Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire would you encourage a young person to join the military?what branch?why?

Another example of the changes in the service IMO. In my day, not that long ago, his chit to live off base would have been revoked. He would have moved back in the barracks and he would have walked to work and his car would have been stored off base. Problem solved, good airman still an asset to the service. Didn't want to reenlist? You can make that decision when your contract is up.

That's pathetic, but the Security Police have a lot of people that are anal jerks looking to be anal jerks as cops later (not trying to start a cop bashing thread but that is my experience in the AF). The Security Police is pretty different from most of the Air Force.

Unfortunately, incriminating yourself to any police officer, military or civilian can be a gamble that that individual isn't a letter of the law type.

My immediate family has strong ties to the Marine Corps.

I would recommend them to anyone. I have always been able to say that I believe you will most appreciate being a Marine when you are in a combat area.

If you don't want to serve that is fine with us. We have long been a volunteer force and who wants to serve with someone who doesn't want to be there?

Uncle, father-in-law, brother-in-law,myself, son-in-law, son and adopted son. Several others were also influenced that way.

They have been grunts, air controllers, mechanics, Am-trac drivers, ordinance men, anti-aircraft warfare electronic operators, PMI's, radio operators, mechanics, musicians and in force recon. Only one has been a career Marine.

The Marine Corps has its own construction battallions, artillery, armor , etc. and is capable of operating without assistance from the other forces. I like that aspect.

We have had other family members in the Air Force, Army and Navy. I have nothing but praise for all of them. If their missions or methods suit your personality so be it. Personally, I don't care for the open ocean, or the confines of a submarine though I dove for some time.

We join to get away from home, get an education, get funding for an education, to see if we can do it and many other reasons .

Most of all we join because we love this country and want to give back to it. Political leaders come and go but without our military I believe we wouldn't exist as a nation and that would be a bad thing.

Semper Fi

I'm partial to the Marines. I had 9 outstanding years wearing the uniform. IMO, I wouldnt condemn any branch, including the coastguard. they all have a place and function in this world.

As for recruiters, I think I had the only honest one. Mine wouldnt let me sign up. Even my folks were pressuring him (I was a problem child and heading for a certain death). He ignored them and told me to think about it. He didnt BS me on my MOS pick.

My folks look at me now, 10 years after I got out and they just shake there head. From a kid that was going downhill real fast with drugs and alcohol to what I have now, they cant believe it.

Nothing wrong with the military, I wouldnt talk anybody out of it. I would make sure they know what they want before signing the papers.

A shipmate of mine got caught drinking underage in the off base enlisted club. Shore Patrol hauled him back to the boat. The CO met them on the pier and asked what the offense was. The told him and he said, "Do you know how many men under the age of 21 we lost in Vietnam?"

The Shore Patrol PO didn't know, the Captain told him and then said, "Don't ever bring any of my men in for this offense again".


I got stopped at the gate between Pearl Harbor Naval Base and the airforce base next door. I'm sure it has a name but it wasn't important enough for me to remember. We'd had a softball tournament over there and I had a half full beer in the cup holder in my van. I had to wait for the base police to show up and then they wrote me up for open container and let me go.

I'm sure the chit showed up at the boat and I'm really sure the XO just tore it up because I didn't hear a word about it.

Things sure are different now days.

This one's been chewed on a time or two around here:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=21&Number=2230286

Having not read the four pages of this post, only the OP, I would have to ask, do you trust the commander in chief? Do you trust the government? I would never have considered this in the past but this, in my heart, is a different time and things are changing fast.

g

I have been wondering what you were up to. I knew you retired in Dec & haven't seen you posting much since then.

I got out in Sept. 1977. Elmo Zumwalt was CNO when I was in. I realize it is a different world now but I believe the Seabees still have the right stuff.

My brother is currently a MA chief and he tells me some of the horror stories of today's quality of sailors.

Jorge I salute you for doing 30 years and making Captain.

I believe that would be Hickam(sp?) AFB.

Get a school in writing if he is focused on learning an employable skill. Right out of basic and into the classroom saves a lot of heartache and wasted time.

Before I turned 21 I was operating generators and switchgear that would power a small city, as the only electrician on watch, in 60 ft swells. I had training and journeyman experience and have never lacked for a job since.

Navy and Air-Force have great schools.

It would be hard to salute that communist, I don't think I could do it... something to consider.

But hey...

I lived my life, what is a young person to do???


As it stands now, there is NO WAY I would join under that communist so called commander in chief bastard.

Does a person join to serve the country or serve the commander in chief? Our military is unique in that we swear to support and defend the constitution...an idea upon which the country was founded. We don't pledge allegiance to a king, queen, or any single person. I like to believe the idea that is America is quite larger than whomever is the current stiff in the White House.

