So I've got some serious decision making to do and I'm looking for some advice from anyone with military service. Are there any warrant officers around willing to share what their experience was like becoming a warrant officer, particularly those in aviation? Also to any Marines who are/were enlisted what is/was your MOS and why did you choose it?
-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
-
Be sure to enter the NES/MFS May Giveaway ***Canik METE SFX***
Questions for US Military members
- Thread starter BostonVI
- Start date
Marine reservist grunt here, who happens/happened to be looking into moving on to Army aviation through the warrant route. Here is my take on the Aviation thing first... Great gig if you can get it. I do intend to pursue it but figuring out where my fiance will be going to med school, if/where I will be going to law school, all has to come first. The process seemed to be much easier for prior service and here is why. I am finishing up 6 years in the Marine Corps reserve. I have 1.5 years IRR time at the end of my contract. If I were to try to do the warrant aviation program for Army guard I could lat move to an army guard infantry unit and only owe them a 1 year extension into my IRR time, and not need to retrain as I am already a Marine Corps grunt (doesn't work the other way around). In that time I could submit my warrant package. As I understand it if I had no military experience I would have to sign at least a 4 year commitment to the guard, and if the aviation thing never materialized, I'd be stuck in whatever job I signed for for the duration of my contract. For this reason, if you want to be a Marine, I'd do that first, and THEN try the army aviation thing. If you wanted to be an army XYZ anyway, I'd say just do that, and you can always put in your package. The bottom line is an enlisted MOS in the Marine Corps is virtually a guarantee once it's in writing and you've got the contract signed. The aviation program in the Army is a much slower process to get in to, will require a good deal of work on your part, and if you scrub out can land you somewhere you may not want to be. Again, I intend to try to fly for the guard... but not for the next couple years at least.
Now onto Marine Corps stuff. Going enlisted there are a handful of decision you have to make. First, active or reserve. Next, MOS. I am a reservist, all said and done in a 6 year contract I have about 2 years active duty time with 1 deployment to Afghanistan, all my initial training, and various training exercises over the summer. I have had a positive experience in the reserves but likely would have seen much more "action" on active duty... that is all changing now as we roll into peacetime however. If you are not in the process of going to school, or don't have a good civilian gig, I would advise you go active duty. You will get much more of the "military experience" and it is a potential career. Also you will have better education benefits on the backend if you choose to get out.
Once you determine reserves versus active duty, you need to decide on MOS. Are you looking to get job training, or are you looking to do something you can't do anywhere else? I would love to be a helicopter pilot, but if someone said you can pick one or the other, and that's all you get, I would take infantry. In my OPINION, infantry and other combat arms MOS's are the epitome of the military. I think you should at least do it for 4 years, if you decide to go with a more civilian applicable MOS afterward (air traffic control, mechanic, etc) so be it. Why go through the hassle of joining the military to be trained in something you can get paid way more to do in the civilian world? I'll never understand why people choose "supply" or "admin" in the Marine Corps. This is not to knock those who serve, they serve a very important role, but why the hell they would join the Marine Corps to do that I will never understand. They say every Marine a rifleman, and that's straight BS. As a Marine grunt I'd take ANY of my army infantry buddies over some non-combat Marine any day. Army and Marine Corps infantry are more in sync than Marine Corps infantry and Marine Corps admin, for example.
I'm happy to answer any more questions, but I'd recommend go Marine Infantry if you want "the military experience."
Mike
Now onto Marine Corps stuff. Going enlisted there are a handful of decision you have to make. First, active or reserve. Next, MOS. I am a reservist, all said and done in a 6 year contract I have about 2 years active duty time with 1 deployment to Afghanistan, all my initial training, and various training exercises over the summer. I have had a positive experience in the reserves but likely would have seen much more "action" on active duty... that is all changing now as we roll into peacetime however. If you are not in the process of going to school, or don't have a good civilian gig, I would advise you go active duty. You will get much more of the "military experience" and it is a potential career. Also you will have better education benefits on the backend if you choose to get out.
