Should I lie about drug use if I want to join the U.S. military?
It depends.Reasons you should tell the truth:If you've done drugs in the past 45 days.If you've done drugs consistently for several years and have only stopped using less than a year ago.If there is evidence of you doing drugs that can be easily found in a background check.If you have a criminal conviction for drug use or drug possession within the past 8 years.If you have already admitted to drug use to a member or the Armed Forces or testify to using drugs in a sworn statement accessible to anyone in the DoD.If your drug use is known by individuals who will or may be interviewed during your background check and they are prone to spill the beans.Reasons to lie:You haven't done drugs in over a yearYou are confident you can pass the urinalysis exam.You have done cocaine, heroin, meth, or LSD but you have been clean for over a year.You told your recruiter in private and he said it's no big deal and he will not list your drug use in the paperwork because it's not important.There is no public record of your drug use and no one to reliably accuse you of doing drugs.The choice is yours. If you tell the truth you may be disqualified from joining. If you lie and are caught you can get prosecuted for fraudulent enlistment. You should do your research before you make the choice.Take heed however: whatever choice you make you have to stick with it until the end. If you lie don't backpedal, wavering in anyway from your original answer is a good way to get investigated and get in more trouble.If you lied, never ever ever admit it even if you fail a drug test; most service members who get in trouble for drug use get convicted because of their confession not the drug test. The validity of drug tests are very hard to uphold in courts, so let them prove you did drugs, don't do their work by confessing. Good luck.
Will the military find out about past drug use (currently not using)?
They will do a background investigation consisting of, at the minimum, a police record check. If you don't have a record, nothing to worry about there. However, they will do field interviews of people that know you. Especially if you need a security clearance and most jobs require at least a Secret clearance. Intel will require at least a Top Secret. The best thing is to be honest with the questions. Past use probably will not disqualify you. These guys aren't stupid and know most kids have, at least, tried it. If you disqualified everybody that EVER smoked a joint or snorted a line, you'd disqualify 80% of the enlistment pool. Dishonesty, on the other hand, uncovers a character flaw and can disqualify. If you are dishonest about this now, what else will you lie about? The best move is to be honest and, if there is nothing else, you should be cool. Especially with a 91 ASVAB..........you are not exactly the dumbest person out there. If they find out you lied, you'll never get a clearance. Even though you used the marijuana or whatever, you aren't using now. That won't hurt you. Lying will. The simple question is, if you lied then are you lying now. In intel, you are being given access to TS stuff. Some of it is how we gather intel, where are assets are, cryptographic keys that knowledge of in the hands of an enemy would enable them to listen in to our communications. If you lied before you ever got in about something stupid like prior drug use, why in the h-e-l-l should we trust you now? Do what you want but I wouldn't listen to these guys telling you to lie about it.
Is it true that if I use weed more than 15 times the Military won't accept me?
First off, if you want to join, stop smoking now. You’ll have to take a piss test when you get sent to MEPS.No, that’s definitely not true. However I’m not sure why you would count, or why that specific number matters. So let’s say this: Go to a recruiting office and talk to the recruiter. When you talk to him, mention that you’ve smoked weed. Most likely your recruiter will ask when the last time you smoked was, and will tell you to stop smoking in order for it to get out of your system. Afterwards, you’ll be fine. Your recruiter will eventually discuss what you want to do, if you want to join, how to answer questions if you get sent to MEPS (the processing center for all recruits when they want to join), etc.I’ve never smoked, however I know that people have and most recruiters understand that kids can be stupid and that many have smoked. However it’s not necessarily that big of a deal for a recruiter to go ballistic and not allow you to join. Good luck, hope everything goes well.
What's the cost/benefit analysis of lying about prior drug use when joining the military?
