# Military: I'm a high school senior, what would you think if I joined? **URL:** \ **Category:** Lounge\ **Created:** [August 18, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649 "2009-08-18T01:14:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LTDshred](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/ltdshred/32/1416_2.png) [@LTDshred](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/LTDshred)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/1 "2009-08-18T01:14:21Z")
Hey guys, since I’m a senior in high school and I’m getting all these letters from the army and the air force academy, I got one question. What’d you guys think if I joined the military? ---
**Author:** ![dragonfly44](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/dragonfly44/32/493_2.png) [@dragonfly44](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/dragonfly44)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/2 "2009-08-18T01:20:49Z")
Hi LTDshred. It’s what YOU want to do with your life that really matters. My late husband was a Marine and absolutely loved it, even 30 years later when he wasn’t “in” the Corps anymore. Once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine. Do what YOU love to do. Best of luck with your decision. ---
**Author:** ![mikotorocks714](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/mikotorocks714/32/1509_2.png) [@mikotorocks714](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/mikotorocks714)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/3 "2009-08-18T01:38:54Z")
Don’t know man, that’s up to you. You don’t need someone’s opinion to know this. Plus, what we think shouldn’t matter, it’s what _you_ think that should matter to you. > [@LTDshred](#): > > Hey guys, since I’m a senior in high school and I’m getting all these letters from the army and the air force academy, I got one question. What’d you guys think if I joined the military? ---
**Author:** ![SoulCreator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/soulcreator/32/236_2.png) [@SoulCreator](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/SoulCreator)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/4 "2009-08-18T02:04:23Z")
> [@LTDshred](#): > > What’d you guys think if I joined the military? I think you’d be in the military. … … But in all honesty I personally wouldn’t voluntary join the military in a time of war unless I was 100% comfortable with the thought of fighting in the front lines of a war. You have to remember that the US is currently in the middle of not one but two wars, so there is a good chance you will see action if you enlist. So if you can accept the duties, the risks, and the responsibilities that are entailed with joining the military, then I say go for it. …Otherwise there’s always college. ---
**Author:** ![moonwhisper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/moonwhisper/32/1735_2.png) [@moonwhisper](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/moonwhisper)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/5 "2009-08-18T03:51:49Z")
Does it really matter what we think? We won’t be there beside you, fighting with you, dealing with the separation and the loneliness, the danger and the fear. However, you will be there with you, dealing with the what-ifs, the why did I do it questions, the wishing for home, the missing of loved ones. If the military is for you, you’ll know. No doubt. And nothing else will satisfy that need in you. If you don’t feel that way, give it some time and think it over. Then follow your heart. What we think doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![LTDshred](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/ltdshred/32/1416_2.png) [@LTDshred](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/LTDshred)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/6 "2009-08-18T17:29:08Z")
yeah, I have some years to make this decision, I don’t have to join right after high school. I’m dealing whether or not I’m being called by God to join. But yeah, war ain’t easy either. ---
**Author:** ![Wrlprchnx](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/wrlprchnx/32/1360_2.png) [@Wrlprchnx](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Wrlprchnx)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/7 "2009-08-18T19:00:56Z")
> [@LTDshred](#): > > yeah, I have some years to make this decision, I don’t have to join right after high school. I’m dealing whether or not I’m being called by God to join. > > But yeah, war ain’t easy either. I thought the bible was pretty explicit about not killing other people Join the military if that is what YOU want to do… not because you think someone else wants you to do it (and by someone I mean anyone, god included) ---
**Author:** ![Mtnjim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/mtnjim/32/2010_2.png) [@Mtnjim](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Mtnjim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/8 "2009-08-18T19:06:47Z")
> [@Wrlprchnx](#): > > I thought the bible was pretty explicit about not killing other people They had some epic battles in the old testament.😮 ---
