The-Captain Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thinking of joining the army. What do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I'm not one to volunteer for prison- which is that the military amounts to IMO... but some people like it. Not saying that I'd never under any circumstances sell my freedom and risk my life for a paycheck, but I think I'd have to be pretty hungry. But I'm more than a little biased. My family has a multi-generational history of getting kicked out of the military- so I never seriously considered signing up. My twin brother made it through his full 4 years in the Air Farce unscathed, though. Hated every minute of it, but no significant problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuidEstCaritas? Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thinking of joining the army. What do you all think? I think if you do decide to join the US Army at this point, you need to be willing to fight every nation on the planet for any reason, should the situation arise that you are asked to do something you may not want to do and have serious objections to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 There has got to be better ways to make money in this economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 My father, who retired from the Air Force, said that he would only recommend it to me if I could get a commission as an officer. I went to speak to the recruiter, who told me that although I had a bachelor's degree I would need numerous more college credits in mathematics, etc., so I abandoned the idea. That's all I know about joining the military. He may have said that to me because it is more difficult to be a woman in the military, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryfka Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I say if it's what you wanna do then go for it. I have a few friends in the military and I have nothing but respect for those guys. Just make sure you know you're joining the military and not the Fantasy Adventure Squad they show in all the commercials... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 As one who worked for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, I was a veterans claims examiner, I say, 'Don't join.' I have heard of too many stories that were corroborated by others, of how the govt., especially the Army, order someone with disabilities incurred in active duty from applying for disability from the VA--and that troop is too ignorant of his rights to file for benefits for many, many years. The Army will also lose your medical records and your pay records. It is the branch of military service with the worst record for keeping track of your pay while you serve overseas, Army families have gone hungry and wound up in collections because troops do not get paid on time. I remember years ago when an 8 year old boy committed suicide because his family had not gotten their Army pay, his daddy was overseas and the family was hungry. So the boy thought it would save his family if he were dead. So he killed himself. The Army vowed then not to let it happen again but they do not give a shit about you or your family. Don't forget at the start of the war, the Army billed troops for prosthetic devices that were to be supplied by the military or VA. If you want a major fucking, then by all means join today's military. There are other ways to serve your country than by becoming tomorrow's amputee and have to fight the US govt. for your benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etchison Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 My advice: don't. Are you a free thinker? Don't join the military. Even though Obama is President: Don't join the military. He's sending people to afghanistan instead of Iraq. Why? Not sure. It might sound like an exotic place to go. Don't join the military. Hop on a bus to Mexico instead. Equally exotic. Are you a person who enjoys having all his/her arms/legs/major organs intact? Don't join the military. The odds are 100:5.7 that you will get injured or killed, but the benefits you receive do not make this risk worth it. Do not join the military. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thinking of joining the army. What do you all think? I must say Doc, this is a surprising development. I don’t know what to think. Why do you want to join? And which branch were you thinking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thinking of joining the army. What do you all think? Are you disciplined? Do you like to get up early? Do you like to eat crap? Do you need money for college? If it were me, I'd join the Marines. The only other good reason to join is if you get to fly planes. Fighter pilots get a lot of action..... But, seriously. I don't think it's a good idea but then again I don't know you or your personal circumstances well enough to advise you on such matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Captain Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thank you for the replies everyone, sounds like we all have a dim view of the military then? @Iskerbibel: Maybe this isn't a good thing, but risking my life for a paycheck (and benefits) doesn't sound so bad to me. My prior work history consists of what could be classified as slightly above minimum wage labor, and I find myself without even that now. Almost seems worth the risk right now. @Quid: That certainly is a possibility, though I would hope that with Obama in office and the narrowing of the War that would be less likely. Something to consider though. @Marty: Maybe there are, but I'm coming up short. I'm 20 going through college (and not sure how to keep paying for that), newly unemployed without a whole lot of work experience outside of construction and