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Spoken Word
05-23-2009, 07:35 AM
I tried college for a few semesters...it doesn't appeal to me. I need something more physical. I haven't smoked pot in 2 months and I'm thinking of going to serve. What do you all think?:hippy:

Coelho
05-23-2009, 08:10 AM
Well... i would never ever put my life or physical segurance in risk to fight for the system's interests... but, after all, im a pacifist, so i think my opinion on this subject doesnt count very much.

higher4hockey
05-23-2009, 08:41 AM
im in the military.....ive been in for the last three years. i have three more years left in my current enlistment. i'll be in for the next fourteen years. best choice i ever made. hands down.


my advice : if you need to ask the question 'should i be in the service' you already know the answer.

be smart about your choice though my friend. being able to kill at five hundred yards is not a very marketable skill. the military has many, many, many job opportunties. don't let the recruiters lie to you. pick a skill.....matter of fact, go Seabee!!!

Trip06
05-23-2009, 10:35 AM
Wanted to join my whole life. Aww days of when I was really young pretending to mow down waves of nazis with my thompson. To bad I fucked my arm up and couldnt even get into the national guard. I guess Ill have to settle for being a militia minuteman. Defend freedom on the homefront.

Galaxy
05-23-2009, 11:22 AM
Joining the military was one of the best decisions I ever made. I knew what I wanted to do and was guaranteed that training prior to enlisting. Because of the training and experience from the military I went on to a very successful civilian career. Higher4hockey is right, chose wisely and you'll be very happy.

McDanger
05-23-2009, 02:15 PM
Even though I was never in the military, I wish I would have done it when I was young. 20yrs and you get full retirement in your forties, then you can still work for a 2nd income.

the image reaper
05-23-2009, 03:10 PM
if you need rapid maturity, and can assume responsibility for the life of the guy next to you, go for it, with my blessings ... some can't handle being told what to do, but a man needs discipline, somewhere in his life ... with more and more kids being raised without a father, I think the military is just the right thing to do :smokin:

gypski
05-23-2009, 04:01 PM
The only thing I didn't like about the Marine Corps was the marijuana policy. and because of it we parted company under not so favorable circumstances for me. But the screw is soon to turn!! Semper Fi. :thumbsup:

Coelho
05-23-2009, 05:11 PM
Just remember that the guys that were/are military and gave their opinion are the survivors... the ones who didnt came back also would have their opinion (if they could speak it, of course), and it also should be considered...

Have you ever listened Metallica's "One"?

headshake
05-23-2009, 06:24 PM
Semper Fi gypski!

coelho, unelss those men were drafted, they had a choice. that is a choice that military men/women make on behalf of something bigger than themselves. so people can sit at home and be pacifists! i'm not knocking you, i dont much believe in war unless it's a last resort. but those men/women that died for this county gave their life (once agian, not including the draftees). those are the true heroes.

that's all the military is, training for war. yes you might learn a trade (i did), but you are a rifleman first (at least in the marines). if you get called up, you go. doesn't matter your opinion on the subject. you do as you are told.

i had a blast in the military. i've been halfway around the world and back, got a skill and met the majority of my best, lifelong friends in there.

it's definietly not for everyone though. and i would never knock someone for not going. but it is those people that defend those freedoms that we so enjoy. regardless of whether you or anyone else believes in the cause there are 17,18,19 year old kids dying overseas, doing as they are told. and that deserves supporting.



-shake

the image reaper
05-24-2009, 02:53 AM
Headshake, you put it pretty well :thumbsup:

headshake
05-24-2009, 02:56 AM
thanks reap, means a lot coming from you!


-shake

filo6942
05-24-2009, 03:19 AM
Go for it, if you dont mind giving up all your freedom, for our freedom.

Spoken Word
05-24-2009, 06:23 AM
Giving up all my freedom? Hardly. If you only have that kind of insight to bring to the table...keep it to yourself, please.

Thanks to everyone else, I appreciate the thoughtful responses.

