First off I just want to say thanks to any advice I may recieve, I just got back from the recuiters today and am pretty pumped about joining the Army, but the issue is that the recruiters seemed kinda shady it took me awhile to even get the 11x contract I wanted because they said Ft. Benning was backed until the end of the year for infantry recruits but I held my ground until he made some phone calls and got me the 11x. My question is should I wait until BCT and see if they want any volunters for ABN or Ranger(which they said would be easy to get...) or stand my ground when I go to MEPS on monday and get that in my contract. I'm not entirely familiar on this so any help from people who have done this would be greatly appreciated.
It's possible and maybe even probable that you can volunteer for Airborne and RIP during OSUT. My advice and the advice I gave my son is get it in your contract no matter how long it take to ship or how much arguing you have to do. Recruiters don't always have all the facts about the option 40.
When you go to MEPS you are under no obligation to sign anything if it isn't what you want. Stand your ground it is most likely the only time you will be able too. You can also call the Ranger Regiment Liaison at Ft. Benning and ask the status of option 40 contracts (we had to do this after the recruiters said none were available). We were trying to lock in the job at the recruiting station, keep in mind they aren't able to project out as far as MEPS or the Liaison.
Are you selecting a job at MEPS or are you slotted as an 11X now? Hope this helps, if I can offer any other ***istance let me know.
Thanks for taking your time to respond, to answer your question I have a temporary reservation form for 11x for when I go to MEPS on Monday, They were very insistant that option 40 and even 11x was full until they called around and finally found the 11x so I'm confident if I don't sign anything and say I want Airborne Ranger they cound probably fit me in.
I agree, just be prepared to wait and or leave MEPS without signing a contract. Even though at MEPS they will tell you that you have to sign you are under no obligation to them. Be polite but firm, get what you want in writing.
It took my son from the end of August to the beginning of October to get an Ooption 40 contract with a ship date of Jan. 3rd.
My question is should I wait until BCT and see if they want any volunters for ABN or Ranger(which they said would be easy to get...) or stand my ground when I go to MEPS on monday and get that in my contract.
While it is possible you might be able to volunteer in BCT, do you really want to take that risk? Get it in your contract. Remember, they need you more than you need them and if they don't do it right you can still (legally) walk away from it - right up till the day you ship out.
Numbers I would strongly recommend that you get what you want in your contract at the start of your career. Yes you can posibly volunteer at some point, but then again maybe not. There are plenty of guys that were told the same thing and wound up in a mech unit after Airborne school.
Personal experience I road my bike about 15 miles to a recruiter and told him I wanted to be a ranger, (unassigned ranger in my day). After a bunch of BS like well rangers are guys like this, you may not make it, etc. I told him flat out put unassigned ranger in my contract or I am out of here. The rest is history. also take into account that currently the Regt is trying to grow each Bn by 1 line company, I do not know how far along they are but that takes time and with about a 50% or higher fail ratio, I would bet that there are slots coming open in the near future. Bottom line get what YOU want to start your career. Another example is this I did not tell anyone I was joing the Army, when I told my best friend, he said he wanted to do it also, 1/2 through basic they said his eyes were not good enough to become a rgr, they offer him a chance to get out or pick another MOS, he told them he did not care what job he had as long as he was a ranger. Well they reclass him cav scout (nothing wrong with this), however there are no cav scouts in the rgr regt. Fast forward 2 years later he is miserable and gets chaptered out as he was ****ed he could not be a ranger and let it effect his life as a Soldier. Bottom line get what YOU want!
I am in the same position your are right now with the lack of 11x spots and option 40. Like the rest of these guys said you really need to get what you want in your contract and believe me you can. I say that because when I started to walk away an 11x with option 40 sort of "magically appeared". Hold out for option 40 and its likely it will "magically appear" on the system for you.
Have them send you to MEPS and tell the people there you're not signing unless you get the Option 40 contract. You won't get a chance to voulenteer for opt 40 in OSUT... you might get a chance to get airborne and in airborne you might get a chance for opt 40. Don't start your Army career by boning yourself. Get it in writing.
The Army Times just put out an article recently talking about the growth of SOF and the need to fill the ranks in the 75th RGR RGT. Based on that it would be safe to assume the slots are there.
Good luck and check out armyranger... there is a lot of information there to help you prepare.
Advice from my own personal experience, get it in your contract. I was told the same thing that you were about volunteering in BAC back in the day, and I ended up locked into a COHORT unit. Yeah, I was Airborne Infantry, but I wasn't where I intended to be. It's your career, not your Recruiter's, and not your Career Counselor's. Don't make the mistake I did.
