College after military?

Student Lounge Veterans
1

<p>Hello i am a arizona sophomore high school student and my dream college is the university of Arizona but before i go to college i would like to serve my country. but will that hurt my chances to get in to UofA. here are my stats</p>

<p>GPA UW: 3.05 (I will get it up to at least a 3.35 by the end of high school)
GPA W: 3.22(around 3.65 by the end of high school)
SAT; I have not taken it yet but I have been studying and I hope to get a 1800+</p>

<p>Junior year classes
Ap Chem
APUSH
Duel enrollment spanish
Duel enrollment lit.
Duel enrollment psychology
Algabra 3-4
EC's- track
national spanish honors socitey
Chem club
FCA
Also i will have taken 4 years of spanish by the end of my high school career so I will most likely be fluent.</p>

<p>Volenteer work- around 150+ hours by the end of high school.</p>

<p>So what I am asking is what are my chances stright out of high school and straight out of the military also which route i should take.
I wrote this fast so sorry for all the mistakes.
Thank you.
PS. i will have 48 -60 college credits by the end of high shool if that helps at all.</p>

2

<p>Being in the military first will not hurt you, they don’t look down on people who have work experience before college, especially the military.</p>

3

<p>If you plan to do active duty, it would be wiser to do college first then go in as an officer. Also consider this thing called the Reserves. If you love it you can switch to active easily, but you can’t switch from active to Reserve.</p>

4

<p>Zhanger, I don’t know here you’re getting your information, but most of it is false. He can attend college and TRY to enter the military as an officer. It would be easier for him if he went the ROTC route while in college, but if he went straight from college to a recruiter’s office, he’s not guaranteed to be an officer. Most of it is dependent on his overall GPA, his degree, and the military’s NEED for officers. As of right now with defense budget cuts, the military isn’t exactly hurting for people. Hell, we’re kind of overmanned across the board right now (enlisted and officer). </p>

<p>It wouldn’t exactly be “wiser” to go to college first, what’s “wise” is to look at your situation and see what’s best for you. Would you be coming out of college with a lifetime full of debt? Is that degree REALLY worth it if you’re coming out with debt that you’ll be paying off for years to come? Those are questions you need to ask yourself. If you will be coming out of college with a huge debt, then a “wiser” choice would be to do your time in the military and use the GI Bill to pay for your education. </p>

<p>Now to clear up Zhanger’s information on the reserves. Reserves and active duty are COMPLETELY different, you won’t find somebody that won’t tell you the opposite. Just because you like reserves does not mean you will like active duty. You live your own life in the reserves and attend drills x amount of times a year/month. Active duty is a whole other ball game. The military IS your life. Now I can go into details about this, but that’s not the point. You CAN switch from active to reserves. That’s easy to do, you reach the end of your contract and you can request to go into the reserves. Now if you’re in the reserves, you have to wait a minimum of TWO years in order to APPLY to switch over to active duty. Now depending on the branch of service you choose to go to, you may be involuntarily called to active duty more frequently than the other branches.</p>

<p>In the end, it’s all up to you to decide whether or not you wish to pursue your degree first then join the military, or join the military and pursue your degree. If you choose to go the military route first, don’t worry too much about getting into the University of Arizona. Most colleges will accept you because you’re a much better candidate than Little Jimmy with good grades and lots of extracurricular. Plus under tuition assistance, you can attend college while on active duty anyways. So you have college grades, high school grades, and military service to put on your application to your school. It’s honestly not that hard to get into school after the military. You just need to prepare for the shock that comes with it. You’ll be older and a lot more mature than your other classmates.</p>

<p>Don’t let my post deter you away from college. If I had the money to, I would have gone to college first. The thing was, I didn’t want to go to college to come out with debt. I spent a good 6-7 months researching all my options before I chose the military route. The military is a life changing decision, take the time to talk to some people and DO YOUR RESEARCH!</p>

5

<p>I am leaning more towards college after the military because my family doesn’t make much money and l most likely will need the GI bill in order to go to college. Thank you for the advice.</p>

6

<p>CitrusTea, I don’t know where YOU are getting your information but most of it is false.</p>

<p>He can’t become an officer without a college degree, and if he has college + military plans, the officer route is something he should consider. He can “try” to enlist and there’s no guarantee the military will take him there either, so what’s the point of saying there are no guarantees in life when I’m simply pointing out the FACT that you need a college degree to become an officer? And ROTC is the obvious route during college to get it paid for.</p>

<p>There’s nothing to “clear up” about my information on the Reserves, but there’s a lot to clear up about yours. I never claimed Reserve and Active were the same, so I have no idea where you’re getting this. It’s precisely because they are different that I suggested it. Just because he likes the idea of military service does not mean he will like the idea of rotting on a base for 4 years after he gets on the other side of boot camp and is STUCK in a contract. And no, you CAN’T switch from Active to Reserve. That line made me laugh in disgust. If your active duty contract finishes and you choose to join the Reserves, that’s not a “switch.” That’s the conclusion of one contract and the beginning of another. The only mid-contract switch that can occur is from Reserve to Active, not vice versa, and there is no 2 year minimum wait. It’s also apparent you are ignorant to something called the Active Reserve.</p>

<p>Before you claim my information is false, try educating yourself. It will save you, but more importantly the OP, from your ignorant advice.</p>

7

<p>Well this’ll make for a good topic for the OP. Just calm down buddy, wasn’t here to start a war.</p>

<p>“He can’t become an officer without a college degree, and if he has college + military plans, the officer route is something he should consider. He can “try” to enlist and there’s no guarantee the military will take him there either, so what’s the point of saying there are no guarantees in life when I’m simply pointing out the FACT that you need a college degree to become an officer? And ROTC is the obvious route during college to get it paid for.”</p>

<p>Never in my post did I say he shouldn’t consider it, I simply told him the facts. I don’t think he wants people to sugar coat their answers for him, so I didn’t. Yes, you’re right, he can “try” to enlist and he might get denied. Does he have a medical problem or some personal history that could probably get him denied? I don’t know, OP is the only one that can answer that. But assuming he’s 100% medically capable or joining and has a clean record, he will be able to join. It will take longer for him depending on how backed up the branch he’s trying to get into is, but he’ll be able to get in if he’s truly motivated.</p>

<p>You’re also 4/5 correct on your statement that you have to have a college degree in order to be an officer. In the navy, if you make it up the ranks, you can be picked up for the Limited Duty Officer program ([Navy</a> Limited Duty Officer Selection Program](<a href=“http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navypromotions/a/navyldo.htm]Navy”>http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navypromotions/a/navyldo.htm)). For the other branches you do need a degree, but they have programs that can help motivated enlisted personnel get sent to college, get a degree, and come back as an officer. </p>

<p>Yes, ROTC is indeed the obvious route if you’re in college and want to join the military after, that’s why I said it in the first place :slight_smile: . </p>

<p>“There’s nothing to “clear up” about my information on the Reserves, but there’s a lot to clear up about yours. I never claimed Reserve and Active were the same, so I have no idea where you’re getting this. It’s precisely because they are different that I suggested it. Just because he likes the idea of military service does not mean he will like the idea of rotting on a base for 4 years after he gets on the other side of boot camp and is STUCK in a contract. And no, you CAN’T switch from Active to Reserve. That line made me laugh in disgust. If your active duty contract finishes and you choose to join the Reserves, that’s not a “switch.” That’s the conclusion of one contract and the beginning of another. The only mid-contract switch that can occur is from Reserve to Active, not vice versa, and there is no 2 year minimum wait. It’s also apparent you are ignorant to something called the Active Reserve.”</p>

<p>I never said that you claimed the reserves and active were the same, I was just saying that for the OP. I did state that you can switch from active to reserve once you reach the end of your contract. I never said in the middle. But yes, you end your active duty contract and start up a reserve one. Now if you come into the military as a reservist, there is a 2 year minimum wait for you to apply to go active duty (RC to AC augmentation). Now they can obviously call you up at any time, but that all depends on the needs of the military.</p>

<p>I don’t see where any of my information is false, from the looks of things, you more or less reiterated everything I said, even agreed on some? So please, if you want to get angry with me, send me a PM and we can talk there. If my post seemed provocative in any way towards you, my apologies, it was by no means intentional. But I did not give him any incorrect facts. My wild guess is that (assuming you’re AD) you’re in a different branch than me, and as you know every branch runs differently. So your branch probably gives out different information than my branch. </p>

<p>(Oh by the way OP, you’ll get into a lot of arguments if you join. A LOT!)</p>

8

<p>check out the Air Guard…many states will waive tuition at their state schools if you’re a member of the states unit, I know CO, NJ, CT, FL, IL are like this. Look under state benefits as it appears half of them will 100% waive tuition:</p>

<p>goang.com/Benefits/Benefits</p>

<p>You’ll lose a year in basic and tech school but then you can start classes free of charge at say U-Colorado and get paid 350-700/month to live off of depending on what job you take (some have a kicker associated w/them).</p>

9

<p>Look, when you’re calling out my information as false and trying to prove it with a post in which half YOUR information is false and the other half is going off on irrelevant tangents, you better believe I’m going to correct you.</p>

<p>Let’s get one thing straight, your advice on the Navy Limited Duty Officer is an irrelevant tangent. Going enlisted to try and become an officer is a waste of time if you already have college plans.</p>

<p>Your most glaring false information is when you tried to “clear up” my information that you cannot switch from Active to Reserve by saying you can. Finishing your contract and choosing something else is not a switch. Trying to paint it that way may confuse OP who may think the “switch” is available during his contract. It is also an irrelevant tangent. Yes he can do whatever he wants AFTER his first contract, but he’s talking about his FIRST contract, not his second. The Reserve option is available to him first and gives him a taste of the military before he chooses a binding 4 year active duty contract.</p>

<p>As far as the 2 year minimum wait to switch from Reserve to Active, if you are not speaking for all branches than do not throw that out there as if you are. And you would serve the OP and yourself well to provide a link to that because it’s certainly not true of all branches.</p>

10

<p>OP, if you do join, I hope you like arguing because service members LOVE to argue over the dumbest things. It’s a giant battle of attrition.</p>

<p>Zhanger, please stop getting emotional over this. There’s no point getting emotional over stupid nonsense like this. OP can believe whoever the heck he wants to believe, but in the end, it’s still up to him to do the research himself. If he’s asking people of the internet, he’s going to get conflicting information like this. Like I said in my previous post, my information is probably wrong in your branch, and your information is probably wrong in mine. So I know your information can’t possibly apply to all the branches. My apologies for calling out your information as false, it’s probably right in your branch. However, you aren’t correcting anyone if what you’re trying to correct is already right. And no, the “irrelevant tangents” I made was definitely relevant. You said “I’m simply pointing out the FACT that you need a college degree to become an officer”, I was simply correcting you on the issue that not all branches require a degree to become an officer. Was it irrelevant to the OP, probably. Was it relevant towards the case being argued? Yes. </p>

<p>Apparently your definition of a switch is different from my definition of switch. I’m not going to beat this dead horse down any longer. Your definition of switch is switching mid-contract, mine was at the end of the contract. But since you want links now, here’s links: definition of switch. Neither one of us was wrong, so don’t get butt hurt over it, please. verb (used with object) ([Switch</a> | Define Switch at Dictionary.com](<a href=“Switch Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com”>Switch Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com))
11. to whip or beat with a switch or the like; lash
12. to move, swing, or whisk
13. to shift or exchange
14. to turn, shift, or divert</p>

<p>Now I’m not going to go research every branches official statement on this, but in the middle of your contract, if your CO allows it, you can cut your active duty time short and serve the rest of your time in the reserves. But here’s one example: Marines [FY13</a> VOLUNTARY ENLISTED EARLY RELEASE PROGRAM (VEERP) > The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website > Messages Display](<a href=“http://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/MessagesDisplay/tabid/13286/Article/110495/fy13-voluntary-enlisted-early-release-program-veerp.aspx]FY13”>New AFSC coming for AFSOC enlisted aircrew > United States Marine Corps Flagship > Messages Display) Navy: <a href=“http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2011/NAV11142.txt[/url]”>http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2011/NAV11142.txt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Fine the 2 years minimum, I wasn’t speaking on behalf of all the branches. If you join the coast guard or the navy, there’s a 2 year minimum wait time to go from reserves to active duty. However, that goes without saying that you did not know about the 2 years minimum time. You blatantly said you can go active duty easily. Unless your job in the military is critical, it is really freaking hard to go active duty. It costs the military a lot more money to have you as active duty than it would be if you were reservists. Going from active duty to reserves like both of us have said it 3 times already, is just a matter of doing your time (or somehow allowing your CO to cut your active duty time).</p>

11

<p>CitrusTea, me correcting you is not getting emotional. It’s clearing up your misinformation. There’s no need for you to get emotional about it.</p>

<p>This is the OP’s life at stake, so I hardly consider my unwillingness to let your false information stand as “military arguing over dumb things.”</p>

<p>Offering up your Navy caveat to a college degree is an irrelevant tangent. It’s minimum eligibility is an E-6, which will not be attained in 4 years of active duty. If OP considers becoming an officer, only an idiot would choose to try to attain that by spending more time on the enlisted side than it takes to attain a college degree for the slimmer chance to become a Limited Duty Officer with a more limited career path. Thus, your point is irrelevant and a complete waste of time.</p>

<p>Going into the Reserves after an active duty contract is irrelevant to OP’s question about a FIRST contract. You are having a really difficult time understanding we’re not talking about “switching” to something else after the first contract, we’re talking about the FIRST contract. Thus switch, in this sense, refers to what is going on DURING that contract, not after. OP is interested in college after a contract, not another contract. Try staying on topic.</p>

<p>“Fine the 2 years minimum, I wasn’t speaking on behalf of all the branches.”</p>

<p>Then you shouldn’t make this statement:
“Now if you’re in the reserves, you have to wait a minimum of TWO years in order to APPLY to switch over to active duty.”</p>

