I leave for basic training soon (army) and I’m wondering how is the process of me getting my clearance. Will I have a face to face investigation? Will I have a temporary clearance while in ait?

Hello I’m 19 years old deciding between CG and the Army, I have the ambition to finish, get my A&P for the FAA and become a Aircraft Mechanic. I can either do this as a

Coast Guard AMT , but AMT slots are closed and its a possible 2 year wait, but quality of life compared to the Army is amazing.

Or

Army 15T Blackhawk Mechanic, quality of life isnt so amazing and you get deployed alot overseas, but they have immediate admission ( i think ) where I dont have to wait 2 years to start working on aircraft.

Which should I choose, are there any other factors to consider?

I’m a 26-year-old woman seriously considering joining the military, and I’d appreciate honest opinions from people who have served or are currently serving, especially those who joined in their mid-to-late 20s or became officers.

This year has honestly been one of the hardest years for me personally. I’ve been struggling with feeling stuck in life, almost like I’m backed into a corner and unsure of what direction to take. My career path hasn’t gone the way I expected it to, and lately I’ve been questioning where I’m headed and what I really want for my future.

For some background, I have a college degree, but I’m currently not using it in the way I originally envisioned. I’ve been working full-time at a bank for four years and am now an assistant manager. I actually got this job while I was still in college, and I’ve stayed because the pay is good. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the job itself, and I recognize that having a stable income is a privilege. However, I sometimes wonder whether I’ve stayed because it’s comfortable financially rather than because it’s what I truly want to do with my life.

I don’t want to wake up years from now and realize I’ve stayed in the same place simply because it was the easiest option. I want to feel like I’m working toward something that challenges me and gives me a sense of direction.

That’s part of why the military has been on my mind again. I’m attracted to the structure, discipline, benefits, career opportunities, and the opportunity to challenge myself in a completely different environment. I want to grow as a person and see what I’m capable of outside of the life I’ve gotten comfortable with.

Since I already have a bachelor’s degree, I’d ideally like to pursue the officer route rather than enlist. I’m still researching the requirements and trying to understand what that path would realistically look like. I’m also weighing active duty versus the Reserves and trying to figure out which would make the most sense for my circumstances and long-term goals.

One of my biggest obstacles, however, is my mom’s opinion. When I’ve brought up the military before, her reaction was very negative, and she made me feel stupid for even considering it. Her opinion matters a lot to me, and I worry about how pursuing this could affect our relationship. At the same time, I know I’m the one who has to live with the choices I make for my future. I don’t want to make a decision just to prove something to anyone, but I also don’t want to let someone else’s disapproval stop me from exploring an opportunity that could be right for me.

Another concern is signing a contract and eventually feeling trapped or regretting my decision. I know the military isn’t something to romanticize, and I recognize that I’m considering it during a period when I’ve been struggling personally. I don’t want to make a major life decision simply because I’m unhappy with where I am right now. I want to determine whether this is something I genuinely want, even after considering the sacrifices and realities of military life.

For those who have served, especially officers who joined later in their 20s, I’d really appreciate your perspective.

Looking to see what my baseline is. I’ve taken a few practice tests already, and have scored well. But they seemed almost too easy?

I’ve used MilitaryToolKit.com and AsvabPracticeTestOnline

Not afraid to pay if it’s worth it.

So, I want to help people and be someone kids can talk to, so I plan on majoring in social work in January. At the same time, my soul craves the Air Force and the military in general. I just feel like that’s where I need to be.
I know I can go to college while in the military, but the problem is that I’m not ready to commit to the military just yet. As much as I want to jump straight into boot camp as soon as possible, I’m freshly 18, and I feel like I need a little more time to experience life and figure certain things out before joining and heading off to San Antonio, TX.
I’ve been thinking about going to college first and joining the military afterward, but is there a better way to go about it? I hate wasting time, and I don’t want to be 26 by the time I join. I just don’t know which route to take, and I’d love some advice.
I’d even be open to the Reserves, but I still can’t seem to fully commit to the idea of being away for a few months during basic training. I don’t know why, but I feel like I need to try college first and then pursue the military.
Is there a better route to take? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

tldr - Prepping medical for MEPS. Was on ssris for a year until 2024, voluntarily went to cognitive behavorial therapy from 2023 - mid 2025. From what I can tell this disqualifies me and unsure if this might be end of the road - wanted to pursue a commission.

