I am 19 years old and am completing my first semester of college. But right now I'm just not motivated and it is reflecting in my grades for the first time ever. I scored a 90 on the ABSVAB a year ago and since then recruiters have been contacting me and I was always interested in the Army Rangers and Special Forces. After much research and thinking I have decided that that is whats right for me. However my parents are furious with me and saying I am throwing away everything. I don't want to join without their appoval though since they have been there for me the past 18 years. What should I do?
2007-12-05 12:37:48 · 22 answers · asked by n.grayson 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Do go to the army now because America is fighting an illegal war in Afganistan and Iraq.
2007-12-05 12:45:19 · answer #1 · answered by Bob G 3 · 2⤊ 12⤋
My friend there comes a time when you have to start living your own life and making your own decisions. Your parents are most likely against your decision as they are worried that you may be killed and even if you are not that when you discharge that you won't have meny job opportunities when you leave.
At the end of the say though there is no point in sticking out college if you are going to fail and wou would rather be somewhere else.
My advice is to think very sseriously about why you want to join the military and if you can come up with some serious and real reasons then start to prepare yourself for it... If you really want special ops then get as fit as possible and find out what the entry test requirements are and see if you can do it, make sure that it is possible before you get stuck in a job that you don't want...
Once you have acheived the fitness required and have your good reasons for joining and are still wanting to pursue it then sit your parents down and explain everything to them. I'm sure that they will understand and will even be proud of you, they will just worry that is all.
While doing all this you should stick out college and get as good a grades as you can as this will reflect will for speical operations and also give you a head start in officer training or a head start when you leave the army, also it will give you an idea of what army life will be like sometimes as you will have to do things that you don't want to do and still do them to the best of your ability.
Good luck mate and I hope that you find the right path for you. Myself I am joing the army :-P
2007-12-05 12:58:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
If you want to do it. You are going to be an adult. They can't stop you. They are just afraid for you, which is natural, but you can die anywhere. The odds of dying in Iraq are very slim.
By the time I was 22 I had been to Japan, Thailand, Kuwait and Iraq. I discovered whole new passions in life. I had fired .50 cals, automatic grenade launchers, a host of automatic weapons, and thrown grenades. I had seen the mezmerizing devastation of naval gunfire, close air support, and field artillery. I had ridden in tracked vehicles, flown in helicopters, and debarked from landing vehicles during amphibious operations.
My friends were doing good things back home, but never got out and did new things. Some were carpenters, some masons, others were in college partying and paving a bright future. My personal recommendation is that you do those things later and go get some adventure while your still have the fire in your belly.
Besides all of the intangibles. You will get the GI Bill for college (I think around $1300 per month now). You get a modest salary (google military pay charts) your food and shelter will always be provided. Totally free medical and dental. 30 days of leave per year.
In five years, I had emerged as a sergeant with a paid off truck and $15000 in the bank and ready to go to college for free. I did just that and I am about to graduate with an advanced degree, no debt, and a substantial portfolio. I owe a lot of it to the things I learned as a U.S. Marine.
2007-12-05 12:54:06 · answer #3 · answered by Leroy J 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
If you are old enough to join without a parents signature, than they have no grounds to stop you. Hopefully you will have a 4 year college degree in 2012, and that is why you are waiting. I joined the military, many years ago with a Bachelors, did about 6 years enlisted and finally came over to the officer side myself, where I retired about 2 years ago and completed my doctorate in Bio-Chemistry. I wouldn't consider myself wasting the first 6 years as Infantry because I had a degree.
2016-05-28 09:06:19 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I really don't want my daughter to join either because she'd be away from me and I have spent every day of her life with her but she is adamant about taking a year off before college and I cannot seem to change her mind on that. There are NO decent jobs where we live for someone who wants to eventually pursue a career in either communications or art as she does. My daughter is energetic, physically active and suited to the army and wants to have time to travel and do things and go to college later and not be burdened with student loans. If she joins after graduation she'll still be 17, and 21 when she gets out.
I don't personally see it as a bad choice unless she is going to be in a combat zone and if she joins hopefully she will pick a job where that will not happen.
The reality is you could be killed or injured in a car accident around the corner from home. I worry about her daily but I merely want to guide her, not control her life. It is her life, not mine. I had my young adulthood, this is hers. I am confident in the way I raised her that she will do what is best for her at the time if she isn't ready for college right away.
Good luck.
2007-12-05 12:52:27 · answer #5 · answered by Teresa 5 · 6⤊ 0⤋
I don't think anyone else can tell you what is right to do when it comes to such a big decision. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
I was going to tell you my story, but decided not to, whatever you decide will be right if you make the best of it. The great thing is that you are young and you have a lot of options if you decide you made the wrong decision just see it out to the best of your ability and use the experience in a positive manner.
2007-12-05 13:03:24 · answer #6 · answered by Yo it's Me 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
ok, wow! so, i say do what you feel is right! now, let me say, i am a parent whose 19 yr old son called today and said he is leaving the first of the year for basic! i was shocked, i thought he would be going right into his next semester at the University he has been attending for a 1 1/2 after the holidays!instead, he has chosen to go active duty Army !! his brother will be deploying soon ( also Army) and my husband is now in Iraq! i never saw it coming with my younger son, and i told my boys today shock and awe was not meant for mothers... but , i am proud of them! this is his decision! i raised him to make it, if i had not done my job and done it well, he would be here waiting for me to tell him what to do, its not meant to be that way! as parents, sometimes we tend to want the control back with our adult children, but we are glad to see them do things on their own, even if the choices arent the ones we would make for them. i am very proud of my boys, the choices they have made, and will be the same with my daughter i hope... but shes only 14, im not there yet!
2007-12-05 12:59:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
You are 19. You do not, legally, need their approval.
Understandable and laudable that you still want it. You have a decision to make.
If you do it anyway, will they forgive you? Can you handle it if they don't?
If you don't do it, will you be able to focus on the college route or find another way to go that does interest and motivate you?
Can't make this one for you, but those are the issues I'd be trying to decide on to make the big decision.
My mom is proud of me and my military carreer, but she never likes it when I deploy. I tell her it's her fault for raising a son with the need to give back, to be part of something bigger than myself, and to work and sacrifice for others.
2007-12-05 13:16:24 · answer #8 · answered by RTO Trainer 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
1. Its your life not theirs
2. Army rewards a promising career a lot of ££££
3. You can learn many qualifications in the army
4. If it what you want to do theres nothing they can do about it
5. you are not throwing nothing away my dad went to university got a degree in maths then went in the marines as a officer never looked back
2007-12-06 00:21:34 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I am not gonna go the way all these non-Patriots are going. If you are over 18, you can choose any thing you want to BECAUSE you are a adult. Your parents, legally can't stop you in anyway. Now, Its your choice to go. If your parents dont like it right now, I believe that they will like it in the future. Just If you choose the path down the military way, I say Good luck and watch out.
2007-12-05 12:52:36 · answer #10 · answered by Undiscovered 2 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Like a lot of people here said, its your life, not theirs. The thing is, no matter what you do, as long as you do your best at it, your parents will be proud. They may not like an individual choice you make, but when you come up out on top, they will support you.
2007-12-05 13:14:37 · answer #11 · answered by mnbvcxz52773 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