This Army Life, Volume 4

When we last left the series, I had bypassed the Regular Army for college. Well, you ask, how did you end up in the Army Reserve? I am so glad you asked…

As mentioned previously, I went off to Weber State. My first year there, I lived at home and commuted, either riding the bus, which took FOREVER, or my driving, or sometimes a combination of the two. This did not last long, and I moved into an apartment in Ogden near the end of my freshman year. At the time, I was working my seasonal job at the IRS and things were going okay. Spent my days sleeping and my nights filing tax returns. Not the most productive life.

After the IRS season ended, I struggled to find a full-time job for a bit, subsisting on unemployment and a part-time job at Convergys selling AT&T long distance and taking orders for Now Volume 5. I was still thinking about the Army, considering ROTC the fall semester when I went back to school, so I decided to talk to a recruiter about the Army Reserve because the Simultaneous Membership Program and all the extra money that could be earned. Plus, they were offering enlistment bonuses, and I thought I could get my $3,000 dollars once I signed up. Unfortunately, it does not work that way.

It did not take me long to decide to join the Army Reserve. I retook the practice ASVAB and scored a little lower then I had previously, but still super high. Since I was now looking at the Reserves, and I had every intention of returning to school after training, I picked an MOS that would have me back from training by August. It did not necessarily work out in that way, but I will cover that in my next post. I signed on and went to MEPS, which will be my next post in this series.

Overall, it was a much more pleasant experience then my first with a recruiter, and SFC Nyman did great. I got exactly what I wanted and left with a better taste in my mouth for the Army. Here I am nearly nine years later and I still enjoy being in the Army Reserve (for the most part).

Until next time..