Lately, I've been thinking a lot about joining the military. (no decision on a branch) -- My friend is in the Army National Guard so I was considering that. (I'm in the USA) Point of this post is, I was wondering if anyone here serves and if so, what branch and why did you join? (as in, some people join to pay for school, some want to get away, etc.) Also, did you regret it after you were locked in? It's always interesting to hear about others experiences.
I joined the British Army and served for 14 years. I would say i enjoyed 80% of my time. The other 20% was while i was serving in Ireland, Falklands and the Gulf wars. I was detached to US forces for 1 month whlst in the Gulf. What an eye opener that was.
Remember that, when you join the military, you give up most of your civilian rights and protections. You are giving the chain of command the power to decide where you must go, who you must fight, why you must fight, and so on. In the military, a soldier is basically a resource to be used to accomplish a mission. If your commander can accomplish that mission without expending too many resources (getting too many of his men killed), so much the better. But, if he has to expend every one of his resources to accomplish the mission, that is what he will - he must - do. You may join for patriotic reasons to fight a particular concrete threat, only to find yourself a couple of years later in an entirely different war being fought for entirely different reasons. A friend of mine who joined to fight al Qaeda in Afghanistan ended up getting blown up by local Sunni insurgents in Iraq. Your life is in somebody else's hands and you could find yourself being "expended" in a war you don't approve of, against an enemy you don't hate, for reasons you don't understand or approve of. Think long and hard about giving up the right to make life-and-death decisions about your own survival - and whether it is worth an ephemeral signing bonus, or future tuition to school.
Remember also that the National Guard troops that have been sent to Iraq were sent there with much less combat training and with older and poorer equipment than the regular army troops. Some found themselves using 40-year-old Vietnam surplus M-16s and driving trucks that went back to the '50s and '60s.
I'd say it all depends on your personal goals, some go to get self disipline, some go for education, some just go to get away from here, some go for benefits, it really all depends, but once your in your in, theres no turning back, so don't jump into it lightly, think it over, do your research, decide your goals, and last of all, if you see one recruiter, you might wanna see a second as well, cause some recruiters do whatever they have to to get you to join Good luck
I was in the Army for 3 years . If I were going to join today it would either be the Navy or the Air Force .
I'm in my first year of the Air Force ROTC program and I've enjoyed pretty much every minute of it. Sure it might take a few weeks to get used to the whole military lifestyle but its well worth it. The biggest piece of advice that I've been given is that you must have something you want to get out of the military. If you dont they will take everything from you. For me its being a pilot and translator. What I get out of it, is being a pilot, learning a 3rd language, and they are paying for school. On the other hand, they are able to tell me what to do ect... But seriously, the military is one of the best job opportunities that you can have. You never have to worry about being laid off or anything. its the best career option anyone can have. theres also so many jobs available after the military because of the experience you gain from different things. Also sure there is always a chance to have combat but it is the price to have a great career in the military. But you have to remember, not every job in the military will mean you have to be on the front lines. There are plenty of jobs that you wouldn't see any fighting, but if needed they could call you to action. (so there isn't any guarantees) So far I'm very glad I've made this decision. And don't believe everything you see on TV, a lot of it is just the media making stories up against the war/military.
I could never become a glorified killer. I even paid 2,500$(USD) to a doctor to give me a medical condition so I could avoid Russian conscription.... If you can get a noncombat job go for it.
Lol, I enjoyed some of your replies. I think it was a spur of the moment thought kind of thing, I haven't really thought about it since I made the post. I think I'll still research it though, and like someone said above, figure out what my goals are and whether or not it is for me. But, at the moment, I don't think it is.