Lost Teenager

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Wow I am just over whelmed with all these replies and am very thankful for them. I have already applied to Marine & Army ROTC and will hear back in the coming months. If I get selected, which I believe my chances are high I will choose where I get accepted. If both give the thumbs down, this is where this "situation" comes in. I am leaning Army. Three reasons. One, my both my grandfathers were in it, one fought in Korea and he was in the 82nd I believe. The other I know nothing about. Two, I can barely swim, I mean I can just not as well as others. Three, I believe Army has "better" food.

Please continue to bomb me with feedback. I will let you know if I am selected for ROTC and which one.
 
Ummm if you think the Army has better food, well.........let's just say most times when I was in it was UNIDENTIFIABLE!!!! Now where I worked with the Army we also had our Air Force, and the British Army and Air force who also unfortunately had to eat in our mess halls. The Brits always had some great comments about our food. Let's just say the hamburger line and the salad bar were the best to eat at that time.
Now the best food I ate was over at the Air force mess hall when I had to do my yearly qualification on the rifle range.
 
And, the best advice of all.....

Don't enlist. Get a job or go to college, grow up a little, then make your life decision after you have a brain to work with.
You're 17 and need some serious life experiences before you should make such a commitment. I am the voice of
experience and you are about to do what I did, but a year earlier. It was a huge mistake doing it at that age.
 
Patriot said:
And, the best advice of all.....

Don't enlist. Get a job or go to college, grow up a little, then make your life decision after you have a brain to work with.
You're 17 and need some serious life experiences before you should make such a commitment. I am the voice of
experience and you are about to do what I did, but a year earlier. It was a huge mistake doing it at that age.
Click to expand...


I enlisted at 17 and it was the best thing I ever did. My only regret is not staying in for a second enlistment.
 
Patriot said:
And, the best advice of all.....

Don't enlist. Get a job or go to college, grow up a little, then make your life decision after you have a brain to work with.
You're 17 and need some serious life experiences before you should make such a commitment. I am the voice of
experience and you are about to do what I did, but a year earlier. It was a huge mistake doing it at that age.
Click to expand...

That may be for you, but not for everyone. Granted I went in when I was 21, but I know plenty that went in at 17 and would not say that at all. It all depends on the person.
 
crazymjb said:
Really, you believe the Army has better food and that is a contributing factor? Yea, we don't want you. Join the army.

Mike
Click to expand...

I said that as a joke for the most part. I believe the general consensus is army & marines eat shit and the air force eats like kings in comparison.
 
Patriot said:
And, the best advice of all.....

Don't enlist. Get a job or go to college, grow up a little, then make your life decision after you have a brain to work with.
You're 17 and need some serious life experiences before you should make such a commitment. I am the voice of
experience and you are about to do what I did, but a year earlier. It was a huge mistake doing it at that age.
Click to expand...

I enlisted at 17. I was married and had bought a house at 23. We still live there today. I just celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary and would marry her again tomorrow,(it helps that she is hot) We have 3 beautiful children, the oldest a sophomore in college and we pay for it soup to nuts.
My wife and I have good careers and have worked for everything we have. I am convinced that my experience in the Marine Corps gave me a leg up as a young man. Sometimes i wish that I had stayed in but I have no regrets.

Everything you need to know you learned before you got out of third grade. You just have to have the drive to follow through.

If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well
Be honest and keep your promises
Work hard and strive for perfection
Do unto others.....

Best of luck whatever path you choose. If you choose to enlist, know that it can be hard at times but almost everything worth doing is.
 
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Patriot said:
And, the best advice of all.....

Don't enlist. Get a job or go to college, grow up a little, then make your life decision after you have a brain to work with.
You're 17 and need some serious life experiences before you should make such a commitment. I am the voice of
experience and you are about to do what I did, but a year earlier. It was a huge mistake doing it at that age.
Click to expand...

I enlisted at 17 and have done better than a lot of my friends that decided to "gain life experience". Those friends for the most part never moved away from home or got anything I would call experience. I don't regret enlisting at 17 for one second.
 
