Okay, I've been going to post for over a week now.

[thepnutgallery]

Two Fridays back, I requested to be contacted by the Airforce and received a call from the Navy and RADVideo, neither of which I was home to receive. Med school is out, as the time I would have to put in, and the general medical work I would have to do before being able to specialize wouldn't be worth it. I am, however, still thinking about a career in the military. Thinking about it more, as much as I like the cracker-jack uniform, I don't think I'd enjoy being in the Navy, even if there is a song about it. I'm not much for travel, and travel seems to be one of the Navy's selling points. I think that, if I do pursue a career in the military, it's almost definitely going to be in the Air Force, which would probably relocate me to L.A. (You don't choose where you get stationed, but you do choose which coast)

The next step for that is to take the ASVAB. I took the practice test, and I need to brush up on my general science knowledge and geometry, and completely relearn everything I ignored in high school about physics. I am kind of proud to say that I still got 100% on the vocabulary and reading comprehension, though only kind of, as we're not talking about $100,000 words here. I'm also intrigued by an adaptive test that they apparently now give, where the difficulty level of each successive question depends on whether you got the question before it correct. So, a wrong answer makes the next question easier, and a right answer makes the next question harder. I'm eager, and a little overconfident, to see what the limits of it's vocab/reading comprehension capabilities are. Once I take the ASVAB, I figure I'll talk to a recruiter about what the Air Force needs most right now, and try to steer myself towards what I find least unappealing. It'll be a good living, and I aim to have them train me in a field that I can work in if I leave. Otherwise, they don't have a bad retirement package.

If I don't go into the military, I'm pretty much back to square one. I guess I keep training so that I can eventually move to Vegas and dance until I'm too old, and then die impoverished on a street corner. Until then, I'm looking at go-go dancing by this summer at the latest, though that would be part-time at best. For a day job, while anything I could bike to would be fine, I would like most to work for a human rights organization (preferably LGBT), or for a porn company. The problem is that I don't really have any passion for anything except performing and men's sexuality. Bah.

Comments

[crazed-lynn.livejournal.com]

The retirement isn't too bad. I get reasonable and cheap (but not free) medical care and as a retired senior enlisted, I'm grossing nearly $1800 a month in retirement.

That said, let's talk about the enlistment agreement itself. On the back (probably still on the back) is a paragraph that says the government can change the details of your agreement at any time, for any reason and without your consent. So that "choice of coast" is, at best, a weak promise. Also, "west coast" could be Spokan, Sacramento, Las Vegas, White Sands or a dozen other places. It could also mean Hawaii or Midway Island. If the AF hasn't changed too much, it will also mean a tour out of the country at some point. Maybe more than one.

Almost no military training converts to anything on the outside unless you go to work for a defense contractor. And even then, you would be recruited more for who you know than for what you can do. The military isn't a good training ground anymore, if it every was. If you are going for the training, figure out how to get yourself into school. In the long run, you are better off financially.

I think you are picking wisely, though. If you decide on a military career, the AF is the "best" choice. It is the lease military of them all.