I am now in the US ARMY

[V]

As of yesterday afternoon, i am officially enlisted with the US army.

Tonight i was out celebrating and drinking so most of this post will eb copied and pasted from another post i made elsewhere.,...

..................................
I'm enlisted. I will be shipping out Aug 15th, so i still have some time here at home. a 63B position wasnt really available anywhere at this time, even though i scored a 95 on the asveb(i think thats the name of the test, lol) but instead i chose 88M, motor transport operator. Yea its not a very glorified job but definately important. I love to drive period, so this is great for me. The 11k bonus for picking that job helped too(would have been 26k if i left before june, something i just cant do though). I'll be driving everything from tractor trailer semi trucks, to busses, to personell carriers, etc., plus i do basic maintnence and repairs on them. After BCT, AIT is 7 weeks, so i should be stationed somewhere by mid-end of december, possibly getting my first leave after training to coincide with christmas. If given the option, i will volunteer to go overseas. I am very excited for this whole new experience and major change in my life. Ive always been proud of all the members of our armed forces and in the past i felt like i should be doing something as well, and now i finally am.

And as for my SS, it WILL be back on the road before i ship out, and to the track again before then as well. I just couldnt bear to leave the car for 4+ months knowing its damaged, lol.
.,................................................ ...............


So... basically as of july 31st i will no longer be selling parts or anything and i will be asking justin/tim to remove my sponsor banner. Maybe in 4 years i will come back and open some type of performance shop/parts place, but that is only a vauge dream.

Right now it will be quite difficult to get a hold of me. i will try to check this board often but i cant garuntee anything. IF you have my cell, call/text that for a better chance to get in touch. IF you dont have my number, and its very important, contact the admins and if they feel so, they can give you my number. I still ahve 3 months left here in NJ, but those will be filled with so many thigns i need to do. Any prevoius deals i made WILL be completed, so dont worry. Between my AIM name and cell, youll get a hold of me.

In closing... GO ARMY

[1972LT1]

Let me be the first to say thank you for standing up for the Red,White and Blue. Good luck brother and hope to hear from you in the future. Stay safe. Mabye the Mods can set up a forum for members overseas. (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more)

[ryanfx]

26K signing bonus u coulda had just for enlisting!??! =-0

[Rich189]

congrats paul glad your doing what you want to :} and thank you

[lastcall190]

congrats paul glad your doing what you want to :} and thank you

Word. Good luck man and be safe... 26k bonus?!

-J

[DaSkinnyGuy]

Good luck and go kick some ass

[Fast92RS]

Good luck man and congrats... Kick some ass..

[johnjzjz]

the 101 st Airborne is the leading division in the world i know first hand - good luck -BTW start running now twice a day -- LRB -- jz

[Tru2Chevy]

:usa:

Best of luck to you Paul, and thank you for volunteering to defend our country.

- Justin

[band77one]

good luck bro

[LS1Hawk]

I commend you on your decision. Don't know you too well, but it says a lot about a person who will lay it down and go defend our country. Be safe and good luck! :usa:

[maroman88]

:usa:

[BonzoHansen]

:usa:

Best of luck to you Paul, and thank you for volunteering to defend our country.

- Justin

What he said. Good luck.

[Untamed]

Good luck Paul. I spent the last 2 years of my Army stint with an 88M unit in Bristol, PA (even though I was 12B - Combat Engineer). The 465th Trans has already been to Iraq twice, and a 6 month stint down at Ft Bragg, helping the 18th move their equipment from Bragg to Cherry Point. All this time as a Reserve Unit. If you are going active duty, then you can be sure you'll be deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or the Phillipeans.

Thanks for signing up! You'll find the 88M mission pretty cool - transport everything from ammunition to water and other food supplies. One of the drawbacks though is your convoy being a bomb / IED magnet. I truly hope you can serve the country to the best of your ability, make a positive difference for all of our other brothers and sisters out there, and our allies, and come back alive.

It's gonna be tough - no two ways about it. Get through training, find your duty station, and just prepare your family for an overseas deployment. It's stressful on you - and absolute hell on your family. Do everything you can to keep in touch with them no matter where you go.

Finally - enjoy the experience. You'll do more in one year than many young punks do their entire lives. It sounds cliche', but the stories I have (none of which were in combat) are fun to tell many years after you're out. You'll learn patience, understanding and get the drive to get things done. Cherish those and keep them with you when you're ready to return to the civilian world. I know, it sounds like a commercial, but I'm telling you its the truth.