The four branches are exceeding their quotas. It seems everyone wants to serve now cause of the "economy" and all that. Makes sense, if you think about job security and all that.
Well, cause of all these new recruits, no branch is taking questionable applicants. And unfortunately, cause of my past mistakes, I fall under that catagory. My only way in is to get three really good references, and hope that I can get a moral waiver.

the image reaper
05-24-2009, 03:35 PM
I wish you the best, and hope your decision fulfills you ... one thing, and EVERY veteran will back me up on this one: your Recruiter will not tell you the whole story, if not, outright LIE, to you :wtf: ... don't let anyone rush your decision ... you will be guaranteed of the schooling/MOS, you choose, but that doesn't mean, that will be your job ... lots of 'electronics specialists' etc., finish their AIT schooling, only to hump a M16 in the 'bush' ... sorry, I'm 'dated', I meant 'dunes' :D ... just be aware of that, so you're not surprised ... I wish I'd have stayed in for a military career ... I'd either be retired now, or dead, and either ain't so bad, just depends on what ya got to compare it to :D ... good luck, and God bless you, son ... :thumbsup:

Dutch Pimp
05-24-2009, 03:50 PM
I retired as a PFC....:thumbsup:...bucking for SP4...:yippee:I didn't join the Army...the Army joined me

JohnnyZ
05-24-2009, 04:07 PM
The only question you need to ask yourself is, can you take another human life?

Dutch Pimp
05-24-2009, 04:12 PM
The only question you need to ask yourself is, can you take another human life?
You don't have to answer that question!...the military will show you how to do that ...without thinking.

JohnnyZ
05-24-2009, 04:17 PM
I don't mean pulling the trigger, anyone would do that in a war situation. I mean are you capable of dealing with the fact that you just killed someone, are you willing to deal with the post traumatic stress or whatever the psychologists call it now. You just killed someone. Snuffed out a life. Sounds fine now but I bet things change when you see someone with their head blown off.

Dutch Pimp
05-24-2009, 04:21 PM
I don't mean pulling the trigger, anyone would do that in a war situation. I mean are you capable of dealing with the fact that you just killed someone, are you willing to deal with the post traumatic stress or whatever the psychologists call it now. You just killed someone. Snuffed out a life. Sounds fine now but I bet things change when you see someone with their head blown off.
that's why they call it war...been there...seen that

JohnnyZ
05-24-2009, 04:26 PM
No offence man, you're a war vet and you've seen some shit obviously, but I'm asking this to people who haven't seen the terrors of war. Who haven't killed.

Mississippi Steve
05-24-2009, 05:58 PM
JohnnyZ.... its not about "taking a life", its about saving lives.....and there are more than just 4 branches of service. I have not killed, but I gave 22 years of my life in the service of my country. When I got my draft card, I was on USCGC Glacier in the Bearing Sea. I have traveled the world, and have gotten training and education in any number of different fields as a result of my service.

If I could offer a word of advice, before you continue with the line that your trying to get folks to bite off on, I suggest that you personally walk a mile in my shoes or any other vets shoes, so that you can speak from first hand experience, instead of spouting idealist ramblings.

Coelho
05-24-2009, 09:19 PM
coelho, unelss those men were drafted, they had a choice.

I agree... and this is the choice Spoken Word is facing right now. But he must be aware of all the risks involved in this choice. Of course joining the military doesnt mean one will actually go to war, and even going to war doesnt mean one will die or get mutilated or incapacitated. But this are real risks that must be considered before choosing.


that is a choice that military men/women make on behalf of something bigger than themselves.

"Something bigger than themselves" like "freedom", "america", things like this? Well... they are just ideas, concepts... while one's life is real. But each one does whatever it wants with its own life...


so people can sit at home and be pacifists!

And yet, if everybody sat at home and were pacifists, there would be no wars, cause no one would be willing to fight them...


but those men/women that died for this county gave their life (once agian, not including the draftees). those are the true heroes. (...) but it is those people that defend those freedoms that we so enjoy. regardless of whether you or anyone else believes in the cause there are 17,18,19 year old kids dying overseas, doing as they are told. and that deserves supporting.

