The U.S. Army and I... Part 1

The short relationship between the Army and I was always a bit strained. 

My decision to join the army could have been described as impulsive. It was my senior year in high school and I learned college was no longer an option. I needed something to throw myself into.

Despite that, I had always liked the idea of being a soldier. Someone strong and independent. Someone fighting for something worthwhile while being able to travel and see the world. As a kid I use to pretend to be a warrior, however I was always pushed academically so I never thought about actually trying to become one.

Many people surrounding me were against the idea. I was set to graduate valedictorian of my class and many of the teachers and staff at the school viewed the army as beneath my potential. Even my mother who said she would support any decision I made, said so with an undertone of worry. Many people could not imagine the petite me being someone who could fight.

Why the Army and not another branch in the service? It was the first thing that came to mind. When I think of the military I think of army first. Yes there are the Marines, Coast Guard, Navy, and the Air force, but there is something about the Army persona that seems very American. It was also the closest military office that showed up on the website.

I started off just wanting to know what ASVAB score I could get. In order to see what jobs in the military I could apply for, I needed to know what score I could get. The ASVAB, or basically the placement test, had a score range from 1-99 points, and each job would only accepted those with a certain number of points. So I called the nearest recruiting office, which again happened to be army, and they straight away set up a practice exam for the next day.

On the practice ASVAB I got a 94 and on the actual test I got a 92. At which point the recruiter was already wanting me to fill out paperwork, choose a job, and completely commit to the army life. Even though I could apply for almost every job, the job I originally wanted was not available. I felt completely pressured by the recruiter to pick another job even though none really appealed to me.

My recruiter was going to transfer to another career field within a few weeks time and he wanted to get me enlisted before then. However with a three+ year contract I wanted to make sure I was doing something I wanted to. The other career field in the army I was looking into required me to take the DLAB. Due to some miscommunication, I was already set up to go to MEPS the following week. Upon meeting with me and my mother, the recruiter said that if I did not go to MEPS on the day they scheduled and take the test, that his superior officer would be unlikely to set me up with the test again.

He also wanted me to pick a job before I went.  It was either picking a job now or getting to MEPS and choosing one of the jobs that was available at that time. As it was explained, it was frowned upon to go to MEPS and not become enlisted. That doing so would tell the army that I was not ready to commit and therefor the army shouldn't spend anymore resources on me. Already knowing I couldn't go to college, the idea of not being able to follow through with my backup plan was something I didn't want to face.

Therefor I settled on a job I thought I could live with and was sent off to MEPS the following week to enlist and take the DLAB.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for part two!