How do promotions work? From what I looked up it is guaranteed with time in service up to the supervisory positions, then what happens? What's the difference for this for enlisted and officers? Does it become more of a good ol boys club after the grunt positions?
In general, for NCOs, you have to be put forward for and pass the specific-to-rank course (for most ranks, CSgt and WO1 excepted - these are just selected by your senior officers), which means there's a
de facto time served requirement unless you're really, really good - it takes from one to four years to pick up Lance Corporal, for example, and if you haven't reached WO1 by 22 years you probably won't with an extended contract. Officers are a little less fixed and until Major it works on courses and recommendation, but after that your name is put forward to a central board which takes into account your record and the reports written on you by your seniors.
If I wanted to be a pilot, and remain one, would I have to turn down promotions?
It's not generally an option to turn down promotions; you go where the Army says you go and if you don't like it you have to resign, frankly. That said, you can fly up to quite a high rank, so I don't think that's much of an issue.
Do the armed forces accept recruits into the enlisted ranks with a Bachelor's Degrees or are they cast aside as being "overqualified"?
I knew an officer of the Royal Marines, now sadly departed, whose favorite story was of the young marine who knocked on his door one day and announced that he wanted to leave the Corps. Now the marine wasn't an idiot, but he hadn't exactly been a high-flyer, and my friend asked him what he could possibly be doing outside the Marines whihc would suit him so well - to which he replied that "well, sir, I was going to go into teaching, put the Maths degree to some us, you know?" You get surprisingly well-educated people in all walks of life, and the Army's no exception - particularly the Intelligence Corps and particularly the reserves, which frequently have people who are experts in the field that they bring to the Army.
If they do accept recruits with Batchellor's Degrees, where would a degree in Liberal Arts fall under in your respected branch? (Preferably ether Army or Coast Guard)
It's not about your degree. Intelligent soldiers are generally shifted towards intelligence, the medical corps, HR or engineering, but if you really want to be an infanteer or tank driver then that's not a problem.
How hard is basic for a 28 year male that had a sedentary lifestyle?
You would fail. If you don't train, there's not a hope in hell you'll get through -
especially for a combat arm, although in the British Army all Phase 1 Training is the same with the exception of the Parachute Regiment. Sorry.
I'm mainly asking these questions because I am starting to add the Military as a list of Employer of Last Resort. I virtually have no interest in the Marines since they are more hardcore for my taste (not to mention difficult).
Unfortunately, selection aims to iron out people without motivation: people who are chomping at the bit to get some of the Army lifestyle and embrace its way of life will be given preference over equal candidates who see it as the only place that will have them.
Recruiting policies change with needs and philosophy, but when I entered a degree was basically easy instant promotion at the enlisted level. It could also help you get into an officer slot somewhat quickly, but mostly you would need a management or focused technical degree for that. A Masters degree was kind of a guarantee for an officer slot, but sometimes not. A PhD is even more helpful to securing an officer slot, AFAIK. However, if you don't behave well though, that rank can be taken back immediately.
Well, that's only because a degree tends to mean intelligence tends to mean leadership ability. You can be selected during training for a commission, but it is quite rare, and the very fact of having a degree doesn't mean anything.
The recruiters will generally get you ready for basic, you'll have to go through medical physicals, and you won't be able to enter basic training unless you pass a light physical fitness test. In theory you'll just have to get a dedicated mind set, work out every day, and if your health is good then you'll make it. If after you get recruited, you are not in good physical shape, then you'll know why they booted you out.
I should point out that the 'light' physical fitness test, for the Parachute Regiment, is a mile-and-a-half in 9:18 followed by 44 press ups and 50 sit-ups - depends how 'sedentary' your lifestyle is I suppose.
Why wouldn't you go officer instead of enlisted? Unless you want hands on experience for when you get out, I don't get it if you have a college degree.
I had A-levels and was advised to go to university when I joined as a private, and loved it. I don't think when I joined I had the maturity or leadership ability to command a platoon of 30 guys, but learning the ropes gradually eventually made me able to commission as an officer and reach the very respectable rank of Major.
It's not necessarily easy to get into an officer slot from a civilian position, and I believe there may be a political element to it sometimes, plus extra waiting for screening. It is fairly easy to go enlisted to officer if one has the qualifying degree. I've known many people who have done that. That and the degree doesn't always qualify one for an officer slot, at which point being ROTC in college would probably pay off if you wanted a degree and officer slot. Figure that the officers most in demand are combat arms, and the military already has high school candidates begging to get into the premier officer colleges at age 18. Not a lot of degrees necessarily give one a sense of leadership, organization, strategy, etc... to become a leader in the combat arms. The other officer degrees in position tend to be specialized degrees already in demand, like nursing, IT, etc..
I'll leave you to speak for the US Army, but in the British Army it's very difficult for anything but a very, very good NCO to reach officer status without going through the Late Entry Officer programme as a Warrant Officer.
What exactly does ROTC do? ROTC is pretty big at my campus and one of my friends is in it (Navy, I believe).
In the British Army, the UOTC is similar - members are part of the TA, and spend some evenings and weekends learning military skills and how to lead men, while being paid as a TA officer cadet. The idea is to get them interested in the Army, teach them what it does, and maybe encourage some of htem to join up, as well as allowing those who already do want to join to keep their hands in, so to speak.
The main catch is your degree has to be in a field that the military wants officers trained! I'd be curious if anyone with a BA in fine arts was ever allowed in ROTC.
In the UK, degree is, again, irrelevant - we let non-grads be officers,
Well you could enlist in the army right now and with your degree you would go in at pay grade E-4. That's $23K/yr plus housing and food allowances- not great but better than starving. Most all MOS's would be open to you so you could do military intelligence or something technical like signal if the combat jobs don't appeal to you.
And if you liked the army you could go to OCS and earn a commission as an officer. You would have to serve enlisted first. Since you are already finished with your bachelors you really can't do ROTC.
That's... very, very different from the British system. E4 is Corporal, right? Giving a section over to a man just out of training seems like lunacy.
The army would actually be fine with someone getting a BA in the fine arts. The arts and humanities add value in a force that is charged with the carrying out the most intense aspect of the human experience. And if you do the MS minor you get the leadership training you need to be a successful officer.
John Hackett, a very successful British Officer and a man whom I greatly respected, had a degree in Classics from Cambridge.
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