Infidelettante

A word to the wise Jacey. Never belong to an outfit that sends you to Montgomery, AL first off.

Shake

Well, I did almost 9 years in the USAF. I met a former Marine who had come to the AF Reserves after 6 years in the Corps. He said he had originally taken a wrong turn when he went to go see the recruiters. He'd been a sniper, but retrained into the electronics field in the AF. Smart guy. Nice guy.

While I felt the Guard/Reserves was not an option for me, it might be for you if you are having trouble deciding on what to do. The Guard/Reserves are very easy to get out from, plus it keeps your foot in the door if you end up deciding that leaving was a mistake. The Guard has the advantage of being run by the state, so if you wanted to stay in La., that would be the way to go. Research your options as thoroughly as you can before you decide ... I know they don't give you a lot of time. If your base has a Reserve recruiter, you might want to go talk to him/her.

Godless Dave

I know a guy who was general discharged from the Guard because he couldn't pass the physical fitness test. Later he joined the Reserves and they were happy to have him. Well, until they kicked him out later. I would think even if you got all the way out now you would be able to go back if you ever changed your mind.

southernhybrid

From reading your posts here, I'm surprised that you are even considering staying in. You're young enough that you could stand New Jersey for a little while. I left there about 32 years ago but the rest of my family never got their exit visas. Having lived in Jersey has made me appreciate the rest of the country even more.

You also seem like quite a risk taker so why not take the risk and get out before the military starts to seem normal to you.

Anyway, I hope you can reach a decision that satisfies you. Oh to be young and uncertain again.

Jacey

Thanks to everyone who replied.

I think my biggest problem is that I'm being forced to make this decision so far out, but my hand is being forced so I have no choice. This could even affect my chances of going into a reserve unit after I get out, if I so choose.

I'm not staying in. That I've pretty much decided. My other big issue is uncertainty about my future. School, yes I'm doing that. But I don't know what I really want to do.

Are there any well-off older women who want a house boy/sex slave for a couple years?

Godless Dave

Join the club. I'm about to turn 33 and am not much closer to figuring that out than I was 10 years ago. I don't stress about it as much now though.

4th Generation Atheist

You nuts, Jacey? Get out while you still can! LOK where the Marines will get sent to next, and for how long.

Be sure to check and see if you can get money for college out of your deal, or if you can find a school that gives a break to those who've served. There may even be scholarships. I don't know much about how this works myself, but you should do a little research and see what's available.

If you absorbed any of the "disciplined" characteristics people send their kids to military school or boot camp to get, you'll do well in college and be able to stay focused. And the people are right who say you can always go back later, or get a fairly secure gov't job on the civilian side of the Defense Department.

Shake

That was like my situation. Our career field was being merged with another, so we were forced into cross-training. No big deal there. The problem was that personnel looked at us and said, "Hey, they're undermanned! Send them some kids from the tech schools." So we got swamped with all of these new trainees (from the new career field) while we all were in the process of cross-training. After they got all of us retrained into the new field, someone at HQ personnel realized, "Hey, they're overmanned! Send out some orders!" So, all of a sudden our shop gets 10 sets of orders!! Five for E-4s, and five for E-5s (which I was at the time). When they got there, we were told that they'd take volunteers first, but if they didn't get enough volunteers, the slots would be filled based on time on station. I was #2 of the E-5s for time on station. I had been toying with the idea of getting out the following September (this was roughly a year out) anyway, so we decided to take our chances and not volunteer. Oh, did I mention that our 10 days to decide suddenly got shorted to less than 5 overnight?!? WTF?!?!

So, finally, they give me mine ... I'm supposed to go to Cannon AFB, NM! The wife was hoping to possibly get closer to home, but only one of the selections was even somewhat closer, but was snatched up by a buddy of mine who was #1 on the list. So we said, F--- you, NM! We're goin' home! The rest, as they say, is history!

-Shake, ex-AF