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Which Signup Benefits are Negotiable?


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Just as the title says. Some new recruiters don't want you to know this. Because, if you don't know how to negotiate your contract when you join. The army will profit from that. After you read this post. please contribute a few benefits if you know any. It's just the honor code. Please do it if you know.

 

 

Aside from what you find in a book you can get at your local library. There are several army secrets that they won't tell you in the books either. Here are a few I know.

 

1) You can negotiate the 6 year long wait period on a VA loan in the army national guard & reserves down to 60 days after you enlist. So right out of basic training, you can get your self a home. Might I recommend qualifying for a 1-4 unit property. So you can collect rent from your tenants. All income you collect from the tenants is eligible for a tax write off.

 

2) While in basic training they can pay you the full time BAH housing allowance in the reserves. You just have to bring in a lease agreement to your recruiter. When you return home, you go back to the normal salary for your rank.

 

3) You can negotiate for the army to pay up-to 100% of your student loan. They just make 15% - 30% of the balance each month. You have to negotiate that with your recruiter on the amount they pay. There are reports of up to $50,000.

 

 

****Update 9/7/18****

 

4) You can negotiate the sign on bonus. If you go for the reserves. Normally it's up-to $5,000. With the right timing and negotiation skill. You can get the same sign on bonus as the guy who signed up for full time.

 

 

 

****Update 9/10/18****

 

6) You can negotiate how long the VA loan will last, after you leave the army. You can get it for the rest of your life.

 

7) For the army reserves. You can collect BAH while staying on base too. There are reports of up to 4 months of BAH while in WOFT.

 

8) For the army reserves. You can collect a bonus, when you complete the advanced air-frame training. There have been reports of up-to $20,000. (As submitted by: Barney45) This is good so you have the money you need for the VA loan fees if any when you get back in town.

 

 

****Update 10/17/18****

 

Updated various facts to ensure as accurate of a report as possible.

 

You can qualify for the VA loan in the national guard or reserve upon serving 90 days of active duty service. Some states will allow you to go active duty temporarily and qualify under title 10 or title 32. I spoke to the department of veterans affairs and they said they will allow it after 90 days if you are in the national guard.

 

Some states require that you be a certain rank to do that. So you should check with your recruiter to see how your state does that first.

 

Here is a good book on the ones they will tell you about. If you educate your self a bit you will be surprised at how much farther you can go in life with the army.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-military-advantage-2017-edition-the-militarycom-guide-to-military-and-veterans-benfits_terry-howell/13903018/#isbn=1682472299&idiq=19756105

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I asked SEVERAL times in many stages of the recruiting process all the way up until I was signing my papers and they said they didnt do loan repayment anymore every time.

Then tell them no. I don't know what your MOS is. But for mine. I am risking my life in that thing.You can try telling them it is a deal breaker for you. And a good recruiter will try there best to put what you ask for in the contract. So long as you intend to sign a contract.

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Then tell them no. I don't know what your MOS is. But for mine. I am risking my life in that thing.You can try telling them it is a deal breaker for you. And a good recruiter will try there best to put what you ask for in the contract. So long as you intend to sign a contract.

Yeah again Im not too believing on this considering I signed for three years of 11b and got 1000 dollar bonus during the war

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Then tell them no. I don't know what your MOS is. But for mine. I am risking my life in that thing.You can try telling them it is a deal breaker for you. And a good recruiter will try there best to put what you ask for in the contract. So long as you intend to sign a contract.

I was accepted through WOFT, so Im assuming getting to go to flight school is a good enough benefit haha.

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I think the issue is with using the word "negotiate".

 

There is no negotiation. There are unused benefits and timing considerations as far as whether or not the Army is offering that program at the time (college loan repayment is based on MOS-strength and whether or not the Army is offering the program; if they aren't offering the program: you cannot "negotiate" that they will offer it). You may get a recruiter that says yes or it is on there now, but it needs to be in writing on your contract and the Army has to actually be offering it. The website for your job may even suggest that they are offering it, but if it is not in play at that time, it's not in play. Ask me how I know about loan repayment.

 

That said unused benefits is a real possibility. When you are at MEPS, make sure any program you have heard of is legitimate and checks out/is on your paperwork.

 

As far as IET WOFT, I am not sure as I am going AD IERW. But, you have to sign a lease agreement with Corvias before you actually go into your house. It's privatized housing and you will be an officer. It seems odd that they would force you to live on post when it is your choice. I would contact the WOCC course manager if no information is found in your WOCS welcoming packet regarding how WOFT goes about procuring a house on/off post.

