5 seconds after i finished reading this thread i turned on the tv and the first thing i saw was the cnn headline "recruiter sex scandal"
coincidence?

No one is bashing you. They're worried that you are being impulsive, and want you to think before you sign away three years of your life.

I used to want to be in the military until I joined my school's ROTC program. They spend a lot of time educating you on the sorts of things that you would need to do in the military. I didn't enjoy it, so I quit. But here's the thing: you can't quit. Once you sign, if you decide you don't like it, there's nothing you can do.

If you have your heart set on service, may I recommend joining the NAVY? IT's a good deal safer, and they have a better reputation when it comes to jobs involving electronics. The food will also be better, and you won't have to live in a tent in the desert (or worse, a barracks in South Korea in the demilitarized zone).

[Edited by - Drakkcon on September 26, 2006 7:02:04 PM]

don't people get normally hired like civilians for programming/etc positions and stuff (and maybe into contractor companies)?

Quote:Original post by sakky
Man, I didn't I was going to get bashed on like this. an idiot am I? What ever. That doesn't sound like constructive criticism. Oh well.

I think the Army can do a lot for me and I want to serve my country. I would like to get some of the technical training the Army has to offer.

Any ways, the recruiter is blowing smoke up my ass because I know what I'm getting into or have a fairly good idea about it. I just thought I would spread the joy.

I'm not going to explain my self why I think its a good idea, but I'm sad to see so many of you complaining about the risks involved.

A grand total of one person called you an idiot. Nobody else is bashing you, and the "complaining" about the risks is for your own benefit. Even if you're not particularly grateful, do you think you could at least refrain from belligerent ingratitude? Perhaps you *need* the experience of serving in a Hell hole for God-knows-how-long to appreciate the points made in this thread.

Nobody's asking you to "explain yourself". Maybe you've already made a comprehensive examination of the pros and cons, and the points made here have been redundant to you (but judging by defensiveness you displayed in the quote above, I wouldn't bet that you have the requisite maturity for this). Even so, what you need to realize is nobody here could know this, and chances are you're a naive gung-ho kid who doesn't really understand what he's getting into, so some folks tried to help you out. Again, even if the "give it some more thought" posts weren't constructive for you, ingratitude is not called for.

So... do i understand it right that you want to join army, and in army work as programmer, and gain some respect / honour / etc /etc ?
There's reason why it gives some respect, like that it isn't programming but rather fighting somewhere (or in some cases doing nothing except training.)

(also, why you created this thread? why you replied to yourself two times? I'd almost think you wanted some discussion. Actually i'd think you wanted people saying how cool you are, but they didn't hence you're disappointed. But that's me jumping to conclusions. )

Quote:
I think joining the Army would be a good reason because I could learn a lot form it.

Would you learn more serving the Army than you would working as (for example) a programmer? Would the subjects of your learning be better? And for that matter, what would those subjects be?

Quote:
Gain some respect and honor for serving my country.

The honor and respect of whom?

Quote:
I would also learn what it truly means to be a US Citizen by serving my country and helping protect the rights and freedoms people take for [granted].

In what way would you learn "what it truly means to be a US Citizen"? How do you know you will learn what that is?

Will you really be protecting rights and freedoms? If you end up in a station in Alaska and never do anything but train, are you protecting rights and freedoms? Are you automatically a "protector of rights and freedoms" simply by being a person in the Army, or do you have to actually do something? Does the existence of a new label for yourself imply your contribution to a just cause?

Quote:
There are risks involved but the pay off (I think) is worth it. Besides, to get ahead in life one must take risks. Joining the Military would is "potentially" risking my life.

Is a risky decision inherently better than a safe decision? If so, how?

Quote:
You assume wrong if you think by creating this thread if haven't thoroughly thought joining the Military. I think it is a good idea. But that's my opinion.

All opinions are not equal. Some opinions are formed logically or through many observations, and some are formed illogically or from a multitude of assumptions.

There aren't clear answers to many of the questions I asked, but if you haven't given those questions, or many like them, considerable thought, you may want to do so before you make your decision.

At the moment, you sound very... conditioned.