My Son Wants To Join The Military

[Targa Me]

Over the last few months my son has been talking about it a little bit, but yesterday he said he's just about made up his mind to join... kind of scary for me.
Do any of you have a son or daughter in the military? What are your thoughts?

[M.D. Holloway]

Coast Guard - chase drug runners and save people.

[Seahawk]

So much depends on which service, what he wants to do, his motivation, etc.

My son wants to become a Marine Corps infantry officer...I have no idea why.

Seriously.

[TheMentat]

I think that's great. If he's a responsible/clever guy, he'll probably do well in the military and rise through the ranks. If he's not so responsible or clever, the military is probably better than the alternative.

[Mr_Wizard]

My boys are 1 so I have some time before this. I can say it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life.

[legion]

What does he want to do?

You can gain valuable experience that can be easily transferred into a post-military career depending on the MOS. Also, I know at least with my employer, people with military experience are given preference in hiring. In fact, the only way to walk into an executive position at my company without having worked your way up internally is to come in as an officer from the military. We hire captains, colonels, etc. right into leadership positions that are not available to the general public.

I chose not to join, but if I had it would have been Air Force or Marines for me. Keep in mind that for every soldier on the front lines, it takes something like 10 more in support positions to keep that one soldier fighting.

[A930Rocket]

If I had to do it over again, I would have joined a service of some kind. I'd be ahead of where I am now I think.

[jyl]

My nephew was college-bound and had the grades for it, but decided he was tired of school and enlisted in the Marines. A number of us, including my brother-in-law the former USMC officer, pointed out to him the advantages of going ROTC and entering the military as an officer with a college education and no school debt, but he insisted, so that was that. He is a sniper and in the Pacific, no Middle East deployment so far. I believe it has been good for him in some ways (discipline) although he's since told us that he regrets the decision. My main issue is that when he is discharged, he'll be married (got married to his high-school sweetheart after basic), perhaps starting a family, several years older than the average high school graduate, and may or may not have the discipline/patience to resume his education. Like anything else I guess, he'll have decisions to make. But being a 22 y/o guy with a high school education, a family, an honorable discharge but not any particular trade skills, in a rural low-wage area of the country - is not really the path I'd want my life to be taking.

[cgarr]

Our Son has been in for almost a year now right out of high school. He is in the SeaBee's CM (Construction Mechanic) (NMCB) 1 “The First and The Finest” and loves it. At times its a lot of hurry up and wait but now has a lot of good new friends

[Erakad]

My son is in the AF, an emergency manager (CE Readiness). They teach the rest of the installation how to properly respond to disasters, wartime attacks (CBRN), and properly wear PPE. I think it's a great job, and should he decide to leave the service, one that should translate well into civilian employment. Really was a wise choice for someone that wasn't ready to attend college and was looking for a good paying job with benefits...including college, when he does decide to return to school.

[nostatic]

Depends on the personality of the kid. Some people are not wired for military life.

[RNajarian]

One of the best decisions of my life was to Join the Air Force.

My only regret is that I did not do it earlier. Someone enlisting at age 18 can retire at age 38!

I would recommend he get a college degree, because it will give him more options in his career field.

Let him join the reserves for 2 years and go to college at the same time. A little extra spending cash in college doesn't hurt. If he HATES the military, he is only obligated to two years and will at least be on track to have a college degree. If he LOVES the military, he can
1) Stay in the reserves
2) Go active duty

A lot of non combat fields available, let him do his homework. You should be proud, he is considering all his options

[azasadny]

I went in with a contract for a school (Hospital Corpsman "A" school, followed by Surgical Technician "C" school. I'm very glad I had these 2 schools guaranteed because I was able to get excellent technical training. If the military still offers these contracts, that would be the method I would recommend. Still, the 4-6 year commitment is a long time and it works well for some and not so well for others. It worked well for me and I was able to complete my BS degree while on active duty, but it takes as much hard work as doing it as a civilian and working your way through college while holding down a full-time job with the good chance of being sent somewhere unplanned.

[emcon5]

One thing, regardless of what he does with his life, he will grow up in a hurry.

Something interesting about the military, they are not afraid of giving large amounts of responsibility to junior enlisted.

When I was in the Navy, at 19, I was observer qualified on the P3, to go fly as a crewmember on training flights, not requiring a tactical crew. When I was 20, I was fully qualified as Sensor station One operator. It was my job to determine if the noise in the water was a Soviet submarine or not, and whether or not we should attack it. When I was 22, I gave other aircrewman annual safety check flights, and if I said they were not safe, they couldn't fly as crew until I said they could (NATOPS Blue Card, for those who know what that is).

This is by no means exceptional, that was about the age of many of the people I flew with. There were always second or third tour folks around, but first tour E4 & E5s did a lot of the work.

I know Subs are the same way, my brother was a fast attack Sonar supervisor at ~22.

[javadog]

My oldest son was in the Air Force and it absolutely made his career. He was in 6 or 7 years, got a great technical education (electronics) and parlayed that into a high paying job work for a surgical robotics company. He's way ahead of where he'd be if he'd gone the college route.

Stay away from the other branches. Either you get to live in a tent with people shooting at you (Army, Marines) or you get to puke your guts out in a tin can (Navy, Coast Guard.) I have nephews that though they had to be Marines (ego) and they indicated that it was the worst decision they ever made... Truthfully, the Navy can get you a good technical education as well, but you still have to live on a boat. In the Air Force, you can live in a house like a normal person, have evenings and weekends off. It's much less work and hassle...

JR

[emcon5]

I was in the Navy and never went on a boat.

One thing about the Air Force, from they guys I have known the standard tour was 3 years, so you are at the same base for that time. If that base is Ramstein or Aviano that would be pretty cool. If that base was Thule or Lajes, it could really suck.

[Talewinds]

Not enlisting has been my only real, significant lifelong regret.
There, I said it.

[legion]

Originally Posted by emcon5

One thing, regardless of what he does with his life, he will grow up in a hurry.

Something interesting about the military, they are not afraid of giving large amounts of responsibility to junior enlisted.

When I was in the Navy, at 19, I was observer qualified on the P3, to go fly as a crewmember on training flights, not requiring a tactical crew. When I was 20, I was fully qualified as Sensor station One operator. It was my job to determine if the noise in the water was a Soviet submarine or not, and whether or not we should attack it. When I was 22, I gave other aircrewman annual safety check flights, and if I said they were not safe, they couldn't fly as crew until I said they could (NATOPS Blue Card, for those who know what that is).

This is by no means exceptional, that was about the age of many of the people I flew with. There were always second or third tour folks around, but first tour E4 & E5s did a lot of the work.

I know Subs are the same way, my brother was a fast attack Sonar supervisor at ~22.

Excellent point. A lot people now days are afraid to move out of their parent's basement at 25...

[Rikao4]

be proud..
have him narrow it down a bit..
we can then give you some better input..
my background was ER and Med-evac..

Rika

[desertt5]

I joined the Marines right out of high school. Best decision of my life. I contracted for avionics. There are many fields in the Marines that you never sleep on a rock. I spent a total of 7 nights in the field in 20 years. All of those were in a training enviornment.

I spent 7 years of my time in Navy commands for schools and instructor duty. I now work with active duty Air Force. IMO, the Marines are the proudest, most disciplined and develop leadership skills the best. The ground side (infantry and such) is a toatlly different world than the air wing side of the Corps. I would not anyone I like join the infantry.

The Navy always seemed like it would not be bad, except the being out to sea. I did one 6 month float, that was plenty for a lifetime.

The little contact I had with the Army was always negative. I never met a Soldier that was happy.

The Air Force seems like civilians in uniform ( at least 75% in the command I work for) on a daily basis. The lack of pride, the this is only a job attitude, and I can't wait to get out and go back to school I hear daily matches what my 2 older brothers experienced in their enlistments in the AF.

The technical jobs are the same for all branches, except Navy is the only ones that offer nuke training.

My oldest son is in basic training in GA right now. The wife and I gladly signed for him to go at 17 knowing he would be alright. He went National Guard for the colelge $$$ to start, but says there is a chance he will go active once that is complete.

Any branch is a great way for kids to be on their own, to grow, and figure out what they want. The whole time they are figuring this out, they have a saftey net in place.

I saw a few kids lives truly changed for the better during my 3 years as a recruiter. Most parents were surprised at how their son changed in 13 weeks at boot camp. Every parent was beaming with pride after seeing their son graduate from boot camp.

(yes, I may be a little prejudice)