I think there is a lot to this sentiment as well, based on former military guys I have worked with over the years.

A few on here have done this or contemplated this recently, and it is always marines or army. Why is the navy or air force never mentioned? I know we have some USAF guys here, which makes it even more surprising to me that it just seems to only be army/marines mentioned. Just curious about that.

Exactly. Military is a back up when all else fails. I hope to think that our military isnt full of people that couldnt hack civilian life. And like Jim said, recruiters must have a hard on for guys and gals like this, as well as the gung-ho types that cant wait to get out of HS to go sign up, but at least those people are going in for a reason, and its those people that make or at least made up the back bone of our military might.

I wouldn't call the military a "back up plan" at all. more like an alternative route. this is a stigma that needs to be put to rest. they pay for college, which is a big selling point. no everyone has the drive or the funds to go to college straight out of high school. some people need a little more structure in their lives. the military can provide that.

the military can open up a lot of opportunities for people who haven't had a formal education.

I don't think it is "couldn't hack it", I think it is more often 'not prepared/ready/disciplined enough', again based on people I have spoken with.

I guess if you are gunna go join up, they are the two most popular or most notable divisions.
I was very close to joining the Air Force ROTC when I was an engineering student. They were willing to pay for everything...very tempting at 35k a year.

Military can open a lot of windows and doors, and I belive that many take this route as a way to get a leg up in the world. But some people just fall into it as a last resort.
But in the end, I would rather serve my country then flip burgers.

Well it is made up of many types of people, just like any other field of work. Some come there because they didn't make it in the civilian world for some reason, and to some it was their original intention. There's no one type that signs up.


I called it a back up plan simply because that is what I treat it as, for myself. It has been MY back up plan ever since I graduated HS. At first i was going to join USAF because I wanted to fly, but if I couldn't find aid for my school USAF was the only choice for me. Later the military served as a back up plan as I applied to PSU and RU, if I did not get into those schools I would have signed up for service after I got my Associates at CC.

Back up plan was not meat as demeaning, I respect military the most out of any other organization. My father (step father technically) made me respect them because he was an Officer, and although he has not part of the US military the respect carries on. There is no one that has more balls and courage than the military personnel.

As a soon to be PSU graduate I'm still not dismissing military as my back up alternative.

Not taking away from the other branches because they are of equal importance. But the Soldiers and Marines are considered warriors by our society and throughout history, warriors are always glorified. And with a lot of Alpha males that we have, especially in the "hot rod" world, there is a desire to be a warrior.

Haha, I did both for about a month on ship. Darn Mess duty.

That's a big decision. Good luck man. Just make sure you're really serious about this and you know EVERYTHING before signing on the dotted line.

didn't read any of these posts but good luck and god bless

Bubba,

Have an idea of what you'd like to do in the civilian world AFTER you get out of the military. That way your MOS choice reflects your interest, not just the signing bonus or a recruiters whim.

One year before you are (hopefully, honorably) discharged, work with the military career councellors to find civilian positions that call on your MOS. They are there - use them. Sometimes the easier path is a government (civilian) job, but you aren't limited to that. Just like High School, the military career councellors help honorable dischargees find employment.

Good luck and thanks for volunteering.

Hua!

The military is also a great opportunity to learn what type of work you like/dislike. My friend joined the Navy after he graduated college and he still works for the military. You can also move into a civilian position after you're done.

You have to know this is what you want to do. This is a major decision that is going to drastically change your life. I know the reason I came into the USAF was all the F-16s that flew over my house when I was a kid. I knew I either wanted to fly(didn't have enough college) or work on aircraft that I can fly on....that and I didn't want to be shot at lol. I got my job working on the KC-10 and I love it. I am a totally changed person because of it. I'll be done/retired in 8 years(been in for 12 come august) taking me out to a 50% retirement at 38. That is more than enough for me to live on back home in IL so I'm set.

i think it's a romanticism about being a soldier that makes many choose the army or marines. the best recruiters in the world are the movies that glorify the soldier and that could influence one's decision which door to go through at the local recruiting office.

for me, the first door i came to was the navy. now, not so glorious, not romanticized and not many movies about navy personnel (officer and a gentleman is the only one that comes to mind, other than navy seals), but i talked for hours with the recruiter. i wanted to make sure that i got what i was looking for, since he diverted me from going down the hall to one of the other doors. they had what they called guaranteed training back in the '80s, and it was a contract between the individual and the USN. as it turned out, they reneged on that contract and i was left with few choices. first of all, i was far from home and the prospect of coming back empty handed wasn't very good. however, the choices they provided me with, namely: wait for the school to open up again (and be a swabbie until then), or choose another MOS (and at that point i was sure what i wanted and they weren't providing that as an option, or take my walking papers (Honorable discharge, but R4 re-enlistment code). i decided to walk, knowing i could never use the military as an option later in life. it was a rough decision to make, and i was all of 18 years old. i really didn't know how it would affect the rest of my life, but it did have a negative impact much later.