SD

I understand, so if the commander in chief is anti-constitution?
Not an easy choice.
Someone may make that choice..

g

I would recommend it, I wouldn't be where I am today without it. Just make sure that they do a little bit of research and find something that is marketable on the outside world. I got into satellite communications with the Army at 17 and have been doing it for 10 years now. Never looked back.

Lots of good points made here, and I too am worried about bammy as CIC. I am now in the reserves, and wonder every day what will happen.

With that said, I still encourage anyone to join. But it should be his choice, with no pressure either way from his parents.

As far as getting a MOS that transfers to civilian life, its a trade off. I was an artillery and naval gunfire scout observer (forward observer in civilian lingo). Not much civilian demand for that. Aircraft mechanic and things like that are in more demand.
However, there is nothing like the pride of a combat arms MOS. I wouldn't change my 4 active duty years in the Marines for anything, even if it would help me get a better job after college.

A DD214 on your resume can't hurt, regardless of branch or MOS. Especially gov jobs and that 5-10 points vets preference.

MOS 68A - Biomedical Equipment Specialist is one of the best MOS..takes a smart cookie :-)

Any communications, electronics, or info-tech is good experience and training for the economy.

I am not anti-military, never meant to leave that impression.

g

I haven't gone to college yet, but still work for NASA. All because of my MOS choice when I joined up. I was in the 101st for a while, so I know how the combat MOS's feel about things as well.

+100 on that. I was in during Carter. The military was screwed up beyond belief. This is likely to be worse

Would you encourage someone to join? Absolutely, no reservations. I would also encourage him/her to serve his initial tour and get the heck out.

If they desire a specific civilian career, and there is a military job of any service that directly furthers that civilian career, then go for it.

If he (note "HE") wants to be a warrior, go Infantry. Airborne. Even better, the Ranger Regiment. Don't d%ck around with some middle ground - either learn a marketable trade, and a future career, or be a warrior. The Army now allows direct enlistment to Special Forces (18X) - but he better be very mature and have his sh$# wired tight, physically and mentally, or he and/or they will decide he could best serve his country elsewhere.

Just my $.02

G, I never took your post as anti-military. I just think back to (and borrow my Platoon Leader speeches from) very many very dark days in uniform under Clinton. We got through it by focusing on the big picture and the long term. CINCs and their policies, good and bad, come and go. They leave an imprint on the service, policies and operations but deep down I think most people serve for reasons bigger than any good or harm the CINC can do.

Besides, working for a POS boss and keeping yourself motivated by knowing deep down that you're doing right is a valuable skill in both military and civilian worlds.

SD

Have him read through this soldier's blog before he makes his decision.

http://armyofdude.blogspot.com/

An excerpt:

I am writing to you on behalf of Steve Lewey, one of Illinois' bravest sons. Steve grew up in a working class family not too far from your old stomping grounds of Chicago. He did well in high school and went on to college to study architectural design. After realizing he and his parents could not afford to continue his education, Steve enlisted in the United States Army at the age of nineteen. He did so not only for education benefits but to satisfy the intense need to serve his country in a time of war. As an infantryman, Steve completed a fifteen month tour in 2007, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Baqubah, the deadliest battle of the surge. In one instance, after an insurgent attack claimed the life of our comrade, Steve completely exposed himself to enemy fighters by climbing on top of a Stryker vehicle and firing at three insurgents, killing them instantly. On a dirty and blood-soaked street in Iraq, no one seemed to notice the kid from Chicago in an act of remarkable gallantry. Many of my fellow soldiers are walking examples of his bravery - without his incredibly selfless act, more American soldiers would have surely fallen in that battle.

With his GI Bill in hand, Steve left the service after an extended combat deployment and headed back home to Chicago in the winter of 2007. Filled with the fire of discipline and motivation he found in the Army, he settled into a job and waited patiently for the new GI Bill to become law. He wanted to finish the schooling he started so many years ago. That dream came to an abrupt end late last month when he came home to find a thick brown envelope on his doorstep. Inside were instructions on where to report for medical screening for a deployment back to Iraq.

For combat veterans, the task of integrating back into society has been a difficult journey as old as war itself. From Odysseus to eighteen year old soldiers coming from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the path to normalcy is wrought with post traumatic stress and a disconnect between soldiers and their civilian counterparts. The added weight of a potential involuntary recall is more undue pressure on the fragile mind of combat veterans. Army career counselors exacerbate the duress with threatening phone calls and ominous visits to the homes of veterans, suggesting recall is a certainty if they don't join the Guard or Reserves. For Steve and over 20,000 inactive soldiers across the country, their worst fears have been realized in the form of mobilization orders. For them it's another crushing defeat in an already burdensome mission to find peace after war.