It is also worth mentioning that the United States Marine Corps is trusted to guard every US Embassy in the world and the President of the United States. The US Army is trusted to guard an empty tomb.[smile]
 
Enlist early. I waiting until I was 25 to join and wish I had done it sooner. By 25 I was already set in my ways and had a hard time with all the BS. if you join at 17 and decide you like it, you can do 20 years and get a retirement at 37. Damn, imagine being retired at 37?
 
smcnally said:
I enlisted at 17 and have done better than a lot of my friends that decided to "gain life experience". Those friends for the most part never moved away from home or got anything I would call experience. I don't regret enlisting at 17 for one second.
Click to expand...

Excellent!......I wanted to enlist at 16, but the W.J Maxey Boy's Training School wouldn't release me till I was 18![rofl][rofl][rofl]
 
Don't enlist. Get a job or go to college, grow up a little, then make your life decision after you have a brain to work with. You're 17 and need some serious life experiences before you should make such a commitment. I am the voice of
experience and you are about to do what I did, but a year earlier. It was a huge mistake doing it at that age.
Click to expand...

I also enlisted when I was 17. Knew I wasn't college material at the time and had my heart set to joining. I say it to this day, it was the best decision I ever made in my life. Made me grow up, learn my worth and have pride in what I was doing. You seem pretty set on your choice between the Army and Marines. I went Navy. For me it was a great choice. I loved being at sea working the flight deck, but it's not for everyone. Navy does have some great advantages. 3 square meals a day, you never sleep on the ground and you get to see some of the best liberty ports in the world. Luckily I was able to see 3/4ths of the globe while I was in.

I know Martlet (who is a recruiter by the way) doesn't believe that recruiters lie, but they do. I caught mine in a bold face lie and ended up joining with a different recruiter. As others have said many times, if it's not in writing it's not going to happen. EVERYTHING in writing. That is the key. Also, even if you don't plan on going to college, sign up for the GI Bill anyway. I never thought I'd go to college, but when I got out I did just that. Having the money from the military is the only way I could pay for it. Sign up no matter what.

I'll also join in and say to get a billet that will give you skills that can be used when you get out. I was an Aviation Electrician, which got me a few offers from the airlines when I got out. Decided to go to college instead and then used my military skills to get into IT which as worked out well for me. Just remember to think long term.

Good luck with your choice! It's a great decision.
 
Lupo said:
I said that as a joke for the most part. I believe the general consensus is army & marines eat shit and the air force eats like kings in comparison.
Click to expand...
There's nothing wrong with Air Force food unless you have to eat it every day. Then it will bore you to death. Navy chow is MUCH better, and will not bore you. The Navy is generally both safer and more comfortable than the Marines and the Army, which, after all, are more or less designed around combat. The Air Force is more comfortable than all three, but then they are military organizations. Things may have changed, but twenty to forty years ago, advancement was generally MUCH slower in the Air Force than in the other three, with the Army being fastest. Obviously, that was because people liked the Air Force, and stayed in, and didn't get killed. I have heard stories of declining discipline and leadership in the military, and don't know whether to believe them. I would trust the USMC to preserve standards more than I would trust the others. My own experience was in the Navy, and ended in 1988, after 25 years. It was certainly positive.

Now, having talked about comfort and chow, I will say that you might want to consider very seriously where crazymjb is coming from. You certainly need to decide why you want to go into the military. If you don't believe in what you are doing, it certainly might not end well.

Good luck whatever you choose!
 
fencer said:
It is also worth mentioning that the United States Marine Corps is trusted to guard every US Embassy in the world and the President of the United States. The US Army is trusted to guard an empty tomb.[smile]
Click to expand...
It is also worth mentioning that when we had to rescue American hostages that were taken (while those Marines were on duty) we called the Army. And that mission was f#cked up by a Marine helicopter pilot. And so the Army, Navy, and Air Force put together SOCOM while you guarded embassies. Some Recon Marines finally joined SOCOM in 2006 at the direction of military genius Donald Rumsfeld.

Personally I would never jest about the Tomb of the Unknowns. It would be like jesting about Beirut. Nobody is laughing.

