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American Or canadian Millitary, i could use some advice.

K

ksharpxx

Guest
Hey, I'm currently a 16 year old student going into grade 11 this September and iv been thinking about a career path for a very long time and things like computer tech, animators, programmers, designers. as i have alot of experience with computers already ive just always assumed id end up with a desk job... but i really do not want to live my life like that. i need exitement and I belive the only thing that could give me that is the military.
being facinated with the way the military works, the rules, the order, the professionalisim and the stabilization of a career that one would get if allowed into the military..i couldn't think of anything better.

now hears the problem. American or canadian?
Im Canadian, nobody in my family is American but ive always loved the usmc or the airforce...i must have at least 40+ USMC Cadance's that i play tennis to, it just give me a wierd feeling of..this may sound corney but a feeling that im more of a man sort of speak...

carrer wise though, being a pilot would be the best job i could d... but i im currently in the applied stream of highschool, for those of you who dont know, theres two levels applied which is basic and academic which is more of the advanced level. technically for people who plan to go to univeristy...my dad said that the canadian millitary paid for him to go on a course to move him up to the harder level of education im not sure what it was called when he took it but...its quite challenging in these academic classes. i've taken and passed the academic history and science classes. so i can do it im just realizing it too late and the schools wont let me move up unless i recived good marks in grade 9 and i had no motivation in grade 9..or 10 really.

More back to the point. the Canadian millitary simply doesn't have the money to aquire what i want to do,like fly a beautiful F-15 or a sexy F/A-22 Raptor, heck all air force aside just look at the m1a2 that things a beast, all the candians have are old versions of the lav and we name our things the beaver or the couger lol, "ok send those troops of beavers in to fight the abrams" that just sounds like a matyrs job.

Everything the American millitary has, i want, even the look and reputation is the best in the world...but then i think..heck why join and help the Americans i-am-canadian i should help my country and be more patriotic right? well I'm at a dead end here and could use some advice really..I'm not sure what to do, if i went the American way im not sure if they would accept a Canadian education or if i would have to take some college course in America to prove my intelligence level to be that of an American...well thats not the hard part lol. ::) on top of that i'd have to end up getting a citizenship and im not sure about their rules for that, theres no American embessy near me that i could ask either and im almost afraid to ask a Canadian recruiter questions about joining the American millitary, they probably wouldn't know any who.

Also...does anyone know of any careers that would maybe involve using technology out on the field, i want to use the technology and cordinate things or give positions, kind of like a radar operator but on the field, not in some base 200 k/m back from the action safe from everything.
reading this over i sound really nieve...and i cant spell and have absolutely no grammar skills but its been awhile sence school so i'd aprecciate a total lack of correcting me lol, thank you.
 
Well, if you're looking to join an army based on which has "cool" sounding music, or tough sounding vehicles, sure go with the Yanks.  You want to talk to them, check out the recruiting website for any of their 4 elements, they have a link to online chat with their recruiters.  I'll tell you exactly what they'll say though:  "you need a green card, and no we can't help you get it".

nobody here's gonna tell you what to do with your life.  the first step of being an adult is learning to make your own choices.  keep in mind though that if you had bad marks in school, and especially if (as your story suggests) you only have a grade 10 education, there's no way either country will hire you as a pilot.
 
oh yea, i understand that, theres no way possible im going to get anywere with out a minimum of a grade 12 diploma.
 
48Highlander said:
Well, if you're looking to join an army based on which has "cool" sounding music, or tough sounding vehicles, sure go with the Yanks.   You want to talk to them, check out the recruiting website for any of their 4 elements, they have a link to online chat with their recruiters.   I'll tell you exactly what they'll say though:   "you need a green card, and no we can't help you get it".

nobody here's gonna tell you what to do with your life.   the first step of being an adult is learning to make your own choices.   keep in mind though that if you had bad marks in school, and especially if (as your story suggests) you only have a grade 10 education, there's no way either country will hire you as a pilot.

Yeah hes right... at the end of the day, make up your own mind and stay true to what you want to do...

(And in the U.S. they have 5 elements :p)
 
It all depends what you want to do. In Canada we are trained on every weapon and various qualifications. In the U. S., if your a TOW gunner then you're a TOW gunner. The plus side they are constantly upgrading their military, now does that make it better, who knows?
 
Good luck getting your green card is all I'm saying...
UBIQUE!
A Mari Usque Admare :cdn:

P.S Find out what you wanna do then see which army you perfer has the best position for you, find an actual job title instead of "radar field army guy?"
 
ksharpxx said:
Im Canadian, nobody in my family is American but ive always loved the usmc or the airforce...i must have at least 40+ USMC Cadance's that i play tennis to, it just give me a wierd feeling of..this may sound corney but a feeling that im more of a man sort of speak...

Okay, who is this - seriously.  This shit is the funniest fucking stuff I've seen in ages.  Is this KevinB or somebody?

Kid, if you aren't American and don't have American parents, than don't worry about flying F-22's, cause it's not gonna happen.

Other than that, quit while you're behind and read more, talk less.


 
Hey, I'm currently a 16 year old student going into grade 11 this September and iv been thinking about a career path for a very long time and things like computer tech, animators, programmers, designers. as i have alot of experience with computers already ive just always assumed id end up with a desk job... but i really do not want to live my life like that. i need exitement and I belive the only thing that could give me that is the military.
being facinated with the way the military works, the rules, the order, the professionalisim and the stabilization of a career that one would get if allowed into the military..i couldn't think of anything better.

now hears the problem. American or canadian?
Im Canadian, nobody in my family is American but ive always loved the usmc or the airforce...i must have at least 40+ USMC Cadance's that i play tennis to, it just give me a wierd feeling of..this may sound corney but a feeling that im more of a man sort of speak...

carrer wise though, being a pilot would be the best job i could d... but i im currently in the applied stream of highschool, for those of you who dont know, theres two levels applied which is basic and academic which is more of the advanced level. technically for people who plan to go to univeristy...my dad said that the canadian millitary paid for him to go on a course to move him up to the harder level of education im not sure what it was called when he took it but...its quite challenging in these academic classes. i've taken and passed the academic history and science classes. so i can do it im just realizing it too late and the schools wont let me move up unless i recived good marks in grade 9 and i had no motivation in grade 9..or 10 really.

More back to the point. the Canadian millitary simply doesn't have the money to aquire what i want to do,like fly a beautiful F-15 or a sexy F/A-22 Raptor, heck all air force aside just look at the m1a2 that things a beast, all the candians have are old versions of the lav and we name our things the beaver or the couger lol, "ok send those troops of beavers in to fight the abrams" that just sounds like a matyrs job.

Everything the American millitary has, i want, even the look and reputation is the best in the world...but then i think..heck why join and help the Americans i-am-canadian i should help my country and be more patriotic right? well I'm at a dead end here and could use some advice really..I'm not sure what to do, if i went the American way im not sure if they would accept a Canadian education or if i would have to take some college course in America to prove my intelligence level to be that of an American...well thats not the hard part lol.  on top of that i'd have to end up getting a citizenship and im not sure about their rules for that, theres no American embessy near me that i could ask either and im almost afraid to ask a Canadian recruiter questions about joining the American millitary, they probably wouldn't know any who.

Also...does anyone know of any careers that would maybe involve using technology out on the field, i want to use the technology and cordinate things or give positions, kind of like a radar operator but on the field, not in some base 200 k/m back from the action safe from everything.
reading this over i sound really nieve...and i cant spell and have absolutely no grammar skills but its been awhile sence school so i'd aprecciate a total lack of correcting me lol, thank you.

For your last portion you might be interested in 215 Signal Operator.

I think you should go to the CFRC and ask them questions on what job you want.
 
More back to the point. the Canadian millitary simply doesn't have the money to aquire what i want to do,like fly a beautiful F-15 or a sexy F/A-22 Raptor, heck all air force aside just look at the m1a2 that things a beast, all the candians have are old versions of the lav and we name our things the beaver or the couger lol, "ok send those troops of beavers in to fight the abrams" that just sounds like a matyrs job.

Look into the military a bit more then... we dont "just" have old versions of the LAV, we have plenty of new equipment, and we've also got tanks which have managed to put up quite a decent competition when faced with the Abrams. We've got more than just IFVs.
 
Wow, what a bad attitude to take to the CF. Seriously, with an attitude like that, I'm not so sure you'd even get past BMQ. Theres a lot more to an armed force than just its equipment. Technology does not a good soldier make. And as Infanteer pointed out, if you're not American, forget the F-22s. This thread is good for a laugh though.
 
