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Nerds in the Air Force?
Renraku asks: "I know that I am considering joining the U.S. Air Force and going with their networking course. I saw in a story the other day how several people answered with comments about their own life in the Air Force, in the line of work I would be doing. Does anyone have any stories, or tips for surviving basic / tech school / Air Force life in general?"
One less soldier is one step closer to peace.
I don't think that post should be considered flamebait, however the moderator is probably some conservative yuppy who likes guns.
That's all we need is more people to join to corporate killing machine known as "The United States of America"
*This* post is flamebait. Thanks.
It's clear that the Navy/Air Force et all are actively recruiting those of a geekish persuasion. The America's Army game appears to be but the tip of the iceberg.
Yesterday, I saw a commercial for the Navy, I believe, featuring a kid growing up through the years playing with increasingly sophisticated model/remote control planes, the final shot being the (now) man controlling an UAV in front of a monitor with a keyboard/joystick combo. The tag Line? "We've been waiting for you."
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
Wecome to the deep south. Well, maybe not. If you go into the Communications Computer Systems Operator career field, you could end up anywhere - Guam, Turkey, even California. Operators go everywhere. Programmers - the enlisted programmer career track at least - usually end up in Nebraska, Boston, or Montgomery, Alabama.
It aint bad. I had a worthwhile time in the Air Force, and a wonderful pay raise when I got out. The experience was valuable. Just be sure that if you enlist, your enlistment contract guarantees that you'll get the career field you want.
Recruiters lie. Lots.
--Former Senior Airman J Pitts, Standard Systems Group, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Proud TIB 95/97 Prior.
meh.
you'd join the Marines, heh.
"Gunny, what do I do with this here 'Ethernet' thing-a-ma-bob?"
"That's easy, son - if you can't eat it or f*** it, piss on it."
I don't know if you've considering doing ROTC in college. I went to a good private college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and it was definitely one of the best decisions I've made. You have to wake up at ungodly hours a few times a week and spend a month at field training one summer, but you also get a college degree and graduate as an officer.
There are many of these scholarships available and most of them are for people interested in technical majors. If you're talking to a recruiter, ask them about it before deciding to enlist!
i was working on nukes, so i can't tell you exactly to expect from your particular tech school. but i can back up a previous post:
get your career in writing. my recruiter was incredibly honest, but i've heard some real horror stories about how recruiters can dick people over.
other than that, be able to run a few miles, do (i think) 30 pushups and situps, and clear your mind. basic training is a giant head game. remember that training instructors can't physically harm you, but they do have some extraordinary tricks up their sleeves when it comes to how to screw with your noodle.
do not volunteer for anything in those crucial first 48 hours. and by volunteering, i mean don't answer any questions directed at your flight that seem to come from nowhere. don't raise your hand and say you like bowling. don't claim that you joined to get some exercise. don't nuthin.
true, i'm a former airman. but i have no regrets about the 4 years i was in. i had a whole lot of fun and met people i would never have even looked twice at in the real world.
All other disadvantages of enlisting with the Air Force aside, keep in mind that the true purpose of the Air Force is to serve as a military force. This means that you will have to make yourself comfortable with the possibility that you will, either indirectly or directly, be responsible for the deaths of other people.
There are many ways to learn networking. Going through the Air Force may be free (and will no doubt use the latest and greatest technology), but in my opinion it is much more costly.
Karma: Chevy Kavalierma.
Maybe I should join the Marines.....
as a peacenik myself, this is not a flame. i've often thought that a politician with a more doveish line would have more clout if s/he was a former military officer or enlistee. the current president and most of his top policy makers don't have real backgrounds in the regular military (the exceptions being colin powell, who is not thought to have bush's ear on policy issues, and donald rumsfeld, who served a brief stint in the air force). a liberal like john kerry with real combat experience can serve as a contrast to the stay-at-home, daddy-got-me-a-national-guard slot like bush or quayle.
jf
>I know that I am considering joining the U.S. Air Force and going with their networking course.
Are you sure? That's just what they want you to think you know.
Your favorite
A geek 30,000 feet in the sky, frantically looking for a ghost disk(bootleg), just to find it, insert it and get a CRC disk error. Now that's no place for a geek.