Once you determine reserves versus active duty, you need to decide on MOS. Are you looking to get job training, or are you looking to do something you can't do anywhere else? I would love to be a helicopter pilot, but if someone said you can pick one or the other, and that's all you get, I would take infantry. In my OPINION, infantry and other combat arms MOS's are the epitome of the military. I think you should at least do it for 4 years, if you decide to go with a more civilian applicable MOS afterward (air traffic control, mechanic, etc) so be it. Why go through the hassle of joining the military to be trained in something you can get paid way more to do in the civilian world? I'll never understand why people choose "supply" or "admin" in the Marine Corps. This is not to knock those who serve, they serve a very important role, but why the hell they would join the Marine Corps to do that I will never understand. They say every Marine a rifleman, and that's straight BS. As a Marine grunt I'd take ANY of my army infantry buddies over some non-combat Marine any day. Army and Marine Corps infantry are more in sync than Marine Corps infantry and Marine Corps admin, for example.
I'm happy to answer any more questions, but I'd recommend go Marine Infantry if you want "the military experience."
Mike
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2007
- Messages
- 3,352
- Likes
- 386
I could write a long email from the army side of the house. But if you want to talk I can send my phone number. I am not a warrant but know a lot about the process since i have had them work for me before. Pm me if you want. I will give you the no bs answer and answer your questions as best i can.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2013
- Messages
- 565
- Likes
- 76
Most S1 or S4 guys probably get assigned those MOS's at the end of bootcamp or that's the way they used to do it. Pretty much going on aptitude tests. That being said, I'd rather take any non-combat Marine regular over some Marine reservist any day.
One time my unit was at Ft Irwin doing some stupid desert exercise, and myself and three of my buddies were at the chowhall minding our own business. One of the guys was Sgt Ray McNeil, a Mr Olympia contestant (and supply guy btw). Well some army guys next to us were talking about the different branches and one of them mentions he almost joined the Marines. His buddy chimes in "Marines? Shit they're just a buncha Navy whores!" So Ray turns to him and says "That's funny, I don't consider myself a Navy whore." Hilarity ensued.
Heres a picture of Ray, he was tragically killed by his wife. She was a bodybuilder also and it's thought roid rage might have factored into her shooting him. IIRC she used a 12g.
But yeah, I'd take Ray the supply guy any day.
One time my unit was at Ft Irwin doing some stupid desert exercise, and myself and three of my buddies were at the chowhall minding our own business. One of the guys was Sgt Ray McNeil, a Mr Olympia contestant (and supply guy btw). Well some army guys next to us were talking about the different branches and one of them mentions he almost joined the Marines. His buddy chimes in "Marines? Shit they're just a buncha Navy whores!" So Ray turns to him and says "That's funny, I don't consider myself a Navy whore." Hilarity ensued.
Heres a picture of Ray, he was tragically killed by his wife. She was a bodybuilder also and it's thought roid rage might have factored into her shooting him. IIRC she used a 12g.
But yeah, I'd take Ray the supply guy any day.
Do yourself a favor, before you make any decisions about any branch, make sure you talk to an Army National Guard Warrant Officer recruiter. Plus, no other state or branch can match the educational benefits of the Mass Guard. Google the Massachusetts Army National Guard and get the contact info for the Warrant Recruiter. PM me if you have any further questions.
I was only an infantryman for four years, but it was a long time ago. Which is my point. Infantry is a young man's game. I've got no idea how old you are, but there aren't a lot of older light fighters. Most of them develop knee problems, neck problems, back problems, hearing problems... I found that most of the folks I knew over thirty who were still dismounted/airborne infantrymen were either leaders, who often don't have to do tedious physical labor in garrison anymore, or physical specimens of the shorter, more wiry type, who could carry their body weight for days on their back with a low center of gravity.
Keep in mind that everyone's experience may vary. crazymjb is right about the "ethos" of being an infantryman, but an 11D in a mechanized antitank platoon is going to have a VASTLY different experience than an 11B1P who goes into the Rangers. My experience is exclusively from the 82d Abn side of the house, so there's a LOT I don't know about mech infantry.
I will say that the WOCs I went to basic training with did come in for special attention from our drill sergeants. I'm not sure it's this way now, but at the time folks with a WO contract got promoted to E-5 immediately upon graduation from basic training, just before departing for WOC school. The drill sergeants thought the fact they became sergeants so quickly was a joke, and let the WOCs know at every opportunity.
