I am contemplating joining the military.?

HCW

What branch? The army, I'm assuming. If you do join, you will go to war with the army. My fiance is in the navy. That is the only branch, other than the air force, that is over there on volunatry basis only. He loves the navy, and ships out in October again. If you do join, join active duty, not the reserves. You do not qualify for the benefits and pay if you join the reserves. With active duty, you get great medical and dental, as well as better pay, and you qualify for combat pay, hardship pay, etc. Since you are a female, I reccommend the navy. My sister was in the navy, my dad the army, and my grandfather the marines, my uncle the air force. I am from a military family, and I think the military is a great thing. I would reccommend getting a degree first, though, because if you do, you will go in as an officer, with more rights and better pay. Some cons are being away from your family. There aren't really that many cons in my opinion. When joining, you are serving your country. With the military, you are financially secure and, if you choose to stay in, there are great retirement benefits. This is a life-changing decision, and a very difficult one to make. I wish you all the best, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Good Luck!!

trichromecrazy420

Death is not something to be feared, its natural.

But if YOU want to sign your rights away to a corrupt government than that is your choice and not your mothers.

You have to see where see is coming from though. All the time there are stories of soldiers coming home in a cheap pine box at the expense of oil and running the world.

I think your real question should be is this re tarted war worth loosing your rights for?

Think long and hard before you sign that paper.

Can you think of something else positive that you can do?

USMCbound

hopefully you read this before too many of the naysayers get ahold of your question.

I am also 17 and am going into the military, however, I am taking the officer route. I am currently a sophomore in college and participating in Navy ROTC (Marine Corps Option) and will be commissioned upon graduation. I come from a military background so have been exposed to the military my entire life. First, as much as I wish I could provide you with all the information you need to know to join, I can't, you need to do extensive research on your own. Look at all aspects of the diferent branches, the jobs offered, the skills required for those, etc. You can do everything from "killin" to working on computers, flying state of the art fighter jets, developing weapons, working on a ship...nearly anything you want to do you can in the military. It is a great life in many ways. Medical, dental, housing--everything is taken care of if you go active duty. You could live on base (which isnt as bad as people who have never done so say), or live off base and get paid a housing allowence to pay (or help pay) for your mortgage or rent. You learn countless thinks about yourself during training and work...you already seem like a dedicated and motivated person--keep it up. If you decide to not make the military a career, after discharge employers will look very highly on your military service (especially if you have a degree--whcih the military can help you pay for). And one of the biggest pros, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. Knowing that you have been a part of something so much greater than yourself. I would suggest looking into officer programs such as ROTC, PLC, the Academies, but either way...good luck.

feel free to IM me on AOL at smeagolyduck13 or e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to talk about your decision. Sorry this was so long (I could continue)

Gordon

I served in the military for six years and all I can say is that you will waste the best years of your life. You can never recover what you lost and unfortunately it's too late once you realize that fact. I say wasted because for two or more years you will go where someone tells you, when they tell you, and do exactly what they tell you.

If you really want to serve your country work hard in school, go to college, and then take a job in the teacher corps (pays for your education if you spend three years teaching in the inner city afterwards). Or, get a law degree and do social or family law at lower rates (still a good living) for lower income clients. Of course, you can also go for a medical degree and become a general practitioner or pediatrician (very high demand) -- there are programs that will help pay for your degree if you work for a few years in low income areas. Finally, one of the best ways to serve your country is to work as an independent journalist -- investigate and report the truth so that you and your fellow citizens can make more informed choices for people to lead us. If you want to work overseas join an english language teaching program or the peace corps.

