Thinking of joining the military need some help please?

[skife]

well, i can't seem to find direction in my life, i've got no idea what i want to do.

so i'm thinking of joining the military.

any suggestions?

i've heard from people to stay out of the marines.

a friend of mine who is an e-5 in the navy said join the coast guard because they have nicer equipment and such. I really don't know where to begin.

any help?

[iambored]

bad time to join military.

[matteusz]

Coast Gaurd ok. Army bad, Marines Bad, Air Force eh not as bad but bad, Navy comes in somewhere between Air Force and Marines. Speaking from the second hand experience of close friends and relatives.

Serving your country in the armed forces is a good thing to do BUT do you really agree with the war etc? If not then joining up now sends the opposite message to the government. Don't join= war bad. Joining=I agree with the war.

I would recommend a government job that would not entail the possibility of going to Iraq.

Try www.usajobs.com

[gimp]

Join the Navy, become a nuke, then you'll find direction. That direction will be in the opposite direction of the Navy, and you'll figure out what you really want to do. And you won't get shot at.

[rifleman wi]

join the army , just hope you dont get stuck at fort riley like me

[BeaverEater]

It really just depends on what kind of job your looking for in the military. Im army infantry and am heading to iraq in december but im fine with that. You have to decide what you want to do not only while your in but if the training transfers out to civilian life.

Have you gone to college yet? I went for 3 semesters and decided i didnt like it, then joined the army. I wanted to join right out of highschool but i wanted to give college a try first.

[Eagle]

a friend of mine who is an e-5 in the navy said join the coast guard because they have nicer equipment and such. I really don't know where to begin.

any help?

HUH??? The Coast Guard is TRYING to go through a big 'ol equipment overhaul and update, but are WAY behind on their own self imposed schedual. I spent 5 years in the Navy, specifically as a Sonar tech on a nuclear sub. I would NOT recommend the nuclear program. It requires a great deal of smarts, and NO common sence. If you have any common sence, it WILL strip it away. I've seen it. I WOULD however recommend just about anything else in the sub fleet. It is kinda high stress at times, but much more laid back and less formal than the rest of the Navy

[skife]

It really just depends on what kind of job your looking for in the military. Im army infantry and am heading to iraq in december but im fine with that. You have to decide what you want to do not only while your in but if the training transfers out to civilian life.

Have you gone to college yet? I went for 3 semesters and decided i didnt like it, then joined the army. I wanted to join right out of highschool but i wanted to give college a try first.

i went to college for 6 months to become an auto mechanic, i didn't want to turn wrenches as a mechanic for a living. i am currently at a CC right now and can't see myself going anywhere with it.

thanks for everyone else' input. i apericate it.

[regal1975]

Marine here... no reason to not join the Marines unless you are joining just to get paid... in most cases any other branch will get you larger bonuses...

Otherwise, the Marines are the only branch I would consider for no reason other than camaraderie... as a Marine, any other Marine past or present is your brother and will stand by you as such. And if you want the best training, there is no other way.

[kosmo]

as a Marine, any other Marine past or present is your brother and will stand by you as such.

Yeah, just like the two guys from Brokeback Mountain.

[AirAssault]

Yeah, just like the two guys from Brokeback Mountain.

Ok here are a few things. I didn't mind the Army, just didn't like the stupid way in which they did things. That being said, it was the easiest job I have ever had and it's not that bad. Military is a good thing, but pick a job that will help you when you get out. Sorry but any combat arms MOS will do nothing for you when you get out UNLESS you want to go into law inforcement. Anything medical is cool, I would say Army is prob your best be there. Airforce for mechanic, chances you wont get shot and you can make bucks when you get out. Marines, sorry but just say no unless you want to fly. Navy, major technical if you have that in you, good bet for high paying job in the future.

If you have a clean past, minimal drugs, no criminal activity (convicted or not) finances in order? I say go 91x (what it used to be) intel analist. You get a top secret clearance then when you get out you have a high degree of employability (is that a word? well it is now!) at a nice high rate of pay. If you become a linguist you spend a year at DLA in Cali, nice place to be. Again, you have to have a pretty good past, some drug use is ok but no heavy stuff. I would go that path if I were you, plus they are so short on intel guys the bonus is pretty nice. Good luck.

[Tac-OneFun]

Don't join Coast Guard.

Go Air Force... you can get extra money for hazard pay, flight pay etc. Plus, they have a lot of cool organizations like OSI, SF, PJs and Ravens.

[iambored]

My dad is in the navy and my uncle is in the Air Force and I know a guy in the Army. The most laid back of the 3 is Airforce.

[MedicDVG]

I have HUGE respect for Marines. Theirs is a fraternity that not everyone can aspire to. If I had to do it over again, I would have done Marines.

That having been said, if you do decide Military, may I suggest a career in Medicine. Be it medic, nurse, or even working towards PA or MD, the military medical people that I deal with on a daily basis are some of the best people I have had the privilege to know.

But that is my biased opinion cause I are one.. LOL...

[Warwitch]

Serving your country in the armed forces is a good thing to do BUT do you really agree with the war etc? If not then joining up now sends the opposite message to the government. Don't join= war bad. Joining=I agree with the war.

Joining the military says you care about serving and defending your fellow Americans not that you support war. You are reading too much into it. It could be saying "I need and education", "I need money", "I want to help my American brothers", or best of all, "I owe it to my country."

Personally, my one great regret is that I did not serve in the armed forces. My father was in the AF during Vietnam, I took ROTC all through HS and got cought up in a photography career (that went nowhere) so I never joined. I believe that one of the major problems in America right now is the the youth have no sense of what being a partiot means. I think that if you want to vote you should have to do at least one term of govt. service. If you dont care about the country and its people enought to put dedicate three years to making it better you have no business voting. I realize that may sound absurd to some of you but most of you probably dont vote anyways so whatever. I do and given the chance to go back I would DEFINITELY serve. Even with the knowledge of where we were headed.

I think it is a supremely honorable decision to serve your country. Not an easy one but life is full of hard choices and its not always about whats easiest