Thinking about joining the US army

**Divinus Arma** · 02-20-2006, 02:02

I have been in the Marine Corps for nearly seven years.

If you are looking to serve in a branch primarily for a resume builder (which is perfectly legitimate and was part of choice too), consider the following:

(1) Do you care at all about actually serving your country, or is it just a job?

(2) What MOS, or job, do you want in the military?

(3) What job will you seek when you leave the service?

(4) Does tradition, pride, history, and respect matter to you?

(5) What are your feelings towards combat? Seek it, indifferent, or avoid it?

The branch of service you choose should depend mostly on your answers to these questions.

(1) If you truly care about serving your country, then service in any branch is honorable. If serving your country matters nothing to you, then join the air force simply because you will sacrifice the least and gain the most in creature comforts. In terms of ease of service, second to this would be the Navy (unless you are a corpsman serving with Marines), followed by the Army, and lastly the Marine Corps. The reasoning is primarily one of application and budget. The AF kills from the Air and has a monster budget. The Marines are the tip of the spear and face the most complex assignments with the least amount of money (they actually don't get their own budget; Marines get the Navy's leftovers). A bigger budget means top commanders have more money with which to provide services and quality of life to those serving. I have been on all manner of bases and I can say that this is certainly true.

(2) Although the service will guarantee your training in a given field, that does not necessarily mean you will always work in that field. Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines are all frequently tasked with doing duties they did not "sign up for". I know of a Marine supply unit that ended up doing MP work in Iraq for their entire tour. So, be forewarned, if you go into the Army or Marines, your chances for combat duty goes way up no matter what your job is.

(3) You need to pick a service job that closely mirrors the civilian counterpart. Keep in mind the above and remember that some services do not have jobs that other services do have.

(4) If you want to be respected, then your choice of branch should be obvious. Across the board, Marines in general recieve more kudos then other branches. Ronald Reagan said of Marines: "Some people live their whole lives wondering if they have made a difference; Marines don't have that problem." The Navy has their seals, the Army their rangers, and the AF their rescue guys: Each deserves respect but if you want respect by proxy- The Marines.

(5) Do you want to fight? If you do, but you don't want to join an "elite" unit, then join the Marines. You will be surrounded by individuals of superior character and ability. You army folks can argue with me all day on this, but the fact remains- we demand more physically, demand more in marksmanship, and demand moe in character then any other branch. The one and only reason to do this is survivability. Do you want to be surrounded by guys who are looking for a challenge? Or do you want to be surrounded by people who joined a branch that they thought would be "easier"?

Finally, and most importantly, remember that you are mandated by law to serve for a period of EIGHT YEARS. It is called inactive reserve, or the indivisual ready reserve. Even if you only serve in the army for 2 years, you may still be called back up to active service up to that eight year mark!

My neighbor was in the army for four years. He got out and joined the border patrol. He was out for three years and then he got recalled so he could serve in Iraq. He was there for a year and just got home 2 months ago.

**Seamus Fermanagh** · 02-20-2006, 03:09

Originally Posted by Divinus Arma

My neighbor was in the army for four years. He got out and joined the border patrol. He was out for three years and then he got recalled so he could serve in Iraq. He was there for a year and just got home 2 months ago.

I'd feel more comfortable if I could be certain that guarding Iraq's border was the more dangerous of the two assignments....

'Goose:

Serve (D.A.'s guidelines for where/how are good points). If you do not, as I didn't, you will always regret it.

**Divinus Arma** · 02-20-2006, 03:23

Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh

Serve (D.A.'s guidelines for where/how are good points). If you do not, as I didn't, you will always regret it.

That's a great point. I know many who regret they never served. It has been truly rewarding, and although I will leave the service soon, I regret nothing.

I owe everything to my service:

My home, my resume, my education, my future, and especially parts of my character. The military may not give you character- but it will bring out what is naturally in you. I never knew what a rough-n-tumble SOB I really was. I learned all about the load that I can carry and survive. That's why I can put in (edit)78 hour work weeks while going to graduate school full time!

And the best part: I had so much damn fun!