Recruiter Part II
So I finally got down to the recruiter yesterday, the last day before they close for Christmas.
SFC Hartley seems like a good guy, though it's hard to understand his accent. He's supportive of my goal of 11X w/ the option 40, and willing to cart me back and forth from MEPS as many times as it takes for me to get that contract. That's a nice change from what I expected, which was to be fed a line of bullshit about how I don't need to get an option 40 contract and I can just get into RIP after airborne. Sure, it happens for like 1 in 100 people, but most people I've heard of that tried that got fucked.
I didn't expect to learn much from the visit, but he filled me in on the bonuses, GI bill, and the Army college fund. My basic enlistment bonus for a 4 year 11X commitment is 8000 dollars, or 4000 + 65K in the ACF in addition to the GI bill. I should get another 4000-6000 for additional bonuses, like college credit and airborne, and a promotion to E-2. I don't really care about bonuses--I'm not doing this for the money, obviously, since I'll be lucky to make 3 bucks an hour while I'm in--but it's certainly not going to turn me away. I could take the whole cash bonus but I figure when I get out, if I have over 100,000 dollars sitting there for me that can only be used on college, it'll be an excellent motivation to finish at least my BS. Oh, the Army is paying back my 2,500 dollar loan and all college while I'm in the Army is free (not that I'll have time, but it's a nice touch anyway). It's a good deal, enlisting.
SFC Hartley also believes I'll be shipping sooner than I'd wanted to, though the Opt40 might push my ship date back if the RIP classes are full. To avoid shipping in like March I might have to go back to college so they have a real reason to stick me in the DEP (Delayed Entry Program). That's something I'll deal with when I talk to the people at MEPS, I guess.
I took the practice ASVAB test. It was a condensed version with only 4 of the 7 or 8 sections. Easy stuff, though in the Math Knowledge section I had no idea how to do two of the problems, which were the only ones I got wrong on the test. I forgot how to do factorials (5 years ago in HS, and we never used it again) and I didn't remember how to do another problem but I also don't remember what kind of problem it was. The forecast for my real ASVAB score was 96th percentile, but I'll still probably do some ASVAB preparation; I don't believe in taking a good enough score if I can do better.
Oh, the last fun thing I did was take a urine test before filling out a lot of paperwork. Urine tests always make me nervous because even though I don't use drugs I'm worried that SOMEHOW something will have gotten into my body and I'll get screwed over.
I'm going back next tuesday or wednesday, whenever SFC Hartley gets back in, because I don't want to try my luck with the other recruiter. More tales of the recruiting office then.
Update: I realized something. Though the recruiter's name plate said SSG, he was wearing SFC insignia. So I've changed it to reflect his proper rank.