<p>“However, that goes without saying that you did not know about the 2 years minimum time.”
It does not exist in my branch and you have failed to provide a link to that being true in any other branch. It goes without saying you are trying to pass off this false information on all branches.</p>

<p>“but in the middle of your contract, if your CO allows it, you can cut your active duty time short and serve the rest of your time in the reserves.”
You provided a link for Marines with an EAS in 2013 who can request separation with less than 365 days left. Your Navy link refers to a separation 24 months prior to EAOS, but also expires in 2013. This does not apply to OP who will not have a 2013 EAS. Even if the program continues to future years, he’d have to serve 2-3 out of 4 years of active duty with only a possibility to waive his 3rd/4th year. You know what we call this in the world? IRRELEVANT. Look that up in the dictionary too if you’re unfamiliar.</p>

<p>“You blatantly said you can go active duty easily.”
Compared to your options, you’re damn right. The fact stands that it is EASIER to go from Reserve to Active than it is to beg your CO to cut you loose from active duty under a program that expires before OP will even be eligible. You are really doing a disservice to the OP by offering this crap up as great options.</p>

12

<p>All I see here is two people trying to correct each other. Sure it’s the OP’s life at stake. We can give out relevant information pertaining to him, maybe not to us. But like I repeatedly said, it’s up to OP to ultimately do the research on his own. So no matter how many times you say that my arguments are irrelevant, it will be information that OP can use for the future.</p>

<p>Me discussing the option of LDO is and will continue to be relevant. Some of the best officers have come from the enlisted ranks, so I would highly advise against saying that only an idiot would try to become an officer through the enlisted ranks. If OP were to join the navy and want to make it up to an officer position the old fashion way, then more power to him. But do not call anyone an idiot for choosing a different path to officer.</p>

<p>“Going into the Reserves after an active duty contract is irrelevant to OP’s question about a FIRST contract.”</p>

<p>Nowhere does the OP mention anything about contracts. Please direct me to that, I might be blind. Otherwise, you’re just trying to pass off information that was never said anywhere. </p>

<p>“You are having a really difficult time understanding we’re not talking about “switching” to something else after the first contract, we’re talking about the FIRST contract. Thus switch, in this sense, refers to what is going on DURING that contract, not after. OP is interested in college after a contract, not another contract. Try staying on topic.”</p>

<p>Try staying on topic? WHAT TOPIC? The OP only asked about his options. He never even said college after a contract, he simply said “So what I am asking is what are my chances stright out of high school and straight out of the military also which route i should take.” He said after military, that can be two contracts according to your logic. Do I have to keep providing resources? You say provide links, I have done that. You don’t. If you’re going to keep attempting to correct me, do a better job at it. The topic that you claim that I’m not staying on is not there, it’s one that you made up. </p>

<p>“You provided a link for Marines with an EAS in 2013 who can request separation with less than 365 days left. Your Navy link refers to a separation 24 months prior to EAOS, but also expires in 2013. This does not apply to OP who will not have a 2013 EAS. Even if the program continues to future years, he’d have to serve 2-3 out of 4 years of active duty with only a possibility to waive his 3rd/4th year. You know what we call this in the world? IRRELEVANT.”</p>

<p>It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t apply to the OP, those instructions are general and most instructions carry over to the next year… and the year after and so on. If let’s say the OP joins the marines or the navy, he now knows that within his contract he can try to get the final/few years waived off.</p>

<p>“Compared to your options, you’re damn right. The fact stands that it is EASIER to go from Reserve to Active than it is to beg your CO to cut you loose from active duty under a program that expires before OP will even be eligible. You are really doing a disservice to the OP by offering this crap up as great options.”</p>

<p>It’s not my options again. This is for OP, not me. The fact stands? Give me resources, links, anything to prove your “facts”! I have provided resources and links. You haven’t done jack besides chauvinising your “correctional” behavior. Did I ever say they were great options? No. Stop stating things that are not true. The programs that “expire” will generally carry over to the next year, do I have to link you the instruction from every year prior? I don’t have the time nor care to. The only disservice I’m doing is allowing myself to continue to correct your failed attempts at correcting me.</p>

13

<p>You’re not providing facts for the OP. You’re providing falsehoods and irrelevant material.</p>

<p>LDO is not relevant to someone who wants to pursue college. Maybe you can see value in putting in 10 years to an enlistment to apply for a limited officer role with a narrow job focus instead of putting in 4 years to a college to become an officer, but the rest of the world will not join you in this absurdity. LDO is for enlisted lifers who want to make a transition. It’s not for first contract servicemen pursuing college as the OP would be.</p>

<p>“Nowhere does the OP mention anything about contracts. Please direct me to that, I might be blind. Otherwise, you’re just trying to pass off information that was never said anywhere.”</p>

