Thinking about joining the National Guard.

[Mafdark]

What do you guys think about the National Guard? I'm seriously contemplating joining them. I'd go out for a weekend every month, and a 2 week period each year. I can keep going to college and they pay for my tuition/books (big plus). I get the sign on bonus. I can keep my part time job I have now and still get payed from both places. My parent's are kind of against it though (seeing as how I'm the only child).

 

I don't think my chances are too high for being deployed now that Obama's going to be president either. What do you guys and gals think? Should I try and earn some stripes?

 

 

My other thought is maybe joining the police force.

 

 

Some insight/advice:

 

The National Guard is a great way to get money for college and other benefits such as health care. However, doing it for the money alone will bite you in the ass faster than you could imagine.

 

Here is the thing. don't bank on Obama getting you out of crap. If you go guard then you better be prepared to be deployed at the worst time possible. The sorry pricks who join for the money and expect to put in the bare minimum service don't understand what they are being payed for... those are the ones you see on the news from canada crying about not wanting to face trial.

 

You should talk to a recruiter about a few things.

1. what branch/MOS. there are as many jobs in the army as there are in the civilian world. firefighters, police, bus drivers... all of it. Not everybody is an Infantryman. What would interest you? and then... what would you do if you were deployed... could you handle that job?

 

2. When was your local unit last deployed? If it was just recently then you have some time. If it has been a while, theyre probably on deck.

 

3. ROTC, if you truly want to serve your country and don't simply want to reap the benefits, then you should look into this option. They pay for your tuition and books along with a monthly stipend... but then when you commission/graduate you are a 2nd LT and in charge of all the dropouts trying to straighten their lives out.

 

 

 

be careful of who you listen to on here, getting advice about the military from people who have never been in is a pretty bad idea.

 

If you need more info or think of more questions I'll try and answer them the best I can.

[Kastigir]

If you do join, make sure you do it for the right reasons. Money is typically not the *right* reason, because there are safer ways of acquiring it.

[Kegger]

First off I say if you wanna join and serve your country. I'll stand 100% behind you and not say a bad thing about you serving. That would make me a hypocrite.

 

 

Screw joining the military. That's for ppl who have no other options or ideas. It's a cop-out. But some ppl need it. Those are the ppl the military thrive on.

 

Now for the people that want to slam us....

 

I joined the military to serve my country. To defend the freedoms that I have enjoyed all my life. To make sure people like ya'll don't have to get your hands dirty to enjoy those same freedoms.

I joined straight out of high school, where I received a 3.6 GPA, scored a 29 on my ACT and received $50,000 in medical scholarships. I ain't a dropout, I have several options in my life and plan to live those out.

I serve as a combat medic, the second most deadly job in the Army right now. The first being truck drivers and the third being infantry.

I know the risks, I knew them at 13 when I told my mom I wanted to be a soldier more than anything, I knew them the day I signed my contract at 17. They haven't changed.

The Army has given me opportunities in life I never would have had if I stayed at home. I'm taking courses working towards my Bachelors in Micro-Biology as an undergrad. I'll be attending UAB for graduate school for a Masters as a Physicians Assistant.

And I will never pay a dime or have to deal with loans. And I'll be doing it all by myself. I'll be done by the time I'm 28.

 

I also plan on retiring at the age of 38, with a paycheck and full medical and dental benefits for the rest of my life so I don't have to worry about those two things. As well as 70% medical disability from the VA from today on. None of which is the Army's fault but they took care of all of it, and will pay me for it for the rest of my life.

 

Then I will continue working in medicine til I decide to retire from that as well.

 

So from my best guess, the Army isn't a cop out. In fact anyone who enlists should have your utmost respect, because they are defending you and the things you get to take advantage of on a day to day basis.

 

As was once said "A veteran is someone who at one point in there life, wrote a blank check to the US Government for the amount of "up to and including my life."

 

These people should be looked up to, not trodden on.

 

And if you don't like what I have to say, I know where I can find you a free ticket to Iraq to tell those guys over there how lowly they are and what else they could have done with their lives.

[Orca89]

^ I'm with him and Mafdark. I honestly have only a slight idea what the military will do for you, hopefully I didn't get anything wrong in my previous post

 

Armed forces deserve our respect, period. Doesn't matter what the war was about, blame the politicians, not the soldiers.

