Anyone active duty Army here?

[motoman]

I know for sure I can get a RIP contract which guarantees me a Ranger school after either AIT or basic.

[HarrisonTX]

Everyone's info on here is legit.

95ragtop is right. get RIP in your contract. It is incredibly hard to get ranger school once you're in, in some cases.

Like was mentioned, they have "shaving profiles" But they're reserved for the black guys. lol

I didn't really see anyone mention your duty station question.
You wanting Fort hood is a good thing. Since its so big, its an easy request to fill. In basic, if they still do this, you'll get to fill out a "Dream Sheet"
If you put ft. Hood as your number one request, you'll probably get it.
That being said, if you are 11B with RIP, you will go right to a RANGER unit, which is one of three (I believe) places. Fort Hood is not one of them.
But, some jobs are very limiting. For example, there was only 7 duty stations that had my MOS.
I don't know of a way to find out where you can go with each job, you just need to talk to some people. Have a friend on active duty call their "branch manager" He could answer those questions.

Why infantry?
If you went with 11B with a RIP contract, you'd wind up being in a RANGER unit. Nothing wrong with that. You can go through RIP, and not be in a RANGER unit though, also.

Look into the jobs 19D, 13F, 13D.

[bcoop]

That being said, if you are 11B with RIP, you will go right to a RANGER unit, which is one of three (I believe) places. Fort Hood is not one of them.

Isn't all Airborne stationed out of Fort Bragg?

[HarrisonTX]

Isn't all Airborne stationed out of Fort Bragg?

Majority is, but not all.
Alaska's got an Airborne unit
I was in an airborne unit in Colorado.
There's one in Florida.
Off the top of my head, I know there is an airborne unit in Italy too.

There's a Ranger unit in Washington, and at two different places in GA.

[motoman]

Why infantry?
If you went with 11B with a RIP contract, you'd wind up being in a RANGER unit. Nothing wrong with that. You can go through RIP, and not be in a RANGER unit though, also.

Look into the jobs 19D, 13F, 13D.

Thanks the info so far. To answer your question a little further I'll provide some insight. After high school the military is something I thought about doing because I wasn't ready for college. I've held misc jobs since I graduated, trying to find something for a career that would make me happy. But I've yet to find that and during those times the military has always been in my mind. I've looked into each branch, done research on different career paths and so on. I'm not getting any younger so it's something I want to get started on now. I just want to make sure I do it right. I feel I'm being called to serve, I feel it's what I'm supposed to do. Not to make this a religious thread but I feel it's where God wants me.

With that being said choosing a branch hasn't been easy as I have many different interests, but I can't have them all, so I have to pick just one. Even picking a job hasn't been easy. Part of me wants to really push myself to something I've never been and experience things I've never done. Infantry is a huge interest, it'll challenge me in ways I've never been challenged. I know that if I were to do well in boot I may have the opportunity for sniper school, special forces, or airbone school. There's a lot of different opportunities that could carry a similar infantry type of job that interest me.

Part of me says just go in and do something easier like something IT related, which I'm already doing.

Part of me says do something that'll lead into a career if I only stay in for 4-6 year, something like combat medic. I know a SSgt who's infantry who wants to get into fire fighting and he's told me if he could go back and redo it he'd go combat medic because of all the medical training they get.

There are a ton of interest for career fields that I have, I would say a combat job is my biggest interest right now. If I'm going to go in and do it then I want to push myself and have no regrets in the end. I don't want to look back say 10 years from now and say "man, I really wish I would have tried out ranger school" or something like that.

[davbrucas]

I know for sure I can get a RIP contract which guarantees me a Ranger school after either AIT or basic.

You are guaranteed a slot in RIP (now called RASP1/2 for Ranger Assessment and Selection Program)...but not in Ranger School. It is difficult to make it through RIP and they can and will fail you on a whim. If you make it through RIP, then you will be assigned to one of the Ranger Battalions but you may have to wait up to a year or more for a slot in Ranger School. I was lucky and was only at Battalion for 3mos before heading to Ranger School...most people wait at least 6mos. This is how it was back when I went through. If you make it through Ranger School...very hard...then take advantage of all of the extra training they offer at Battalion like SERE, HALO, combat diver, etc. One, it is fun and two, it will help you advance in rank...but, have it on your mind if you partake in any of these schools as they dont mess around and they are difficult...the combat diver school was the hardest I went through. If you have ANY fear of the water, you will fail. You have several near death experiences during that course. Only a few make it through out of each class.
Anyway, good luck...research the other combat MOS's that accept a Ranger contract and see if those would interest you, because if you dont make it through RIP/Ranger School you will be heading back to this job for the next however many years...and being a regular grunt can suck.

[ceyko]

There's a Ranger unit in Washington, and at two different places in GA.

