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Post by greenie on Jan 19, 2009 14:56:59 GMT -5
The college discussion gave me an idea for those of us who are choosing the Military route for our children. I could use the support and I know anyone with children in the military could too. Here is a link www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/us/19recruits.html?_r=2&hpThis is an article about why many are choosing the military due to declining jobs. |
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Post by greenie on Jan 19, 2009 15:07:42 GMT -5
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Post by healthy11 on Jan 19, 2009 17:14:45 GMT -5
I know Sharie001's son has some military experience...I hope she sees this thread and can give you some suggestions/support.
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Post by greenie on Jan 19, 2009 19:36:33 GMT -5
thanks healthy, but I was hoping it could be included on this college/young adult board in case there are other moms, other than me.
The things I worry about are the things I worry about at home too. Things like, "can he do this and not lose it!?" ie he has been known to melt down, but only in extreme conditions anymore, and boot camp will be extreme. "What about his language processing problems? Any tips from Sharie on preparing my ds for boot camp would be great. I can see that giving my ds tips or preparing him has helped him in the past
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Post by healthy11 on Jan 21, 2009 9:12:03 GMT -5
greenie, I wasn't suggesting the posts have to be private, unless Sharie001 or others didn't feel comfortable discussing details about their children in public. The young adult section of this discussion board seems like the appropriate place to have discussions about joining the military, since it's another post-secondary school option! We all wish your son well!
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Post by greenie on Jan 21, 2009 10:45:08 GMT -5
Oh, I know healthy. You are so awesome. I find the article I posted up above about how so many are choosing military since so many jobs have become scarce. Funny, but my husband predicted this (sharp rise in enlistment) a couple of months ago. He does that a lot. (predicts things) I think dh should play the stock market lol....
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Post by sharie001 on Jan 21, 2009 11:46:25 GMT -5
LOL, you guys know I'm an open book (the good, the bad, and the ugly, lol). Greenie, Forgive my ignorance, but what sort of Language processing problems does your son have, and/or the areas of life it impacts? Reading, Auditory, etc? Has your son taken the ASVAB and/or Physical training (PT) test? If so how did he score? The ASVAB determines which MOS's (fields) he qualifies to train, etc for in the military. The higher the scores the more MOS's he has to choose from. The test also indicates which MOS's match your abilities best. My son, Ryan was diagnosed/identified as being "gifted", having ADHD, Dysgraphia/written expression, and visual perception problems. Ryan puts the "rebel" in rebelious. He has meltdowns on occasion too. He is "Mr. Outdoors" and very physically fit (especially for someone who doesn't exercise much). I told Ryan when he was leaving for basic that he'd either follow the rules/regs or he'd come home chiseled like one of those statues of a Greek God from the situps and pushups the drill sargents would assign him for discipline. I was right, see the links below to view pics. Before groups.yahoo.com/group/CreativeTactics/photos/album/1864197399/pic/2107235172/view?picmode=medium&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&dir=ascAfter groups.yahoo.com/group/CreativeTactics/photos/album/1864197399/pic/1644791444/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=ascOther Photos of Ryan groups.yahoo.com/group/CreativeTactics/photos/album/1864197399/pic/listRyan has excelled in the military, and has moved up in rank to just under sargent (he is a specialist). I contribute his success to his physical fitness and his outdoor abilities. Ryan didn't stop his crazy tricks in basic, he just considered the punishment of situps and pushups a personal challenge (he enjoyed them, lol). He sent me a letter in basic that said "thanks mom, this is the best summer camp ever". I'll post some of the things which resulted in him doing situps/pushups as discipline later, ya'll should get a laugh or two. Advice I can think of off the top of my head: He needs to research and pick his MOS carefully Regardless of the shape he is currently in, it wouldn't hurt to start exercising, running, walking briskly with a weighted backpack, marksmenship, etc., prior to basic. |
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Post by greenie on Jan 22, 2009 12:37:01 GMT -5
hi sharie, so glad you chimed in. T has problems with receptive and expressive language but seems to have gotten by so well over the years (sometimes) I believe that his problem is mainly auditory processing as well. Because he is almost 18 years old, it is too late for speech and language. I didn't find out about any of this until he was in the third grade, and unfortunatly after fighting for services for years. and never receiving the right services, ....I finally exited him out of sped last year. He is hating high school and can't wait to leave, already enlisted and picked some MOS's...he got a choice of 5 of them, so I hope he can get one of those jobs. He is a card carrying military man right now at the age of 17 (which means they could call him up at anytime, but I know they won't) he will go to San Antonio in August for boot camp. What I worry about most is him "losing it" or "melting down" somehow. I can't be there to help him and I am preparing him the very best I can. He is great with a 22 rifle already after taking hunter safety and he is in good physical shape, but could get better. I plan on encouraging him to wake up very early a week or two before he leaves. My step son thrived in the military too, but was deployed to Iraq at 18 yo.(now 26) He loved being there, but he has been in explosions that have rattled his brain and he struggles with ptsd and possible tbi. The VA is taking good care of him and he wouldn't have traded his experience for the world. He would like to go back, but has retired out of the Army. T will be in the Air Force. I am glad Ryan has found his nitch. Everytime you write about him, he sounds like such a great guy.