Seriously, there are guys her arguing whether the Army or Marines have better food? Remind me to not attend your next cookout.


atmay said:
Which is offset by the fact that it's a boat, designed to sink. No thank you.
Click to expand...
Possibly best post. Although in WWI 2% of the Navy sank 60% of Japan's merchant fleet and 30% of their Navy. Pretty amazing considering our torpedoes didn't even work for over a year.
 
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garandman said:
It is also worth mentioning that when we had to rescue American hostages that were taken (while those Marines were on duty) we called the Army. And that mission was f#cked up by a Marine helicopter pilot. And so the Army, Navy, and Air Force put together SOCOM while you guarded embassies. Some Recon Marines finally joined SOCOM in 2006 at the direction of military genius Donald Rumsfeld.

Personally I would never jest about the Tomb of the Unknowns. It would be like jesting about Beirut. Nobody is laughing.

Seriously, there are guys her arguing whether the Army or Marines have better food? Remind me to not attend your next cookout.
Click to expand...


Dude, lighten up.
 
garandman said:
A guy makes a joke about the Tomb of the Unknowns, and you want me to lighten up?

One of us is seriously confused. But if yall are that proud of being security guards for politicians, knock yourselves out.
Click to expand...

You are right. I was seriously out of line and should not have posted that comment. There are some things that you should not joke about and I crossed the line. I formally apologize to you and anyone else that I may have offended. I just wasn't thinking.
 
You're a good man to apologize Fencer. I would suggest you google the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and learn of the history and consecrated duties of those who guard it.
 
In our defense for the hostage rescue thing, the pilot was an officer... ;)

On a serious note both services offer great opportunities and have their rich histories. But think about WHO has the rich history... it aint admin.

I really do think the cultural experience that comes with the Marine Corps remains unmatched these days. In boot we literally spend dozens of hours taking history classes, and our history is drilled in yearly at the ball and other events.

Mike
 
Rockrivr1 said:
I also enlisted when I was 17. Knew I wasn't college material at the time and had my heart set to joining. I say it to this day, it was the best decision I ever made in my life. Made me grow up, learn my worth and have pride in what I was doing. You seem pretty set on your choice between the Army and Marines. I went Navy. For me it was a great choice. I loved being at sea working the flight deck, but it's not for everyone. Navy does have some great advantages. 3 square meals a day, you never sleep on the ground and you get to see some of the best liberty ports in the world. Luckily I was able to see 3/4ths of the globe while I was in.

I know Martlet (who is a recruiter by the way) doesn't believe that recruiters lie, but they do. I caught mine in a bold face lie and ended up joining with a different recruiter. As others have said many times, if it's not in writing it's not going to happen. EVERYTHING in writing. That is the key. Also, even if you don't plan on going to college, sign up for the GI Bill anyway. I never thought I'd go to college, but when I got out I did just that. Having the money from the military is the only way I could pay for it. Sign up no matter what.

I'll also join in and say to get a billet that will give you skills that can be used when you get out. I was an Aviation Electrician, which got me a few offers from the airlines when I got out. Decided to go to college instead and then used my military skills to get into IT which as worked out well for me. Just remember to think long term.

Good luck with your choice! It's a great decision.
Click to expand...

If you would like to see the world the Navy is probably the best. The only thing I would disagree with on RR's post is you can be in the Navy and end up sleeping on the ground if you are in the Seabees!
 
Go army and Go Airborne! Lol, you can listen to people's opinions all day but the decision will ultimately come down to you knowing what you want to do in your gut. Either way, whatever branch you choose, it's an honorable path in life and you're certainly on the right track. Good luck man!


Oh but if you go army and you want the schools you mentioned (Air Assault, Airborne, Mountain Warfare, etc.) get as many as you can PUT INTO YOUR CONTRACT, because every class is typically packed and it's hard for regular joes to get a slot. When I went airborne, they were looking for people to drop because the class sizes were so full.
 
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference, the Marines don't have that problem."

The army is over 4 times the size of the Marine Corps, (think fat and bloated) the Marine Corps IS the first to fight, and we are the few and the proud. The army holds the ground that we take. The navy gives us rides, and the chair force,, well.

Don't be a follower, be a Marine.

And nothing gets a chick wet like a Marine in Dress Blues.

The only time I ever was embarrassed by other service members was at Airborne school,,, whata joke.

Good luck.
 
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