ArcAngel0223 0 #1 November 3, 2004 I need opinions... I have a fork in the road that requires a decision by tomorrow... August 26th I joined the United States Army. I'm a Parachute Rigger who will work with the Special Forces Basically I'm a Senior rigger who travels around with SF dudes, I deploy when the deploy I hafta make 3 jumps a month (under a round canopy) to keep my qualifications current. The reason I chose Parachute Rigger and not a combat related MOS (Infantry, Combat Engineer, Ranger!!) was because my mother is having a tough time right now with her father being terminally ill via stomach cancer ( he's not supposed to make it past thanksgiving now) and I just thought doing something non combat related would make it ease his mind in a time of healing... which is no longer an issue I chose Parachute Rigger because I thought it was something that I could get into and would have fun with. But I had a buddy just return from Advanced Individual Training for 21B (Combat Engineer).. and I absolutely loved what I heard about the job ... "If its not American, we blow it up." ... "If it is American, we dismantle it, and blow it up later"... "No no your right, Engineers defuse bombs, but with C4, if you find a carbomb in Iraq, you will blow it in place with C4".. The 21B school is only 5 weeks compared to 92R's 11 weeks, which would completely eat up my summer and prevent me from jumping at all.. even though if I get deployed to Iraq it won't matter... But I'm going to find myself deployed to the sandbox no matter what I do.. and I believe that I should be in a job that I will enjoy while I am there... I talked to my parents about this decision and my dad flipped out and called this war "the current vietnam of my time and why do you want to go fight for someone who doesn't matter" and my mom agreed with him, but said "you hafta do whats going to make you happy" Then they reinforced everything they said with claiming that I change my mind too much and that I should ride out my current contract... But I don't want to be a Rigger, I don't want to be a support pogue, I want to be a Soldier, I want to be Hooah, and I want to be in a job where I can be proud of what I do... I mean I can be a Airborne Combat Engineer or Infantryman, and get a guarentee to Italy and serve wtih the 173rd Airborne who deploys to Afghanistan in '05.. the possibilities are just endless Well thats basically everything in a nutshell.. I joined the Army and took a certain contract that would keep me out of direct combat for my mother and to ease the mind of my grandfather... my grandfathers passing is soon to come and my mother just wants me to be happy.. my request for a job change be in tomorrow because it must be requested 60 days within my shipdate.. So I could be a Parachute Rigger that does maintenance packs all day and watches others jump squares from 25K.. or I can be a combat engineer where the enlistment bonus is better, the scenery changes, and they let me play with EXPLOSIVES My question: What would you do? Post edited to be more damn coherent! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigway 4 #2 November 3, 2004 Yeah mate, oh yeah, yeah, why not?, yeah, oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah.....oh, yeah.....yeah i see mate, oh yeah....yeah, na mate, yeah...yeah...oh, yeah yea yea yeah mate. Alright then mate, take it easy. .Karnage Krew Gear Store . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArcAngel0223 0 #3 November 3, 2004 yea, not used to typing so much.. kinda cluttered eh? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigway 4 #4 November 3, 2004 yeah mate, i kinda lost you in all that. I gather you have joined the army and want to blow shit up and somehow keep jumping and hoping not ot fall and get stabbed by a bigass fork lying on the road. Thats about all i got. .Karnage Krew Gear Store . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #5 November 3, 2004 Heh, I have more jumps then posts...fuck, I wish! If jumps were as cheap as posts I would have more jumps then posts. Ok, I know you're looking for advice, BUT in the end you're going to have to follow your heart and mind, otherwise you won't be happy with where ever you end up. Whatever you choose, good luck! Ok, I'm not in the Army nor will I ever be, but I'll give you a vote of confidence...Hoooooooah!--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArcAngel0223 0 #6 November 3, 2004 Dave you kinda strike me as the guy who would really excel in the military.. never thought about joinin? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #7 November 4, 2004 Quote Dave you kinda strike me as the guy who would really excel in the military.. never thought about joinin? Yup, I have. I had a PLC contract with the Marines, until I blew my knee up 2 years ago. So off to be a cop I go.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zoter 0 #8 November 4, 2004 Whether you are packing chutes or blowin' up stuff in Iraq......you ARE a soldier....you are supporting your countries Military and serving the US people........ As already stated...it sup to you to decide what that role entails......but dont be thinking that you are not doing enough as a soldier by being in the rear echelon supporting......its just as important, you just are not going to be in the headlines as doing it right or being dead.. My hat's off to ya' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArcAngel0223 0 #9 November 4, 2004 I like the way you put that.. I never really saw it like that.. but I'm think I'm gonna like the groundpoundin stuff a whole lot more... Dave, got any certain state, area, PD in mind? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #10 November 4, 2004 Well, I'm going to try to start with one of the local PDs here where I'm going to school. College Station or Bryan (Texas), and we'll see where it goes from there. Possibly DPS or maybe federal. It'll all depend on how the dominos fall as life continues.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weavermc 0 #11 November 4, 2004 Hmm, well I will give you ONE perspective. I'm a 12-year veteran of the army. I spent a few years enlisted working on blackhawks, went to West Point and now i'm a tanker (armor officer). Right now, its 5am in Baghdad, i'm on the night shift in our Operations Center for an armored battalion that's been here for 8 months. Before deploying here I was doing field training (at my home station and in other parts of the US) for six months, and a year before that, I was in Kuwait and Afghanistan. Not doing anything sexy, (i.e. i wont claim i'm SF or doing anything outside of what a normal soldier does on a daily basis - work), but gone from home a lot and pulling lots of long hours. In all this time, i've learned that you have to be in the military because you want to be here. You have to enjoy what you do because you do it A LOT. My soldiers routinely pull 14-16 hour "work" days, and my first six months in Iraq I had 1 day off. The pay is "okay," and definately better since we do receive combat zone entitlements, but - I could still make more in the "real world" The rewards are there - but mostly internal. I am most happy when I see that my work is making a difference, which these days is simply defined as when an Iraqi waves back as we drive by instead of staring at us - i'm most unhappy when a friend i've known for 11 years is blown up by a roadside bomb and I have to sit there thinking about the video tape he had just shown me of his wife and little girl. In today's army, the distinction between soldier and pogue is narrowing - it still exists, dont get me wrong, but dont let labels and visions of glory guide your decision. Pick something you think you will enjoy, pick something you think you can do, over and over and over again, and most importantly, pick something YOU want. Finally, I have been blessed and not had to find myself on the wrong end of an insurgent's attack - but I have many friends by my side that have, to include some that have been hit my maching gun fire and RPG fragments. Don't rush to the firefight, as you might regret what you find, at the soldier level, war isn't nearly as sexy as it seems. Sorry this is long-winded, I have nothing but time on my side. I have 128 days, or 3,107 minutes, or just over 11 million seconds till i get to go home and see my family again - but who's counting. Serving proudly, and loving what I do Mark PS: there aint no jumping in Baghdad, although my first 7 monts here i never saw a cloud in the sky - sure makes me miss home Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArcAngel0223 0 #12 November 4, 2004 Hooah and rock on Weaver... I must say I see and respect your viewpoint, and it sounds deadly accurate to what was described to me by a friend in the 1st Cav.. he felt a sense of pride in his unit and felt that there was a lot of god that was done during their fight in Najaf, and I'm sure he will after he comes out of Fallujah (hasn't been online in days, I assume thats where he's headed) I know I'm a more or less an average idealistic 19 year old who's positive he's always right and on top of the world.. and I know war isn't all its cracked up to be, but I just see infantry, or combat engineer, or even Ranger, wherever I go or end up, the perfect job for me, because I have always wanted to be in the military, and I have never thought about anything outside the Bravo series, maybe that this may be the one great conflict in my generation that I can say "yes, I was there"... although it does not stop there..just having a sense of self satisfaction, and doing something honorable that I can be proud of, yet make buddies I would die for and get all the other perks or drawbacks of military life I've been to college, and I've worked for a living in a job that I never said I would sink down to (factory work)... So I guess we'll see what happens Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Racenic 0 #13 November 4, 2004 The way I would look at it