New and nervous

[maryf]

Hey, I got some questions and maybe someone out there can help me. I am leaving in april to start my basic training and then I am off to texas for ait, in which my mos is 91P, or radiology specialist. 1st it would be great if anyone had some info on the job, and also I have a daughter and want to know what it would be like for her, or how soon she is able to come with me after basic. ANd WIth the deployments, are they random or how do they work. ANyone with any info on any of this it owuld be great to hear from you. Thanks! :)

[jkjacks]

Hi maryF,

Not a 91P here but i can try to answer your questions. Your daughter will be able to join you after completion of AIT in most cases. Some things to consider before you arrange for her to travel with you is where you are assigned and if you may be deployed from that location. Once you get your orders (sometimes near end of AIT) you should be able to contact the unit you are being assigned to and discussing this with them. I would have to recomend patience(lots of it) and communication. Those two things will help you get what you want out of your time in the service. As far as how deployments work it will depend 100% on your initial assignment. You could be assigned to a mobile unit if they have radiologists that gets deployed all the time or you could be assigned to a hospital and never be deployed. Hope this helps :)

Dont sweat Basic/AIT, as long as you try its easy :)

jkjacks

[maryf]

Thanks, its just hard knowing Im gonna be without her. My ait is supposed to be really long and my recruiter told me that I might be able to bring her with me after a certain amount of time at ait. Like I said since its so long, thats why I was just wondering how true it is and if anyone had any help or could look into it for me. I am getting nervous, and any info would help. Thanks :)

[jkjacks]

ive never heard of that being allowed and i am willing to bet if you got to AIT and asked your drill instructor about it the first thing they would do is laugh and have you start doing puchups ;)

[maryf]

They prob would right? I dont know, i was told that by my recruiter. He said that since my AIT was a total of 46 all together that it would be like a permant duty station, and I can request to have her with me there, since I am considerd married. I dont know, I just want to be with out her for the least time possible, Ya know? Im not to worried about basic, I know Illmake it through. Also, do i get family seperation pay? :confused:

[jkjacks]

when i was at monterey CA taking arabic a lot of married folk were there for initial training and were not able to bring their familes (63 week course) but that was a few years ago so maybe they have changed it ;) I also dont think you get family seperation pay for training but again was never in that situation so couldnt say for sure it just doesnt sound like something the army would do :)

[maryf]

Really? All this stuff, my recruiter told me. I dont want you to think Im crazy or making it up! But he said I would get paid family sep pay, BAH, and cola? whil I was at training. That my daughter shoul dbe able to come with me after about a month of training

[jkjacks]

Family Separation Allowance Type II

Type II FSA provides compensation for added expenses incurred because of an enforced family separation under any one of the following conditions:

1. Transportation of dependents (including dependent acquired after effective date of orders), is not authorized at government expense and the dependents do not live in the vicinity of the member's home port/permanent duty station.

2. The member is on duty aboard a ship, and the ship is away from the homeport continuously for more than 30 days.

3. The member is on TDY (or temporary additional duty) away from the permanent station continuously for more than 30 days, and the member's dependents are not residing at or near the TDY station. This includes members who are required to perform a period of the TDY before reporting to their initial station of assignment (such as basic training and technical school/AIT/A-School).

The amount of FSA Type II, payable is $250.00 per month.

Dependent Separation Requirements

A member is not considered "a member with dependents" for FSA-II entitlement when:

A. The sole dependent is placed in an institution for a known period of over 1 year or for an indefinite period which may be expected to exceed 1 year.

B. The sole dependent is a spouse legally separated or child(ren) in the legal custody of another person. Exception: When the member has joint physical and legal custody of child(ren) and the child(ren) otherwise would reside with the member but for the current assignment, the member shall be considered as a "member with dependents" for FSA-II entitlement.

C. The member's dependent parent does not reside in a home, which the member controls, supervises, and maintains for mutual use when circumstances permit.

[jkjacks]

things may have changed but like i said i dont really thing it would change that much. COLA (last i checked) was only authorized in 4-5 places CONUS so that depends on where your training is. where are you going to be at for AIT and what is your MOS?

[maryf]

I didnt mean to cut that message off, by computer shut off. But Would I qualify under the second part, letter b? Since my daughter will be in the custody of someone else? Its just I want straight answers from people such as yourself, because supposedly recruiters will tell you anything to get you. Either way i would of still joined, i just prefer the truth ya know? Also, do we get to call home at all during basic?

[maryf]

My basic is at fort lenardwood, and my ait training is at fort sam houston? in texas. My mos is 91P, radiology specialist. do you have any info on it? :rolleyes:

[jkjacks]

http://www.us-army-info.com/pages/mos/medical/91p.html

i know many recruiters that have done that and i agree they should just be straightforward about things but sometimes they dont necesarily know what they are talking about. my suggestion....get it in writing.

[maryf]

Also, are or do they change your mos? I have heard of people who have a certain mos, but are doing something totally different? So can they just change your mos, or is that not supposed to happen?

[maryf]

im sorry for all the questions, its just I have asked all of these to my recruiter, and other recruiters and always get a different answer. So sorry for jumping on ya with the questions :(

[jkjacks]

lol no problem at all....most MOS' are designed to be passed by anyone. Some are not (i would assume radiologist would be one of the later). If you fail your initial MOS or fail to obtain a security clearnance when required by your MOS then you may be moved into a different one. A lot of people select to do this and move into an MOS that has a better chance for promotions.(do a search of google.com for us army promotion points)

[maryf]

i actually found out what i will be getting paid for. i will get BAH, and family seperation pay, I guess since I will be away from my daughter. But as far as the mos change, I was wondering about that not because i want to change my mos, but because I haveheard of peoples mos being changed when they didnt want it to be or they had one mos, and were doing something totally different. So I was wondering if it was a situation where they just took you and put you were they wanted you or how that works. Really I just dont want to be screwed over. I have heard so many different stories, good and bad about the army, and I did make my own decision to join, I guess since the time is gettting closer i just want to know I made the right choice.

[maryf]

Oh also, I wanted to know how long you have to be a certain rank for? I know when I go in, it will be a e-3, because of my college credits, how long do I stay that rank for? I really appreciate all your help. Thanks!

[jkjacks]

for promotion to Spec4 you have to have 6 months time in service and 6 months time in grade as an E-3.

[jkjacks]

and dont worry about having your MOS changed on you. as far as i know the only 2 cases of having your MOS changed would be failure to meet the requirements of the original MOS (failing school or failure to obtain security clearance).

[maryf]

Oh, ok. Are you in the military at the moment? I kinda feel old to be going in since Im 24 already. I just have so many questions and I dont want to bombard you with them. :o I do ask my recruiter, and he tells me different things, so to hear from someone whos not a recruiter and in the military makes it seem easier to tell the difference between whats true or not. I feel wierd when I think about the fact I am 24, is everyone gonna be younger then me? or am i gonna be the worst out there? Are women treated fairly? Like I said I have asked, but a straight answer is hard to come across.

[jkjacks]

i am not in the military currently but i was for 5 years ( i am 31 now ) and am trying to get back into the army. Women are treated fairly even though some dont feel that they are :) if you want to....email me at jkjacks@cox.net

[maryf]

Oh ok, what was your mos before? where were you stationed?