In upgrading
One day, you're a kid playing with toy remote control airplanes, and shooting at friends online with America's Army...
A few years later, you're a soldier accidently blowing up wedding parties with the Predator remote-control aircraft, and your friends just massacered a village in Mexico while trying to supress a Zapitista revolt...
We've been waiting for you
You forgot to answer a question....
"Shouldn't we be asking ourselves why so many groups around the world hate the United States and want to bring harm to us?" Let's face it, if no one disliked us, a military job would probably be about as safe as they come
Like so many in the military field, you sidestepped the question...
Many people in the world hate us because our military has been used to bring harm to them, under dubious ethical circumstances...
In upgrading the graphics systems for generating real-time and excercise data, you helped the military kill more and faster then ever.
It's still killing, just killing more effeciently...
"You have to kill, or pay someone to kill for you."
Sounds like the fucking Chevron/Exxon/Enron corporate motto....
I work at the Air Force Recruiting Center in the database shop. It is a pretty nice place to work. I was never in the military (I'm a contractor), but about half of the people I work with are, and a good chunk of the contractors are ex-military.
The Air Force offers a great opportunity in IT that few companies will offer, because they expect to fill entry level positions and they understand that they need to offer training. There are all varieties of systems at the Air Force, so there is no shortage of interesting technical problems to solve. One nice thing is that they do take computer security seriously, although that can also be a pain in the ass sometimes.
How well you deal with basic military training (BMT) depends on you. There is a certain level of physical fitness and humility that you need to have. They simply will not put up with your crap, so don't try to pull anything. BMT doesn't last all that long in the big picutre, so I wouldn't worry too much about that -- the big question is what comes after that, where will you work, and what will you do.
I was very surprised to learn what now seems obvious: the people in the military are just people. Some are very cool and a few are jerks. Contrary to Hollywood images, they don't shout orders at each other all day. I'm most impressed with the senior NCO's. There really are some outstanding people in the enlisted leadership positions. I work with a couple E-9's who I am very impressed with.
From his autobiography, The World As I See It:
"...the military system, which I abhor. That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed. This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism by order, senseless violence, and all the pestilent nonsense that does by the name of patriotism--how I hate them! War seems to me a mean, contempible thing: I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such an abominable business." --Albert Einstein
And you better believe I quote that EVERY time a military recruiter calls me up (the joys of a being a high school senior). It's great to here the responses too: "oh really? uhh well....do you know any friends who might be interested in joining?"
Don't take anything to basic besides a change or two of clothes that you don't care about. (The storage facilities at Lackland have been known to leak - mildew city!). ;) ;) ;) Tossing a spare flashlight in it doesn't hurt either (again, there's a reason).
Make sure nothing you wear or have on your body stands out. If you have long hair cut it, but don't get a crewcut or any other military cut. (If you have a military cut now let it grow out). If you have tattoos wear clothing which will conceal them. Remove any and all jewelry (studs, ear-rings, watches, chains etc. etc.). Shave.
A trick for making your t-shirts neat - stack with the largest on the bottom, graduated to the smallest on top (you'll see what I mean). Then, iron the SIDES of the stack. Voila', perfect t-shirt stack. If you get the choice of a bunk, take the top one. It's easier to make and TI's won't hassle you as much at night (they like to be looming over you when you wake up). Reach under the frame between the wires to pull the sheets extra tight...
You'll probably be shown all sorts of tricks for getting your boots shinier (using a lighter, alcohol, heel-and-sole dressing etc.) None of them help and some will actually damage your boots (esp. the alcohol). The trick is to put only a little bit of polish on them, then let them sit for awhile and dry before you wipe and buff. And Nev'r'dull does wonders for belt-buckles (steal a teeny-tiny bit while you're on a cleaning detail).
If you can paint and keep your clothes clean doing it, then volunteer for the painting detail, everybody else'll be doing calisthenics in the sun.
Also, DO volunteer for KP (Kitchen Patrol), especially if your TI is a hard-ass. The first couple of weeks you don't get much time to eat. The kitchen crew will let you have extra food.
Make sure your M-16 is set to single-shot when you go to the firing range. The instructor there may be a dick and switch it to full-auto as he's handing it to you. You do NOT get another clip.
