Pole and Military

JhennD started this discussion · 11/20/2012

My question is to those who have knowledge or helpful experience! I am very interested in serving in the US military. I will be speaking to one recruiter tomorrow, and more soon. Any questions I should be specific on? Any favorable branch over another, why? How quiet should I be about pole? I have conducted a very conservative lifestyle & appearance due to the objective of career goal Code of Ethics agreed upon. Since I haven't progressed in that career I have been a little laxed (poling& using my name here, Facebook openness) Thank you!

14 replies

abcollins1 · 11/20/2012
I have been a military wife for the last 9 years, before that a mil girlfriend for several years. While I havent served I have seen a lot of stuff go down. My husband is navy so of course im a bit biased to our branch. But what branch you should go to depends on what kind of job you are looking to do and how quickly you are wanting to advance as well as if you plan on retiring. Army sees the most deployments in a war capacity, deployments in the navy depend on what type of ship you are on (the smaller the ship, the more times you will be sent out) and air force moves a lot IMO, but they tend to take care of their families more with better facilities and service. I would suggest keeping your personal life as quiet as possible. It has been my experience that if the "higher ups" Like you, then you can do well and go far. However, if you are not liked, then you can open yourself up to grief. I am not saying be ashamed of poling or hide it, but i would not personally volunteer such information to all persons. I know a lot of military wives that pole and no one has had an issue with me poling as of yet. However, i am mindful of how my actions can hurt my husbands career, so i am not that vocal about it. I know a lot more people who are military and are bodybuilders and fitness competitiors and it has not affected their career at all. There is a great team in SD for those who wish to compete and they do their workouts and posing practices in a military facility. But with the stigma that some can attach to poling, may be an issue if you are just starting out.
JhennD · 11/20/2012
I know how it is about stimgas so I have (till recently) since junior high school (15+y) had a knowledge that 1) Life is not fair, no where in the objectives of Life did it say so 2) Being most neutral is a way of safety, and survival (career, personal feelings being hurt, actual targeted victim) I want to sort of ask- Should I revamp my facebook and de-personal- make less identifiable about activities that are or could be biased of the opinions and 'morals' of the U.S. MIlitary. Or should I do it already, because 'I know better'? Change username on here, delete or make more private comments and shares of facebook, youtube,pinterest, etc.
abcollins1 · 11/20/2012
I have been through the background check for security purposes, i had a civillian job for the military and have a civillian CAC card. Its pretty thourough but i did not change any of my online activities. While poling has a stigma, its not illegal, and neither is stripping or dancing for that matter. I dont see it stopping you from joining or being questioned morally. I do think its possible that the stigma could work against you advancing. I would talk to the recruiter and sorta feel your way around it, maybe not ask about poling specifically but maybe in a general way. Personally I would follow the dont ask dont tell rule. If they never ask, i wouldnt tell. If its on the net, its there forever so even if you delete it now, they could find it if they wanted to. I would just be careful who you talk to about it and who you let on your facebook. I hate to be so cynical, but i have seen careers destroyed over simple things just because someone could. As the saying goes, keep your head down and your nose clean, and it will all be fine. Do your job, dont cause issues, and dont give anyone a reason to mess with you and you can go far. I am lucky in that my husband is smart and is good at his job, he has never had an issue with the higher ups, and i try and keep our personal business away from the command. I have done fitness competitions in the past and have yet to have any issues from it (and i have competed in bikini, which has a stigma itself). The poling is new but again, i keep my own stuff out of the command and dont make issues for them. Everyone knows i am very much into fitness, i dount that any of them know about the poling.
nichtooks · 11/21/2012
I can only comment from a british point of view, but I am married to a regular army soldier, and I am also a reservest soldier. With regards to social networking our military specifies that you cannot post anything to do with depolyment, e.g. "Nichtooks is currently enjoying scoff house food at Bastian 2 cookhouse where she's just seen Prince William and laughed at the guard staff who are walking around wearing only their rifle and boxer shorts...." for obvious reasons. They can also 'tell you off' for posting anything that could bring the army into disrepute (they use this a lot). e.g. "Got into a proper good fight at the pub last night where I gave some civvie a right good seeing to". Other than that, no one has ever commented (in a negative way) about my pole pictures. Quite the opposite, all the lads in my troop want me take a pt lesson on the pole!! In the British military the RAF is the poshest where you get the best treatment/food/accom, and the army has the worst, but it's by no means bad. I assume in the US