 

Also buying a house and quick selling is probably going to destroy the value, unless you have a spouse willing to put time and money into the home for improvements (and even then, <24 months is not great on real estate value). Unless you are planning to rent to future students, it would be cheaper and more cost effective to live on post with a room mate BAH rate (assuming single).

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Just noticed #5 after reading Shadowlurkers post. Where did you get that one from? Basic Training, WOCS, and SERE you are required to live in the barracks. No questions. Other than that it is up to you as to if you want to live on or off post. The Army doesnt care (As far as I can tell from B Co.) whether you live on or off post. Heck you could live in a van down by the river as long as you show up at the required times. It just came down too the last 3 weeks of WOCS and they were freaking out bc some of us hadnt gotten rental agreements sorted out yet. So they actually were allowing us to go off post to check out housing during the final days of WOCS.

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5)You can negotiate if you stay on or off base during WOFT training. By default you will be staying on base. If you buy a house, you can get the BAH pay when you sell it.

 

Here is a good book on the ones they will tell you about. If you educate your self a bit, you will be surprised at how much farther you can go in life with the army.

You dont negotiate anything with a recruiter about where you will live, ever. Thats simply not how it works. You will live in the barracks for the duration of basic training, WOCS and SERE. After completion of WOCS you are authorized BAH if you want to live off post or can opt for on post housing paid for by your BAH. BAH is a monthly entitlement and has nothing to do with selling a house.

 

Before coming on a forum and posting a bunch of bullshit you need to educate yourself.

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Has anyone gotten a bonus, SLRP or schools (I.e. AB, AA) with their WOFT contract?

From my research before applying to the AD gig: No bonuses currently exist for 1st time ADSO. Retention bonuses are being discussed at 35+k, but at the moment only for 152F/H (Apache) and only for 2nd+ ADSO. Haven't heard of SLRP being a yes or no for WOFT, ask a recruiter, YMMV.

 

From a buddy at the schoolhouse: AB/AA schools are unlikely to be given to pilots. You don't need to do that stuff, as you'll be in the cockpit 99.99% of the time. If your unit/division lists either school as a requirement, then they may send you. Both are potentially able to cause injuries that could prevent your flight status. The Army does not want to waste thousands of dollars by training you for flight and then sending you to a school that has no relevance to your job where you can be injured. If you reaaaaally want that stuff, enlist first and then drop a packet.

 

EDIT: Schools that will have relevance later are things like RSO/UMO/Armorer/etc. for additional duties and the advanced WO course (WOILE WOSSE), SAMS(if you get to CW4 and are lucky), Battlestaff, Lessons Learned, etc. for professional development courses.

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First off 90% of what you stated is untrue. The information you posted will only hinder a potential applicant from completing this process. Recruiters/MEPS have zero control over enlistment bonus and incentives, big Army sets policies and bonuses. I promise that no recruiter cares about the Army profiting from an applicant not getting a bonus, sadly the most important thing to a recruiter is putting numbers into the army. Also, you either qualify to receive BAH or you do not, there is no negotiating with a recruiter on this matter. While attending flight school you will be afforded the opportunity to live where you please, as stated above you will temporarily stay in the barracks during certain phases of training. I can kind of understand how you were just trying to be helpful, however this information is far from being accurate.

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While it is just icing on the cake, I am supposed to receive a bonus at the completion of flight school. Ill be skeptical until I see it on my LES. Im a reservist so maybe its due to my airframe.

 

As for cool guy schools, I never had the opportunity go during my first enlistment. I was a pogue NG guy so the funding just wasnt there unless you were combat arms.

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You dont negotiate anything with a recruiter about where you will live, ever. Thats simply not how it works. You will live in the barracks for the duration of basic training, WOCS and SERE. After completion of WOCS you are authorized BAH if you want to live off post or can opt for on post housing paid for by your BAH. BAH is a monthly entitlement and has nothing to do with selling a house.

 

Before coming on a forum and posting a bunch of bullshit you need to educate yourself.

 

 

You can't troll me I am troll proof.

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Yeah again Im not too believing on this considering I signed for three years of 11b and got 1000 dollar bonus during the war

 

 

Max props for doing that. It's always worth negotiating. Prime example right here folks. They even go so far are to market it towards kids. Because they know that when you are younger you are less likely to negotiate the contract. And will do it for less money.

 

I see stuff like: "parent night" and think about how 1/2 the army is under 25 and how I can at-least do what I can to bring them home to there parents safely.

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