Redfred wrote:
You sound like an entitled prick looking for a story to tell the grand kids. Do you honestly think you could lead men in combat? Can you tell a Sergeant with four combat tours what to do? Can you make decisions that could kill yourself or your men? Go do Teach for America.
Wow... I'll think about it. You might want to reply to OP and tell him that too.
Signed - Who the heck are you replying to?
runnerwithoutacause wrote:
I think my problems with authority are more focused on people either the same age as I am or who clearly aren't extremely competent telling me what to do. That and when people instruct me how to live my personal life. I have less of a problem with professional authority than I do with say working under someone in a group of peers or having a new coach tell me his way is the only way (my HS experience, why I like running club/being self coached). The problem I see with that in the military is having someone telling me when and how to do every little thing in my life.
Can anyone shed some light on what the deal would be for grad school? Would some/all of it be covered after having served?
Trust me, there are plenty of people in the military who are not competent who will be telling you what to do.
The military (mostly speaking about the Army here) is not physically hard; the worst part to deal with is the drama (much more so with enlisted folks than with officers) and the bureaucracy. You should talk to a recruiter about grad school. If you are interested in completing grad school while active duty, you will end up spending more time in. If you play things right, you can set yourself up in a great position for work in the State Department. Try to see what it would take to get a grad degree while in, and then see if you can do some time at the Pentagon. Even as an aid to some colonel or general there can give you amazing contacts. If you can hang in there, you can retire with a pension at 20 years. I'm guessing for you that would be your mid 40's, if you can work another 20 years after that for the State Department you can be set for retirement with a double pension.
Finished college with 2 degress and was a good enough to run post college and I choose the Amry. I didn't stay on active duty long, most of my career was in the Reserves. (I have not regrets.) I have few decent achievements and I've done some exciting things in my life, but my military service is what my family and friends find most interesting and is most significant me. What I did in the military was not a big deal to me at the time, but looking back I am very proud.
no one cares what you do with your life. 150 years from now no one will give a d*mn about anything we are doing right now.
Going in to the military right now is a waste of your youth and possibly your health, sanity, or life.
I'm not a left wing nut job who thinks the world can be a happy and peaceful place forever. There will be wars. But what has happened in in Iraq and Afghanistan are travesties. The former because it never should have happened, and the latter because we think we can impose our way of life on a bunch of tribes living in mud huts (most of whom hate the U.S. for perfectly valid reasons). Of course after 9/11 the military had to go there and pound the taliban/al qaeda. But that should have taken less than a year. Everything after that has been a total sh*t show.
Given the political climate in the U.S. right now there is no reason to suspect that cooler heads will prevail with any consistency. If you're a smart guy/girl with options, don't waste your time fighting for idiots. Contribute something real to your community and maybe run for office later to replace one of the idiots.
fisky wrote:
I'm a former Air Force officer. The authority issues you have will be less of a concern as USAF officer than as enlisted in any service, but you will eventually learn that everyone reports to someone. Even if you own the business, you have burdensome, stupid laws to comply with. In the AF, only pilots are at high risk of life or injury, and even pilots are lower than the typical Army or Marine guy that has to ride through the roadside IEDs in some primitive country.
In any service, being an officer gives you far more flexibility and post-military resume material.
This. But like someone said, if you don't like 'authority' or someone giving you orders...well, you might wan to reconsider. Doesn't matter how high you are in your ranking, there will be someone above you giving you orders and give you a hard time--whether you like it or not. In the military, they own you 24/7. You sign and you fulfill. Period.
My experience in the military was bittersweet. It gave me lots of experience and leadership and yet, it was not perfect. But then again, what is?
Best of luck to the OP. "Don't be afraid of a little challenge"....:)