Parents with kids who have enlisted — what did you wish you knew before they signed up?

Recruiters always lie. Always.

Tell your son that only homos join the navy. That is a 100% fact

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He and I have scheduled some time to go talk to the recruiter next week, however, I feel like I need to go in there with a big sheet full of questions for them to answer

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You have to know a recruiter has a quota and they are pushed to fill the slots that have the most need,,,,,the recruiters job is to convince your son that X job would best fit him and he can learn this trade,,,,,,they do not have your sons best interest in mind, they care about the numbers so they can get promoted,,,,,,you must be there and have your bullshite detector on high,,,,,don’t sign anything other than a 100% guarantee to get the job he wants or they will put him where they need a warm body.

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Recruiters always lie. Always. Tell your son that only homos join the navy. That is a 100% fact

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End thread

Some of the smartest people i know were in the military. Most of the dumbest people i know were in the military.

Aren't you trying to save a marriage?

You got a lot on your plate. You sure TD is where you want to look for answers?

Or are you trolling?

When I joined, you picked the rate you wanted. The Navy was the only branch that gave you that option. The AF let you have 3 "wish" jobs, but no guarantee. In the first couple of days of arriving at boot camp, they sat each recruit down and interviewed them about what was "promised" by the recruiter. In my case, I was supposed to come in as an E-3 due to college credits. My recruiter did not acquire my transcripts, so it wasn't in my file. The personnel at boot camp, I assume, contacted the recruiter and that was rectified very quickly. That was a long time ago, and it wouldn't surprise me if things have changed, but that's how it was was when I joined. Also, once in the Navy and it was time to change duty stations, the Navy allowed it's sailor to call and see what billets were available. In other words, you had choices of where you went. If the choices available weren't great, you had a window up until a cutoff time, to call back and see what else had opened up. In my case as a Hospital Corpsman, I had tons of options. Fleet Marine Force (stationed with Marines, doing Marine shite), a ship, or an overseas base. The Navy alternates sailors between shore and sea duty. If you are stationed stateside and your time at that command was up, then you are due for "sea duty". Both count as "sea duty". Again, this was a long time ago, and things may have changed.

I'm going to be a contrarian on this but let him do his thing. It's not the end of the world if he signs up for four years and doesn't ask all the right questions.

I ignored all my parents advice when I enlisted in 2001. Recruiter was actually pretty honest told me get my foot in the door and figure out if I wanted to do one contract and bounce or choose to stay.

I ended up staying till this year. Home on terminal leave now. Retired as an O5 after starting out as an E1. Left on my own terms can't ask for any more than that.

I noticed that many guys had different bonus amounts so get the highest you can for your boy.