Take care.

[Knipps]

Wow, paul.. i was not expecting to see this when i signed on this morning
i don't even know what to say besides thank you

:usa:

[79dizZy28]

good luck paul :usa:

[79T/A]

Thank you. God bless and be safe.

[SteveR]

You scored a 95?!! Thats impressive! Congrats man, you're the smartest man in the Army :razz:

[chevyt454]

Wow I left the same date back in '91 for Desert Storm

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL85/952959/1960963/24782540.jpg

[linkitup79]

:usa: HOO RAH!!! Good luck and Godspeed

[baddest434]

be safe paul and thanks for defending the good old USA

[shane27]

kill some terrorists for me :usa::fireguns::bang:

[WayFast84]

Good luck man , Im starting to work out alot now so hopefully i will be down to the required weight in a few years to join up!
:usa:

[PBodyGT87]

:usa: Thank you Paul, be safe, God speed.

[NJSPEEDER]

congrats man.
now you realize this means you have to hang with us the whole nats weekend and get one last shot of partying like a rock star before you ship out :)

[unstable bob gable]

Good job! Just be safe out there!

[V]

Thank you all for your support. I will try to keep in touch as much as possible. -Paul

[ar0ck]

Good luck Paul! Stay safe!

[V]

I figured I'd update this thread because today is a great day for me...


As of midnight tonight, my contract that I signed back on May 9th 2007 finally expires. Tomorrow, I will once again officially be free and no longer obligated to the US government in any way.

For those who may not have been following... 4.5 years active duty, 1 tour in Afghanistan with some injuries sustained. Then 20 months in the NJ National Guard.
My initial 8 year contract was reduced by 20 months changing my final date from May 8th 2015 to Sept 8th 2013.

Now for all those that came to my parties prior to me leaving for basic training and all throughout my visits back to NJ, can you believe it was that long ago? haha.

[LTb1ow]

Saw FB, great to hear Paul, whats next for you?

[maroman88]

good news! we sure are gettin old, time flies.

[PolarBear]

Thank you for your service Paul.

[1320B4U]

Thanks paul.

[69BirdX]

Congrats. Good luck and most importantly stay safe

[ar0ck]

I miss the old days :(

[WSex]

congrats. did you say party?

[Jersey Mike]

This calls for a celebration--wedding doesn't count!! Pool's still open right?!

[V]

Nah, no party. lol.

Mike, yes its open but its green. I haven't done anything to it in weeks. I just have to get it clean one last time just to cover it up. Besides. I moved on the 1st so I no longer stay there.

[redsoxsstink]

any regrets? i have a friend active duty and one reservist, active duty hates it reservist loves it.

[V]

any regrets? i have a friend active duty and one reservist, active duty hates it reservist loves it.

I don't regret it really, but I do feel I caused me to put my whole life on hold during those 6 or so years. Having a relationship while in active duty is very difficult. So after that I finally met someone and we will actually be getting married in less than 4 weeks. If I knew know everything I went through, I would not have enlisted. Now if I had less career options as a civilian and did not desire going for higher education, the Army may have been a lifetime choice. But in my case, I have too much pride in my work and the Army does not care about that.

As for your active duty friend, I'm not surprised he hates it. Its a joke. It's really all about people seeing how little work they can do or how they can pass off responsibilities. Plus how they can take credit for the good and pass blame for the bad.
And the reserves, which is quite similar to the national guard, is a cake walk and I can't really consider it "real" military. I had officers and higher up SGTs always asking me for my opinion or suggestions because I was prior active. They even made me teach all types of classes. But most of the time we just sat around and did absolutely nothing useful.

[ar0ck]

any regrets? i have a friend active duty and one reservist, active duty hates it reservist loves it.

Reservists love it because its all the good parts without the active duty ridiculousness.

[Slow-V6]

I got sick of all the B/S that seemed to become more important then our actual Job.. All the stupid online training, Collateral duties, all the extra **** on top of doing your job. When I 1st joined in 1999, the 1st 4 years were about how good you are at your job, if you could not get in trouble, and that you did good on your PT tests you were considered a good sailor.. After 2004 it changed to who is going to college in there off time, who volunteers the most, and who has the most qualifications..That was to just be a good sailor on top of the other crap.. People would come to work to do there college homework, or get quals signed off. People would be more focused on that crap then fixing aircraft!