High School Graduate Interested In Joining Military, What Would You Say To Them?

ClassicRockr

ClassicRockr

Well-known Member
Ever known a soon-to-be high school graduate who was interested in joining the military and ask you about it? Generally the student will know the person they are asking has already been in one of the Services.

I've been asked by a few students that were neighbors and this is what I told them:

"First of all, will you be able to handle the discipline that is taught in Boot Camp (Basic Training)? Will you be able to say "Sir" and "Ma'am" and respect the officers? Which Service are you looking at to possibly join? If it's the Navy or Coast Guard, could you possibly handle being on a ship or Cutter and on the water a lot? You do know the training for the Army and Marines is much tougher than the other Services? Remember, unlike myself, you do have a choice of enlisting or not. When I enlisted in the Navy, I knew how close the Draft was to me. I actually got my Draft Notice when I was in Basic Training for the Navy. Unless the Navy released me from Basic for medical or something else, the Draft would never get me."

Ok, what would you say?

Last thing, there are those that don't need any advice or recommendation of which Service, because a family member was, or is, serving.
 

I would recommend that a young person join either the USAF or Navy, and try to get into a highly technical career field....rather than taking their chances in the Army or Marines. I joined the AF when that Vietnam mess was just getting into full gear, and I knew my number was coming up at the draft board. Luckily, the tests I took at the AF recruiter office qualified me for one of their most complex tech schools, and a year of intense electronics training prepped me for a lucrative lifetime career. There are some really good programs in the military, and if a person takes advantage of them, it can lead to a pretty good life....far better than wasting 4 years at some college with a "liberal arts" program.
 
I'd ask if they were truly prepared to sacrifice their peace of mind, limbs or even their lives for "the cause." Are they emotionally ready to kill someone or watch one of their comrades be killed? To see the carnage of maimed children who were the unfortunate "collateral damage" from a bombing attack? Unpopular questions, perhaps, but given the rate of veteran homelessness, joblessness and suicides, these are potential outcomes.

If they're dead set on joining, I'd recommend the Navy or Air Force over boots-on-the-ground services.
 

StarSong said:
I'd ask if they were truly prepared to sacrifice their peace of mind, limbs or even their lives for "the cause." Are they emotionally ready to kill someone or watch one of their comrades be killed? To see the carnage of maimed children who were the unfortunate "collateral damage" from a bombing attack? Unpopular questions, perhaps, but given the rate of veteran homelessness, joblessness and suicides, these are potential outcomes.

If they're dead set on joining, I'd recommend the Navy or Air Force over boots-on-the-ground services.
Click to expand...

Have to admit, you're right, although I didn't see any ground combat when I went to Nam. The only type of "combat" I seen was us firing both of our Destroyers 5" gun mounts on the Firing Line off of Da Nang, at targets in the hills that were reported to us by both the Army and Marine bases.

But, once a graduated student "signs on the dotted line", all bets are off on life, death and dismemberment in the Army or Marines.

One thing for sure, the military, no matter what branch it is, sure isn't made for everyone. Or, as the old saying goes, "Can't take the heat, don't jump into the fire".
 
Yes, when a person chooses a job in the military that directly relates to a civilian job, sure can make life easier, IF they choose the same type of job they learned in the Service. I know, in the Navy, there are rates, like the old Postal Clerk, Storekeeper (now called Logistics Clerk), Personnel Man, Electronics Tech, Machinist Mate and some other that directly cross over into civilian life. Signal Man, Sonar Man, Gunner's Mate, Boiler Tech, Boatswain's Mate and a few others, not so much.

Military life, no matter which Service, can be nice, but "you get out of it, what you put into it.".
 
I would advise them to join the Marines or the U.S. Coast Guard only because it’s where my loyalty lies. I think the USCG is perhaps one of the most underrated services among the others. I used to never think that way until I was given an opportunity to spend a weekend at Cape May. While there, I attended a few training exercises, which really impressed me.
 
I was drafted and it didn't hurt me, in fact it was good, my son was a marine, he loved it.....the problem is I have 18 year old grandsons and no I would not want them to go to war.
 
My ex husband was in the navy almost the whole of our marriage . He'd enlisted just weeks before we tied the knot... and I know it's a cliché but he really did go in a boy and come out a man.

I have nephews and family members who have served in the army and marines..in fact 2 serving now overseas... but my recommendation for anyone enlisting now, has been and will always be for the Royal Navy or Royal Airforce..
 
I never liked the idea of slogging around in the mud. So, I took to the air, trained and graduated as a pilot and

commissioned officer. Today, because of that I now hold a Commercial Pilot's licence and proud of my military experience.
 
This is a tough question. Is it unpatriotic to advise someone not to join the armed forces? After all, we do need them. On the other hand, a lot of our young people are dying or getting screwed up in conflicts that don't seem to make sense.


They should know that although the military will feed, clothe and house them and maybe give them some useful training, they will give up almost all control over their lives. The service will decide where they go, what they do, and when they do it.


My oldest brother who served in WWII advised me not to become cannon fodder. So, when faced with the draft, I joined the Navy reserve and served two years active duty. It worked out well for me, but I was glad when it was over.


So, what reasons are there to join?
Patriotism? An honorable reason.
Adventure? May or may not happen.
Training? Can be useful.
Travel? Possible, but where to?
Benefits? I understand they are not a good as they once were.
A steady job? In these times, that might be the main reason.