is, Which one offers me a job/position after I get out of the Army??? Once a Rigger always a rigger. You can travel the country. Dropzones from the east coast to the west are looking for riggers all the time. It may not pay well, but you never know. An explosives expert, I'm sure pays well, However is there a market for that position??? I'm sure there is some where??? However you should check out everything there is about that job market. Like annual pay and benefits, disability insurance, rate or stress cases associated with the job, career span, etc All I'm saying is the army may only be 4 years of your life so learn something useful to carry you the rest of your life in a job or career! Good Luck and Be Safe, Nick Nick D The key to Immortality is- first living a life worth remembering” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtpilot 0 #14 November 4, 2004 I know a few riggers...mostly Air Force. I work on C-130s which I am sure you are familiar with. I have been a Crew Chief on them for more than 4 years and have served more than 1 year in country in the Iraci and Afgan theater. I have see many of you guys and think that you have a great job... Being a combat engineer would be nice in its way...but like one of the other vets that have posted in here has said dont run into the firefight. Just think that every pack you rig up you are doing your duty just the same as the soldier in combat... Each of us have our job to make the mission possible. Ive seen the dead and the wounded as we hauled them out of Iraci cities and I am thankfull that those men and women have put their lives on the line to save our way of life. Do what you think is right for you and dont let anyone else step in your way. Ohhh...thank you to the tanker that posted earlier for you service. I may run into you one of these days so good luck... I move out in Dec. to return to the mission in afganistan. God speed to all the men and women fighting throught the world. "Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!" -- Friedrich Nietzsche Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #15 November 4, 2004 QuoteMy question: What would you do join the air force...lol........ in my 6 years in the airforce i've seen how my job suck and how other jobs could suck too.. how about this.... every job sucks in some way or another..... i'd like to do other jobs but know they will suck in some way, atleast i'm proficiant atmy job right now that i don't have to worry about learning alot of new stuff... but then again i am tyransfering into the reserves injune so i'll get a new job there. so i'm not much of one to talk...... do whatever will make ya happy now as things will change from month to month and year to year the way the world is now...... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #16 November 4, 2004 I'm an engineer in the Air Force... currently I help disassemble and reassemble 10 - 40 year old C-130 aircraft. I will problably never see combat (much to my mothers chagrin, i.e. she is happy about that) and I could only be farther from the tip of the spear if I was doing research developing weapon systems that weren't to be used for 20 years (something that I would like to do...) does that mean I'm not important to the guy on the ground/in the air... I would like to think that what I do is important to them... because things I do can keep them alive... Every job in support of troops is important... but what is boils down to is that you have to do what makes you happy if that means that you are a ground pounder on the front lines then the thats what you should do... but if your happy packing parachutes which are used to keep people alive and do they're job... you may not be the tip of the spear but your important nontheless becasue someone has to do it... Scott ----------------------------------------------------------Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #17 November 4, 2004 There is only ONE question you need to ask yourself. What do I want? And then do that. You need to live your life for you, not your Mom. Other thoughts: ANY soldier is doing an important job. I went Infantry cause when you are a kid and play war, you don't play "Rigger".... The field was fun, the guns were fun, but the time in the rear sucked...My friends that were riggers seemed to have more day to day fun and a better life. That being said...You are 19...I would stay rigger and if I wanted to reup, go into another field. 82nd Airborne"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kinney29 0 #18 November 4, 2004 Don't want to be a pouge? 11B anything else. Your a pouge. Me I was a 46Q Coolest job on the military. You get the go everywhere, do everything, and for the most part you're on your own. Schools pretty neat. Like 8-12 weeks in D.C./Baltimore area. Went back twice for advanced courses. But back to the original statement. PLDC taught me if your not an 11b or in the old days 11m. You're a pouge. Hooah Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