<p>From OP:
“Hello i am a arizona sophomore high school student and my dream college is the university of Arizona but before i go to college i would like to serve my country.”
He’s talking about joining the military, which would be his FIRST contract. I gave him the Reserve option and you began with your disinformation campaign. Is this really that difficult for you to understand?</p>

<p>“Try staying on topic? WHAT TOPIC? The OP only asked about his options. He never even said college after a contract”
Try reading the title of this thread, Einstein.</p>

<p>“You say provide links, I have done that. You don’t.”
You have not provided a link on your 2 year minimum for a Reserve to Active switch for the branches. You made that claim, I didn’t. The burden of proof for your misinformation is not on me, especially when you stepped into this thread trying to “correct” me. Prove it then.</p>

<p>“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t apply to the OP”
Then why are you posting this in OP’s thread? You just admitted you’re posting information irrelevant to him, so stop denying it.</p>

<p>“If let’s say the OP joins the marines or the navy, he now knows that within his contract he can try to get the final/few years waived off.”
He now knows that he can try to beg his CO to release him from active duty, but that will NOT be EASIER than switching from Reserve to Active. My point stands, getting onto active duty military is not some Ivy League acceptance rate you’re trying to make it out to be. Hoping your CO cuts you loose from your binding contract is.</p>

<p>“Did I ever say they were great options? No.”
Glad you can admit you’re not providing great options. Go into any recruiting office and ask if you will have a better chance of going active during a reserve contract vs. begging your CO to cut you loose from active and you’ll have all the proof you need. This is basic logic that applies to the business world as well. If you think it is easier to turn a full-time job into a part-time job rather than the reverse, you are delusional.</p>

14

<p>I’m providing information he can use. You believe that I’m providing false and irrelevant information. But that’s your opinion, I can’t change that here clearly.</p>

<p>“LDO is not relevant to someone who wants to pursue college. Maybe you can see value in putting in 10 years to an enlistment to apply for a limited officer role with a narrow job focus instead of putting in 4 years to a college to become an officer, but the rest of the world will not join you in this absurdity. LDO is for enlisted lifers who want to make a transition. It’s not for first contract servicemen pursuing college as the OP would be.”</p>

<p>Never in the title or the thread did OP ever say he wanted to go to college after any contracts in the military. One contract? Two contracts? College after military is a very broad statement. So assuming he does one contract, yes LDO is “irrelevant”. But until he makes that decision himself, it will remain relevant.</p>

<p>“From OP:
“Hello i am a arizona sophomore high school student and my dream college is the university of Arizona but before i go to college i would like to serve my country.”
He’s talking about joining the military, which would be his FIRST contract. I gave him the Reserve option and you began with your disinformation campaign. Is this really that difficult for you to understand?”</p>

<p>Yes, his first contract. Does he state he’s only going to do one? No, he doesn’t. So your facts are still being pull from thin air. I understand you were giving him the reserve option, but clearly you didn’t give him enough ammo to fight a war. You didn’t tell him the different rules that apply to reserves across all the branches. You gave him one generalization which is half right and half wrong. I simply came in and corrected your half that was wrong. Never did I go on any disinformation campaign.</p>

<p>"“Try staying on topic? WHAT TOPIC? The OP only asked about his options. He never even said college after a contract”
Try reading the title of this thread, Einstein."</p>

<p>Trying reading my response for once instead of throwing out immature remarks. OP never stated how long he plans on doing military for. </p>

<p>"“You say provide links, I have done that. You don’t.”
You have not provided a link on your 2 year minimum for a Reserve to Active switch for the branches. You made that claim, I didn’t. The burden of proof for your misinformation is not on me, especially when you stepped into this thread trying to “correct” me. Prove it then."</p>

<p>I was simply requesting links for your other “facts” that you were so hell bent on waving around. When I have the time, I’ll put the link down.</p>

<p>"“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t apply to the OP”
Then why are you posting this in OP’s thread? You just admitted you’re posting information irrelevant to him, so stop denying it."</p>

<p>I’m posting the information in the thread because you really wanted links and to prove a point. So I provided it, he can take the information provided or just leave it to rot in this thread. It’s up to him to decide whether or not it’s irrelevant or not, not you.</p>

<p>"“Did I ever say they were great options? No.”
Glad you can admit you’re not providing great options. Go into any recruiting office and ask if you will have a better chance of going active during a reserve contract vs. begging your CO to cut you loose from active and you’ll have all the proof you need. This is basic logic that applies to the business world as well. If you think it is easier to turn a full-time job into a part-time job rather than the reverse, you are delusional."</p>

<p>And neither are you unfortunately. If you were, we wouldn’t be having this argument. Yes, I agree with your statement here. However, due to the major military budget cuts, the military is currently in the state where it’s willing to allow its service members to go reserves as it is cheaper. But besides that, yes you’re right.</p>