To address some of the other comments I've seen here, please read articles like the following that describe what you're risking when you join the military in a time of war. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/01/05/brain_trauma/index_np.html

One more note: if you subscribe to the idea that this war in Iraq was unavoidable then I recommend that you do some serious reading -- you'll see that a lot of people who have carefully studied this issue (and who have nothing to gain financially from it) believe there is no evidence that this war was necessary. If you want to defend your country in an enforcement setting join the coast guard, the border patrol, your local police department, or one of the specialty offices like the FBI or DEA.

muncie birder

pros: you will meet people who will likely be your friends for life
you will learn self confidence and team work
you will learn survival skills and how to handle weapons
you will become a whole lot wiser

cons: forget about dying. That is not the worst thing that can happen. Getting your legs blown off is in my mind the worst or how about your legs and your eyes. Or becoming paralyzed from the neck down.

Irish

There are four branches. You can stay out of harm's way by joining the Air Force or Navy. Good luck to you. I also am a vet.

position28

Our military is the best the training is the best.
It will train you to " make it "

Snappy

Pros: GI Bill, Free travel, great training, meet great people, a chance to fight for the freedoms that you have.

Cons: FT. Hood Texas. And some chow halls have crappy food.

Yes, can you tell that I served??? 12 years, and the first desert conflict under my belt. Going to war, is different than being in combat. Pick a good job in the branch that you are choosing, and you will be fine. Don't forget to shop all of the branches... If one will not offer a job you like, go to another... Don't settle for a job that will do nothing out here. Also ask about enlistment bounses??? A ton of jobs have them, but for some reason they don't put that out in the open too much.

Good luck, and thank you for thinking about defending MY freedom!!!!

kendog299

pro's-good training, benefits, travel, schooling, pay, people, experience, resume.

con- you could lose your life. but you could do that just crossing the street or driving your car. bet a lot more people lose their lives by far in gang related violence in this country than the honorable men and women in Iraq by 1000 fold!

Best President Ever!!!

If you're fugly join the Army or Marines, Hotties join the Airforce

THEâ™ªBurgerâ™ªKing

You would be serving your country in a great way. I hope that you are fully aware of what could happen and wish you the best. I appreciate all that people like you do to serve your country

B-Wizzle

wouldn't you want to own your own destiny...once your in there your done.either successful or more confused than you are now.all in all you still will be owned if you do become successful.you wont get credit for it, the forces will.go to college meet someone bright and have a promising future move to another state and see what in-tells there.

buck_wonderz

i think it is good to go fight in the war if u want 2 im the same age adn i would be to afraid to do it but i would supports u cuz i think it is a great thing if u can do it. maybe u should try talking to people that fought in a war that way u would get some idea good luck
have a great day

dfuerstcat

My daughter after 6 years still says joining the Marines was the best thing she ever did for herself.

ari

good luck in whatever choice you make. one thing for sure is that it wont be easy though but if you think you can pull it off, why not.

partydudette52

Think it through. If you want to join the military for reasons such as "free college education" "traveling" "discipline" "fire-arms training" and so on, then maybe NOW is not the best TIME to join. There is a WAR going on. Plus, there are other ways to get the above mentioned. If you want to join to FIGHT in IRAQ, then NOW is the TIME.

CeaserMaMa

Wow....you are a very loyal citizen and the USA is proud to have you I'm sure.......because of people like you are country is free and if you take this job i want to say thanks...........I'm sorry i know no pros or cons besides loyalty and death,if you take this job you immediately save one others life by them not going into war,good luck......god bless!

Left the building

I served in the US Army from 1970 to 1973 and I would encourage any young person without a clear vision for his immediate future to consider serving in the military.

What you gain from it is whatever you put into it. The military is highly regimented, but loosely disciplined (once you complete training).

Your goal should be to further your education as much as "serving the nation." The military offers many benefits towards furthering your education and they should not be ignored.

Ultimately, the decision is yours, but you must realize that your NCO's can be far worse than a parent when it comes to nagging or putting you down.

If nothing else, you should learn self discipline.

BTW, most people do not serve in direct combat, the majority of people serve in support roles.

Good luck.

carolinagrl

Okay, you dont fear death. Will you say that when a group of terrorists have a machete up against your neck as you beg for your life in front of a video camera?

