• LAVA Moderator: Mysterier

MEGA - Thinking about joining the military.

I haven't posted on bluelight in a long while but this thread grabbed my attention. I'm part way through the application process for Royal marine young officers. To be honest, some of the attitudes expressed here really shock me. The only good reason for joining the armed forces (particularly in a frontline role) is that you actually want that experience. You must want to be a soldier. The very concept of nationhood and nationality in the post 20th century (post colonial) world has been thoroughly deconstructed. So you don't fight for the glory of your nation (as if anybody but a very few ever did). You don't sign up for the pay, the free education, tax or welfare benefits. That's madness. The coalition has made some horrible errors in the last decade (the main being obviously the Iraqi WMD fiasco - though that war was arguably justified on different grounds - and the incompetency and hubris displayed in the early years of both wars - which includes guantanamo and abu graib) but the war aims are non-discretionary i.e. they must be achieved.

Re. The 'new world order': I used to love conspiracy theories but the NWO is really just a spooky term for a world in which the nation-state is a substantially weaker entity. This isn't a result of central planning by the likes of the bilderberg group (though they obviously position themselves to benefit from the shift) but is the result of elemental forces which nobody but nobody can stop. Mass communication, porous borders, increased travel, market forces, decentralisation etc. Everyone on the planet would benefit from reading Philip Bobbitt's books The Shield of Achilles and Terror and Consent.
Here are some links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O051beio1TE
http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/00CD...Character_of_ConflictUDCDC_Strat_Trends_4.pdf

To the OP. If you feel the military would be good for you, go for it. Don't just drift in though. Actively seek where you will best fit in and excel.
 
although the guns and explosives in infantry can be tempting.

i wont lie, being in the infantry was fun as fuck, but it really fucked up my body. i'd suggest avoiding it, especially since police/security work is the only job skill you learn (well, and management if you get enough rank). if you're dead-set on it, the national guard will let you sign up right into an SF unit, as long as your body can take it.
 
I've learned alot of skills in the forces, maybe US is different, but here, you can course load on anything that has empty slots no one else can use better, and provided your available to do the trg.
 
I wouldn't say that, if you're a single soldier, you really don't have to spend shit as a PFC I make $1670.46 a month base pay; food is free if you eat at the DFAC you get dental and medical care, and you live in barracks, which are usually 2 man rooms with a fridge a bathroom and microwave.

factor in deployments
being in Iraq
I make my base pay +
$100.00 a month hazard pay +
$323.87 BAS (just in case the mission causes you to miss chow and you have to come out of pocket) and since I'm deployed the pay is tax free= $2094.33 of disposable income a month and as much as army life sucks thats really not bad money.


I make more than that managing a restaurant :\

I would consider joining today's western millitaries to be somewhat of a pyschopathic pursuit. Killing and being killed for corporations?

The video game generation is all grown up I guess.
 
I know this thread is old but the OP is not even going to get to take the asvab without a ged. I took the asvab made a 64 for some perspective I made 24 on the ACT so I am not an idiot. My grandmother gives the asvab test so I got the inside perspective to an extent. I know right before the surge they were giving 50Gs to truck drivers who enlisted LOL wonder how many made it home? Anyway you need like a 36 right now to get in any branch and a 50 to get a MOS where you dont get shot at.
 
dont listen to any of these replies, your thoughts are all that matters, do the benefits outweigh the negatives? ration it out and compare it that way. this is such a huge question you cant ask for anyone other than yourself. please just take some time and consider it yourself, although i love this site for advice, this is a question you have to ask nobody but yourself.
 
Please don't join the military. Really, the willingness to kill or be killed for your country is just a fucking frightening concept - it's precisely that kind of collectivist thinking that has led to war in the first place. This us vs. them mentality really needs to come to an end. There is a great deal of rationalization that needs to take place for a soldier to justify killing another person, and the only way to really do it is to shut out a certain part of yourself. It's really awful. It brings to mind that WikiLeaks video that came out some months ago (the one where an Iraqi journalist and some others that he was with were mistaken for members of a terrorist group....the most terrible part of that video was when one soldier in a tank was driving over a few of the dead bodies and was just laughing and laughing. Sends chills through your spine.)

And even if your not in the front lines, and were able to get another job in the military, your still part of that larger machine, and that's not something you want to be a be a part of. Not to mention all of the federal money that has gone down this drain in this utterly useless and pointless war.

But seriously man, just get your GED and learn a trade. You could end up with more money than you would have if you joined the army, and you'd be doing some honest work. But I don't know, in the end it's up to you.
 
Serious help. Time to do something.