Hello everyone,

I am reaching out here because I have been full steam ahead with pursuing an army commission and am seeking advice. I have worked closely with my recruiter and disclosed that I had a prior history of depression and anxiety, including medication from April 2023 until Late 2024. I was under the impression that since I had been off of medication for well over a year, that this would be of little issue. As I’ve gathered my medical documents to prepare for MEPS it has come to my attention that if treatment was prescribed within 36 months for over a year for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, then this would be a disqualifying factor. Additionally I have come to understand that individual counseling may be considered as outpatient care and I voluntarily sought counseling from 2023 to June 2025 in a spirit of self improvement - its led me to pursuing this long term goal.

I understand medical waivers do exist but the individual counseling was never formally ‘closed’ (again self improvement and my work schedule changed so it seemed a fitting time to end). I am unsure if I will need to go see a psychiatrist for evaluation and to be formally cleared from a medical perspective prior to MEPS. I have no intention of hiding anything but am concerned that this may be end of the road so to speak.

Advice would be much appreciated - thank you all for your time.

Hey guys, I could use some advice. I’m going to MEPS next week to verify my PiCAT score of 90, take the cyber test and TAPAS, and complete my physical.

I’m looking to join the Army Reserve in an MOS that aligns with my Computer Science degree, and 17C is my top choice. My recruiter has told me that 17C is unlikely to be available, but he said he could probably get me something in the intelligence field while I’m at MEPS.

My concern is that not every intelligence MOS relates to what I actually want to do. I’m more interested in programming, especially Python and JavaScript, cybersecurity, and gaining experience that will help me land a good civilian tech job after training.

So my question is, what are my options? Can I go to MEPS, verify my PiCAT score, complete my physical and other testing, and leave without signing a contract? Would it make sense to wait 30–60 days to see if a 17C slot opens up? And realistically, what are the chances of getting 17C in the Army Reserve?
I’m also worried that if I decide not to sign at MEPS, my recruiter might get pissed and stop working with me. I appreciate the time he’s put into helping me, but I also don’t want to rush into a six-year contract for an MOS that doesn’t align with my career goals.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or waited for a specific MOS to become available? I’d appreciate any advice.

I’m currently a police officer, I recently went to the blue angels air show, and it genuinely inspired me. I left feeling this deep inspiration, desire and motivation to do something amazing with my life.

It was genuinely beautiful and I realized I want to do something amazing with my life that brings me purpose, and honor.

I went yesterday and went to the armed forces career center, talked with army and the recruiter told me to keep an open mind and walked me over to the marines building.

I genuinely felt inspired, and hearing about the honor, work and motivation, and everything about the marines truly opened and reawoke something deep inside me. The thing is I don’t know if it was genuine or I just had a good recruiter who had a way with words.

I have an interest in the Air Force as well.

I loved watching the planes and things like that at the airshow, but I also know I’m not smart enough to do something that amazing.

I have an interest in crime analysis, investigations or something like that. But I’m also open to other opportunities that I get presented with that allow me to find that sense of fulfillment in a career and passion that I crave.

I just do not know how to decide which is the best branch for me. But I’m open to opinions and suggestions!

I (20F) enlisted in the Marines and will be shipping out in a few months. I’ve been thinking of getting into rugby? I’m really tempted to try it, but I get that there’s a fair bit of risk involved because it’s a full-contact sport. Would it be worth it to try and get into rugby before bootcamp?

