If a soon-to-be high school graduate, whom you know and they know you, was to ask you about joining a branch of the military, what would you say? This soon-to-be graduate already knows you spent some years, or many, in one of the Services, is the main reason they are asking you. This student is pretty confident they want to join, but not sure which Service. You do remind them of the discipline that is taught and Basic Training is no joyful picnic. If they chose the Army or Marines, they will definitely learn combat skills, like shooting different firearms and throwing a grenade. These are things that aren't taught in Air Force, Navy or Coast Guard Basic. At least, when I went to Navy Basic in Great Lakes, ILL, I sure wasn't taught combat skills. I was taught shipboard things and survival in the water. An A-School teaches other things, specific to a rate, like a Gunners Mate. Then there is extra training for the Special Forces in the Army and Navy (Green Beret and Seals). Do you tell them how joining the military can affect them and their family, when they are deployed somewhere? So, how would YOU handle a student who is serious about joining a Service?
Well my grandson who is a sophomore in college has his heart set on becoming a Navy Seal. My daughter is dead set against it and they've dealt with it by saying that they want him to get his business degree first, then if he still wants to I guess it's his choice. He trains constantly for the psysical and is in great shape and this semester he's even taking some sort of course in military science or something. But everyone in the family hopes he changes his mind.
He's the one standing on the surfboard. He surfs, goes to the gym and lifts weights and has for years, eats healthy, sees how long he can hold his breath under water, lol.... He's been training for this for years but..... He's 19 but he's the most conservative one in the whole family. He's also a normal teenage college kid who likes to party on weekends...too much, lol.
Here's his room in apt on campus....big old flag on the wall ... Oops that went sideways but you get the picture....and I'm also sorry for taking the subject a tad off topic with my grandson but I am a proud grandma.
I'm of the opinion that wars aren't won anymore and I hate seeing our boys coming home in body bags... And girls...
If possible, I would say get a degree first, then enlist as an officer. Assuming they survive, I think most people would do well with military experience, but that's not an assumption that can be made. I guess I would neither persuade nor dissuade someone from enlisting.
I guess it depends on their reasoning for wanting to join. If it is for security, the Air Force is the place to go and there are very few people who die in the Air Force compared to the Army or Marines. An acquaintance in the Army referred to the USAF as "kinda like the military but it isn't". If he wants to go in as an officer and wants to get the most out of himself, I would send him to the Marines (but never as an enlisted person). I would avoid the Navy, as it is now a "social experiment" that is filled with incompetence unless you can get into the Seals, but even they are not the elite force they once were. The Army would allow them to fly aircraft (helicopters) as an enlisted and has the most rapid advancement, but the most primitive housing and facilities (except on the Joint Bases with the Air Force). The Air Force has some Special Forces as well, but they are still (I think) a truly elite force and their aren't many of them.
Since I was 10 I always wanted to be a soldier. I bought Army manuals and had lots of toy soldiers to play with. I enlisted in the Army when I was 18 for 3 years because I passed the test for Officer Candidate School during the Vietnam war. I always wanted to test my courage in a life and death situation and since my draft number was very high, I enlisted. I was promised what area of the Army I would be in so I signed all the papers and off to boot camp I went. I enjoyed boot camp. I did things I never thought I could do, although I was a Jock in high school. During boot camp I was informed that my MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) was not available. In fact they said nothing was available but one which suffered a 50% death rate. My Drill Sergeant told me that I could refuse Officer Candidate School because the Army reneged. He told me that they wanted to use me as cannon fodder. I could not believe that there was not one position open in anything else in the world. That was when I learned that the government lies. Funny thing is that when I got to Vietnam they were short an officer position that I had enlisted for and was made a temporary officer filling the duty I originally wanted for half a year. Lie number two was that I was told if I finished in the top third of a class I was taking I would be selected to be an air traffic controller. I study hard and finished at the top of my class. Lie number two happened when I was not selected dispute being far ahead of anyone else in my class. I spoke to the commanding officer who informed me that the guys they selected had political backing and that was why they were selected. This was a theme that occurred even in Vietnam when a congress woman travelled there to get her son out of a Court Marshall. I saw people killed for what? We were so restricted as to what we could do that it was crazy at times. We were not trying to win the war. Our Presidents did not want to be the one who lost a war so they passed the war on to the next Presidents. Our base had no lights so it was pitch black at night. We later found out that one of the Vietnamese officials took them and sold them on the black market. We turned over our fire support base to the Vietnamese Army who used their compasses next to the big metal artillery pieces and ended up shelling a friendly villages. We found some of them were Vietcong and our base barber was killed trying to enter our base at night with explosives. He was Vietnamese. Local Vietnamese workers were caught going through our trash to obtain information. Security was lax. Officers asked me to produce fake papers to show that they flew a set amount of hours so they could get fight pay. It was all about money and fast tracking up the ladder. All in all I was disillusioned with our Government and needless loss of life to save face. For this reason I would not recommend my son to join the military unless there was a direct threat to the U.S. and the government was committed to win and not just fight for political reasons. I ended up in a profession where I dealt with man Federal Agencies in positions where I assisted my clients to win claims against them by the Government. It was easy because they lost documents, did not follow procedures and employees people in key positions that were friends or relatives of politicians. I worked for one government agency, since disbanded, that had the Mayor’s campaign manager heading it without any experience at all. Two of the women were the mistresses of congressmen. My secretary is the cousin of a high profile football player. Some guys showed up for a few hours a week and so forth. I do not trust the Government at all. There was good that came out of my time in the Army. I gained a lot of confidence in myself. I learned to lead men. I learned that I could be brave in the face of fear. I learned to be ambitious and succeed at all I did. I left the Army and went back to college when I was 20 years old under the GI Bill. I also was married. I had to leave school when my wife became handicapped and yet at 22 was a branch manager and bought an all brick new house. I was the second youngest person in the US to hold the professional license I did. I studied many government regulations every day while my college graduate friends were still partying and living at home. I credit my experience in the military for transforming from a boy to a man. Once you beat death, nothing else seems to be too difficult a barrier to overcome. At one time or another, all of my friends worked for me. By the time I was 25, I made a lot more than my dad did. By 30 I was one of two recognized worldwide experts in my field and an alternate U.N. Advisor. I went from a shy kid to one who did what had to be done to achieve my goals. That is something I learned in combat. As far as when I got back to the States after a year of combat, it was silly with all the pomp and circumstance. I paid my Sergeant to get out of guard duty at night. I find loopholes in the regulation that allowed me to live off base even though I was not married. I was denied permission but I contributed money to my Senator who made the Army to allow what was in their own regulations. I also contributed money again to get our of going to Germany. I did learn that money and political connections could get you almost anything. I used this knowledge to my advantage all of my life. So this knowledge was also gained from my Army days and put to good use. The military did build character and self confidence, but is run by old men who do not put their lives on the line. Try to name one war where we made a difference since WWII. Keep in mind that the Korean War never ended. We are just in a truce with them. Also keep in mind that during combat you can see the cruelty that man is capable of on both sides. I came home with PTSD which resulted in me attacking my wife in my sleep thinking she was a Vietcong soldier. I am now 67 and still suffer anxiety attacks and Insomnia. I would say if he does not have to go, not to as it can destroy his life. If he must go, join the Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard.