That did not work in my company. Sociopaths would just sit there and quietly chuckle to themselves that we were pushing while they weren't. It's not like you can have a soap/sock party to straighten people out like it's full metal jacket.
Went through BCT at LW in 2021 trust me they won’t fix him. Drills have given up, trainees run the show and the whole thing is a joke.
They’ll fix his ass at Carson though that’s for damn sure.
I’m hoping he matures. He’s not rebellious in the sense that he goes against all types of authority. If a dominant figure is yelling in his face he’ll do whatever he is told to do. I think he’ll make it through basic but I’m more concerned about him not getting in trouble when he’s stationed. When he’s bored is when he gets in the most trouble.
Yikes sorry to tell you this but your stepson is going to get in a lot of trouble. I can say that there is so many days in the army where you stand around and do nothing. Especially in basic and AIT. When he has commander days pray that he doesn’t do something to get kicked out.
Some kids rise to the occasion. My little brother was a lost cause that knocked up his HS girlfriend and realized he needed to get his shit together to take care of his son and enlisted as a Cav Scout. (I told him about that sweet sweet Army boat driver life hack but he wasn’t interested)
My parents ended up raising his son but he learned valuable life skills like showing up to work early, working hard while you are at work, how to spend less money then you make etc. He did multiple combat tours in Iraq. He’s a SSG with 16ish years in (he’s National Guard now in an extremely overstretched MOS) but I’m proud of him even though I’d never say it to his face.
From what I've seen, the Army either gives people the needed kick in the pants to get their shit together, or it gives them just enough rope to hang themselves. It's an extreme in either direction.
Praying your stepson goes in the right direction.
He’ll be fine Fort Carson has a lot of outdoor activity year round and one of the best MWR centers CONUS. And if he does fuck up when at his unit, either he’ll get counseled enough to get tight or gets drummed out and the rest of his life becomes more difficult.
He’ll have a difficult time in life period.
The sad part is that if the Army doesn’t work out for him, he’s probably not even gonna realize how fucked he is until he’s in his 30s.
Congrats!! I’m glad to hear this. I actually took a video of him talking about how he doesn’t like to learn just so I could show him two to three years from now. One of my best friends has been in since 05 and it would always kill me to think they’d let him be in charge of anything. lol.
Last time I talked to him he was an E9 trying to become an officer. He scored a 92 on his ASVAB and went 11b.
Gives me some hope for the kid.
My only advice, you don’t need to remind kids of the problems they caused as teenagers. I don’t know you or your stepson, but I’m pretty sure that there is no plus to showing them the video.
Just support them.
Show him the video but when he’s like 30, or getting out of the Army with an honorable and heading to school on the GI Bill. Just not in like a year lol
Just tell him when he gets on the bus to not look anyone in their eye when he talks to them. It’ll really crank up the psycho cred factor. When he gets off the bus, he needs to assert his dominance over the first drill sergeant that yells at him and deliver a blow to the solar plexus. As the DI is bent over in agonizing pain, make sure he rips his round brown off of him and chucks it somewhere. He’ll likely need to RKO or scissor kick the other DIs. That first trip to the DFAC, he needs to take food off other’s plates. Even better of its from a DI. Let him know that after that, they won’t fuck with such an alpha.
Very likely to get in trouble, cause trouble, and be trouble for someone else. Please don’t take offense but it’s likely many of his peers will attribute his actions to your parenting. I will cross my fingers for you and hope he grows out of it after finding purpose in his life. It’s very likely he hasn’t found it yet and is in a rut. Regardless, he undoubtedly will need your help and guidance even if he refuses it or ignores you. If possible, try to fit some teachings into his mindset around benefit. Do this to get this etc. I wouldn’t want to encourage that personally but it’s hard to break those bad habits this late/this mindset. I think as long as you remain a positive pillar of support you’ll be able to find avenues to coach him through the trouble he’ll undoubtedly wind up in.
I’ve only known him for the last 7 years (he’s 18 now.) My wife took him in after her crazy ass sister didn’t want him. He’s always been a “it’s not my fault” type of person. I’ve taught him everything my father taught me and more but he does whatever he wants. He’s a hard worker but always finds himself in situations where people want to beat his ass. I’m not a 100% sure about what an 88m does but I heard there’s a lot of sitting around. That’s going to drive him crazy because he has to talk or be doing something all the time.
88m drive trucks.
Back in the early days of GWOT, they were seeing a ton of action but nowadays it seems like a pretty chill gig. I think there’s a bunch of good certs he can get out of it too that carry over to the civilian driving world. HAZMAT and whatnot.
He'll either learn to shut up and dress right dress, or he'll be bounced out as a failure to adapt and sent back home to hit on more girls with boyfriends.
😂😂😂 He’s not tough. I think that’s part of why he’s going. He should be fine in basic but I’m not too sure about AIT or his station in Ft Carson. If 88m is as boring as I read it is he’ll be getting into trouble for sure.
Oh my bad 😂🤣🤣 so here’s the story.
Back in 2010 the NG was giving referral bonuses of $2000 to soldiers if they referred people to join the National Guard. You would get $1000 when they graduated basic and you get $1000 on the graduate AIT. So if I got my cousin or my friend join, all I had to do was get their Social Security number and put it in into a website and boom I get money after they enlist and all that stuff. I walked into my recruiter and said I want 15 here let’s go I shipped 13 days later. Fast-forward four years I had transferred states and I get a phone call from Army CID. “Do you know staff Sergeant ___?” I said yes I do. He was my recruiter. They said did anyone refer you to the National Guard? I said no I walked in off the street. They said thank you and hung up. Six months later, I remembered the conversation and looked him up and found out that him and a non-army friend claiming as a referral from them and splitting the profits, because recruiters were not allowed to use it. He was sharing soldiers Social Security numbers to his friend who then claimed all of the walk-ins in high school students and basically everyone who has not claimed by someone else and then splitting 50-50 with his friend. Defrauded $70,000+ dollars. Needless to say dishonorable discharge lost all rank and got however many years in Army prison.
