Should I join the military? Which branch?

What are you good at?

Air Force. I’ve had family in the Marines and the Airforce, and the Air Force is the way to go from what I know.

Also, you have the chance of learning to fly! Getting a pilots license as a civilian is expensive :)

Air force. You’ll never see a day of combat.
If you want to fight, go Marines.

Talk to a recruiter form each branch and see what they offer you. Don’t sign anything! They will act like they’re your best pal so you’ll feel bad for not signing right away or whatever. They have a quota to meet and you are a number. I say this with fifteen years in the navy to my credit, so I think I can safely say that they all have the same agenda. It depends on your skills, talents and what you want.
Check them all out and take your time to think about it. Don’t be in a hurry.
Good luck!

So you want to join the military. Good. First, go to college and get your bachelors. While you’re there look into ROTC. If the military is very important to you, you are young enough to get your life on track to go to West Point. If you’re no scholar then that might not be an option. It doesn’t take a mensa member to go to college though so do that first. When you leave if you still want to enlist, you’ll be able to do so as an officer and skip any grunt work. Grunt work builds character, but so does assigning grunt work. Be the assigner.

Officers make more money, have more privileges, and can turn in their commissions. You sound like a smart guy. Don’t enlist unless you wake up to WWIII in the next few years, because then at least you may get to pick your branch. Good luck.

I totally agree with Ltryptophan.

If you’re really into the military, then the ROTC is the best way. You get a degree and a commission upon graduation, you will make several times more money throughout your lifetime than you would if you just enlisted. Also, you are less likely to be shot and killed because the enlisted personnel are always the ones used as infantry. Indeed, this is their purpose. Get a degree. ROTC. (It will also give you more time to think about your decision, which is a big one to make)

First of all there is no “best” way to join. I’ll tell you that I know recruiting very well and that every applicant is different. If you don’t have what it takes or if you are as smart as a sack of wiper blades I’ll tell you. Personally, if I was joining right out of HS, I would go ROTC or simply enlist. Unless you could go to an academy; you need to be smart and connected. There are several commissioning opportunities in the AF if you go enlisted. If you want to be a father taker and widow maker we have that for you in the AF too; go to www.specialtactics.com for info PJ/CCT/TACP/SERE/SOWT. I have been in 20 years and make damn good money for my education level, probably better than most people on this board, if they are even employed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going enlisted; I have seen enlisted people retire in better situations than officers; not necessarily in direct retirement benefits, but in employment opportunities; not many times, but I have seen it. For example an air traffic controller retired with 20 years of service is more marketable than a Major with 20 years that retired as an OIC of a personnel flight. It’s all what you make of it. Who would ever thunk a kid from a housing project in Worcester, MA would join the AF, earn 3 degrees, buy 3 house, raise a family, and retire with a portable and marketable skill. I’m not knocking officers at all, if you have what it takes and have the means, then go for it. But if you need something now, or in the near future, enlist in the AF and earn your CCAF degree and join the ranks of our esteemed NCOs and/or complete your Bachelors degree and commission. You might even enlist, do 4 years and get out; no problem with that and you be able to get GI bill benefits and earn other benifits. BTW- the AF is the only branch that sends you to college right after basic training, all of our tech schools are college accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and schools, you can even find us in the AIPE, book of accredited colleges, under Air University at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. Your parents, school , and peers will know that that are getting at least a 2 year degree if you apply additional core classes, that we will pay for too. Good luck!

@lowdrag82 you will see a good example of how recruiters will sound. Become an officer by joining the ROTC if you are interested in serving your country. We need doctors and nurses more than we need soldiers by the way.

Confucius says: man who buy wiper blade by sack, spend life in rain.

Even though I’m a military member, I don’t feel the need to add to the already very good advice in the answers posted here except for this short but meaningful piece of advice: my first 8 years of service was in the Army and my last 14 years have been in the Air Force and the best choice of services is clear, to me anyway….......go Air Force.

Is the Coast Guard not an option?

Not everyone can be an officer, if one applies themselves after HS they might have a shot at getting a commission if they get a technical degree. How many people actually get a commission after ROTC? I know the answer, not many, if you take the amount of applicants that started ROTC and dropped out due to GPA, overweight, failure to maintain standards, etc. etc.

@lowdrag82 ROTC, for the reasons mentioned, is where you can prove yourself without committing your life to it. Right now you do not know yourself. Trust me. College ROTC you will get a good whiff of what you’re getting yourself into, if you feel like a cat to catnip, by all means drop out of college first thing and go infantry with your sights on ranger school. If you smell fear and cowardice in your innards, you’ll be across the quad from a nice fraternity where you can buy some friends with pink polos.

my last comment while in reference to lowdrag82, wasn’t intended for him, but rather the questioner. I think that was clear.

You are absolutely correct about getting some life skills while in college ROTC, it is excellent preparation for future warriors/stick actuators. But there are many that for several reasons don’t qualify for ROTC or don’t have what it takes. I wasn’t ready for college after HS, I did it later. BTW- he might like pink polos MGIB can pay for that, are you trying to deny him snappy duds after serving his country?