Keep in mind that everyone's experience may vary. crazymjb is right about the "ethos" of being an infantryman, but an 11D in a mechanized antitank platoon is going to have a VASTLY different experience than an 11B1P who goes into the Rangers. My experience is exclusively from the 82d Abn side of the house, so there's a LOT I don't know about mech infantry.
I will say that the WOCs I went to basic training with did come in for special attention from our drill sergeants. I'm not sure it's this way now, but at the time folks with a WO contract got promoted to E-5 immediately upon graduation from basic training, just before departing for WOC school. The drill sergeants thought the fact they became sergeants so quickly was a joke, and let the WOCs know at every opportunity.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
- Messages
- 16,367
- Likes
- 4,835
I did five years active in the Marines on a guaranteed electronics / avionics contract. The thought back then was that I'd learn a trade and get out with some job prospects and college money. I spent over a year in school learning how to fix radars and fire control electronics for the HAWK missile system, only to have the MOS killed off not long after I finished school. I ended up spending more time on ranges as a range NCO and unofficial coach than I did in my actual MOS, and all in all I loved every single minute of it.
I didn't end up getting a job in electronics or avionics, but the "soft skills" I learned from the Marines did get me into a good job in software services that I was fortunate enough to build into a pretty decent career (so far anyway.) I wouldn't go so far as to say that the MOS doesn't matter, because it does (or at least it can,) but it's only one part of the whole picture.
I have a buddy who went through a commissioning program after HAWK died and now he flies CH-53 helicopters. He said there were a ton of former enlisted guys in flight school with him, so that's another option to think about if you want to fly.
As was said infantry is a young mans game. If you think you'd be into that, do that first, and loom to flying later. IIRC the cutoff for flying for the army is 34.
After 4 years ACTIVE in any service youll get a free ride through a state school. MA ANG will cover you at Umass right off the bat.
There are differences between the "combat arms" MOSs, but I think you will find, especially among the infantry, that the majority of guys "want" to be there... they sought it out. The grunt MOSs fill up first for a reason, despite the danger amd dirtyness. By the way, as you may find out, "garrison" pretty military and the mindset is vastly different from "field" beligerent military and the mindset. There is overlap, but the missions could be considered politics and pr vs. War fighting and man love.
Mike
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
After 4 years ACTIVE in any service youll get a free ride through a state school. MA ANG will cover you at Umass right off the bat.
There are differences between the "combat arms" MOSs, but I think you will find, especially among the infantry, that the majority of guys "want" to be there... they sought it out. The grunt MOSs fill up first for a reason, despite the danger amd dirtyness. By the way, as you may find out, "garrison" pretty military and the mindset is vastly different from "field" beligerent military and the mindset. There is overlap, but the missions could be considered politics and pr vs. War fighting and man love.
Mike
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
ochmude
Marine Veteran
I was an artilleryman in the Marines. Artillery forward observers get to do some seriously high speed stuff. After they go through MOS school at Ft. Sill they all go to Coronado, CA and train with SEALS. The rest of artillery (cannon crewmen and fire direction controllers) is significantly less fun.
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Messages
- 2,831
- Likes
- 537
My son is a Army (18x) SF candidate (with a 5 year active duty contract) currently finishing up Basic at Benning (early in the game). He's 23 has a 4 year college BA degree in Business. Would the Army 100% subsidize a Masters program of his choice after his commitment?
Thank you guys so much for the responses. To give a little background, I'm turning 27 next week and I'm a junior studying Computer Science and Physics at UMass Boston . I've been working in IT for the past 10 years. I originally began talking to the Marine Corps OSO office last spring to apply for PLC, but because of the draw down it's been cut back only to college freshmen and sophomores. I wasn't in school this past spring so I figured I'd enroll in a flight school and start getting some hours under my belt. I'm originally from the US Virgin Islands, have no family here, and live alone. I found out last week that our department at work is about to be laid off and now I need to find a full-time gig ASAP. Sadly this means I probably won't be able to finish school within a reasonable amount of time, and even if I could I'd be too old for USMC OCS, although the OSO claims it's waiver-able.
From my research the Army WOFT acceptance rate for civilians last year was something like +60%, making it a great option for civilians interested in pursuing aviation. Since it doesn't require a college degree, and has an age cut off of 33, it seemed foolish not to pursue it. When I met with the recruiter he told me that I should start looking at potential Army MOS's in the event that I'm not selected for WOFT. Given my IT and HAM radio experience Signal Corps seems to be a no brainier but similar to what crazymjb said, why would I join the military to do something that I could get paid more to do as a civilian? I suppose the appeal to 25C (Field Radio Operator) is that I'd be working with technology and there would be the potential to be attached to an infantry unit, which to me seems like the best of both worlds. No matter the outcome I know I want active duty.
Despite having always wanting to be a Marine, on paper the Army does seem to offer much more than the Marine Corps in terms of loan repayment (which I have plenty of), opportunities further down the line to apply for WOCS if I don't make it on the first try, promotion, and overall better quality of life. I've got a month to decide if I want to go Army or Marines, and I'm not getting any younger. No matter the outcome I think I'll be happy to be in the military supporting the mission by any means. At least my ASVAB score should be high enough that I'm pretty much qualified for any job either service has. If I could go back and do it all over again I would have enlisted out of high school or tried to get into a ROTC program when I started college. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. Thank you guys very much for your responses. Reps inbound!
P.S. Totally made the recruiter laugh out loud when I asked him what the hell am I going to do with all my guns if I go active duty!
From my research the Army WOFT acceptance rate for civilians last year was something like +60%, making it a great option for civilians interested in pursuing aviation. Since it doesn't require a college degree, and has an age cut off of 33, it seemed foolish not to pursue it. When I met with the recruiter he told me that I should start looking at potential Army MOS's in the event that I'm not selected for WOFT. Given my IT and HAM radio experience Signal Corps seems to be a no brainier but similar to what crazymjb said, why would I join the military to do something that I could get paid more to do as a civilian? I suppose the appeal to 25C (Field Radio Operator) is that I'd be working with technology and there would be the potential to be attached to an infantry unit, which to me seems like the best of both worlds. No matter the outcome I know I want active duty.
Despite having always wanting to be a Marine, on paper the Army does seem to offer much more than the Marine Corps in terms of loan repayment (which I have plenty of), opportunities further down the line to apply for WOCS if I don't make it on the first try, promotion, and overall better quality of life. I've got a month to decide if I want to go Army or Marines, and I'm not getting any younger. No matter the outcome I think I'll be happy to be in the military supporting the mission by any means. At least my ASVAB score should be high enough that I'm pretty much qualified for any job either service has. If I could go back and do it all over again I would have enlisted out of high school or tried to get into a ROTC program when I started college. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. Thank you guys very much for your responses. Reps inbound!
P.S. Totally made the recruiter laugh out loud when I asked him what the hell am I going to do with all my guns if I go active duty!
Last edited:
I was a Grunt in the Marines for twenty years (16 years enlisted and four as a CWO). I only served in Infantry units or in training commands that directly supported Infantry units.
Before enlisting, my ASVAB score qualified me for any of the direct enlistment MOSs.
My opinion at the time was that the Infantry was the quintessential Marine job - Marines carry rifles and engage the enemy.
It was a tough life, but no regrets!
I think in this day and age you would be making a huge mistake to quit college before you get a degree. Once you get that degree, you'd be eligible for Army or Marine OCS (with an age waiver, virtually always granted unless you have physical problems).
At all times Army aviation is very competitive and you have to pass the flight physical. I passed the Airborne, Ranger and Special Forces physical but not the flight physical.
Being a ground combat officer can be very rewarding. You will be a 29 year old 2nd LT and your Commander will be a 27yo Captain. If you are very high-speed, down the road you will be competing for a BN command with guys that are 6-7 years younger than you are: in a young man's game. And if you don't get a BN command, you will be retiring as a LTC.
Does that mean you shouldn't do it? I enlisted for the 2nd Ranger BN at age 28 and with a college degree. I was then "strongly encouraged" to go to OCS, which I did. Then I went to Jump school and Ranger School and wound up with the 7th Cavalry. I got out after 4 years at age 32. Had a great experience. But my brother joined the USMC right out of college and by age 32 had already been an Infantry company commander. In the end I got out because there was no sign of conflict in the foreseeable future, so I would be looking at a year in AOAC, roughly 1 1/2 years as a Cavalry Troop Commander, then 5-10 years of staff assignments. Troop leading is awesome: staff leading is not so awesome.