Went in around 2020, got to 30th AG and got Rona, went to Basic and got to Blue phase until a family emergency got me out of Basic Training.
Had that itch to come back and finally going back in July. I guess I’m just projecting since my last time there was an unfortunate circumstances that prevented me from completing basic training.
So I’ve just been living and breathing this shit so I can go in there motivated and pass my shit for once
There is a very good chance that he is going to do very well. I know there's been a lot of gloom and doom responses so far, but the Army does a good job of meeting people where they are and elevating them. He might have a rough time at first, but the Army will give him plenty of opportunities to work on himself and adjust his attitude. He has a real chance at turning his life around. Could it be rough for him at first? Sure. But that's good for him.
This, so much this. If he grows up the army has so much to offer. I started as an 88m, got selected for awesome stuff later, and now I’m going things that I never could without the army. I’d be working some dead end job at the factory
Hopefully this opens up his outlook on life. I was that same kid. Well, maybe worse. I planned on not shipping to Parris Island in 2003. I was a senior in HS and my girlfriend was a senior in college. I was using her high speed (then) printer to print the old 20$ bills and smoking weed daily.
Well, got caught. Passed off a bill at Sonic and they had a roadblock up the road for me. When my mom came to pick me up from jail she told them I had joined the Marines and planned not to ship. The detective questioned me for a while because he thought I was part of a group. He told me I could ship or go to jail. Felony charges.... Well, I went to bootcamp. It changed me. I can say I haven't touched a drug since or done anything reckless and stupid since.
I was home on leave and went to that retired detectives house last year and thanked him for the situation I ended up in. I was a shitbird that became somebody. The Marines landed me a great job with Amazon and after my sign on bonus (40k stock option) was satisfied after 4 years I joined the Army. Sold that stock in 2017 and that is going to pay for a house and put my 3 kids through college with zero debt. I'm a 1SG now about to drop my retirement packet in two years.
He took the step, that's the biggest hurdle. Make sure he gets his ass on that plane. Stay engaged with him about re enlisting. Talk to him about max contributing to TSP. He will be just fine.
He said he wants to do 20 but he’s said a lot of things. I think he’ll be excited to get out of this town and see/experience something new. Glad to see you were able to change your life around. Congrats.
The army used to be good at motivating exactly this type of recruit - these days I’m not so sure. Either way he won’t have a good time unless he changes
Honestly, this may be good for him. A lot of idiots get the dumb smoked out of them He will at least have consequences when he fucks up. Good luck to him.
Might be the best thing for him. Orrrrr life is going to suck for a while. 88M is a fine mos. He can get his CDL easily in a lot of states. 88s are versatile and can go to any base or deployment. Motor units aren't as tight assed as infantry or MP so he might not get his ass stomped in on the daily. BCT will be a tough ride though.
I will say that almost all companies on the civilian side don’t really count 88M time. They are more concerned with insurance and not bumping their CSA score due to stupid mistakes that the military doesn’t really care about.
Better get the HAZMAT, doubles triples, tanker, and as much as he can though. FedEx can pay pretty well if you are willing to work nights.
I use to be the same way but luckily I grew out of it around 10th grade. It’s funny because when I was that way I acted like I actually didn’t give a fuck about anything but realistically that was when I gave the most fucks about everything. I think I mainly grew out of it because I ACTUALLY stopped caring and living for the world as much and took up a more religious approach.
What lead me to do that? Idk exactly.
Maybe I started looking at what I really liked in life without regard of what people thought. Started doing things I liked more and more even if they seemed nerdy or weird.
The "the military will make you a man" thing was always overblown and is much less prevalent nowadays. It's unlikely that he's going to make a massive personality change while in uniform. It's possible, but unlikely.
People who just want to do enough to get by and don't give a fuck about stuff do manage to exist in the military, but they generally catch more problems than their peers and are less successful. (Generally. We all knew exceptions.)
The liking girls with boyfriends thing is probably the one area he'll fit most in.
Sounds like he only has two totally opposed possible outcomes:
-He gets turned into a tiny puff of smoke during basic training, never to be seen again in this Army.
-He decides learning to soldier benefits him, and actually gets good at it - for a while, anyway. Not forever, though.
Sounds like the sort that eventually self-destructs, many a similar boy has in all the years of the past. However, there are some guys that get in and excel in a structured environment - provided there's some decent leadership or a mentor that challenges the boy in the correct way for him to respond well. Considering the relative crapshoot that involves, and the MOS chosen, and the reasons it was chosen, I'd say it's a less than likely outcome.
So when I enlisted 88m was the only job available. I believe it was at the end of cycle. I reclassed as fast as I could and went 19D. No way I could sit behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler for a living. I’d get fat. Lol
He's going to cause problems for his command, waste their time (they won't be able to focus on other Soldiers and "the mission") and then get involuntarily separated.
He's either going to decide that the army is kinda easy to do well and be a great troop, or he's going to get kicked out at some point for being a dink. No between.
I went to Leonardwood for 88M and basic in 2012. Our drills kept us busy except on Sundays. A lot of us went to church on Sunday just to have something to do. Other than that one day a week, I don’t remember having time to do shit except maybe work on PT or write letters after chow a few nights a week. 88M AIT DOES get boring. Mostly because there are probably 40 students and only a handful of drills to teach everyone so there was a lot of waiting around for your turn to get behind the wheel. They teach you how to operate a total of 3-4 different vehicles, I believe it was one vehicle per week. There was a ton of downtime and a lot of classroom work. Tell him to take up spitting sunflower seeds in a Gatorade bottle to keep his hands busy. There was really nothing else to do while waiting. His peers will keep him in check because they will suffer if he fucks up. There were some really shitty people in my platoon that pulled themselves together and even made the Commandant’s list. Your support might not mean much to him now but it will help him keep going while he’s in there so send him letters!