You'll get MRE's to eat that day. Chicken and turkey are good, some of the others are downright evil.
Wanna mess with the newbies minds when you get dorm-guard duty for another dorm? The caps on the bed posts are sometimes loose. Pull two of them off and click them together, sounds just like a TI's taps. (No, I didn't do that, it's cruel, and hell to pay if you're caught.)
When you get out of Basic, force yourself not to eat as
much. You'll be in the same eating mode, but your exercise level will have dropped to about one twentieth. I put on 25 pounds in about two weeks when I got out, then looked in a mirror and said "Damn!". Took me
over a month at the gym to get rid of it.
Also, buy the Samsonite briefcase at the BX. They're the toughest, and that may come in handy (you'll
find out why...
Other than that military life is nothing like civilian life but some people love it. I thought it sucked, and not in a good way! But I survived and got a good job offer when I got out to go with my GI bill. For a young person with few skills/education and/or lack of discipline (I was all of the above) it's probably the best choice you could make.
Enjoy!
Make sure you are physically ready for basic training. Run, pushups, situps, pullups at least a few times a week. The primary aim of this is to prepare your body for the stress of basic. I saw too many people turn up that obviously hadn't done any running prior in the lead up to basic and many of them developed injuries and/or had a much tougher time than they would have anyway. Other than that just take basic as it comes, go with the flow, try not to stick out and and draw attention to yourself and it should be a valuable and worthwhile experience.
I am a Airforce brat. I am now 26, the first 22 of those years was spent with my father, a retired enlisted man who retired here in the great state of Alabama (I love it here). He was in space command in Colorado and the Senior NCO Academy in Montgomery. He helped put up the GPS system, and wrote the training system in the late 70s for the enlisted space ops. We were stationed in Alabama and Falcon AFB in Colorado for most of my life. I lived on base in Colorado, South Dakota, Maine. Born in Rimini Italy.
I got a %100 on the ASVAB. The navy called constantly.
My dad retired as a Master Sgt. with a skill level 9 and gave me these words of wisdom....
Don't go in unless you go in as an officer.
Needless to say, I didn't join. I do NOT have a college education, only SOME vocational school in programming, and I now make about 3 times what a starting commissioned officer makes...even in this market.
It is worth it if you truly want to serve your country. When Sept 11th happened, I was ready to be drafted if necessary. I have still been thinking about joining the reserves.
It is worth enlisting if you want to just get training and only want one tour. I have worked with some guys straight outta the Air Force, and they do excellent work. (a lot of ADA, some Java, and I have even met a fellow Delphi developer).
It is worth it if you plan on putting in the 20 years. My father, now 40, is fully retired, and draws half his pay for the rest of his life, along with medical benefits. -- not bad once you add it all up -- and I don't care what they say Military medical care is vastly SUPERIOR to civilian care, based on personal experience.
For those that are passifists, I respect your right. I also respect the laws of nature.
I hope my ramblings help somewhat. Basically. All I am saying is that if you decide to go in, do it with a goal, keep any and all stereo types out of your head, keep an open mind, and learn.
~Sweet home Alabama...where the skies are so blue...~
I've only ever met three people with better ASVAB scores than my own. I am totally impressed! :)
:)
But to stay on-topic...
Somebody suggested the Navy. In a word - don't!
Nev'r'Dull also gets stubborn scuffs off the floor (along with the wax, unfortunately).
Don't lock your knees while standing (if you're careful you can actually flex them quite a bit without your pants moving; so nobody knows).
It's "reports", not "reporting".
And yes, get your AFSC (probably a 49xxx if they haven't changed them around too much) in writing from your recruiter. They're dying for techies so it shouldn't be a problem but ya never know...
And back to the parent post, being an officer is definitely better if you don't mind getting the degree first. (I wasn't cut out for school and needed the discipline so I didn't, ymmv). And I too am making several times as much as the officers now that I've been a civilian for the last decade...
I know that I am considering joining the U.S. Air Force
Son, you're fuckin' high.
