US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?

Recruiters are notorious for making all these crazy promises, and the military commercials are dramatic and often epic. As much as that effort is admirable, I think it creates problems for people seriously considering joining the military in one aspect or another.



So how do you know what's real and what's not (or at partially)?US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?Are you sure your statement is correct? A good recruiter doesn't need to lie to an applicant and a lying recruiter won't stay a recruiter for long. If I lied to someone to get them in then chances are they will call home and tell people I lied to them when they learn the truth. Which would ruin any chance of being successful again. It's just like a bad car dealership. Once they get a reputation of ripping people off, less and less people go there, causing them to go out of business.



Almost all recruiters are military and the scant few who are civilian contractors are usually prior service. They can tell you about their experiences. To this day, I have never told anybody they won't deploy, I have never told anybody they are guaranteed a bonus, and I never told anybody that they will never have a bad day in the Army. The fact is that you can have a bad day no matter what you do. I tell facts and 99% of recruiters will do the same.



If you want to join but don't believe the recruiters then do your research. Google is a great tool. At the same time, learn how to sort legitimate information from the BS. Half of the answers for questions like this are usually from either point-gainers who give a stupid answer and move to another category or anti-military trolls. Also, watch out for those counter-recruiting pages since some of the stuff they post is complete garbage.US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?
How do you know what's real about anything in life? Get out there and do research. Talk to people who were part of the military. Talk to people who are currently in the military. Take a tour of a base. Watch videos of training (non military sponsored) on the internet. Go to military forums and talk to people. Read your contract.US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?if you are wondering about heroes. yes they are real and they go about their day like no big deal. i have seen them. i've done things i thought would qualify as heroic but these guys eclipse me and they think nothing of it, just another day on the job.



so epic, yes.



recruiters cannot lie to you, by law. you need to know what questions to ask and do not fool yourself as some do, or build answers to your questions in your head. ask them a thousand questions.
My husband got lucky and his recruiter just told it to him straight. That's because he wasn't a hard sell. He wanted to be a Marine and didn't need lies to convince him to enlist.



There are things his recruiter didn't tell us, but it's nothing a few minutes on the internet can't clear up. It honestly boggles my mind when I hear people tell stories of all the lies their recruiter told them and they never bothered to double check some of it.US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?I second the Sgt. If it's in writing, you'll get it. If not, someone's blowing smoke up your @$$. It's your career. Do the research on what's what. Your recruiter is a wealth of information, and only the crappy ones lie to their applicants. Just make sure everything he or she says you'll get is on your contract before you sign it.US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?
Whatever is included, in print, in your actual enlistment contract, which you sign, will happen.



The rest of it is not guaranteed.
Get yourself an unbiased sponsor, someone in the military and interested in helping future soldiers, anyone in the military can do it and they can give you true information about what is going on.US Military: How to Separate the Hype from the Real?
I recommend talking to a real military person. Someone that is in the military. They will be straight up with you and not make something sound good if it isn't
Those Marine commercials where the guy in the wife beater is going through the labyrinth, fighting a centaur, and jumping over lava are slight exaggerations.
There are literally millions of veterans out there in the country.. ask them. Recruiters will answer questions posed to them, if someone prefers to be ignorant and not research what they are getting into, then its "buyer beware".
what ever they put down on your contract is the only thing that is real
One of the ways is to ask on Yahoo several Direct questions



But beware of those that say they were for so many are sometimes posers who are Good at reading



there is one That has no ideas of anything outside Vietnam

but he will tell you he does



Recruiters are only interested in Numbers



when i Joined I was Lucky because there were 10 of thousands of ex servicemen who i asked about the RAF and after a few that all said the same thing i had an idea of what to expect and after Joining the RAF at 17 was not disappointed and continued my career for 38 years in 2 Air Forces



I joined in the explosives Branch which covers Guns Bombs Missiles Ejection seats Egress systems EOD IED SAR and the Fitment of SAR equipment including survival Dingies to aircraft EG Orions Nimrods Shackleton's etc



Bombed up aircraft armed up aircraft worked on Spitfires To F18A



from Lancaster's to FIII both models Australian and USN



i also washed Aircraft towed aircraft polished aircraft Refueled Guarded them Dug them out of the Mud



washed them out after some idiot chucked up in a pressurised Cockpit



did Guard of honor parades Funeral parades and memorial parades



and several week end Duties



yes in my teens like all learners i made a few stuff ups and received Extra duties time in the Kitchen on pots and pans



in Malaysia and Borneo in the sixties pealing potatoes unloading supplies from Argosy's Hastings Beverley's etc in 38 degree temps with about 90% humidity



or bombing up Canberra's and doing guard duty in Germany when the Berlin wall went up in - 27 degrees



and of course on deployment in an emergency living in tents with makeshift Showers tin cans for Toilets No air conditioning and meals subsidised with 85 % ration packs





all this is the truth Bad well I spent 38 years in 2 Air Forces until i was Compulsory Retired



i hope this helps sorry if it is a bit long



remember it is a big step from Civilian to Serviceman so ask write a list so you don't forget and ask
I've been active duty for 6+ years and have deployed twice. I'm not gonna lie. I started out active duty and then served 1.5 years in the guard. Active duty is much more demanding and they have much control over your life. You're a soldier 24/7, on post or off, weekends, holidays, sleeping, eating, being with your significant other. Basic Training and AIT together will eat up at least 4 months if not longer. If you get in trouble with the law in the civilian world you'll get punished again my your unit. NG or Active there might be a good change you'll deploy somewhere. There are strict rules and regulations you have to follow and rank structure is very important.

The military is not all bad. Unfortunately, when one of us does something stupid, (like hitting his g/f) we all look like that. There are more perks, at the cost of sacrifice. The army values come into play and all around it has changed my life in ways I can't describe. Active duty soldiers are more fit b/c we PT Mon through Fri. We get all this cool equipment to shoot, use, drive, ride, etc. The uniform kicks and random people will just start talking to you. You get to do thins that most people never get a chance to do or see. CNN and those shows only show what will get them ratings.

Basic really sucks of course, AIT get's better, and your first unit will be somewhat better. Once you've been at your unit a few months things will have fallen into place. There's much more to know about the "real" army than the one being fed to coerce people into joining. Recruiters get paid bonuses for every soldier that completes basic and AIT. I worked with a guy that changed over to being a recruiter and I've been messed over by one. Good luck with what this is taking you.