I want to be a soldier. I know as crazy as it sounds witch is why I've never brought that up to anybody in my life.
I need some direction here. I want to join the army not marines. I'm 19 and am supposed to graduate high school this year but I'm not. This is the thing :( I'm sooo far behind in high school that I basically I got to do it all over. I've heard that you can get a high school diploma or GED(I want diploma) through the military while they train you or something like that. I know I can get my diploma other ways that can get it lighting fast to.
I'm just so in the dark from not going to school I don't know wtf I gatta do. Can I try passing the asvab(or whatever test the army gives you) while I'm getting my diploma.
Now I know being a soldier is a big deal, very big deal but you know what, I'm ready to do something with my life I'm 19 and know I can get it rolling very fast. Ever since I was a little kid I've been all into military. I'm probably one of the few 19 year olds that watches news, that can tell you D-day was on june 6 1944 and give you details of all the American wars in order. I've seen all the movies and relize how scary it is witch battles with my desision but I know I can handle it and will be ready to.
It's the best decision I can think of and I've thought alot. Jobs suck here in Vegas and with my state now I'm defiantly not fit for collage. I want to join and learn how to get things done and grow up. And then after I think I'd be ready to figure it out from there. Thanks for reading. Any help thoughts and advise will be greatly appreciated.
 
Watching movies can't prepare you for how bad war is.

Consider that you have a very high chance of having a disorder of some kind when you return if you are active duty, and that you would be doing things that are immoral, if you consider killing people and facilitating the killing of people, including innocents, which you facilitate by giving material support to the military, regardless of whether or not you directly participate in it. The morality part of it is an opinion of course, but I view the killing of hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom are innocent, to be wrong.

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According to this chart, veterans have a 30% chance of being diagnosed with PTSD (consider that many who suffer from it are not diagnosed). That's about 5% lower than rape victims. So you'd be willingly putting yourself in a situation that's nearly as likely to cause a severe mental disorder as being raped.

It's your choice, but you sound a bit vague on the risks and you should understand them fully before even thinking about enlisting. You should also talk to people who have opinions other then recruiters, if there are any anti-war veterans groups near you you might want to consider going to a meeting or talking to some people who have been there and are against it, because I'm sure you'll be talking to plenty of people who support the military.
 
Ya Just cUse u dident mention everything else doesent mean I haven't thought about it. My moms told me about some wacky vets that were clients of hers. I would be able to handle it, that's my decision.

I'm not looking for political views. There's nothing political about this, if you don't think I should sign up for infantry because you disagree with us being in afgan and Iraq that would totally be unhelpfull for me.

I've told you my situition I'm jut looking for a little feed back, info :)
 
"Wacky" is an extreme understatement of what PTSD is. I know someone who came back from Iraq and went home to his wife and daughter who was probably 5 or 6, but he had to move out after a few months because the flashbacks were making him dangerous to his daughter. PTSD can easily ruin your life, and no one can handle it.

Of course it's your decision. It's also your decision if you want to give yourself a traumatic brain injury for fun or for money. That doesn't mean I'm going to tell you to do it.

I can phrase what I'm saying without talking about politics. Going to war is blatantly immoral. Killing people is wrong, especially if they're innocent, which most victims of war are. You are likely to come back harmed in a variety of ways including death, missing a limb or multiple limbs, being deaf or blind, PTSD, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), and more. Is that worth it? There are alternatives that won't hurt you and don't require you to cause harm to other people and land.

You want feedback, that's the only feedback I can really give you, because that's how I feel. Every single friend I've had that went to the military came back changed in a bad way.

The best advice anyone can give you about joining the military is not to join the military. Please don't, for your own good and for the good of the world.
 
Okay honey, Lets start first things first shall we?
I want to be a soldier. I know as crazy as it sounds witch is why I've never brought that up to anybody in my life.
I need some direction here. I want to join the army not marines. I'm 19 and am supposed to graduate high school this year but I'm not. This is the thing :( I'm sooo far behind in high school that I basically I got to do it all over. I've heard that you can get a high school diploma or GED(I want diploma) through the military while they train you or something like that. I know I can get my diploma other ways that can get it lighting fast to.
I'm just so in the dark from not going to school I don't know wtf I gatta do. Can I try passing the asvab(or whatever test the army gives you) while I'm getting my diploma.

as far as I've have always been aware You've got to have a degree in order to join the AAF's. Having been in the american Navy myself, this has been my knowledge on the matter. Having said that, you're also talking about a totally different branch. You'll be able to obtain this information from your local Army recruit centre. Just give them a call and they'll sort everything for you and put you on the track to seeing your ambitions turn to reality. Now on your second point ...