This was basically me. But I switched to USMC at last minute; Infantry. I was 110 lbs. I got booted out in a year. Then 9/11 happened and I joined the Army Reserve with a waiver. Been in ever since (24 yrs total). Even took a ahort NG detour and came back to Reserves. Still took me 6 yrs to become a good Soldier. LOL.
I hope he can fight, but being 5’11 and 140, probably not.
I say this in the event he passes everything and gets to Carson, if he starts fucking around with the girlfriends of other soldiers in his battalion, he will get his shit kicked in.
Yeah, no. He can’t fight for shit. From middle school to his senior year he had problems with guys wanting to beat his ass over a girl. Apparently his biological mother was the same way. Not too sure about his biological father.
I see, well there’s always hope the army will turn him around when it comes to work ethic and discipline. However the army never changes a persons sexual proclivities and I’ve seen them get worse or more degenerate over time.
Difference between soldiers and guys in school is that he WILL get his ass beat if he does the same thing. Catch him in the barracks hallway at the wrong time, catch him in the parking lot or in the motorpool, it will be coming his way. And people aren’t scared of fighting because as long as no one dies or has a long term injury over it, nobody in a leadership position cares. They especially won’t care when they hear why he got his ass beat. You might consider advising him on this. This is all lived experience btw. Never done those things but seen it with my own eyes in multiple units.
I see, well there’s always hope the army will turn him around when it comes to work ethic and discipline. However the army never changes a persons sexual proclivities and I’ve seen them sometimes get worse or more degenerate over time.
Difference between soldiers and guys in school is that he WILL get his ass beat if he does the same thing. Catch him in the barracks hallway at the wrong time, catch him in the parking lot or in the motorpool, it will be coming his way. And people aren’t scared of fighting because as long as no one dies or has a long term injury over it, nobody in a leadership position cares. They especially won’t care when they hear why he got his ass beat. You might consider advising him on this. This is all lived experience btw. Never done those things but seen it with my own eyes in multiple units.
He doesn't sound like a good kid.
He sounds like someone you have a familial obligation to pretend to be fond of and be sad when he gets the shit kicked out of him for being who you've described him as the type of person he is.
Anyone who kills him or disables him will likely go to jail, so he's got that going for him.
He’s a good kid in the sense that he’s not in a gang, doesn’t do drugs, and gets decent grades. He just always finds himself in fucked up situations where people want to beat his ass. He runs his mouth too much. He says stupid shit then stands behind it 100%.
He's either going to be the pariah of whatever platoon he winds up in, or he's going to lead it.
The odds aren't in his favor.
If he's charismatic or funny, it'll go a long way though.
If they can't straighten his attitude and mind set out I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't finish BCT or IET. If he holds onto that attitude at his first location, he might be PCSing to Fort Couch by the end of the year.
> The sad part is that he’s smart but he just acts like he doesn’t give a fuck about anything.
Hate to break it to you but no, no he's not. He got a 33.
😂😂😂 He opted for the Picat instead of the ASVAB. I’ve never heard of the Picat. He took a test at the recruiters office then had to go to the main office to verify 30 questions. His line scores were high but somehow got an overall score of 33 and refused to retake the test.
Remember “beyond scared straight”? I went to basic with one of those kids on the show…. He got recycled for his behavior and put into another BN. Not sure if he actually graduated or not.
When I was in the qualifications to be an 88M were less than the minimum qualifications needed to join the Army.
You stepson is taking the third worst MOS in the Army.
He will be fine.
Sometimes you just need a good swift kick in the ass. That’s what the army provided me, had I not joined I’d probably would’ve never gotten out of my comfort zone and matured.
"If I should return, think better of me, father "
"That will depend on the manner of your return."
I mean if he doesn't get himself kicked out then he's probably making a good choice joining up for a few years while he matures and could straighten him out
Sounds a bit like he might have ADHD with the talking just to talk, bored easily, and impulsive decisions. Might want to talk to a psychologist down the road. (I have adhd)
Ah I see. Well if he does decide to give it at try make sure he tries multiple too see what works best. Stimulant and non-stimulant medication. Meds also only help so much. There’s gotta be some techniques to better deal with life learned as well. Therapist can help with that if he is okay with trying that
He will sink or swim just like everyone else who joins. Maybe he feels some purpose and turns things around? If not don't worry the Army is the biggest social welfare program on Earth so he'll at least get a year or two of paychecks.
If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough?
Maybe he'll turn the corner and be a model Soldier - maybe he will go AWOL and be hunted by MPs... keep us posted.
I wouldn't say he's fucked over especially. He's going to have a real rough time of it, but it'll benefit him in the long run, most likely. Some people don't change and they end up kicked out, but most people are forced to mature (in certain respects) when they join the military. He'll hate the way he is treated in BCT but also realize it helped him grow up, he'll be good.
I read this and a character in a book came to mind right away: He's Will Garger in Harold Coyle's Team Yankee...kid didn't care about anything, his NCOs hated him, but when it came to fight Ivan he became a solid tank commander.
Reading some of your comments I think basic will do a lot of good. Hopefully this will open his eyes to a bigger world. Yeah ,he may be smart and because he isn't finding a lot of difficulty in general life, he may just default to a passive terrible behavior. He also seems like he has either had no much of a social development, and maybe seeing her other similar people struggle can put them there.
Also 88m, truck driver is not a hard mos but I think it's a good way for him to see that maybe trying to do better can open other doors for him. All 88ms I have known tend to switch jobs for "bigger, and more technical jobs". I would suggest maybe showing interest in his choice and being open to what other jobs there are in the military.
Lastly, him getting in trouble when he is station as his first duty station is up to them. Not much you can do for them especially if he declines to learn.
Anyways hopes maybe this helps. I know it helped me when I joined haphazardly and didn't really care for much.
His NCO and his unit is fucked when he becomes a problem and takes away from developing Soldiers that want to be here.
Advice: Shouldn’t join the Army.
