well im thinking of joining the military. actually ive pretty much made up my mind that i am. looking at either the army or air force and i know theres a few guys on here that are serving or have served so i was just looking for some insight into what you thought of it. was it what you thought it would be, did it help you or hurt you and are you happy with your descision to join?

 

i didnt serve.. but i went to military school, boot camp, drill, review, all the discipline and JROTC..

i didnt mind it just learned it wasnt for me.. glad i didnt learn that on a 4yr contract is all im saying..

i have friends and family who are serving or have served.

i have no problem with it.. its a pretty noble thing to do i think.. just wasnt for me.

 

I joined the Air Force because they are a little more laid back. It is more of a 9-5 job, the food is better and they had better quarters. I still was able to travel the world (Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Spain, etc) but I never had to sleep in a tent or go without showers. The AF was a little easier than I expected, but I still learned a lot and I am a better person for the experience.

The Army has a better kickback on the GI Bill (or at least they did).

I think it is really up to you and I am sure you will be happy that you joined. Don't worry too much about Boot Camp/Basic. It goes slow when you are in it, but looking back- it was a piece of cake.

What YOU should really do is look into what field you want to work in while you are in the service. DO THIS BEFORE YOU JOIN! Oh yea, DON'T believe everything the recruiter tells you.

 

Good on you and thanks. I firmly believe that every able-bodied man should serve his country, kind of a payback for the freedoms you enjoy every day, paid for by others who have gone before you. Like anything, its what you make of it. We all know folks that hate it, and those that love it. I have done extremely well for myself, enjoy waking up and going to work every day, enjoy my job and have met the greatest folks on earth by being in the military. I can't really comment on what MOS to go into as I don't know your interests or anything, but a word of advice, get into something marketable. Not much employment out there for a trigger-puller unless you like working security. I was an FMF corpsman for years, (feild medic for the Fleet Marine Force) or simply Doc. The Navy doesn't really credintial any of thier medical skills so in short it was useless for anything over 9 bucks an hour, despite my skills in sick-call, suturing folks up and life saving skills, think high speed emt/paramedic, but I wasn't licensed to be a paramedic, even though I pushed meds, narcotics, and performed minor surgeries. So, I got into Bio-medical, which I got a degree in out of school (thanks Navy) and I have the option of pretty good money on the outside for fairly easy work. So, I can't complain one darn bit. Allot of it really really sucked, but thats where I met my best friends, had the most fun, and got some great experience. No-one has exciting tales of life behind a desk

 

I'm serving in the air force, i've almost completed my 4 yr contract. (ends in august) Like mentioned it is a bit more relaxed, at least at my shop it is. I'm glad I served my 4 years because now I have the experience to go into the civilian world and get 6 figure job. The military is for some people for others it isn't. Good luck with your decision. there will be plenty more down the road once you decide what to do with your future.

 

lol, my uncle was in the air force and he said the exact same thing.

i was a military brat for awhile when i was little and joining was something i always planned on doing. i just kinda slacked off after high school and then i got into a trade because thats what everyone told me i should do. but now im sitting here at the age of 26 and im regretting listening to everybody else. im never gonna be happy where im at right now and i dont think ill ever be happy if i dont at least give it a shot. i dunno if ill end up career or not but i feel that i owe it to myself to try it.

 

I came really close to joining the Navy when I was 18, I wanted to do the seal challenge. My mom talked me out of it, told me to go to college first. There are times when I still really want to join....I'm married now and own a business (for the last 5yrs) that keeps me really busy, I'm a lot more tied down than I used to be, my wife doesn't want to be a military wife either. I'm 27 now too, think I'm only eligible for seals for another year or so. Guess what I'm saying is if you can do it and think it's for you then by all means do it. I like my life now but I think I'll always regret not joining at 18. Just my .02.

 

my brother was in the airforce he semas to like it for the 6 years he was in. me i never even considered it. i think it is a noble respectable thing to do but not my thing. i hope to never have to do any kind of physical labor.

 

yeah i hear ya on that. thats kinda my thoughts on it all. i feel like im running out of time and if im gonna do it then its now or never. good thing is that im single and dont have any kids so theres nothing holding me back from doing it.

 

I've always been told to go to college first and this will start you at a lot higher rank than just joining.