Well... from what i remember from world history, most (if not all) wars the usa fought at the last centuries were NOT to defend itself from a foreign invasion, but to attack other countries... and many (if not most) of this countries hadnt even attacked the usa in any way... so all this "defending the freedom" thing sounds like propaganda instead reality...
BTW the government of your country is the one which can take most of your personal freedom (and it seems it is already doing this), but no one seems to notice it...

the image reaper
05-25-2009, 03:45 AM
I've been shot at, twice, in my own home town (close-distance, and point-blank, with deadly intent), and that was just a drunken biker thing ... would I have a problem killing an enemy soldier, in wartime ? hell, no, not one bit of hesitation :wt ... would I suffer later from depression and guilt ? ... probably, but I'd still be above ground, with time to get over it ... :smokin:

JohnnyZ
05-25-2009, 07:13 AM
Steve, I think you missed the point of my "idealistic ramblings". It's great you got to see the world and shit, but you didn't need to join the military to do that. I'm gunna go traveling for a few months this winter, see the world, learn some shit too and not get blown up by a roadside IED.

I'm being a realist by the way. I never said that I don't condone the army or that in a time of war, given the right circumstances, that I myself wouldn't volunteer. I'm asking if the guy has the balls to kill someone in combat. That's it. Plain and simple. Either you can handle it or you become a regular to a psychologist and some expensive Pfizer anti-depressants.

Spoken Word
05-26-2009, 09:28 AM
coelho maybe you should sit this one out. this guy wants our opinions about joining the military, not your opinion on America fighting wars. we can debate that somewhere else....

yea...it's like certain people automatically assume a military job is killing people....and organizing people in body pyramids....i'm pretty critical, but even i know there is plenty more to the military. and this is why im having trouble joining, cause im not alone with this sentiment.

steve, there are only 4 brances to the military... i've spoken to enough recruiters to know....the peace corps isn't part of the armed services....

guys, there's plenty more to the military than killing people.:hippy:

Spoken Word
05-27-2009, 04:54 AM
errr, correction...h4h cleared something up for me....the coast gaurd is part of the armed services. haha i was wondering what that acronym standed for. hmmmm i might join the coast gaurd, i have to look up info on them. sorry for the misunderstanding, steve.

so that's 5 branches of the military. what about the national gaurd?

headshake
05-27-2009, 04:57 AM
if i'm not mistaken that's the army reserves. and i think the air national guard is the air force reserves. and technically the USMC falls under the department of the navy.


-shake

Mississippi Steve
05-27-2009, 12:28 PM
errr, correction...h4h cleared something up for me....the coast gaurd is part of the armed services. haha i was wondering what that acronym standed for. hmmmm i might join the coast gaurd, i have to look up info on them. sorry for the misunderstanding, steve.

so that's 5 branches of the military. what about the national gaurd?

THe National Guard is part of the Army Reserves.

FWIW, the US Coast Guard is the only military service that is a law enforcement agency, complete with powers of arrest.

I would highly recommend the Coast Guard for those looking to enlist, because they are very big on cross training. Because the CG is so small, everybody has to know everybody elses job in case they get hurt, or whatever. Any bonehead can join the Army or Marines....they are always looking for cannon fodder. And....no... the Coast Guard doesn't just stay around the US coast.

the image reaper
05-27-2009, 02:00 PM
I would have recommended the Coast Guard, but the point was made, that he had some 'issues' that narrows his choices ... USCG is the most difficult branch to get into ... long waiting lists, too ... I tied the USCG entrance exam record score in 1968 (brag :D), but went into Army instead :wtf: ... Coast Guard is pretty hard to get into, even harder than the Air Force ...

headshake
05-27-2009, 06:11 PM
Any bonehead can join the Army or Marines....they are always looking for cannon fodder.

what's wrong steve, jealous cause the marines wouldn't take you? not everyone can join the marines. there is barely 4 times more marines than there is uscg as opposed to the half a million or so that are in the army.

us army 549,153
us marines 201,031
uscg 42,583
us navy 331,768
usaf 329,980

these numbers are accurate as of feb 28, 2009.

and everyone in the marines aren't cannon fodder. i fixed avionics on AH-1Ws and UH-1Ns.

i scored pretty high on the asvab as well. i can't say it was a record like reaper, but i was very high up the ladder. i qualified for any job that i wanted.

not to mention that once you complete marine corps boot camp and finish your term and decide to join a different branch of service, you don't have to go to that services boot camp. marine boot camp is 11 weeks, and is second in the world in length behind the french foreign legion which can last up to six months or more.

spoken, the french foreign legion will take you, hell they even change peoples identities. lol.

the coast guard now falls under the department of homeland security.

i didn't take what you said personal steve, just thought it was a broad generalization. i'm for anyone that is in the armed services.


