I had all my paperwork done and was waiting for my recruiter to get back from leave so I could go down for my physical. When he gets back, there's a memo from the NGB that says:

quote:

1. Effective 01 APR 09, all "Prior Service - Non-Duty MOS Qualified" enlistments is suspended and closed until further notice. The MOS for which the applicants are enlisting for must be the same MOS in which they were previously qualified. . . . No waivers are authorized.

The memo is rather vague. It doesn't specifically exclude applicants who had begun the process of applying before April 1, but who hadn't signed their contract yet.

Also, my recruiter said the new requirement that MOS's be the same excludes former Navy personnel--so they are only processing former Marines. Yet there are some Navy MOS's (i.e., ratings) that are directly translatable to Army MOS's. E.g., BM and QM are basically the same as the Army 88K. That is, to find out if an interservice MOS is translateable, one must logon to the DOD Occupational Database (ODB) (I am a former Navy QM.) 88K, BM and QM all share the same code 53-5021.02 - Mates: Ship, Boat, Barge, indicating a significant degree in commonality.

So if I'm not grandfathered in because I started my paperwork over a month ago, then I should still be allowed to go for the 88K MOS. That is, former Navy should not be excluded on a plain sense reading of the NGB memo.

My recruiter is a nice guy, and has been helpful all along, but I think my recruiter might be mistaken in his interpretation of the ODB memo.

Can an actual recruiter in the know please weigh in on this and confirm or deny my recruiter's interpretation.

Thank you.

If you have not signed the contract, it does not matter when you started the process. The issue with your specialty being transferable, you need to have your recruiter get in contact with the Enlisted Branch, and they have a hand in determining equivalencies. Any training documents/certificates and your DD 214 are helpful.

"If you have not signed the contract, it does not matter when you started the process."

That doesn't seem fair.

Also:

What do you mean by "Enlisted Branch"?

Also, what is a recruiter's NCOIC?

I figure there has to be a way around this. There always is.

Vermont is a small state. Is it worth it to involve the senators?

My main question is simple:

Are they allowing only Marine and not Navy (or Air Force) transfers of MOS's?

It would seem foolish to turn down a former Navy SEAL who wanted to join an Army National Guard special forces unit just because he is a sailor and not a marine.

Is there anybody out there who knows what is really going on?

Former Navy and a Seal? and you dont know what a recruiters NCOIC is?....I'll call BS on this one.....

quote:

Originally posted by krs1261:
Former Navy and a Seal? and you dont know what a recruiters NCOIC is?....I'll call BS on this one.....

Gimme a break! I never said I was a SEAL! I said I was a QM. I said it would be stupid to turn down a SEAL just because he was from the Navy. I'm just a regular joe, but I think I've got a lot to offer. I'm in good physical shape, and my ASVAB is still in the 96th percentile. So I just want to be sure my recruiter isn't giving me the run around.

It turns out I was right. I did get an email yesterday from the Bureau that says that QM and BM can be converted to 88K as long as the Army proponent awards the MOS before they enlist.

But I'm probably still screwed unless I can find examples of 88K in the Vermont Guard. It seems like if Arizona and Kansas have them, the Vermont ought to as well. My recruiter's five second answer was "not that I'm aware of" (in other words: I don't know). Another bloke in the Guard I ran into at the local tavern said he didn't know of any 88K. So it doesn't look good.

Still, an amphibious capability would seem to be a good idea. Lake Champlain would be a great place to train, and there I guarantee you when Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys took over Fort Ticonderoga, they didn't cross that lake on foot. Moreover, there was a flood 20 years ago where half the lower part of the state was under 20 feet of water. And if I'm not mistaken a unit was sent down for the Katrina disaster. But I guess the plan is to just borrow boats from the fish and game department.

And yes I know that NCOIC stands for Noncommissioned Officer In Charge. What I'm worried about is that my recruiter is the NCOIC. So I need to get my ducks in a row before I go back in.

quote:

My main question is simple:

Are they allowing only Marine and not Navy (or Air Force) transfers of MOS's?

