My DD wants to go into the military but I'm concerned as to the underlying reasons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse did ROTC at a well regarded university. It worked out because he still had a "normal" college experience for the most part. He was on scholarship, so he had no/few student loans, and got to be a commissioned officer upon graduation.

Some of our brilliant woman friends who we met through ROTC had very accomplished military careers in science with multiple graduate degrees paid for by the military and cushy assignments no where near danger.

Having lived that life with him, my recommendations are:

Be an officer and avoid going to a war zone by joining the Air Force or Navy

Our air force friends have absolutely been in a war zone. Same with Navy. Not sure where this is coming from or someone isn't really that familiar with military. Officers still go to the war zones. Someone has to command.

My husband was in for 12 years. I've met many people from all branches. People in the Army and Marines are much more likely to be in war zones. You know this.

Army and Marines are front lines by nature of their jobs but we have friends who are Air Force, as is my husband, who was in for 20 years, who were front lines. They were cross trained. Don't think for a minute just because you are another branch you will not go. Now they have joint bases and are intermixing the branches a lot. Meeting people from all branches clearly gives you a very limited view. You should know this. Navy go in ships but they are absolutely front lines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College + ROTC. I don't know anyone who served who doesn't advocate going in as an officer. She'll also be much more likely to figure out what part of the military lends itself to her interests and strengths rather with some exposure through ROTC.

I would not do ROTC as then you can owe time if you accept money. College and then join.

Naval academy and some of the other branches have summer camps. We do a camp at the Naval Academy and its great. We see high school kids there doing other camps. It may be a good place to start to give her an idea of training.

[Anonymous]

My sister retired as a Marine Major. She had great jobs.
She went into Officer Candidate School after
her 4 year Ivy College degree didn't get her a job.
My Dad was disgusted that she was selling bikes with
her expensive Ivy league degree. He encouraged
her to see a recruiter.

Once she was in the Marines she ran into another of
her Ivy league classmates who also could not get
a job and who also joined the Marines.

Anyways the Marines love soldiers with Ivy educations.
She flew around Europe a lot meeting commanders from
former Soviet Union countries who wanted to join NATO.
The US military flies their officers business class in Europe.

She met her husband in Germany at the Nato school there.

Her husband was an enlisted Command Sgt Major and
he was also a Ranger.

They really had a great and interesting life together.

When she was sent to Korea my Dad envisioned her
sleeping in a pup tent on the border. Heck no, the
government put her up in 4 star hotels in Korea.

There are great opportunities for women and the
military likes those with Ivy educations too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse did ROTC at a well regarded university. It worked out because he still had a "normal" college experience for the most part. He was on scholarship, so he had no/few student loans, and got to be a commissioned officer upon graduation.

Some of our brilliant woman friends who we met through ROTC had very accomplished military careers in science with multiple graduate degrees paid for by the military and cushy assignments no where near danger.

Having lived that life with him, my recommendations are:

Be an officer and avoid going to a war zone by joining the Air Force or Navy

Our air force friends have absolutely been in a war zone. Same with Navy. Not sure where this is coming from or someone isn't really that familiar with military. Officers still go to the war zones. Someone has to command.

My husband was in for 12 years. I've met many people from all branches. People in the Army and Marines are much more likely to be in war zones. You know this.

Army and Marines are front lines by nature of their jobs but we have friends who are Air Force, as is my husband, who was in for 20 years, who were front lines. They were cross trained. Don't think for a minute just because you are another branch you will not go. Now they have joint bases and are intermixing the branches a lot. Meeting people from all branches clearly gives you a very limited view. You should know this. Navy go in ships but they are absolutely front lines.

Don't be obtuse. You know that what "more likely" means. It doesn't eliminate the possibility, it reduces it. But go on and continue to insist you're correct.

OP, tell her to go Navy or Air Force.

[Anonymous]

Most of the women in my sister's Marine Officer Candidate
School were daughters of Generals. My sister was
one of the few from a civilian family.

[Anonymous]

Also, being once you get out being former military opens
a lot of jobs up to you that are tougher for civilians to
access.

[Anonymous]

Have the military train her in something that also exists in the civilian world so she can easily cross over once getting out.