15

<p>“I’m providing information he can use.”
I provided information he can use- the Reserve option. You then proceeded to “correct” that as an option with increasingly irrelevant information.</p>

<p>“Never in the title or the thread did OP ever say he wanted to go to college after any contracts in the military.”
College after military is pretty explicit. To join the military you need to sign a contract. Take a logic course sometime.</p>

<p>“Yes, his first contract. Does he state he’s only going to do one? No, he doesn’t. So your facts are still being pull from thin air.”
To a high school sophomore, I don’t think he’s referring to college after 10-20 years in the military. Nowhere does he talk about an enlistment as a career, which if he did would make college irrelevant. He hasn’t joined, he’s asking about joining, and I provided the Reserve option to consider. You then jumped in claiming I’m incorrect and start talking about switching to Reserves as a second contract. You’re getting way ahead of yourself and the OP here. You’re deep into irrelevant territory.</p>

<p>“I understand you were giving him the reserve option, but clearly you didn’t give him enough ammo to fight a war. You didn’t tell him the different rules that apply to reserves across all the branches.”
It is easier to go from Reserve to Active DURING your contract than Active to Reserve. This is indisputable and you have presented no evidence to contradict this. Your only contribution was a supposed 2 year minimum Reserve before applying to active, which does not disprove my claim that you can go from Reserve to Active nor is it founded in any linked evidence.</p>

<p>“OP never stated how long he plans on doing military for.”
It really doesn’t matter how long he’s in. He’s talking about college with the military. The obvious route is to discuss becoming an officer and the Reserves. Not to discuss an LDO route which takes longer than college, nor begging your CO to cut you loose from active duty and GI Bill benefits. CO’s don’t hand out walking papers like candy to whomever requests it; your propagation of this is dishonest.</p>

<p>“I was simply requesting links for your other “facts” that you were so hell bent on waving around.”
The facts that the Reserves are an option or that you need a college degree to become an officer? I would think this is so commonly known I don’t have to prove it exists.</p>

<p>“When I have the time, I’ll put the link down.”
So you have the time to ramble on about your false “corrections,” but you don’t have the time to put a link down proving it. How convincing.</p>

<p>“I’m posting the information in the thread because you really wanted links and to prove a point.”
You’re posting about begging your CO to cut you loose from your active duty contract, which is something the OP never asked about. You’re trying to claim this is easier than going Reserve to Active, which is blatantly false.</p>

<p>“yes you’re right.”
Then your foray into this thread to “correct” me was not necessary.</p>

16

<p>“I provided information he can use- the Reserve option. You then proceeded to “correct” that as an option with increasingly irrelevant information.”</p>

<p>Irrelevant to you, relevant to him.</p>

<p>“College after military is pretty explicit. To join the military you need to sign a contract. Take a logic course sometime.”</p>

<p>Thanks for proving my point.</p>

<p>“To a high school sophomore, I don’t think he’s referring to college after 10-20 years in the military. Nowhere does he talk about an enlistment as a career, which if he did would make college irrelevant. He hasn’t joined, he’s asking about joining, and I provided the Reserve option to consider. You then jumped in claiming I’m incorrect and start talking about switching to Reserves as a second contract. You’re getting way ahead of yourself and the OP here. You’re deep into irrelevant territory.”</p>

<p>A career in the military does not make college irrelevant. Many have done a fine 20-30 year career and went to college directly after. Yes, I jumped in and corrected you because if you do active duty first and then you do reservists afterwards as a second contract once your first contract is up, like I said before. I don’t see how I’m getting ahead of myself, I’m already there. The OP, however, should get as much information as he can. To you everything I spit out is irrelevant, but all that matters is what’s relevant to him. He can be the decider on that.</p>

<p>“It is easier to go from Reserve to Active DURING your contract than Active to Reserve. This is indisputable and you have presented no evidence to contradict this. Your only contribution was a supposed 2 year minimum Reserve before applying to active, which does not disprove my claim that you can go from Reserve to Active nor is it founded in any linked evidence.”</p>

<p>Did I ever say it was harder? Stop adding more wood to your sorry excuse of a fire. I simply said that you are able to apply to go to reserves during your contract. Nowhere did I say doing one option was easier than the other.</p>

<p>“So you have the time to ramble on about your false “corrections,” but you don’t have the time to put a link down proving it. How convincing.”</p>

<p>Yes, cause I’m going to take time out of my day to drive over to base and use a CAC computer to find the instruction. No, I have more things to care about than that.</p>

<p>“You’re posting about begging your CO to cut you loose from your active duty contract, which is something the OP never asked about. You’re trying to claim this is easier than going Reserve to Active, which is blatantly false.”</p>