Lil' Miss J

You say you don't fear death, wait until it happens near you or to a close friend in the service. You're right, everyone does die. But you are only 17. More power to you wanting to join. The US is in a terrible rut and we are not well liked. The service is stretched very thin right now and with the idiot in the White House looks like we will be over in the Middle East for while, plus with the extra patrol at the Mexico border. So you may end up in the east or down south. Maybe you should talk to some vets, get the other side of the story. Good luck to you:)

andrewmillsengineer

Good for you! I think it is a great career move!

If you do enlist, you can usually avoid combat positions. Pick a critical specialty that is hard to "replace" and it is likely you would not get select for front line combat duties.

Best choice, I feel is the US Navy. Great career path for women. Avoid army. I worked for many years as military contractor and saw what services had the best careers.

Free meals, clothing, housing allowance, travel, training, money and sign-up bonus and re-enlist bonus, tuition assistance when you leave the service. All great deals! Stay in for 20 years and then you can retire from service with pay. From there, work at another place/career and collect more pay! Super deal.

Gheti

This may be too sensitvie to put up here. Honestly, I would not want to put an answer and then you die in war, but I guess you don't care. Do your country proud. Don't let all the America-haters discourage you.

Pobept

the military is a good life experience for everyone, it teaches, self reliance, team work, leader ship. as well as receiving many after service benefits.
Go For It
Keep in mind its not an easy life, but after you serve you and many like me will be very proud of you and your service to our country. All the best of luck in what ever you decide to do :-)

My world

Congratulations. I hope that everything works out for you. Remember, your parents will be your biggest supporters. They may not like the decision, in fact, they may try to talk you out of it, but it is YOUR life, and YOUR decision. Joining the military is a sound and good decision for your life, career, and future.

The pros to joining the military for me were: the travel (Germany, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Turkey, Spain, England, Malaysia, Tunisia, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, Mexico, Norway), the camaraderie (I have friends all over the world, and no matter where I go, there's a veteran), the solid paycheck (every month/twice a month, annual pay raise, time in service pay raise, can't be fired, 30 days annual vacation), the excitement (Airborne, Air Assault, travel), and leaving my hometown (no jobs).

The cons: War. Of course, I was in the Army for 20 years. During those 20 years, there were 12 armed conflicts. I did NOT go to a single one.

The decision to join the military is yours. There are people that won't understand your decision, and people who don't want you to go. But, they are going to be right there where they were when you left, and will probably be there when you get back. What will YOU do with YOUR life? That's the question.

Good luck

The Spaniard

Don't do it. Don't be another one of the goverment's pawns. This is not a war, it's a mass murder of american soldiers. The blood is on bush's hands, don't get your's on his hands. Stay out, and join when this .... "war" ends.

NVR 2 L8

I admire and honor the fact that you want to serve our country. However, and understand this is only what I have had experience with.... but the men that I have known to serve at first seemed very nice, but then, out of nowhere, they were crazy. I mean nut cases. Go ahead and join BUT don't go crazy on us. There are a lot of freaks and untrustworthy people in this world, don't make it one more.

I do have one disclaimer though, my brother's best friend is a wonderful man serving in the Army.

AnswerBot

Whoa, Bush is gonna LOVE you!!!!
You're quite naive, but they WILL put a rifle in your hands...no worries. The Army needs more people like you (they'll even pay you).

desiderio

I think you sound like the perfect canidate to enlist. You seem to have the will and the determination to make a good soldier. Good for you, and good luck.

prettyinpunkk

Think long and hard about it. I am proud to see there are people strong enough to do this for our country. You are stronger than me. Thank you!

Boom!!! Shock A Locka

Good luck, if you want to go for it do it. Just make sure its you who want to do it not just to proove someone wrong.

Pro-get your body in shape, get money for college, be able to say you defended your countr

Cons- Trauma from some of the things you will see

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