Personal experience: what are the benefits to our immigrants of military service in the US - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
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Personal experience: what are the benefits to our immigrants of military service in the United States

Я служу в Национальной гвардии штата Иллинойс, я — 25A Signal Second Lieutenant. В Иллинойсе нас, русскоговорящих, служит больше 20 человек, у нас тут своя комьюнити и куча связей.

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So, I came to the USA in 2016 when I won the green card. Then I was 30 years old. All my life I worked in the field of IT. Once I decided to change my life, try something new and go to serve. Considering options for AirForce, Army, Navy, Marines take up to 27 years. I read about benifits back in Russia, the main motivator for me was the opportunity to obtain citizenship and learn a language.

When you go to the army / airforce / navy with a green card, most professions are closed to you. Since you are not a citizen and you still cannot be trusted with state secrets, you do not have Security Clearance. Thus, immigrants are generally available to professions such as mechanics, logisticians, infantry, there are a couple of medical, drivers, etc. This is a little offensive, but "it is what it is." I began to study this issue, found people who already serve.

В теории профессию в армии можно менять, и даже по несколько раз. Проблема в том, что в Active duty, независимо от подразделения, вам не дадут это сделать по крайней мере до завершения вашего конракта. Новый можно переподписать на новую профессию, старый — нет, а это 4 года.

AirForce takes only if the green card is 10 years old. They take into the army, even for two years, and even if it is almost over. This is suitable for those who have had a marriage, and something has not grown together. We had a case when a guy was recorded and sent to the army, when two weeks remained before the expiration of his temporary green card. The guy is already a citizen.

I planned to go to the reserve and somehow accidentally discovered the National Guard. This is better than a reserve, the national guard, at least in our state (it all depends on the state) pays for 4 years of the university, and there are any professions in the guard. And in reserve, for example, only support jobs.

On the subject: US citizenship through military service: what you need to know about this opportunity

In the guard, if the soul wants, you can go to special forces. Another point is that in the guard the main part of the contract needs to be served 2 days a month. It works like this: sign a contract, wait 30-120 days until you are sent to basic training, during these 30-120 days you go 1-4 times to the army kindergarten (RSP Program), where you will be taught the basics so that you don’t get too dumb in basic.

Едете в Basic на 10 недель, живете в казарме по 60-70 человек, девочки — отдельно, мальчики — отдельно. Бегаете с автоматом, кстати, для того, кому актуально, во время тренировок можно хорошо сбросить вес. После Basic training едете в свою техническую школу на 7-20 недель в зависимости от профессии. Там живете как в университетском общежитии, комнаты по 2-3 человека. Зарядка, дисциплина, ходите строем в форме. Вас там реально учат и очень хорошо. Любое армейское образование приравнивается к гражданскому, в армии можно стать даже медсестрой (nurse). И самое главное — вам за это еще и платят. Вы учитесь, живете и получаете зарплату.

Закончили техшколу – возвращаетесь в свой штат и служите 2 дня в месяц в части, расположенной не дальше, чем в 50 милях от дома. Расписание дают на год вперед, за границу можно выезжать. Армию вообще не волнует, что вы делаете остальные 28 дней в месяц. Главное — чтобы в нужный день и в нужное время вы были на базе.

Salary: if you serve 2 days a month as an ordinary, you get about $ 200. Do you know languages? For this, the army is also ready to pay. They pay for Russian, Uzbek, Tajik, Azerbaijani, Chinese ... There is a whole list, however, it is changed every year. Surcharge up to $ 500. If you study at a university, then the guard also pays a scholarship of up to $ 700.

Here is an example of my case: I get $ 1000 for languages, $ 500 for a lieutenant’s salary, and $ 300 for studying. $ 1800 for 2 days. If you serve full time (for example, time at basic, technical school or if you are mobilized by order, then for privates in Illinois it is approximately $ 4000 after taxes, as an officer I have $ 6400 per month).

National Guard pays for studies at any state university or state college. If you sign a contract for 3 years, then 2 years of university, if a contract for 6 years (or 120 credit hours) then 4 years of university, plus they give GI Bill.

Regarding business trips to hot spots: да, это армия. Да, это возможно. Но есть ряд правил, которые работают везде. Выбирая профессию, нужно об этом помнить. Вот пошли вы в пехоту/артиллерию — вероятность уехать у вас резко возрастает, в среднем пехотные части отправляют в горячие точки раз в 6-7 лет, у них есть расписание.

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Пошли вы логистом, механиком, доктором – вероятность резко падает. Да и если вас отправят, ваша работа там — не бегать с автоматом и щемить бородатых парней, а чинить авто/вертолеты, выдавать вещи на складе.

Do you understand what I mean? Decided to be a cool rambo, the guard will give you this opportunity. Guard is also sent to hot spots much less frequently than Army Reserve or AirForce reserve. This is statistics. If you go to active duty, then for the first 4 years, be prepared to spend 9-20 months in another country. This is also statistics.

The Guard is most often used to solve local problems of the state / country (natural disasters, riots, etc.) and as a reserve in the event of a third world war. During World War II, 65% of the soldiers were guards.

Еще один момент о гвардии и профессии. Если у вас есть мечта стать адвокатом, пилотом, айтишником и т.д., то гвардия — вариант для вас. После того, как вы станете гражданином, вы можете перевестись. Это работает только в гвардии. Для примера: я был 88М водитель трака (кстати водительское удостоверение получил в DMV как военный, без экзаменов, просто предоставив армейские документы), а после того, как стал гражданином, пошел в военную академию и стал офицером.

You could just change your profession. When you change your profession, you are again sent to a technical school and again paid a full time salary while you study there. The strategy is this: go to the guard, choose a simple profession, get citizenship and then change it.

The smaller the unit, the more difficult it is to change the profession, and the more people want to go. This applies to AirForce or Navy. If you decide to go there, go only with citizenship. The army has more opportunities, and career advancement is faster.

Now about citizenship: служба в армии гарантирует ускоренное гражданство. По инструкциям USCIS, нужно отслужить 180 дней active duty или год резерва. Для понимания — время в basic training и техшколе приравнивается к active duty, то есть если вы были в учебке 180 дней, то вам подпишут форму N426 там, и вы отправите документы на гражданство прямо из учебки.

If you have less than 180 days, then sign up one year after the contract. That is, if, for example, you are a logistician, signed a contract today, waited 120 days to send, 5 months were in training. Total it is already 9 months. Come back, wait another 3 months and send the documents. In fact, much simply depends on command, for example, in Illinois, documents are signed immediately upon return, without bureaucracy.

About the temporary green card: the army, unlike other branches, will take you as you are, including with a temporary green card. According to the rules, you must have it valid at the time of signing the contract for another 6 months. If less, then in theory you can make an extension for another 12-18 months. But here you need your own recruiter, just because no one will worry about you. Even if you divorced your husband / wife, go to the army, the army will make you citizenship.

What else can you get from the army:

  • English will improve. After basic traning, I began to understand even African-Americans from Alabama. Although before that I spoke very poorly and understood even worse. I went to the army with very poor English.
  • Depending on which profession you choose, accumulate about $ 20 thousand during the training.
  • In the army, you can get a profession with the license of an IT specialist, electrician, mechanic, helicopter mechanic, paramedic, construction engineer, you can make a CDL (commercial driver's license) without a school. In total, more than 100 professions.
  • At the end of the training it will be possible to go to the university for 4 years for free, plus they will pay for the courses (I’ll take CISCO CCNA and CompTIA Security + now).

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