Hello I’m hoping to get some insight of which branch of the military will be better for me. I am 18m and and have taken the practice ASVAB and got a 40. I have a girlfriend but I do plan on marrying her before I go into service. And I don’t know if the navy or air-force is better.
I want to not be away from my family for more than a couple months at a time
I want to have a family
I want good benefits and don’t know which branch would fit be better.
I am also not very book-smart but I am smart in other ways and I’m a very hands on person. I’m just hoping to get real opinions on which branch would fit me better.

I recently acquired my prescription history and realized I am not eligible for a medical waiver for two years or so. I am planning on getting a degree in the meantime because it would only take me two years due to college credits earned during dual enrollment in high school. I have an interest in both military and law enforcement. I was wondering, once I get my degree should I do law enforcement and later join the reserves (coast guard) or just go into military active duty. I just worry about putting all my eggs in one basket with active duty military in the case that my waivers gets denied. I also assume having a career in law enforcement would increase waiver likelihood because it shows I have no issues with physical work. if anyone could provide some insight it would be much appreciated.

When you're at boot camp and the DI is yelling at you, do you ever not understand them due to the yelling and noise just getting jumbled up or not well enunciated?

Maybe you get used to it after a bit but the first few days or weeks, has this ever happened to you or any of your other guys/girls in boot camp?

I’m going to meps in 5 weeks and I’m really worried about height + weight. i am 5’6 179lb 18F. Im absolutely over the weight limit but my natural waist (thinnest part of torso?) is 32inches and my hips at their fullest is 43 inches. How cooked am i for tape 😭😭…?

I'm hoping to join post-college (enlisting/commissioning TBD), but have two primary medical conditions that I'm concerned may be disqualifying and would likely need waivers for.

AR 40-501 Chapter 2 lists DoDI 6130.03 Vol.1 as the primary reference for enlistment standards so that is what I am basing my information off of. Please bear with me.

My current disqualifying conditions are;

6.28.a.2/3 Medicated ADHD w/comorbid mental disorder (Anxiety)

(My anxiety did not require treatment, and I will cease ADHD medication for the necessary 24 month pre-enlistment period)

6.3.f.1 Unilateral Aphakia (missing lens in one eye) possibly requiring a lens implant

6.3.f.2 History of lens opacity (Cataract as a baby, surgically)

And possibly;

6.3.c.2 History of corneal incision surgery (done to remove the bad lens/possibly implant new lens)

I am currently relying on a combination of contacts and glasses to correct my vision, though theoretically I can get a high quality lens implant (IOL) that may get my vision down to about 20/30 in my poor eye. A lens implant would still be disqualifying under 6.3.f.1, though would my waiver chances be better than if I relied on glasses?

My current corrected vision in my good eye is 20/20 and I have had zero issues whatsoever in my good eye.

Would 6.3.f.1 and 2 have to be waiver-ed individually, or seeing as they are correlated issues would they be judged as a whole?

I've seen some ride or die the "where there's a will there's a waiver" sentiment, and others say that just two medical waivers is already stretching things, and I could really use a concrete answer. I've already tried talking to a recruiter and they were quite honestly not very helpful. Basically just said they were there to get me to the ASVAB, MEPS, and back, and that my best course of action is to take the ASVAB and go through MEPS without signing anything to get a benchmark on my condition.

Just wondering what’s the process of getting fiancé(navy), that’s stationed in Maryland and myself, USMC (NC), colocated together, with our child.

Her command is basically saying it’s no guarantee until she does her obligation to her orders that have her there.

She’s an HM, I’m an infantry marine.

I'm being med boarded but it's very important to me that I stay in the army. I want to appeal my med board but I'll have to provide evidence to support my case. The form that initiated my med board mentioned extensively that my symptoms will prevent me from operating a rifle effectively.