Don
 
Actually, how can a former military person see if the soon-to-be graduated student could actually handle military life? It's pretty obvious that there are high school graduates that can't and won't listen to authority, which would include military officers. Those types I definitely wouldn't recommend going in. And, once a young person signs on that dotted line, it can be hard to get out, unless the discharge is under a medical condition or even a Court Martial for being super bad.

Now, we all know that a military dress uniform is very attractive. I have to admit, I looked pretty hot in my Dress Blues and Whites.
 
I just hope that when a guy decides to join the military that he really thinks hard about any family he intends to have. I grew up in a military family from birth to eighteen years old. Yes, it's great to travel and see a lot of the world, but all in all, it's not a happy life. I would really love to have grown up having friends that I remember from grammar school and the names of my teachers and not having to say goodbye every couple of years.

It's been only in the last decade that military families have been acknowledged and recognized about their sacrifice as well. There is a difference when a young man decides to join the military for the experience and training for a few years as opposed to making it a 20-year or more career. Of course, they may not know it at first if that is what they're going to do. And in wartime, the family really suffers as well.

So, what I'm saying is that making such a decision involves not just the guy (and, of course now, young women) but the people you're going to invite into your life as well.
 
Good point, Olivia. We were married when I went active and our son was 6 months old. We had discussed whether to try for a child first and she decided we should. We found a duplex near the base and it wasn't bad except for the low pay. She struggled to get by. During my 2 year hitch, 4 months were in San Francisco for overhaul and I flew home several times. Then it was 7 months in the far east. It was really tough to leave them behind, but it was tougher for her. I was an E4 plus getting hazardous duty pay and we struggled. I suspect it's not much better now.

Don
 
Yes, Don, that's the way it was. But being a volunteer military now, I do believe that the pay is much better now. Definitely, my parents struggled.

I'm not saying it was all bad. There was a lot of education just involved with meeting all kinds of people. You grow; you really do. But I would not recommend it for any family, except for a limited time.

The military culture of the male (at that time) also tended to permeate into the family as well. There's a book, video and forum for people having grown up as "military brats" where those with this experience can commiserate and tell how they coped and how they're doing. And also trying to find and connect with others that they spent time with during that period of time moving all over the place. Hopefully, it's much better now. They have the internet and cheap phone calls.
 
Easy choice for me back in 1953. Growing up in a seaport town with the Coast Guard the only local presence, and family members before me having joined, I headed for Cape May (mentioned by 911 in another post). In those days, basic training was 14 weeks and not something I'd enjoy repeating.

Spent my 4 years on weather patrol cutters in the north Atlantic and during the winters it was a miserable place to be. 21 day stays in 10 mile squares below Greenland and Iceland. Sometimes our relief would be another cutter and othertimes a European weather ship.

The last cutter that I served on, the Yakutat, ended up in Nam with 5 or 6 other cutters for close inshore fire support for ground troops. At the end of that conflict she was given to the Philippine Navy.

If a young person had done reasonably well in high school, I wouldn't recommend the military. Whether we like the system that we live in or not, you need that "paper" that comes with completing college, to even qualify for an interview in many of the good paying jobs today. When I retired, I wouldn't even have qualified for a job two levels below me and yet when I started, a degree wasn't necessary to "get in the door".
 
I consider myself very lucky that I never married, or even had a girlfriend, the entire time I was in the Navy. Just didn't happen. There was a guy in my Division that was married and he was finally coaxed go out drinking with us once. He kept saying "I'm married", but another Sailor talked him and he decided to go. He was fine.

However, leaving San Diego on my second WestPac Cruise to Nam, we were all at Quarters on deck, in our Dress Whites, and a Sailor decided he didn't want to leave his pregnant wife and jumped over the side into the water. Yes, broke ranks and jumped over the side into the water by the pier! MP's were there to help him out of the water and cuff him. Don't know what he faced after that, but it was a very, very stupid thing to do.
 
Depends on what he’d be coming from, or trying to leave behind

The military can be a refuge, an opportunity, even a future

I encouraged my grandson
He's in Army AIT right now
 
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Out of the different jobs I had thru the years, only a few managers at interviews, even acknowledged my military background. One of those managers had spent some years in the Army and the owner/president of the company had been on a Navy aircraft carrier during the same years I was in. A couple of other job interviews were set up by a VA Rep at the State Employment Office. Other interviewing managers cared less about my military background, even if it did relate to the job. What they wanted to see was a college degree and/or a Certificate of Completion of a course that related to the job.

After I left my last job (quit to move), I visited a VA Rep (retired Army Major) at the State Employment Office and he told me NOT to include my military service on my resume anymore, due to age discrimination of the dates I was in. "Even if the job did relate to your military experience, it was too many years ago and they will surely figure out your age. And, if you do list it without dates, they will either toss your resume or definitely ask you the dates in an interview."

So, Bottom Line here was...….back then, in the later 70's and thru part of the 80's, when a VA Rep at the Employment Office would look at a Job Search Slip I had and set up the referral/interview for me, I pretty much had it made OR if I was interviewed by a former Service member, again...…..had a better chance of getting the job.
 
One thing I really don't understand, the movie and tv show, MASH was so popular, but Lt Colonel Blake has been seen cheating on his wife, as well as Major Burns and Trapper. One of the only ones that didn't cheap on his wife was Colonel Potter. I know it was just a tv show and movie, but did the "cheating" really have to be in either?
 

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