[sup]

I stand behind anyone who enlists 110%. I have a lot of friends in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. I even knew a WWII veteran who fought in the 4th wave on D-Day and in the battle of the bulge. Anyone who sacrifices a normal life so the rest of us can have one deserves respect regardless of the reasons they enlisted. If I didn't get into the college I'm at now I'd most likely be in the Navy or Army. If I didn't have crappy eyes (astigmatism) I would be trying to become a naval aviator.

[Hondahunter]

Thats b/c 98% of Hollywood is a bunch of anti-American libtards that would like to see nothing more than to turn the US into a slocialist's wetdream.

 

 

Thank you

 

And Kegger, I couldn't have put it into better words. Thank you and all the others on here for your service. I pick on other branches because my dad's a former Marine and that's the route I'm choosing, but never take that personal and know that I respect anyone who has served, past or present.

[Rick B.]

Kegger, well put man. I couldnt have said it better myself.

 

Alex, you couldnt be more wrong about the military and I can honestly say I lost respect for you.

 

Sup, get lasik and you should be able to pursue becoming an aviator.

[CRG7]

don't bank on Obama getting you out of crap

 

What he said. If you don't think you can partake in this war (or any other... like I said, most of the guys from my high school would join the military... I graduated HS in 2001, no one could have predicted that we'd be at war shortly thereafter), then don't enlist.

 

Kegger: There's a difference between those who have always known that being in the military is what they were going to do. However, those people don't post messages on forums for opinions/advice about it.

[Kegger]

There is no difference between those who have known and those who just did.

 

They are soldiers/airmen/sailors/marines that do a job that you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. There is no need to discourage someone from doing that job. Ya'll say that the military lures people in with talk about money and opportunity. Well hell yes they do, because people like you spend your entire lives trying to talk people out of it.

 

I have no idea what you guys do for a living, but no matter what it is, I'm not gonna say you made a bad choice in life. They are jobs, and they need to be done. Same as the military. It's a job, though the benefits are better that most, but the risks are greater as well.

 

And to put it in terms for the people who say that giving up your life for something isn't worth it, I guarantee, the spot you are standing in right now has soaked the blood of a soldier fighting for their nation. Whether it be the US vs Britain, the Union vs the Confederacy, the American government vs the Native American tribes. Someone fought and died for theirs and your freedoms.

 

If I have to go to Iraq tomorrow and catch a bullet the next day, I'd be proud that I did it to protect my country and the people that we are fighting for over there. To me, that's worth my life.

[Shanebot90]

I'm still thinking about doing it... Probably going to try and get in touch with a recruiter and get some more info about it. I read about college first and all that, where they can't deploy me as long as I'm a full time student.

 

I was also told that the air force was a good choice education-wise... I'm definitely dropping my computer sciences and want to go after something more hands on. I've always liked to fix and build stuff, so I'm thinking about going into mechanics and whatnot.

 

I do understand my chances are there for me being deployed. It's not something that I really want to do, but to be completely honest it would be an honor to stand out there for my country. I might hate it, or I might like it (doubt that).

 

Basic training- as far as that goes I think it would finally get me to grow up and learn me a thing or two about respect and maturity.

 

Every day that passes by, I'm getting more and more deep into this thought. If I finally decide to do it, it'll probably be during the summer of next year, in between semesters at school.

[Tubbith]

Only real advice i can give you is to do what you decide to do, and do it for you. Dont do anything for someone else. I always had the idea that i HAD to go to college and i HAD to work a 40 hr week behind a computer type of job. But, after two years of college, being on suspension twice from said school, i have finally figured out that i want to be a cop. Its always a job i have had the upmost repsect for, and always something i wanted to do. But i never gave it any thought due to the fact that i knew my dad and friends would look down on it. I finally figured out that i need to live for me.

 

Now that i know what i want to do, i cant. With the economy(even if i think a lot of it has to do with the media hypin it up) there are hunderes of people applyin to the same job i want. So with my driving record i will have to wait at least a year, probably two.

 

So, im thinkin about military, to get experience that would help me in the field i want to go into. Or college with an Arabic minor so i can get into federal LEO fairly easily. Not sure which way i want to go yet, but i will make that decision for me.

 

Again, do what you want to do, and do it for you. Dont worry about what others say/think about you. Its your life. Live it the way you want to, since you only get to once.