Joining military

[Anonymous]

Dh did ROTC in college and went into the Air Force as an officer in his field (science). Beneficial to his future career and not put in a combat situation.

[Anonymous]

Truth be told the milatary is one of the last entries into the middle class now that most of the factory jobs are gone esp without a degree. I can't count the number of kids from fly over America who enlist and get a decent speciality and then make decent money as a contractor afterwards plus the benefits like GI and VA. Also with pensions going the way of the dodo it is looking like a better and better deal.

[Anonymous]

Here is an article that answers a lot of questions civilians might have about the military and how military service affects the active duty members and their families.

http://taskandpurpose.com/5-lessons-all-parents-should-teach-their-kids-about-military-service/

[Anonymous]

Ivy League lawyer married to an army officer who started out enlisted and went through OCS. He is now nearing retirement at 20 + years. Multiple combat deployments. If one of our children decides to enlist or do ROTC I'd be very proud. I'd be concerned about their safety, of course, but I'd be very proud. A lot of great and smart people in the military, and excellent health and educational benefits. And-- yes, the military is the most dangerous occupation, but per capita it is not nearly as dangerous as most civilians think. My husband is infantry but the vast majority of soldiers (and even higher percentages of sailors and airmen) are not even in combat MOSs. Many military. Personnel, even those in combat-related MOSs, never deploy at all. The notion that everyone in the military ends up in combat is just incorrect.

There is always a risk, of course: but firefighters, police officers, and many others also take physical risks, not to mention rock climbers, private pilots, kayakers, etc. I want my children to grown up to do things that they love and that have some social value. The military definitely fits that bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage my child to consider the Coast Guard.

I wouldn't encourage my child to join any. However, I have told DS that if he chooses the military route, I would be most supportive and proud if he joined the Coast Guards. I explained that this is the one branch that actually saves lives opposed to taking lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have my kids committed for intense psychological evaluations and if by some miracle they were found to be sane I'd disown them.

Obviously, not a fan of the military here, to put it lightly. My two oldest kids who are in grad school basically considered joining the military as much as they considered joining the circus.

You are a peach. Do you spit on our soldiers that are protecting our freedoms?

Do you like the fact that we are not run by the Nazis (no hyperbola there....really...the military saved us from that fate in WWII).

DO you like the fact that we are (mostly) terrorism free since 2001?

The members of the military protect us...some pay the ultimate sacrifice, and some come back different and harmed. But, they are heroes. They are why you can post your disdain for them in a public forum.

Don't be ridiculous, Hitler never planned to cross the Atlantic. Typical American habit to claim credit for everything good that happened in history. The Nazis were already rolling back to Berlin by the time Americans got their boots on the ground. You want to thank someone for not being run by the Nazis, as far-fetched as it is, thank Mr. Stalin and the millions who died at the Eastern Front. Moron.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

If my child wanted to go into the military, I would encourage him/her to have a degree and specialty that was least likely to involve combat.... DH retired after 21 yrs in the AF.... never had to deploy... satellite career field doesn't need to deploy. AF is also better on their people in terms of how long they can stay in one location (from what DH tells me). He lived in LA, Colorado Springs, and DC (with one year of school in Montgomery, AL). All of the other locations were 6 or 7 yr. periods with back-to-back assignments in each location. That's very different than a lot of the other branches or enlisted folks or even some career fields within the AF... they ended up moving every 2-3 yrs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have my kids committed for intense psychological evaluations and if by some miracle they were found to be sane I'd disown them.

Obviously, not a fan of the military here, to put it lightly. My two oldest kids who are in grad school basically considered joining the military as much as they considered joining the circus.

You are a peach. Do you spit on our soldiers that are protecting our freedoms?

Do you like the fact that we are not run by the Nazis (no hyperbola there....really...the military saved us from that fate in WWII).

DO you like the fact that we are (mostly) terrorism free since 2001?

The members of the military protect us...some pay the ultimate sacrifice, and some come back different and harmed. But, they are heroes. They are why you can post your disdain for them in a public forum.

Don't be ridiculous, Hitler never planned to cross the Atlantic. Typical American habit to claim credit for everything good that happened in history. The Nazis were already rolling back to Berlin by the time Americans got their boots on the ground. You want to thank someone for not being run by the Nazis, as far-fetched as it is, thank Mr. Stalin and the millions who died at the Eastern Front. Moron.

Agree.

First of all, we do not know what would have happened in WWII had the US not joined...Best case scenario is a long term stalemate. More likely, with Germany fighting a one front war, they would have defeated Russia, as all of the resource would have been focused on that. Then, they would have knocked out the UK...And probably gone after America...not sure, really, as it would be logistically challenging. However, A Hitler/Nazi europe would have been really really bad. I am sure we would have had a full scale nuclear war by now. The US intervention meant that germany had to worry about the southern and western fronts..So, while Russia/Stalin did much of the ground work, they would have had a much more difficult time. Also, a Stalin controlled europe -- from Russia to France would have been really bad for us long term too.

The military saved us in WWII.....probably for the first time since the revolutionary war.

In the current conflicts, they have kept the adversaries in the middle east instead rather than here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage my child to consider the Coast Guard.

I wouldn't encourage my child to join any. However, I have told DS that if he chooses the military route, I would be most supportive and proud if he joined the Coast Guards. I explained that this is the one branch that actually saves lives opposed to taking lives.