[Anonymous]

I'd highly encourage her to look into one of the military
academies but they can be tough to get into.

[Anonymous]

My DH is retired AF, so I'll just say I'm biased toward AF from the start. AF is the "sort of not very military-military"! It's the more cerebral side of the military, if that makes sense. DH's brother went to West Point, and he is in the reserves now after doing his commitment and getting out. (oh yeah... after being out for 10 YEARS, he got a telegram (yes!) saying "you are picked to show up for Iraq." -- 'cause there is something called "ready reserves" -- so he went to Iraq). Both DH and his brother are engineers. DH is aerospace (worked with military satellites his whole military career -- never needed to deploy). Dh's brother was a mechanical engineer so he had to do some sort of battle engineering and investigations in Iraq. FWIW.

I would also worry about sexual assaults if I had a daughter want to join the military. That would not be a deal-breaker, but something she should ALWAYS be aware of. Sexual assaults happen in other types of jobs too (EMT/firefighters) and on all college campuses. So, she needs to know ahead of time that she must not get drunk, must not get into romantic relationships with superiors, and look after each other.

My DH, his brother, and other friends who are military would say absolutely go in as an officer. DO NOT go in as enlisted. That means she needs to get a college degree. She can do ROTC or not do it. The only thing is that it will pay for your college. But you do not need to be ROTC to then go into the military after college as an officer. DH started with ROTC and then quit it in college. Finished college with his parents paying... and b/c NASA wasn't hiring, he signed up with the Air Force! So, he could have had his college bill paid with ROTC and ended up in the same place. Wasn't the smarted decision financially, but he didn't know that he would end up in the Air Force in the end. He stayed 21 years.

It sounds like it might be a good fit for your DD. But, she can try it out with some of the high school junior ROTC programs. FCPS has them -- some are Army, some are Air Force. Not sure if there are any Navy ones.

Regarding Navy -- that doesn't seem like the best fit for her given her interest in outdoorsy stuff. That sounds more like Army stuff. Re: Navy -- I would strongly suggest you and she watch the PBS series called "Carrier." It was FASCINATING! I love that kind of real life documentary.

She sounds like a really smart, talented, driven young lady -- and she will go far. I would encourage her to check out junior ROTC, read books or blogs about military life. And definitely get an education.

FWIW, Army tends to make their people move more frequently.... often every 2 years. Navy, of course, are going out to sea for 6-9 mos at a time. Air Force has moves every 3-4 years -- but DH was able to do 6-7 yrs in each location (all domestic) b/c he would find his own follow-on assignment in the same location. If you didn't find your next assignment (each one being about 3 yrs), then you were going to be in the running to end up in Minot, ND. So, he did 6 Yrs in Los Angeles, 7 yrs, Colorado Springs, 1 yr for and officer school in Alabama, and another 7 yrs in DC. That's not the worst career. BUT, he was in a career path that didn't need to go overseas.

That can be very different if you are a pilot. Each career path has different locations where they are needed.

Good luck! Look for high schools with junior ROTC programs. And ask around with the parents of her team mates -- they might have some direct experience too.

[Anonymous]

In Fairfax County Public Schools:

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/career-and-technical-education-cte/jrotc-junior-reserve-office

In Montgomery County Public Schools:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/career-readiness/plans/jrotc.aspx


In Arlington Public Schools:
https://careercenter.apsva.us/career-technical-education-cte/cte/air-force-junior-rotc/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, being once you get out being former military opens
a lot of jobs up to you that are tougher for civilians to
access.

Agree. Work for a major defense contractor in the area and former military (woman, no less) gives you a huge leg up. Great jobs.

[Anonymous]

I’m surprised she hasn’t done JROTC already. My DH was in the Marines. SS did Navy JROTC. Thought he’d become a JAG lawyer. Realized he hated certain aspects.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the replies. Really helpful, constructive replies. Yes I think she probably is a fit, and my worries would lessen if she could control some variables, and it sounds like maybe she can. I'll look at some PPs links tomorrow; thank you for them. I'll re-read everyone's replies tomorrow and take notes.