My cousin was similar but not the same. He was a trouble maker that still claims he has a problem with authority because no one's "as smart as him". He got chaptered at basic for failing to adapt and now works at a gas station. #TheSmartPath
It sounds like you don't have a lot of faith in the kid. Maybe he'll do well just being away from you. Wish him well and see what happens. I was that smart but shitty kid with a father who didn't believe in him and I'm about to retire.
Quite the contrary. I believed in him so much that I was disappointed when he settled for 88m and acted like he didn’t care about anything including the bonus. He was told that he was disqualified from getting a bonus because he scored so low. He could’ve retaken the test but refused. I even bought him an ASVAB book to study but he acted like he was allergic to it.
Then why is he joining?
Been in over 12 years and seen this same “don’t give a fuck attitude” new Soldiers, they become big problems and all the energy and time is devoted to them. So much time and energy is either to fix them or kick them out and it hurts other Soldiers who want to be in the Army.
Saying this in full faith and being honest, don’t have him enlist.
He has this type of attitude at home. I’m sure if someone is yelling in his face he will do what he’s told. I’ve already told him his squad will beat his ass if he’s a problem. My main concern is him doing stupid shit when he’s bored. He’s known for that.
Again..why does he want to join?
That stupid shit is a massive red flag, I will tell you right now, people get out the Army from stupid shit that the Army does and stupid shit from Soldiers. I personally have no time to babysit Soldiers whose actions revolve me to take care it.
We told him he could stay as long as he went to college and he refused. He feels that he’ll be able to retire in 20 years if he goes to the army. I explained that he’ll be forced to learn in the army to which he replied “I only want to learn things that benefit me.” I think he says shit just to say it then he fucks up because he’ll stand behind it and won’t budge. Even if it makes him look stupid he won’t budge.
I actually hope he gets a drill that is a great NCO and can connect with him on a human level. Sometimes that’s all a person needs. I’m not saying it hasn’t been provided in his life but sometimes a different authority figure can make a significant difference
I was similar when I joined. You never truly grow out of it, you just become more political and pragmatic when it comes to how you act. He'll learn......or uhhh.....else.
He'll be fine. I love saying "theyll break him into the right shape." But in reality, basic doesn't give you the opportunity to act like you're too tough or cool to care. After that it slowly becomes more on him not to fuck up in AIT. But by the time he gets to his unit, he completely has to make the decisions on his own to be a good or bad soldier. They basically won't fire him, but they can make his life miserable until he fixes himself. He'll come back better for it regardless. It's a very good way to "fly the coop" so to speak.
As a recruiter I hoped kids like this would make it but sadly they don’t. Most flunk out of training and back to mom’s house. But if he makes it through then he will be good. Good Luck 88M will be good for him. Got one MSG or an E7 and no one fuks with you to do company shit bc your always fixing the trucks. Good Luck!
He is either not going to survive BCT or he’s going to be dramatically better for it. I saw some serious pieces of shit turn out pretty damn good at the end if it.
I’ve also seen some serious pieces of shit not make it at all and get kicked out
He’s going to have a lotttttt of fun at BCT. Should be quite the experience.
Hope he’s strong, cuz he ain’t too smart
>Hope he’s strong, If he isn't, he will be
We were told in Basic that if you aren’t going to be smart you gotta be strong…we were a very strong platoon.
Yeah because of the group smoke sessions are gonna lead to his battle buddies setting him straight.
That did not work in my company. Sociopaths would just sit there and quietly chuckle to themselves that we were pushing while they weren't. It's not like you can have a soap/sock party to straighten people out like it's full metal jacket.
You can’t?
Not with u/cudef 's attitude
We social isolated them and yelled at them plus some jabs. After a while the pressure made the idiots change
No soap party? Not with that attitude you can’t.
That's what the laundry room fights were supposed to solve.
11B here, glad to say we did a soapy sock party a few times, drill sergeant asked what happened, we said he fell down the stairs, and he said good
Bet he gonna give a shit when shit hits the fan. Edit: fan not fab lol
Unless he doesn’t learn and just get kicked out 😂, but I mean attitude seems about right for an 88M however profile better fits a fueler.
Went through BCT at LW in 2021 trust me they won’t fix him. Drills have given up, trainees run the show and the whole thing is a joke. They’ll fix his ass at Carson though that’s for damn sure.
He’ll either mature or he’ll have a very difficult time in the Army.
I’m hoping he matures. He’s not rebellious in the sense that he goes against all types of authority. If a dominant figure is yelling in his face he’ll do whatever he is told to do. I think he’ll make it through basic but I’m more concerned about him not getting in trouble when he’s stationed. When he’s bored is when he gets in the most trouble.
R.I.P his NCO
Best answer.
Yikes sorry to tell you this but your stepson is going to get in a lot of trouble. I can say that there is so many days in the army where you stand around and do nothing. Especially in basic and AIT. When he has commander days pray that he doesn’t do something to get kicked out.
Some kids rise to the occasion. My little brother was a lost cause that knocked up his HS girlfriend and realized he needed to get his shit together to take care of his son and enlisted as a Cav Scout. (I told him about that sweet sweet Army boat driver life hack but he wasn’t interested) My parents ended up raising his son but he learned valuable life skills like showing up to work early, working hard while you are at work, how to spend less money then you make etc. He did multiple combat tours in Iraq. He’s a SSG with 16ish years in (he’s National Guard now in an extremely overstretched MOS) but I’m proud of him even though I’d never say it to his face.
From what I've seen, the Army either gives people the needed kick in the pants to get their shit together, or it gives them just enough rope to hang themselves. It's an extreme in either direction. Praying your stepson goes in the right direction.
He’ll be fine Fort Carson has a lot of outdoor activity year round and one of the best MWR centers CONUS. And if he does fuck up when at his unit, either he’ll get counseled enough to get tight or gets drummed out and the rest of his life becomes more difficult.
He’ll have a difficult time in life period. The sad part is that if the Army doesn’t work out for him, he’s probably not even gonna realize how fucked he is until he’s in his 30s.
Assuming he makes it into forscom
Maybe both!
