Best path?

[policemedic]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Thought about this everyday for about a month and decided on attempting to get into the 75th Regiment on either an 11X or 68W Opt.40 contract. Figure that this way, I will be able to fall back on infantry if something were to go wrong at RASP. After a few years in infantry (and gaining some maturity), I'd still have the opportunity to try out for SF (whereas in the Navy, the chances of you getting another shot at BUD/S is extremely unlikely). Going to play my cards safely here.

Infantry and Health Care Specialist are radically different MOSes (I've held both). Despite the emphasis on the shooter-medic philosophy you are not guaranteed assignment to an infantry unit as a 68W. Further, serving in an infantry unit as a 68W is not the same as being an 11B; your daily routine will be different--as it should be.

Choose wisely, young padawan.

 

[supercoz]

How did the various members on this forum reach the conclusion that their respective paths were the right ones for them? Did y’all experience “paralysis from analysis” when deciding your branch, unit, speciality?

Exposure to a certain group, seeing (from what I can know) about their mission set, training style, mentality, and each group seems to have its own espirit de corps that would match certain people better than others. Also thinking about a certain path that gives you that tingly feeling. At least that's how I approached it. But also, especially if you're already served, or age or things like that can limit some of your options.

 

[slopmaster]

Infantry and Health Care Specialist are radically different MOSes (I've held both). Despite the emphasis on the shooter-medic philosophy you are not guaranteed assignment to an infantry unit as a 68W. Further, serving in an infantry unit as a 68W is not the same as being an 11B; your daily routine will be different--as it should be.

Choose wisely, young padawan.

Thank you for the response and the new information. That will be definitely something for me to consider. I believe that I would honestly be fine with either MOS despite them being radically different, would really depend on whats available as I know that option 40 contracts are very hard to come by.

 

[policemedic]

Thank you for the response and the new information. That will be definitely something for me to consider. I believe that I would honestly be fine with either MOS despite them being radically different, would really depend on whats available as I know that option 40 contracts are very hard to come by.

Just understand that an 11B will always be a shooter while a 68W can get assigned anywhere. You could spend your enlistment in a clinic or hospital. There’s nothing wrong with that but it’s worlds apart from being a shooter-medic and you won’t use all your medical skills in that setting.

 

[AWP]

Thinking about the earlier mention of "paralysis from analysis" and our mentoring position...

Depending upon the situation, I build a spreadsheet. Seriously. Take a computer for example. Intel or AMD? Do some research and within about 5 minutes you can figure out a choice. Cool. Motherboard. What socket is your INtel CPU? The list shortens. Features, expansion, cost.. think of requirements and they narrow the field. Price for all components, check at least 3 sources, tally everything, and decide where to buy.

International flights? Departure time, arrival time at your destination, layover time, cost. What airline offers those and is the arrival time mor eimportant or do you want a 3 hour layover instead of 2? Make a spreadsheet.

A gun? Use your budget and cut those options. Go shoot those that interest you. Caliber? Maybe a bit harder to pin down, but with some time and weighing the sources you can figure out that one too. Guess what? You're probably at an 80% solution by now.

When possible, get your choices to yes/ no options. The military, think about generic jobs descriptions and what branch has those. Branch culture should you fail out or decide something isn't right for you. Prioritize your wants. Answer those yes/no questions. I want to be Intel. (All 4 branches). I don't want to be on a ship (drop Navy and USMC). I want to play an active role in SOF (field or office). Field. Army, Army's your answer. I have a bad back or have never been very physical. Do you want to build or play it safe? Ply it safe. Drop Army, you're back to the AF.

It's still tough and you may question your judgement. That happens. You pay your money and you take your chances, but you can increase your odds of success by honestly looking at what matters to you and what branch offers those options.

Good luck.

 

[Gunz]

Thinking about the earlier mention of "paralysis from analysis" and our mentoring position...

Depending upon the situation, I build a spreadsheet. Seriously. Take a computer for example. Intel or AMD? Do some research and within about 5 minutes you can figure out a choice. Cool. Motherboard. What socket is your INtel CPU? The list shortens. Features, expansion, cost.. think of requirements and they narrow the field. Price for all components, check at least 3 sources, tally everything, and decide where to buy.

International flights? Departure time, arrival time at your destination, layover time, cost. What airline offers those and is the arrival time mor eimportant or do you want a 3 hour layover instead of 2? Make a spreadsheet.

A gun? Use your budget and cut those options. Go shoot those that interest you. Caliber? Maybe a bit harder to pin down, but with some time and weighing the sources you can figure out that one too. Guess what? You're probably at an 80% solution by now.

When possible, get your choices to yes/ no options. The military, think about generic jobs descriptions and what branch has those. Branch culture should you fail out or decide something isn't right for you. Prioritize your wants. Answer those yes/no questions. I want to be Intel. (All 4 branches). I don't want to be on a ship (drop Navy and USMC). I want to play an active role in SOF (field or office). Field. Army, Army's your answer. I have a bad back or have never been very physical. Do you want to build or play it safe? Ply it safe. Drop Army, you're back to the AF.

It's still tough and you may question your judgement. That happens. You pay your money and you take your chances, but you can increase your odds of success by honestly looking at what matters to you and what branch offers those options.

Good luck.

Wow.

 

[AWP]

Wow.

I have to ask, is that a good "wow" or a 'WTF did I just read' "wow"?

 

[Deleted member 10816]

Thinking about the earlier mention of "paralysis from analysis" and our mentoring position...

Depending upon the situation, I build a spreadsheet. Seriously. Take a computer for example. Intel or AMD? Do some research and within about 5 minutes you can figure out a choice. Cool. Motherboard. What socket is your INtel CPU? The list shortens. Features, expansion, cost.. think of requirements and they narrow the field. Price for all components, check at least 3 sources, tally everything, and decide where to buy.

International flights? Departure time, arrival time at your destination, layover time, cost. What airline offers those and is the arrival time mor eimportant or do you want a 3 hour layover instead of 2? Make a spreadsheet.

A gun? Use your budget and cut those options. Go shoot those that interest you. Caliber? Maybe a bit harder to pin down, but with some time and weighing the sources you can figure out that one too. Guess what? You're probably at an 80% solution by now.

When possible, get your choices to yes/ no options. The military, think about generic jobs descriptions and what branch has those. Branch culture should you fail out or decide something isn't right for you. Prioritize your wants. Answer those yes/no questions. I want to be Intel. (All 4 branches). I don't want to be on a ship (drop Navy and USMC). I want to play an active role in SOF (field or office). Field. Army, Army's your answer. I have a bad back or have never been very physical. Do you want to build or play it safe? Ply it safe. Drop Army, you're back to the AF.

It's still tough and you may question your judgement. That happens. You pay your money and you take your chances, but you can increase your odds of success by honestly looking at what matters to you and what branch offers those options.

Good luck.

This should be a sticky; thank you for this!