To 14:42, she is strong in STEM (basically she's got straight As and is taking the highest level of math offered in the school, and now Bio Honors)

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but sounds like the direction is to go in as an officer, and to do that you do:

1) College (plus optional ROTC, but don't accept $ if do ROTC)
or
2) Military Academy

I don't think she can pull off ROTC with her current school load, but I'll check to see what is around here (not DMV); maybe it could work for summer.

Here are couple of followup questions:

1) I know the Navy does a STEM for up to rising juniors, and another program Summer Seminar for rising seniors. Does anyone have experience with these or programs at other branches? And does this Navy STEM program give a good window into the military, or is it just more like a regular STEM camp? Will attending the STEM program help her get into the Seminar program? I'm asking because I'm thinking this might be the way to go this coming summer.

2) I'm under the impression that you have to get your local congressperson or state senator to recommend you to a military academy, and they can only make so many recommendations. We live in a jam-packed district. I'm not sure how one would go about getting a recommendation; any advice for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for the replies. Really helpful, constructive replies. Yes I think she probably is a fit, and my worries would lessen if she could control some variables, and it sounds like maybe she can. I'll look at some PPs links tomorrow; thank you for them. I'll re-read everyone's replies tomorrow and take notes.

To 14:42, she is strong in STEM (basically she's got straight As and is taking the highest level of math offered in the school, and now Bio Honors)

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but sounds like the direction is to go in as an officer, and to do that you do:

1) College (plus optional ROTC, but don't accept $ if do ROTC)
or
2) Military Academy

I don't think she can pull off ROTC with her current school load, but I'll check to see what is around here (not DMV); maybe it could work for summer.

Here are couple of followup questions:

1) I know the Navy does a STEM for up to rising juniors, and another program Summer Seminar for rising seniors. Does anyone have experience with these or programs at other branches? And does this Navy STEM program give a good window into the military, or is it just more like a regular STEM camp? Will attending the STEM program help her get into the Seminar program? I'm asking because I'm thinking this might be the way to go this coming summer.

2) I'm under the impression that you have to get your local congressperson or state senator to recommend you to a military academy, and they can only make so many recommendations. We live in a jam-packed district. I'm not sure how one would go about getting a recommendation; any advice for this?

We do other camps at the Naval Academy and have done them for two summers and really happy with them. We've seen the other camps and all seem well run. The only negative I can say is the food and if you are on any special diet they will not make changes even for medical reasons. Its absolutely worth doing. Look at the program online. You have to sign up early, as soon as they open and some open in late fall, early winter.

Going to an academy is very difficult as you do have to get recommended and most go to friends, high donors, and alumni first. I wouldn't recommend it as then you owe to the military. If you can afford college, send her, pay for it and let her go in as an officer.

You do not need a military academy or ROTC to join. People are pushing it to give her the experience now but she can also do summers at the different academies for exposure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse did ROTC at a well regarded university. It worked out because he still had a "normal" college experience for the most part. He was on scholarship, so he had no/few student loans, and got to be a commissioned officer upon graduation.

Some of our brilliant woman friends who we met through ROTC had very accomplished military careers in science with multiple graduate degrees paid for by the military and cushy assignments no where near danger.

Having lived that life with him, my recommendations are:

Be an officer and avoid going to a war zone by joining the Air Force or Navy

Our air force friends have absolutely been in a war zone. Same with Navy. Not sure where this is coming from or someone isn't really that familiar with military. Officers still go to the war zones. Someone has to command.

My husband was in for 12 years. I've met many people from all branches. People in the Army and Marines are much more likely to be in war zones. You know this.

Army and Marines are front lines by nature of their jobs but we have friends who are Air Force, as is my husband, who was in for 20 years, who were front lines. They were cross trained. Don't think for a minute just because you are another branch you will not go. Now they have joint bases and are intermixing the branches a lot. Meeting people from all branches clearly gives you a very limited view. You should know this. Navy go in ships but they are absolutely front lines.

Don't be obtuse. You know that what "more likely" means. It doesn't eliminate the possibility, it reduces it. But go on and continue to insist you're correct.

OP, tell her to go Navy or Air Force.

All our Air Force friends were deployed after the war started. Several were hitting their 20, like my husband and got out as they had plans to get out anyway, but all got activated and many were front lines (as in riding in the trucks carrying guns). Even doctors we know. And, in career fields you'd think were not ones they'd choose to go.