**Author:** ![tezza23](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/tezza23/32/1375_2.png) [@tezza23](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/tezza23)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/9 "2009-08-21T11:39:56Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought the bible was pretty explicit about not killing other people “Thou shalt not kill” is a mis-translation in early English translations of the Bible. The original text uses the word for “murder”. Using force, even deadly force, to protect yourself or others is permissible IF IT IS NECESSARY, and AFAIK most Christian moral philosophers agree. So yeah, if you join the military there is always the risk you’ll end up getting sent to war, and you may come home in a coffin. Or horribly injured. Or psychologically injured with post-traumatic stress disorder. On the other hand, if you did fight, you’d be fighting so that other people didn’t have to suffer such things… I think it’s necessary to serve both yourself and others to live a happy and fulfilling life. The question is, can you serve best as a soldier, or doing something else? I know a few people who joined the military and been very happy with it. My Uncle John served in the Australian Navy as a cook for his whole career. I met a woman last year who joined the Australian Army as a firefighter. She was very excited and happy to be ‘serving her fellow Australians’. I know another person who served as a paratrooper captain in the US Army, until his knees gave out. My cousin Cameron was in the Army Cadets in school, he wanted to join the Police Rescue squad but ended up as an ambulance officer. He’s one of the people that I most admire. So even joining for a few years could get you a lot of life experience and skills that will help you in later life. On the other hand, soldiering may not be for you. It comes down to: Where’s your _passion_? Follow that. And you’ll serve yourself _and_ others. And when your life comes to an end, no matter how long or short it may be, you can say, “Thanks, God. It’s been good.” ---
**Author:** ![Mtnjim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/mtnjim/32/2010_2.png) [@Mtnjim](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Mtnjim)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/10 "2009-08-25T19:40:03Z")
Were it not for the current state of war, I’d say that a couple of years in the military would give you an advanced state of maturity that would serve you better in college than people who went straight into college from high school. I have noticed that often it is those who have never been in a war that are the most anxious to send _others_ into war. ---
**Author:** ![Warren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/97f17d/32.png) [@Warren](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Warren)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/11 "2009-08-25T20:59:01Z")
The thing about the military is that you can’t just quit if you don’t like it. So be _damn sure_ before you go down that route! ---
**Author:** ![renny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/renny/32/2104_2.png) [@renny](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/renny)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/12 "2009-08-25T21:31:18Z")
I would encourage you to call your local National Guard or Reserve armory, tell them you are thinking about service and ask if it would be possible visit during a training weekend and maybe talk with some guys who have recently been on active service..they may say no if there are security reasons or a heavy training weekend coming up. Chances are good though that they would be glad to give you a peek at what you are getting into. When I was a reservist we had potential recruits visiting a lot. If you are already talking to a recruiter ask them before contacting the armory yourself. Good luck with your decision, service is an honor and a lot of work. It’s also dangerous. Be sure you are OK with that. ---
**Author:** ![joenaz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@joenaz11](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/joenaz11)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/13 "2009-08-28T03:15:30Z")
hey man..im a former marine myself..to be honest..i absolutely loved it..but the reason why i got out is i wanna pursue my college degree..but in all honesty..military is a wonderful thing to get involved to..i mean..of course you have to deal with all the crap that comes with it..but the benefits of being one..is enormous. NOw im reaping all the benefits from it, my college is paid for 80k in 4 years, and they also give you free housing allowance..being here in AZ they pay me an extra 1500 a month..more than enough for me..plus the disability benefits..but i went in the marine for pure experience..and i love every single second of it and wouldnt trade it in the world ---
**Author:** ![jankren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jankren](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jankren)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/14 "2009-08-31T06:26:23Z")
From personal experience most of the people I know who are in the army are arrogant a-holes. They act like they are the baddest people on earth and behave like gangsters. I dont know why in America people worship their troops so much. Back in my country people have negative opinion of soldiers. They are mostly seen as thugs with government license. ---
**Author:** ![joenaz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@joenaz11](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/joenaz11)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:11am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/15 "2009-08-31T09:11:49Z")
idk about that jankren..if you want then go back to your country..and we have all the right to be how we wanna be..coz we are responsible for it no matter what, from the government and from the military..we get punished twice..and sometimes we deserve the punishment bcoz of the stupidity..and yes we are arrogant, you know why, coz we serve our time..we’ve been through the hardest situations, getting shot at..no food…massive heat, or sometimes unbearable cold, and our brothers who have died right next to us will never be alive again nor to be seen again..at least we know weve done and made a difference..how about you?? what have you done?? as far as i know..you dont rate to talk and bash the military..i know what its like to be in..for ive been in..and i can talk all these things, but you will never truly understand for you are just one of the punks who all talks and talks and protest in our streets but havent paid the dues that comes with it..WE HAVE!!! ---
