Enlisting in the Military

[S1R_ART0R1US]

Originally Posted by SuperflyTNT

And don't worry about 'people hating the military' either, because for every 10 puke protesters who just don't seem to get it there are 10000 red-blooded Americans who'd be happy to kick the **** out of one of them for the lack of respect for someone who risked their lives to ALLOW those Berkeley hippies to protest.

That's actually kind of funny, since UC Berkeley is one of my top schools and they hvae an ROTC program there.

Anyways, this is food for thought.

[SuperflyTNT]

Yeah, my brother went to Berkeley too - it's a good school and you know you'll get some 'female relations' due to the laissez-faire attitude and feminist sexual freedom! woot!

[Phaethon]

Originally Posted by S1R_ART0R1US

I have somewhat thought of joining the military primarily for the educational benefits. I think I'm definitely at the point where I could get into West Point. My main reserve would be the lack of freedom of what I can/cannot do once I'm in. I feel that my college experience would be diminshed if I was sort of stuck in a military academy, especially since I feel so dependent on others already. Also, even though my dad was in the military, he is against me joining because he doesn't want me to have to "take orders", even though I have to obey him all the time. I have been in Marine Corps JROTC for three years now, and I have exceled in the program. I just dn't know if I would excel in that environment 24 hours a day, seven days a week for four years, plus whatever time I spend in the actual military.

I have been looking at other options though, such as the CIA or FBI, which I believe are less restictive and potentially more useful in the future.

It just seems to me that a lot of people are hypocrites because they say they "support our troops", but feel that their children are too good for them. I also think there is a great deal of backlash against everything military. In fact, I almost blew my top off about an article in my school newspaper about the subject.

The military academies are a completely different beast than universities. Whether they're your cup of tea or not depends a lot on what you expect your college experience to be. If you're looking for a 'party every night' atmosphere, then obviously the academies aren't for you. The academies aren't even a fair representation of what military life is like once you get your commission. Sure, there are rules you'll have to follow, but once you graduate you'll have a lot more freedom than you ever did while in school.

You said you didn't want to be 'dependent' on anybody. Having spent 7+ years in the military as an officer, I can't think of a single day that I felt like a "dependent". The military isn't a babysitting service, where all you do is mooch off the system. Instead, it's a community where there's a specific goal that needs to be reached and the community can only reach it if everyone does their job. And f you go to an academy, you'll be much too busy accomplishing the day's tasks to feel like your mooching off the system.

As for options... There are 3 ways to get a commission in one of the services: 1) the academies, 2) ROTC and 3) OTS (officer training school). Each option has advantages and disadvantages.

If you know now that you want to make the military a career, the academies are the way to go. That's not to say that they inherently make better officers, but the benefits of being a "ring-pounder" open up opportunities that are much tougher to get if you are ROTC or OTS. For example, if you want to be a pilot, then it's much easier to get selected for pilot training at the USAFA than if you go through ROTC.

ROTC is good because you can get a scholarship to help pay for school, but you still get the experiences of college. How ROTC is treated on campus depends entirely on which campus you're talking about. State-run universities in the south, for example, are very supportive as that region has a long history of supporting the military.

I fully understand your hypocrisy statement. Most of the doors that have opened before me were due to my military background. And yet, my in-laws only pay lip-service to "supporting the troops". I'm sure my wife doesn't want our children to join, but nothing would make me more proud than if that happened. That's a figh... errr... discussion we'll have at a future time...

And Tiberius, I echo Ponyboy's comment... make sure you ask what happens if you fail out... the nuke program is very demanding.

[Roland]

I was very very close to enlisting in the military for the sole purpose of education, I did 3 years JROTC at my high school, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I ended up with a full ride scholarship to a college near home, so I stuck around, worked part time, and am now working full time.

[SuperflyTNT]

Hey Phaeton - they changed the name for OTS some time ago to OCS (Officer's Candidates School) I believe, and there's one more way to become an officer - specialized training. My buddy became a Warrant Officer when he trained to fly Apaches. There's now a huge WO corps and a lot of specialty jobs that get the WO rank.

Not really a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

[Buddy Lee]

There is a difference between Warrant Officers and Commissioned Officers. But, putting that to the side, there are possibilities for a Direct Commission if you have some specific education/training that the Military needs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_...Officers_(DCOs)

Buddy Lee

EDIT: Hmmm? Linky no working. Just make sure that the closing paranthesis, i.e. ) is in the addy. Besides, its on Wikipedia so it shouldn't be that hard to find.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by SuperflyTNT

Hey Phaeton - they changed the name for OTS some time ago to OCS (Officer's Candidates School) I believe, and there's one more way to become an officer - specialized training. My buddy became a Warrant Officer when he trained to fly Apaches. There's now a huge WO corps and a lot of specialty jobs that get the WO rank.

Not really a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

Originally Posted by Buddy Lee

There is a difference between Warrant Officers and Commissioned Officers. But, putting that to the side, there are possibilities for a Direct Commission if you have some specific education/training that the Military needs.
...

Oh yeah there is. My father, CWIII (Chief Warrant Officer, 3rd Class), Retired, would probably have an aneurysm if anyone accused him of being an officer.

Pops flew Hueys and LOH's (OH-6 and OH-58 ) in 'Nam and is darn proud of his Warrant.

[SuperflyTNT]

Yes, there is indeed a difference between COs and WOs. My point was only that there was an additional way to become an 'officer'.

I guess it's a little more than symantics, since you could technically be an NCO with the 'officer' part on the end, but it indeed is not the same.

[Phaethon]

Originally Posted by SuperflyTNT

Hey Phaeton - they changed the name for OTS some time ago to OCS (Officer's Candidates School) I believe, and there's one more way to become an officer - specialized training. My buddy became a Warrant Officer when he trained to fly Apaches. There's now a huge WO corps and a lot of specialty jobs that get the WO rank.

Not really a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

The USAF still has OTS. US Army (I think) has OCS. Not sure what the USN has. The USAF doesn't have Warrant officers.

These are the details people need to thoroughly investigate before signing on the dotted line. Once you sign, your at their mercy!