Should i join navy or army

The whole thing makes you choke up with the joy of it. Homecoming on a pier -- not in a gym. For the majesty of the event, nothing beats a Navy homecoming where the sailors line the rails of the ship and then descend onto the pier into the arms of their loved ones. This is a little less picturesque in the rain. Or the snow.

Or that unfortunate sleet storm that pummeled all the balloons. But it is really, really pretty most of the time. Land, sea and air -- we fight everywhere. Unlike the other services, the Navy is equipment driven. We may rib each other about whether surface, air, subs, SEALs, supply, etc.

For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military. The store is sweetening its normal veteran and military discount, and not just for Veterans Day on Thursday, Nov. Volcanic activity beneath Iwo Jima, site of a defining World War II battle, is pushing sunken naval vessels to the surface. Martin serves in the U. Navy and has been deployed so many times that his family has lost count But after he deployed Nya is 20 months old and loves her family's Ring Video Doorbell.

Every day, Nya knows that the Ring Spouse SpouseBuzz. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

And the benefits can last a lifetime! Whether you are considering the military out of a sense of Patriotism or duty, for action and adventure, or for a steady job in a depressed economy, there is something for everyone. Here are 10 reasons the military may be a good fit for you. Military service is a time-honored way to serve others first. Walter Reuther is quoted as saying,. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak.

There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well. This quote sums up what it means to serve. When you join the military, you learn the true meaning of service. It is easy to share stories and recollections with other members of this special group of people and can help you gain acceptance, join clubs, find employment, and gain other benefits. Being a veteran is something no one can ever take away from you.

The US has experienced a difficult economy over the last few years, including high levels of unemployment , rising costs, and the outsourcing of many jobs.

If you are looking for employment, consider the military, which continues to offer jobs for those who are qualified medically and academically, and who do not have an extensive criminal record. The military is also one of the few places where you can get a full pension after serving 20 years or more. The TSP is like a civilian k plan. Military members are immediately eligible for full health care benefits for themselves and their immediate family members as soon as they enter the service, and if you stay through until retirement, you and your family can take these benefits with you when you leave the military.

These health benefits extend to immediate family e. You may also be eligible for temporary military healthcare benefits after you leave the service. The military provides advanced technical training in a variety of career fields and also offers opportunities for additional training when you are off-duty. The recruiter may weigh you, and ask to see personal paperwork birth certificate, high school diploma, social security card, etc.

It is a felony to give false information or withhold required information on any military recruiting paperwork. See I Cannot Tell a Lie for detailed information about possible consequences. Marine Corps recruiters work with recruits to fill job or enlistment program quotas that are given to them from their headquarters.

They then have seven days to go to MEPS, take the physical and then do the final signing for that job. The applicant will have to meet the qualifications for the job ASVAB, physical profile, security clearance requirements, etc. To get the job of your choice requires two things: 1 There must be an available vacancy for the job, and 2 you must be qualified for the job. Job Qualification. Job qualification is based on several factors. Therefore, if the applicant has anything in their background that may prevent approval of a clearance, the MEPS job counselors are unlikely to allow the applicant to reserve that job.

Some jobs require additional testing. Different jobs have different physical requirements. In order to reserve a job, one must meet the minimum physical profile required for that job. Some jobs especially in the Army and Air Force , require a minimum lifting ability, which must be demonstrated before the job can be reserved for the recruit.

In this case, the choice is yours It should be noted that while these situations have been known to happen, they occur rarely.

On the other hand, if you fail to qualify for the job due to a reason within your control you fail in training, you get into trouble, or you give false information on your security clearance application and are denied a security clearance , the choice is not yours. The military will decide whether to discharge you throw you out , or to retain you and retrain you into a job that you qualify for.

If the job you want is not available, your only choices are to choose a different job, or not enlist. Air Force. The Air Force has divided all of their jobs into four aptitude areas General, Electronic, Mechanical, and Administrative. It is unfortunate, but true that a majority of Air Force jobs approximately 60 percent are are reserved for individuals joining under the Guaranteed Aptitude program.

Therefore, many of the available jobs are not released to the Air Force Jobs Counselor. If one enlists in the Guaranteed Aptitude Program, they will meet with a job counselor around the 2nd week of basic training. Understand that not all Air Force jobs within the aptitude area will be on the list. Only the jobs that have open school seats at that particular point in time. When you receive the list of choices, you have one week to consider it, then you return to the job counselor and give your top 8 choices from the list.

Everyone else in the same week of training, who enlisted in the same aptitude program will also have a list that looks exactly like yours.