Recreational use or experimental use of Drugs is not a dis- qualifier from Military Service. Divulging your personal history of Drugs will prevent you from obtaining certain Security Clearances that might be required for certain job specialties.If you have a long history of Drug Use and possible addiction, I would suggest that you get medical attention and forget about Military Service. Not everyone is cut out for Military Service and Military Service is not for everyone.If your experience with drugs was experimental/recreational and you have never been involved in a drug related incident, if you had never been hospitalized for drug use or never attended a drug rehabilitation program, and never arrested for possession, this is what I would tell you.Is your Drug use a source of pride to you? Do you feel an urge to share this news with everyone? Because if you tell me you smoked a joint at the last Pink Floyd Concert 15 years ago, I am going to put that down. And when I put that down that becomes a part of your permanent record, it will follow you for the rest of your life. If 20 years from now you try to get a job that requires a security clearance and the employer has a no tolerance on drug use policy, guess what.Now as your Recruiter, if you do not tell me, then I do not know. I must assume that when you tell me you have never used drugs, that must be the truth. Even though you come into my office with T-shirt with Snoop Dog blowing a Blunt with the words free the weed all over it, to my knowledge, not only have you never used drugs you are a staunch opponent to Drug use of any kind. What do I care? My only concern is putting you in boots.What is the cost, I would say Lying to the Government will cost you your Soul, but actually you lost that a long time ago when you started smoking dope.What is the benefit of lying, your record is still clean.If you go on to join the Military I wish you great success, you will learn that many others in the Military get high. Be careful, learn the rules, be safe and protect yourself. don’t fall victim to the Golden Flow.
What did Vietnam war training consist of for the USA?
My initial Basic Training at Fort Bragg in 1967 consisted of the normal training whether we would be fighting Russians in Europe or anyone enemy anywhere. It was the normal weapons familiarization (M14) , bayonet, hand-to-hand, physical training, Code of Conduct, map orienting, CBR (chemical-biological-radiation), field first aid, etc. I believe it was two months. But nothing was unique to Vietnam.My Advanced Individual Training (AIT) was for a non-combatant MOS at Fort Leonard Wood MO. Nothing unique for Vietnam.Because I was 17 (too young to die for your country), I was sent to Germany for 17 months until I was levied to Vietnam. You had to be at least 18 to die for your country and I turned 18 in Germany…time to go.After a 30 day leave, I was sent to Fort Lewis WA for a week of 'Jungle School.’. We learned to use the M16, the LAW (a modern bazooka), recognizing anti-personnel devices (booby traps), how to call in air and arty support, counter-insurgency tactics, jungle survival methods, etc. We had an opportunity to go on a patrol that was ambushed (simulation). At the end of the week, we were shipped by commercial aircraft (Flying Tigers Airlines) to Cam Rahn Bay.Because I had a communications MOS acquired from my 17 months in Germany, I was sent to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, headquartered at that time at LZ English near Bon Song.I then had to attend a 'In-country Jungle School' in Cha Rang Valley for one week. It was far more insightful and realistic than the one at Fort Lewis. One of our instructors had been in the movie Green Beret, filmed outside Fort Benning GA. We were far more impressed with those credentials than the fact this was his second tour and he actually had jumped at Dak To, the only in-country airborne jump done by any airborne unit in Vietnam.So…after the one week in Fort Lewis and one week at Cha Rang Valley, I was ready. Initially, I was sent to the 3/319th Artillery, but one week later they sent a bunch of us FNGs (F***g New Guys) to the 1st/50th Infantry (Mechanized) when I spent my remaining tour as a radio operator in the field and then back in the rear for last couple months.So…that was the extinct of my training for Vietnam.
What is the best military branch for a pothead to join?
Obviously you guys don't read well. I SAID I CAN STOP WHENEVER! and every "patriotic" person saying "oh we don't want you because you smoke weed..." Do some research and you will find out OUR FOUNDING FATHERS RELIGIOUSLY GREW, SMOKED, AND DISTRIBUTED. You guys are acting like smoking weed is like raping little kids. A little about myself, I am 5'10" 160lbs so I am not out of shape, and if you saw me you would not even guess that I knew what weed was. I want to join the military because as of right now it is my best option. I don't want to work some dead end job the rest of my life with no job security so I need a solid foundation. I was thinking the Air Force but I am not certain.