Sometimes it is necessary to save lives by defeating an enemy. Such as defeating Germany in World War 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage my child to consider the Coast Guard.

I wouldn't encourage my child to join any. However, I have told DS that if he chooses the military route, I would be most supportive and proud if he joined the Coast Guards. I explained that this is the one branch that actually saves lives opposed to taking lives.

Well, you are ill informed at best.

All of the branches of the military spend a great deal of effort on saving lives, be it through their multiple humanity missions, to evacuations, to building ebola centers in some of the worst hit areas to disaster relief, and yes, through combat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage my child to consider the Coast Guard.

I wouldn't encourage my child to join any. However, I have told DS that if he chooses the military route, I would be most supportive and proud if he joined the Coast Guards. I explained that this is the one branch that actually saves lives opposed to taking lives.

Well, you are ill informed at best.

All of the branches of the military spend a great deal of effort on saving lives, be it through their multiple humanity missions, to evacuations, to building ebola centers in some of the worst hit areas to disaster relief, and yes, through combat.

And sometimes, these humanity missions fundamentally change relations with the country....Look at the US "invasion" of Indonesia post Tsunami. The people of Indonesia's perception of the US improved dramatically when they realized the americans were there to help....http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/03/06/does-humanitarian-aid-improve-americas-image/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League lawyer married to an army officer who started out enlisted and went through OCS. He is now nearing retirement at 20 + years. Multiple combat deployments. If one of our children decides to enlist or do ROTC I'd be very proud. I'd be concerned about their safety, of course, but I'd be very proud. A lot of great and smart people in the military, and excellent health and educational benefits. And-- yes, the military is the most dangerous occupation, but per capita it is not nearly as dangerous as most civilians think. My husband is infantry but the vast majority of soldiers (and even higher percentages of sailors and airmen) are not even in combat MOSs. Many military. Personnel, even those in combat-related MOSs, never deploy at all. The notion that everyone in the military ends up in combat is just incorrect.

There is always a risk, of course: but firefighters, police officers, and many others also take physical risks, not to mention rock climbers, private pilots, kayakers, etc. I want my children to grown up to do things that they love and that have some social value. The military definitely fits that bill.

Agree with the PP here - of course some military personnel are going to be in dangerous situations, but the majority will not see combat (unless you are in a career field such as infantry of course). There are so, so many different career fields in the military, not just people at the front line.

The military provides education, training and jobs that can set you up for a successful, lucrative career both in the military and, more importantly, when you leave the military. Military careers include attorneys and tax advisors; doctors and nurses; linguists; veterinarians and dog trainers; mechanics; engineers and electricians; police and fire; personnelists (HR); chefs and cooks; hotel and tourism management (most bases have on-site hotels), etc.

Think about it: military bases are like small towns; some have more than 10,000 personnel on them. Think of all of the different professions a small town has or needs to function -- there is a career field to make that happen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would support it and I will likely encourage them to seriously consider it. I think it gives you a great opportunity to have a meaningful early career, keeping many options open while you figure out what you want out of life.

My background is that I turned down Notre Dame, Cornell, and Dartmouth to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I got a mechanical engineering degree, was commissioned, and served for six years, earning my master's degree in the process. At that point, I made the very difficult decision to resign my commission, and I went to work for a large corporation, where I remain today.

I wouldn't change a thing if I had the chance to do it all over again, and boy would I love to have that chance. Maybe I would even stay in for 20 years--there's plenty that I miss about it. As an aside, the lack of student loans and the strong and steady pay from an early age, combined with disciplined savings on our parts, allowed us to become essentially financially independent now in our late 30s (paid-off house and just under $2M in invested assets).

So yes, I will definitely encourage my kids to consider this option. Our country is worth it.

Being totally honest, I'd have zero trouble with my kid doing what you did. I would have trouble with him enlisting at 18 (since he is the type that will thrive in college, which I don't think is for everyone but is for him).

That might make some angry but its also an honest starting point to discuss the current state of the US military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage my child to consider the Coast Guard.

I wouldn't encourage my child to join any. However, I have told DS that if he chooses the military route, I would be most supportive and proud if he joined the Coast Guards. I explained that this is the one branch that actually saves lives opposed to taking lives.

Well, you are ill informed at best.

All of the branches of the military spend a great deal of effort on saving lives, be it through their multiple humanity missions, to evacuations, to building ebola centers in some of the worst hit areas to disaster relief, and yes, through combat.

Times 1,000,000 except that "ill-informed" is a kinder assessment than I could have given (you must be a gentler soul than I am).

PP you are exhibit A for why the vast gulf between people who serve and those who don't is bad for our country. You clearly have no idea about the motives and missions of our service members nor the role that the military plays in keeping peace and promoting safety. Even the most liberal among us know that your position is ridiculous and your comment extremely disrespectful of excellent people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage my child to consider the Coast Guard.

I wouldn't encourage my child to join any. However, I have told DS that if he chooses the military route, I would be most supportive and proud if he joined the Coast Guards. I explained that this is the one branch that actually saves lives opposed to taking lives.

Well, you are ill informed at best.

All of the branches of the military spend a great deal of effort on saving lives, be it through their multiple humanity missions, to evacuations, to building ebola centers in some of the worst hit areas to disaster relief, and yes, through combat.

Yes, the other branches save lives, but they probably take as many lives as they save. How many lives did the U.S. Military save during our conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia, Grenada, the Middle East expansions?