NC statement was directed at MyGlockRocks19, he is living in North Carolina right now lol I was just asking him how its going there.

Everyone: Thanks for all the info reps to all!( BAH I'm outta rep! I'll get to you guys after it gives me more rep lol) And yes infantry is what I want to do and no I am not joining for the money or for college (I don't like college, tried a bit of it, and it wasn't for me). I am joining because it's something I want to do and to finally challenge myself.

btw what do all these scores mean? GT, CL, CO, EL, FA, GM, MM, OF, SC, ST

 

[DoubleTap Tactical]

Make sure you get whatever they offer in writing. Also you may want consider shopping around for the best deal between branches (unless your mind is made up). Varied career's and bonuses abound. Good luck and thanks if you decide to serve.

 

[kedie]

Congrats on deciding to join the Army, and more importantly to become an infantryman. I was a good ole 11B myself. Went to basic in the summer of '98. Everybody has given you some great info. Do you have any idea where you want to be stationed? When I enlisted one of your options was a choice of duty station after basic, I don't know if they still do that though. Also, if you want it, make sure airborne school is on your contract. It was very tough to get an airborne slot when I was in. In my unit you had to either reenlist or go to Ranger school to get airborne.



Also, you're gonna love Sand Hill. It's beautiful.

 

[Indecision]

Also, you're gonna love Sand Hill. It's beautiful.