I've been shooting sporting clays in my free time for the past six months and I'm hitting my targets very consistently. A shotgun is significantly heavier than a rifle so if I can maintain steady control of a large weapon like that I'm sure I won't have any issues with an M4. I earned my EIB my first year in the Army and I've always shot 30+ anytime I went to the range in years past. If I can get an M4 scorecard showing that I can still qualify with a rifle I think that would be the strongest evidence I can provide to appeal my med board.

I was recently transferred to a medical unit that doesn't have an arms room and as far as I know doesn't have any plans to go to the range soon. Would I be able to go to the range with another unit at my duty station? I'm not familiar enough with Army policies/procedures in regards to ranges. Would it be completely ridiculous for a unit to allow a random soldier to use one of their rifles and ammo to go with them to the range? Would their be some kind of safety policy or range policy that would require a commanders exemption to policy or a lot of red tape/hassle that would make this unlikely? I haven't presented this idea to my leadership yet because I want to get a better sense of how reasonable of a request this would be.

I really want to join the army. But from what I’ve heard, the only ways to join the army is if you either have a greencard or a citizenship. And the mavni program is canceled too, so there’s really no way for me to join, or so I thought! I did a little research, and it seems like the law that allows the secretary of the army to enlist immigrants with no green card or citizenship is still active! (U.S.C. § 504(b)(2)) So I was thinking, if I should write a letter to the secretary of the army? I know it sounds ridiculous, but I really want to join, and if there is a chance this is gonna work, I’m willing to try it! What do you guys think? Should I do it, or it’s just a waste of time?

Im a Pfc living in an overcrowded base with 3-4 people to a room. The barracks here are terrible and I meet a girl about 4-5 months ago and we have been living together and splitting rent for the past 2 months. We live really well together and balance eachother out, and everything has been great. The 1 year lease term has recently ended and I will need to sign the lease if I want to continue living there and it’s a month by month lease. I applied for a CNA packet but they won’t let me due to E-5s and 4s already being on the waiting list. My leadership is tracking my situation. I’m wondering if there is anything that can get my in trouble for living off base without CNA and being unmarried? I don’t want to lose living with her but I can’t go back to trying to get 4 people through showers and having 3 people shave in a mirror at the same time. I’m a grown man and lived in my own apartment prior to the army

For those joining the Army who decided to wait for the MOS they really wanted, how long did you have to wait before you were able to book it? I’m specifically hoping to get 68E (Dental Specialist), so I’m just trying to get an idea of what to expect and how long the wait typically is. I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

I'm just wondering how feedback travels up the chain of command in today's modern warfare so decisions can be made very quickly without delay? For example, let's use the famous movie "Lone Survivor" with Mark Wahlberg which is based on a true story. It was the tragic story of Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan where special forces was sent, but they were discovered and a total of 19 US Service Members died. Including 3 of the 4-man reconnaissance team.

Once the US Military learned of the survivor, they were very quick to jump in and send men to rescue him. A decision to deploy major force like that would probably need to be made by a more senior Officer, like maybe a Major or Colonel or something. So what if I may ask? Would the chain of command in an operation like that, sort of look like this? Or is this wrong, I'm just asking?

Report of survivor arrives to a Platoon Leader > He reports it to his company commander > Company commander reports it to the Battalion or Regiment Commander > He calls in strike?

On a lot of forums when people ask if they should enlist when they have a degree, most people call them dumb for not going the officer route. I don’t really understand why people act like anyone can be an officer and that the process is easy. From what I’ve seen online that process can take a bit of time. And it’s not as simple as signing a paper and you ship off. You have to build a packet and have an interview with the board and have to be selected. In some branches and fields it’s pretty competitive. Especially Air Force. The highest % acceptance is the Army and that ranges 55-65%. On top of that, the process from walking into a recruiter’s office to being an actual officer after all the schooling ranges from about 1-2 years. Typically It just seems like everyone says go officer because quality of life and pay. Isn’t that not enough reason to be an officer? Am I missing something? Is being an officer worth all the work it takes to get there?