But finish your degree first.
At all times Army aviation is very competitive and you have to pass the flight physical. I passed the Airborne, Ranger and Special Forces physical but not the flight physical.
Being a ground combat officer can be very rewarding. You will be a 29 year old 2nd LT and your Commander will be a 27yo Captain. If you are very high-speed, down the road you will be competing for a BN command with guys that are 6-7 years younger than you are: in a young man's game. And if you don't get a BN command, you will be retiring as a LTC.
Does that mean you shouldn't do it? I enlisted for the 2nd Ranger BN at age 28 and with a college degree. I was then "strongly encouraged" to go to OCS, which I did. Then I went to Jump school and Ranger School and wound up with the 7th Cavalry. I got out after 4 years at age 32. Had a great experience. But my brother joined the USMC right out of college and by age 32 had already been an Infantry company commander. In the end I got out because there was no sign of conflict in the foreseeable future, so I would be looking at a year in AOAC, roughly 1 1/2 years as a Cavalry Troop Commander, then 5-10 years of staff assignments. Troop leading is awesome: staff leading is not so awesome.
If you want to join the Marine Corps, do that. My brother did and liked it: I had no interest. It's a decision that you have to make.
But finish your degree first.
Cool story Bro.One time at band camp.....
But yeah, I'd take Ray the supply guy any day.
Last edited:
I hear you, and if it was a viable option I'd take it in a heartbeat. Unless I can find a job like I had where I could actually pay my rent working part-time, it's not really feasible for me to go back. Best case scenario I get selected for WOFT and finish my degree further down the road. Worst I bang out my four years and I finish on the GI bill. Either way I'm not giving up.
Edit: I suppose I could take out loans for rent as well as tuition, but **** me that's more than the tuition alone.
Last edited:
I've already passed an FAA medical earlier this year so hopefully the Army's isn't TOO far off. I have my ASVAB and AFAST coming up next month so assuming I do well on those, and there's no reason I shouldn't, then it's crunch time. I haven't done much research into the Guard so I think I just may contact jd4444.
I'll echo the "if you always wanted to be a Marine" thing. At 27 you could do 4 years and then apply to WOFT with plenty of time to spare... and you get to skip army boot and likely MOS school. You'd basically be doing a simple transfer. You'd also be an NCO by then unless you really sucked... the Marine Corps is also VERY culture driven... you may just want to stick around. Don't get me wrong, I one day may be in the Army trying to do what you are doing now, but I wouldn't give up having been a Marine grunt at one point in my life to do it.
Mike
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Mike
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
+1. Out of my three MOSs, 13F (FO) was easily the best. I've always said I made a mistake becoming an infantry officer rather than an artillery officer, but the truth is that FOing was the only part of the artillery business I enjoyed. That experience also meant my BC tapped me to be the BN mortar platoon leader later on: best job in the Army, IMO.
FOs get to do all the cool infantry stuff, but within the platoon/company they're attached to there's a certain respect they get that sets them apart from the "grunts." It's similar to being a medic, which is another job I'd recommend if you want to do infantry stuff without having to be an infantryman. The downside (to some) is that medics and FOs have immense resposibility at a fairly low rank, and that they have to hump more gear.
Thanks, ochmude; you're giving me Ft Sill flashbacks...
ochmude
Marine Veteran
Lol, actually, the one big positive to working the gun line as opposed to being a forward observer is, ten years down the road, you have an awesome excuse to not ever hear anything your wife says.
Wife: "I asked you to take out the trash this morning!"
Me: "Oh? I must not have heard you, sorry."
Wife: "You NEVER hear me when I ask you to do stuff!!!!"
Me: "No one forced you to marry an artilleryman."
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2007
- Messages
- 3,352
- Likes
- 386
I think the best racket in the military is medical. They give you a great education and you have a wide variety of jobs to choose from. Get to do some hooah stuff too like fly as a medic on dust-offs and do patrols of you are into that. After 20 years you have a good civilian skill set
dustoff22
NES Member
I went the Warrant Officer Flight School route and enjoyed ever second of it. Well, there were a few scary ones in Vietnam but can only speak in the highest regard for the program. Saying that, it was a long time ago and much has changed since my time. From what I do know, the program is alive and well and still very competitive. There have been several posts offering great advice to include speaking with an Army recruiter with knowledge of the Warrant Officer Flight program. As much as I thought I'd do the 4 and out, I ended up spending 24 great years flying both helicopters and airplanes in the Army. No regrets! Best wishes for whatever you decide.