Gotta go, getting too fat and old to stay up late, gotta PT in the a.m.

I was in the Air Force and loved it. the basic training is at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. the basic training is tough, but not as bad as the Marines or Army. you can learn a very good trade in The Air Force and take that education right into your civillian life. it was not a bad tour of duty for me and if i were younger, i would still be there. the food was excellent. i really believe this will be your best bet. i made the right choice and i hope you do to. john

NO

When you leave highschool you will be at the appropriate age to attend college with your peers. Waiting will make you different, not better among them. Thirty years ago no bachelors was no biggy. Today no bachelors is a recipe for janitorial work (which you will do in every branch I guarantee). Go get your bachelors. Personally, I wouldn’t worry about the military. But, if it’s what you want then do as I’ve already told you.

BTW let me give you some unrelated pointers to put you ahead of the curve. Find out where you stand about God. If you find that is something that matters; then figure out what you think the right thing to do is with some incling towards that.

Make your word count. Stop wasting time, its about to start moving fast. Look around you, the people you know are unaware of their direction, get out in front and beat them to the finish. 4.0’s are not that important. 3.0’s are borderline moronic. Don’t let another word come out of your mouth that you haven’t weighed twice, and if you can influence someone with it do it. Don’t do anything that you haven’t thought about twice. My brother was locked up for the rest of his life by 17. You are heading into interesting times, brother. Keep your mind clear, and ready. Others will act irrationally, wait for this and when they do learn from it, and if you can do it without hurting them more than they already hurt themselves, gain from it.

Go to school and get as many degrees as you can stand before you know what you want. Learn everything you can, and learn how to do everything you can do yourself. The military will give you discipline and a stiff upper lip. There is no substitute for infantry basic training. These things can be gotten from hard work in a sport on a different but similar level. If you haven’t mastered anything then do. There’s lots of advice, find it.

My nineteen-year-old son recently faced the same dilemma. He started thinking about the military in his junior year; both his dad and myself were opposed initially. His first choice was the Navy but found few recruiting offices. I was brought on board by his reasons for the decision and his ability to finally become serious about H.S. as it was a requirement for his three top choices. I would advice you do some research about each of the armed forces and do deep thought as to what your motivation is. Once you have done this if you still think you want to enlist, decide which branch works best for you in terms of what they offer. Have a recruiting officer available to speak to your parents if they still have issue with your decision. Keep in mind that as you enter into adulthood you will have to make choices that your parents will not always agree with. Your job is to make sure you have given your choices great thought and believe that they are in your best interest. There is no fail proof plan for life it is all about making choices and living with them.

Good luck.

Max, focus on what is important. Lt has some excellent points, do not procrastinate. Things you say and do may determine the path you follow for the rest of your life. Even if you don’t join the military you should understand that “fortune favors the bold”, but you must make logical and calculate decisions; especially in these uncertain times. There are so many people that act irrationally or on emotional impulse, just remember when you commit to something go all the way; you want to be the last guy in any organization they want to let go——be indispensable, to the corporation, to the family, or to HQ. good night ya’ll

Here’s what my uncle told me when I was a junior in high school about the desirability of service:

Air Force
Navy
Army
Marines

He told me that even though I was female, to join the Marines would be to guarantee that I’d be cannon fodder. I don’t know if that’s true. I’d’ve gone for the Air Force, except my vision is bad and I did so want to be a pilot. He was a Sergeant Major in the Army, and his now ex-wife was Air Force.

The military is for losers. Are you absolutely no good at life?

O.K. Dave enlighten us about how crappy the military is.

Are you serious? It starts at boot camp, where they try to break you down via physical, mental, verbal and emotional abuse. and they are very good at it.

You have to take orders from morons who have a lower IQ than…well, lower than you, probably.

Your orders will be to go somewhere to kill people you don’t know and really don’t actively dislike, screwing up your karma for eons to come…

Did you want more?

I have a little different background than most as I went to an Ivy League school on a full scholarship before joining the service. I can tell you that the years I served in the Marines did more for making me responsible, ethical and mature than anything else I could imagine.I would suggest to you to go to college through ROTC or any other program you can first. This will give you many more choices upon graduation. If you dont feel you can handle school either intellectually or financially, there is nothing wrong with joining the service right out of HS. Look to see what vocation you are interested in and then pick the branch that gives you the best opportunity to excel in it. As far as which service to choose, I am biased, but I would suggest spending time with members of each as it is more a question of what is the best fit for you rather than which is the best. We already know that :-) Semper Fi

@davidbetterman. Coming from a military member with 22 years in service, it’s evident to me that you have no class and no respect for the military after making a comment like “the military is for losers.” Your follow on comments were just as bad too. What is the matter with you?

join the peace corps…do something positive with your life

Go Navy! See the world and fight the wars from way back.

@davidbetterman Dude, that was out of line. I asked for people who are in the military, were in the military, or have my same problem. You’re just being a jerk. You pick up a gun. You go through training. Grow a pair. Be a man. Or are you too much of a loser? I KNOW military people have respect and are (for the most part) good people. I have no doubt. I was just wondering, if I do this, which way was best. Like Blue said, you’ve got no respect.

no you should not.