How Long Do I Have To Stay In The Military

Did You Make It 20 Years But Cant Decide If You Actually Want To Retire

You did your time and earned your retirement. 20 years is a long, long time. You made the military a core piece of your identity. People look at you and can tell that you serve.

You would stay in the military forever if you could. But, your body isnt what it used to be. Yet, you arent ready to throw in the towel. The young guys are young, really young, and you know that you arent getting any younger. You have mastered your job and have taught the kids in your unit everything they need to know to be successful.

You are Papa Bear.

Still, there is a part of you that wants to be done, a part of you that needs to be done. You want to focus on the next chapter of your life and spend more time with your family. You want to go on trips without filling out a request for leave or telling everyone in your chain of command where you are going. Hell, youre a grown man/woman, arent you? You can take care of yourself, cant you? Now, you have the opportunity to get out and live the life you want to live, free from obligation.

How Healthy Are Mres

MREs contain enough nutrients and energy sufficient to keep your body well-nourished.

However, its worth mentioning that different people react differently to MREs.

If youre using MREs for the first time, be on the lookout for symptoms that include: a change in appetite, energy, digestion, stool, and urine.

While this shouldnt raise an alarm, if you experience severe symptoms you may need to consult your medical practitioner.

If the symptoms are mild and you can cope, you can be guaranteed that your body will get used after using the MRE for some time.

Military Diet 4 Days Off: Your After

Once youve completed the 3 Day Military Diet plan, its best if you limit yourself to 1500 calories a day for the next 4 days.

Other dieters follow the military diet 4 days off rule, which means that after 4 days of following a 1500 calorie diet, they do the 3-Day Military Diet again. So, what does a 1500 calorie diet look like? Here are some ideas for how you can plan your meals for your 4 days off:

• 3 oz grilled or baked salmon
• 1 cup of steamed broccoli spears
• 1 medium-sized baked potato with 1 tablespoon of butter

Get the idea? You need to include lots of fruit and vegetables in your diet. This really helps you feel full without packing in the calories. As you can see in these two options, you can still add a few extra snacks or calories if you still feel hungry at meal or snack time and still meet your daily calorie allowance of 1500 or less.

You can always check your foods calorie level by using one of the various calorie calculators available online such as the one offered by WebMD.

Also, notice that the only included drink is coffee. Avoid sugary drinks, alcohol, and soda as these will add a lot of calories. Instead, drink plenty of water or herbal tea. If you find plain water too boring to drink, then you can add a bit of lemon or try one of the many cucumber water recipes available in this post.

Exercising on the Military Diet

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What Is The Answer

The hardest part of this question is that there is no right answer. You simply need to make a decision: stay in or get out. You need to make your own list of pros and cons for both of the answers and make the decision for you.

Neither you nor I can decide what is best for each other. In the end, we can only decide what is best for ourselves. Your decision to join the military and your decision to leave the military are highly personal and require careful consideration. After all, your life is literally on the line. You signed an agreement with the United States of America that says that you will give everything that you have, up to and including your life, for your country. This is not a decision that can be or should be taken lightly.

Ultimately, this is your life, and you need to live the way that you want to live. Both choices are available to you, and both choices are equally valid. Each person has their reasons for staying in or getting out, and all of them are a little bit different. Stick to your guns and dont be swayed by pamphlets and promises. Do some honest self-reflection and make a decision that works best for your personal and professional goals now and in the years to come.

You served, period. Less than 1% of all American citizens can say that.

What Are Military Families Greatest Concerns About Military Life

Military life comes with numerous challenges. You may expect that family members would fear for the service members safety above all. However, hardly any families gave that response. There is huge concern about deployments, but it is typically focused on the long periods of separation, the service member missing everyday family moments, and the effect their absence may have on their children.

A top concern for military spouses is the likelihood of unemployment or underemployment. Frequent moves to distant duty stations often prevent military spouses from building a career. Christina is only one of many military spouses with a degree who struggles to find a job: We are actually considering getting out. I have an MSN and have been chronically underemployed since we got married due to location issues and lack of childcare options. We were hoping to stay in for the retirement and health insurance but the money we are losing by not utilizing my earning potential has really made us second guess that decision. In some cases, spouses choose to live separately from their service member in a geo-bachelor situation, just so they can maintain a career, and this is a situation that concerns many military families.

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Military Age Restrictions By Branch

At age 66, Broun still serves as a doctor in the Navy Reserve. In an interview with Army Times, he called the enlistment age cap an arbitrary policy.

There are people who want to serve and are physically fit, he said. There are some 20-year-olds who cannot run a mile.

