Advice on military career

[NYgurkha]

Im gonna start college soon, and i wish to serve in the armed forces after graduating, or even before doing so. since there are many members of the forum that have experience in the military in the forums i wanted to ask waht options are there for me, programs such as ROTC or the ability to continue higher education while serving?

PS: im a legal resident of the US with a Nepali citizenship, so i have the choice of serving in the Gurkha's, but since ive been in the US so long, i was wondering about non citizens eligibility in the US military.

[danthemanbuddy]

Talk to the ROTC guy and the military recruiter at the college or in the town of the college you are going to.

The sooner, the better, as many things tend to start early.

My tip is just to look for all the information you can and study up on it, as it is a huge decision in your life.

[aculle01]

Im not sure on the citizenship requirements but as for ROTC, the application requirements will depend on which branch you wish to join. I can't talk about the Army or Air Force but for the Navy you fill out a general application and list your top five school you would like the scholarship. Where you get the NROTC scholarship is independent on where you get in. If you do not get into the college you received the scholarship to you will have to transfer your scholarship to a college you were accepted to that has an NROTC program.

I am pretty sure it is too late to start the process now and receive a scholarship for the upcoming school year but you can still apply for the NROTC program at your school and be considered a College Programmer. You will not receive any scholarship money but will be considered a part of the Unit and will do everything that a scholarship student does minus the summer cruise.

As a college programmer during the school year your LT advisor. will submit your package (grades and evals) to the board for review. If you are accepted you will become a scholarship student and will receive tuition and stipend your sophomore year. If you are not accepted you will remain in the college program and will reapply the next year.

While each NROTC unit can be run differently from the next, there are standards. You will have a Navy Class each semester that is a credit course and will graduate with a minor in Naval Science. You will also receive evals every semester just as you would in the Navy. These do not carry over once your commissioned but do have an effect on your community selection and if you decide to go surface it will determine your order of ship selection.

After your first full year of scholarship you will have to decide whether you want to continue or not. If you wish to continue you sign your commitment letter saying you will pay back the money if you quit or are kicked out. If you dont want to continue then you just received a years worth of education free.

Your commitment after college will depend on what community you go to. Pilots owe 8 years, NFOs owe 6, Submariners owe 6 (I think), Seals/EOD owe 6 (not 100%) and SWOs owe 4. You get commissioned as an Ensign (O-1) and have a base pay of about $30,000. On top of this you receive a BAS (food allowance) of 187.49 a month and BAH (housing allowance) of about 800-1000, depending on where you are stationed. BAH and BAS are non-taxable. So you end up making about 38,000 a year. This will also increase if you are married and have children.

I think I covered most of the basics. The first thing you definitely should do is take to an AF/A/NROTC Recruiting Officer at whatever school you are planning to or are currently enrolled. They will walk you through the application process and tell you what you need to do.



EDIT: As for advice, personally I only recommend the Navy if you are interested in Flying/NFO, Seals/EOD or Submarines, unless you enjoy being a manager who works on a boat instead of an office.

[Army Musician]

If you join ghurkas it will be EXTREMELY difficult and you will end up fighting in the British Army, as the Royal Ghurka Rifles, with a possibility of becomming Musician. What they do is out of a troop of Ghurkas they will Randomly pick 6 ghurkas, to become a musician, they will then be sent away for a few weeks/months to learn the basics on their chosen instrument, then they go to Kneller Hall (Royal Military School of Music). Spend a year there and by the time they have finnished they will be at Grade 8+.

If you join the American forces, good luck, though Britain is better)

[Rick_the_new_guy]

Outstanding that you are concidering to serve in the U.S. Military.

Great advice has been posted. I'll try to continue the trend.

Here is a link with info regarding the citizenship requirments to be an Officer: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joini...noncitizen.htm

Here is a link for joining the military. Before going to see a recruiter, check out the links on how to prepare for your first visit with a recruiter.
Also, check the medical requirments for joining, some of that can be a female dog.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joini...s_Military.htm


Good luck, and I hope all goes well.

P.S. If you speak Napali, that will give you a nice big plus.

[WNxLT7]

If you join the American forces, good luck, though Britain is better

So go join the ghurkas to play music or join the U.S. military to actually serve your country.
Also what college are you thinking of going to?
Next year I will apply for the University of Oklahoma and try to join the ROTC they have there.

[TheToecutter]

Originally Posted by WNxLT7

So go join the ghurkas to play music or join the U.S. military to actually serve your country.

You need to give your head a shake if you think the ghurkas are a bunch of musicians. They are some of the original bad-azzes.... Read this before embarassing yourself further... http://www.command-post.org/archives/003357.html

He said the Gurkhas, rely on flexibility and operational experience. They are configured and used like the U.S. Army Rangers or U.S. Marines. They are also martial artists, airborne tacticians and masters at cover and concealment. As they patrol the perimeter here they'll be drawing upon a more intangible quality – their reputation.

[NYgurkha]

thanks for the advice everyone.

I was just concerned about my non-citezenship status and its effect on my eligibility for US armed forces. Im not really worried about joining the Gurkhas (too many of memebers from my family have served, time for some change imho) but it would be easier for me to do so.

I was worred aobut commitment requirements if i decided join, lets say the marines, in the middle of my four years of undergraduate?

PS: im going to the Unversity of Hartford out in conneticut.

[Army Musician]

In the British Military only 6 of a troop of that passout of training ghurkas do the music. Otherwise they are usually just infantry, and yes they can join other corps, though still being part of RGR
Join the BRITISH
http://www.army.mod.uk/brigade_of_gurkhas/rgr/index.htm

[eddie]

Army Musician, he is living in America, NOT Britain. Anyway, please for the love of God do not turn this into a 'my military is better than yours' thread.