**Author:** ![renny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/renny/32/2104_2.png) [@renny](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/renny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/16 "2009-08-31T17:02:04Z")
> [@jankren](#): > > From personal experience most of the people I know who are in the army are arrogant a-holes. They act like they are the baddest people on earth and behave like gangsters. > > I dont know why in America people worship their troops so much. Back in my country people have negative opinion of soldiers. They are mostly seen as thugs with government license. I would just say that people are people. Yes, there are arrogant people in the military just like there are everywhere else. Most of the time they are people who want more than they are willing to give. I don’t think that applies to most Americans who join the service. I think most people who volunteer for service do so to serve their country and know that any reward they get from it will be less than they put into it. That’s why Americans appreciate their service men, they know that they could be doing something more rewarding elsewhere. Service men and women put their lives on the line doing what “we” as a voting public ask them to do. I know it’s not that way in other countries, but it is that way here. ---
**Author:** ![jankren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jankren](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jankren)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/17 "2009-09-01T03:35:20Z")
> [@joenaz11](#): > > idk about that jankren..if you want then go back to your country..and we have all the right to be how we wanna be..coz we are responsible for it no matter what, from the government and from the military..we get punished twice..and sometimes we deserve the punishment bcoz of the stupidity..and yes we are arrogant, you know why, coz we serve our time..we’ve been through the hardest situations, getting shot at..no food…massive heat, or sometimes unbearable cold, and our brothers who have died right next to us will never be alive again nor to be seen again..at least we know weve done and made a difference..how about you?? what have you done?? as far as i know..you dont rate to talk and bash the military..i know what its like to be in..for ive been in..and i can talk all these things, but you will never truly understand for you are just one of the punks who all talks and talks and protest in our streets but havent paid the dues that comes with it..WE HAVE!!! What difference have you made? Destroying someone else’s country? Its not like you are defending our country on our soil. A social worker who volunteers helping homeless people on the streets everyday make much more difference than you. A lot of gangsters have been through the same experiences as you like getting shot and losing fellow gang members. Thats probably the reason you all share the same mentality as well. > [@](#): > > I don’t think that applies to most Americans who join the service. I think most people who volunteer for service do so to serve their country and know that any reward they get from it will be less than they put into it. That’s why Americans appreciate their service men, they know that they could be doing something more rewarding elsewhere. Service men and women put their lives on the line doing what “we” as a voting public ask them to do. I know it’s not that way in other countries, but it is that way here. Most people who join the army as a career do so because they have no better choice. There are exceptions though. But then again I never said most army members are like that. I only said most of the ones that I have met and nearly all of them are young boys so I guess that is why they act the way they do. > [@](#): > > **Poor and Uneducated Like We Thought: Debunking The Military Debunkers** > > by Ted Rall > “The typical recruit in the all-volunteer force is wealthier, more educated and more rural than the average 18- to 24-year-old citizen is,” claimed the authors of an oft-cited 2005 “comprehensive study” of the U.S. military commissioned by the Heritage Foundation. > Two years later, right-wingers trot out the Heritage troop survey as evidence that America is sending its best and brightest, rather than its down and out, to win Afghan and Iraqi hearts and minds. The GOP blog Newsbusters used it to rebut Rosie O’Donnell’s statement that most recruits enlist in the army to get an education: “Of course, facts don’t matter to Rosie O’Donnell.” But are these “facts” true? > The key word here is “volunteers,” which here means “new recruits.” A new CBO study released this July states: “Because black personnel have been a larger share of recruits in the past and because they have relatively high retention rates, however, they account for a larger share of the active enlisted force as a whole: 19 percent, compared with 14 percent of the civilian population of 17- to 49- year-olds. Black service members make up a smaller