Am I committed?

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njaqua

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I emailed my Letter of Intent stating I would accept the scholarship offer. However, I have signed nothing aside from the application documents and my application is still pending Sec. of Def. approval. Am I committed at this point or is there a final contract to sign and the official commissioning? ( i did do a ceremonial commissioning at an awards banquet but i was told this means nothing official).

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njaqua said:
I emailed my Letter of Intent stating I would accept the scholarship offer. However, I have signed nothing aside from the application documents and my application is still pending Sec. of Def. approval. Am I committed at this point or is there a final contract to sign and the official commissioning? ( i did do a ceremonial commissioning at an awards banquet but i was told this means nothing official).


I did the commissioning thing for AF dental a few months ago. I made sure that I was told by the head of HPSP that if I wasn't going to go through with everything that I could get out. Here's the deal. with AF dental i took the 4 year scholarship, then decided I was doing it for the wrong reasons, about three weeks after, I made my final decision, that I was not going to take it. Since they have not paid anything to my dental school, nor have i recieved any reimbursment, I just had to make one phone call and sign one paper to get out. I had to sign a few other things, and all in all I found out real fast how "important" I was to my recruiter, because literally as soon as I signed the decommissioning papers, he would not answer any of my calls or emails. Real A$$. I hope you make the decision that is right for you and good luck.
 
njaqua said:
I emailed my Letter of Intent stating I would accept the scholarship offer. However, I have signed nothing aside from the application documents and my application is still pending Sec. of Def. approval. Am I committed at this point or is there a final contract to sign and the official commissioning? ( i did do a ceremonial commissioning at an awards banquet but i was told this means nothing official).

If you are having any doubts, do not sign anything else. You have not been commissioned yet, and haven't recieved any money (right?). You will probably be given a huge guilt trip from your recruiter, but I would stick to your guns. I think you should be OK.
 
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You stand by the flag, raise your hand, and take the oath ?
Did you sign the oath of office form ?

If not, I can't see how you could be a commissioned officer.
 
chopper said:
If you are having any doubts, do not sign anything else. You have not been commissioned yet, and haven't recieved any money (right?). You will probably be given a huge guilt trip from your recruiter, but I would stick to your guns. I think you should be OK.
the only money I will have received is a reimbursement for gas mileage for traveling a couple hundred miles for the aforementioned army awards banquet. should i not cash this check?
 
njaqua said:
Am I committed at this point ...

Doesn't sound like it.
 
They way things are going, and they dirty way they are playing these days, that maybe the most expensive tank of gas you ever put in your car. Don't cash the check. Besides, it's the honorable thing to do.

Sound paranoid ? They're trying to charge dead guys for burned up body armor. Does that tell you anything about how these guys operate ?



njaqua said:
the only money I will have received is a reimbursement for gas mileage for traveling a couple hundred miles for the aforementioned army awards banquet. should i not cash this check?
 
alpha62 said:
They way things are going, and they dirty way they are playing these days, that maybe the most expensive tank of gas you ever put in your car. Don't cash the check. Besides, it's the honorable thing to do.

Sound paranoid ? They're trying to charge dead guys for burned up body armor. Does that tell you anything about how these guys operate ?

I think you are being a bit over-dramatic there. Charging dead guys (or those who are wounded and lost the equipment as part of operation) for burned up body armor is I believe more a symptom of incompetence or lack of information flow in the supply chain. Some quartermaster needs to be able to account for things, and without the right information, he does what he always does. Makes a very dramatic 'story of the week' no national news, but I don't think its some big consipiracy to save a few hundred bucks here and there.

But you WILL get the hard sell from the recruiter if you try to pull out now. He will do everything he can to get you to sign. Whatever you do at this point, don't sign or take anything else from him. If he tries to tell you that you are going to jail or something, talk to a lawyer and find out your options. Recruiters have been known to do very sleazy things to nab a recruit (esp with young enlisted). Take what he says with a massive grain of salt.
 
njaqua said:
the only money I will have received is a reimbursement for gas mileage for traveling a couple hundred miles for the aforementioned army awards banquet. should i not cash this check?


With AF you don't even need to talk to your recruiter to withdraw. If your recruiter is giving you a hard time, GO AROUND him if possible. Talk to the HPSP person in command of your regional unit, whom is most likely a major or higher rank. Good luck.
 
i would sit down and write a letter to your recruiter, and CC copy to HPSP office, that you wish to withdraw, and that you have no interest in completing an oath of office. the military runs on paper, and you gotta write a letter for a paper trail to be created. get yourself a lawyer if you run into problems. don't cash any checks.

you're making the right decision.

xTNS
 
Incompetence and lack of info flow is the kind of plausible deniability they've been using to their advantage since the Gulf of Tonkin.

I wouldn't say it's a conspiracy, as much as the path of least resistance. This is one of the habits of highly effective REMFs in which one can find themselves at the mercy of. It's all about their quality of life, not yours.


chopper said:
I think you are being a bit over-dramatic there. Charging dead guys (or those who are wounded and lost the equipment as part of operation) for burned up body armor is I believe more a symptom of incompetence or lack of information flow in the supply chain. Some quartermaster needs to be able to account for things, and without the right information, he does what he always does. Makes a very dramatic 'story of the week' no national news, but I don't think its some big consipiracy to save a few hundred bucks here and there.

But you WILL get the hard sell from the recruiter if you try to pull out now. He will do everything he can to get you to sign. Whatever you do at this point, don't sign or take anything else from him. If he tries to tell you that you are going to jail or something, talk to a lawyer and find out your options. Recruiters have been known to do very sleazy things to nab a recruit (esp with young enlisted). Take what he says with a massive grain of salt.
 
navysurgeon said:
i would sit down and write a letter to your recruiter, and CC copy to HPSP office, that you wish to withdraw, and that you have no interest in completing an oath of office. the military runs on paper, and you gotta write a letter for a paper trail to be created. get yourself a lawyer if you run into problems. don't cash any checks.

you're making the right decision.

xTNS
I second that - send it certified mail so that you have proof it was recieved. Otherwise, until the army has spent money on you (through OBC training or HPSP stipends), you are in the clear. The recruiter will spin a tale of BS that you are commited and try to make you feel like a POS, but stick to your guns if you've decided the military isn't for you.

Also, be sure you haven't changed your mind for the wrong reasons either... Just because the military may be a big change from your current life, it doesn't mean that it is going to be a bad experience. A life well lived is a life that was full of new, interesting, and fulfilling experiences. The army will be all of those things.
 
DieselDoctor said:
I second that - send it certified mail so that you have proof it was recieved. Otherwise, until the army has spent money on you (through OBC training or HPSP stipends), you are in the clear. The recruiter will spin a tale of BS that you are commited and try to make you feel like a POS, but stick to your guns if you've decided the military isn't for you.

Also, be sure you haven't changed your mind for the wrong reasons either... Just because the military may be a big change from your current life, it doesn't mean that it is going to be a bad experience. A life well lived is a life that was full of new, interesting, and fulfilling experiences. The army will be all of those things.

Or...your life might just SUCK for x+4 (or whatever formula they are using this weekk) years.

Do yourself a flavor and ****ing bail!

xTNS
 
Don't sign anything else and don't take another penny. Don't cash the check.
 
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