Hello I am an 11th grader in HS and I haven't talked to a recruiter yet but I want to soon. What steps should I take when talking to him, I already know I wanna be 19K M1 Armor Crewman. Anything will help.

where do you live? depending on what state u live in you can Be a 19K in the National Guard

The steps I took:
-Know exactly what you're talking about (job descriptions, benefits, timelines, obligations, etc.)

-Get everything you want and are eligible for IN WRITING, and DON'T take no for an answer. The hardline approach works mainly for active duty, since job availability is not limited to a specific region as with Reserves or NG, but NG has their own recruiters, so they can work with you moreso than the Reserves.

Hope this helps

What are you joining? Army, Army Reserves, or Army National Guard?

His choice of MOS eliminates the Reserves, since we have no combat MOS's. So AD or NG I suppose.

Do not listen to fellow wannabes. Take the advice of those members who are currently serving in the active services (for instance Maytime, PJ24, Marinerhodes, Redneck and Doody). You don't need any wrong info from someone who got his info from his second cousin's uncle who was on active duty 20 years ago. I include myself in that category since I have been retired since 1987.

And be sure to contact someone already in the Army like Maytime or Team Infidel so they can make a spot of cash for helping you out. It costs you nothing and is a good way to make a soldier's day. What comes around goes around.

I was just going to put my father on the thread.( The NCOIC of Recruiting and Retention, North Alabama)

I'm joining as Active Duty.

Here's what I did. (With a timeline for bonus points.) Please note this all happened during the last two months of my junior year/summer betwee junior and senior year.

March 04- turned 17
April 04 - started talking to Army and Marine recruiters
May 04 - took the ASVAB which is crucial in determining which jobs you are eligible for
June 04 - Listened to the Army and Marine recruiters tell me how the world was in my hands and I had but to choose their branch and my life would be one of happiness and fulfillment.
July 1st, 2004 - Enlisted in the Army as an 11x (Infantry) with the intention of going to Jump School and becoming a Ranger.

Now, my little timeline there wasn't very informative other than to show you that you have plenty of time to make your choice. Explore all your options, even if you are not interested in the Air Force, Marines or Navy go talk to their recruiters, they may say something that will interest you, I started off with my mind practically made up that I wanted to be a Marine, but after listening to both branches plead their case I decided that the Army was probably what I was looking for.

Finally DO NOT slack off your senior year of high school and even if you do join a delayed entry program submit applications to a state college. I tore my ACL two weeks before graduation (the doctors haven't decided whether I tore it in Feb. 05 or May 05 but for dramatic effect we will say it was May 05) but did not find out till the last day of school. Because I had not applied for college I had to spend the last year doing nothing, trust me, it is not as fun as it sounds. Just do it, it only cost you $20 and if the **** hits the fan you will be glad you did it.