Is the military for me?

I've been in the Army for 20 years. Came in as a Private with no education and am now a Lieutenant Colonel with a Masters. I've lived around the world and enjoyed most of it. ...and it pays for my hobbies.

 

Currently active duty Air Force. PM me any questions you have.

 

Hard to disagree with going to college, but go to a real school and get a BS in engineering or technical at least, not something soft/liberal arts. Not easy, but worth it, IMHO.

 

I didn't read all that was posted as I got bored/tired of the arguing about off topic crap. One option I didn't see listed (sorry if it was) is to go to college but contract as an ROTC Cadet. This will get you both your degree and allow you to join as an officer. I'm not sure how it all works but I believe if you go this route you get help paying for your schooling while going also. Or you can go the National Guard/Reserves route. I enlisted into the Reserves after 1 year of college then after basic/AIT went and finished my degree. Yes, it took me longer than normal as I had a deployment and other training that put my schooling on hold. But this gave me the ability to join the Army and get my degree at the same time. No matter what you do though, it needs to be right for you. What was/wasn't right for everyone talking to you isn't going to be the same for you.

 

[emphasis added] Just to clear up a point here. Anyone who WANTS to fight should never, ever join the military. You must be willing to fight, and to potentially make the supreme sacrifice, but never WANT to.

 

I joined the Marines in 1995 because I had no clue what I was going to do after graduation and didn't want to do drywall with my dad anymore. I don't regret it one bit and had some of the best times of my life. Make sure you get a good MOS that translates to the civilian world. If you think you are going to make a career of it, pick an MOS that promotes well. If you go in, take lots of pics and keep a diary. I promise you will wish you had 20 years later. Good luck on your decision. Oh, and talk to people that actually served as much as possible.

 

You’re an idiot

 

If you want a career, with a 6 figure job when you get out... Air Force. If you hate your body, Marine Corps. That’s all I got.

 

Hate to break it to you, but the US Navy doesn't have "jet school." The Navy has flight training. You start off in a tandem seat trainer (T-34C when I went through it, but that has been replaced), then if you successfully complete primary flight training, you get to choose between several paths, which in my day were jets, helicopters, P3s, and E2/C2s. After you select, the Navy places you where they need you...lol There is never any guarantee anyone entering flight training will end up flying F-18s or anything else. In my day, if your eyes weren't 20/20 at the time you earned your wings, you were NPQed and sent off to be a NFO, maintenance officer, or something else. Afterwards they started their "blind pilot program," which required a longer commitment.

If one wants to become a Naval Aviator (Naval Aviator includes all Navy, USMC, and USCG pilots), recommend getting your BA/BS degree, then apply for the program. You have three routes: Naval Academy, ROTC, or AOCS. Do not believe any recruiter who says that you can get into the program by enlisting in the Navy first...there are a few people who make it to flight school, but the odds are very low.

Although not required, I highly recommend you do a ground school and get a few hours of civilian flight training. Getting your private pilot's license is a bonus. The reason I mention this is to feel comfortable when you get in the air.

If you can find a (former) Naval Aviator to be your instructor to teach you flight patterns, PELs, etc., HUGE BONUS! You will be so far ahead of the curve you'll probably finish near the top of your class.

Good luck!

 

I joined the Marines with no prospects for college since I had no money and no motivation and a GED. Went through 3 deployments 2 wars and regretted every day I was in the corps. After discharge I found I was tougher, more task oriented, more intelligent and bored from not being a superhero. I'm 49 now and my service has informed every decision I've ever made. I've completed college, married have 2 kids one in college and one going next year I have a fair bit of wealth and I'm happy. The one thing I can say about the Marines is that your experience will become EXACTLY what you make of it. Going to war for me was not fun but it was definitely about personal growth an maturity on a level that's hard to explain and, if you can learn from those experiences either privately or with the help of a guide (therapy for me) then they can turn out to be very very powerful steps up for you. My friends always joke that every time I fall, I fall up and to a certain degree its because that's the only choice I have now and I give credit for that to the USMC.

 

I did 4 years active. It was something I needed at the time I enlisted, since I was an absolute shitshow of a human being back then. That said, it was absolutely fucking miserable. I got what I needed out of it and don't miss it. At. All.

My man gets it.

 

This deserves repeating. I joined the coast guard 9 years ago 3 weeks out of boot camp I helped save 2 people who got swept out to sea. Every branch does humanitarian missions on the side, but in the coast guard it's one of our primary missions.

 

Just stay single altogether, trying to keep her around caused me more headache and pain than being in the army + trying to maintain a bmw 335i combined

 

I think I’ll add this to why I was considering military. I’m a very unmotivated person and procrastinate a lot on my school work, also I’m skinny, I tried working out for maybe 2 weeks and just lost the motivation to do it. Which is why I want to join, so I can learn to discipline myself and push myself to a limit I never thought I could

 

That sounds like me when I joined. I’m smart enough, but hated school work and was a C student. I didn’t want to go to college but I also didn’t want to be at home being a bum with no path forward. The navy sorted me out and helped me grow a lot as a person. I don’t miss being active duty, but I did enjoy it and wouldn’t change anything about my choices. As I got older, I got more motivation to actually do school work and am now working towards a degree, all paid for courtesy of the post 9/11 GI bill

 

I never served, but I do work with high school students and I've encouraged several students in your position to really give the military a look. College is incredibly expensive and even if you move through it quickly, you'll likely have debt for many years. If you're jacking around with no real goal and it takes you 5 or 6 years and you end up with a degree you don't even like, that's a real bad investment. I would suggest a couple of alternatives:
1. Do a juco while living at home and working. Save your money, figure out your future. In 2 years, maybe you'll have some clarity about either continuing with your education immediately or diving into the military and finishing it up later on the government's dime.
2. Consider a gap year program. There are a lot of these for students in your situation and they offer a variety of experiences.
3. Consider a trade school. I know a student who is in a welding program right now. It's an 18 month program, he'll finish with no debt, and he'll start at like 60k. As a young man getting into trades, you'll be highly sought after as it's an aging workforce.

 

Look you get out what you put in.

Half ass it ? You get half ass results.

Put everything you got into it? You can learn alot. It can also help you find out what is important for you. So if you do one enlistment and get out that's great. Use that GI bill knock out college. Get life experience and use it to make yourself better.

Just don't join up half ass everything start drinking because you're bored and "want to do more" but then don't apply yourself.

 

I enjoyed my time in the Military as a Marine but now my health is deteriorating due to chemical exposure . I now have MS " Multiple Sclerosis " and it sucks

 

*cracks open tall can while reading that comment...

 

Lol, amateur...