http://www.wood.army.mil/wood_cms/usacbrns.shtml

is this an exciting field in the army?

Especially if you like getting cancer.

I love the smell of Sodium thiopental in the morning... smells like truth.

It can be. There are some really cool assignments for that career field that I wouldn't even know exist if it weren't for our battalion CBRN NCO. I would imagine, though, that most CBRN soldiers are in much more mundane positions. There is essentially one assigned to each company sized and larger units. There are CBRN recon platoons, 1 per brigade I believe. They get to do a little bit cooler stuff. Then there are secret squirel type positions that deal more with the labratory type stuff and get called out to work with other various domestic issues. I don't know much about that. I'm just a grunt.

thanks for the info

what's your MOS?

11B3P

Wait, I thought wookie was a teacher.
Am I thinking of someone else?

no that's dumb. drive a tank. >.>

And Tibby, you srsly didn't realize at least in the last few weeks that Wookie's in the Army?

Did you know I'm in the Navy?

I'm not a teacher. Yet. That's the other old guy. Chewbubba.

Oh right, I got my hairy bipeds mixed up.
:downs:

hey sarn, wookie06
how was MEPs?

Considering Reagan was president when I went through I'm sure it has changed quite abit. But, there is the full physical that most guys are squimish about. Basically, you may take the ASVAB at the MEPS if you aren't able to do it locally or don't have a valid one on record from High School. The next phase is the physical followed by going to the counselors for the individual service you are trying to join. They are not called recruiters but, make no mistake, they're recruiters. They will attempt to establish and maintain rapport with you. For the Army, the system they use is going to first display the jobs the Army most needs to fill that you are qualified for. Of course they can dig deeper in the system to try to pull other jobs you are qualified for but this is all based on actual "seats" in each course. They probably aren't going to hold something back from you that there is a legitimate need to fill. They could, though, if the "counselor" is really trying to fill other slots that he gets more credit for. Now, I don't know the current system but when I say credit I doubt he actually gets any monetary credit (unless it is a civilian then they most likely do get paid better when they slot you in higher priority seats) but Army "counselors" receive points towards awards that can be worn on the uniform. Kind of like Amway. There are some bonus programs that have been put in place for recruiters so it's possible counselors can get some money too. I don't know. I also think that recruiters have some flexibility to guarantee you a job before you go to MEPS now. Things change so just because I have extensive knowledge of how things were a few years ago doesn't mean all of my information is accurate today. Most people don't have the wisdom or integrity to admit when their experience might be outdated. I have enough experience with so many things that constantly change so I understand when to consider that.

There's gonna be a lot of sitting around waiting. They'll get you up at probably 3am and you'll probably get to MEPs about 4:30 or 5. And you'll maybe get done by noon. But you'll probably find yourself sitting for an hour or so here and there waiting for your turn for stuff. But get used to that. The military's all about "hurry up and wait." If you join, in your first year you'll learn how to sleep for 2 hours, then be up for 20, then have to sit still without falling asleep for another 4.

Now, the physical really isn't that bad. They make you move your body around in weird ways to make sure all your joints work. They check to make sure your spine and bones are shaped properly. They do a hearing, vision, and depth perception test. They record any markings you have on your body (moles, tattoos, scars)... They do a drug test. And they draw blood to do labwork. I think that's about it. (oh yeah, and they do a visual inspection of your butt hole :o)

If you haven't already taken your ASVAB, they'll have you take it (most people take their ASVAB earlier, so they can be talking about jobs with the recruiter ahead of time).

Once all their testing is done (physical and mental) they are going to present you with jobs. Like Wookie was saying, they may try to push certain jobs on you that they want filled, but remember at this point, the power is still in your hands to turn around and walk away. So if you keep negotiating with them you have a good chance of being able to get what you want (especially if your ASVAB line scores are good, and you passed all the physical tests with flying colors), try and use that advantage to get a decent signing bonus (I got $5000).

Remember two things (which they should make abundantly clear to you anyway).
1) If you're expecting anything out of your agreeing to join (ie bonus, a specific job, or posting to a specific location), make sure they show it to you in your contract before you sign anything. If it's not on paper, it was never promised, and you're not going to get it. Bottom line.

2) Once you sign the papers, you lose your power. Make sure you're getting what you want out of your enlistment before you sign. You can't sign the papers then ask them about an enlistment bonus. It aint gonna happen. But if, before you sign, you bring it up (and make them put it in writing), you've got a good chance of getting a few thousand for your committment. It's not wrong to get what you want out of this deal. You're basically giving your life to the government for the next 4 or 5 years, so make sure it's worth the cost.