Anyone here serve in the American Armed Forces?

C'mon need some answers here people.

I was in the Army when I was 18. Served in Op Desert Storm.
Age is a big factor. I was young, single and energetic.

For me it was good. Don't think I owuld enlist now though.

Every single MOS (in the Army) right now can't re-enlist. Should tell you something. ;)

Last Edited by LakeXeno on 02/08/2012 06:20 PM

I definitely recommend it when you're young and single.
The pay SUCKS but there's no comparison to the other benefits (living overseas and such)...

Depends on the type of person you are though.

I loved the military and though I was only in a little over 5 years I will always be grateful for that experience.

Ditto. 4 years for me.

Yep, very hard life.

Retired at 38 years so not too bad.


Army - Combat Tours:
1990-1991 IRAQ - Desert Storm
1992-1993 - South Korea - DMZ
1994-1995 - U.N. Mission in Haiti
1996-1998 - IFOR/SFOR/KFOR

Veteran of Foreign Wars of the United States
Post 15045, Texas
Frank T. Love # 9340882
Life Member

Can't serve evil. Wanted to but the government is not moral, or constitutional.

homosexual?

You were young and dumb, knew no better. Did you kill people?

What is your excuse today?

I took the easy govt job too (military) but do not recommend serving the beast empire rule the world and destroy our economy.

I'm glad I served, it was a long time ago and during peace time.
I had lots of training.
My son is a Marine and can't wait for his time to be up.
Another friend joined the Army for 5 years his time is up any day. He also wants out, can't wait.

I would check out the Coast Guard.

Don't join the military nowadays unless you want to die in a war for Israel and the bankers or you want vaccines and DU to give you cancer.

I Did 10 years in the army and I agree with all the other vets here, it's good to get it over with when you're young and single. I liked the steady paycheck and the stability overall. The 2.5 days of paid vacation time for every month you serve is also a nice perk. The only time that was stressful for my family was during deployments, other than that it's just another 9-5. And your social life will depend on your MOS and where you're stationed. That being said, if you're serious about joining it would behoove you to study for The ASVAB. It's not a hard test but preparation is key because the higher the score you get, the more jobs you'll be able to choose from.

I served 5 years, and my husband retires this year of 20 years. Now is not a good time to join. No more pensions at 20, healthcare and dental benefits go up if you have a family. If your married, sometimes they can't go with you, your sea to shore rotation could be anywhere from 4 maybe sometimes 5 years each. My advice, no now.

Starve the beast let them fight their own wars.

There are good paying jobs in the oil fields of North Dakota.

Alabama Georgia and Missouri just passed anti-immigration laws so have numerous employment opportunities in those states too.

You should get married while young, or you may never have a family at all. Joining the military with a family is a bad idea.

Ditto. US Coast Guard. Loved it. I was a fool for pulling the plug. Should have stayed.
Go for it BUT for Gods sakes, try not to kill anyone. It weighs heavily on you for rest of your life.

Military service offers wonderful experiences that no civilian job can match. I do not regret a single moment of my time in the service.

28 years Air Force - DO IT!

Ya mean like fighting for washington DC wage criminal wars around the world?

Do you support war with Iran & Syria?

Lol...Yep! I joined up and like a few weeks into training I was like WTF have I gotten myself into!!

But after that initial regret I loved it.
Never was in a situation to have to kill someone and I'm thankful for that. I wouldn't say the military was easy but it sure was nice not to have to worry about what to wear to work.

Did for 4 years, right now might not be the best of times to join though.

Things are about to happen, think about it. I'd gladly serve again if called upon, though.

Tough choice you are considering. Good luck to you OP whatever you decide. Whatever it is, do so for the right reasons.

I joined Army when I was 18 spent 2 1/2 yrs in
Germany and 1 year in Louisiana loved the areas I was stationed. (1988-1992)The Army was ok...I lived on an Airforce base in Germany....Join the Air Force...They treat you better, plus with all the shit going on you might live longer in the Air Force. Good luck (oh almost forgot the military is no place for raising a family)

Volunteering to die? You can't think of anything better to do than volunteering to be cannon fodder?

You want to be a pawn of someone who considers your life worthless?

I guess Kissinger was right when he referred to military men as "dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy."

Go, be all YOU can be.

Oh, and if you are a woman, only join if you love the idea of being raped.

I just got out of the Navy Three years ago. It was probably the best time of my life as a single guy. I was helicopter Search and rescue and loved my job. I got married and we wanted to have kids so I decided to get out so I could be a father at home to take care of our family. If you do decide to join be sure you know what you are going in for.

That's actually true. There was a news scandal a few years back out of Ft Wood, Mo Army boot camp about the drill instructors giving favors to the females in exchange for sex. Well this is similar to prison sex as the females had no choice in the matter thus deemed rape. The scandal eventually fell out of the news but i'm sure it still goes on.

And that's nothing compared to what happens to the women in the war zones.

Pentagon approves more women in combat
[link to abcnews.go.com]

As far as I can tell the US military anymore is largely women, homosexuals and illegal aliens trying to earn citizenship.

With the Stop-Loss there's no guarantee you can get out or do the job you agreed to under the worthless contract.

hell yes, go get your balls blown off so an unseen corporate CEO can cash his $30 million bonus check.

You'll get to brag about how your balls got blown right into space.

That's GOT to be worth something.

1975-1977. I signed a two year contract. Because I didn't know if it was for me or not. Turns out it wasn't, but I was a small guy when I was young. Cannon rounds are heavy LOL
I did get to shoot all kinds of cool weapons.
50 cal, great on the T&E
Tow
LAW
Dragon
105
M-16 <no 3 round burst back then :-)
90m recoilless rifle (bazooka)
Mortars
Learned to setup claymores, dig foxholes, play war games. Find my way with a compass. But what base you get to choose is what makes or breaks the game. Ft. Sill sucked.