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Post by greenie on Jan 22, 2009 12:39:08 GMT -5
Oh yea, sharie... I could not see the pics. As for T's asvab scores, they were quite average tho I don't remember what they were.
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Post by sharie001 on Jan 23, 2009 18:53:34 GMT -5
I spoke with Ryan today regarding basic and being able to follow orders/commands. Ryan is terrible when it comes to multi-step (sequential processing) directions.
He said to tell you not to worry, that your son should do fine. He told me that the commands/instructions he recieved were typically only given to him one at a time and they were pretty simple and easy to understand.
The kids that had the most difficult time were those who were either out of shape and/or lazy.
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Post by sharie001 on Jan 23, 2009 18:55:21 GMT -5
Oh, forgot to mention, your son can re-take the ASVAB if he wanted to try for a higher score. There are study guides for it in BAM, online, and possibly the library.
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Post by greenie on Jan 24, 2009 13:34:08 GMT -5
interesting, I will see if he wants to do this. (take ASBAB again)
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Post by greenie on Feb 2, 2009 10:32:28 GMT -5
T will see his recruiter on Tues. He is going to ask him if he can re take the ASVAB and see if he can improve his score. It can't hurt. BAM online? Do you have an adress, Sharie? What does the acronym BAM mean?
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 4, 2009 8:35:49 GMT -5
Books-a- Million, you can also try other book stores, I'll check out some sites/info and post some links for ya.
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 4, 2009 8:45:09 GMT -5
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Post by greenie on Feb 4, 2009 11:11:57 GMT -5
Thanks for the links, Sharie. T saw his recruiter yesterday and asked him about retaking the test. He told T that he would have to quit, re-sign up if he wanted to do that. He told T that he advised against it for his case since his color blindness is really the problem of obtaining the MOS he really wanted. (I hate the term color blindness, it is really color deficiency) But, because he signed up early he has a good chance of getting his top 5 pics of job choices. Also, he is getting "credit" for being in the AF right now even tho he is in HS. Last night I asked him to throw me a crumb and tell me what the AF meetings were like. He said, "Well, I have to say..."Trainee XXXX" reporting for duty, sir." He is standing up so straight. This is good for a kid with postural instability. I am so excited about his future and so is he. T's recruiter told him that he is getting inundated with new recruits like that article I posted said. I told my daughter she should enlist because they need court reporters. She said, "no thanks" lol...daughter in boot camp, that is funny. BO is going to really take a chunk out of our military...like Bill Clinton did, I read.
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 4, 2009 15:23:13 GMT -5
AF= Armed forces? Air force?
Sounds like he's got his stuff together. Sounds like he will enjoy the physical & mental challenges the military will provide him.
Which branch is he going in (Army, Navy, etc.)? If I'm not mistaken, from what Ryan told me, the criteria for flying helicopters in Army differ greatly from planes, it may be worth while to investigate, if not there is always private lessons/school, heck the military pays for education maybe they would pay for flight school as well.
Also another option for becoming a pilot is to be a boat pilot instead of plane. Ryan's dream as a child was to go into military become a pilot save his money and purchase some charter boats for him to take fishermen out on, invest that money into real estate rentals then retire (from around age 8-15).
Ryan is currently working on going into Army under water welding (if the guard would ever release him). He says they pay big bucks, and he is already a certified scuba diver.
There are so many career training options via the military, I'm sure he'll find the right one. He can always change/add an MOS later. The world is his oyster, I'm sure he'll make a pearl.
