Considering to Enlist

[Noctis Lucis Caelum]

I'm currently thinking about enlisting in the Army or USAF.
24 years old with an EMT-B cert. Probably won't get me much but i also have college credits along with an AA in biology sciences.

My question is, with all the bad times and bad economy right now.
Is it a good idea to be enlisting? Anything i should be aware about? beside not listening to recruiters unless its on paper

 

[ffemt8978]

Only you can decide if it's a good idea for you to enlist, either now or in the future. Either way, I've got two pieces of advice for you:

1) You will get as much out of the military as you put in to it. There are a lot of opportunities available to service members if you are willing to apply yourself to do what is required to get them.

2) The military can not make you do anything you do not want to do...however, they can sure as hell make you sorry you didn't do it.

 

[daedalus]

May I say that if you have a passion for medicine, you are certainly in a good position to succeed in applying to a PA school, an RN school, or powering out another two years and applying to a medical school. That AA in Biology paired with your EMT is a good combination.

As far as the military, FFEMT certainly has good advice for you. What exactly do you want out of the service? Perhaps you should ask yourself that question, there may be better ways to get there.

 

[Sasha]

Only you can decide if it's a good idea for you to enlist, either now or in the future. Either way, I've got two pieces of advice for you:

1) You will get as much out of the military as you put in to it. There are a lot of opportunities available to service members if you are willing to apply yourself to do what is required to get them.

2) The military can not make you do anything you do not want to do...however, they can sure as hell make you sorry you didn't do it.

And they make you do that boot camp thing! It looks so sweaty! :[

 

[scottyb]

As a US Navy Veteran, I may be a little bias, but I think if you want to pursue a medical field career, I would go with the Navy. They seem top have the best medical field training and personnel. I have spoken to Army personnel and they seem to agree. They loved dealing with the Navy Corpsman, and said they were much better than the Army Medics. But, do what you want.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

I'd have to agree. There are a lot of advantages to the military, but your career patch needs to be determined first. Don't make this just something interesting to do. If furthering your medical training and such is what you want to do then becoming a RN, PA, or MD might be what you want. Will the military help you get there or hold you back? Will they fund your future eduction? Alos, I's agree that the navy seem to be the way to go if medicine and rescue are your thing. I thought long and hard about the Coast Guard not long ago because a lot of what they do is rescue/relief oriented. Plus they are less likely to get hit by an IED. Whatever you do, think it our long and hard... and BE SAFE!

 

[Medic9]

First, are you married? Children? If so be prepared to not see them for very very long periods of time. The Army has a great medical training program but I may be a little biased (spouse for 18 yrs). Not all recruiters are dirtbags. Be very specific in what YOU want out of the service and what perks can they give you. There are signing bonuses in amounts that you wouldn't believe, GI Bill that pays for college after your enlistment is up, eArmy U (college courses paid for while active duty). But, there is a huge commitment once you sign. There is basic training, 8 weeks of little sleep, crappy food and thinking you are in hell. After that is Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and the length of time of that depends on what job you take. With the college you should go in at least as a Specialist, E-4.
If you have any questions PM me and I'll do my best to answer.

 

[RDUNNE]

There is basic training, 8 weeks of little sleep, crappy food and thinking you are in hell.

Its not THAT bad....wait no your right.....basic SUCKS.

 

[boingo]

Not sure what kind of half assed unit you are assigned to or where your medics come from, but I know plenty of Army medics who would be happy to correct you. Perhaps you are in a REMF unit with a bunch of clowns who have never crossed the wire, but I can assure you the medics supporting the infantry aren't fat, rock painting detail *****es. You sound pretty jaded in your current position, but I assure you there are plenty of high speed low drag individuals that answer the call "Medic Up!"

 

[spisco85]

I think someone is just angry. I didn't even hate life that bad when I was in Iraq. The military is all what you make of it. If you want to succeed the military will help you and push you. If you want to not do anything thats ok too, as long as you finish all your work, plus any additional duty they give you for being a crappy soldier/sailor/airmen/marine.

The reality of the military life is that you will have days that have a suck factor way above 10. Other days you'll be the highest on the happy scale. You'll do your job, sometimes you'll get detailed to do police calls. And you will inventory, a lot. It is your equipment though; might as well make sure its there. Any questions PM me.

SCOUTS OUT

 

[pnkime18]

Not sure what kind of half assed unit you are assigned to or where your medics come from, but I know plenty of Army medics who would be happy to correct you. Perhaps you are in a REMF unit with a bunch of clowns who have never crossed the wire, but I can assure you the medics supporting the infantry aren't fat, rock painting detail *****es. You sound pretty jaded in your current position, but I assure you there are plenty of high speed low drag individuals that answer the call "Medic Up!"

you're righttttt..........line medics are pretty high speed. just pretty...not crazy high speed like ranger medics or SOCM or 18Ds, the real deal!!! but the average medics in POG units are Piece of :censored::censored::censored::censored:! why? because they hold themselves as if they were all SOCM with their hands in their pockets and the lack of respect they show to NCOs and Officers. but you're right, they're all "hardcore" right? yeahhhhh buddy! you're right...all medics should hold themselves AS IF they were Spec Ops Medics themselves...because they all "answer the call" right? even though they're in POG units...and I'm pretty sure you're one of the joes that think they are. and i've been out the wire PLENTY of times plenty...and don't over do it because you and i both know...its boring.
but you're right, the current position that i'm in right now, and the other ones that i've been in have been a joke.

