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

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[quote=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.   [/quote]

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