you get to choose a trade to go into, so I would choose a couple that interest you, then compare and contrast the same/similar trades in each of the forces. You might also want to consider the length of training for each force and fitness/intelligence requirements. If you are going to be going into an intelligence unit or choose a trade that requires you to have mega security clearance then you need to be very honest in you activities. They will ask you questions about your past/hobbies/embarrassing things/anything that could potentially be used to blackmail you, for example, how you come from a very christian family but did it up the ass as a dare whilst you were a teenager. Something that in the grand scheme of things isn't terrible but someone could threaten to tell your family unless you give them some info they want. You get the idea. Hope i've not waffled on too much or been patronising :/ Good luck!
x falcon 3 0 x · 11/21/2012
One of my pole sisters was a Marine and she got kicked out because one of the wives "told on her" in regards to her poling. This happened in the last couple of years. She was in her 40s and was pretty high up.
Rose2011 · 11/21/2012
Laura1986 · 11/21/2012
Im in the army reserves, and many know my job (pole instructor/hobby), I do not see anything wrong with u having to speak up and tell a recruiter what u do. If you decid to take a job with a "top secret" not just "secret" (I have that) But a "top" then you will go through move interviews. The questions they more so focus on are....your credit, background check, places you've lived, if you live with someone, they will interview them, yes they do ask what you like to do on the side, however u honestly do not have to say you do poke fitness. If you feel it will hurt you then don't but if you feel other wise then go for it. Either way it should not effect you. I've lived in military towns for the past 7 yrs and pole fitness is becoming well known...I just got my Master Sergant (E-8) to join the fun....lol now that was a shock. Be happy and be proud!!! Good luck
JhennD · 11/21/2012
Everyone- thank you for sharing and Thank you for being a strong, unique individual to provide for your family, community, those who benefit from your service and dedication. I appreciate it all. Happy Thanksgiving.
ItsEss · 5/12/2014
Can I bump this? Want to hear perspective from people in the military. I really want to join as an officer. Would just like to hear about a day in the life of someone balancing a military career and pole which I also see as a career move in the near future.
nichtooks · 5/12/2014
Pole fitness is becoming much more common now and is beginning to lose its stigma. I think as long as you don't over advertise what you do you won't have any problems. I would just be aware that if you choose to join up and do go officer you need to have the respect of those you command. If your soldiers have easy access to photos or videos of you, no matter how innocent you intended them to be, or think they are, they could use you as ajoke, and depending on the content, not give you the respect they ought. Ultimately though, if you're good at your job a lot of the guys will admire you for your ability. Just expect the banter that comes from being in the military :)
PinkPhoenix · 5/13/2014
I am prior Navy and you know what I think that Pole is waaaaay more harder than the PRT. I don't know if anyone had seen it on the news or even YouTube, but females that pole are stronger than female Marines. To pass boot camp you have to do 3 pull ups and the majority of those going through can't do that, so they get held back until they can. *Sigh* Well on YouTube there is a video of female pole dancers that can do more than 3 and even uses 2 fingers. Its really cool. I actually had a friend that even stripped while she served. And as long as you don't advertise it and you don't use any part of the uniform then there is nothing that they can do about it. You are allowed to take on a second job. Also don't agree to strip for any male service members especially if you serve with them (That is just a can of worms that you do not want to open). Keep it quiet.
PinkPhoenix · 5/13/2014
Oh and ItsEss. its fine really there is no balancing really. Most studios are open at night and most people muster at 7am and are off by 3pm or 4pm unless you have duty. I was Navy so the rough part is when you go underway. Basically all you can do is do some weight training and stretching. Oh and please from Enlisted to Officer, please treat enlisted with respect just like you want to be treated with respect ( after all enlisted taught you your job) and please when it is not your chow hours bust your own dishes. FSA's and CS's work too hard to have to clean up after officers when its their rare moment to have a break. Which is very few and far in between. Spread that to your fellow officers if you decide to join.
ItsEss · 5/13/2014
Thanks Cantetinza17, I saw that video and that's what really had me thinking "I can do this". I've come along ways from the old, lazy me. I took the ASVAB 3 times before I decided on college and now several years later, I'm still thinking about it and surprisingly, I'm not too old for the Air Force. lol. I appreciate the advice and encouragement. And as always I will definitely treat everyone how I want to be treated. Roles can always be reversed and you never know when you will need someone. I wish everyone lived by the golden rule but that would be too easy, right? Thanks to you both (@nichtooks)!
ambience24z9338 · 3/4/2015
Go Air Force!!!! ♡♡ So proud of all of you :)