OT: Military Life

[Trettioåtta]

So i am currently applying to the British Army to be an officer. Does anyone here have any military experience? I appreciate it is different countries/cultures etc. and I am asking people I know off the internet :P but it would be helpful to chat if you are. So please PM me/comment etc.

[IKnowPhysics]

Fascinating. Also, congratulations on making that decision.

 

What motivated you? What, as an officer in the British Army, do you want to do or work on?

 

I personally do not have military experience, but I did consider it briefly, and many of my friends and family are veterans.

[Trettioåtta]

Fascinating. Also, congratulations on making that decision.

 

What motivated you? What, as an officer in the British Army, do you want to do or work on?

 

I personally do not have military experience, but I did consider it briefly, and many of my friends and family are veterans.

 

Thanks. In part because no other jobs really interested me - so I sat down to work out why and I came to the conclusion that it was because they lacked responsibility and danger. I like danger in a bizarre way (the adreneline rush). I spent 6 months in a biochem lab for my masters and hated it. It felt so pointless (i'm a big fan of blue skys research...just not when i'm the one doing it :P ).

 

I'm not too sure how the American system works but here you apply to be an officer and register interest in areas, and then once at Sandhurst (our West Point) you interview for cap-badges. I have registered interest with intelligence and armoured reconnaissance. I have passed the interview stage of the process to that's good (everything else is on hold until I finish uni)

[Redemption City]

I just celebrated my first year in the Air Force, and so far it's been great. I've heard going to the Officer Academy in the states is pretty rough. You pretty much get treated like crap for four years. The difference between enlisted and officer was best described to me as...officers lead programs, and sergeants lead people. Obviously, that could be different depending on what your job is.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

I just celebrated my first year in the Air Force, and so far it's been great. I've heard going to the Officer Academy in the states is pretty rough. You pretty much get treated like crap for four years. The difference between enlisted and officer was best described to me as...officers lead programs, and sergeants lead people. Obviously, that could be different depending on what your job is.

 

Good stuff...

 

And nice job 38. I have to second what zeke said. One of my good friends went to West Point and he was a broken person and almost lost his mind while there. He made it, and I haven't talked to him for a few years as he is off the radar doing some Jack Bauer sh!t.

 

Not sure how it works there, but kudos to anyone who wants to serve.

[Taro T]

Good for you 38.

 

I have the utmost respect for the British armed forces, but every time I hear (or read) the phrase 'British Army' I always think of the Monty Python skit 'it's a dog's life in the modern army.'

 

 

:lol:

Edited May 20, 2014 by Taro T

[HopefulFuture]

E-5 US Navy 88-92

[shrader]

Thanks. In part because no other jobs really interested me - so I sat down to work out why and I came to the conclusion that it was because they lacked responsibility and danger. I like danger in a bizarre way (the adreneline rush). I spent 6 months in a biochem lab for my masters and hated it. It felt so pointless (i'm a big fan of blue skys research...just not when i'm the one doing it :P ).

 

You couldn't find any fun or danger in that chem lab? Clearly you've never watched Breaking Bad. Seriously though, good luck with the search.

[Trettioåtta]

I just celebrated my first year in the Air Force, and so far it's been great. I've heard going to the Officer Academy in the states is pretty rough. You pretty much get treated like crap for four years. The difference between enlisted and officer was best described to me as...officers lead programs, and sergeants lead people. Obviously, that could be different depending on what your job is.

 

It is a little different here. Sanhurst isn't an academy, it is only officer training. So you're there for one year rather than four. However, by all accounts the experience isn't the most pleasant.

 

I don't plan on doing it as a career, but I would like to do it for 5ish years, then transition to something else. This makes the managerial side of being an officer useful, if less fun

[Campy]

E-5 US Navy 88-92

 

PO2 HopefulFuture. Has a nice ring to it!

[HopefulFuture]

 

 

PO2 HopefulFuture. Has a nice ring to it!

 

Accelerated advancement out of c school. Hit the fleet as a non-com, po3. Would have stayed but downsizing was coming, advancement much tougher.

[MILFHUNTER#518]

US ARMORED CAV 2003-2006 with appx 15 mos in Iraq. You have to be the right kind of person to make it through OCS (Officer Candidate Selection). My best friend transferred from the USAF to the ARMY to go to OCS last year. He was washed out TWO WEEKS BEFORE GRADUATION despite outstanding performance both physically and academically. They made him go to ARMY enlisted basic training, 9 weeks, despite already being a Sergeant in the Air Force for 6 years, then OCS was like another 16 weeks of pure hell. They washed him out because they just didn't like him...

 

Just remember that whatever rights and privileges you may now enjoy as a civilian are now null and void when you enter the military. Freedom of speech, expression, choice,etc are all out the window. A senior NCO can punish you by ordering you to do physical activities until you either hit muscle failure or are injured 24/7 for no reason at all. If you refuse you are now subject to legal action.