Anyone in the Armed Forces?

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Since I was a kid I've always wanted to join the Canadian Forces, and now that I'm old enough I'm going through the application procedure. Has anyone else served in the Armed Forces? In any countries, not just Canada's. Was it a good/bad experience, and do you regret it?

hiya, cammyyy
from what i'd seen watching the official canadian forces cinema verite-style vids, and from talking to various CF that served with us yanks, i get the impression the canadian forces are a very civilized bunch. an interesting point, is that in the CF one may go through basic training with servicemembers from different branches, and so the recruit will be required to learn the ranks and billets of each branch, of land-air-sea. a naval branch petty officer might be one of your instructors, or a land branch sergeant might be, and you'd better not address one by the other's service rank, as they don't like it when you get it wrong. and you'd better remember to address a master-corporal as a master corporal also, at least in basic- they tend to take their master rank seriously. i would like to have enlisted in the CF instead of the american military. i hope the OP finds what he is looking for there. my time in the american army was not what i was looking for- it was not quite so civilized as the CF, in that there were a lot of sociopathic types who came out of the woodwork when you gave them some power [rank], they would go medieval around people they perceived as weaker than them, even behaving badly towards people who outranked them. at all levels of non-commissioned officer instruction, it is drilled into the sergeant's brain that s/he functions as enlisted quality control, IOW the NCO's main job in enlisted leadership, is to weed-out sub-par enlisted members, or as one sergeant told me, "my job is to burn you." needless to say, that environment was not good for this omega male. but for alpha males/females, the military is a good place.

the american military has something called the Qualitative Management Program, which basically means up [get promoted quickly] or out [denial of re-enlistment past expiration of term of service]- this happened about the same time as the army got rid of the specialist ranks, which were a parallel system of non-supervisory technical enlisted ranks next to the non-commissioned officer grades [sergeants]- prior to the switch, a servicemember could retire as, for example, a specialist 6 or 7, whereas nowadays one must be at least an staff sergeant-promotable to be allowed to stay-in until retirement at 20. what this means for the prospective american army servicemember, at least, is that one must be naturally well-prepared to be a supervisor of troops at some higher level, or the american army isn't really interested in keeping one in more than 1 or 2 consecutive re-ups at the most. in the 80s when i was in the army, they lost a lot of good workers this way, with leaders preventing troops the powers-that-be deemed non-supervisory material, from re-enlisting. many of these same QMP'd folk got rehired to work in the same place and often in similar capacities, as civil service employees, i was one of them. fortunately, my army job tied into positions the army civil service was hiring for, so for that reason i hope the OP chooses one's military occupational specialty well, with an eye for a smooth transfer to a civilian job of similar requirements, after one's term of military service.

aside from this, the military recruit of any country must be prepared to deal with service politics and the interpersonal dramas of any large organization, at all levels. also, a lot of travelling is a given, it is the lucky GI that doesn't have to wake up on the wrong side of the world sometime. some military postings are in very harsh places with limited public amenities. if one cannot naturally walk the walk and talk the talk of the alpha, the military can be a stressful and untenable place to belong. should one decide to join up, one will have to undergo a battery of cognitive, psychological and physical tests, to determine one's suitability for military service, and to determine one's optimal job placement in the military. in the american military one has to take the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, and one's scores from this test determine which military jobs one is qualified to apply for. the potential recruit would do well to bone-up beforehand, to get the highest score possible, this will determine in large part, one' job future in the military. and if one is not naturally a neat-nik, one had better learn post-haste to become one, or at least fake it well enough to pass regular physical inspections of one's uniform and quarters.

all recruits have to go through initial entry training or basic/boot training, and during this time [generally 3 to 4 months] one will have to [in the course of learning to function in the military] toughen up physically and mentally, and learn to think on one's feet. there will be strict attention paid to one's deportment, spit and polish, with stentorian-voiced drill instructors sharply reminding troops of their failures with sometimes alarming alacrity. one may feel like an inmate at a work camp during this time. the recruit will become well-acquainted with the push-up [press-up for commonwealth servicemembers]. there will be stretches of guard duty and kitchen police. there will be long road marches carrying weapon and battle gear in "rucksacks" often weighing in excess of 50 pounds. you may not be given adequate time to eat and digest food. blisters and hunger and fatigue will be your travelling companions during this time. you may lose weight- my 6'3" dweebness weighed 150# at the end of my basic. when you graduate at the end, you will likely be too tired to cheer. at this point you may be granted some home leavetime, before you matriculate into advanced military job training and permanent party posting.

