First off, please forgive the sock account (created for use on the General board). I'm posting like this hoping to prevent the same kind of response I have gotten from a few people I have already mentioned this to...

Anyway, about my question:
I have been thinking about joining the military for quite some time, but never really thought it was a possibility because I didn't do it after high school/before attending A&M. I was not in the Corps while at A&M.

I have an engineering degree from A&M and have been working in that field for a few years now. I am 30 years old, married, and have a young daughter. I started investigating a little more into the military and found that there are still options for joining at my age, in the Army or Navy. I would probably do one of the Reserve/National Guard programs, so I can keep my civilian job.

I'm basically looking for any thoughts or advice from this board about trying to join at a later age, and what kind of impact and/or things I need to consider being that I have a family that depends on me. Would it be selfish of me to be "leaving" them for periods of time (boot camp and possible deployment)? My wife is being pretty supportive about this. Obviously she doesn't want me to be gone (or especially be deployed), but she also doesn't want to keep me from doing something I want. I want to join to feel like I'm doing something that makes some kind of difference. My job is great, but it's not exciting nor does it have an effect on much of anything in the world.

Sorry for rambling, I'm just trying to put my thoughts out there and see what happens. I have other questions, but I'll wait and see how this thread goes.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

I joined the TXARNG at 32 and shipped to BCT on my 33rd birthday, so I was in the same boat. I also was not in the Corps at A&M. I went the officer route and did OCS through the ARNG's traditional program.

I was not married at the time, so I didn't have the same seperations issues that you'll be facing, but I have many friends who left wives and kids at home to go to BCT. They all made it through ok. One thing to remember is that when you do you basic training...or boot camp, or whatever...is that you'll for sure be one of the older people there. You'll be surrounded by 18-20 year olds, who will be pretty immature for the most part. Some things will be easier for you, and some will be harder.

By the time I left for FABOLC, I was engaged and living with my then-fiance. I left her for the 6 months of that class, but it was at Fort Sill, only 3 hours from home, and I could come home weekends, so it wasn't really that much of a hardship (I came home maybe once a month).

It sounds like you've already started involving your wife in the process. That's good, make sure she stays involved. Take her with you if you see a recruiter, and encourage her to ask questions.

As far as deployments, they're starting to get a little rarer in the Guard. I've been branch-qualified for almost 2 years now, and I haven't been close to one...and I've been actively looking a few times. It is always possible, though, and something you have to consider.

To sum up, I have never regretted my decision to join late in life. It's one of the best things I've ever done. Hopefully my semi-rambling response at least helps you somewhat. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. There are plenty of people here on both sides (officer/enlisted) to give you most of the info you'll need.

Wow, thanks for all the info Kyle. I appreciate you taking the time to write all that out.

I was thinking TXARNG would be the route I would take, if I decide to do this. I would also be interested in OCS, but I don't have a good handle on the difference that comes with being an officer. I haven't talked to a recruiter yet, I'm just trying to get a handle on what I want to do (and good advice on taking my wife with me).

On the military.com website (btw, is this the best place to get info?), it says part of the qualifications for joining the Reserves or NG is to be available for initial active duty training and agree to participate in an initial tour of active duty training of at least 12 weeks. Is that a kind of deployment, or something else?

Also, what kind (and how many) activities would require me to be away from home? Obviously boot camp (10 weeks?) is consecutive time away, and I'm assuming any kind of OCS or other training is as well? I know the usual "one weekend a month and two weeks a year" stuff.

Any other thoughts?

I think you have to really want it, but having a supportive family is the most important thing. I was enlisted 13 years ago before we met and am now 37 and applying for a commission in the Air Force.

My family is very supportive, but we had to sit down and have that talk about how we would deal with me being gone for BOT, specialty training, and then the transition period for my first assignment. We developed a plan we could implement under the assumption we would be living in different cities for as long as a year on the front end and things will be tough in more ways than just being apart.

Are you financially comfortable enough that you could handle that kind of situation? Do you potentially face a lower salary? Can you survive your wife not having a job for a while every time you PCS to a new place? Is your wife willing to accept that she will probably not have a long-term career at any one place? Remember, your wife will be making the bigger sacrifice in all of this.

I'm not sure taking your wife to see the recruiter will be of much value. The recruiters are there to just get you through the process and get you in. I've heard all kinds of stories about recruiters who can barely give the recruits sufficient information, much less spouses. What you might do is get in touch with the military spouses club for the closest military installation to you and see what resources might be available to educate your wife. Maybe some military spouses would be willing to visit with her or at least talk on the phone about their experiences.