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Post by greenie on Feb 4, 2009 15:49:21 GMT -5
Air Force. I am getting excited for him. Ryan is a character, underwater welding sounds really cool. I am starting to think T will fit in just fine with the other recruits. Adventure awaits.....
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 4, 2009 21:07:13 GMT -5
LOL, I'm afraid most don't quite have the zeal for adventure as Ryan.
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Post by greenie on Feb 5, 2009 14:14:24 GMT -5
I adore the stories about Ryan. It's fun raising boys...especially our brave boys!
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 7, 2009 11:19:15 GMT -5
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Post by greenie on Feb 7, 2009 20:32:18 GMT -5
Ryan is quite handsome, I bet the girls are lining up. He did change very much, from a kid hanging out by the rivers edge to a man. How cool. I am so happy to hear about kids with LD's becoming successful. I hope and pray the same for T. Yesterday he decided to "leave school" and I was just livid. I got a hold of him and said, "What are you doing (his brother told me he ditched) and he came clean and said he "need to get out of there" I told him he had better walk straight into school in the morning on Monday and go straight to the asst. principal and tell him what he did and take his detention. Silly kid, I would have called him out if he would have asked me since his grades are okay and I understand feeling overwhelmed. It is hard to get mad at a kid who is almost 18 and almost ready to leave home. I am getting yet another lesson in letting go.
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 8, 2009 0:16:36 GMT -5
Ryan's back skinny again (I pick on him telling him he lost his "boobs"). Notice the difference in his skin color in the photos (the AIT was taken in the summertime, and the one on the pier was winter), I've never seen the child that white before (he keeps a year round tan, I think he fishes naked).
Be thankful the almost 18 year old just started this, it could always be worse he could have been doing it and a lot more things. Gotta look on the bright side of things, their going to test you.
Has he borrowed the dogs shock collar to have redneck olympics running the electric dog fence? Mine has.
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Post by greenie on Feb 10, 2009 11:48:28 GMT -5
No, lol...no shock collar antics. Like I said before, boys are quite an adventure.
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Post by healthy11 on Feb 22, 2009 17:16:00 GMT -5
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Post by sharie001 on Feb 25, 2009 18:40:57 GMT -5
healthy,
thanks for posting this link, that is really sad.
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Post by sharie001 on Mar 14, 2009 13:00:09 GMT -5
Ryan finally got his "orders", he is going to Afganistan. He leaves for training next week in location about 3 hours from our home, and I think goes overseas at the end of May begining of June, but I'm not certain yet.
His new 1st sargent was a marine and is going back to Afganistan for his third tour. He doesn't have a lot of respect for most guard members b/c they are typically out of shape and lack some of the skills he sees necessary for combat.
He tried to rattle Ryan by telling him this, and some other things, along with acting tuff. He asked Ryan how was his scores in physical training, combatives, marksmenship, on his ASVAB, etc, over the phone (he hadn't recieved or looked at Ryan's file yet) and Ryan was messing with him and told him he did o.k. (average). I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the sargent looks at Ryan's file, he will be pleasantly surprised, lol.
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Post by healthy11 on Mar 14, 2009 20:12:25 GMT -5
I'm not familiar with the way the chain of command works in the Guard...will this 1st sargent stay with the guys for their training and tour of duty overseas? If so, I'm sure the guy will be happy about Ryan's physical training, but do you think he's going to tolerate some of Ryan's other antics? (And how does the Guard assignment work with his trying to go Army/underwater welding? There isn't much scuba diving in Afganistan that I know of.)
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Post by sharie001 on Mar 14, 2009 21:17:32 GMT -5
I'm not completely sure about chain of command but if I'm not mistaken the 1st sargent is the one over the unit. I don't know if he will be instructor for training but he is going with Ryan's unit overseas. I'm not sure about his tolerance for Ryan's antics, but I know Ryan well enough to know he typically makes buddies with those in much higher rank than 1st sgt which helps him a lot, and he also knows who he can get away with his antics with and who he can't. He is so good at reading people of all social classes and ranks, and gets along with most everyone, I always thought he'd end up in politics, he has a phd in BS, lol.
He is changing his MOS to transportation to go overseas, when he returns he can change his mos again to go train for underwater welding, each MOS is like having an additional certification in a different career, so they can go where the military has a job opening in any of their MOS's they have trained for. It's like having two college degrees in different areas sort of.
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Post by healthy11 on Mar 15, 2009 13:38:00 GMT -5
I know I'm not alone in wishing him a successful mission, and safe return!
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