They will be making choices, as well. Those wishing to enlist in the Air Force must be very flexible when it comes to job assignment. For the past two years and currently , the Air Force has done exceptionally well in recruiting.

In fact, the Air Force has thousands of more volunteers than they have enlistment slots for. Because the Air Force has many more applicants than they have slots for, it is very common for an applicant to process through MEPS, and return enlisted in the DEP Delayed Enlistment Program without a reserved job-slot or shipping date. Instead, while at MEPS, they provide a list of job and aptitude area preferences to the job counselor, then they are placed on the QWL Qualified Waiting List , for one of their preferences to become available.

This can take several months. Plain and simple. In order to join the Air Force, one must be flexible with both job selections and dates of availability. The down side? The Air Force will — at times — work someone outside of the job they were trained in.

This usually happens when someone does something that results in temporary disqualification from their normal job, or if someone volunteers for a special job or project. While both programs are available, most enlist under the Guaranteed Job program. Again, whether or not you will be offered the job you want depends upon your qualifications, and the needs of the service.

An example would be the Nuclear Program. These programs generally require higher ASVAB line scores, and require a longer service commitment, but offer accelerated promotions, greater training opportunities, and higher enlistment bonuses.

Very, very few Marine applicants get a guaranteed job mostly those with college degrees or high ASVAB scores, applying for certain, designated technical specialties. MOS job is a distant second. Coast Guard. A few schools and therefore jobs are offered during basic training. As well as offering the fewest guaranteed jobs, the Coast Guard has the fewest overall jobs about 23 of any of the services. On the plus side, for the most part, all of the Coast Guard jobs directly relate to a civilian occupation.

Reserves and National Guard. This is because, unlike the active duty forces, who recruit for available slots all over the world, Guard and Reserve recruiters recruit for specific unit vacancies in their local areas. Regardless of what some of the military recruiting commercials on TV indicate, the military is not a job-placement agency. This is especially true for jobs that everyone wants like computer programming , or jobs that only have a few people assigned.

For example, the Air Force has over 22, Security Forces cops assigned. Compare that to the physical therapist specialists authorized, and you can see that the chances of jobs being open for Security Forces is several dozens of times greater than openings for physical therapists.

If you are focused on only one or two job possibilities, you are likely to be disappointed. This may or may not be true. Each of the services have different requirements when it comes to retraining. In the Army and Air Force, one must usually serve a minimum amount of time usually 36 months for a 4-year enlistment and agree to re-enlist to be eligible for retraining.

Even then, approval is based upon individual circumstances, and the needs of the service. For all of the services, if the job you are serving in is extremely short-manned, or if the job you want to re-train into is over-manned, your retraining application is not likely to be approved. When you enlist in the DEP, you are actually in the military. You are enlisted in the inactive reserves, and are legally and morally bound by your enlistment contract. When you sign on the dotted line in the National Guard, you immediately become a member of your National Guard Unit.

This is a binding contract, and if the military wanted to, they could prosecute you for not shipping out on the date specified on the contract. However, current regulations and policies require the military services to discharge you from the DEP, if — at any time before shipping out — you apply to be released from the contract the request should be in writing and should state the reason you wish to be discharged from the DEP. In fact, the only bad consequences to dropping out of the DEP, is that if you later want to enlist in that same service, it will be on THEIR terms, not yours.

Most services have policies that require a waiver processing for recruits who previously dropped out of DEP of their service. That being said, if you request a discharge from the DEP, expect your recruiter to be justifiably angry. See The Delayed Enlistment Program for more detailed information.

This is the contract that is used for military enlistments and re-enlistments. Of all the paperwork you signed during the process to join the military, this is the most important document. See Part 3 of this series for more information about the DEP. In fact, the bottom of the very first page of the enlistment contract contains the following clause:. The agreements in this section and attached annex es are all the promises made to me by the Government.

This is because military members are already entitled to it by law. For example, medical care, base pay, and the Montgomery G. Second, those enlisting on active duty will have at least two enlistment contracts — the initial contract for the Delayed Enlistment Program, and a final contract that one will sign on the day they go to MEPS to ship out to basic training. Enlistment Periods. Thought you were enlisting for four years? Think again. It may surprise you to learn that ALL non-prior service enlistments in the United States Military incurs a total eight year service obligation.

When you sign that enlistment contract, you are obligating yourself to the military for a total of eight years. Paragraph 10a of the enlistment contract states:. Any part of that service not served on active duty must be served in a Reserve Component unless I am sooner discharged. You serve your four years and get out.