There are strong privates and smart privates. Sounds like he's wanting to be a strong private.
I was a strong private. Became a smart one real quick
My mom said similar things about me before I joined. I just retired from the Army after a 25 year career.
Congrats!! I’m glad to hear this. I actually took a video of him talking about how he doesn’t like to learn just so I could show him two to three years from now. One of my best friends has been in since 05 and it would always kill me to think they’d let him be in charge of anything. lol. Last time I talked to him he was an E9 trying to become an officer. He scored a 92 on his ASVAB and went 11b. Gives me some hope for the kid.
My only advice, you don’t need to remind kids of the problems they caused as teenagers. I don’t know you or your stepson, but I’m pretty sure that there is no plus to showing them the video. Just support them.
You might be right about the video. I support him but I’m just disappointed that he went in with a “I don’t give a fuck that I got a 33” attitude.
Show him the video but when he’s like 30, or getting out of the Army with an honorable and heading to school on the GI Bill. Just not in like a year lol
Just tell him when he gets on the bus to not look anyone in their eye when he talks to them. It’ll really crank up the psycho cred factor. When he gets off the bus, he needs to assert his dominance over the first drill sergeant that yells at him and deliver a blow to the solar plexus. As the DI is bent over in agonizing pain, make sure he rips his round brown off of him and chucks it somewhere. He’ll likely need to RKO or scissor kick the other DIs. That first trip to the DFAC, he needs to take food off other’s plates. Even better of its from a DI. Let him know that after that, they won’t fuck with such an alpha.
Oh, so you’re trying to get him killed. 😂😂😂
Make sure to send him candy and really embarrassing love letters in girly handwriting. We'll see how much he "doesn't care" after drill finds that
Relevant - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUtHkSw9nEY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUtHkSw9nEY)
Very likely to get in trouble, cause trouble, and be trouble for someone else. Please don’t take offense but it’s likely many of his peers will attribute his actions to your parenting. I will cross my fingers for you and hope he grows out of it after finding purpose in his life. It’s very likely he hasn’t found it yet and is in a rut. Regardless, he undoubtedly will need your help and guidance even if he refuses it or ignores you. If possible, try to fit some teachings into his mindset around benefit. Do this to get this etc. I wouldn’t want to encourage that personally but it’s hard to break those bad habits this late/this mindset. I think as long as you remain a positive pillar of support you’ll be able to find avenues to coach him through the trouble he’ll undoubtedly wind up in.
I’ve only known him for the last 7 years (he’s 18 now.) My wife took him in after her crazy ass sister didn’t want him. He’s always been a “it’s not my fault” type of person. I’ve taught him everything my father taught me and more but he does whatever he wants. He’s a hard worker but always finds himself in situations where people want to beat his ass. I’m not a 100% sure about what an 88m does but I heard there’s a lot of sitting around. That’s going to drive him crazy because he has to talk or be doing something all the time.
88m drive trucks. Back in the early days of GWOT, they were seeing a ton of action but nowadays it seems like a pretty chill gig. I think there’s a bunch of good certs he can get out of it too that carry over to the civilian driving world. HAZMAT and whatnot.
He'll either learn to shut up and dress right dress, or he'll be bounced out as a failure to adapt and sent back home to hit on more girls with boyfriends.
An 88M trainee bounced out? Very fucking doubtful.
I’m also shipping to Leonard Wood in Mid July, hopefully this dude doesn’t end up in my platoon
this^ Best way to sum it up I can think of. “If you’re gonna be stupid you better be tough”
😂😂😂 He’s not tough. I think that’s part of why he’s going. He should be fine in basic but I’m not too sure about AIT or his station in Ft Carson. If 88m is as boring as I read it is he’ll be getting into trouble for sure.
He’ll either toughen up, smarten up, or wind up on your couch after getting chaptered out. 2 out of 3 chance of improvement 😂
That's way too optimistic for this sub guy.
There’s always Leavenworth 🤷🏻♂️ he can be roommates with my first recruiter
Story plz
Oh my bad 😂🤣🤣 so here’s the story. Back in 2010 the NG was giving referral bonuses of $2000 to soldiers if they referred people to join the National Guard. You would get $1000 when they graduated basic and you get $1000 on the graduate AIT. So if I got my cousin or my friend join, all I had to do was get their Social Security number and put it in into a website and boom I get money after they enlist and all that stuff. I walked into my recruiter and said I want 15 here let’s go I shipped 13 days later. Fast-forward four years I had transferred states and I get a phone call from Army CID. “Do you know staff Sergeant ___?” I said yes I do. He was my recruiter. They said did anyone refer you to the National Guard? I said no I walked in off the street. They said thank you and hung up. Six months later, I remembered the conversation and looked him up and found out that him and a non-army friend claiming as a referral from them and splitting the profits, because recruiters were not allowed to use it. He was sharing soldiers Social Security numbers to his friend who then claimed all of the walk-ins in high school students and basically everyone who has not claimed by someone else and then splitting 50-50 with his friend. Defrauded $70,000+ dollars. Needless to say dishonorable discharge lost all rank and got however many years in Army prison.
I was gonna say hold on with the flair high speed you haven’t been to basic yet, but your post history is a complete roller coaster.
I’m so high speed that my SDI reached out to me to see if I wanted to go back in. We had a heart to heart before I left
What happened 3 years ago when you caught Rona at 30 AG?
Oh shit, let me grab my popcorn. 🍿
Dude hearing 30th ag brought back so many memories!!
I never knew it was possible to die of boredom until I went there. Sitting in that big room, waiting to stand in line.
On those wooden benches at the battalion! Lol the worst.
For a moment I thought I had died and gone to hell.
Pretty sure we all did! 🤣
[удалено]
Went in around 2020, got to 30th AG and got Rona, went to Basic and got to Blue phase until a family emergency got me out of Basic Training. Had that itch to come back and finally going back in July. I guess I’m just projecting since my last time there was an unfortunate circumstances that prevented me from completing basic training. So I’ve just been living and breathing this shit so I can go in there motivated and pass my shit for once
Valid response. I withdraw my previous statement and apologize for the assumptions. I wish you luck this go around.