I was conscripted to serve in the military (Army) in Denmark for 8 months in 2001-2002 (started just a month after 911, when everyone was on an edge). I never saw any live action, though, as conscripts in Denmark are not deployed in international missions.

In was mostly a positive experience, but this may be due to the service culture in Denmark, which is probably among the most civilized in the world. If this makes Danish soldiers better or worse in actual combat than US or UK soldiers... well, that's not for me to say. The "Up or Out" policy in the above post doesn't exist in the same extent in Denmark, but military personnel generally retire advance more slowly and retire at a later age in Denmark than in the US.

I generally had no trouble getting along with my superior officers ("yes sir" always seemed to work quite well, for some reason), and - with one exception (a jerk/assertive man) - not my fellow platoon members either.

In the army, I was a truly terrible truck driver, eventually became (relative to my only 8 months of training) a good marksman (I was eventually able to take on targets at 500+ metres range with only mechanical sights) and a deadly Browning M2 heavy machine gunner . Although my shooting skills started out slow, I often think I could have become a good sniper (the entire loner + concentration + emotional detachment +efficiency thing has always appealed to me). But they don't issue sniper rifles (or even decent scopes) to the rank-and-file in Denmark, so I never got to try my skill at long range targets.

Fortunately, I barely avoided being drafted for sergeant school, which would probably have been a disaster, as I have no leadership potential whatsoever. Luckily, someone volunteered themselves in my stead, so I got off the hook.

I completed my service with top marks on my service record (likely because I was good at following orders and getting the job done without constant supervision). But I would probably have done extremely poorly in an actual face-to-face combat scenario, where the need for situational awareness and intuitive responses is much greater than the ability to memorize the requisition codes of individual uniform pieces and the 790 metre/second muzzle velocity of a 4,93 kilo fully loaded H&K G3 battle rifle (the 1960 version with a removable hand guard)... minus the +1 round in the chamber.

Several years later, however, I found out from a military doctor I know that one cannot be admitted to the Danish armed forces with a diagnosis of Aspergers. But since I only got my formal diagnosis 7 years after completing my military service, and since practically no one knew what AS was in 2001, I guess no one noticed my quirks. On the other hand, there were several complete idiots in my platoon who likely overshadowed any serious deficiencies on my behalf.

Anyhow, those were my 5 cents (an amount which will get you absolutely nothing in Denmark) and my personal experience (which - being idiosyncratic by definition - may be completely useless), and it was mostly positive, because I learned a lot of (self) discipline which benefited me at the university afterwards.

But even though the Danish armed forces are minute by international comparison, there may be variation within, and I can't say if I would have had a similar experience in the Navy or the Air Force. And 8 months of conscription in Denmark without seeing actual action is probably not the best basis for evaluating a professional military career in Canada...

hiya GGPViper
welcome to la cosa aspie nostra

I was in the U.S. Army for 5 years as an Arabic linguist. It was probably the worst time of my life, lol. I went to Iraq and got PTSD.

In the U.S. Army, there is a sort of reverse natural selection. The Army has many idiots in positions of authority. The reason is that most smart people who join the Army leave as soon as they can. They don't like getting shot at and/or dealing with the pervasive incompetence. Because promotions are based mostly on time in service, the people who get promoted to positions of authority are generally the dumb people who chose to stay in. They make life hell for everyone under them, encouraging more smart people to leave, and then the cycle repeats itself.

