I am currently a DoD civilian federal employee. If I wished to enlist (active duty) do I have to resign my current position? Would my benefits and time carry over?

I'm just curious, my buddy at work is in the reserves and was on military leave without pay for a year.

My supervisor is an idiot and it gets me thinking about enlisting.

I may be deploying to Balad, Iraq for a year on 03JAN10 so it may be a non issue anyway, but I like to know what my options are.

 

So lets say I just forget to mention this upon entering. What if the question comes back during a clearance interview?

 

Now that is something you would have to ask a recruiter. There's a federal law that states civilian employers CANNOT lay you off if you decide to serve in the armed forces, and that your employer MUST have your original position open when you return from active duty. However since you work for a DoD location as a federal employee (I'm guessing Lockheed Martin since they've been laying people off like crazy), now the fine line is getting hazy.

If you're concerned about 401k benefits and things of that nature, i wouldn't worry too much about it because you will receive that money back later if there's a breach of federal law and they let you go for whatever reason. Besides, the Thrift Savings Plan for military personnel is one of the best savings plan out there anyway. Medical and Dental are the least of your concerns as well.

Well of course your buddy isn't being payed by the company while on leave, but by law, his position should be waiting for him when he gets back. Besides, active pay (especially combat pay) is at its highest.

I'm not sure what you mean by benefits and time carrying over, but i'm guessing you're referring to your civilian experience and education received? You're recruiter and his/her higher command will decide what bonuses, special schools, and duty station options are available to you depending on your education, work experience, and ASVAB practice test scores.

If you currently have a SECRET or TOP SECRET security clearance, that helps too.

I hope i helped answering your questions. Feel free to be more specific if i misunderstood or overlooked anything.

 

Like i said, if there's not a record of it, it never happened. Let's say you answered "NO" or "NEVER" on the questions relating to marijuana use during your in-processing. Well, eventually you're going to speak to an interrogator (especially if you're going to MP school), and they will ask you the same questions again. If you give them a different answer or tell them you lied on your paperwork, it could mean jail, or a dishonorable discharge on your permanent record.

If you have a medical marijuana card that you DID NOT get from a medical physician through your insurance company, then it's not in a permanent record. If you ever popped POSITIVE on a drug test for a job, it is a closed record, and is protected by the federal government. In those two cases, there is no way the military can find out about those records during a background test.

Otherwise, you might want to consult your recruiter on whether or not to tell the truth.

Hope that helped!

 

Oh well I don't work for a private sector company. I work at an Army Depot on a military installation and currently maintain federal health benefits and a thrift savings plan as a US government employee. I have a SECRET security clearance in process and a military passport. I check my pay statement on mypay just like anyone else in the military.

I guess I really would have to go and talk to the personnel office or a recruiter. I have no idea what the transition from a federal employee to active duty military entails. I just haven't had the time to get around to it.

 

lol you could have told me that in the beginning sir . Talk to the NCOIC (In case you don't remember off the top of your head- "Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge") in your department/specialty, and he or she can tell you what would entail in your situation.

Good luck to you!

 

slightly off topic, I'll delete if you want

could you please explain to me why we need "A Civilian Army Just as well funded as our Military"

I mean we got our local police, county police, state police, FBI, National Guard, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force......

I understand all that but why do we now need a giant Civilian Army?? Looking at history, the last countries to do that sort of thing ended up being horrible and brutal. BTW thanks for serving in our military!

 

It's November 11 (Veteran's Day). Thank you, and hundreds of thousands of others for your service.

 

Look, i'm not going to talk politics with you. He is my Commander in Chief, and that's where i draw the line.

If your question was why we need a "civilian army", then the answer is this.... The US military has a purpose to protect the country and our allies on a mass scale. Not in our States and in our neighborhoods.

The National Guard, located throughout each State are "Always Ready" (The National Guard Pledge) to defend against natural or humanely involved disasters. However, as it were before June of this year(when there were over 350,000 troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and surrounding areas), 80% of those troops were National Guard and Reservists.

Regardless. Adding together all branches of the US armed forces... The US Navy, US Army, US Marines, US Air Force, US Coast Guard, etc... The total number of troops would be less than 1% of the US Population today.

...If you ask me, that says a lot about our society.

I understand what you're saying about having a civilian army though. It sounds scary, but look at it this way...