landscaping. @Deva: Gender at least is in my favor when it comes to that. Don't think I'm exactly Annapolis/Academy/Westpoint material. I've got good grades, but a bit of a disciplinary record behind me. Don't you have to have all kinds of recommendations etc. to get in? Besides, I'm not exactly thinking career. @Ryfka:Thanks, and no I've been laughing at the commercials for years. @Heretic: Damn, that's certainly disheartening to hear. If I were to I would certainly make an effort to know my rights, but thanks for telling me how the system works against you. @Etchison: Well, I like to think of myself as a freethinker and I'm pretty attached to my organs. Already done the Mexico scene, didn't get payed for it. This will sound naive as hell, but I actually wouldn't mind seeing Afghanistan, dangerous or not it would be interesting, And I'd get a check. @Legion: Well I've been thinking about it for awhile, suppose I would go Marines or Army. Back in high school before I was aware of scholarships and fin. aid I thought military would be my only option, family was poor and I certainly couldn't afford it on my own. Found out differently, but then I transferred to a different school (and my scholarship didn't) so it's tough to afford. Right now I'm having to cut back on classes to cut down on the tuition, I'm out of a job and living expenses are still there, so there is the financial aspect. Simultaneously I'm getting a bit weary of academics and restless to boot, could use a change of venue. The military looks like a way to address all those things. Oh yeah, and civic duty @Panda: I run a mile and 3/4 every morning and actually like MRE's. Don't know about discipline, and would consider the Marines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpion Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Go, son. It'll make a man outta you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 @Panda: I run a mile and 3/4 every morning and actually like MRE's. Don't know about discipline, and would consider the Marines. Okay, that's a start. However, not to discourage you or sound like I am tooting my own horn, but a mile and 3/4 isn't a lot. Last weekend I did a 35 mile bike ride (I ride 5 miles a day, every day) and I thought I was going to DIE the following week. Army exercise is MUCH more intense. I say go for it if you find the benefit. Hey, I thought about joining the reserves so I can pay for college. But I like my freedom too much plus I'm on Zoloft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Wow, you're only 20? I thought you were an actual middle-aged medical doctor! You sure had me fooled. My advice to you, youngster (I got 10 years on you ), is to join either the Air Force or the Coast Guard. Join the Army if you wanted to get treated like dog meat, and join the Marines if you want to get blown up. There's also the Navy. The AF and/or CG will treat you like royalty compared to the other branches, though, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Is the Peace Corps an option for you, rather than military? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Wow, you're only 20? I thought you were an actual middle-aged medical doctor! You sure had me fooled. Seriously. When I learned Doc's younger than me I finally realized how everyone here must have felt when they first met me at 19. Damn kids are crazy smart these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuidEstCaritas? Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Doc, If I were you I would go Coast Guard or Airforce. You get better pay, better living conditions, smarter/friendlier people, etc.. If you do wind up going Air Force or Marines, make sure you get to a really good unit or go the SF/SOCOMM/SPEC OPS/W/e route. If you go spec ops route you will be literally killing people to earn your pay, but at least you will get respect from your peers that is real and unquestioned. If you go anywhere else you are liable to get treated shitty for awhile. Remember, Garrison sucks ass. Remember that. So yeah, go Coast Guard or Airforce, and if you really really really want to go Army or Marines then make sure to get something like Special Forces in your contract. Then just do it. The two things you want from an Army or Marine Cops experience are 1. Rank and 2. Elite unit. You want those two things. Any contract you would make with Uncle Sam in regards the Army or Marine Corps needs to be one where, by the time you get out of training for the elite unit you would goto, you will already be e-5 or e-6. But please consider Air Force or Coast Guard because of better pay, living arrangements, understanding about family needs, treated better, etc.. Also, if you are an intellectual then do yourself a favor and don't go Regular Army or Regular Marines, you are fucking yourself doing that. At least go the SOCOMM or SF or Spec OPS route, much smarter people in those fields. If you can't get that in a contract, then like I said: Airforce or Coast Guard. Oh yeah. Forgot one thing: Don't join. Find some other route in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathlene Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 VC Yesterday 9:01pm..... and join the Marines if you want to get blown up. I nearly lost my drink over this comment!!! What makes the marines so special that you are more likely to get blown-up in it than say the Navy or Army??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shion Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 VC Yesterday 9:01pm..... and join the Marines if you want to get blown up. I nearly lost my drink over this comment!!! What makes the marines so special that you are more likely to get blown-up in it than say the Navy or Army??? First on the beach to die? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 If you are dead set on this because you need the money, why not the Navy or AF? The chances of losing life and limb will go down almost 100% if you do and you will still get the paycheck. Your test scores should be high enough that you can write your own ticket. And like I told you in the PM, why not go the officer route? My cousin started out as an enlisted man and then after boot camp and nuke school the Navy sent him to the university where he was in an ROTC program, whereupon graduation he went to flight school. All was paid for including a living stipend. He made a lot more money than the enlisted men in his career and now that he has finished his 20 years he has a nice juicy government contract job that pays him more than $100k/year. With your brain your options are not limited. If you don't ask for it, no one in this life is going to single you out as special even though IMO you are. They are going to assume you are just the same as everyone else and treat you accordingly. You have to take care of yourself by making the right choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I was in the Air Force. Much better standard of living than the other branches and let's face it, more like a civilian job. Like any job/career it has it's ups and downs. The military can be a great start to a person's life. You can learn a useful trade, travel on the governments dime, meet people from all over the world and experience many really cool things. But there is plenty of downsides like potentially going to war, having to obey orders, restrictions on your civil liberties. If you got the high scores on your ASVAB you can pretty much get whatever job you want. The standard of training is fairly decent and often you'll have a lot more responsibility than your non-serving peers. Avoid the combat arms though. One, the skills are not very marketable and two, increased chance of injury or death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 If you do wind up going Air Force or Marines, make sure you get to a really good unit or go the SF/SOCOMM/SPEC OPS/W/e route. If you go spec ops route you will be literally killing people to earn your pay, but at least you will get respect from your peers that is real and unquestioned. If you go anywhere else you are liable to get treated shitty for awhile. Remember, Garrison sucks ass. Remember that. For every 20 or 30 kids that get Spec Ops in their contract, with dreams of elite glory straight out of a Tom Clancy novel, maybe one makes it. Possibly less! Many try, the majority will fail. Unless you're totally obsessively driven and have wanted to be an elite super-stud since you were 13 years old, I don't know that I would bank on that. Hell, I bet even most those kids that have such a hard-on for being an elite super trooper don't make it. From what I've seen, most of them were serious jocks in high school that lived and breathed athletics, especially if you're talking anybody with dive wings (SEALs and Recon). Although the Green Berets do tend to attract the brainier types. I got a buddy who's a Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne and who's going for his second try for Special Forces School. He fucked up his ankle in a rappelling accident, which is why he didn't make it before. He tells me he has a pretty good shot at making it. He was no jock in high school, just a skinny chain-smoking goth weirdo who collected German war memorabilia and who spent hours a day playing video games, in the days before multi-player PC games like Warcraft. Although he was a lot more obsessed with military history and all that stuff than the average nerd was, and he did go on these epic treks through the desert with his guns and survival gear. If you do suddenly feel a "calling" to be a Green Beret or a SEAL or something, drop to the ground and start doing pushups right now. I'd embark on basically an Olympian training regimen about a solid year before showing up for Basic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Air Force has it's versions of special forces too so if you really gung ho and want a job post military, could try to be a combat controller. They go through the same kind of heavy duty special forces training, but also go to air traffic control school if I remember rightly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabula Rasa Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Wow, you're only 20? I thought you were an actual middle-aged medical doctor! You sure had me fooled. Seriously. When I learned Doc's younger than me I finally realized how everyone here must have felt when they first met me at 19. Damn kids are crazy smart these days. Reminds me of how shocked people here are when they find out I'm 42. Most people think I'm in my twenties. As for the Doc's question, I don't mean to sound cynical, but remember; the Armed Forces can pretty it up as much as they can, but a soldier's job is to kill or be killed. Even if you get a job behind the lines, that's no guarantee that a situation won't arise where you have to kill the enemy. Just my two cents, Tab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Doc I’m leaning towards agreement with Vigile. You seem like officer material to me. You could join the Air Force then you could study biology on their tab then you could go to area 51 and get to know some of the aliens they keep around. Seriously though, you have a good head on your shoulders. If you go, then please don’t sell yourself short, whatever branch you decide to join. It makes me a little sad to hear that you may go. This would probably mean we would see less of you around here. But I would understand, and wish you the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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