Dust off, you'll get a kick out of this one. Everyone else should understand that Army Warrant Officers have a tradition of being fearless: in the face of the enemy, or paperwork. BTW it was Army pilots from the 160th or 161st SOAR that delivered the SEAL team into Bin Laden's compound. The SEALs have been interviewed in magazines: the Army guys haven't said word one.
I was in 3-7 Cav 82-85 and we had an Air Troop in addition to the three ground units. The Cav is always up front and at the time we patrolled a 100 mile section of the East/West German border, with the 11th ACR to the north and 2nd ACR to the south. Some people said the real reason we were there was to keep the 2nd and 11th from going to war against each other but they were Cav haters....That's the one thing that unifies the Armor and Infantry branches: their hatred of the Cav.
A buddy (another Plt Ldr) was flying in a Kiowa along the border trace near Coburg when he innocently asked the pilot, a seasoned CWO "what happens if you have an engine failure?" The pilot instantly shut down the engine, and they came down in a farmer's beet field by "auto gyro" where they balance the loads so that the chopper comes down in what amounts to a controlled crash. Of course, my buddy did not know this. Without question there were rules against this and all sorts of procedures and paperwork to be followed.
There is apparently a hot restart process that takes a few minutes. During this time, my buddy noticed an approaching cloud of dust, which was in fact a tractor containing a very po'd German beet farmer. About this time they cranked up the mill and the pilot got the chopper airborne and took off - directly towards the approaching tractor.
"Was that necessary?" My buddy asked, to which the pilot replied "Yes, Sir - otherwise he would get my tail number and you'd be writing a lot of reports."
"Carry on, Chief...."![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
I was in 3-7 Cav 82-85 and we had an Air Troop in addition to the three ground units. The Cav is always up front and at the time we patrolled a 100 mile section of the East/West German border, with the 11th ACR to the north and 2nd ACR to the south. Some people said the real reason we were there was to keep the 2nd and 11th from going to war against each other but they were Cav haters....That's the one thing that unifies the Armor and Infantry branches: their hatred of the Cav.
A buddy (another Plt Ldr) was flying in a Kiowa along the border trace near Coburg when he innocently asked the pilot, a seasoned CWO "what happens if you have an engine failure?" The pilot instantly shut down the engine, and they came down in a farmer's beet field by "auto gyro" where they balance the loads so that the chopper comes down in what amounts to a controlled crash. Of course, my buddy did not know this. Without question there were rules against this and all sorts of procedures and paperwork to be followed.
There is apparently a hot restart process that takes a few minutes. During this time, my buddy noticed an approaching cloud of dust, which was in fact a tractor containing a very po'd German beet farmer. About this time they cranked up the mill and the pilot got the chopper airborne and took off - directly towards the approaching tractor.
"Was that necessary?" My buddy asked, to which the pilot replied "Yes, Sir - otherwise he would get my tail number and you'd be writing a lot of reports."
"Carry on, Chief...."
In God We Trust
NES Member
Stay in school
Last edited:
That was my advice as well but given that he doesn't have the financial resources, the MA NG option seems to be appealing.
A buddy of mine enlisted in the NG while he was in college. He went to Infantry OSUt one summer, did at least several weeks of drill in the others, and had a one weekend a month part-time job. Then he signed up for ROTC. When he graduated and got commissioned, he already had several a years of service time in. Fast forward to 2008 and he retired as an 06 with something like 25 years of service. Now he's a 50yo lawyer with one hell of a pension.
This is what I did, minus being a colonel or serving 25 years. I graduated from college with a profit, instead of with debt. It's nice to commission with some prior service; whether or not it's deserved, the NCOs look at you as slightly superior to a typical 2LT. In my case, as I said above, my prior MOS also got me a better officer job later on.
Plus, you'll always be senior to the West Pointers in your cohort; they hated that, I recall.