Yup, those dudes are bad ass.

To the OP...

3 Things...

1. Shaving, I've seen dudes have to shave twice a day all were white dudes.

2. Any and everything you want to do, if it can be put in the contract - DO IT. It's no different then buying and as-is car or other product - once it is done it is done. There is no recourse for you and you can't trust the recruiting chain very much at all.

3. In regards to Ft. Hood I'd have to disagree with that as a duty station. To clarify, the other person's reasons were sound enough but I'd rather be stationed nearly anywhere but there if I were you. Just another perspective.

[davbrucas]

Yup, those dudes are bad ass.

To the OP...

3 Things...

1. Shaving, I've seen dudes have to shave twice a day all were white dudes.

2. Any and everything you want to do, if it can be put in the contract - DO IT. It's no different then buying and as-is car or other product - once it is done it is done. There is no recourse for you and you can't trust the recruiting chain very much at all.

3. In regards to Ft. Hood I'd have to disagree with that as a duty station. To clarify, the other person's reasons were sound enough but I'd rather be stationed nearly anywhere but there if I were you. Just another perspective.

Good advice...

Get a Ranger contract and kick ass all the way through. Set some goals and attain them. Forget about Ft Hood...go to one of the battalions and get as much training as you can and get into the shit as soon as they let you. I wish I was still in...I miss it that much.

[95ragtop]

If you want to be a combat medic, I suggest looking into the mos 18d. You can pm me any questions you have. Or look into being a Ranger medic that is SOCM qualified.

[HarrisonTX]

You are guaranteed a slot in RIP (now called RASP1/2 for Ranger Assessment and Selection Program)...but not in Ranger School. It is difficult to make it through RIP and they can and will fail you on a whim. If you make it through RIP, then you will be assigned to one of the Ranger Battalions but you may have to wait up to a year or more for a slot in Ranger School. I was lucky and was only at Battalion for 3mos before heading to Ranger School...most people wait at least 6mos. This is how it was back when I went through. If you make it through Ranger School...very hard...then take advantage of all of the extra training they offer at Battalion like SERE, HALO, combat diver, etc. One, it is fun and two, it will help you advance in rank...but, have it on your mind if you partake in any of these schools as they dont mess around and they are difficult...the combat diver school was the hardest I went through. If you have ANY fear of the water, you will fail. You have several near death experiences during that course. Only a few make it through out of each class.
Anyway, good luck...research the other combat MOS's that accept a Ranger contract and see if those would interest you, because if you dont make it through RIP/Ranger School you will be heading back to this job for the next however many years...and being a regular grunt can suck.

Forgot about waiting in line. I put a guy in with RIP in his contract. Made it through rip, and was in RANGER BN for a long time. He even did a deployment with them, before he got a school slot. I believe he may have had some behavior issues, which is why they didn't send him to school.

Personally, not being able to get a RANGER school slot was a serious factor in me leaving the Army. My unit got a lot school slots, but with only 6 month breaks between our deployments, and me being literally the only guy with my MOS in the unit, I deployed every time.
I was a motivated mother fucker for about 12 months. I rucked in my spare time on the weekends, simply preparing for any school they'd send me to.
They wasted the slots on guys who got kicked out for tobacco use, or the inability to pass the swim test at Ranger school.
I'm ranting now, and that's not what this thread is about.

Brother, you can think about it forever, and you'll never make up your mind.
Pick a job, and don't leave MEPS until you see the RIP option on the contract. Just do it.

[motoman]

If you want to be a combat medic, I suggest looking into the mos 18d. You can pm me any questions you have.

What's the difference between that and a 68w

[HarrisonTX]

If you want to be a combat medic, I suggest looking into the mos 18d. You can pm me any questions you have. Or look into being a Ranger medic that is SOCM qualified.

I'm the biggest advocate of any 18 series job. I second this.
The only bad thing is, if he dosnt make it through the schooling he'll go to "needs of the Army". The best path to the green hat is this:
Join with a regular job, and 6 months after you get to your duty station, see the SF recruiter. If you fail, you just go back to your regular duty station.

[HarrisonTX]

What's the difference between that and a 68w

2 years of schooling, and the ability to speak a foreign language

[motoman]

Brother, you can think about it forever, and you'll never make up your mind.
Pick a job, and don't leave MEPS until you see the RIP option on the contract. Just do it.

I still have other interests than just infantry. Calvary scout sounds like it could be a kickass job. I'm also looking into the WO program, I'd love to be a pilot, I know I don't have to worry about the vision part of it because I have perfect vision. I'm going to do my research on my interests before I just jump into an enlistment.

[motoman]

2 years of schooling, and the ability to speak a foreign language

What extra 2 years of schooling do you get with one of the other?