Family exceptance and military service.?

Question

I want to join the military at some point in the near future, but my family does not support my decision. They feel I should graduate with my Bachelors degree and find a nice desk job. Despite the fact that both my mother and father are army vets, they still don't want me to join. My mother feels that joining will be a "death sentence", and without my family's support I'm beginning to lose my drive to join. What should I do ? Should I wait until I graduate and join behind their backs, or take their advice and forget about the idea all together? Also, which service is best for college grads with degrees in media and design?

Answer 1

This comes from a current soldier at fort drum, get your education because the military will always be there but the longer you wait to get your education the more likely you are to let it lag behind. It's no fun being in the army trying to get your degree its hard long and sucks, enjoy the years your young you'll have more fun in college then you can come in and go OCS like someone said earlier then you won't have to put up with the amount of bullshit. Trust me I'm a soldier and its fun but you start to realize that you could have done more but if you want to serve do it but like i said the army will always be here get an education that's more important than service right now without educated officers the army cannot shoot move and communicate effectively

Answer 2

First off, its your desicion. They will support you no matter what. You don't need to graduate first and then join. If you feel serving your country is more important to you than graduating college right this moment, then do so. Besides, the Army pushes for education and a majority of soldiers are getting their degrees...its a push with college credits being a part of promotions and all of the money via tutition assitance. All you need to do is know everything before you make an informative desicion. That should all you need to hear and nothing else. Also, you can join the Army, but you WILL NOT ship asap. Many future grads lock in training date. A common misconception is that we pack 'em and send 'em. NOT TRUE!

Answer 3

I would say join something like the Air Force or possibly Navy, but i do not know much of either branch, only that Air Foce has more technical job fields then other branches. It's tough when your family doesn't support your decision. My mother begged my brother not to join, pleaded with him, but he did anyway, only this was about 8 years ago and he got out before all of this happened in Iraq. My husband joined, and my mother begged him not to as well. He is still currently active duty army. I was his only support system when he joined, and it is a tough life. Your parents know from experience what the service is like, and maybe they thought you had other options to explore. In the end, when your are 18 it is 100% your decision and im sure if you sat them down and said you were doing this and thats all there is to it, they would support you. They might object strongly, but im sure when all is said and done, they will be by your side through it all. Good luck to you in the future, whatever YOU decide! Wish ya the best.

Answer 4

A) Have you considered ROTC? I have yet to meet a parent that turned up their nose at a full tution and books schollarship.

B) Why does your mother feel it is a "death senence"? If she served she should know better than that. The Army is overstretched right now, the Marines as well. Even the Navy and the USAF are putting A FEW folks on the ground to help out; but even in the Army the tooth to tail ratio is still fairly tail heavy. You WILL be rotated through Iraq or Afghanistan at some point in your career, but just because your boots are on the ground, that doesn't mean you will be kicking in doors in Falujia. Helocopter mechanics, signal techs, and crypto specialists (for example) don't kick in doors. If you want to kick in doors go 11B or to Ranger school, but not everybody goes to Ranger School. You Mom isn't thinking with her brain, she is just trying to protect her baby.

C) I would look at it this way. Picture yourself 15 or 20 years from now. Think about how the you of 2030 would feel about the decision you are about to make, and which one the you of 2030 would regret. Are you comfortable with the idea of spending your life being the guy who says "I almost joined the Army back in 2007" every time you meet someone in uniform?

D) I don't think any service has much of a need for someone with a degree in media and design. I spent some time at a Joint Headquarters and we had a small graphics shop, but it was very small, aside from the odd retirement certificate they didn't do a whole lot. If you have some technical communications training that would be in high demand for the signal corps. Netcentric computers is everything these days, setting it up so the Marines on the ground can talk to the guy in Nevada that is teleoperating the drone overhead to that is sending them video while spotting for the incoming F-18's, both of them need to to the F-18s and their carrier in the gulf, and coordinating it with the General back in the Pentagon.

Answer 5

If you want to join the military -you should finish college and follow your dreams.Following someone else's dream will lead to resentment and bad feelings in years to come. Maybe your parents have bad memories as "Army vets" . And your mother is worrying , as is normal. Just listening to the national media can weigh heavy on most people - let alone a parent.
All branches of the armed services need media and design personnel - have you considered the Navy? I loved my time on-board ship.
Take your time and decide what will make you happy.
Our son,( D) wanted the Army from the time he was 2 - he quit college to join the Army without telling anyone in the family- we survived his dream of being an Army Ranger and his tour in Iraq.
His oldest brother died in a auto accident, no more than 12miles from home on his way to work shortly before (D's) deployment. .
So life can be weird, cruel and twisted.
Just keep talking to your parents , no matter what path you choose - they will always see as their child . Even when you are old like 30.......

Answer 6

With respect to your parents, when you're an adult it's you choice. I'm assuming from your comments that you ARE in college currently... why not join your local ROTC unit ? It will give you experience with the military as a member as opposed to an army-brat.

Both my brother and I served in the USN... My lil brother got an NROTC scholarship, and served his 5 years. I ran out of college funds, enlisted, and served 15 years... picking up my BA (History), and 80% of my Masters along the way.

We BOTH would never surrender our time in service... we saw GREAT things and had experiences one could never have at "a nice desk job". And yes, we saw war.

The United States Navy can always use Media-savvy folks... it might also ease your Mom's worries about danger.

Neither of my parents were in the military... Mom 'cause there were no women back then, and Dad because of his health... but Dad was a research engineer who worked DOD his whole life. They supported us... after Mom worrying abit.

Good luck.

Answer 7

First go on and get your B.S. degree then go to OCS. Since your parents were both in the army they know what they are talking about on that score. It is a whole lot better being an Officer than an enlisted man in the service. Both in terms of pay and benefits.

As far as which brand of the service I'd suggest the Coast Guard. Smaller organization. And less chance of being sent over seas for extended tours of duty.

Coast Guard does mainly drug interdiction, search and rescue, and ice breaker duty.

Being an Officer in the Coast Guard you will get to Command your own ship much faster than in Navy.

Answer 8

Don't go behind their backs, but don't back down either. It is your life and if that is really what you want to do, you should. I understand why your parents are afraid, but if you feel the calling you won't really feel like you did your part unless you do. But do graduate first.

All of them need graduates in media and design. Go talk to all the recruiters and see which one makes the deal that fits your expectations the best. You will probably be looking at some type of officer program and then either recruiting, reporting, or something similar, unless that isn't what you want.

Answer 9

If loosing support makes you want to back down, then odds are it wasn't a very well thought out plan in the first place. And if you Parents have both served, they know what you would be getting into. You probably do not, at least not 1st hand. it would be a different story if they had no military experience, but that's not the case. Listen to them. They know from experience.

Answer 10

I'm with your parents. Get your degree first. If you still want to join, then you can join as an officer. You can't be that committed anyway if the need of mommy and daddy's approval means that much to you. The public affairs group could use your talent, But with the degree the choices are all yours.