uncle samuel wrote:
If you want to serve your country become a school teacher, police officer, or fire fighter.
You'd only be serving elitist interests and imperialist ambition if you were to join the military.
this is correct these day. Unfortunately our men and women in the military are being asked to make huge sacrifices in conflicts that will resolve nothing.
Afghanistan and Iraq will be hell holes after we leave. They are even today.
30 years ago I seriously considered joining, but didn't. I often wish I would have.
Ask those close to you what they think. There's good advice on this board and a lot of ^&*$.
If you go for it, I (and millions of others) say, "Thanks".
I spent 20 years in the Air Force (4 years) Army (4 years) and Army Reserve (12 and a half years)
I'm thankful that I was never actually TESTED for I went in for basically the same reasons you did.
They are good reasons, but you really need to think whether or not you REALLY want to be a military person and if it is REALLY YOU.
It wasn't the real me and I suffered for it.
May have been the most mediocre career in the history of the services.
I just wasn't all that good at it.
There were things that I could have done which would have served my country much better.
Like coaching. I did that ater I retired from the reserve and EVERYTHING clicked.
I've influenced young runners who are now Division 1 cross country runners, Army Rangers and Marine Corps Officers.
Throw in now fellow coaches, artists, theatre professors and con men possibly.
But, that was what I was meant to do to serve.
Make sure that is really how you really want to SERVE, because there are MANY ways to do it.
Do you like the idea of being killed for no good reason? If so then join up!
Unfortunately, you're the only one who can determine whether you "should do this or not". Ask yourself what, exactly, you want from your time in the military. Then ask yourself whether the work and effort required to attain that is worth it. THEN ask yourself "why"? As in "why would you pick this particular avenue when there may be easier ways to achieve that goal?
I'm not trying to dissuade you. You can do well and get a lot of fulfillment from your time in the military ... just trying to get you to ask yourself whether you think "the means" are worth putting up with to achieve the "end".
Good luck!
Hoo-ah! wrote:
Ivy edumacated former Librul.
Best thing--the VERY best thing--I ever did was to serve.
A) Learned more about myself than I ever thought possible (or, in some cases, wanted to know).
B) Grew to understand forgotten--or ridiculed--concepts such as DUTY, LOYALTY, HONOR.
C) Learned what it means to be a leader--whether as a follower or as a commander.
D) Made some of the best friends ever (somehow I do not think my college roommate would have died for me--nor I for him; however, I now understand the concept).
E) While not a goal at the time, it turns out that my resume is now pretty much irresistible to corporations. My family much appreciates the tangible benefits this brings.
Just one man's opinion.
I don't want to bash your ideals and beliefs on the military system but I do have to say something.
My father just recently retired from service in the 82nd airborne (25 years) and my mother was formerly in the army. My grandfather was in the army (on my mother's side) and his father before him was a colonel in the army. I do agree that service in the military is a noble, and worthy cause. But right now, I believe that our country needs service in other ways. Our children need education to ensure the safety of our nation's future. The economy is in the tank, not our army. We need creative, learned minds to help solve problems (which are way over MY head).
Every one of those things you've listed is definitely a great reward for serving. But all of those things are attainable outside of service as well. You don't need to be in the military to know what honor, duty and loyalty are. Just growing up and stepping into the real world and being a man will teach you about yourself and standing up for what you believe in will teach you be strong and be a leader.
Peace Corps?
This is for the people who keep mentioning teaching instead.
Maybe it's the region that I live in, but teaching jobs are extremely scare and rare to find. Once a really crappy teacher gets tenure, they will be there for 20-30 years. I remember hearing a job opened up at my old school, 260 people applied for one position. My school was no darling or anything special.
So many people who hoped to teach Social Studies, English, Math, etc, ended up changing their focus towards Special Education. Not that nothing is wrong with it, but now even that sector is becoming hard to break into. Education needs to be reformed bad.
Police, Fire Fighters? A lot of major cities aren't hiring and have huge waiting lists.
Just don't join the military because you have no choices.
So move.
you want to kill innocent people so that some rich old men can be even richer? you want to serve rich old evil men? and maybe even get killed?
Before this thread gets too far off track. Let's bring it back to its original point. Granted, there are a lot of ways to serve, but for the sake of argument, let's assume this guy sees joining the military as the best option for him. Fine. Best of luck to you, young man. That being said, he's looking for help from people who know so he can make the best, most well-informed choice for himself. He wants to know what to expect throughout the process, how to go about not getting screwed by a recruiter, and what to expect from military life. Is there anybody reading this who can attest to those things?
On a related note, there was a very good, very productive thread about this a few months ago. Does anybody know where it went?
i don't have any motivation to work. I am in a good graduate program, I have an apartment, friends, good people to work with. For whatever reason (being spoiled, unorganized, etc) I do not feel the motivation to do any work at all. I thogut if I join the army or military I can figure out what I want in life, or find that motivation I've been lacking my entire life. What do you guys think? I have not talked to a recruiter, or haven't read much about what to expect. Mostly from threads online that I have some clue what's going on.
no purpose wrote:
i don't have any motivation to work. I am in a good graduate program, I have an apartment, friends, good people to work with. For whatever reason (being spoiled, unorganized, etc) I do not feel the motivation to do any work at all. I thogut if I join the army or military I can figure out what I want in life, or find that motivation I've been lacking my entire life. What do you guys think? I have not talked to a recruiter, or haven't read much about what to expect. Mostly from threads online that I have some clue what's going on.
The military doesn't need any more unmotivated people than it already has. Get yourself together somewhere else instead of bringing a bad attitude into an organization that relies on the character of the men and women around them to accomplish its duties.
Good luck getting an appointment to Marine OCS at age 29. Chances are high that you will not PT 300, and that's really the only hope you have to prove you might be worth the risk. You will be up against 22 year olds with more years to offer, who are in better shape, and are likely smarter than you. I don't say this to turn you off to the military, just the Marine Corps. Best of luck, its possible, just not probable. A lot has to do with who else is applying, so with all these snowflakes, who knows, you might have an outside shot. The Army will take pretty much anybody.
I know this thread is 7 and 1/2 years old, so you will be 36-37 now, but if you did enlist I wish you had watched "All Wars are Bankers' Wars". War in Middle East is pointless for the general population, has killed millions unnecessarily and was all for the global centralized banks. I guess it's good that you want to "serve your country" (though I don't get why people are so obsessed with their countries, they're just land within borders. Yes, you were educated and such but that is a basic human right and is not exclusive to this country. It is also mostly a way of distracting people from the real issues at hand.) but perhaps you should have researched why the hell we were in the Middle East in the first place. Hope this finds you well
Why would anyone join the military so they can die for the Trump or Breitbart business conglomerates?
Utah Girl Chronicles wrote:
Why would anyone join the military so they can die for the Trump or Breitbart business conglomerates?
You mean Obama and Clinton? Get a clue liberals, stop reading CNN and realizing Trump is not the problem.
And realize*
It's just a matter of time before some terrorist blows themself up in a hotel lobby of a Trump property in Turkey or Saudi Arabia. Trump will send troops in, not because innocent people were killed, but because his hotel lobby was damaged. That's what happens when we elect a reality TV president.