My father was on the SWAT team for many years, went to FBI sniper school, and OBSESSES about firearms. Most fathers teach their kids how to use tools, or how to throw a football. My father taught me how to fight and shoot guns, because it's what he knew. I love taking weapons apart and learning everything about how they function. I'm pretty good at using them. When I got into the Army, I thought this would be a good thing, and in some ways it was. On the other hand, when it becomes obvious to most people that you know more than your superiors on a topic, such as how to properly disassemble, reassemble, and use an M4 or M249, your superiors tend to resent it and put you on every crappy detail they can.

Unless you like having your life controlled nearly 100% by people who generally don't care for you, don't join the Armed Forces. Unless you like having decisions made for you by people who are generally less competent, don't join the Armed Forces. Unless you like having to obey nearly everything the aforementioned people tell you to do, don't join the Armed Forces. I know that Canada is pulling out of Afghanistan, but there's also the possibility of getting shot at to consider. Believe me, it sucks.

I did however learn many social skills that I did not possess before. I used to be terrified to start conversations with strangers. Now it doesn't bother me at all. I was forced to get used to it. I also ended up acquiring many "alpha male" traits and confidence that I didn't previous have. Those have also been useful.

welcome to WP Arius_Reborn

your comment about the crap [political operators, manipulators and bullies] rising to leadership positions [instead of the cream] made sense to me insofar as you're talking about the NCO corps - but to be promoted above the junior ranks in the officer corps, one generally does have to be a cut above and able to run the gauntlet without anybody seeing you sweat. when my brother was in the army during vietnam and he was on a stateside field problem, his CO made the mistake of having the company set down in the middle of a riverbed [it was long-overgrown and hard to see] and when a "perfect storm" thundered and rained buckets, the river materialized in a deluge and washed the company most ignominiously down stream. he was relieved of his command not because of this failure, but because he let his men see him lose control of his emotions [he broke down and cried], losing the unquestioned respect of his troops.

btw, is that you in the avatar with the mega 'scope?

Thanks for the welcome

From what I've observed, this isn't limited to the NCO corps. I've seen plenty of good officers decide to get out because they were done dealing with the bs and poor decision making from higher ranking officers. The same principles apply, with a few minor differences (for example, officer promotions have more to do with politics).

I've also seen another phenomenon in the officer corps where incompetent people are promoted solely for the purpose of sending them to another duty station and getting rid of them. I've seen this happen 3 times. Twice with captains promoted to majors. Once with a major promoted to lt. colonel.

I would also add that I had a VERY incompetent battalion CO. The man was a complete moron. I'm also somewhat bitter against him because he needlessly denied me leave after I got a red cross message that my son was in danger of death, but that's another story.

My Brigade CO on the other hand, Col. Ferrel, was pretty awesome. Definitely one of the few competent leaders I've seen in the Army.

As for my avatar, yes, that's me. I'm standing with my CGEM 1100HD scope.

Bump. Regular, seemingly-underachieving grunt currently serving. I'm not diagnosed with anything, as I haven't ever seen a therapist in my life. But I have a hard time with almost everything here. Except with the pushups, pullups, and situps. Everyone seems to think I'm a moron. (I probably am.) Haha

I know I could never be in the military. I would be told wha tto do once and ask why and that'd be it. One of my brothers was a captain inthe US Army Nurses Corp. He loved it. but he also loved order. I can't seem to ever detgermine order or figure out how to get it so I know I would hate it. Chaos does me well.

I served in both the Army National Guard and the US Navy from May 1996 til September 2009 despite my Asperger's and I can say that I had difficult times as well as a great time. I did my basic training at Great Lakes near Chicago during the spring of 1996 and then went to cooks school at NSA San Diego, CA. I vividly remember getting my first $1000 pay check. It was more money than I had ever seen at one time. I was excited and my drill instructor brought us all to Navy Federal Credit Union to open up bank accounts'. After I had completed training I was shipped overseas to Italy and spent the next 4 years over there. The happiest 4 years of my life spent in Naples and traveling around Europe during my free leave. On the bad side when I was over there I was also, run down by a car on the base and now have hardware in my left leg and a healthy fear of cars' and other vehicles'. I get about 20% disability for that. Got 10% for hearing loss because I lived in a barracks next to an airfield. In 2000 I returned to he US and joined the New York Army National Guard just in time for 9-11. Spent 6 years in the guard and then went into the Navy Reserve where I planned to finish up my full 20 years until I went on a deployment and was beaten up by a deranged dentist in Norfolk, Virginia As a result I was sent home and ended up having to pay to repair a broken tooth and finally got my full 100% disability for the trauma of the beating and a diagnosis of having Asperger's from a VA shrink.