Since Brouns attempt in 2012, the military policy on age restrictions has changed. The Air Force, for example, raised its maximum age. See the age requirements for Active Duty enlistees of each branch below:

• Army: 17-35 years old
• Navy: 17-34 years old
• Air Force: 17-39 years old
• Coast Guard: 17-27 years old

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In general, the Defense Department restricts enlistment to those 35 and younger. Prior enlisted service members can subtract their previous years of service from their age in order to extend eligibility. For example, the current age cutoff in the Air Force is 39. This means that a 31-year-old veteran with four years of prior service experience would still be eligible to reenlist.

Rep. Susan Davis of the Armed Services Committee personnel panel has said the risks outnumbered gains when it came to enlisting older personnel. She said they are not only more likely to become injured, but also take more time to recover than their younger counterparts.

Basic Requirements And Expectations

You must meet certain minimum requirements to join the military, whether full time or part time. You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is at least age 17, and if youre not yet 18, you need parental permission. You need a high school diploma or GED, but entrance is more difficult with a GED.

Youll need to achieve a minimum score, which varies by branch, on the Armed Forces Qualification Test and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test. Also, you must pass a military entrance medical exam and background check. Upon acceptance, youll attend basic training , which lasts eight to 13 weeks, depending on your branch. You could then attend Officer Candidate School or advanced individual training if your job requires it.

Both active duty and reserves have maximum age restrictions for who can enlist, but these differ by branch, as do physical fitness requirements. For example, to join the Air Force, you cant be older than 39, and you must pass the Air Force Basic Military Training Fitness Test.

All service members must adhere to gender-specific physical requirements related to weight, fitness, hair, nails, piercings, tattoos, and attire. In general, you must maintain a neat, professional, and natural appearance.

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Current Bah Rates Aim To Cover 95 Percent Of Housing Costs

This year, Basic Allowance for Housing increased 2.9 percent this year, up from 2020s 2.8 percent increase, setting the tax-free benefit at a level intended to cover 95 percent of the anticipated housing costs for each assigned duty post in the U.S. Individual service members are now expected to pay the remaining 5 percent of housing costs with out-of-pocket cash.

What is BAH?

Basic Allowance for Housing provides service members not living on base or in government-provided housing a cash supplement to be able to rent housing at local market rates. The amount paid to a service member depends on rank, whether or not they have dependents, and where they are based.

Eligibility

Any active-duty service member stationed in the 50 U.S. states who is not provided with government housing is eligible. Those stationed in U.S. territories, possessions or overseas who are not provided government housing are eligible for an Overseas Housing Allowance, which is calculated under a separate formula.

Noteworthy

BAH is non-taxable, and unlike the Overseas Housing Allowance, if a service member can find housing below the BAH rate for their assigned location, they are able to pocket the difference, because what service members actually spend is not used to calculate BAH.

How BAH is calculated

Rates very widely

Check your rates

For details of locations across the country, you can use the Defense Departments official BAH calculator here.

What if BAH for my area is cut while I live there?

Is Leaving The Service The Right Thing For Me To Do

This question poses a dilemma for military service members when they reach a financial impasse in their military careers typically at 20 years in the armed forces to stay in the military or get a civilian job.

It really is a case-by-case thing, but I think the thing that surprises most people is you cant just look at the salary differences. When you factor in the lost benefits, you have to earn a lot more. A service member should base the outcome on criteria including taxes, benefits, life insurance and retirement savings.

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Deployments Dont Always Involve Combat

In popular movies, books or other media, military deployments are usually characterized as being very dangerous, with troops heading off to war in a remote location. While this is a possible reality for some service members, but not all deployments involve combat situations.

Navy seamen training on lee helm and helm operation on the ships control console in the bridge of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh.

One example of a non-combat deployment is when a Navy submarine needs supplies while it is underway for a long period of time, a Navy submarine tender which is a type of ship designated to tending submarines when necessary will deploy from its station with its entire crew aboard and set sail for the submarines location. The tender may be stationed at a port in Guam, and once a submarines crew requests assistance, the tender will deploy for however long it takes to supply the submarine with fuel, food, etc.

Joining The Military: What You Should Know Before Committing

Joining the military is a big commitment, not to be taken lightly. Most first-term enlistments require a commitment to four years of active duty and two years of inactive . But the services also offer programs with two-, three- and six-year active-duty or reserve enlistments. It depends upon the service and the job you want.

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Gi Bill And Tuition Assistance: Know Your Education Benefits

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a benefit for the latest generation of service members and veterans, as well as their eligible dependents. It includes payment of tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and a stipend for textbooks and supplies.

