Are these good reasons to join the Army?
Alright, I know this is kind of a stupid question, but I'd like some (constructive) input anyways. I really really want to join the Army. However, I honestly have no interest in serving my country. I know that sounds awful and its not like I have any aversion to it; I know it's a very honorable thing to do. I've just never been the salute the flag, all hail the president type. It's just not me. I have developed an interest in joining the US army though. I feel like my life isn't really going anywhere. I've dropped out of college twice, both times because I lost interest in my classes although the degrees were in things I really wanted to pursue. I'm now interested in becoming a cop but I know I won't have the motivation to do through all the education. I want to join the army because I want to get in shape, both mentally and physically. I'm about 25 or so pounds overweight and have been what could be considered a couch potato most of my life. But more than that, I'm lazy and exhausted most of the time. I have no motivation to do anything that might better myself. I work an ok job in retail but it's only part time, I'm not going to school, I still live with my parents and I just really don't want to be working this job and stuck in this rut my whole life. I'm only 20 years old and I'm already headed in a bad direction. I'm smart and I know I could make myself into something if I only had the motivation. So I guess my questions is, do you think I should join the army to get my life back on track??
What are the reasons people join the U.S. Army?
There are already fine lists here that cover the reasons, so I'll just cover my own personal story and reasons.I come from a wealthy family. I fought against my parents to join the military, because in Asian society, being in the military is a negative. As my mother put it, "You don't use good metal to make a nail, you don't use a good boy to make a soldier." It took 2 years of persistance to let her know it wasn't just a lark and that I was serious. (As a good asian kid, even as an adult I wanted my parents' consent. :D)I'm also intelligent. When I took the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or the military's SAT's basically), I scored 99/100 on the general score. I later joined Mensa just to say I could. The recruiter offered to buy me some kind of nice meal because recruiting me was so easy. I took him up on a burger meal at the local Jack in the Box.When the recruiters came to pick me up to send me to Basic training they came up to my parents' gated house in a wealthy community and they left, because they assumed they had the wrong address. They called and came to pick me up the next day.I've been asked so many times why I joined the military, I have a coined answer: For everything but the money. Service to country, adventure, stories to tell, play with weapons, prove something to myself. I had already been accepted to UCLA for the computer science department, and I wanted to know I could handle a physical challenge as well.I got all these things and more. I made life long friends, developed a tolerance to pain and tedium which has served me well in life, learned to appreciate the simple things in life (Not being in mortal danger, not being in 100+ degree heat, being able to get an ice cream sundae within 30 minutes just about anytime, anywhere.), and the revered title of Veteran.To clarify and so as to not over glorify it: the military has a lot to offer, but it takes dedication and work. It's the right choice for a certain people. The people I served with were there for many reasons, but the VAST majority were patriots who loved their country deeply.
What is the reason you joined the military? Am I joining for the "right" reason?
I enlisted in the Navy because I wasn't academically qualified for an appointment to the Naval Academy. As it turns out, it was the right decision for me because I was not ready to spend another four years in a classroom. I enlisted and wanted to work on aircraft which I was lucky enough and honored to do for 21 years. My reasons for joining were different than my reasons for staying. Once I was in, I loved the concept of being part of a team and something much bigger than myself. I love our great nation and I am so proud of my service. I am also very thankful for my lessons learned and the opportunity to work side by side with people from all walks of life. I was very closed minded and ignorant about other cultures and lifestyles until I was thrown into the melting pot that military service creates. I am a better man, more tolerant, more accepting, and more patient thanks to the lessons my service taught me. Are you joining for the right reason? Only you can truly answer that for yourself. I am slightly troubled by your longing to experience combat but you are a young person and I imagine your perspective on combat may change once you have endured some of the downsides of it. I applaud your patriotism and your desire to serve our nation, it is an awesome feeling to give your word to serve in the military. You will not only test yourself, you will be tested in many ways as you proceed through your basic training and continue on. Any service is honorable and I wish you the best of luck in whichever path you choose.
What are some bad reasons to join the military?
By far the worst reason to join the military is when you are doing it out of ‘love for your country’.This almost always ends badly. Very soon, you’ll find out that most of your fellow comrades, NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers) and officers don’t share your feelings and will think of you as an idiot.The only possible motive worse than patriotism is the desire ‘to help other people’, for example to bring democracy to other nations or to prevent a genocide.Be aware that the army is an organization that has the mission to destroy and kill their enemies: Altruism and the military don’t mix.Another bad reason to sign up for the army is when you have some trouble in your civilian life, a failed relationship or you got kicked out of college, and you think that the military can provide you with a ‘fresh start’.It doesn’t work. Eventually, your problems at home will catch up with you. Maybe not while you are serving, but for sure when you are getting out of the military.On the other hand, all the good reasons to join are immensely selfish:Maybe you want to learn a profession and get a stable salary and at the same time, you are too lazy to work in a civilian job.Or you like some adventure, before you grow old:See the world, have the opportunity to kill some other humans (if you are a freak) or blow up buildings (yeah!).Some guys just sign up, because they like to be hailed as ‘heroes’ when they come back from their deployment.Those are all good reasons to join. The military is a big and anonymous organization that doesn’t care for the fate of its individual members. Either you screw them or they screw you.
What are 3-5 bad reasons to join the military?
After debating in my head about so many things like what branch, what job, active or inactive, what my motives are, etc. i've come to the conclusion that i need to get to the root of it all and see if my reasons are really good reasons to join up. or what those reasons are for that matter... when im really honest with myself, it kind of comes down to -me wanting more respect and prestige in life and feeling better about myself. - following the footsteps of my father (i kind of see it as something i can't be satisfied in life if i don't do it. a rite of passage to adulthood) -the honor of serving my country and being seen as a hero by others -the career opportunities it should bring after serving as an officer -financial benefits list 3-5 bad reasons to join the military
What are good reasons to join the military? What are bad reasons to join?
Good reasons to join:You want the stability, the challenge, the job experience, the training, the life experience, and the opportunity to go to school and maybe see the world. You want to protect your country and its people and their freedom even to the extent that you are willing to lose your life in the process.Bad reasons to join:Daddy (or mommy, or brother, or uncle, or insert personal hero’s name here) did it and by golly you wanna be just like them(!), you want to prove how tough you are, you want to KILL!!!When I went to boot camp, we were asked multiple times along the way by our superiors why we joined. A somewhat surprising number of numb nuts cited wanting to kill as the reason they joined. This is idiotic for any number of reasons - aside from the fact that the people you're saying it to can see right through you and think you're a damned fool, even a run-of-the-mill sociopath (a real one) would be smart enough to realize that it's immature, it's naive, and perhaps most ironic is the fact that well over 90% of the people saying it would never have the opportunity, even if they saw combat.That's excruciatingly obvious to anybody who ever bothers to think about it, but they were too young, dumb and full of cum to realize it. Their heads were full of the glory of costume blood, Hollywood effects and the smell of napalm in the morning.