I was in the Air Force for 8 years, and really enjoyed it. The reason I got out was the Clintons got into office and the don't ask don't tell policy went into effect. I had planned on staying for 20, but changed my mind when that happened.

But advice for 30 yr old with 2 kids and wife, join the Air Force, they take better care of the family. The Navy, Marines, and Army would all make fun of us flyboys as they called us, but they wanted to come and shop on our bases, eat in our mess halls,...etc because they said we got better care. Don't know for sure about this as I never went to one of their bases when I was in.

 

If people would research things out they would not say it a war over Oil. But some needs to learn to research.. But then again these same ones wonder why our fuel prices are so HIGH.. Just put more people in to raise the taxes on fuel.. Like they just did a few weeks back....

The Military is a great venture. I spent 13 years in and wish I could go back. Between military and trucking I would chosen the Military first, but due to disabilities I am no longer able to.

Yet like Trucking is not made for everyone so is the Military not for everyone. There is risk of life every where, just remember this more people are killed here in the States in any given month than they are in the War Zone in Iraq.

 

Dang, Papa Rick.... WE didn't ask you EITHER!! You didn't have to TELL US!! :wink:

AND we had better lookin WIMMIN!!! :lol:

P.S. you forgot "BUS DRIVERS." :lol: :lol:

 

Well the Airforce was always my choice since a long time ago but I am too old for the Airforce they will not except me and the Army seemed the best next choice for me.And I thought about the Army reserves but why would I go through all the Boot camp and AIT and only have part of what all the Active get :!: Its just a hard thing to decide for me. I,m thinking MAYBE do this OTR thing with this Fedex contractor for 6 months and see how it works out and if not give the Army a try MAYBE.

 

I must admit that blowing things up was quite fun during those 8 years in the Army. Perhaps my juvenile side coming out. 40 or 50 lbs of C4 all baled together makes one hell of a blast. Not to mention a very big hole in the ground. Engineers were a lot of fun to work with. Probably not enough of a reason by itself to join the Army, but it was fun.

 

My younger brother's going Air Force, but then again he's 19.
The cut-off ages for some of the services seem to be a bit ridiculous.
I was looking into some of the commissioned officer training programs and they'll usually have cut-off dates for ages up to 35.
But, why they'll accept enlistee's up to 42 in the Army, yet cut-off officer commissioning at 35 is beyond me.
Only reason I bring this to mind is I only have 20 units of college credits and I'll be near the cut-off point myself at the rate I'm completing school.
Another thread for that rant, though.
But, I hope you do come to terms with what you really want to do.
Especially with a family, you got to be sort of quick and indecisive on these types of things.

 

This guy is going to drive himself into the nut house making up his mind. All this "maybe" stuff. My teenagers are more decisive. Decide what is most important, get the facts, weigh the pros and cons, and go with it. I heard it said your first inclination is usually the correct one.

 

why not do both? Go get your CDL then join the army as a motor transport operator. If you get your CDL first your more likely to get that job. Then all you have to do if you dont like it is serve one term. The bad thing about trucking (in my eyes) is you invest so much of your time, money, emotions, and health into it, its hard to get back out of it. If you start driving a truck civilian you WILL NOT make alot of money the first few years. If you go through a company (CRST, Schneider, Swift) to get your CDL you will have to sign a contract for 6 months to a 1 year at VERY low pay. I went through CRST to get my CDL and i got paid 11 cents a mile SPLIT for the first 30 days then it jumped to a whoping 18 cents split. what i mean by split is you split every mile with your co-driver/trainer so if your truck drives 3000 miles you are only getting paid for half of those miles or half of your cents per mile for all miles.

If you get 2-4 years of constant experience it will be alot easier to find a company thats going to treat you right or will teach you most of what you need to now if you want to drive Owner Operator.

Read the wifes comments (an88mikewife)
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/answers2...0172340AAVxbdW

 

It seems like U.S. soldiers get paid squat, since I see all these "cell phones for the troops" "toys for military kids" "care packages for military families" etc. If you drive a truck you can always quit, but being a solider is at least a two-year commitment, and when you get out, it looks like they can take you back.

I absolutely do not agree with this war. And as for U.S. soldiers fighting for "my" freedom, why are they "liberating" Iraq? The things I fear are not being able to take care of or support myself, and they are coming true right now. I really am not concerned about terrorism, as I live in a state no one cares about, hundreds of miles away from a major city. My concerns are finding a job right now. And speaking of "freedom," what about the Patriot Act? And as for terrorists, does anyone honestly think we can take out everyone who hates our way of life? There's Spanish terrorist groups, Italian terrorist groups, German terrorist groups, and let's not forget about the IRA, which gets money from a lot of Irish in Boston. I think the best way to combat terrorism is to step up border patrol, and deport anyone who overstays their alloted time in the U.S.

The military has a tough job to do, but they signed up for it, and now they are screwed fighting this waste of time and money war, because Bush wanted to get rid of Saddam because his daddy didn't. I feel sorry for the soldiers. But this war was ill-planned and will bankrupt this country.

I personally wouldn't fight for this country. I ran into someone at unemployment who felt the same way. I've encountered a lot of people upset with what's going on, and resentful of Bush and my state is uber-conservative.

Driving a truck is tough and dangerous, but I think you'd sleep better (and your loved ones would sleep better too) knowing you were in Boston instead of Baghdad.

 

I feel a hijacked thread coming on. :evil:

I'll let it go...for now.