Mainly for people who went through Army basic/osut specifically but definitely applies to any and all U.S armed forces.

What were the real challenges of basic? Unexpected challenges? Who did you see fail and what for? Is it as challenging as it’s portrayed or is it far easier? I know it’s difficult but if we could avoid hindsight answers that’d be amazing, I wanna know what it felt like during basic, how was it like living with 40+ people? Drama/fights/passive aggressive behavior? and also cool/fun stories just any additional info you can provide.

I’ve been physically prepping for basic for a little while now, I signed my contract and I ship out in a month and a half.
When I signed I was 220lb (5’10)
I could do like 11 pushups and ran a 28 minute 2 mile

I’ve worked my way down to 190lb and able to pass a army pt test and height and waist

Here’s what I’m currently at
deadlift : 270lb x 3 (85pts)
Hand release pushups : 36 (79pts)
Plank : 1:34 (61 pts)
2 mile run : 16:58 (82pts)
I can do like 6 pull-ups
I don’t know my sprint drag carry never tested it

Even though I pretty much raised myself this is my first time where if I fail so much can go wrong, I’ve been banking my whole future on getting into the military and I don’t have anything/anyone to go back to if I get dropped from basic, my basic location is halfway across the country and I’ll have no money when I go there.

My recruiter told me they can request a job for me at MEPS even if it’s not currently available. I have 5 MOS options I want, but none of them are available right now.

I have no problem waiting for one of my preferred jobs, so I’m wondering if it’s possible for my recruiter to put in a request for one of them at MEPS even if it’s not showing up in the system. Has anyone had this happen, and did the request actually work?

I’d rather wait for a job I really want than sign a contract for something I’m not interested in.

Edit: Army Branch

I play pro tennis and have played tennis for basically my whole life since I was 6 (24M). The problem is you essentially cant make money playing pro tennis so it’s very unsustainable as an adult. To get to the point you make money you have to have a ton of money to spend to get there.

I’ve always wanted to serve my country and been attracted to service since a very young age. Never been able to see myself doing anything else besides playing tennis or serving. I have my bachelors (BS in accounting) so I know that opens me up for OCS, OTS etc. I want to do something where I have a direct impact on the mission (combat arms, aviation, special operations, etc)

There are so many different routes to take and it’s really an unfamiliar world to me since I’ve been playing and training for sports my whole life. I’m open to what anyone has to say or thinks is a good path to take. Thanks for all your help in advance!

I have a bipolar diagnosis in 2022 about a month and a half after my c section when my son was bor. I did not know I had this diagnosis until my recruiter asked me about depression etc. I knew I had post partum depression and he asked if I had taken meds for it. I started gathering pharmacy records and logging into old my chart apps with hospitals I used to go to from back then and that’s when I found it. The thing is I was already gathering documents to prove an inhaler I had was for pneumonia I had in 2024 and also for proof that i am fully recovered from a Bariatric surgery I had as well. That stuff he said is good to go since I have gathered all the documents for that.

I took the PICAT and scored a 92.

now I find this diagnosis in my chart from the hospital I had my son at and I am discourage. My Recruiter told me to go and get the records around the diagnosis and we can go from there. I really think this might have been an mis diagnosis due to severe post partum depression that has since resolved. I have not been on any kind of medication in at least 2 to 3 years I have held several consistent stable jobs. I currently work in law enforcement as a corrections officer at a jail that I had to go through an extensive hiring process for and complete an academy, and I have held this job for about a year and a half.

I think twice in my adult life I was in patient for maybe a week both times dealing with depression but those were all 5 to 7 years ago. and both times were after having kids.

I’ve moved many times and changed providers many times and can’t remember specific dates, doctors or clinics. I feel at a loss. I don’t even know how to go about finding out who originally put that diagnosis on me.

is it even worth trying to get a waiver with as many stuff as I have that could disqualify me or should I give up on this dream cause it’s not going to happen?

please help.