Well, there's certainly some interesting information in here, let me add to the confusion, and make this "clear as mud" for ya! :laugh:
1. What is the minimum required service stint for enlisted men? It is 3 years, correct?
Currently, the total commitment you have to make is 8 years. Like some folks have said, it's usually 4&4, but I've seen people do 6&2, and even saw one kid here at the USAF base I work at scam a 2&6 enlistment. We're still trying to figure out how he talked the air force into that one! When I came in, back before you were born, it was a 6 year total commitment, but I served 9.5 years, so didn't have any reserve time when I got out.
2. What kind of training and education does the military offer in the IT field? If you're looking for technical training (and especially since your next question is concerning deployment to war zones), I'd strongly suggest the navy or air force. Be aware, though, that their requirements are higher than those for the army or marine corps, at least as far as your capability for education are concerned. If you've done a halfway decent job at college, that shouldn't be a factor.
3. What are the chances that I would get deployed to a war zone? They're going to be pretty good, right now, for any branch of the service. That being said, being an IT puke, your chances of being deployed AND in immenent danger of being shot at or blown up are quite a bit lower than they would be for a ground pounder. If you're a navy IT puke, it's likely you're going to be on a deployed ship, which will be in the area of the war zones, but not in the heat of battle.
4. Would it be better, for my purposes, to join on active duty or the reserves? Your chances of getting the technology training, like IT, are better as an active duty person than they are for a reservist, USUALLY. Unfortunately, the times I've dealt with them, the recruiter for the reserves was a totally different person, in a totally different office, than the recruiter for the active duty side of the house. Talk to both, if necessary, and go with whoever (or whichever) can give you the best deal for YOU. Trust me, most branches of the military are on a constant search for "fresh meat", and will answer whatever questions you have for them, to the best of their ability.
THAT being said, here's a word of advice. Whichever direction you plan on going, get the stuff the recruiter is promising you in writing!!! Otherwise, when you get to basic training, and start whining about, "but my recruiter told me....", they're going to tell you that if it's not in black in white, in the contract that you voluntarily signed, then you might as well forget about it!! Just think of it as a recruiter's way of telling you they won't come in your mouth.......and we all know how often that promise is fulfilled, don't we?? :laugh:
5. How much freedom does military life allow? (I'm guessing not much?) Freedom of or for what? Do you mean how much like a 9 to 5 is military life? For the air force guys I work with, it's pretty much a regular job, unless they're deployed. That's pretty much what it was like for me, as a navy enlisted guy, unless we were out to sea/deployed. We stood duty days on board ship, usually 1 day on (where you're pretty much restricted to the ship for 24 hours) and 3 days off, with an 8 hour workday on your "off" days. Ashore we stood the same rotation, but could go home at night if we didn't have a watch to stand.
I personally never stood a 12on/12off duty, like some of these guys are talking about, but the electronics "twidgets" might. I was a snipe, down in engineering, running nuclear reactors for the navy, and the worst we saw was 6on/6off, and that only on our duty days.
6. What is the average base pay for an enlisted soldier in the Army? I really can't answer that for you, but enlisted guys make the same in any branch of the service, depending on what rank they are. I will tell you that normally, the guys in electronics (and other highly technical fields) do tend to make rank faster, and start out higher than the poor schmucks that are in the non-technical fields. I personally got out of basic training as an E-3, and made E-4 out of tech school, just 4 months after joining the navy. I worked with guys who were putting on E-6 after just 4 years, which is unheard of in any other branch of the military. I work now with a guy who's enlisted in the air force, and he's considered a "top runner". He just put on E-6 at ~10 years, which is pretty fast for the air force. The pay for the military isn't the greatest, but the training you'll get, plus the benefits you'll receive, more than make up for it.
7. To prove my skills with computers or IT, would I need to take ASVAB? The ASVAB test is a MUST, especially if you're wanting to get into a technical field. That being said, it's important to understand that the ASVAB does NOT test your knowledge. Rather, it's an aptitude test, and measures your skill at certain abilities, or ways of thinking. It helps the recruiters to know if you're more likely to make a better electronics person, or a better mechanic, or a better tank driver. It measures your ability to think, to reason, and to solve problems; moreso your ability to learn, instead of how much learning you already have. Score high in certain areas, and they're more likely to offer you what you want. Score high in EVERY area, and you can pretty much tell them "this is what I want", and they'll give it to you. That's what I did, and I wrote my own ticket, including not only the nuclear power training I received, but also the fact that I wanted to be a mechanical, versus an electronics person (they wanted me to do electronics, which I did NOT want to do for a career!!). If you're worried about your ability to do well on the exam, there are books published that will help you improve your score, and you can take the ASVAB test as many times as you want, to get the scores you want.
8. Assuming I got shipped overseas, what is an average tour of duty? Most of the deployments I see the air force guys I work with are ~6 months. I personally did three deployments of 7 months each (with the occasional port call for pussy and beer!! :laugh: ). I think the army & marine corps guys are pulling 1 year deployments. So that's really going to depend on the branch of service you go into.
As far as your parents are concerned, it's natural for your folks to freak out when hearing how their "baby" is thinking about joining the military. If it's really what you want to do, and you've thought it carefully out, then go for it. Don't let people talk you out of it, but be willing to sit down and have a rational talk about it, and listen to their concerns. Remember that knowledge is your best weapon, and having answers to their questions and concerns will get you further, plus it helps to show them that this isn't something you're doing off the cuff, without any forethought.
Know, too, that if motivation and disorganization are your only reasons for wanting to go in the military, then you're making a HUGE mistake! Yes, they can teach those skills to you. Yes, they can give you the time to grow up and decide what you want to do with your life (which seems to be your real problem right now). But if that's the only reasons you want to join, then I really feel that you'll dislike the entire time you're in, and really waste those years of your life. The military isn't just a job, it's a way of life, and some people just aren't made for it. Just ask ol' Billy Batson, above me here. He sounds as though he joined for the wrong reasons, and not only wasted his time, but everyone else's as well.
The navy was good to me, even though I didn't enjoy all the at sea time, all the time. But I did get to see some places that I would have never even considered, let alone traveled to, if I had stayed a civilian. I got to see some wonderful places, I got to meet and work with some great people, and I don't regret a single moment of my time in. I also got out before I hit my halfway point, because the politics of the military was getting so bad that I couldn't stand it (I'm old school, ya know?? :laugh: ). If you do join, do it for the right reasons, and make certain that you're doing it with your eyes wide open.
Good luck, young'n!