<p>Please outline the exact spot where I even said the word “easier”, you seem to be reading my posts in a different light than I am typing them. The OP didn’t ask about a lot of things, we gave him the information he wanted and then started correcting each other. </p>

<p>“Then your foray into this thread to “correct” me was not necessary.”</p>

<p>Thanks for proving your immaturity. I was agreeing with you on your last statement of the previous post. Did you have to go in and rub in the fact that I agreed with you? No.</p>

17

<p>“Irrelevant to you, relevant to him.”</p>

<p>LDO is not relevant to someone who has college plans, only an idiot would spend a decade in the military, then time as a limited officer, then get out to go to college.</p>

<p>“Thanks for proving my point.”</p>

<p>You’re railing against the notion that OP has to sign a contract to join the military, now you’re claiming that fact was your point all along? What are you smoking?</p>

<p>“A career in the military does not make college irrelevant. Many have done a fine 20-30 year career and went to college directly after.”</p>

<p>You obviously have no clue what a depreciating asset is. Doing things backward with a shorter timeframe for payoff is a fool’s undertaking. Keep deluding yourself with the notion you are offering sublime advice.</p>

<p>“Yes, I jumped in and corrected you because if you do active duty first and then you do reservists afterwards as a second contract once your first contract is up, like I said before.”</p>

<p>I suggested the Reserves as a first contract option, there’s nothing to “correct” there by suggesting it as a second contract option.</p>

<p>“Did I ever say it was harder? Stop adding more wood to your sorry excuse of a fire. I simply said that you are able to apply to go to reserves during your contract. Nowhere did I say doing one option was easier than the other.”</p>

<p>You took issue with my statement that he can go from Reserve to Active by bringing up a supposed 2 year minimum that is still UNPROVEN WITH ANY LINKS. You then proceeded to sing the praises of begging your CO to release you from active duty, never mentioning that’s not an easy undertaking.</p>

<p>“Yes, cause I’m going to take time out of my day to drive over to base and use a CAC computer to find the instruction. No, I have more things to care about than that.”</p>

<p>You have time to make up lies, no time to prove them. How credible. It’s true because some dude named CitrusTea says it is, LOL.</p>

<p>“Please outline the exact spot where I even said the word “easier”, you seem to be reading my posts in a different light than I am typing them.”</p>

<p>You keep talking about programs that potentially cut a whopping year off active duty, programs that currently expire before OP will even join. You never mention the difficulty involved in requesting your CO release you from active duty.
You take issue with a Reserve to Active switch by claiming there is a 2 year minimum wait, which is untrue, but even if it were still makes the Reserve-Active route easier than the Active-Reserve route intracontract.
So the short of it is, you keep talking up an Active-Reserve switch and talking down a Reserve-Active switch intracontract which implies you ignorantly think the first is easier than the second.</p>

18

<p>“LDO is not relevant to someone who has college plans, only an idiot would spend a decade in the military, then time as a limited officer, then get out to go to college.”</p>

<p>Only an idiot. By the time they get out, they are probably retired and getting retirement funds. Why it’s idiotic to you is beyond me. </p>

<p>“You’re railing against the notion that OP has to sign a contract to join the military, now you’re claiming that fact was your point all along? What are you smoking?”</p>

<p>Signing a contract to join the military is common sense.</p>

<p>“You obviously have no clue what a depreciating asset is. Doing things backward with a shorter timeframe for payoff is a fool’s undertaking. Keep deluding yourself with the notion you are offering sublime advice.”</p>

<p>With the majority of Americans getting degrees, even the most highly decorated old fart from the military needs a degree to be competitive. </p>

<p>“I suggested the Reserves as a first contract option, there’s nothing to “correct” there by suggesting it as a second contract option.”</p>

<p>There will always be a second contract option if OP decides to continue. Give him the ammo to fight the war.</p>

<p>“You then proceeded to sing the praises of begging your CO to release you from active duty, never mentioning that’s not an easy undertaking.”</p>

<p>I didn’t praise anything, you’re over-glorifying what I posted. I did mention it, read up please.</p>

<p>“You have time to make up lies, no time to prove them. How credible. It’s true because some dude named CitrusTea says it is, LOL.”</p>

<p>Right back at ya.</p>

<p>“You keep talking about programs that potentially cut a whopping year off active duty, programs that currently expire before OP will even join. You never mention the difficulty involved in requesting your CO release you from active duty.
You take issue with a Reserve to Active switch by claiming there is a 2 year minimum wait, which is untrue, but even if it were still makes the Reserve-Active route easier than the Active-Reserve route intracontract.
So the short of it is, you keep talking up an Active-Reserve switch and talking down a Reserve-Active switch intracontract which implies you ignorantly think the first is easier than the second.”</p>

<p>They don’t expire, they always carry over. Read the past instructions if you feel the need to. Never said one was easier than the other and never talked down one or the other.</p>