The OCS Foundation runs message boards for all of the services. You can find all sorts of useful information on the boards. It's mostly directed at applicants, but people do ask questions about the "spouse factor" from time to time.

www.ocsfoundation.com

[This message has been edited by Ryan the Temp (edited 1/17/2014 6:54p).]

Hmm... Apparently I am woefully uninformed about the amount of travel/time away required. I expected to be away for training and such, but from Ryan's post it sounds like much more, such as actually moving.

I was also under the impression that for the Reserves/NG you were able to keep your civilian job, and once the training time was over you would just be doing the monthly drill. I'm also certain I would be taking a paycut if I was only able to be paid by the military. (obviously my company wouldn't pay while I was away at training).

Can someone give me an idea of the timeline and what would be required once I talked with a recruiter and decided to sign up? How many sets of training and assignments would be required, etc? Assume I know next to nothing, because I apparently don't...

I think he was referring more to active duty.

I haven't been in the Guard or Active Reserves but I believe you can keep your civilian job in either. A lot of times they will work with you as far as schools and deployments. Active duty...not so much. You won't be moving anywhere with the Guard or Reserves from what I know...just expected to be at your unit as scheduled.

I enlisted post 9/11 as a 28 year old. Your initial training will be a bit of a pain in the arse dealing with young guys but that largely goes away when you get to your unit. They called me grandpa in basic as I was the oldest but another company did have some guy that was like 33 so I called him grandpa. That was active duty. Trust me, in the reserves/guard there are guys way older than you in age when you get to your unit. You aren't old at all so get that out of your head.

If it's something that you really want to do, you're half way there. Include your wife in the process and make sure she understands the risk (deployment, time away, some weekends gone, etc) along with the reward. You're not selfish at all if it is a joint decision.

Now that you're almost there, figure out exactly...EXACTLY what you want and don't let a recruiter mess with your future. I had to stop the process with my first recruiter and eventually found one that shot straight.

To me personally it sounds like the National Guard may suit your needs more in structuring a work/life/service balance.

Lastly, get in decent shape, specific to what the military requires, and the rest will work itself out. I was in poor shape when I got in but ended up among the top performers by the end of it all. There are a lot of guys with degrees and a desire to serve just like you out there. The hardest part of the whole thing is pulling the trigger.

Good luck to you.

Thanks Lobster. That helps a lot. It's nice to hear other's experiences that are/were in a similar situation.

What are the differences between Reserves and NG? I'm having a hard time figuring out the specifics...

To answer your last question, my wife's cousin just got in the guard and he waited like 3 months to go to basic after he signed up. I believe that is mostly in your control. They will try to tell you when they want you to go but ultimately you have to do what's best for you and your family.

As far as training, typically you will go to basic and then right to your MOS training, but in the Guard I believe there may be some time in between those as well. I'm not positive on that but it seems it can be spread out from what I've seen.

From my limited knowledge, the reserves are a component of the national US Military and the Guard is the military component of your state. They both will and can deploy. The Guard guys I know seem to have a lot more freedom as far as maintaining their civilian life and either deploying or not based on the situation. These are good questions that I'm sure others on here can explain from experience a lot better than I can. I will say that if I were you, I would go Guard over Reserves 10 times out of 10.

Also, look at the benefits each offer. I think you may find the Guard has everything the Reserves offers and sometimes even more from your state.

Thank you, sir. I appreciate the help.

What type of specialty are you looking to do in the Guard?

As kyle98 said, you will be surrounded by immature high school grads. to get around this, try to join and ship in the January or February time frame, as most the high school grads will have already gone to, and graduated from basic. the later cycles will be filled with the older demographic who are in your situation. When I was a Drill SGT, we knew that the summer cycles would be a pain in the ass, while the winter cycles would be relatively easy, since they were filled with the more mature privates.

[This message has been edited by clarythedrill (edited 1/18/2014 9:22a).]

For NG officers with no prior service, the training timeline will look something like this:

BCT - 9 weeks
State Traditional OCS - ~17 months (1 weekend a month and two 2-week annual training periods)
BOLC - depends on branch, Infantry is 17 weeks, FA is 18.5 weeks, Engineer is 19 weeks. Expect 6+ months

I started BCT in September 2009 and finished BOLC in April 2012. So, about 2.5 years from the start of BCT to branch qualified. I was able to get into a BOLC class 3 months after commissioning, which is pretty quick. I had a handful of OCS classmates who hadn't started their BOLC over a year after commissioning.

