Good for you Abby! I hope basic is treating you well and I’m excited for you to get to AIT. The easiest thing to tell people I think, is that Army Bands Officers (and Warrant Officer) are conductors primarily and that’s not what you want to do. If you want to play your horn, you have to be an enlisted Soldier and starting at E-6 or E-4 for that matter, as an Active Duty Soldier, where almost everything is provided to you and you get great benefits, is nothing to scoff at. The brand new E-6 special bandsmen just coming into one of the DC bands, for example, is going to be making around 68,000 per year if they have dependents because of the high housing allowance they get for that area of the country. How many places can you play your horn everyday for 68K plus healthcare, retirement, 30 days of leave per year, etc?
Thank you Abby for being vulnerable about your experiences. You seem to have grown from them and learned some life lessons. I can relate to your situation in joining the army for a very specialized field. I joined just out of high school to become a Russian linguist. I did four years, two in Europe, and I am so glad I did. And, had I joined as an officer, I would not have had the real world assignments and day to day mission that I did as enlisted. I eventually got my degree in Russian and went on to teach university level classes with my training. So, you are probably done with basic by now, or close to it. You seem very mature and will experience/learn things in the US Army that you will take with you for a lifetime, as I have. Best wishes to you and I look forward to checking out your other vids. (P.S. your hair is gorgeous!)
You go Abby. You’re going to love it. This is going to be a great growth experience for you. I’m 58 years old and while in college I thought about this too, but in the early 80 when I graduated college, women just started enlisting in the military and they had many problems being accepted... a lot of abuse stories in the news. My parents talked me out of it. By the way, I was a girl trumpet player the first girl in the brass section in high school and the first in the trumpet section in college. We lived in different times then...that’s why I’m so happy to see young ladies like you moving forward with your dreams where being a female is not a barrier anymore. Please keep sharing/telling us your stories and adventures. This old lady would love to see where it takes you. God speed, best of luck.
Good for you! I am getting ready to do the same thing. I have a Master's Degree in Math and I am getting ready to enlist. Hopefully, I will be headed to basic in 2 weeks and I will be going into 35w. I am really excited about going to DLI to learn a foreign language. I totally get it how other people are discouraging. I've stopped telling people what I am doing (including my parents and my father is a retired colonel). I've just been telling people I am moving to California in the summer and going on a long vacation before that. I'm sick of listening to everyone's opinion. I've been working as an adjunct math professor for 2 colleges and I just feel like I've hit the pinnacle of what I can be where I'm at. I have no desire to get a Ph.D. right now. I don't want to be an officer because I have my reasons that I shouldn't have to explain to anyone. I can't wait to see how it goes for you and I will definitely be following you.
I think I can relate to you, though I haven't finished my bachelor's in physics yet. Even though I can do the work and it's interesting information, I currently feel no pull towards the field nor the culture that surrounds academia and am not compelled to pursue physics further. After I get my degree I hope to enlist as a 35p. I hope it goes well for you!
I went and it didn’t go well. I am not in the army any more. I would make a video about it but I’m afraid I would get in trouble. I was in basic for six weeks, got Covid real bad, wasn’t getting treatment .... so I went AWOL. They try to make it sound like AWOL is bad but the process is really easy just don’t get caught by police in the interim. Take yourself to ft. Sill after you’ve been dropped from the rolls (usually when you’ve been await for 30 days). I got an other than honorable discharge which they told me I could easily get upgraded to general in 6 months. I will start a long term substitute teaching position in a few weeks. It’s been a wild ride.
@@K8_89 wow, that is a wild ride. Well you probably made better off now then being an E-4 in the Army. I enlisted with a Master Degree and it was “TOUGH” to say the least, being an older E4 in the Army. I commissioned as an Officer last year and love it.
Good luck to you. I went in the Army in 1985 and the only regret I have ever had was not staying in and retiring. I can totally relate to you, I too am a stress eater and my weight rises and falls like the tides. Stay positive, you'll do fine.
First off you made the right choice going into the military, ignore those that put you down about your decision they probably never served or don't have what it takes to serve in any of the branches. Good luck wish you the best during your BASIC and AIT.
Currently sitting in my hotel room waiting for meps tomorrow. So funny you mentioned Zack. I’ve performed with him in Hagerstown just within the last year.
Good for you! What an amazing story!! I can relate. I'm currently in the process of trying to get into Army OCS and it's been a long road of doing a lot of different things to get to this point. I have some people who have been so supportive and others who have not been so much. But I feel confident that I would do well and enjoy it. Whatever you put your mind to, I have no doubt with your mindset you will succeed in all you do. So glad you found this path and new passion!
Too fun!! I found your hair bun video and now I see you are a musician. YAY! I am a high school band director and am always mentioning military musician as an option to my students. Glad I found you!
Thanks for all the information about this path! I'm still only a junior in high school and I want to go more orchestral as a percussionist, but band is just as great and this is a very solid path to be able to perform everyday, solid income, and very great benefits without having to audition into one of the major orchestras right out of graduate school. I think being a professor is a great path to end up going into. But, personally, for me, I find way too often that, especially in music, professors can be really stuck up and lose sight of what's important in music. Not to say all professors are like that. Because there are really great professors that are very great at teaching. I just think it's unfortunate that so many professors end up being so inhuman and really not too great of teachers. It's one thing to say to a student that they just aren't ready for a doctoral program, but it's completely different to just tear a student down and give no feedback whatsoever. You definitely made the right choice!
Sorry for chiming in so long after your post but still want to say thanks for posting this. A good friend's son played saxophone in the Army. I hope anyone reading this who loves to perform considers this option. Officers are managers. It makes complete sense that you went in as enlisted because your goal was to perform.
Good for you Abby. I totally understand and agree with your decision. Mainly because I made the same decision when I joined. The difference is that I didn't have a master's degree when I joined, but I did test super high on my ASVAB test, especially my GT scores. They tried to get me to go to OCS, but I turned them down. I took a completely different path as an enlisted soldier, and I'm so glad that I did. The path I chose helped me to retire from the Army at the age of 35, and come out and enjoy a fulfilling career as a Computer Specialist. Nobody but you and God know what paths you need to take to have a successful, fulfilling, enjoyable life. Always continue to follow your own heart and mind through this journey called life. Trust me, it will take you the farthest. God bless.
You are awesome! It’s your life and you know what you’re doing! I am great full that an intelligent, articulate, and talented musician is representing the United States of America! Everyone in the military should be held in the highest regard!
I just wanted to say thank you for sharing! I’m enlisting at an older age with my BS in Anthropology. Your videos have been so helpful and encouraging!
This a very relatable story. I was raised a2 my whole life and just went to a university just because that was the norm. After the first year I dropped out and started to try and get into some trade work. Now I’m enlisted into the guard and leave in august. But still people close to me think I’m throwing way opportunities. I think people just don’t get how great of a door opener the army is. Good luck at basic hopefully everything goes well
I really want to enlist but i am obese. 205lbs at 5'5. I see your story and i know it's possible but i just feel like such a failure. I am young, 22, and i can't even loose weight. I'm always so fatigued 24/7. It doesn't matter if i sleep right amd eat right i get so so tired all the time. Since i was 15 and got depressed. Sadly i don't see any light at the end of the tunnel for me. I wish i could. Everyone says i can if i just try harder of i just have discipline if i just wanted hard enough but i do. I do. But sadly i can't. I get so happy when i see ex obese people making it and living their dreams. You go girl.
You CAN do anything you want to and you can lose the weight. It’s all about small changes, but I’m sure you know that. I definitely am a tired person too. My body requires a lot of rest, some of us just need more sleep than others. 🤷🏻♀️ you can teach yourself discipline and lead a healthier lifestyle. Message me on Instagram, @abgetsfab, if you have any questions or want any tips on how I changed up my diet and daily routine.
Great for you Abbey. It's now Nov. 2020 & hopefully you'll be assigned to Ft. Sam Houston here in TX. I would love to see you and knowing that perhaps you auditioned and because of masters degree you skipped the school of music and went straight to a base band. Hope everything is working out for you. God bless you....
Thinking of joining. Never thought to join as a musician since my instrument is orchestral and I haven’t seen quite that option. I play viola, but I’ve seen band is more common there I think I will practice hard to audition to be in the band. (I also play drums). I’ve got two years left of studies hopefully then I won’t change my mind.
I had a degree in Biology when I enlisted 17 years ago, and no student loans, but can you explain how much student loans you had before enlisting and how much of that is the Army taking care of? Back then it was I think up to 50K I believe. And if you get E4 and E5 ranks in the first few years of the Army life, your pay is going to be quite low, it will be difficult to keep paying for student loans. I was just curious to see what type of deal the army was offering for people with high level of education these days? And good luck with the rest of your career.
Good for you! I often thought that would be a great gig :) I always loved drums but never thought of joining h.s. band to learn!!? An old saying: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." God does course correct when necessary.
He sure does. My fiancé and I joke all the time about how semi-pointless it is for us to talk through the many different paths our lives can go when it’s all in His hands.
I am not sure about that, I left the Army 5 years go, but it all depends of the promotion points required for that particular MOS, and I don't think the Army has changed that much in 5 years
This is so informative- thank you!!! I did tell my students about the competitive side of the upper level bands. If I have a student joining the military and want to be a bandsmen then can their service be solely as a musician and take up their time in the Armed Forces? Or does the military require them in other areas too?
Marcus Rieta most likely not. Not trying to burst your bubble, just being honest. A while back the band as given its own recruiters and they spend most of their time auditioning college music grads and I know some instruments have a waiting list to get in. What you might want to do out of high school is contact a National Guard or Reserve band and see what openings they have. Still lots of good benefits and you can get some playing experience.