At some point they will hand you some sort of rule book. Read it! At one time shorts were in the rule book as qualifing as full dress if you were in Hawaii, but nobody wore them until one person showed up at inspection and caught the inspector who didn't know that. (I don't know if this is a true story) I'm not sure if you want to be the one to inform the inspectors they don't know the rules, but you should know them anyway.
Everyone says don't volunteer for anything. This is not true, but make sure you know what you are volunteering for. My uncle volunteered for choir and discovered afterwords that choir practice was always when inspections were held. So long as things looked neat he wasn't held to the standards the rest of his dorm was held to. (He had a good voice though). The person on KP isn't doing exercise in the yard. Personally I'd rather weed the base garden than do a 5 mile run, even if the weeding job is inspected afterwards. When the sargent announces a 26 mile run, but there will be a truck for anyone who colapses on the way - well someone has to drive the truck.
Warning though, do not spend so much time avoiding the exercises that you can't do them. Get in shape before you go, and stay in shape. At some point you won't be able to get out of the drill, so make sure you are not below the rest of your class.
Finially, it is your life. Free advice is worth what you pay for it, I haven't been to boot camp, I'm only repeating stories from those who have. Still there are some useful nuggets in here, so don't waste them
unless they've recently changed the AFSC's you'll be a 3c031 when you leave tech school.
I spent four years babysitting 3c0's in base communication centers from New Mexico to Turkey then Arizona..
best advice..
1> Don't try to get stationed near your home for your first assignment. It almost never happens, so don't waste a slot on your dream sheet.
2> Volunteer for overseas. You'll be amazed how much fun you can have in a foreign land even when you don't speak the language. I highly reccomend Turkey. Very friendly locals, great food, excellent liquor, and 18 yr old drinking age. You also come away with great stories
3> Don't be a dorm rat! Get out and see whats out there, even if you are in North Dakota.
4> DO NOT (as in NEVER) think you're in love in tech school.. It can be a very high stress environment and I saw a few good people go down in flames for people they thought they loved only to be trampled on like some bad high school romance. Remeber, you may feel more responsible, it doesn't mean the people around you are.
5> when they're handing out your assignments at the end of tech school, and you have the option to trade, get on the DSN line at the school house and call your possible shop. Ask what they do. If the answer is "Comm Center Operator" or they mention running the MDT, try to swap with a less bright classmate. I saw brilliant potential admins turn into mush brained zombies after 8 hours in front of that damned MDT console.
6> when you have to page a technician because your stuff isn't working, be nice, we were probably asleep when you paged.
Patrick J Sliney, Former Senior Airman, Secure Communications System Journeyman (2e351), 49th Comm Squadron, Incirlik Airbase, Turkey
I've got lots more info for making life just a little better. email me at
slineyp (at ) hotmail (dot) com
BOHICA!
Striving to achieve a lower state of conciousness
Wow. Great advice. I'd add a few bits...
Do bring a large set of nail-clippers with you (not scissors, not a pocketknife - these will be considered dangerous and locked away). When you make it to your new bunk, you'll be faced with a lock still sealed in its stiff plastic packaging. You'll be tasked to open that puppy up quick while the TI paces around looking for someone having trouble with the task. Take your nail-clippers and clip a cut in to the side of the packaging. It'll make ripping open the package quick and easy.
Later on, those nail-clippers will come in handy while you're out and about and you notice a loose string you missed on your new BDUs. Strings seem to GROW on the things. And you don't want anybody to find one dangling off'a you. Take those nail-clippers everywhere with you except when you're out for PC.
KP is great. You loose some sleep to do it, but the work is stress-free. Plus you get to have meals unrushed or supervised by your TI. That usually means access to luxury foods like a cheeseburger, icecream, and soda. While it doesn't sounds like a big deal right now, consider that life is very different once you're there. You will come to consider a "patio break" (4 mins to spend your own money on a vending machine and wolf down some junkfood or possibly manage a call from a payphone) a great luxury.
If you do get KP, apply a thick layer of unbuffed shoe polish over your boots. It'll help protect the shine you've labored to create from MOST of the abuse your boots will get doing KP grunt work. A simple buffing will return your boots to most of their previous glory. A mirror-like shine can be accomplished with regular Kiwi, cottonballs, and a tiny bit of water (creme polish can add a nice touch but you want a good base first). Alchohol strips the polish - don't do that unless you've got a good reason to.