GI Bill eligibility

The amount of time you spent on active duty determines your benefit level. In general, the higher your benefit level, the less you have to pay out of pocket for school, maxing out at the 100% benefit level, which covers full in-state tuition at public universities.

Heres what veterans who received an honorable discharge after Sept. 10, 2011, are eligible for based on the amount of time theyve served:

100%: 36 months or more of active duty service, or at least 30 continuous days and discharged due to service-connected disability

90%: At least 30 months, less than 36 months.

80%: At least 24 months, less than 30 months.

70%: At least 18 months, less than 24 months.

60%: At least 6 months, less than 18 months.

50%: At least 90 days, less than 6 months.

No benefit: Less than 90 days.

What it covers

You can use your benefits toward an education at a college, university, trade school, flight school or apprenticeship program.

Housing stipend

The housing stipends GI Bill users receive depend on the level of benefits theyre eligible for, how many courses they take and where they go to class.

Transfer rules

Whats new

More online

You can find a GI Bill Comparison Tool here.

Tuition Assistance

What it is

Joining The National Guard

You must meet specific requirements to join the National Guard, advises the Army National Guard. You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident between the ages of 17 and 35. You must have a high school diploma, GED, or be at least a junior in high school. Individuals who are under the age of 18 must have permission to join from their parent or legal guardian, specifies the Army National Guard.

In addition, you must be able to pass a medical exam and physical fitness test. Prior to enlisting in the military, you take the multiple-choice Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test. Your score on the test determines what jobs you are eligible for.

There are more than 150 MOS options to choose from. You can pursue a career in fields such as administration, aviation, intelligence, mechanics, police, medical, logistics, munitions, technology or transport, advises the Army National Guard. You can also become a special forces soldier or select a career in STEM science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

References

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Submit Your Application 3aptitude Test

You will take an aptitude test to determine which military occupations are the best fit for you. Preparation is key so make sure you are well rested, healthy, on time, and careful with your answers. You will be tested on verbal skills, spatial ability and problem solving. It will take approximately 60 minutes to complete a series of three Canadian Forces aptitude tests. The following practice aptitude test will provide you with an example of the style and structure of what you will experience when you write the real test at a Recruitment Centre near you.

You will also complete a personality inventory which provides information on your personal characteristics and qualities. To learn more about your personality and how it can influence job choices, check out this personality assessment.

Training And Active Duty Service

You must complete the 10-week Basic Combat Training course when you enlist and subsequent job training. The length of training depends on your specific job it may be as few as four weeks or as long as 64 weeks for specialized roles.

While serving in the National Guard, you may be called up to serve full time, and you may be deployed abroad to assist in combat operations. Generally, you serve for 12 months during these deployments.

You cab also be called up by the state governor to assist with emergencies such as hurricanes or flooding within the United States. Typically, you stay in your home state, but in some cases, you may assist in other states around the country. You will usually be on active duty for about 15 to 60 days for these missions.

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Military Enlistment Breach Of Contract

A breach of your enlistment contract can be terms for voluntary early separation from the military, but it is very rare. Some people mistakenly believe that discovering dishonesty on the part of their military recruiter represents a breach of contract and is grounds for seeking separation. While dishonesty can be an unfortunate consequence of the way the military recruiting system is set up, recruiter dishonesty is not inherently a breach of contract.

Section D and block 13a of the enlistment contract states:

“I certify that I have carefully read this document. Any questions that I had were explained to my satisfaction. I fully understand that only those agreements in section B of this document or recorded on the attached annex will be honored. Any other promises or guarantees made to me by anyone are written below.”

Read Your Contract and Let Your Parents or Other Adult Read Your Contract.

Navy Federal Credit Union

Military service members and veterans have seen major changes to their pay and benefits over the past year. A new retirement benefit, revised rules for Tricare health insurance and changes to GI Bill rules can have a far-reaching impact on the lives and livelihoods of military families around the world.

For the most part, its good news. Basic pay is once again rising at the same rate as private-sector wages after several years of tight Pentagon budgets resulted in service members losing some ground compared to their civilian counterparts. The new retirement benefit, which includes cash contributions to a Thrift Savings Account, is a major boost for the vast majority of the force that serves for six or eight or ten years but never reaches the 20-year mark to become eligible for a lifelong pension.

Yet revisions to health care coverage and the GI bill education benefits are more complex, and may impact individual service members, veterans and their families in different ways.

Maximizing the options available to you is essential to making the most out of your military career. These are generous benefits. Youve earned them. Getting smart about what has changed and what hasnt is worth your time.

Evidence suggests that service members who joined the military in 2000 are making more than their civilian counterparts, on average.

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