It would seem foolish to turn down a former Navy SEAL who wanted to join an Army National Guard special forces unit just because he is a sailor and not a marine.

Is there anybody out there who knows what is really going on?

Well then whos the Seal your talking about??Being a Marine and a Wisconsin National Guardsmen,All I can say is we can still smell out a poser and thats whaat you waantd to be.......Go back and read your questions.....

quote:

Originally posted by krs1261:

quote:

Yet there are some Navy MOS's (i.e., ratings) that are directly translatable to Army MOS's. E.g., BM and QM are basically the same as the Army 88K. (I am a former Navy QM.) 88K, BM and QM all share the same code 53-5021.02 - Mates: Ship, Boat, Barge, indicating a significant degree in commonality.

Well then whos the Seal your talking about??Being a Marine and a Wisconsin National Guardsmen,All I can say is we can still smell out a poser and thats whaat you waantd to be.......Go back and read your questions.....

Don't lecture me on my reading ability, you empty headed *****. I never misrepresented anything. With me, what you see is what you get. Quit libeling me. If you got something constructive to add, let's see it. Otherwise shove it!

i have to agree he never said he was a seal he was just trying to make a point.

quote:

Originally posted by WarrenPlatts:
Can an actual recruiter in the know please weigh in on this and confirm or deny my recruiter's interpretation.

In lieu of an actual recruiter, I can tell you what's going on:

The NG is over 10k troops over their authorized endstrength. One of the things they are doing is not taking anyone who will be non DMOSQ.

Now, there are not going to be a lot of 88K slots. It's not whether or not you qualify for 88K (I'm sure you do), it's how many vacant 88K slots does the state have. 2 years ago, they would've plopped you anywhere and signed you up for school for whatever MOS slot they had you in...they needed numbers first, and DMOS-Q wasn't all that important as long as you had an MOS. Now, there is pressure on the state to eliminate their non-DMOSQ troops, ISR no-shows, the no-vals, etc to get under the cap.

Hope that made it a little more clear.

quote:

Originally posted by WarrenPlatts:

Don't lecture me on my reading ability, you empty headed *****. I never misrepresented anything. With me, what you see is what you get. Quit libeling me. If you got something constructive to add, let's see it. Otherwise shove it!

Easy buddy! You didn't say you weren't a seal when you posted that, did you?

He didn't say he was a ****ing SEAL! He was just clarifying a point for literate people you stupid ****s!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hulinmr,

quote:

Originally posted by jwr6:

quote:

Originally posted by WarrenPlatts:
Can an actual recruiter in the know please weigh in on this and confirm or deny my recruiter's interpretation.

In lieu of an actual recruiter, I can tell you what's going on:

The NG is over 10k troops over their authorized endstrength. One of the things they are doing is not taking anyone who will be non DMOSQ.

Now, there are not going to be a lot of 88K slots. It's not whether or not you qualify for 88K (I'm sure you do), it's how many vacant 88K slots does the state have. 2 years ago, they would've plopped you anywhere and signed you up for school for whatever MOS slot they had you in...they needed numbers first, and DMOS-Q wasn't all that important as long as you had an MOS. Now, there is pressure on the state to eliminate their non-DMOSQ troops, ISR no-shows, the no-vals, etc to get under the cap.

Hope that made it a little more clear.

Thanks for the response. I disagree that the Army and National Guard are too big, but that's not my call to make. It's up to President Obama ultimately, and if he wants to help with the unemployment problem, then what better way than to grow the Army, especially when there are two wars ongoing now, and up to two more waiting in the wings (Pakistan and Mexico). But that's neither here nor there.

Meanwhile, it was my goal all along to strike for warrant officer. I see there are several open WO slots some of which they are so desperate to fill that they will take any feeder MOS. 153A would be nice--but that would take a major age waiver!!!

As for me being a former SEAL, that was never my intention to convey such nonsense. Perhaps I should have written more clearly. No need for a flame war.

quote:

Originally posted by pdu850:
Jesus Christ! He didn't say he was a ****ing SEAL! He was just clarifying a point for literate people you stupid ****s!

Contact me in ten days.