jamesdak 

Anyone considering a commision needs to do their research well. Gates is really slicing the budget and money is tight. Officer ranks seem to be taken the hardest hit. Case in point, a family friend if graduating from the Air Force Academy this year yet that just eliminated her job field and she will now be stuck with a job that was not in her plans at all. I suspect she will have to complete her tour due to all the money spent training her but other officers may be put out by the reduction in forces. Not really certain how the various services are affected this time but make sure you research current policy and upcoming force management issues so that you know what you are dealing with.

There were also talks of a pay freeze. That infuriated me as our forces are still at war and that means being at risk. No amount of money makes up the risks you take in the military and to freeze pay is very disrespectful to the men and women brave enough to serve. I know my military pay has been taxed higher yet again and they did freeze pay for us civil service workers. That sort of angers the 50% disabled vet also but on the other hand I'm sitting safe and cushy on my couch so I'd rather take the loss then the men and women serving. Anyway, research current and planned budget issues also.

revchuck 

OP - As a general rule, when you're in training at the beginning of your military career, your time isn't your own. Part of this is due to learning your job; another part is to get you used to the idea that you're a Soldier/Sailor/Marine/Airman/Coastguardsman 24/7. I'm pretty sure you'll have lots of exercise to keep you in shape.

Once you get to your unit, things loosen up somewhat. You'll usually work a standard eight-hour or so shift, plus PT and/or additional duties some days. Your supervisor will keep a tight rein on you until s/he sees how you're working out; if you're a good worker on duty and don't screw up when off duty, your off-duty time will be pretty much your own. You might even be able to work a deal with your supervisor to ride as part of your PT, but don't bank on it.

I've been to a bunch of different bases, and currently cycling is at least tolerated. My last course in my military career (I'm in the process of retiring from the Army National Guard) was at Ft. Huachuca, and the Commander (full Colonel) of the school I was attending got nailed for speeding by the MPs, doing 30 in a 25 zone...on his bike. At MacDill AFB in Tampa, there's a Tuesday-Thursday fast lunchtime ride on base. The major bicycle road race in Texas last year was on Ft. Hood. So availability of riding opportunities shouldn't be a problem.

Best of luck in your military career. Even if you only stay in for your first enlistment, the memories and experience will shape the rest of your life.

BarracksSi

I'm active duty USMC. There are several cyclists in the battalion, including our current CO. I'll bet he was the one who got a CompuTrainer system installed in the gym (soon to support four bikes simultaneously, I've heard). We also can borrow bikes (all MTBs and a few city bikes) from the MCCS community services shop. I think we still have a cycling team, although I haven't gotten myself in the loop about it.

Jose Mandez

I'm an active duty Lieutenant and Registered Nurse in the Army, I use my bicycle as my main commuting vehicle and I average about 600 miles a month right now. I only have to take a little birdbath in the men's room before starting work so that I'm not sweaty. I [gasp] never run on my own anymore, but in my case my cycling has kept me in good enough shape that I can still max out the run on the PT test. I've found that my fellow service members and chain of command are generally very supportive of my riding, even if they don't understand why I do it (heck, sometimes I don't even understand why I do it )

During tech school, you may or may not be able to use your current road bike. If your tech school is fairly short (only a couple of months), the military will generally not pay to ship your household goods (including your bike) to your tech school. Once you get to your first permanent duty station, the military will pay to ship all of your household good to that location. If you are able to manage shipping/transporting your bike on your own, you should be able to start riding as soon as you graduate basic and start your tech school. You will probably be restricted to riding on post for the first month or so until you get your off-post privileges (at least in the Army). I was prior enlisted, and I road a cheap K-Mart mountain bike around when I was in AIT (at leat at the AIT I went to, we had most weekends off). Remember safety gear, such as a helmet, reflective belt/vest and lights, are generally mandatory equpiment for military members; refer to your local post/installation policies for more info.