^^^
hiya, NMCB welcome to the club
were you at vicenza by any chance? just wondering.
they paid you a fair bit more than they paid me 12 years earlier.
i hope that dentist gets a lost cap when his car breaks down in the middle of the wilderness and he is attacked by rabid bears and when he climbs a tree to escape the bears he gets stung to dickens by a bunch of fireants and hornets.

I served in the Australian Army reserve as a General Service Officer. It was very difficult being in such a social position and on occasions I was singled out. I was however well placed to memorize information and as such earned respect for mastering doctrine and process. Being bush for extended periods of time was very difficult. I need my comfort zone to recharge my social batteries, there is no way to do that when you are bush. I became quite robotic when sleep deprived on major exercises. In situations where we were engaging in blank fire exercises I was perfectly fine. The bullets and bombs did not actually overload me, in fact, I was calm in these circumstances. The socialization was the thing that did that occasionally.

I left my unit when I was injured during an incident and I messed up a whole series of muscles in my back. Long story, for another time.

Since then I have attempted to transfer to a Reserve Specialist Service Officer role but there are too many people in that role at the moment, so I have to wait. I could go full time, but, my part time experience has made me think that doing that in the Army would be a bad idea. If I did go full time, it would be in the Air Force or Navy, better culture.



This is 100% true. Everyone in the Army has a BS meter, that slowly fills up, when it tops up, you get out.



That is mostly true here too. I was diagnosed one year into my service, they did not kick me out; partly because I can tell the difference between a T-72 and a T-64 by looking at it from any direction; the aspie brain has some benefits, like memorizing orbats and stats.



My groupings are actually pretty standard, nothing special. I have never missed a moving target though, I think the modern generation of soldiers are better snap shooters than their predecessors while the oldies are better at grouping. Though I did once shoot next to a SASR Sniper on the range, the man was a freak.

Auntblabby, thank you for the sentiment. I am just learning to navigate this site and I think my last message did not reach you. Yes, after I was beaten by that deranged dentist I did recommend to his CO that he should be sent to Gauntanamo Bay Cuba to work on prisoners'. I am certain similar rough treatment would loosen their lips on the whereabouts' of weapons of mass destruction, Saddam and Bin Laden. I guess he got sent as those two madmen have been found and executed. Besides working as chief dentist and torturer I still deep down inside hope he was bitten by a rabid Banana Rat and needed Rabies Treatment. Today Rabies Treatment is several shots' in The Ass My Petty Officer once told me about his Banana Rat incident when he was in Cuba and how painful those shots were.
As for the money I got I was an E3 when I got in because I had 2 years of college. Average monthly pay overseas was $1500 per month. Being Navy while overseas I never got sent to Vincenza. Army was up in Vincenza. Sometimes the MWR and base chapel would sponsor shopping trips up to the Vincenza AAFES. I never went and instead saved my money for trips' up to AFRC Chiemsee and Garmisch- Partenkirchen in southern Germany. Loved Germany and I am saving my money to go again sometime. thank you again.

I was in the Army for about 6 months, had to get out because I was becoming depressed due to homesickness. I can go back in if I want to without having to go back through basic training, but next time I go back in I'm going to pick an MOS that is nice and boring.

After I finished my four years I joined a National Guard unit. You should look into doing the same and you can drill close to home and not be homesick. You can also, qualify for a chance to attend military schools', get paid to attend college, put some money into a TSP account each month, get commissary and exchange priveleges', get State Active Duty and other state specific benefits' for guard and reserve. Also, it is that much easier if you decide to go active duty because you have your foot in the door since you would be in the military system or DEERS.