Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My brother joined the Navy about 1971. Served almost 10 years. The best thing he ever did for himself. The only reason he got out was because he was a single man and a Petty officer. 2 years on the OKE City a total of 7 years overseas. The Navy didn't like unmarried officers and took away his BAQ here in the states and were going to send him to the recruiting command in Chicago. A very undesirable place. His friends gave him hell for going to get out but after 2 yrs they were Rifted out anyway. He served 9 yrs 10 months 28 days.
He and i both together talked 2 different guys into joining the service and both of them thanked us later.
1. A kid just out of high school about 1978. his dad was retired Navy. Pat was fresh out of high school and had a worthless older step brother. His step brother chumped him into coming to my farm and while Pat was sitting in the car the brother went around back and broke into my house. The only thing he took was a jug of Vodka.
Didn't take me long to figure it out. The kid was how i found out and he didn't have a thing to do with it. Brother and i sat him down and talked with him and said do you want to be Gary or do you want this? Brother told him of the adventures in Hawaii , on sip, Japan, Australia, and TAIWAN. He took the bait Some time later i was walking out of a restaurant/bar and here came Patrick with another sailor in the dark blues and wearing Peacoats fresh out of boot camp. i guess IRRC. I said man o man let me shake your hand! He said NO SIR! I want to shake your hand! YOU CHANGED MY LIFE!
2. Father of 3 with a no where job. We got him to join and years later i saw him and he was out of the Navy and owned 1/2 of a TV repair shop.Using skills he learned in the Navy He was very thankful.
Service is just the thing for so many needing a future.
The trick is to be in a military field in which your training etc can be easily transferred to civilian life otherwise you will be dumped on the market too old few or no skills and yet many years to go to reach normal retirement.
My three sons joined the Army. The oldest had ADD, so he couldn't face college after high school, yet he wanted to be active. He thrived in the Army and retired from the most elite Special OPs. Son #2 was only in for 6 years. After experiencing the "joy" of Korea and Somalia, he had enough. Son #3, at least finished college before he went in, is in Special Forces, and will probably stay in until he retires. My grandson just went into the Rangers, and I think his brother will too.
The military is a great place for adrenalin junkies, and it turns out most of my kids and grandkids are that way.
The US Navy has a Junior ROTC program called Sea Cadets. I joined the Sea Cadets as a teenager, as an excuse to get out of the house. I liked it.
In Sea Cadets I got to experience a minesweeper and a destroyer. I also spent 2-weeks at Groton Subase learning about subs. I decided that I wanted to be an ET on subs.
The trick is to be in a military field in which your training etc can be easily transferred to civilian life otherwise you will be dumped on the market too old few or no skills and yet many years to go to reach normal retirement.
Agreed. I knew a guy that was a Ordinance loader on A-10's. Not much crossover there at all. My brother coached those guys about dead end training.Where the guy we got in are now days i have no idea.
I graduated high school in 72 and then completed a two year technical school in 74. The job market wasn't bad in my field (Electronics Technology), but I didn't see a great career path at the time. I spoke to a recruiter and enlisted in the Navy (Nuclear Power Program) in 75, which was/is a six year commitment. I wouldn't have said it at the time, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Nothing terribly bad, but you need to learn to follow the rules even if you don't like them. I was a reactor operator on a submarine, great experience and met some of the finest people on this earth. I am still in contact with many of them 34 years later. The experienced landed me an excellent career after I got out (Instrument & Controls engineer at a commercial power plant) with a six figure income and I was able to retired at the age of 57. I am constantly contacted by my former employer and head hunters for part time work, so the industry is still seeking people.
Regarding your brother, making a suggestion is a good idea but you cannot push someone into enlisting. If he does it and is willing to put in an effort I am confident he will mature and become a better person for the experience. As identified above, he needs some sort of an idea in what he wants to do and apply for it, otherwise he may end up with no marketable skills after he is done. I believe it can be a great experience for anyone and should at least be considered. Good luck to you both.
With regard to gaining marketable skills in the military: Great if you can do it. But even if not, the opportunities derived from the GI Bill certainly and other benefits still make military service a good deal.
He would still be earning an income and gaining life experience while he's making up your mind, doing something with a wider range of people, seeing more of the world, learning a lot more about what he might want to do and where he might want to live than he will washing dishes in his hometown.
Almost anything he does for the next four years in the military is going to put him into a better position than almost anything he can do four years from where he is right now.
I joined because college wasn't for me and I couldn't see myself staying in my little home town. So off the the U.S.A.F. I went. Got out after 4 and don't regret it. Look he has to do something. When young a 4 year experiment is a life killing event. At the very least if he gets out with nothing there's a good chance he would just be in the same position he is in now.
That being said I say go Air Force and get out of the home. Talk to a recruiter and find out what career fields are open and go for it. He has to do something...
As a first generation American, my family had no history with the US military. But I had a retired Air Force officer who was a mentor to me and he suggested the Marine Corps would be a good place for me to go. I was also looking at getting kicked out of the State of Alaska boarding home program (we lived in rural Alaska and high school meant going to the big city) for refusing to either get car insurance or park my car. So I signed up with the Marine Corps under the delayed entry program, with my mentor doing the swearing in. The state never did kick me out of the boarding home program, so I graduated, but I was still obligated to the Marine Corps, so six days later I was on my way to MCRD. I did six years and got out. Then my mentor swore me into the National Guard, which he also recommended. And almost 26 years later, he was there for my retirement ceremony. I had a great career and now I have that retirement income for life, as well as permanent access to all the amenities of any military base.
A flight suit gets you there much faster! Who can resist a three foot long zipper?! As a former Marine who went aircrew, I've seen both sides. Semper Fidelis.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