Jose Mandez

I was awarded a Green to Gold Army ROTC 4 year Scholarship myself, so I am highly biased toward that option. I would highly recommend the Green to Gold program if you are already enlisted Active Duty. If you've had a decent amount of Active Duty experience, you'll find that ROTC is not difficult at all (though it is sometimes an annoyance). Taking ROTC over 2-4 years also gives you plenty of time to brush up on all the important stuff you will need to know as an officer (scuh as OPORDERs, basic battle drills, land navigation, etc.) instead of having all of this information shovelled down your throat during a short OCS curriculum. Getting a College degree totally financed by Uncle Sam, plus a monthly stipend, is another bonus of ROTC.

With OCS, you have to meet the basic qualifications and submit a packet, which undoubtedly includes a high recommendation from your current chain of command. You can do an internet .mil domain search for "Army Officer Candidate School" for a lot more information than we can give you. I think that with OCS, the experience that you have depends on what OCS you go to as to how bad it is. I went to my Basic Officer Leadership Course with a guy who was a National Guard OCS graduate, he claimed that there was a lot of hazing and that he doesn't feel like he learned very much. I'm not saying that all OCS are like this, but that was his experience.

wrr1020

A lot of good info here, both regarding cycling and experiences from those of you that have served and are currently serving. Thanks a lot.

jacksonhandy

I'm active duty Army Captain. Plenty of time to ride even during the Officer Basic Courses. I would say that at least in the Army, AIT riding will be non-existent. They have ways of making you fit. When you get to your first duty station, ride all the time you aren't at work. I'm a Troop Commander and as long as they aren't breaking laws or making a jerk of themselves, I almost don't care how they spend their free time.

pgjackson

One of the cool things about the military is that you are EXPECTED to exercise on a regular basis. Saying that you were out PTing is a legitimate excuse for not being at work. We actually get paid to work out. Now, as a junior guy, you don't always have complete control over this, but in general you will be given time during the week to exercise.

Keep in mind that the President has just ordered some significant manpower drawdowns. Every service will be getting smaller, which means it will be much harder to get in, especially officer programs.

BarracksSi

We only had half an hour to ourselves each evening in boot camp... and that time was spent polishing boots, cleaning brass, writing mail...

Of course they don't even have to polish boots anymore. "New Corps"... grumble grumble...

That's a huge plus. I like it so much that, if I ever owned a business, I'd try to have some sort of workout program or facilities on-site for the employees to use for free.

EDDIE1963

I am retired from the Army 1982-2005. I wasn't cycling in those days but a few of my friends were die hard cyclist in Germany. I was a Supply Sergeant assigned to Combat units and Support units during my career and the guys always found time to ride. When I drive down to Ft. Benning (from Atlanta), I see people cycling through the post all the time. So when you arrive to your first duty station you will have time to ride. Good luck. Air Force is a good branch of service.

crazyarm07

I'm one of those people.....it's great....really any military post I've been at (West Point, Ft. Bliss, Ft. Richardson, and Ft. Benning so far) are all great - speed limits are lower for the cars, there's less traffic (almost none on the roads going back into the training areas), and drivers expect to see others out running or riding, since fitness is a part of the job. It's great.

armybikerider

Active Duty Army MAJOR here at Fort Campbell. I work in the hospital on post and have lots of time to ride.

EDDIE1963

Benning looks like a nice place to ride. I notice most of the big hills are over by Kelly Hill lol, other then that it's flat around Main Post and the airfield. I just start riding last year. I sold my Trek 1.1 on Craigslist 3 weeks ago and have a new Specialized Secteur Elite on layaway. I get it off March 18. I am going to load my bike up one day and come down there and ride the post.

crazyarm07

If you go south of the airfield on Sunshine Rd, there are some rollers and a couple of decent little climbs, same thing going out the back gate toward Fryar DZ (there's one steep section, then it's downhill going to the DZ, and uphill coming back, mostly). Still, you're right, Benning is pretty flat for the most part....I've been going up to Dahlonega on long weekends when I want to do some good climbing. If gas prices ever come down I might start doing it as a day trip on normal weekends.

pgjackson

I'm stationed at Camp Pendleton...pretty much Mecca for on-base riding. HUGE base with perfect weather and lots of long roads with little traffic. Or you can just ride out the front gate and hit the Pacific Coast Highway and cruise the coast. As the CO of my unit, I make sure I get plenty of PT in (you can't lead from the front if you are out of shape)...and hopefully when my Marines see me out exercising it sends a message that if I have time to work out, then THEY have time to work out.

