Ne'Er Do Well
Copyright© 2016 by SW MO Hermit
Chapter 2
The third week of July, Garrett wandered into the local arcade and found a recruiter from the National Guard holding court, trying to convince the teenagers who hung around there to join. Garrett ignored him and his younger audience, moving instead to his favorite machine. It featured a soldier moving through a jungle on patrol. The object was to kill the enemy soldiers as they appeared and not hurt unarmed civilians or your buddies.
After Garrett played a couple of games, he noticed he had an audience. He turned, and the Sergeant said, “You’re pretty good at that game, son. Have you ever considered joining the Guard and learning the skills of patrolling for real? We can offer you a great deal right now. There is a signing bonus available for several specialties if you qualify, and you can earn money while training for any number of careers. After your initial training, you return home and spend the next 6 or 8 years attending meetings one weekend a month, as well as participating in a two-week summer camp every year. You get 4 days’ pay for the weekend meetings and full pay and allowances for the two weeks in the summer.”
“Yeah? And how much is this easy money? And how long do I have to be gone for this basic training I’ve heard you talking about?”
“Well, son, your pay is based on several things. Everyone enters as a Private, E-1, unless they have some civilian education above high school, in which case they can enter as high as a Private First Class (PFC), which is an E-3. Did you finish high school? And if you did, do you have any college credits now?”
“Yeah, I have 60 semester hours of college now. I’ve been attending the local Community College and have just received an Associate’s degree in construction technology. I’ll have to go to the 4-year college next semester if I want to keep going.”
“Great! We can probably get you signed up as a PFC then, and you’ll make some good money right off the bat. You could start at approximately $ 1,700 per month during Basic and Advanced training, plus housing and subsistence allowances. While you lived in the barracks and ate at the mess hall, you wouldn’t receive housing and subsistence. If you lived off-post, you would get them in addition to your base pay.
“After you come back home, you will receive about $258.00 a month for each weekend and $903.00 for your two weeks in the summer. That’s pretty good pay for hanging with a bunch of great guys and serving your country.”
Something about the sales pitch got to Garrett. Or maybe he was just pissed enough at his mother he decided to get away for a while. Whatever caused him to make the decision is unknown, but he said, “You know, I think I’ll do it. Gramps and I have talked about the army before, and he thinks it’s a good deal.”
“Great. I have my papers in the car outside, if you’d like to come with me. We can get started today, then. When I have your appointments made for the tests and physical, I’ll take you to them. If you pass, we’ll get you a report date and you’ll be all set. Until you report for Basic, you’ll join your unit for the monthly meetings, but won’t be eligible to deploy if they are called up.”
Garrett’s test (ASVAB—a test to determine his ability to perform various jobs in the military, which helps place him in a Military Occupational Specialty or MOS) went exceedingly well. He was a prime physical specimen, so the physical detected no problems either.
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