anyway, just a short story from someone that has been there. it's a very uncertain time of your life and you must know that the decisions you make now will affect the rest of your life. that's why i said be sure of what you want and get it in writing. you cannot trust the recruiter, because all he cares about are hitting his numbers every month and you are just a number to him. be very sure of what you are getting before you sign anything.

a promise from a recruiter and $1.05 will get you a 16 oz coffee at Wawa. get it in writing.

The Army isnt a bad choice at all. Hell, i was 27 when i joined and never in the best of shape. Now a year later, I'm loving life. As for comments about the military being back up or for undisciplined... i can see it in many cases but not all. I chose it honestly out of wanting to do something different and somethings many people could never do.

If you do go Army, PM me with questions and ill also give you a heads up on my experiences in basic and up until this point. Also use me as a reference, ill give you my info for that.

unfortunately people also have in their minds that the only people that count are the ones that are out on the street. what they dont realize is that the Airforce jets are in the sky 24/7 and support those ground troops. And unless youve been in a situation where one of our aircraft has tipped you off on an enemy location or done something to save your life you dont really appreciate it. (no one inpeticular just saying many Soldiers/marines who arent on the streets every day) Also remember that there are Airforce Security Forces on the streets every day as well and Navy personel manning ships that protect the coast lines (my sister is currently deployed and is forced to defend the ship she is on almost every day. Im greatful for the soldiers i see comming and going on convoys every day (not many marines where i am) and they thank us every day for watching over them.

i think people need to remember were all in the same fight and everyone has their part on the team. (Btw i have family members in every branch, we break eachothers balls but support what eachother does)

As for the sign on bonus, it does greatly depend on your job. If you want to join the military then thats great and i obviously support anyone that wants to join the fight. you do need to get in shape before you go (i know you said your working on it but you should be running 3 miles a day) and you need to leave your attitude before you go, from what ive seen from your reactions and temper you have some growing up to do. if you cant take someone making fun of you then your not ready for basic training. Assault will land you in jail in a heartbeat and threats are taken seriously. you will be humiliated and broken down so you can be built back up into what they want you to be.

Just make sure your ready for all of that.

My uncle was an Army drill Sargent, my grandfather on my dads side was Army in Korea, my other grandfather was a Navy cook in WWII, I have 1 cousin in the coast guard 2 in the USAF. I know what to expect I've been told by all of them many times, but honestly I really just want to do something better with my life than what my options are here. I'm not going as a last resort because I do have other options still. Those options in my mind have no future and would just leave me like so many others just trying to scrape by. I would just rather do something I feel is honorable that can help me put my life on a better path.

Josh, yes, I do have a short temper, but its not something that I can't control. I'm looking forward to doing this and not going to let that stop me.

I 100% agree. I just was trying to answer the question that someone asked about why Army/Marines are mostly posted up. I've been a grunt and then moved to comm. So I know both sides of the coin.

Bubba, as people already stated make sure you know what you want. I can't tell you what to expect but I can tell you that the military is what you make of it. Just like life is. You get what you put in to it.

As far as the military being a "back up plan", I can't really say that is a bad or good thing. A lot can change in one enlistment. That person that thought of the military as a back up plan can go on to make it a carrer and at the same time the Gung ho types would lose their motivation because it didn't turn out the way they expected. But for anyone joining, there needs to be a desire to serve.

good luck bubba, its a hard choice to make in this day and age and i commend you for choosing it, ill save accolades and congratulations for after basic, but thank you for wanting to help the nation

thanks mike, I already have a lot to do just to get to basic.

I just got back from the recruiting station and I'm still not sure about what I want to do...I my 3 options that I chose all have 40K bonuses and the education bonus IS NOT part of that. so right now its betwine vehicle mechanic, black hawk/night hawk mechanic, and truck driver

Do you know how much real world heli mech's get paid? (That's for after you get out) That would be an interesting option. But that's yourchoice obviously.

yea I was thinking about that...but I was also thinking about trying to do police towing, like pulling wrecks apart and flipping semis back over

There's a specific MOS for that? :lol:

I'm going to see what they offer me tomorrow, and go from there. apparently scoring an 80 on the screening test is going to give me a ton of options but I'll wait till i see it myself