HAMMER MAN

thanks for everyone's service and god bless

BarracksSi

They're probably watching you ride past and thinking, "Man, if I didn't have to field day my room and inventory those ponchos, I'd have more time for my own PT..."

Of course, soon after they say this they go back to the BEQ and start playing WoW...

pgjackson

Yep...that and hanging out in the smoke pit slowly killing themselves. I don't know what it is, but I'd say about 75% of junior enlisted Marines smoke.

Jed19

It is just not the junior enlisted marines who smoke these days. It is kids in high school and college. I am astounded at the number of young kids (especially girls) I see lighting up.

Kinda sad.

crazyarm07

It amazes me that people still smoke. I honestly think most of these young guys who smoke do it simply to be rebellious. Case in point: My company commander banned smoking in the company area during the duty day (that's the most he could hope to enforce) during the year or so leading up to our deployment to Afghanistan, since we'd be walking up and down mountains at 7000-9000 feet above sea level, which smoking doesn't really help you with. I swear at least 5 or 6 of the privates in my platoon started smoking on their off time just because of this. I can't explain why, I don't even understand it. One of the dumbest things I think I've ever seen.

jmio

4 years AD and 6 active reserve, USCG. In my experience it's all in what job you have. while active duty i traveled 3 weeks out of the month, worked 12-14 hour days,(sometimes more) could not hold a workout routine to save my life. since being in reserves, going to college full time, and now a trauma nurse as a civilian, I have tripled my AD pay, decreased my work hours by almost 70 percent, and have tons of time to ride. Plus with the nice pay checks I can afford all the goodies I couldn't afford as an AD E-6. Would have never changed a thing though. The crappy pay and long hours have really taught me that life aint all that bad anymore!!! Just gotta do your time.

heckler

I am not in the military, but I live near a air force base and there are plenty of cyclists around. I was actually on a MS ride team with them since I knew the captain of the team from church. My brother is in training right now (enlisted marine) and it doesn't seem like he has any free time.

My other brother has been applying to be a navy officer but her keeps getting turned down. The recreuiter mentioned something about quotas being filled already. It sounds like they don't need any more officers at this time.

pgjackson

For the last several years the military would take almost anyone...now that the President has ordered troop reductions it is going to very difficult to get in. The officer ranks are going to get hit particularly hard.

BarracksSi

Boot camp, or MOS school? Either way, he's not going to have much free time (in boot camp, apart from church, it's essentially zero). He's still getting his PT, though.

Caveman

I opened this thread expecting to read about the military and the armed forces. Imagine my surprise when I discovered we were really just talking about the Air Force. ;-).

I started cycling back around '88 while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton. I was sick of running all the time so I bought a MTB and started riding the dirt roads/trails on base. I've been riding ever since and now I ride both dirt and road on a regular basis. Most of the posters' info has been spot on. It will be impossible to ride (or even own) a bike in boot camp/basic training. It will even be very difficult to own/store a bike in tech school and your riding will probably be limited to weekends, if that. After you get to your first permanent assignment it will be no hassle at all to own/store a bike and you could probably ride every day if you want to. Of course if you are deployed aboard ship or to a combat zone you'll have to put your riding on hold for months on end.

The military in general is a very physically fit environment (even the Air Force) and an active lifestyle is always encouraged and usually required. Once you get past the first few months of training you'll have no trouble at all being a very active cyclist. In fact in my experience it was probably easier to find the time to ride when I was on active duty than it is now that I'm not. Good luck to you and if you do decide to serve: "THANK YOU!".

BTW, I'm a retired Marine. '76-'97. Semper fi......