JimF-LowBari Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 My college roomate was a #### good trumpet player who could have made a good corps line back in the 70s. Heh, he could have commuted to Crossmen practices as he lived in King of Prussia, PA. Day after HS graduated he joined the Army and was in Germany by the time fall rolled around. Now why would he join the Army right away instead of marching corps? 'Cause getting into a good career (he wanted Police work) was a hell of a lot more important to him than doing corps. And spending three years of his life in the Service was the only way to get tuition money for college. Moral #1: Drum Corps ain't the most important thing in a lot of peoples lives. Moral #2: Sometimes you have to put up with crap now (like a Service tour) so your future will be a lot better. Not a slam, just a dose of reality. And I got the same dose of reality when I met the guy after he got out of the Army and into college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I understand that, but this isn't the 70s. The USAF is going to need him just as much, or even more, after he marched drum corps. Why more? Because he might be in even better physical shape, making their job even easier and making him look like an even more ideal candidate. It's unlikely that the recruiters are making their quotas, which puts the power in your hands and not in their hands (regardless of what they might be trying to say - as we know from some investigative work done by NBC, they aren't above distorting the truth to get you to sign up ASAP these days). If they are dangling money, it isn't going away, and that pot may only get larger. If it is more important to get into the USAF for career/college purposes, then I don't understand the "dreams crushed" line. It's a simple matter of choosing one dream over the other, not crushing anything. If marching drum corps is a dream, I'm not sure I understand why it has to be crushed to join up with the USAF. Unless he has landed some special commission that is highly competitive, I strongly suspect this opportunity will still be there after drum corps (especially if the situation in Iraq is still going poorly or we get involved in some other military conflict that isn't met with massive popular approval). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMStar85 Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Nope Tekneek. We're drawing down, meeting our quotas easily, and definitely NOT dangling money in recruits' faces. That would be the Army. Thanks for playing, though. :) That said, I agree. Enlistment can wait (unless you need the job THAT badly). We've been here 59 years...I'd suspect we'll be here 2-3 years down the road, regardless of "popular approval" of our military conflicts. If it CAN wait, then MARCH junior corps while you can. If you can't wait, a DCA corps will be waiting for your return. :) Welcome to the family, Philip, no matter when you end up enlisting! It's been an 18 year ride for me so far; started out as an Airman Basic and will retire as a Major in 3 1/2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 If it is more important to get into the USAF for career/college purposes, then I don't understand the "dreams crushed" line. It's a simple matter of choosing one dream over the other, not crushing anything. If marching drum corps is a dream, I'm not sure I understand why it has to be crushed to join up with the USAF. I don't want to guess about any DCPers (aka total strangers) situation so I'll use my friend again. Joining the Army wasn't his dream, it was the only way he saw to improve his future life. IOW, he was doing it out of a sense of responsibility to his family not as "this is what I really want to do". And he wasn't 100% happy about some of the things he went thru as a GI. Anytime he was around during a "Be All You Can Be" commercial he'd be swearing out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimisback Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Nope Tekneek. We're drawing down, meeting our quotas easily, and definitely NOT dangling money in recruits' faces. That would be the Army. Thanks for playing, though. :)That said, I agree. Enlistment can wait (unless you need the job THAT badly). We've been here 59 years...I'd suspect we'll be here 2-3 years down the road, regardless of "popular approval" of our military conflicts. If it CAN wait, then MARCH junior corps while you can. If you can't wait, a DCA corps will be waiting for your return. :) Welcome to the family, Philip, no matter when you end up enlisting! It's been an 18 year ride for me so far; started out as an Airman Basic and will retire as a Major in 3 1/2 years. Now that was right on the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas T Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I hope I can get someone I know to read this. Someone who is already finishing their first year of college and will be half way to an Associate Degree, and wants to join the military in the worst way. I'm recommending finishing school and marching junior corps while it's still possible. The military can wait! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 (edited) Ok. Granted, I wasn't speaking about the USAF specifically, but in general terms about what I had been reading about military recruiters in general. Specific problems HAVE been with the Army, of course. Good to know that USAF is doing just fine. But, I have read articles that state that only the USMC is meeting all of its quotas. It seems you are disputing that. It wouldn't be the first time that journalists got it wrong, but numerous articles I've seen this year were rather specific about that point. I'll give you that though, since you seem to be on the inside and I am not. Oh. And as far as not dangling money goes, have enlistment bonuses always gone up to $40,000? I know they weren't offering anything remotely like that in front of me back when I was being recruited in the early 90s. EDIT...The $40k seems to be specifically for the Army... :) Edited December 31, 2006 by Tekneek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMStar85 Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 (edited) Trust my comment about recruiting...it's my job to know the numbers. :) Also, the AF is "Force Shaping", a nice euphemism for cutting manning, by about 40K over the next 3 years. As far as enlistment bonuses go, the Army has been offering at least $12K since I've been in. The AF isn't offering any that I know of, but REenlistment bonuses can go up to about $45K or so, depending on career field. Me? I've never seen a red cent to enlist, reenlist, or commission. Most of us don't. Back OT...finishing school is great for most, but not all, so tread lightly with your friend, Texas T. I flunked out of college twice before enlisting; I wasn't mature enough and really didn't give a d... When I WAS mature enough, I didn't mess around. Suma ### Laude while working 40+ a week and deploying. I have no one to thank for that but the military and the "growing up" it made me do. And yes, I had one more year of marching left when I joined. Do I regret it? Never...I only regret screwing up so badly in '86 that the drum corps rug was pulled out from under me by my parents (HUGE drum corps fans). So, Philip, do what you feel you need to do for your future. But if you ARE able to put off enlisting for at least a season, I'd go for it if I were you. One year is better than none. :) edited cuz I kint spel (and I find it humorous that Latin is filtered) Edited December 30, 2006 by EMStar85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zellthemarcher Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 (edited) I don't know why Tekneek is so uptight about this. Yes, it was one of my dreams to become a Drum Corps member...but I've had a dream to join the Military since I was aged 3 or 4, Drum Corps only within the past 3 years. I'm not going to hold off enlistment, I'm not going to try to stop my enlistment. I'm steadfast in my dream of the military, and it's gonna stay that way. Someone mentioned DCA...very good idea, didn't think of that. :P Kudos to you. EDIT: EMStar85, I'm not in the DEP yet, I just recently turned 17 (December 12th, actually), so I haven't had a chance yet. My score on the ASVAB was 68, and I'm trying to go for Computer Systems Programming. Also, I'm going to have enough AFJROTC years under my belt to join the AF as a Senior Airman. Woot. Edited December 30, 2006 by zellthemarcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Sorry, I wasn't trying to be harsh or come off as uptight. Just trying to understand the situation. You seemed to be lamenting this drum corps dream as being crushed, as if it were entirely out of your control, yet it sounds like it really is well within your control if you want it to be. I'm not trying to be harsh, just direct. If you were talking to me, this would be my way of trying to figure out where your priorities were and what you were really wanting to do. For what it is worth, if you've made it into Southwind, are you positive you can't make the time commitment? What are the dues for this summer? If you really want to do it, I wouldn't give up so easily. You just might be able to make it happen. How long before you would be dropped by Southwind? Sounds like the military is a dream for you, so it is more like a dream realized than a dream crushed. I had considered it once myself. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.