Of that time, I was gone the whole 9 weeks for BCT, the 4 weeks of AT for OCS plus one weekend a month, and I was gone for most of the 6 months of BOLC. Like I said eariler, FABOLC is at Fort Sill, which is about 3 hours from the DFW area, so I was able to come up once a month or so. Friends who went to IBOLC came home once or twice, if at all.

Thanks for all the responses!

As of now it looks like I need to locate a recruiter and talk more specifically about my options. I'm leaning toward the NG, and then on to OCS, but I'm unsure of what specialty at this time. My civilian job background is in engineering, but I don't know if I want to continue that in the Guard (I will continue in my civilian job, however).

Any arguments either way between enlisted and officer? Would I be looked down, etc. by other soldiers if I jumped into OCS rather than pay my dues as enlisted, or is that a non-issue?

Also, I know BCT will occur at one of the 4 sites (GA, SC, MO, OK), but how is your location for drill determined? Specifically, are there options around the Central Texas area?

I'm currently in BOLC and there is a 41 year old in our class. I also read in the on post newspaper that there is a 52 year old former Air Force pilot going through BCT.

Also, the time table varies for NG and AR. Most of the guys I went to OCS with that weren't active waited 2-4 months for a BOLC date. Those that went state OCS waited almost 5 months. Hopefully it goes quicker for you.

Good Luck!

[This message has been edited by 5figureAg (edited 1/18/2014 11:01p).]

quote:

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Would I be looked down, etc. by other soldiers if I jumped into OCS rather than pay my dues as enlisted, or is that a non-issue?

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Absolutely not.

Prior enlisted to officer is the hard way if you are otherwise qualified with a degree etc. to be an officer to begin with. In fact, being an "older" lower ranking officer can be a signal as well. So, no way will you be looked down upon...

I will also say that if for some reason your unit is restructured or downsized (which is occurring as this is written in many cases) your position and/or unit of assignment may be relocated to a distant location that will require significant travel for you to make your weekend warrior meetings. This can become a travel issue in addition to deployment during times of conflict and other TDY's for training and whatever. In many cases you may have to arrange with your civilian employer (and family) to use your vacation time for annual training, etc. It can become tedious... But, the additional income is always welcome!!

Yes, there are units all over central Texas. There are Cav troops in Waco, BCS, and Taylor, I believe, for example. There are a ton of other units, as well.

Are you in BCS?

If so, let's meet and I can answer all you questions and if you want introduce you to a recruiter who will take care of you and not try and force you into something you don't want.

First off, I'm the OP. Replying with the sock account is tiresome because I have to log in/log off of this account (and was dumb to begin with). Plus, you guys have been very helpful so there's obviously no reason to worry about backlash or condescending remarks around here.

That said, I really appreciate the help you guys have given me. I am in current email communication with my local recruiter to set up a meeting and get more serious information.

CT'97, I am located in Austin, but if you are ever over this way, I would enjoy talking with you. I will also be in contact if I get any uneasy feelings with this recruiter and feel like I am being forced into anything. Are you TXARNG?

Thanks for all the help, and I'm sure once things move forward I will have more questions.

[This message has been edited by AgEng06 (edited 1/20/2014 10:39a).]

If you end up going the TXARNG OCS route, let me know what questions you have on that process. I just went through it in 2010-2011, so it's still pretty fresh, plus I keep in contact with some of the cadre, so I can probably get updated answers.

Thanks Kyle.

My very early plans are to follow the same route you took (BCT, then State Trad OCS over ~18 mos, then BOLC), so I will likely be in contact at some point. My main issue right now is figuring out BCT dates for this year, as I already have several prior arrangements that I will be trying to work around.

Unless you've just got your heart set on pursuing a career with those guys who run thru the woods dodging bullets and sleeping in tents in the mud and weather, I'd like to recommend that you look into a Direct Commission Program in the Navy Reserves. It takes a bit to get accepted into the program; application through Reserve Officer Recruiter, interviews by a committee of senior Naval Officers and finally selection by national board. Should you be selected, you also have to be eligible for security clearance and medical (the recruiter will walk you thru that in detail as it is a total game stopper if you have background problems that would negate getting a clearance).
Once selected, you will be summoned to to the recruiters office to be sworn in upon your designated commissioning date and assigned to a unit. From here, it depends on what specialty you are in...I can only talk to the Intelligence Officer (now called Info Dominance Warfare). You will go thru basic intel training at your unit location (or the closest regional location) for the first year. You will do your first two weeks active duty for training at "knife and fork" school (actually, Officer Indoctrination Course in Newport RI. The next year, you will begin normal drilling duties with your assigned unit and your active duty will be at your gaining command or some sub specialty or advance course.
Good luck at whatever you chose to do.
Lee72
CAPT USN (Ret)

Thanks for the help guys. I am meeting with my local recruiter on Friday morning to discuss everything. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once that happens, namely thoughts/experiences on different MOS options.