Most states, especially California, are short on Police and Sheriffs, not because there's a shortage of applications, but because the State cannot afford them. If the federal government wants to offer free military-trained troops in our areas, i say throw out an idea. Sure, i dont want to see a guy with an M16 at every corner, but it's not going to be like that.

Giving just one example...
Oakland and Richmond areas have about 150 homicides a year, and only about half are solved. If the detectives have a 95% solved case rate, what does that tell you? They need twice as many detectives, but the department can't afford them because California is broke.

Anyway, i hope i helped shine some light on what you're concerned about.

 

Appreciate it

 

i sincerely hope that this thread doesnt get derailed by politics. my grandpa is a Sgt Major in the USMC and ive got friends who have served and do serve. everyone ought to be able to appreciate service despite qualms with policy.

 

Well stated. I was in college during Vietnam, and have no desire to see things devolve to that level again. It's a continuing worry, especially now that the draft no longer exists, that we are developing a societal split between those who serve in the military (often through several generations of family), and those who don't.

 

Appreciate your comments guys.

Let's get back on topic. I'd like to do a quick rundown on the benefits between the different branches... Rating benefits from a 1 (being the worst) to a 5 (being the best)...

US ARMY
- Job classification openings............... 5
- Bonus incentives............................ 5
- Military school credits transferability... 4
- Pay.............................................. 5
- Medical/Dental/Life Insurance............ 5

US Marines
- Job classification openings............... 3
- Bonus incentives............................ 2
- Military school credits transferability... 3
- Pay.............................................. 4
- Medical/Dental/Life Insurance............ 4

US Air Force
- Job classification openings............... 4
- Bonus incentives............................ 3
- Military school credits transferability... 5
- Pay.............................................. 5
- Medical/Dental/Life Insurance............ 5

US Navy
- Job classification openings............... 3
- Bonus incentives............................ 3
- Military school credits transferability... 4
- Pay.............................................. 4
- Medical/Dental/Life Insurance............ 5

Feel free to leave any comments or questions

 

thanks for serving.
Because I am overweight when I was considering on joining the marines the local recruiting station had a weekly PT for a DEP where they helped potential recruits lose weight before they ship off to bootcamp. My question is do local army recruiting stations typically have a program like this?

 

Yes, but most of the time the US Army will accept you as is. If you read my previous post answering a question about physical requirements you'll know what i'm talking about when I mean being "taped".

There were two soldiers I went through BCT with, both were about the same weight (I believe 280 lbs.). One was 6' tall, while the other was 5' 8''. Both lost over 50 lbs. by the end of BCT and both passed their APFT.

BCT will get you in shape, no doubt about it.

Let's talk worst case scenerio... You fail your final APFT days before graduating BCT. What happens next? Well, you get "recycled" to a company that graduates in 3 weeks. Meaning, they make you start over from your last "checkpoint" of training and give you more time to lose weight and pass the APFT by the time that next graduation rolls around.

But most likely, you will do just fine. The Drill Sergeants will get you there.

 

The US Army is in need of Officers and Warrant Officers.

You do NOT need a degree or college credits to be accepted into OCS (Officers Candidate School). However, having college greatly increases your choices of job profession, special schools, and duty station.

If you have a special job skill or job training, that may be enough to qualify. If you're looking for full health/dental/life insurance benefits, bonuses, full tuition of present or future college AND prior student loan repayment, 2LT (O-1) grade pay (Approx. 40,000+/year), housing allowance (BHA), and the opportunity to lead a platoon of 40 to 60 soldiers, then I highly recommend you find out more about the positions.

There are part-time positions available in the US Army National Guard, all benefits included, and 1 weekend drill (2 days) is usually $450+ at 2LT (O-1) rank.

Any questions not relating to this post are welcome as well!

 

****Bump****

 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

It's official now, I'm deploying to southwest asia to Joint Base Balad, Iraq for 1 year to directly support our troops as a part of Tobyhanna Army Depot's Forward Repair Activity C3/Avionics team.

 

I think this is a great thread, and hopefully it remains to be a resource for people interested in joining the military, in the military, and for veterans as well.

Maybe the thread title should change of course. Btw, I served 6 years in the Marine Corps and am currently working for the Dept of Veterans Affairs. I would be more than willing to help anyone as well!

 

Happy T-day fat ping! Enjoy your deployment and come back safe. Always remember: Don't always trust the 300 meter rule, and when in doubt, light it up with a MK19