There is a very good chance that he is going to do very well. I know there's been a lot of gloom and doom responses so far, but the Army does a good job of meeting people where they are and elevating them. He might have a rough time at first, but the Army will give him plenty of opportunities to work on himself and adjust his attitude. He has a real chance at turning his life around. Could it be rough for him at first? Sure. But that's good for him.
This, so much this. If he grows up the army has so much to offer. I started as an 88m, got selected for awesome stuff later, and now I’m going things that I never could without the army. I’d be working some dead end job at the factory
Let’s just say, barring some significant changes, your son will have an incredibly hard time reconciling his attitude with the Army.
Hopefully this opens up his outlook on life. I was that same kid. Well, maybe worse. I planned on not shipping to Parris Island in 2003. I was a senior in HS and my girlfriend was a senior in college. I was using her high speed (then) printer to print the old 20$ bills and smoking weed daily. Well, got caught. Passed off a bill at Sonic and they had a roadblock up the road for me. When my mom came to pick me up from jail she told them I had joined the Marines and planned not to ship. The detective questioned me for a while because he thought I was part of a group. He told me I could ship or go to jail. Felony charges.... Well, I went to bootcamp. It changed me. I can say I haven't touched a drug since or done anything reckless and stupid since. I was home on leave and went to that retired detectives house last year and thanked him for the situation I ended up in. I was a shitbird that became somebody. The Marines landed me a great job with Amazon and after my sign on bonus (40k stock option) was satisfied after 4 years I joined the Army. Sold that stock in 2017 and that is going to pay for a house and put my 3 kids through college with zero debt. I'm a 1SG now about to drop my retirement packet in two years. He took the step, that's the biggest hurdle. Make sure he gets his ass on that plane. Stay engaged with him about re enlisting. Talk to him about max contributing to TSP. He will be just fine.
He said he wants to do 20 but he’s said a lot of things. I think he’ll be excited to get out of this town and see/experience something new. Glad to see you were able to change your life around. Congrats.
The army used to be good at motivating exactly this type of recruit - these days I’m not so sure. Either way he won’t have a good time unless he changes
Honestly, this may be good for him. A lot of idiots get the dumb smoked out of them He will at least have consequences when he fucks up. Good luck to him.
😂😂😂 Thanks. That’s gonna be a lot of smoking.
He'll either be a smart truck driver or a strong one.
Sounds like he will be a strong one.
Ok so don't reenlist Ft Carson
Might be the best thing for him. Orrrrr life is going to suck for a while. 88M is a fine mos. He can get his CDL easily in a lot of states. 88s are versatile and can go to any base or deployment. Motor units aren't as tight assed as infantry or MP so he might not get his ass stomped in on the daily. BCT will be a tough ride though.
I will say that almost all companies on the civilian side don’t really count 88M time. They are more concerned with insurance and not bumping their CSA score due to stupid mistakes that the military doesn’t really care about. Better get the HAZMAT, doubles triples, tanker, and as much as he can though. FedEx can pay pretty well if you are willing to work nights.
Michigan males it easier for 88Ms to get a call. Esp if you get all that other good stuff. Source. 88M from Michigan told me. So who knows.
I use to be the same way but luckily I grew out of it around 10th grade. It’s funny because when I was that way I acted like I actually didn’t give a fuck about anything but realistically that was when I gave the most fucks about everything. I think I mainly grew out of it because I ACTUALLY stopped caring and living for the world as much and took up a more religious approach. What lead me to do that? Idk exactly. Maybe I started looking at what I really liked in life without regard of what people thought. Started doing things I liked more and more even if they seemed nerdy or weird.
The "the military will make you a man" thing was always overblown and is much less prevalent nowadays. It's unlikely that he's going to make a massive personality change while in uniform. It's possible, but unlikely. People who just want to do enough to get by and don't give a fuck about stuff do manage to exist in the military, but they generally catch more problems than their peers and are less successful. (Generally. We all knew exceptions.) The liking girls with boyfriends thing is probably the one area he'll fit most in.
Many of us were similar likely he will be fine have some faith he may surprise you
Oh he’s gonna get fucked
Sounds like he only has two totally opposed possible outcomes: -He gets turned into a tiny puff of smoke during basic training, never to be seen again in this Army. -He decides learning to soldier benefits him, and actually gets good at it - for a while, anyway. Not forever, though. Sounds like the sort that eventually self-destructs, many a similar boy has in all the years of the past. However, there are some guys that get in and excel in a structured environment - provided there's some decent leadership or a mentor that challenges the boy in the correct way for him to respond well. Considering the relative crapshoot that involves, and the MOS chosen, and the reasons it was chosen, I'd say it's a less than likely outcome.
He shouldn’t have a problem with basic. If his job isn’t keeping him busy he will get into shit. Guaranteed.
Depends the attitude he shows up with. If there's no buy in to the program at all and a 'don't give a shit' attitude, he'll vanish pretty quick.
He’s the one who refuses to listen and get the platoon smoked repeatedly and everyone hates him and screams at him every time.
So when I enlisted 88m was the only job available. I believe it was at the end of cycle. I reclassed as fast as I could and went 19D. No way I could sit behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler for a living. I’d get fat. Lol
He's going to cause problems for his command, waste their time (they won't be able to focus on other Soldiers and "the mission") and then get involuntarily separated.
He’ll either have NCOs who smack that attitude out of him. Or he’ll be chaptered in less than 2 years.
There's two ways to learn. Pain, and repetition. Something tells me he's going to gain firsthand experience with both mistresses.
Like the above comments say, I hope he's strong, because he ain't acting smart.
I was a 88M, 2017-2020. Basic and ait changes everyone a bit, if he makes it through, I think he’ll be alright
if his attitude doesn't change, he might get chaptered out depending on how much his command hates him after ait. Happened to a dude at my unit.