If you are required to fill out security background check paperwork, do not rush it. This paperwork tends to go in to considerable detail and you aren't expected to have all the required information available right away. Furthermore, only a few of your flight will need to do this and it'll come at a time in your training where you're trusted enough to go out on your own without TI supervision. This provides a couple of luxuries. You'll have plenty of quiet time to fill out paperwork and write letters to home. You will have unrestricted time at a payphone to call family, friends, etc. And when it is lunch time, you'll be taken to the nearest caffeteria - which if you're lucky, means another meal without your own TI to speed you along or restrict your diet (more cheeseburgers and soda). Security paperwork turned in to 3 days of relaxation for me without a comment from my TI.
At the foot of your bed will be a laundry bag. "Laundry" will consist of a set of dirty clothes and a set of clean clothes you will wear the following day. You will always refer to the contents as "laundry" and if pressed, claim that it is all dirty clothes. In reality, you will have several sets of clothes in your drawer that you have taken paintakingly carefull time to fold in to absolutely perfect squares (yes, underwear too). You will not wear these clothes (and will launder them once when you first get them), although you will keep them dusted so they don't actually appear to not ever be worn. When you leave Basic... you'll feel kinda funny about unfolding and wearing them the first time.
I completely agree on the briefcase - especially if your techschool is of any real length. My briefcase is actually in my closet somewhere. I've had it for 10+ years. The spare flashlight can be a lifesaver... though I never had one, myself.
Military life is indeed very different. You won't understand just how different until you experience it first-hand. You'll end up with an entire language and cultural identity that'll have your friends scratching their head in confusion when you go home on leave. Its not for everyone. But it was one of the best things I did (and a considerably tough decission to leave).
I got out of the Air Force in 1999 after 10 years in the career field you mentioned (3C0X1). The most important thing for you to remember is that in that job, you can work with anything that involves a computer. This means you might get a great position as a network security specialist or you might work as a telephone operator. Most likely you will start in the hell known as Base Comm Center. Basically, you will operate systems that process classified email. It is extremely boring and if you make a mistake, you get burned because you compromised national security.
And don't think that you can waltz in and impress the commander into giving you the network job because of your vast knowledge. Everyone in the 3C0X1 wants that job and you will be the lost ranking person. So guess what... back to the Comm Center.
Another thing about the 3C0X1 job is that they are needed at every single AF installation in the world. This is good and bad. If you want to travel around the world, you will like this. However... most of the time you don't get your choice. I put in for any East Coast base, and I got Germany. The next time, I put in for East Coast bases again and I got California. Neither assignment was what I wanted, but both turned out to be great.
And as far as assignments go... Don't just pick the base you want because of location. Find out what they do at the base. For example... If they have a Combat Communications Squadron, be prepared to spend 180 days a year away from home (do you like Kuwait at Christmas time?). Hint: Look for Space Command bases. For me, I was lucky and got Onizuka AS in California. I worked in a satellite mission control center. In addition to working on a ton of military space launches, I also worked on 33 space shuttle missions with NASA.
One last word of caution.... I know you probably aren't expecting the AF to beat a civilian job in terms of salary/benefits. But, be aware at how pitiful the benefits and pay really are. When I got out in 1999, I almost tripled my salary. A lot of the benefits the AF does have are shrinking and suck. Ask anyone in the military (besides a recruiter) about the medical benefits!
Anyway.... If you want some more insight... Email me at patrick@theNO-UNSOLICITATED-EMAILinfobox.com
I started in computers as computer operator for the USAF. Some people like, some people hate it, I hated it.
Remember, there is no easy way out. If you hate it, you are just screwed - for years.
Needless to say: those armed forces commercials make for light comedy for anybody who has actually been there.
GWB isn't killing off millions of innocent civilians based on their ethnicity.
Yeah, he got bored of doing that while he was Governor of Texas.
These are the pros and cons of my experience
Pros
- Don't have to be a poor graduate student
- Because you're being paid, you can concentrate on your studies/research and don't have to teach classes or work for a professor
- Lots of freedom and responsiblity -- my group was incredibly under staffed
- The AF typically has boat-loads of money to spend on technology and training
- You're serving your country
- Job security
- Slow pace
ConsMake sure your M-16 is set to single-shot when you go to the firing range. The instructor there may be a dick and switch it to full-auto as he's handing it to you.