Semper FI.


-shake

higher4hockey
05-27-2009, 10:15 PM
and technically the USMC falls under the department of the navy.

lol....don't tell that to the Marines.

being a Seabee i work frequently with Marines, whenever we tell them that they're a department of the Navy, they say: 'yeah, the men's department'

turds :D

headshake
05-28-2009, 12:40 AM
lol. hey, h4h, you guys do give us rides! there is something to say for that. thanks!

Semper Fi.


-shake

Dutch Pimp
05-28-2009, 01:30 AM
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - A U.S. Army base is suspending regular duties for the rest of the week, so the post can focus on preventing suicides among troops.
The three-day stand-down at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, follows 11 confirmed suicides there. Other possible suicides are under investigation.
Fort Campbell has been averaging one suicide every week from January to March. Then, there were none for six weeks after an Army-wide suicide-prevention campaign.
That was until last week, when two soldiers killed themselves.
After a deployment in Iraq, Shemeka Negron suffered from depression for a year and a half before finally seeking help.
"I'm not surprised because a lot of soldiers have been coming back with post traumatic stress disorder and not getting help," said Negron.
Commanders will be using the time this week to identify and help soldiers who are struggling with the stress of war and are at risk for hurting themselves.
Suicide prevention manager Joe Varney said they will evaluate the health of every soldier.
"Do not surrender there's help available, reach out ask for the help and we will assist you," said Varney.
Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend is making a series of addresses to the approximately 25,000 soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne.
Wednesday, he told more than 4,000 soldiers that the suicides must be stopped.

higher4hockey
05-28-2009, 01:34 AM
lol. hey, h4h, you guys do give us rides! there is something to say for that. thanks!

Semper Fi.


-shake

thats fleeter shit man! don't lump me in those lugs!! i'm a Seabee. i dont know a single Marine that has anything bad to say about a BEE.

headshake
05-28-2009, 01:42 AM
i wasn't saying anything bad towards you. and i can't say i know what a seabee is honestly.

i don't have anything bad to say against anyone in the service anyway.


-shake

higher4hockey
05-28-2009, 01:48 AM
i talk shit on all of them :jointsmile: all in good fun though.

Seabees are the Navy's construction battallion. Marines go to war, they need shit built, we build it.



hey what do you do when a Marine throws a pin at you?

run like hell because he's got a grenade in his mouth.


ahahahahhahahahah

headshake
05-28-2009, 02:29 AM
we have something similar called combat engineers, but i guess that's more for quick deployment of stuff. i'm not positive on that though. i was a 'tron chaser. lol.

that's cool about the seabess. i just got done reading up on them. very cool.

i won't lie, i make fun of all the other branches too. all in fun, same as you.

that joke is hilarious. i just busted up laughing out loud.


-shake

the image reaper
05-28-2009, 04:55 AM
Marines being transported on Navy ships :wtf: ...

Sailor - " how come you Marines are on our Navy ships ? "

Marine - " well, swabbie, just like the Army has K9 dogs to protect them, you poor little sailors have us Marines for protection "

Sailor - " yeah, dammit, the Army always gets first pick "

:S2:

headshake
05-28-2009, 04:57 AM
lmao! that's funny reap!


-shake

yokinazu
05-28-2009, 11:55 AM
ok i cant help myself here

why does everyone in the navy re-up?

they dont want to leave their buddys behind



just a dog face gettin in his two cents here.

