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I have had this discussion with many of my Army buddies and gotten a variety of interesting responses. For a small number it was their chosen career from the first time they raised their right hand. For others, like me, it was gradual; the Army kept offering something too good to pass up, so you kept signing on the dotted line until you were suddenly a career Soldier and couldn't imagine doing anything else. I have met a few that made the leap after 9/11 and have been in ever since. So what is your story? When did you realize you were in it for the long haul?
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 23
Posted 11 y ago
For me it was right after I had PCS to Fort Lewis, made the SFC list and my wife had announced she was pregnant all in the span of a couple months. Once my sequence number hit, and my daughter was born in the same month (ironic), I went to my career counselor to reup indef. The C zone bonus I received was just icing on the cake
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SGT (Join to see)
11 y
As sad as it sounds, I have never made this much money on the outside, nor had so many opportunities. I also have one of the coolest jobs in the Army also, that helps a lot!
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SFC Kevin Carpenter
11 y
I heard that, especially when you factor in BAH!! Best decision i ever made as well! Make it even better check out WHCA.
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CPT (Join to see)
11 y
What are these 'bonuses' you speak of? LOL
I watched the soldiers around me cash in on the bonuses being offered over the past decade but never managed to hit the window for myself.
I am not complaining, though. I've had some outstanding assignments over that period and wouldn't trade them for any of amount of bonus money (well, maybe that one they were offering SF). :)
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Posted 11 y ago
I enlisted not knowing fully what to expect or where I planned on going after basic. I learned in Basic that I loved the Army and how it was changing me. Somewhere towards the end of basic or the beginning of AIT I realized that I would be a "lifer". I always just tell everyone I drank the Army Kool-Aid in reception and by the end of basic I was hooked on that Kool-Aid.
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CPT (Join to see)
11 y
They must have fed me the weak Kool-Aid in basic, took 11 years for me to get addicted. =D
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Posted 11 y ago
Two years in. I realized I was thinking, talking, and rationalizing in the little doctrine my shamshield heart had absorbed. All my self-development was going toward what Uncle Sam said he wanted me to be. I then realized that I will only get out via death, disability, or longevity.
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CPT (Join to see)
11 y
Congratulations on figuring it out early, SSG Beutler. Most of us take longer. LOL
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