Then call the instructor a cunt and report him.
Pulling a stunt like that with a newbie on a firing range is fucking dangerous and stupid.
Any instructor should switch the gun to safe between students, regardless that the barrel is pointing downrange.
(Unloading and showing clear any time the barral will be pointed anywhare other than down the range goes without saying.)
One less US Soldier is one step in the wrong direction. While any reasonably intelligent human would like nothing better than peace throughout the world, the fact remains that evil people and evil nations will always exist. There must be a powerful force of Good to fight that evil, and that force is the US Armed Forces. Amen.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
ok, i know it's possible to have kids a 14...
but also join the air force?
hrmmm
An electronic tech in the military learns to swap cards. A hull tech may learn to weld.
Join the military if you want an adventure, secondarily if you want to save for college. Do not join for the fantastic education. Think abbout it -- they want bodies and field maintenace, not wizards.
I never understood why the Navy dropped its slogan "It's not just a job, it's an adventure." If you want the college education fund from the GI bill and don't want an adventure, join the air force or army.
If you want that adventure, join the navy, go overseas. Talk to the recruiter, make him understand that you want two years in the Pacific and two years in the Med. On a ship. The rating only matters if it guarantees you four years on a ship. You will go places and see countries you will never get a chance to repeat, all on Uncle Sam's (that's us taxpayers) dime. I won't begrudge you using my tax money for your adventure in the slightest.
Infuriate left and right
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
-- John Stuart Mill
Having nothing for which you are willing to fight for is different than not wanting to fight because nothing is currently worth it.
If something threatened, my freedom to complain about how the government is run, and how they like to take our military all over the world to do things I don't like, etc, then I'd be willing to fight.
Need a Catering Connection
I only lasted 18 months before getting out with an honorable discharge because I told them I was so miserable I was going to kill myself..
However, I must say that even though everything you say is true and correct, the military was an excellent experience for me as a young man and one that I highly recommend all young people seriously consider.
It is a much needed transition from childhood to adulthood in this country that I do not think college adequately addresses.
I came out much more prepared to take on college and adulthood seriously and effectively than I would have had I not had the experience.
I was in the Navy, by the way..
mje0w!!!1!
What kind of crack have you been smoking and where did you get it? Tell your dealer he's been selling you shit that makes you fucking stupid.
While it's clear that US foreign policy is most often driven by economic factors (the price of oil, the cost of clothing and electronics, etc.), the case against Iraq is unfortunately pretty clear cut. Yes, the US made Saddam the successful monster he is today. But that doesn't mean that the correct path to take today is to meekly withdraw from the world stage because of that mistake, no matter how egregious it was.
Saddam has been proven to be developing weapons of mass distruction. Those include, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. When the UNSCOM inspectors left Iraq, it was clear that they had found and destroyed a lot of equipment used to further those ends and they seized a lot of documentation proving that the equipment they destroyed was being used for those ends. However, UNSCOM inspectors knew they weren't seeing everything and it's been several years since UNSCOM withdrew.
Saddam Hussein is a man who will clearly stop at nothing to achieve the level of power he desires. Yes, it's largely the US's fault he is where he is today. That means it's the US's responsibility to do everything possible to strip him of his power or to force him out.
Would the US prefer to use peaceable means to force Saddam out? Absolutely? Does the US relish the thought of killing more Iraqis? Absolutely not.
By the way, Hitler killed Jews, homosexuals and intellectuals by the millions and he did it on purpose. While the US war against terror will most likely end up killing some civilians, the US is doing everything it can to minimize the number of innocent non-combatants who are killed in military actions. That's a huge difference. The US tries to avoid killing civilians. Hitler went out of his way to kill civilians. If you can't see the magnitude of difference there, then you must have suffered some brain damage from a bad hit of whatever shit it is you smoke.
Military life is for those who want to serve and do want some education. Yes, we could get killed, but as a 3C0X1 (computer network person) in the Air Force - i will be the last of the people getting shot at. The Army, Navy, and the Marines will be ones getting shot at first.