 

[EMT-StudxMuffin]

I was also prior Navy, served in Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom. I can personally tell you that when I was there, the Army medics was looking up to me. What was cool is that when I was assigned to an F/A-18 Fighter Jet Squadron and I was lucky enough to get a backseat ride on one of their training missions. I don't know how many medics get to do that.

I do have a question though, if you have an AA degree already, why dont you just do the officer's program instead of getting enlisted? trust me you get a lot more pay for your education. Remember though, in the military, you're ALWAYS asked to do more with less.

I agree with spisco85 100%.

RDUNNE- Basic doesnt suck that bad...just P-days where you're going through the process of checking in sucks. everything after that was a great experience IMO.

 

[RDUNNE]

RDUNNE- Basic doesnt suck that bad...just P-days where you're going through the process of checking in sucks. everything after that was a great experience IMO.

I know. Was more of a joke. After in-processing I loved every minute.

 

[dustymedic]

Well, from one army medic to a future prospect... take your time and research all possible avenues available to you before you raise your right hand and swear that oath at MEPS, cuz past that, you belong to the army. Do you want to be in a hospital, or in the field. Either way you run a chance of being stuck in a crappy unit, but just cuz the unit sucks does not mean you have to be some POS/POGue.

My suggestion to you is this, with EMT-B already done, hopefully National Registry, you would fast track 68W school down at Fort Sham Houston, TX meaning they would advance you past the first 8 weeks of school, but only if you are current with CPR and EMT-B. You should ask your recruiter about M6(LPN school) F6(Flight medic), W1(SOCM Medic non 18D) etc... they have the information, you just have to pry it out of them. Make sure you work it in your favor too, bonuses are getting smaller if that matters to you and you can get the hooah schools in your contract for Airborne and RIP, but make sure you are in shape before you show for basic, cuz basic was a joke. Todays Army is all about self discipline, they dont make anything of you anymore, they just help make you what you were meant to be a little faster, be that good or bad.

Good luck.

 

[dustymedic]

You skipped the part about silicone coated combat medic

... You sound pretty jaded in your current position, but I assure you there are plenty of high speed low drag individuals that answer the call "Medic Up!"

 

[James 61]

I was in the Marine Corps so my input is based on what I experienced and observed. Navy Corpsman were our favorite naval personnel. The ones assigned to Marine units were not viewed as outsiders but were considered a member of the family. One of the advantages to becoming a Corpsman is that there is a wide variety of units you can be assigned to. Infantry squads, helicopter squadrons, fighter squadrons, ships, subs, and the list goes on.

I also want to touch on the officer corps. Since you already have a AA degree I would look long and hard at a ROTC program. Get the gov to pay for the rest of school. Also the perqs and pay is better and they generally treat officers like they can find the arse with both hands and don't have to be looked after constantly. I've been out of the military for 10 years and I even looked into a ROTC nursing program recently. Decided it was not for me and my family, but it is not to say it would not work for you.

 

[Afflixion]

Well seeing as I'm currently in the army as a medic and currently deployed to Iraq I may be able to provide a little insight. First off theres basically 2 kinds of medics in the army oth fall under "68W - Healthcare Specialist" but you have your field/ line medic and your hospital medics...no you do not get to choose though rule of thumb if your a male your going to be infantry if your female your going to hospital (no disrespect thats just usually how it goes) basic is rather easy hardest part is getting used to taking orders and waking up at "0-dark-thirty" AIT is rather long for medics but already having your basic knocks out quite a bit as you dont have to go through the emt portion (make sure you have your card current or you'll have to do the class anyways.) as for your associates unfotunately it will only get you PFC. In regards to experiences in the army medical field yes hospital medics are all REMFs who have no idea what they're doing but thats because they dont let them do anything there. On the line we do everything you monitor your troops immunizations, you keep an eye on possible and previous heat cas. and you treat battlefield injuries using mostly non-traditional ways that in civilian side people would scream heresy... Just remember in the army as a line medic YOU ARE AN INFANTRYMAN AND A MEDIC AT THE SAME TIME its alot more work and responsibility but your troops help you out. I'm currently deployed to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division (yes i know all the paraodies hundred and worst, puking chickens, etc)

-SGT Mendoza
NREMT-P, EMT-T, 68W20

 

[AJ Hidell]

...theres basically 2 kinds of medics in the army oth fall under "68W - Healthcare Specialist" but you have your field/ line medic and your hospital medics...

...hospital medics are all REMFs who have no idea what they're doing but thats because they dont let them do anything there.

For some reason, you left out clinical medics who work at the field level, such as the Battalion Aid Station. Do not overlook or underestimate them. We let those guys do a LOT of stuff that field medics only dream of, and I have every bit as much confidence in them as I do in any field medics. And, unlike field medics who tend to stagnate in their knowledge and education, my clinical medics are always learning and furthering their education. They see more patients than you, have more contact with the medical community than you, and have more time to study than you.

I know it's just a friendly rivalry of pride, but let's not let our pride mislead our potential enlistees.

 

[Afflixion]

I lumped the CASH guys in with the field medics... CASH medics get more experience dealing with straight up medical than any line medic could dream of unless he has worked in a deplyed CASH unit... I was pawned off to work in the 10th CASH for about 2 months in the ER... damn that was a learning experience and a half... We did stufff some RNs aren't allowed to do.

 

[mycrofft]

Most big emergency medical advances come from battle.

Harder to sue the "experimenter".