percentage of the active officer corps: 9 percent.” > You’re more than 35 percent more likely to be in the military if you’re black than if you’re white. But you’re 35 percent less likely to become an officer. Ignore the propaganda–the military is a reflection of, rather than a cure for, racism. > With Afghanistan joining Iraq as a war considered an unwinnable mistake in the minds of the public, military recruiters are being forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel. > In 2005 the Army promoted 97 percent of all eligible captains to major, an increase from the prewar norm of 70-to-80 percent. A Department official told The Los Angeles Times: “Basically, if you haven’t been court-martialed, you’re going to be promoted to major.” > It may be too much to assert that, as Asia Times did recently, that “U.S. ground forces are increasingly made up of a motley mix of under-age teens, old-timers, foreign fighters, gang-bangers, neo-Nazis, ex-cons, inferior officers and a host of near-mercenary troops, lured in or kept in uniform through big payouts and promises.” Or is it? > “Recruiters are knowingly allowing neo-Nazis and white supremacists to join the armed forces, and commanders don’t remove them from the military even after we positively identify them as extremists or gang members,” Scott Barfield, a Defense Department investigator told the Southern Poverty Law Center. > Citing the “toughest recruiting climate ever faced by the all-volunteer army,” Major General Michael Rochelle, head of army recruitment promises: “If you have excessively prominent and vulgar tattoos they will not take you right now, but that is about to change.” > “824 felons were allowed to sign up in 2004 as opposed to 1,605 in 2006 under the moral waivers scheme,” reports the UK Guardian. “Almost 59,000 drug abusers entered the military in the same period.” > There are, of course, intelligent, well-educated children of wealthy parents serving in the military. But they are the exception, not the rule. If Afghanistan and Iraq are, as the Bush Administration argues, central fronts in the war on terror, which is a war for hearts and minds, we ought to be sending our best-prepared, most presentable representatives of American society abroad as personal ambassadors. Our decision not to pay the higher salaries and benefits that would lure those men and women out of the civilian workforce belies those claims. > Ted Rall is the author of the new book “Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?,” an in-depth prose and graphic novel analysis of America’s next big foreign policy challenge. > © 2007 Ted Rall > > [Poor and Uneducated Like We Thought: Debunking The Military Debunkers | CommonDreams.org](http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/25/2748) > [@](#): > > “You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” > **- Senator John Kerry** ---
**Author:** ![joenaz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@joenaz11](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/joenaz11)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/18 "2009-09-01T19:10:25Z")
what difference have i made?? hmm.ive been to combat twice..iraq and afghanistan..and destroying their country?? excuse me, as far as i know theyve attacked us first.. and by the way?? you havent done anything in your life probably..so please answer the question instead of dodging it…what difference have you made sir?? and maybe the country you’re from will explain why you think as such..but theres only 2 types of people who understand us military boys…our brothers and our enemies. Maybe you should join the military so it can and will open your eyes. And if you hate how America appreciate our military..then..GET OUT!!! ---
**Author:** ![jankren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jankren](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jankren)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/19 "2009-09-01T21:02:26Z")
> [@joenaz11](#): > > what difference have i made?? hmm.ive been to combat twice..iraq and afghanistan..and destroying their country?? excuse me, as far as i know theyve attacked us first.. Okay, that comment just proved me right about many army members. All they have are balls I give them that but sadly no brain. No Iraqi ever attacked our country. Unless your intelligence works like this: Al Qaeda=Osama=Muslim=Iraqi=Al Qaeda And by the way, Im an American citizen and Im entitled to free speech. ---
**Author:** ![joenaz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@joenaz11](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/joenaz11)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649/20 "2009-09-02T17:42:58Z")
american citizen who is entitled to free speech..sorry it is not entitled to you, its given to you through privilege. Privilege given to you by freedom by all the military members through our generations who died to make sure you will keep having that freedom. Peace is not all about kissing and shaking hands, its all about the one who has a bigger stick. Freedom is never free my friend, day in and day out, it is being paid for by blood. And im not gonna lie, some military members have no option but to go to military…but thats why its voluntary serving. And you’re comment about John Kerry, he himself went to Vietnam back in the day..and you can believe him, but thats why he is nothing but a waste of breathe now..thats why he can just dream about being a president and never be one. [Next page](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/military-im-a-high-school-senior-what-would-you-think-if-i-joined/31649.md?page=2)