Hi ladies... i have joined this group and am posting because DH and I have been tossing around the idea of the military... we need to have something stable, dependable, and do the right thing for our family.. DH talked a year or 2 ago about joining the military... but felt he was too old now (25..) We are beginning to discuss it here and there again and know the utter sacrifices we will have to make to each other and our children… but, feel for the benefit of us, our children, and our country.. that it’s an all around good decision…
I am fearing the thought of him not being around.. but I guess I don’t really know how it all works, I’m sure it varies between which service you join, but I know that he’d have to go away for boot camp alone for whatever the weeks are for the service.. but then what?? Wherever he goes? Do we go too? Or is there a certain time where we can’t be there?? I guess I’m just confused because most of the people I know that have joined the military I was either too young to remember or they didn’t already have families.
Welcome to the group!
Joining was the best thing that my husband could have done for our family. It feels good knowing that he has a stable paycheck. Deployments are hard but you get through it. You get used to being alone and being a "single" mommy while he's away.
The length of bootcamp depends on what job he gets. My husbands was 14 weeks because they put bootcamp and AIT(this is where they train for their specific job), together.
What branch is he thinking of joining?
My hubby joined the army in april, (and he was 32 when he joined) so i'm kinda new to all this. This was the best decision for our family, we have two small kids. I haven't been through any kind of deployments yet, only while he was gone for training. He started training in april and graduated in august. as long as you and your children are listed as dependents then you go with him after training, unless he's on an unaccompanied tour. Hope this helps.
Okay that's what I was wondering... My brother just joined in June (Army) and his was a 9 week boot camp i believe and his AIT is almost complete. My mom did get to go and see him for a week between boot camp and AIT though... but I didn't know if we go along with to AIT, or if we would go afterwards..
We are looking into Army or AirForce.. I think we are going to take a few more weeks and talk things through and decide what we can really do or what we are willing to do i guess I should say and then possibly start speaking with recruiters after the 1st of the year...
The hard part for us right now is that we have a 3 year old and a 6 mo old and I know that he doesn't want to miss these times with them..
Go Navy....shorter deployments...and some deployments you get to go to cool places!
See I was sort of interested in Navy as well, but DH didnt' sound like he would be interested... Thats' where we really need to discuss the differences and what we would be looking into better for us
Quoting mamamissy23:
Go Navy....shorter deployments...and some deployments you get to go to cool places!
Well if your hubby doesnt want to go Navy because of being on a ship...some people dont want to go on a ship...like my husband, he needs to pick the right job. My husband will never step foot onto a ship his whole Navy career. He flys in the P-3's which are wayyyy too big for any ship. Its nice knowing when there deployments are being in the p-3 family. They do a rotation of 6 months out 18 months in. And they dont get extended at all either which is nice...
Quoting NewMommyB:
Okay that's what I was wondering... My brother just joined in June (Army) and his was a 9 week boot camp i believe and his AIT is almost complete. My mom did get to go and see him for a week between boot camp and AIT though... but I didn't know if we go along with to AIT, or if we would go afterwards..
We are looking into Army or AirForce.. I think we are going to take a few more weeks and talk things through and decide what we can really do or what we are willing to do i guess I should say and then possibly start speaking with recruiters after the 1st of the year...
The hard part for us right now is that we have a 3 year old and a 6 mo old and I know that he doesn't want to miss these times with them..
That is the hardest part. But you can send lots of pics and letters! When my DH left for bootcamp, my DD was 2 and my son was 8 months. Daddy didn't get to live with us again until recently in June. My kids are now 4 and 2. DH deployed right away after he graduated so we hadn't lived with each other in almost 2 years. It is hard being away from him but we kept in touch all the time and he would call me every chance he got. I hear that the Air Force is better with benefits, housing, etc. Recruites talk BS sometimes so make sure that your DH asks a lot of questions! Cafemom is a good way to inform yourself, here is where I learn everything about the military =)
I am going to be honest with my opinion here. Given that you have a young family and that you are worried about how much time apart you will have to deal with I would strongly suggest the Air Force. As another mom mentioned, the Air Force typically has the best family support, benefits, and housing... and they also tend to have the shortest deployments (typically 4-6 months for deployments). All of this also depends on the job he gets as well. Make sure whatever job he wants that he gets it IN WRITING before he signs anything.
There is a possibility that he can get stationed at a remote base where family cannot come. These tours are typically one year unless he volunteers to extend them. Korea is the most common of those (where my husband is now). Not all career fields go though so you might not even have to deal with that. Outside of the remote PCS (PCS=Permanent Change of Station) though the family will go wherever they send him. Most Air Force careers, if they deploy regularly go on a 18 month schedule. So, 6 months deployed, 18 months home. There are exceptions, of course. Security Forces deploys a lot more.. and some administrative type positions don't deploy as often. If you are looking at a specific career interest already and want a vague idea of how often they might deploy check out this link: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforceenlistedjobs/a/afjobs.htm. Lots of info there about every job the Air Force has, what qualifications need to be met to get in the field, what he would be doing in the job... and even a chart listing average deployements in that field (looking at my husband's "average" though I would say double their number to get a more realistic look at current deployment rates). In general this site can answer LOTS of your questions about benefits, pay, housing, careers, promotions... pretty much all of it so take your time and really explore there. If you have any questions feel free to PM me as well. Good luck with yours and your husband's decision!
Edited to add: Check out this specific link for info directly about joining a service, which service best suits your situation, etc.... http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/recruiter1.htm
Thats ok. My Dh is AF and they're deployments are usually 4-6mos. Although, he is about to come home from a month long deployment to Puerto Rico. Another great thing bout the AF is that they're pretty family friendly.
Quoting NewMommyB:
See I was sort of interested in Navy as well, but DH didnt' sound like he would be interested... Thats' where we really need to discuss the differences and what we would be looking into better for us
Quoting mamamissy23:
Go Navy....shorter deployments...and some deployments you get to go to cool places!
i agree with the airforce suggestions. i used to be in the army and my husband is currently in the army and they say they care about the families but they dont. you do get to be with your husband once he is done with training and goes to his permanent duty station. army basic training is 9 weeks not sure about the other branches but ait is based on your mos. my ait lasted 11 weeks. but good luck to you and your family. i hope everything works out for the best
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This Nevada mom of two - who are just 18 months apart! - is married to her high school sweetheart and loves to craft in her free time.
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- NewMommyB
on Nov. 25, 2009 at 4:23 PM