Dutch Pimp
05-28-2009, 12:51 PM
ok i cant help myself here

why does everyone in the navy re-up?

they dont want to leave their buddys behind



just a dog face gettin in his two cents here.
I can't understand why?...anybody would want to dress up, in all white clothing and be called seamen all day?.....:D

JohnnyZ
05-29-2009, 12:48 AM
I can't understand why?...anybody would want to dress up, in all white clothing and be called seamen all day?.....:D

Sick burn.

:S2:

higher4hockey
05-29-2009, 06:54 AM
i guess i led with my aces....all these sailor jokes, and i got nothing.


i will say this though, all joking aside. when i was in iraq, i got a coin from a one star general, he told me: we couldn't have done it without you [meaning Seabees] .

anyways...lets see here, what other marine/army jokes do i have...hmm.......like i said. i got nothing. shit. well i guess i can talk a little smack on the Army.

what does Army stand for ?
Aint Really Marine qualitY.

JohnnyZ
05-29-2009, 11:27 AM
what does Army stand for ?
Aint Really Marine qualitY.

In the ARMQ now!

RoadPizza
05-29-2009, 02:18 PM
Hey Spoken Word,

I can only speak of my experience in the military, i am due to retire in about 3 months, and i can honestly say i had a blast for the last 20 years, Doing time in the millitary is all on how you make it. it seems that this topic got a little of path of wheather you should sign the dotted line. I say ya go for it you wont regret the decision. Join the Jarienes if you wana be bullet catcher. Join the navy (Fleet side) if you wana hot rack with other dudes, Join the army if your just a dumb ass and cant pass the ASVAB. and you need civilians to do your job. and i like another in this forum am a OF13. (Seabee).

Dutch Pimp
05-29-2009, 02:40 PM
so many swabs in this thread...:thumbsup:

U.S Army here...natural born draftee...:hippy:..class of '67

overgrowthegovt
06-01-2009, 06:04 AM
I'd really, REALLY advise against it. They'll try to crush your soul and turn you into a machine, and then use you as a worthless piece of cannon fodder in whatever bullshit war they cook up next. Personally, I could never take orders from some pompous authoritarian in a uniform, but do as you like.

overgrowthegovt
06-03-2009, 03:20 AM
The whole "you can't know unless you've done it" argument doesn't really sit with me. It sounds to me like nothing more than a way to silence opposition...if one is informed to a great enough degree, they are entitled to a legitimate opinion that deserves more of a rebuttal than "if you don't know, don't say anything." I say the armed forces are soul-crushing because I cannot conceive how individuality can be maintained with a shaved head and a uniform, killing people their county's tycoons find troublesome.

If you really take anything the army does seriously and see it as anything more than a futile and vainglorious absurdity (involving proud kids who played with too many G.I. Joes), you need a serious lesson in detecting horseshit.

FakeBoobsRule
06-05-2009, 03:56 PM
I closed this thread a few days ago because I didn't have enouh time to do what needed to be done to this thread (this happens a lot due to the server not being fast enough). It has gone off topic from pros and cons to joining the military to almost a pros and cons about the U.S. military. Now I have time and I have done my best to leave the posts that are on the topic of joining the military in this thread while moving the posts more about the topic about the U.S. military to a new thread. Shouldn't be hard to find the new thread it's here in politics. In fact the thread went so far off topic another mod moved it here to politics.

Please don't hijack threads and choose wisely as to which thread to posts new responses in. Thanks :thumbsup: .

Mississippi Steve
06-07-2009, 06:20 PM
Thanx FBR. All I can add is like you said.. the thread is about the pros and cons of enlisting. I would only tell the OP that the folks who replied that have actually served are telling straight from personal experience. You will have to make up your own mind as to what you want to do.

The only other input I have is, in the military, there are places you can go, activities you can be involved in, training, education, and experiences that you may never would had had it not been for the military. Use them to your benifit. Keep very close track of everything you see and do while your in, and you'll find that most of it will qualify for college semester hours.

Whatever you do, I would highly recommend getting into an engineering field. Yes the math is a pain, yes engineering degrees are hard to get, but when you walk off the platform with that sheepskin, into a $100k+ job, you'll do well.

Peace my friends