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Pro's and Con's of joining the military?

Jeff7181

Jeff7181

Lifer
Save your opinion about the current war and politics for another discussion. I'm looking for the opinions of people who have served or are currently serving in any branch of the military. I'm aware of the pay and benefits that are available, and how your military career could translate to a civilian career. I'm looking for pro's and con's that aren't normally talked about... as well as your personal experiences, and whether you'd consider them a pro or a con.
 
pros
college money
good job opprotunitys afterwords
health benefits
Getting to blow the Sh!t out of stuff

cons
getting shot at
being told what to do

(im not military, but we have military recruiters come every day to my HS)
 
What did you do? You made everything in Italics =)

*EDIT* Hmmm... it appears to be my browser that's making everything Italics... wonder how the fork that happened...
 
Pros that most people don't think about?
No tax at exchange.
Extremely low rental rates on recreational equipment.
Travel discounts.
Most bases have shops to work on your car.
Keeps you fit. (There are exceptions)
Increased self esteem
Women
Helps ground you in reality (this can be a con too)
Potential for travel.


What are you looking for exactly? I don't know your personality so it is hard to point out things that may be of interest to you. I can say that I had a blast.
 
I served in the U.S. Army 10th Mtn 1-87 infantry for 4 years. It was the best time of my life.

There are so many MOSs(Military Occupation Speciality) in the military you can choose.

If you want to learn computer, join Air Force or Navy and get valuable training on computers.
If you want to be a cop, join the Army or USMC to become MPs.
If you to be gung-ho and like to blow stuff up, join the infantry. If you are really good you might even become a Special Forces, Ranger, Seal, PJ, etc


And the list just goes on.....
 
Originally posted by: fredtam
Pros that most people don't think about?
No tax at exchange.
Extremely low rental rates on recreational equipment.
Travel discounts.
Most bases have shops to work on your car.
Keeps you fit. (There are exceptions)
Increased self esteem
Women
Helps ground you in reality (this can be a con too)
Potential for travel.


What are you looking for exactly? I don't know your personality so it is hard to point out things that may be of interest to you. I can say that I had a blast.
Click to expand...

Looking for some direction and structure in my life... looking for a source of income.
The only thing I worry about is the physical part... I have a bad knee and can't run without it swelling up. Wonder if there's any specific path I can take that wouldn't require daily jogs... I can handle it for a while in basic training to get in... but not on a perminant basis.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Originally posted by: fredtam
Pros that most people don't think about?
No tax at exchange.
Extremely low rental rates on recreational equipment.
Travel discounts.
Most bases have shops to work on your car.
Keeps you fit. (There are exceptions)
Increased self esteem
Women
Helps ground you in reality (this can be a con too)
Potential for travel.


What are you looking for exactly? I don't know your personality so it is hard to point out things that may be of interest to you. I can say that I had a blast.
Click to expand...

Looking for some direction and structure in my life... looking for a source of income.
The only thing I worry about is the physical part... I have a bad knee and can't run without it swelling up. Wonder if there's any specific path I can take that wouldn't require daily jogs... I can handle it for a while in basic training to get in... but not on a perminant basis.
Click to expand...

If this is a serious problem you might not be allowed to join.

I am in ROTC and one of my fellow cadets just had to leave the program because there was something wrong with one of the muscles in his shoulder. This meant he was at high risk to dislocate his shoulder or something in the future.

It might be different between ROTC and enlisted though.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Originally posted by: fredtam
Pros that most people don't think about?
No tax at exchange.
Extremely low rental rates on recreational equipment.
Travel discounts.
Most bases have shops to work on your car.
Keeps you fit. (There are exceptions)
Increased self esteem
Women
Helps ground you in reality (this can be a con too)
Potential for travel.


What are you looking for exactly? I don't know your personality so it is hard to point out things that may be of interest to you. I can say that I had a blast.
Click to expand...

Looking for some direction and structure in my life... looking for a source of income.
The only thing I worry about is the physical part... I have a bad knee and can't run without it swelling up. Wonder if there's any specific path I can take that wouldn't require daily jogs... I can handle it for a while in basic training to get in... but not on a perminant basis.
Click to expand...

Most jobs in the military don't require "daily jogs". Which branch are you considering? What career interest you? Don't do it for the money cause it isn't there. Oh and you can get the knee fixed.
 
Originally posted by: fredtam
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Originally posted by: fredtam
Pros that most people don't think about?
No tax at exchange.
Extremely low rental rates on recreational equipment.
Travel discounts.
Most bases have shops to work on your car.
Keeps you fit. (There are exceptions)
Increased self esteem
Women
Helps ground you in reality (this can be a con too)
Potential for travel.


What are you looking for exactly? I don't know your personality so it is hard to point out things that may be of interest to you. I can say that I had a blast.
Click to expand...

