I am "very" confused, as this decision seemed to come out of nowhere.
Turned 18 on the 7th, did WAPS on the 12-13th....

Of course I support his decision, but I just don't understand it.

His color blindness restricts what he can do, and his reasoning makes no sense. Granted, he lives with his mother and I see him at least weekly and we usually "small talk" all the time. The last I heard was State College (OSU) on a Band Scholarship.

Believe it or not, Mikey is very confused.....

You should encourage him to go to OSU and do ROTC. Going into military as an officer is a much different experience then going in as an enlisted person.

in 1979 my father couldn't get WHY I wanna get out of USSR so bad..
parent often don't understand their chilldren

Thats one reason I posted this here amongst friends.....

First, I had to deal with this Sunday when I heard....I talked to him and tried to understand the reasoning and offer alternatives.

MikeAI....that is an alternative I DID NOT THINK OF!
Thanks,

serge, that is very true




Last edited by MikeFold at Mar 15 2004, 05:05 PM

Mike,

While we don't always agree with what our kids decide, I am sure you will support him 1000%

At least when he gets out of the Army, he will have the College money and all that to use.

best of luck to him.

i did the same thing, I joined the corps while my parents were in hawai
it took them some time, but they finally saw my thinking.

How else was a broke 20 year old going to get to japan to exprience the "culture"

: ))))

Yes, an excellent option! That's what my kid was doing until Mom pulled the plug on paying $20K a year for partying. :P

Mike, since I've been going through this for quite a while, a few things come to mind:

If he's not a "student", i.e. not really ready to head out and be disciplined enough to study/attend classes (oy.....), this could be an excellent option for him. In hindsight, I wish my kid had done this sooner. Of course, no member of my family has ever NOT gone to college right after HS graduation so it was never even considered. If it's like the AF, while he's enlisted he can take college classes (even online) and they will pay 100% of it. Again, I'm not sure how the Army is, but the AF's tech school actually produce an associates degree. In addition, there's the GI Bill which I think is around $28K now. And if they play it smart, they can walk out of there after 4 years with $30K+ in their pocket saved from living on the government.

There is also a delayed entry program which a friend of my son's is doing for the Marines. He's already gone to bootcamp but is currently attending college. He may even be doing some sort of weekend/week guard type assignments, I'm not sure. And I'm 99.9% sure he does NOT participate in ROTC because I don't think the Marines have one - at least not at Clemson.

Then again, he could be the victim of a recruiter. These guys would sell their own mother in order to get an elistment. The lies I see told are just incredible. Sit down with him and make sure he understands EXACTLY what he's getting into.

Of course, it's easy for me to spout this because none of the jobs my kid's going into are combat related. :(

I've found an awesome website for tons of military info and a good chat board for questions:

http://usmilitary.about.com/

In the end, he's 18 and there's not much you can do but we all know what a good guy you are and you'll support him no matter what! :)

Keep us informed!!!

dantheman..i would expect nothing less from you
:D


i was hoping you would respond peaches...
this caught me totally blindside
thanks

i am reading through the 'contract' now




Last edited by MikeFold at Mar 15 2004, 06:04 PM

You know if you have any questions the kid or I can answer, we're here :)

But we know why, don't we?... dad.
You planted the seed and skipped the continent, you bastard!

Mike, another thing I just realized is the band option...I seem to recall reading that the Army is desperate for band members and possibly even offering enlistment bonuses. The AF has "band" as an AFSC but the Army has their MOS broken down into instrument! And if it's a band MOS, the likelihood of combat would also be minimal :)

I mentioned the band option
(seeing as how he is passing on a music scholarship)

He WANTS a combat related assignment.....!
(tells me he wanted to be a Ranger
but his color blindness disqualified him from that.

But we know why, don't we?... dad.
You planted the seed and skipped the continent, you bastard![/b][/quote]
oh puuhhleeze!

they all had abortions...as far as I know
;-))))

A friend of mine is dealing with the same thing. Kid is currently a Junior at Clemson in ROTC (he and my son played soccer together since they were in elementary school). He is at the point where he has to commit to enlist or not. She, of course, with the current state of affairs doesn't want this. He, of course, with the current state of affairs wants this. :(

He has had problems with his leg and has had some surgery over the past few years and she's praying this will disqualify him for any enlistment - even as an officer.

See if you can round up some blogs of current people in combat. I haven't read any, but it would at least give him a TRUE idea of what combat is and not some sunshine blown up his ass like the recruiter probably gave.

Mike,

Nothing is 'official' until he goes in the second time, swears in again, and gets on bus/plane to go to bootcamp. Even then can leave (although not talked about much and he will catch hell for it).

I did delayed entry before HS was out, just in case college didn't work. Called recruiter in August and said changed mind. Few years later I joined up again and never regretted it.

Would suggest if his ASVAB scores are high enough and he's doing 4 years or more to request something in MI field... They push all the bang bang shit but once you know what to ask for, there is a whole slew of MOS'es that provide REAL job/skills training.

Hollar on aim or cell if have any questions, happy to help... :awinky: