When you joined the Army...

[nirvana]

Or visited a recruiter, did you start getting multiple calls in the middle of the day from recruiting headquarters?  I got an info packet last week from them, a call from them the next day, and today they called 9 times.  I attempted to call them back but no one answered.

[Maverick]

Nah, When Mac and I joined the Army, the phone hadn't been invented.....

[tedrbr]

Army Times story this week: "Tough recruiting times"

They recalling 1,106 former recruiters back from other duties to do recruiting again on TDY orders.  Most are decidedly NOT happy.  
The practice of playing with Delayed Entry Recruit numbers has apparently caught up with them.... Recruiting goal for the year is off 16 percent this year at this point.  That's a big drop, the worst for 2 years when they are still trying to grow authorized end strength numbers.

Also, Army no longer calls it lowering standards of entry.  The word used is "retooled standards"; like more high school dropouts, more waivers on weight and criminal records, and required DI to be more "mentor than disciplinarians".

I sure am glad I'm done with my 20 years.  ETS'd last month.   Good luck to my fellow NCO's for future challenges.

[nirvana]

I thought they really wanted me, but you're just saying they want more bodies:cry

I think I'll stick with Coast Guard.

[VooWho]

My sister got calls from the Army all time. One day she got sick and tired of it and when she picked up the phone and heard "Hi this is Sgt. Hawk can I talk to Kadie about the Army?" She replied, "She died....beeeeeeep.....  They never called back.

Now I haven't gotten any calls from the Army because why? Will because I talked to the Air Force recruiter. Hes only called me twice for what reasons? Hey Matt want to take a tour with me and some other guys to Tinker AFB and see what Air Force life is like? "Heck yes"  4 months later, Hey Matt you still thinking of joining the Air Force? "Heck yes" Will okay, I'll you back in April and check up on you.

The Army sees the Air Force has me in their eyes for more bodies, but alteast I don't get called 20 times a week.

[tedrbr]

nirvana, the USCG is probably the best way to go for many people.  DoD's best kept secret is the USCG (also has roles in DoT and DHS).

Hard to get in, but the USCG plays many peacetime, realworld missions, and war zone roles.  Drag interdiction.  SAR.  Patrol and customs inspections of US ports and places like the Persian Gulf.  Sea duty.  Flight operations.  

VooWho, the USAF also is still in the process of drawing down numbers.  Very hard to get in to some USAF slots.  Last couple of graduating classes out of the USAFA have actually commissioned officers, then discharged them since there was no where to send them post graduation.  Some took Army commissions (Blue to Gold), some went Air Guard/Reserves.

[Hornet33]

Originally posted by tedrbr
nirvana, the USCG is probably the best way to go for many people.  DoD's best kept secret is the USCG (also has roles in DoT and DHS).

Hard to get in, but the USCG plays many peacetime, realworld missions, and war zone roles.  Drag interdiction.  SAR.  Patrol and customs inspections of US ports and places like the Persian Gulf.  Sea duty.  Flight operations.  

VooWho, the USAF also is still in the process of drawing down numbers.  Very hard to get in to some USAF slots.  Last couple of graduating classes out of the USAFA have actually commissioned officers, then discharged them since there was no where to send them post graduation.  Some took Army commissions (Blue to Gold), some went Air Guard/Reserves.

USCG is DHS all the way. We are in no way part of DoD.  USCG is the way to go, but you already know that. DoD trains to fight war. USCG trains for everyday real life situations.

[tedrbr]

USCG has historically always had ties to the DoD, has been working with DEA for years, and now the DHS also has it's hooks into them.  Several USCG ships operate (or were when I was over there) off Iraq and Kuwait in support of OIF in patrolling those waters and inspecting ships in that region.  

USCG still have ties also to the DOT in regards to waterways, and, IIRC, to NOAA and Corps of Engineers, unless that has changed with DHS involvement these past few years.  

Their mission statement just includes such a broad range of activities that overlap into so many other agencies spheres of influence.  Im' not saying they answer to those agencies, but they work with them on a big scale.

If they fall solely under the DHS these days, well, I can't believe that bodes well for what has always been an exemplary service in the past.  If anything can screw up the USCG, it's the DHS.

[Phaser11]

How Phaser got into the military.


Judge, “Phaser you are guilty.”
Phaser, “But it was my moms car, the gas peddel stuck, I didn't know she was 16!”
Judge, “ Phaser, jail or military your choice.”
Phaser, “Military.”

It was that easy.

[DiabloTX]

Originally posted by tedrbr
nirvana, the USCG is probably the best way to go for many people.  DoD's best kept secret is the USCG (also has roles in DoT and DHS).

Hard to get in, but the USCG plays many peacetime, realworld missions, and war zone roles.  Drag interdiction[/b].  SAR.  Patrol and customs inspections of US ports and places like the Persian Gulf.  Sea duty.  Flight operations.  

VooWho, the USAF also is still in the process of drawing down numbers.  Very hard to get in to some USAF slots.  Last couple of graduating classes out of the USAFA have actually commissioned officers, then discharged them since there was no where to send them post graduation.  Some took Army commissions (Blue to Gold), some went Air Guard/Reserves.

Don't ask, don't tell shipmate!

[storch]

back when I was in the Navy, people used to say that to be in the coast guard one must be either 6 feet tall or taller or made of poop so when your little boat sinks you can walk or float back home.  

[Shifty]

Originally posted by Phaser11
How Phaser got into the military.

Phaser........... That wasn't the military, that was the Air Force.

[Hornet33]

Originally posted by tedrbr
USCG has historically always had ties to the DoD, has been working with DEA for years, and now the DHS also has it's hooks into them.  Several USCG ships operate (or were when I was over there) off Iraq and Kuwait in support of OIF in patrolling those waters and inspecting ships in that region.  

USCG still have ties also to the DOT in regards to waterways, and, IIRC, to NOAA and Corps of Engineers, unless that has changed with DHS involvement these past few years.  

Their mission statement just includes such a broad range of activities that overlap into so many other agencies spheres of influence.  Im' not saying they answer to those agencies, but they work with them on a big scale.

If they fall solely under the DHS these days, well, I can't believe that bodes well for what has always been an exemplary service in the past.  If anything can screw up the USCG, it's the DHS.

The Coast Guard's roots lie in the Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on August 4, 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. An act of the U.S. Congress created the Coast Guard in 1915, with the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Lifesaving Service. The United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard in 1939. The legal basis for the Coast Guard is Title 14 of the United States Code, which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy. The Coast Guard later moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on February 25, 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The only time the Coast Guard has been under the control of the Navy was in WWII. All other deployments and combat actions have been independant operations by the Coast Guard even though USCG units may have been working with other branches of the services.

[AWMac]

Originally posted by Maverick
Nah, When Mac and I joined the Army, the phone hadn't been invented.....

Had to ride my Dads Dinosaur down the the Recruiters Cave.

Mav was first in line.



Mac

[Phaser11]

Originally posted by Shifty
Phaser........... That wasn't the military, that was the Air Force.

Oh Ya, now I remember!