I'm hoping my timing lines up to allow me to attend Basic in May, because if not, I won't be able to go until late October. I'll be taking the PE Exam on 10/24...

Lee72, do you know the age deadline for that program?

I joined the Navy Reserve right out of high school to help pay for college. I was a sonar technician, so I spent about two months in recruit training and another three or so months in "A" school. The length of time in school depends on your specialty. After that, I (mostly) did the regular drill (one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer).

From my experience with the Navy, it was difficult to advance as a petty officer in a specialty that was tied to ships. I might never have been promoted to petty officer if we hadn't been assigned to ships out of Ingleside at a base that is now decommissioned. If you choose the Navy route and aren't close ships, try to pick a career field that isn't tied to being aboard ship to get your qualifications.

My only other thought is that one weekend a month doesn't sound like much -- until you live it. You are signing up to give up one out of every four weekends. I realize that, compared to a lot of men and women who serve, it isn't much. But if you have kids, that can add up to a lot of missed soccer games, birthday parties or whatever. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it is something to keep in mind.

[This message has been edited by BBRex (edited 1/22/2014 12:48p).]

quote:

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My only other thought is that one weekend a month doesn't sound like much -- until you live it. You are signing up to give up one out of every four weekends. I realize that, compared to a lot of men and women who serve, it isn't much. But if you have kids, that can add up to a lot of missed soccer games, birthday parties or whatever. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it is something to keep in mind.

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Thanks for the insight. I agree it seems like it would add up more than expected when you put it that way. I'll definitely make sure my wife understands that as well.

To add to that, as an officer (or NCO for that matter), it's going to take up quite a bit more than just the one weekend a month. As HHC XO, I worked more between drills that I did on the actual drill weekend.

Just something to keep in mind.

Kyle, can you expand on that a little? What kind of stuff were you doing?

If you'd rather talk offline, feel free to email me: aggieeng06 at gmail dot com

making a schedule for the weekend. Coordinating housing. etc. etc. etc.

For me it's keeping up flight hours.

BBRex...35 is the cutoff for non-prior service since they want you to have 20 good years before age 55 or 57 in order to receive retired pay at age 60. Since you are prior service, you can likely go one year past the 35 cutoff for each year of service you put in already.

Kyle98...as an officer you can fully expect to put in lots of non-drill weekend time. It will usually relate to whatever your division duties are PLUS those SLJ's that get assigned to you as you advance in rank. Also, as you become the "go to" guy, you'll likely find yourself preparing training materials and other briefing materials for the upcoming drills. Not to mention simply the time it takes to travel to/from drill, often on your own nickel.

I reported to Sand Hill (Fort Benning) for basic training on the day of my 37th birthday. This was 2007 at the height of the "surge" in Iraq so age waivers were a breeze. While you will be surrounded by a bunch of immature kids you'll be surprised at how easy you deal with it.

1. You are so focused on your old ass keeping up that you tend to ignore crap that doesn't truly involve you.

2. Its a great time to gain insight into the minds of the Soldiers you may one day be leading.

3. Your maturity helps you realize that basic is a game with its on rules. Learn the rules, and they are quite simple, and you will do fine. Its the 18yo kid right out of HS that can't figure out the rules that has the hardest time.

4. Basic, for my program, was only 9 weeks. You can do anything for 9 weeks regardless of how bad it sucks choade.

5. Finally, it feels so good to out-do the 18yo kids who think they will crush you at everything because they are younger.

Chick and Lee summed up what you'll be doing outside of drill weekends pretty well.

Even during OCS, you'll spend alot of time between drills preparing for the next drill weekend, especially if you're in a leadership position. You might be assigned to teach a class on a specific battle drill or come up with a PT plan for the weekend. There are also certain times where you'll have "homework" assignments to complete, like putting together an OPORD (Operations Order) or writing a brief presentation on an historical military leader.

Once you've commissioned, you'll be put in charge of a platoon or section, and will have to work on training plans, etc. You'll be doing lots of NCOERs, as well.

Feel free to contact me offline as well, any time. jkylenelson(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks for all the help here. I have decided that I do want to join, so now I'm in the process of deciding whether to go enlisted or officer, and what MOS/branch I would choose.

Again, thanks for the help.