Looking for some direction and structure in my life... looking for a source of income.
The only thing I worry about is the physical part... I have a bad knee and can't run without it swelling up. Wonder if there's any specific path I can take that wouldn't require daily jogs... I can handle it for a while in basic training to get in... but not on a perminant basis.
Click to expand...

Most jobs in the military don't require "daily jogs". Which branch are you considering? What career interest you? Don't do it for the money cause it isn't there. Oh and you can get the knee fixed.
Click to expand...

Short of an artificial knee I can't... most the soft tissue is "mangled" as the doctor put it. He said he would wait as long as possible to get an artificial knee because they don't last forever, and the sooner I get it, the sooner I'll have to have it replaced. He said as long as it doesn't cause pain or prevent me from going about daily tasks I should wait. I went to physical therapy only a couple times because I didn't have health insurance and didn't want to be on government aid at 18 years old, and my parents couldn't help me out at all. The doctor was real nice... didn't charge me at all for the first visit... gave me a bunch of crap to do since I woudln't be coming back for her to check my progress... I still do the exercises she gave me 3-4 times a week and it hasn't improved in over 3 years

Anyway... I'm not really thinking about a specific career path or job... I'm relatively intelligent, have more knowledge about computers than the average person, have more knowledge about cars than the average person... and I have no problem following orders. So I figure there's pleanty of options for me even just in the army... let alone things like the Air Force, Navy, Marines, etc... so I would figure that out before I inlisted of course... but I'm just looking for some opinions from people who've been there. I can't say that I've ever met anyone who was in the military and would say it sucked... but that doesn't mean there isn't anyone who'd say that.
 
Myth:

1) Chances of you shooting anybody, or anybody is shooting at you is like .8222222228383833% if you join the military. This depends a lot on your MOS and career field, too. For example, a computer technician working in the Navy will have much much lesser chance to see combat than an Army/Marine ground pounder.

2) Women will not throw themselves at you because you wear the uniform. Why you ask? Because you are more than likely to live on a military post, and women around that post are no stranger to U.S. servicemen.
 
Jeff,

on a side note look up trigger point therapy for your knee. you can do it yourself and it's worked wonders for my body.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Save your opinion about the current war and politics for another discussion. I'm looking for the opinions of people who have served or are currently serving in any branch of the military. I'm aware of the pay and benefits that are available, and how your military career could translate to a civilian career. I'm looking for pro's and con's that aren't normally talked about... as well as your personal experiences, and whether you'd consider them a pro or a con.
Click to expand...
Even after you're discharged, they can require to to suit up and show up.
 
Cons:
Getting killed
Getting arms blown off
Getting legs blown off
Sleeping with bugs all over you in the middle of nowhere
Eating military food
 
Originally posted by: sonambulo
Jeff,

on a side note look up trigger point therapy for your knee. you can do it yourself and it's worked wonders for my body.
Click to expand...

Sounds a little like acupuncture... don't know that it would help me since it's not particularly muscle damage. Right after the injury I saw a specialist and had an MRI and he said my ACL was torn, but not completely... my PCL was "stretched excessively and slightly torn" ... some cartiledge had been torn away from the bone ... and my knee cap had been dislocated. And then some muscle damage that wasn't nearly as severe as everything else. In my first PT visit she said my knee cap was 2 cm too far to the outside of my knee, and 3 cm too high on my leg... and I had about a 40% range of motion.

Oh... it was a dirt biking accident if you're wondering =)
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Sounds a little like acupuncture... don't know that it would help me since it's not particularly muscle damage. Right after the injury I saw a specialist and had an MRI and he said my ACL was torn, but not completely... my PCL was "stretched excessively and slightly torn" ... some cartiledge had been torn away from the bone ... and my knee cap had been dislocated. And then some muscle damage that wasn't nearly as severe as everything else. In my first PT visit she said my knee cap was 2 cm too far to the outside of my knee, and 3 cm too high on my leg... and I had about a 40% range of motion.

Oh... it was a dirt biking accident if you're wondering =)
Click to expand...

goddamn man. i've got nothing else to say except my cousing got booted out of air force academy because of a bum knee.
 
I was in the army for 4 years.. pros.. I got a job in the military that had a future (signal/communications), I now work at sprint making 70g a year.. If you were to stay in the military you would half to be a high ranking officer or inlisted with 16 to 20 years in.. I have only worked for sprint for 4 years ..

so the pro is a good job after if you get a good job while you are in .. grunts that shoot alot become security guards on the outside, tankers become bulldoze drivers..

cons while you are in are most people in control are idiots that cant make it on the out in the real world and love being in control.. Even while being in as a signal soldier you still pick up trash, mow grass and other stupid jobs.. because the only time you do you real job is during field exercises that generally last one to four weeks..

It will make you very thankful of freedom.. I was also lucky that I didnt half to go overseas.. on the weekends I could get in my car and go anywhere, overseas you are a gi and your travel/freedom/communicating with the locals is limited..

I hated the army but the money afterwards is great.. also keep in mind some off the same guys i was in with got out and didnt get a job at all..
 
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