Hello everyone,

I'm 38 and I've been meeting with a recruiter about enlisting. I took the ASVAB last week and the recruiter said the scores qualify me for MI. However, there are a few differences in the information the recruiter gave me and research I've done online in these forums and others, and I was hoping someone would be able to clarify some things to help me make the final decision on enlisting.

Ideally, I'd like to enlist as a 35M, and I also wanted to go to the DLI to learn whichever language the Army needs me to learn (I'd prefer Russian or Arabic, but I hear they make the decision for you). I studied Japanese in college and Spanish in high school, so I think I should be all right when I take the DLAB.

My questions are:

- Would I know before shipping off to BCT whether I'd be going to the DLI or to AIT after BCT? I'm trying to find a good balance between serving in the Army and softening the separation blow to my wife, and since we live near Monterey, spending a year at the DLI prior to AIT was one of the possible bonuses. Is it possible to take the DLAB and qualify for language training prior to enlisting, or would I ship to BCT not knowing yet?

- Regarding the security clearance, my credit was bad when I was in my 20s, improved in my 30s when I got a good job, then took a dive when I got laid off at the end of last year. I paid off a car a couple of years ago and am still current on motorcycle payments, but I have minor debt (less than $5,000 or $7,500) which I just can't pay without a job (rent and food have to come first). If I'm correct, I'd still ship out to AIT with an interim clearance and near the end of AIT I'd need to finally clear a background check. Would this financial issue be a problem? I'm considering two options: with the army, I'd have a steady paycheck and my wife would have BAH, so I could use my paychecks to pay off my debts and be free and clear by the time the background check goes through. My other option is to file bankruptcy now and just clear it out. My recruiter said a bankruptcy was an automatic deal killer for MI, but I've seen other answers saying it could be worked out.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Bankruptcy isn't an automatic deal killer in general, but it is an automatic deal killer for now. If your finances aren't in order today that you can't pay your bills then you aren't likely to be seen as a suitable candidate for the time being. Once you've fixed all your bills (being current in all obligations) and have proven that the current income you have is enough with your out going that you can easily pay your bills on time, even when reasonable unexpected things come up in life, then you could be considered.

It will take several years though. You can't fall behind on bills for several years and then get kind of caught up and then expect that they wouldn't have a reasonable suspicion that someone coming along with a bagful of money wouldn't tempt you. They look at what your life is currently and in the fairly recent past. The fact is that if you're currently considering a bk then you are not suitable.

As far as which comes first, I don't know the official ruling but I can't imagine that they would put you through 63 weeks (or whatever the particular language requires) before you prove you can pass AIT. I've seen the Army do some stupid things but that wouldn't be a smart investment considering the washout rate of some schools. If you failed AIT and had to go with an MOS that didn't require a language, then they wasted all that money on you.

My advice, without knowing any more than what you've written, is to get your finances in order (current on 100% of all bills with no outstanding) and come up with a plan that you follow for several years to prove it works, then come back and re-apply. $5,000-$7,500 is by far not going to be seen as minor debt since you are not paying it or are behind in paying it. If you are delinquent on $100 and cannot pay it then I doubt you will receive a TS clearance.

You may be able to get in quicker with a different MOS but 35M will require a Top Secret clearance. The standards are much higher than even a SECRET clearance needs. Maybe you could come in with a job that doesn't require a clearance, pay off your debt, get clean for a few years and then try later for a clearance.

Well, that's disappointing, if understandable, and in a weird way reassuring. I'll look for other MOS options. If someone in my situation doesn't qualify for a top secret clearance, would a secret or lower security clearance be possible? I'm also looking at 37F Psyops, but if I wouldn't qualify for any sort of clearance at all right now, I'll keep that in mind as things move forward. Thanks very much for your help in this.

If this is your initial enlistment, 35m and you're regular army, the odds of you getting DLI are 5% - If you want DLI prior to going to AIT, you need to enlist as 35p - Soldiers are more likely to fail out of language school than fail 35p school. You can take your DLAB prior to BCT departure but its not necessary for 35m, however it is required for 35p.

and dont think youll have a pick of the language, ive seen DLAB scores of 100 get Farsi and 135 get spanish, its a crap shoot

Security Clear - own up to all the bad things you've done including debt and tell them you're working on it and will be paid off shortly. Ive seen DUIs, debt, minor drug use all pass as long as they didnt hide anything

I know you're not going for 35m anymore, but just wanted to touch on a couple things. I am shipping out as 35m in November, and I can tell you right now, you can pick and choose your mos all you want, but you need to go in there with multiple choices. My first choice was PsyOp and it wasn't available at the time. In fact, I was extremely lucky to even get the 35m one. I had the last spot.
The other thing is that the order of 35m's schooling is BCT, AIT, then your language. Just like Merlyn said, they're not going to send you through over a year or so of language classes just to find out you can't even grasp the necessary info in AIT. At least in the case of 35M.
I don't really have experience with the bankrupt part though, sorry I hope the rest helped though. My best advice is to have multiple choices for your MOS when you go to MEPS and talk to the counselor.

MEPS told me to pick 3 fields (not jobs) and 2 had to be combat arms. I laughed and gave them one job and said, this is the way I will enter the army.

Anyone who says "you need to go in there (MEPS) with multiple choices" will also get taken to the cleaners when purchasing a home, vehicle or even a gym membership.

I was told there were no more MOS slots for my job, low and behold - one week later, spaces were available but not before saying, thanks but no thanks - have a nice day; and walking out that first time.

Nearly all initial entry, regular army 35M can keep language training in their hopes and dreams because branch suspended the linguist requirement, which is to be completely removed by FY10.

35M may have an opportunity to attend DLI but only as a re-enlistment option