I'm not sure whether to take this post seriously or not, but since I know there's lots of people debating between the Canadian and US militaries, I'll go ahead and share some of the information I've learned in my research. My sources are primarily some discussion with PJ D-Dog, a recruiting appointment and follow up discussions with a USMC recruiter in Vermont, and the following websites:

http://www.military.com/
http://www.marines.com/
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/

Disclaimer: I was only interested in the USMC, so some of this information may not apply to other branches of the US military.

If you're not already an American citizen or legal resident of the United States, the major obstacle is going to be getting a green card (aka becoming a resident alien). If you're of at least 50% Native American descent, you can bypass this requirement and go straight to the recruiters under the provisions of the J-Treaty. Otherwise, your options are to be sponsored by an immediate family member (spouse, father, mother, or sibling) who is already a US citizen or to be sponsored by a US company for employment in the States. The US military does NOT sponsor people for residency though, so that's not really an option for most people, and the family route isn't much better. Either way, if you're lucky enough to be able to apply for residency at all, it's a safe bet to count on the process taking a good 6-12 months on average.

You can start the enlistment process once you've established a permanent residence in the United States and have your green card. This is apparently very quick and straightforward compared to what we go through up here, but there are a few catches non-Americans need to be aware of. Most importantly, you MUST be a US citizen to be an officer and also to be eligible for any level of security clearance. This means your trade options are going to be extremely limited initially. Here's a list of what's open to resident aliens in the USMC:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjo2/a/noncitizen.htm

On the upside, the naturalization process is expediated for resident aliens serving in the military, so you will be eligible for citizenship after serving one year. This will open up a lot of options if you decide to continue with a career in the US military. You still need to be careful with security clearances though. If your end goal involves anything requiring a Top Secret or higher security clearance, it will be next to impossible to get as one of the requirements is that you and ALL immediate family members be US citizens. This rules out some trades entirely (ie. int and sigint) and may limit (??) how far up you can rise in rank.

For ksharpxx in particular, it sounds like the areas you're most interested in are pilot, Data Systems, or Command and Control Systems. I haven't looked into pilot much, so I'm not sure what sort of security clearance you'd need for that, but you'll definitely need to be an officer. Which means you'll have to enlist in another trade first, become a US citizen, and then try to commission and get into flight school later on. You will also require a university degree to become an officer. Data Systems and Command and Control Systems trades all require Secret level security clearances, so again, you'll have to enlist in another trade first, become a US citizen, and then try to make a lateral move later on.

Some other misc useful bits of information about the US military:

- there are maximum ages for enlistment, varies by branch
- maximum age to commission as an officer is 30, varies by program
- women are restricted from certain trades (not just combat arms), varies by branch
- enlisting is an 8 year commitment minimum
- there are various enlistment options, 4 years active duty and 4 years reserve tends to be the standard

All the information here is as accurate as I can recall and I've tried to double check it against the references I posted above where possible. Please feel free to make corrections or additions as necessary. =)
 
MANY thanks kas, that should be made a sticky as it would clear up A LOT of grey garbage on this site.
 
I must say, thankyou very much, that information was very useful, Ive just done about three hours of reading on the marines and Getting a greencard, citizenship, duel citizenship and such. i have a very good close American friend whom were speaking of marriage so, i think what i may do is at 17 join the Canadian reserves and when 18 marry my American girlfriend and apply for a greencard. once i become a residential alien i can apply for the marines and later on apply for citizenship.

while in highschool i think it would also be useful to take as many united states history classes as available to me.

again i thank you for getting me started, now to find us embassy near me. this is going to be a pain lol.
 
I honestly don't see how flying a plane will be sexy. 

kas,

Great post.  Got a good name for it?
 
I don't, but it would probably go better in the Foreign Militaries forum along with all the other "joining foreign militaries" threads. I'd be interested in hearing what some of the Marine contributors on the site have to say about the conclusions I've reached, particularly in regards to security clearance issues at higher ranks and how long the immigration process really takes... the more I think about it, the more I feel like I'm perhaps being overly optimistic with my 6-12 months ballpark figure.
 
You can also get into the American military as an illegal alien since recruiters have quotas to fill and have been known to in the past recruit anybody they can, wherever they can, including illegal aliens.
 
It's possible you might be able to slip into the system without the proper residency or citizenship paperwork, but stuff like that tends to come back to haunt you later on. If you're wanting to make a career in the military, I wouldn't recommend trying it.
 
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