Now I know being a soldier is a big deal, very big deal but you know what, I'm ready to do something with my life I'm 19 and know I can get it rolling very fast. Ever since I was a little kid I've been all into military. I'm probably one of the few 19 year olds that watches news, that can tell you D-day was on june 6 1944 and give you details of all the American wars in order. I've seen all the movies and relize how scary it is witch battles with my desision but I know I can handle it and will be ready to.
It's the best decision I can think of and I've thought alot. Jobs suck here in Vegas and with my state now I'm defiantly not fit for collage. I want to join and learn how to get things done and grow up. And then after I think I'd be ready to figure it out from there. Thanks for reading. Any help thoughts and advise will be greatly appreciated.

having lived through it myself and having supported an ex gulf war vet I can safely say that no amount of tv or movies will prepare you for the real deal.
Just give it some thought please and if you're ever in doubt please feel free to PM Me.


On a side note some of the best days of my life were spent in the Military. Best of luck pal.
 
as far as I've have always been aware You've got to have a degree in order to join the AAF's.

I don't see anything about him wanting to join the AAF's.

OP, a HS diploma and GED are the same thing. Usually the GED comes from a school anyway, and on a resume it says nothing about GED, it registers as a diploma.

You probably feel like you have no other option, but if I were you I'd recommend trying a community college first. Even after you get a degree you decide you want to be in the military, your automatically an officer if you enlist with a college degree.

Just remember there ARE other options out there
 
anyone ignorant enough to be a military recruit NEEDS to be accepted. OP can't spell or form typed constructs that offer any hope of success in society, so another tool of the military-industrial-complex is waiting in the wings.

wtf happened to the trades? around here a fellow that has chops in the trades can still feed his family.

soldiering was the worst fucking job that i have ever held. one fine day i got a letter from LBJ telling me to report for active duty within 2 weeks! You cockwalloping motherfuckers !!!

me? me kill paddy farmers for the domino theory? lucky me i, i avoided unloading the god damned '60 that i was required to lug around because some fucking, inbred peckerwood NCO elected to make me squad leader after AIT and prior to flying to SE asia.

gays, women, lizards, foreign nationals, eggplants, etc., any thing stupid enough to desire cannon fodder status has my nod as society has nothing too loose with out these cretins in the race.
 
anyone ignorant enough to be a military recruit NEEDS to be accepted. OP can't spell or form typed constructs that offer any hope of success in society, so another tool of the military-industrial-complex is waiting in the wings.

wtf happened to the trades? around here a fellow that has chops in the trades can still feed his family.

soldiering was the worst fucking job that i have ever held. one fine day i got a letter from LBJ telling me to report for active duty within 2 weeks! You cockwalloping motherfuckers !!!

me? me kill paddy farmers for the domino theory? lucky me i, i avoided unloading the god damned '60 that i was required to lug around because some fucking, inbred peckerwood NCO elected to make me squad leader after AIT and prior to flying to SE asia.

gays, women, lizards, foreign nationals, eggplants, etc., any thing stupid enough to desire cannon fodder status has my nod as society has nothing too loose with out these cretins in the race.

Here's a good example of the type of person you'll end up as if you join the army. ;)
 
Dude, passing the GED is a little more difficult than passing a hard shit.

Get the books from a library, take a look at them for a week and you'll pass. Anyone I know that has taken it has passed and then went on to college to get good grades. So don't need the military to do it.

I got no opinion on the military things, other than if my kid wanted to go I'd chain them up in a cage in the basement and give them a long lecture. Better than them getting killed or suffering mental illness for life.

I can think of a million things to do with your life other than support war, whatever war it is, all are wrong. And this is the opinion you'll get here, mostly.
 
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I would agree with most of these posters, joining the military is both archaic and reductive. Not to mention the depleted uranium scattered across the middle east and other foreign countries, but thousands of unarmed non-combatants being killed every year by the blanket bombing by the Untidy States of America's airforce. Which is, for you information, the very definition of terrorism.

Its non-sensical to join the military. Its not like you personally were ever endangered and lets be honest, the 9/11 report(a best selling fiction) is not really consistent or comprehensive. Like its been put together by a sub-mental baton-twirler. And its not like the US hasn't had its hand in a fair share of undue military action or political intervention. I have a good friend that tried to join the reserves up here in Canada. Thank god he couldn't do the 200 pushups!!

All in all, all militarism is completely redundant and illogical. "Peace is being the guy with the biggest stick." Its a manifestation of a fairly significant part of the brain, just its been manipulated and expanded to be much more complex. Its fight or flight. And the American's are scared.

ANW
 
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