Okay, my husband is considering going into the army. He got a 97 on his ASVAB and wants to do something in computers or languages. My concern is him spending the whole time in Afghanistan or Iraq. I know there is a possibility of being shipped off and I am okay with it as long as it is not the whole time. So my questions: Is it a definite that he will be deployed? Is he at least going to be trained in whatever he is going for first, or is that not likely either? Is there a field that is less likely to get deployed? I keep hearing these stories of people going into the military and they spend 90% of the whole term away from their family. I know some of you might think that I am overreacting, but we have a one year old and I want to make sure that he is aware of the reality when it comes to how much time he may actually have to spend away from his little girl. Please help, we don't know how to make this decision. It seems like the most stable thing to do is go into the military, but I want to make sure he knows what he might be sacrificing before he makes the final decision.

Yes he will be deployed. At some point in time regardless of MOS he has a 97% chance of deploying. Will it be to a combat zone? Who knows but the chances are good at this time.

If he gets a language skill and that language is Arabic, Farsi or an Afghan dialect he will be deployed.

Originally Posted by troyjaxil

Okay, my husband is considering going into the army. He got a 97 on his ASVAB and wants to do something in computers or languages. My concern is him spending the whole time in Afghanistan or Iraq. I know there is a possibility of being shipped off and I am okay with it as long as it is not the whole time. So my questions: Is it a definite that he will be deployed? Is he at least going to be trained in whatever he is going for first, or is that not likely either? Is there a field that is less likely to get deployed? I keep hearing these stories of people going into the military and they spend 90% of the whole term away from their family. I know some of you might think that I am overreacting, but we have a one year old and I want to make sure that he is aware of the reality when it comes to how much time he may actually have to spend away from his little girl. Please help, we don't know how to make this decision. It seems like the most stable thing to do is go into the military, but I want to make sure he knows what he might be sacrificing before he makes the final decision.

Initially he will be gone during boot camp. After that depends on the order of training he gets. He is not likely to deploy prior to finishing all his training. In the military you are considered on duty 24/7/365 per year.

Okay, but I have heard stories of some people getting deployed right after basic and they don't get there training; they just get hands on training wherever they go. I know that is probably worst case scenario, but it still concerns me...I definitely don't want him to be gone the whole five years or however long he goes in for...

Originally Posted by troyjaxil

Okay, but I have heard stories of some people getting deployed right after basic and they don't get there training; they just get hands on training wherever they go. I know that is probably worst case scenario, but it still concerns me...I definitely don't want him to be gone the whole five years or however long he goes in for...

He won't be. Also the stories you have heard are probably just that, as at a minimum I would think he would have to go to infantry training after basic. You do get experience in the field, but I am not aware of any branch of the service that won't train you before deployment.

Originally Posted by troyjaxil

Okay, but I have heard stories of some people getting deployed right after basic and they don't get there training; they just get hands on training wherever they go. I know that is probably worst case scenario, but it still concerns me...I definitely don't want him to be gone the whole five years or however long he goes in for...

If he picks a technical job like you are saying then he will be at training for a while. The army does not deploy soldiers before they are trained, you have my word on that. Even after he gets to his unit, he will get additional training before leaving. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it's an easy life or that it's not going to be hard. My son is now a little over 3 years old and I've only been home for 9months of his life. I went to Iraq for 15 months when he was only 3 months old, came back, spent 6 months home, 6 months away training and then went right back to Iraq where I still am to this day. I've missed his first words, his first steps, his first birthday, his first 2 christmasses (and I'll still be here for the next one too). If this doesn't sound like something you can handle, you may want to think hard about it. I'm blessed with a strong wife (who is ex army). A lot of people can't handle this job and there's no mystery that the military (especially the Army) has absurdly high divorce rates. I'm not trying to scare, but you should think hard about it as it's a huge decision. Every soldier is gauranteed 12 months in the states between combat tours, so he will not be gone the whole time. That comes straight from the Secretary of Defense. That being said, you aren't haging out at the house for all of those 12 months, you are training.