<p>:)</p>

19

<p>“Only an idiot. By the time they get out, they are probably retired and getting retirement funds. Why it’s idiotic to you is beyond me.”</p>

<p>It’s very obvious why it’s beyond you. You’re the idiot. I don’t think this high school sophomore is thinking about retirement. His question is about college after military, which any non-idiot can presume to mean a single contract, not 20 years.</p>

<p>“Signing a contract to join the military is common sense.”</p>

<p>Tell that to yourself in Post #12:
“Nowhere does the OP mention anything about contracts.”</p>

<p>You don’t seem to know what the hell you’re talking about anymore.</p>

<p>“With the majority of Americans getting degrees, even the most highly decorated old fart from the military needs a degree to be competitive.”</p>

<p>There is no decoration for a college degree. If you’re talking about getting a college education to stay competitive on the enlisted side, that is one of the most asinine things I’ve heard from you. If you’re talking about getting a college degree to become an officer, that’s entirely the point I was making which you took issue with ranting about the LDO route.</p>

<p>“There will always be a second contract option if OP decides to continue. Give him the ammo to fight the war.”</p>

<p>Are you kidding? OP is talking about a FIRST military contract and an undergraduate degree, not re-enlistments and grad school. Your non sequitur is ridiculous. What you’re doing is called putting the cart before the horse.</p>

<p>“I didn’t praise anything, you’re over-glorifying what I posted. I did mention it, read up please.”</p>

<p>You keep referring back to the CO cutting him from a year of active duty as if it’s easier than going Reserve to Active. And yes, you are trying to portray that as easier as you began your uninformed original post referencing how you needed to “correct” my information on the Reserves with that.</p>

<p>“Right back at ya.”</p>

<p>I’m not the one claiming this 2 year minimum Reserve to Active waiting period exists. You are. And yet you can’t find a single source. Still with ya.</p>

<p>“They don’t expire, they always carry over.”</p>

<p>OP can’t count on it “always” carrying over if they feel the need to list a program expiration date. Can you count on 2012 tax rates staying the same forever?</p>

<p>“Never said one was easier than the other and never talked down one or the other.”</p>

<p>That’s all you’ve been doing is talking down the Reserve to Active switch or else you wouldn’t refer to yourself as trying to “correct” me on that with false information. Your mention of the CO dismissal route carries such a remote possibility that it’s not worth mentioning, it’s not something the OP can COUNT on like he could with a Reserve to Active switch.</p>

20

<p>“It’s very obvious why it’s beyond you. You’re the idiot. I don’t think this high school sophomore is thinking about retirement. His question is about college after military, which any non-idiot can presume to mean a single contract, not 20 years.”</p>

<p>Sure, keep thinking that.</p>

<p>"Tell that to yourself in Post #12:
“Nowhere does the OP mention anything about contracts.”</p>

<p>You don’t seem to know what the hell you’re talking about anymore."</p>

<p>Oh? I think I do.</p>

<p>“There is no decoration for a college degree. If you’re talking about getting a college education to stay competitive on the enlisted side, that is one of the most asinine things I’ve heard from you. If you’re talking about getting a college degree to become an officer, that’s entirely the point I was making which you took issue with ranting about the LDO route.”</p>

<p>You clearly read my post wrong.</p>

<p>“Are you kidding? OP is talking about a FIRST military contract and an undergraduate degree, not re-enlistments and grad school. Your non sequitur is ridiculous. What you’re doing is called putting the cart before the horse.”</p>

<p>Is he? Try asking him first.</p>

<p>“You keep referring back to the CO cutting him from a year of active duty as if it’s easier than going Reserve to Active. And yes, you are trying to portray that as easier as you began your uninformed original post referencing how you needed to “correct” my information on the Reserves with that.”</p>

<p>Reread my statements.</p>

<p>“OP can’t count on it “always” carrying over if they feel the need to list a program expiration date. Can you count on 2012 tax rates staying the same forever?”</p>

<p>Tax rates and instructions renewing are two different things. If the instruction has been carried over time and time again for the past, 30 years. It’s probably going to keep going. It’s a force manning program, it only expires because there needs to be an instruction for each fiscal year.</p>

<p>“That’s all you’ve been doing is talking down the Reserve to Active switch or else you wouldn’t refer to yourself as trying to “correct” me on that with false information. Your mention of the CO dismissal route carries such a remote possibility that it’s not worth mentioning, it’s not something the OP can COUNT on like he could with a Reserve to Active switch.”</p>

<p>Again, never did I say it was easier. Anybody in the service can tell you right now that depending on your rate/MOS/job/whatever, that the dismissal route is not a remote possibility. The process of getting dismissed will be just as annoying as the route to going from reserves to active. It’s all job dependent.</p>