I would like to thank everyone on here for the excellent advice and stories. Although this is my first post on this board I have spent the last 3 days doing some extensive research on becoming a soldier and you guys have been a large part of my research.

Ok a little about me, I'm 31 years old, recently divorced with 3 kids all of whom live with their mother. I've been wanting to join the army for a while and finally made the decision to go for it, however it is going to be a little bit of a process for me. I was born with a defect in my left ear which has rendered me partially deaf in that ear (about 50%) and I will require a waiver for that. I went to a recruiter this morning and got a lot of great information from them..spoke to about 4 since none of them have ever encountered a situation such as mine, but they were very helpful and didn't try to just push me out the door. My recruiter is going to make a few calls for me and see what kinda info he can find out...hopefully all will go well and I will be heading to MEPS next week some time to do all my testing and physical stuff. I really hope i can get the waiver I would really like to get a 31B MOS (MP) but I might be willing to settle if I can not get the full waiver.

Oh just thought of a question.....if I can get a waiver and get offered a non-combat MOS will I be able to lets say serve my contract and then switch to another MOS in the field I want or will I always be stuck with a non-combat MOS?

Once again thank you all for the encouragment and support you have all shown.

Jezter,

First off welcome to Army.com.

I sure hope you'll be able to get the waiver you require. It seems that you really want to enlist & we'd be happy to have you. I'm glad you have recruiters that are willing to work with you. This is probably the best time of the year to enlist as all of the lists of potential recruits from June graduations are probably just about drying up. There are usually more MOSs available as well as bonuses.

MOS 31B is probably the closest MOS you can get to a Combat Arms MOS. There's very little traditional policing done by MPs these days. Even Army posts are being policed by DA civilians for the most part.

Changing MOSs is probably no problem however you may have to wait for your reenlistment window. As long as you go from an overstrength MOS to one that needs soldiers it should work. If you want Combat Arms why don't you run it past your recruiter. Slots in Infantry School, for instance, that were not available through the summer months are more than likely available. The economy might change that, though. I imagine people are thinking about enlisting because the job market is weak & some might have even lost jobs.

Run everything past your recruiter. If you want Airborne School after AIT/OSUT then get it in your contract, or anything else that can be added on to your enlistment.

Beware of recruiter trying to push MOS 19D, Cavalry Scout. Nothing wrong with that MOS but you won't be working too much in it. Most Cav Scouts are opening & closing gates for operational units leaving on missions & they're not too happy with that situation. It seems that's the default MOS for recruiters for some reason. That's what they tried pushing on my son when he wanted to be an Airborne Ranger & at that time there were no slots in Infantry OSUT. He waited them out & got exactly what he wanted & shipped out at the end of January almost 5 years ago. If that's MOS 19D is what you want then go for it. You might be disappointed, though so be careful.

Please keep us updated on your situation. That's how we learn what's going on so we can pass it on to others.

__________________
Proud Dad of a US Army Ranger SSG-Former 3/75 Rangers, 2/334-95 USAR at present
US Navy 1960-1966 Submarine Service, Navy Diver-UDT 21
US Army 1980-2001 Airborne Infantry,G3, Army Instructor, Commo Instructor Company 1SG
Retired 1SG/MSG
I was a Soldier. I am a Soldier. I will always be a Soldier.

The recruiter I spoke with told me that with needing a waiver for my hearing I prob wouldn't be able to get a combat MOS. Which is really no big deal to me I just don't want to end up as a cook for example. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with those MOS types but not for me. I kinda figured that a MP would be a decent MOS to choose based on the fact that its open to females as well and I was under the impression that females where not allowed into combat MOS...is this still correct or am I misinformed? Any way good to a member of the forum and hopefully proud to be a soldier real soon.

Oops. Sorry. I thought I was talking to a male.

31B is as close as a female can get to a Combat Arms MOS.

You're correct in saying that female can't get into Infantry, Armor, Cavalry or Field Artillery. That's Federal law.

Again I'm sorry for making you into a man.

__________________
Proud Dad of a US Army Ranger SSG-Former 3/75 Rangers, 2/334-95 USAR at present
US Navy 1960-1966 Submarine Service, Navy Diver-UDT 21
US Army 1980-2001 Airborne Infantry,G3, Army Instructor, Commo Instructor Company 1SG
Retired 1SG/MSG
I was a Soldier. I am a Soldier. I will always be a Soldier.

no you were right I am a male... just thought if I was given a waiver that procluded me from a combat MOS that i might be able to get into one of those MOS's that allow females into them as well such as 31B or something along those lines since there not really considered combat MOS

Okay. I take back what I said. Not knowing the complete waiver system (it changes as often as some people change their socks) I really don't think that female waivers are any different then male.

Your recruiter will find out for you & he'll start the waivering process. Like I said - that's the closest you can get to Combat Arms without actually being in them.

Good luck!

__________________
Proud Dad of a US Army Ranger SSG-Former 3/75 Rangers, 2/334-95 USAR at present
US Navy 1960-1966 Submarine Service, Navy Diver-UDT 21
US Army 1980-2001 Airborne Infantry,G3, Army Instructor, Commo Instructor Company 1SG
Retired 1SG/MSG
I was a Soldier. I am a Soldier. I will always be a Soldier.

That's what I thought and since I prob won't be able to do a combat mos because of my hearing, I would like to do something with the law enforcement side since my goal is to become a police officer after my contract is up..but hey I might like it enough to stick with it and make a career out of it..stranger things have happened.