blather_please_advise Lemon_Soda Hello All. I am seriousley considering going into the armed services, for personal reasons. I have, in many ways, been more truthfull about who I am and how I think, here in the pages of blather. Because of this, I would like to know what you, the blue, have to say about this decision. please advise. 081002 ... zeke having to follow orders without considering them would be very challenging to me. i am not good at team anything. i am not a joiner socially, so the personal autonomy that i would have to surrender in order to be in the armed forces, would be very hard for me. the above is intended as a full disclosure of my nature so that you can judge the usefulness of my opinions. are you a gambler? what odds do you give to obama winning the election? i think that your likelihood of injury or death are significantly lower if he does. mccain seems more inclined towards military activity. do you believe in the policies that drive our forces onto the world stage? for me, sacrifice for principles seems possible (but not a goal) but what principles are currently being expressed through our foreign policies? are you willing to die based on the wisdom and thoughtfulness of those that are not going to be in harms way? on the other hand, i am not immune to the notion of honor, brotherhood (and sisterhood in today's forces) and the romance of adventure. for me, these do not outweigh what i stated above. good luck. 081002 ... tourist Just some random thoughts on this... My Dad was in the Navy for 21 years. I Never Joined the Military. My Dad Made More Money From His Retirement benifits than He did in active service pay. When I was Eighteen there was an active Draft, and the body count was a regular feature on the evening news, so I was not at all atracted to the war on communism known as the Domino Theory, but even if the world had been at peace, I couldn't Imagine 20 years in the military, It was More Than A Lifetime to Me. Looking back From Half a Century Out, I could have done it standing on my head, and I'd have a residual income to fall back on instead of working two and a half jobs to keep my act together. As far as duty and dying, the Future has always been uncertain, and the final act is ultimately the same. My Dad saw a lot of the world, and i vicariously did also, I don't know what You expect from this but If you can endure a regimented lifestyle this is just another finite experience and should pass with relative ease. I personally would rather have Men Of Conscience in the Military, Than Diciplined Thugs. Over and Out 081002 ... somebody without the option of being able to delete this later, i would like to remain anonymous (though some of you will possibly know who i am, i ask you to refrain from pointing it out, for my privacy's sake). lemon_soda - i don't know much about you or why you are thinking of enlisting, but i will be happy to share my story with you if you so desire. 081002 ... dot don't do it. stay here and contribute POSITIVELY to progressive change - without death. war, this one in particular, is so wrong, think about how you'd feel fighting for a bogus reason - it would affect your morale and how you think of yourself as you keep maturing. good luck. 081002 ... Lemon_Soda I'm listening. cst_il_011@yahoo.com 081002 ... . . 081002 ... Doar hey LS, if i might say my piece. i once had the "man dream" of joining our peace keeping forces for a long time, but knew i couldn't pass the psyche tests. if you have the strong feeling of needing (note: not wanting) to do this, then i'd say you WOULD MAKE a difference. but let me state this proviso, make sure you NEED to do this rather than a misplaced want to do it. personally, i'd rather see you do more good here, but i would not judge you for doing what you feel you NEED to do. i sincerely hope you come to the right decision for yourself. there's my two dollars. . 081002 ... dafremen I served. I've got both good and bad things to say about the experience. First the good: I learned a lot about self-control and what I was capable of. I saw many places that I'd never seen before and never could have. I learned about different cultures, and a great deal about working with others of differing backgrounds. I made decent money since I was provided with both housing and food and quickly attained the rank of E-4. Now the bad: I was forced on more than one occasion to participate in exercises which I didn't believe in and didn't want to do. (Think going to the factory every day...but with missiles and human lives involved.) I was involved in propagating principles which I didn't believe in "Might makes right" "Our way or the highway" "Them or us" I was surrounded by the high school football mentality for most of the time I was in. (Think...exaggerated machismo, empty bravado, nonstop competitiveness and the culture of glorified violence.) I was forced to do what I didn't want to, think was right to or even intelligent to by people who were acting as robotic mouthpieces for the people above them. Politics abounded and kissing ass was practically mandatory. I could go on...but I think you get the idea. Long and the short of it..no mighty machine is composed of anything but smaller parts. Do you believe in the function of the machine..not as it's stated...but as it performs? If so...be a part of it. If not..consider what it would be like to aid its function. 081002 ... hsg wri_usi_fir_thr_let 081002 ... unhinged . will wait til she's sober to say anything about this 081002 ... misstree I have yet to decide whether to assume you are considering it because we are at war or while ignoring the fact that we are at war. Still working on separating the knee-jerks from the actual thoughts. 081003 ... . L_S, how old are you? The answer to that affects my advice. 081004 ... Lemon_Soda 28 081004 ... . Well, at 28 you know yourself pretty good so the decisions prob not too impulsive. I've heard one's experience really varies depending on the commander. Some commanders make military life rewardin and some make it awful. Hows the physique? You in decent shape? Adjustin to a phytness-heavy life is a bit more challengin at 28 than at 18, but still real doable. The big Q is, Are you willin to go to the mideast? Gotta ask yerself that. And know up front that some of the insurgents you might hafta kill are women and children. I've heard it from various vets that some kid with a backpack shows up in the wrong place and its you or the kid cuz ya know whats in the backpack. Can you do it? Not, do you want to, but can you? No one wants to. Prolly you wont hafta but good to know how ya feel about it before yer in the situation. Main thing is be sure you asked yourself all the toughest questions before you find yerself in the field, with no choice in the matter. 081004 ... daxle My default answer is: no. But I don't know you and I don't know what you're about. As other people have suggested, I'd just think more about what you hope to accomplish and how likely that is based on your decision. To some extent, you will never know unless you try. 081005 ... . . 081006 ... Ouroboros PTSD http://tinyurl.com/5z2d7r http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ Good luck to you, either way. 081006 ... REAListic optimIST i have a military family. it worked out well for them. i would have never excelled in the armed forces because i fight to hard to maintain individuality and to point out incongruence. it is important to take stock of what you want to get out of serving and of what you think of the current military policy. 081006 what's it to you? who go blather from