9781422241332

Marines Be between the ages of 17 and 29.* Take the Armed Forces Qualification Test. (Minimum Armed Forces Qualification Test Score: 32) Meet “exacting” physical and moral standards. Navy Be between the ages of 17 and 34.* Take the Armed Forces Qualification Test. (Minimum Armed Forces Qualification Test Score: 50) * Allowable age range may vary, depending on additional factors, such as previous service and training. Advanced Individual Training (AIT), another army term, makes up the rest of the training period. In the AIT (again, the terminology varies from branch to branch), recruits train to be- come experts in their chosen field (sometimes known as “military occupational specialty,” or “MOS”). Therefore, the length of AIT differs depending on what specialty you select. If an indi- vidual chooses to enlist as a food service specialist, then some of his or her AIT would be spent at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School at Fort Lee, Virginia. However, a person who chooses law enforcement and security would probably train at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, home of the Military Police School. In general, each branch has its own advanced individual training programs. Although advanced training schools do not center on combat, enlistees are still subject to the same duties, strict daily schedule, and disciplinary rules as in basic training. The range of possible military careers is quite broad, and it would take an extremely long book to cover all of them. This volume highlights careers in the U.S. armed forces that are available at an entry level with only a high school diploma. Some of these jobs will be familiar, and others unfamiliar. The book attempts to cover a fairly wide range of specialties to give you a feeling for the range of possibilities of military enlistment. Don’t forget that most of these jobs are available in at least four of the five branches and that they might differ somewhat from branch to branch. Some of these military specialties, such as personnel specialist or law enforcement and security specialist, require relatively little academic study. Others, such as aircraft mechanic or medical service technician, require extensive training. Many military careers are becoming increasingly complex. However, the benefit of joining the military is that you don’t need to spend four years in a classroom to learn these job skills. Instead, you can learn them on the job. If you are reading this book, you understand that pursuing something besides a college degree after high school makes sense for many people. College is expensive, and costs continue to rise much faster than inflation. Many individuals cannot afford the thousands of dollars needed to get a degree. The U.S. military offer programs with two-, three-, and six-year

ArMED FORCES

•

10