Military service: Would you do it again??

My oldest son ( 24 ) is considering joining the Air Force.
I feel it's EXACTLY what he needs in his life: Structure and a direction, a trade and education.

He has bounced around from go nowhere job to job, and needs a trade or skill in his life.

Mom has dbouts if the Military really is all that is promised - education, trades, etc...

Kicker is he has 2 children, 2 and 4 years old and they would be the biggest reason for him NOT to join.

I wish he had done this 4 years ago, but what do the Military types here on the WERA board think??

Would you do it again??

 

If I could do it again, I would.

The only change I would make is, I would go into a medical field, like x-ray technician. Six years, and come out of the military with a certified job skill with jobs available everywhere.

I was a 74F, computer programmer. I left the Army with lots of experience, but everybody wanted a programmer with a degree.

 

With two kids I would say not. I believe that would strain his relationship on his family. Maybe get him in a trade school or something. But at 24 years old his is pretty much set in his ways unless a life threatening situation comes along to make him want change in his life. IMHO

 

I didn't know you were in the military.

 

Structure and direction join the Marine Corps. They did a good number on me when i joined. And hell yeah i would have done it all over again.

 

Nope, they wouldn't have my gimp ass, never tried either.

 

I wouldn't do it again. My goals were different than yours are for your son. Actually, now that I think of it maybe your goals for your son were the same goals my parents had for me. But I digress.....

I joined the Air Force because I wanted to go to college and get a job with a future. In retrospect I could have accomplished these goals without military service by simply visiting the local community college and finding out about all the tuition assistance available. The AF recruiter hounded me and the community college didn't.

The military is a cross section of society. If you have trouble adapting to mainstream society as an adult then you will have the same trouble in the military. If you have poor self discipline then you will get punished constantly. The military will punish you for failings in your personal affairs which alot of people aren't prepared for. To summarize, the military won't MAKE you into a responsible person but they will make your life uncomfortable if you are irresponsible. At the end of the day your an adult and you will suffer the consequences of your actions. If your a slow learner or a dead beat you'll get the boot.

IMO, the lesson's the military can teach you are the same lesson's that life will teach you. Don't look at military service as a way to re-invent a personality. Your better served to address your personal shortcomings where you can get better pay and benefits.

 

well if he wants a trade/skill and wants to stay in the local area go Guard. I went Air National Guard because it lets me go to college full time to work on getting my commission, but being 19 say if something should happen i have the training in Satellite Communications to go get me a good paying job. Even if that fails i can go to my commander and go active duty. So it offers a great back up plan to me.

if your wondering about the discipline, he'll get it cause its one of the only few jobs where if your late they can arrest you or take half your months pay away. if you don't pay bills on time the first shirt will come and have a chat with you and prolly granish your wages. Plus a lot more stuff i can't think of right of the top of my head

 

When I was in the Army, if you pass a GED you could qualify for a two year enlistment.

Two years is nothing, and it is over in a flash. Also, if you have a family, you get to live with them after your Basic and your School are completed. You even get paid extra for food and housing.

It will do a lot for anyone. You learn to function from the bottom up in an organization. You get to follow and you get to lead. You will test yourself mentally and physically, and it will instill a sense of pride and self esteem. This doesn't happen for everyone. But it does for about 90%. Those are pretty good odds to me.

BTW, Americans take their freedom for granted, like it is some inalieable right. Service makes you understand that freedom isn't free.

 

Everything Joe said.
Ditto.

 

You should have tried the Navy. I heard they don't mind guys who shave their legs .

 

I joined the Army a bit later than most. I wanted to finish college before I signed up. It worked out very well for me and I would do it over again. The only change I would make is to go in sooner, and use the college fund I would accumulate while serving, to make school easier. I had to work my way through school with various jobs, which made studying more difficult, and in the end, delayed the start of a civilian career.

My school background and test scores got me into Military Intelligence (an oxymoron, I know), and I spent two years in beautiful Monterey, CA at the Defense Language Institute learning a couple of foreign languages. Later I served overseas for five years, had a very interesting job and got to see quite a bit of the world, including a few Grands Prix.

It was a very rewarding experience and positioned me well for gainful employment once my hitch was over. As for personal growth, because I was older when I went in, I saw much of the discipline for what it was, and didn't have a problem with it. I will admit to being irritated at being treated like a child at times, however, most of that occurred during Basic and Advanced Individual Training. Once deployed in a regular line unit, it was far less intrusive, as long as you did the right thing, and behaved like a soldier should.

In your son's situation, with a family, the National Guard might be a better alternative, providing they offer him training in an area of interest. Active duty would be an option once he got a feel for the military in the Reserves.

 

I agree with everything Joe said, too. But I would seriously consider going back in if they took old retired guys back. I think I'd want to do the Navy this time, though. I've done the Army and the Air Force.

 

Yes...only this time I'd stay with black ops and forget about "career progression" as one commander advised me. If someone offered it to me, I'd be hunting for Osama you Mamma and Sad Sack right now...for "room and board."

 

"American Girls and American Guys
We'll always stand up and salute
We'll always recognize
When we see Ole Glory Flying
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night
When we lay down our head"

Toby Keith, An Angry American

 

Worked out pretty well for me in the mid `60's.

Well, all except the trade part. When I got out, the only people that showed any interest in hiring me as a door gunner were a couple of swarthy no-necks that wanted to know if I could shoot out of the side door on their van...

Butt, yes, given the same situation, I'd do it all over again.

 

Not the way I did it. Passing up UPenn to join the Marines. And then destroying both my knees (to the point it took me almost a year to not walk with a pair of canes) in basic.

I'd have joined after Kollege and been Lieutenant K. Hell by now I'd be a friggin' twenty star General.

 

<sniff sniff>

joe, that was f'n beutiful man.

 

I disagree. The military will hold you accountable for your actions. If you choose to keep making the same mistake, then you will continue to suffer some sort of consequences (If your leader is worth a shit) It should make you think twice before you decide to do it again. You don't slways have that degree of accountability in a civilian job, and therefore continue to repeat the behavior because there are no consequences.
The military also has 100% paid tuition for any college you complete while on active duty, plus your GI Bill when you get out. The military can be a very positive thing. It has worked for me for 12 years so far.

SFC Brown

 

I think we've said the same thing in essence. If you can't get your act together in the civilian world then don't expect life to get any easier in the military.

And that's the real carrot as I saw it! The education benefits are really good and always seem to be getting better. However, you have to be motivated to get an education for this to be considered a worthwhile benefit. I'm curious what percentage of ex-military use their GI Bill. I know several who did nothing with it.......what a waste. I managed to get 5 years of college out of mine!