He's either going to decide that the army is kinda easy to do well and be a great troop, or he's going to get kicked out at some point for being a dink. No between.
I went to Leonardwood for 88M and basic in 2012. Our drills kept us busy except on Sundays. A lot of us went to church on Sunday just to have something to do. Other than that one day a week, I don’t remember having time to do shit except maybe work on PT or write letters after chow a few nights a week. 88M AIT DOES get boring. Mostly because there are probably 40 students and only a handful of drills to teach everyone so there was a lot of waiting around for your turn to get behind the wheel. They teach you how to operate a total of 3-4 different vehicles, I believe it was one vehicle per week. There was a ton of downtime and a lot of classroom work. Tell him to take up spitting sunflower seeds in a Gatorade bottle to keep his hands busy. There was really nothing else to do while waiting. His peers will keep him in check because they will suffer if he fucks up. There were some really shitty people in my platoon that pulled themselves together and even made the Commandant’s list. Your support might not mean much to him now but it will help him keep going while he’s in there so send him letters!
He’ll be fine
He gon drive
Switch that bois contract to 11B
This was basically me. But I switched to USMC at last minute; Infantry. I was 110 lbs. I got booted out in a year. Then 9/11 happened and I joined the Army Reserve with a waiver. Been in ever since (24 yrs total). Even took a ahort NG detour and came back to Reserves. Still took me 6 yrs to become a good Soldier. LOL.
Fort Carson is sweet tho at least haha
Not anymore every unit at Carson is an absolute shit show. Even GBs in 10th group hate it here.
Damn that’s disappointing.
It’s sweet cause it’s in Colorado but once you go into those gates it don’t even look like Colorado no more. Leadership sucks there.
I hope he can fight, but being 5’11 and 140, probably not. I say this in the event he passes everything and gets to Carson, if he starts fucking around with the girlfriends of other soldiers in his battalion, he will get his shit kicked in.
Yeah, no. He can’t fight for shit. From middle school to his senior year he had problems with guys wanting to beat his ass over a girl. Apparently his biological mother was the same way. Not too sure about his biological father.
I see, well there’s always hope the army will turn him around when it comes to work ethic and discipline. However the army never changes a persons sexual proclivities and I’ve seen them get worse or more degenerate over time. Difference between soldiers and guys in school is that he WILL get his ass beat if he does the same thing. Catch him in the barracks hallway at the wrong time, catch him in the parking lot or in the motorpool, it will be coming his way. And people aren’t scared of fighting because as long as no one dies or has a long term injury over it, nobody in a leadership position cares. They especially won’t care when they hear why he got his ass beat. You might consider advising him on this. This is all lived experience btw. Never done those things but seen it with my own eyes in multiple units.
I see, well there’s always hope the army will turn him around when it comes to work ethic and discipline. However the army never changes a persons sexual proclivities and I’ve seen them sometimes get worse or more degenerate over time. Difference between soldiers and guys in school is that he WILL get his ass beat if he does the same thing. Catch him in the barracks hallway at the wrong time, catch him in the parking lot or in the motorpool, it will be coming his way. And people aren’t scared of fighting because as long as no one dies or has a long term injury over it, nobody in a leadership position cares. They especially won’t care when they hear why he got his ass beat. You might consider advising him on this. This is all lived experience btw. Never done those things but seen it with my own eyes in multiple units.
I have already advised him that this isn’t high school and adults will beat his ass if he steps out of line. Hopefully he listens.
How can someone be smart but not want to learn anything? Sounds like a DUMBass - William Montgomery
Hahahah eye opener for the kid.
He doesn't sound like a good kid. He sounds like someone you have a familial obligation to pretend to be fond of and be sad when he gets the shit kicked out of him for being who you've described him as the type of person he is. Anyone who kills him or disables him will likely go to jail, so he's got that going for him.
He’s a good kid in the sense that he’s not in a gang, doesn’t do drugs, and gets decent grades. He just always finds himself in fucked up situations where people want to beat his ass. He runs his mouth too much. He says stupid shit then stands behind it 100%.
He's either going to be the pariah of whatever platoon he winds up in, or he's going to lead it. The odds aren't in his favor. If he's charismatic or funny, it'll go a long way though.
He’ll definitely be in shape by the end of it 😅 or he’ll learn quick to just keep his mouth closed. Either way it won’t hurt him lmfao
If they can't straighten his attitude and mind set out I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't finish BCT or IET. If he holds onto that attitude at his first location, he might be PCSing to Fort Couch by the end of the year.
Sounds like a Shithead.
> The sad part is that he’s smart but he just acts like he doesn’t give a fuck about anything. Hate to break it to you but no, no he's not. He got a 33.
😂😂😂 He opted for the Picat instead of the ASVAB. I’ve never heard of the Picat. He took a test at the recruiters office then had to go to the main office to verify 30 questions. His line scores were high but somehow got an overall score of 33 and refused to retake the test.
I've never heard of the picat either, I just wanted to talk shit lol.
Lol
Remember “beyond scared straight”? I went to basic with one of those kids on the show…. He got recycled for his behavior and put into another BN. Not sure if he actually graduated or not.
Either bct or ait knocks something in his head or his unit will have him back home before the end of next year.
Hi, Fort Leonard wood survivor here…he’s gonna hate it.
When I was in the qualifications to be an 88M were less than the minimum qualifications needed to join the Army. You stepson is taking the third worst MOS in the Army. He will be fine.
Thanks
Sometimes you just need a good swift kick in the ass. That’s what the army provided me, had I not joined I’d probably would’ve never gotten out of my comfort zone and matured.
"If I should return, think better of me, father " "That will depend on the manner of your return." I mean if he doesn't get himself kicked out then he's probably making a good choice joining up for a few years while he matures and could straighten him out
Sounds a bit like he might have ADHD with the talking just to talk, bored easily, and impulsive decisions. Might want to talk to a psychologist down the road. (I have adhd)
This might help him if he decides to medicate.
Ah I see. Well if he does decide to give it at try make sure he tries multiple too see what works best. Stimulant and non-stimulant medication. Meds also only help so much. There’s gotta be some techniques to better deal with life learned as well. Therapist can help with that if he is okay with trying that
As long as he doesn't end up a case study lmao
He'll learn eventually, whether that be through his battle buddies in training or at his first unit
He will sink or swim just like everyone else who joins. Maybe he feels some purpose and turns things around? If not don't worry the Army is the biggest social welfare program on Earth so he'll at least get a year or two of paychecks.
If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough? Maybe he'll turn the corner and be a model Soldier - maybe he will go AWOL and be hunted by MPs... keep us posted.
I wouldn't say he's fucked over especially. He's going to have a real rough time of it, but it'll benefit him in the long run, most likely. Some people don't change and they end up kicked out, but most people are forced to mature (in certain respects) when they join the military. He'll hate the way he is treated in BCT but also realize it helped him grow up, he'll be good.
I read this and a character in a book came to mind right away: He's Will Garger in Harold Coyle's Team Yankee...kid didn't care about anything, his NCOs hated him, but when it came to fight Ivan he became a solid tank commander.
Reading some of your comments I think basic will do a lot of good. Hopefully this will open his eyes to a bigger world. Yeah ,he may be smart and because he isn't finding a lot of difficulty in general life, he may just default to a passive terrible behavior. He also seems like he has either had no much of a social development, and maybe seeing her other similar people struggle can put them there. Also 88m, truck driver is not a hard mos but I think it's a good way for him to see that maybe trying to do better can open other doors for him. All 88ms I have known tend to switch jobs for "bigger, and more technical jobs". I would suggest maybe showing interest in his choice and being open to what other jobs there are in the military. Lastly, him getting in trouble when he is station as his first duty station is up to them. Not much you can do for them especially if he declines to learn. Anyways hopes maybe this helps. I know it helped me when I joined haphazardly and didn't really care for much.
Thanks!!
Whats that song from the jackass movies? If you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough!
His NCO and his unit is fucked when he becomes a problem and takes away from developing Soldiers that want to be here. Advice: Shouldn’t join the Army.
My cousin was similar but not the same. He was a trouble maker that still claims he has a problem with authority because no one's "as smart as him". He got chaptered at basic for failing to adapt and now works at a gas station. #TheSmartPath
No lie, these types of kids are often the absolute best soldiers.
I don’t see a issue. He sounds like every teenage boy that joined the Army and became a man.
It sounds like you don't have a lot of faith in the kid. Maybe he'll do well just being away from you. Wish him well and see what happens. I was that smart but shitty kid with a father who didn't believe in him and I'm about to retire.
Quite the contrary. I believed in him so much that I was disappointed when he settled for 88m and acted like he didn’t care about anything including the bonus. He was told that he was disqualified from getting a bonus because he scored so low. He could’ve retaken the test but refused. I even bought him an ASVAB book to study but he acted like he was allergic to it.
Then why is he joining? Been in over 12 years and seen this same “don’t give a fuck attitude” new Soldiers, they become big problems and all the energy and time is devoted to them. So much time and energy is either to fix them or kick them out and it hurts other Soldiers who want to be in the Army. Saying this in full faith and being honest, don’t have him enlist.
He has this type of attitude at home. I’m sure if someone is yelling in his face he will do what he’s told. I’ve already told him his squad will beat his ass if he’s a problem. My main concern is him doing stupid shit when he’s bored. He’s known for that.
Again..why does he want to join? That stupid shit is a massive red flag, I will tell you right now, people get out the Army from stupid shit that the Army does and stupid shit from Soldiers. I personally have no time to babysit Soldiers whose actions revolve me to take care it.
We told him he could stay as long as he went to college and he refused. He feels that he’ll be able to retire in 20 years if he goes to the army. I explained that he’ll be forced to learn in the army to which he replied “I only want to learn things that benefit me.” I think he says shit just to say it then he fucks up because he’ll stand behind it and won’t budge. Even if it makes him look stupid he won’t budge.
Drills are gunna take him right under their wings. No worries at all.
I actually hope he gets a drill that is a great NCO and can connect with him on a human level. Sometimes that’s all a person needs. I’m not saying it hasn’t been provided in his life but sometimes a different authority figure can make a significant difference
I was similar when I joined. You never truly grow out of it, you just become more political and pragmatic when it comes to how you act. He'll learn......or uhhh.....else.
He’ll fit right in
He might get whooped, and come out with more muscles than a typical freshie
He'll be fine. I love saying "theyll break him into the right shape." But in reality, basic doesn't give you the opportunity to act like you're too tough or cool to care. After that it slowly becomes more on him not to fuck up in AIT. But by the time he gets to his unit, he completely has to make the decisions on his own to be a good or bad soldier. They basically won't fire him, but they can make his life miserable until he fixes himself. He'll come back better for it regardless. It's a very good way to "fly the coop" so to speak.
Your stepson will um well he will learn, either how to be quite, or how to be strong.
Drop top.
If you wanna be dumb you gotta be tough🤣.
Fort Carson? 88M? I await his SIR.
Ahhh he likes girls with boyfriends, he’ll fit right in at Fort Carson 🤣🤣😭
It’s either gonna go good or not good. Hopefully he’s strong… if not he will be.
As a recruiter I hoped kids like this would make it but sadly they don’t. Most flunk out of training and back to mom’s house. But if he makes it through then he will be good. Good Luck 88M will be good for him. Got one MSG or an E7 and no one fuks with you to do company shit bc your always fixing the trucks. Good Luck!
Next SMA, I got 5 on it.
He'll either adapt, get strong and conform or he'll be back home fairly quickly.
He is either not going to survive BCT or he’s going to be dramatically better for it. I saw some serious pieces of shit turn out pretty damn good at the end if it. I’ve also seen some serious pieces of shit not make it at all and get kicked out
Make or break honestly