Nervous before I enlist in the Marines

reply to post by schrodingers dog


I was hoping this didn't come out silly. I'm serious about joining the Marines. Sacramento, California is dead to me. When I finish high school, get my braces off and then I will enlist and see what happens there. I do know I have to go through boot camp and take the ASVAB. That will be the most difficult part of my life.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by schrodingers dog

 

I was hoping this didn't come out silly. I'm serious about joining the Marines. Sacramento, California is dead to me. When I finish high school, get my braces off and then I will enlist and see what happens there. I do know I have to go through boot camp and take the ASVAB. That will be the most difficult part of my life.

Wait a minute -- you're still in high school? That's surprising to me, because in this post on page two you said:

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by LadySkadi

 

My age as I type is 21 years old. A couple months down the road I will turn 22.
I believe I can join the military till I'm 30 something.

So, you're almost 22, but you haven't finished high school yet? I would have thought most Americans finish high school at around 18 or 19. Or is that wrong?

Mike

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by spacedoubt

 

There are many reasons why I want to join.

1: Service to my country
2: lack of work in my city and California
3: Become a man
4: be able to travel the world.
5: Help me around the world and my country
6: go to war if needed
7: the military will help me better myself for the future
8: a better chance for a better career after the military

ya know as far as becoming a man, making money, finding work, and helping your country, it sounds like you should try the mining industry. im a miner in northern canada and i can tell you all of these things are covered. how do you think bullets and guns are made? iron ore and nickel mining.

edit on 26-11-2010 by Romantic_Rebel because: (no reason given)

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel
Have you chose an mos?It's according to what type of job you have chosen for yourself that will determine if you go overseas.I live right next to Parris Island S.C,and have been Marine Corps the last 22 years.

1: Service to my country

People still believe in that? Ask yourself, what has my country ever done for me? Tax you into poverty?

2: lack of work in my city and California

Draw up a business plan, save money or take out a loan, start your own business. Move to another state.

4: be able to travel the world.

Jobs that include travel

land: bus, taxi, railway
air: pilot, stewardess
sea: captain, crew
politician, musician, actor, public speaker

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

I am a mom of a Marine. This is the path that he chose. I didn't want that for him, but who am I to choose his experience; which is all that this life is another experience to become more than what we are. We gain true wisdom and knowingness through experience and not by what we are taught to believe through education, religion, etc.

It is not war or the fear of war or killing or the fear of being killed that should concern you. The true battle is within. What you do is neither here nor there. It is how you feel that determines your vibratory rate and it is your vibration that attracts to your own heaven or hell. If it doesn't make sense, try not to analyze it with your mind. Nothing that really matters needs to be analyzed. With a pure heart ask for guidance and you will receive true guidance from within, it does not fail you; in reality you cannot fail yourself ever when you follow your heart.

Close your eyes and you will See clearly
Seize to listen and you will hear truth
Be silent and your heart will sing
Seek no contacts and you will find union
Be still and you will move forward
on the tide of the spirit
Be gentle and you will need no strength
Be patient and you will achieve all things
Be humble and you will remain Whole
-Taoist meditation

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


Am I serious (about you drinking beer to deals with yer problems??-- Heck yes I'm serious.

Look, kid (bub) what you dont' know wont' hurt ya and if you dont' believe me just gives it a try for awhile and come back and tell me if the old WORM gave ya some bad advice

If you want to join for all the reasons that you say then why don't you join a branch of the military other than the marines? My mind is way open but somehow I don't see Buddhism comfortably meshing with marines, not saying it's not possible but really...I've known a lot of marines...many of my friends joined straight out of high school, some loved it, some regretted it but kept going, and some snapped completely and it wasn't pretty in the least. I think you need to seriously think about this. It's a life altering decision. I romanticize a lot of things, but war and the military isn't one of them, not when people so close to home come back in caskets. Why not the navy like others are saying, you'd get to do plenty of traveling. Somehow I think the places marines visit aren't necessarily big vacation spots...

Everybuddy say join the NAVY and I say the same thing (I was in the U.S. Navy for over ten years)-- I was stationed in Japan, the philipines and Spain. I had a good time let me tell ya and there was no killing or anything, ya see? Mostly I worked on engines drank some beers stuff like that. Good times. I even saw a ufo when I was in Japan. Good luck with making your choice to join the Navy, kid.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by LadySkadi

 

One of the major set backs is my schooling. Which is also a blessing in some ways. I never graduating high school. When I mention I'm doing homework I mean school work in order to get my GED and diploma. Every branch I have asked says I must get both my diploma and GED. I used to be way out of shape when I was younger. I have started to eat more healthy, learn how to cook (again) and exercise I feel the greatest in my life.

This is incorrect. You can get a waiver to enlist from having a GED if you score well enough on the ASVAB. I scored high, and they offered wavers for my age (over 25), my lack of diploma, and were willing to wave the additional testing to become a nuke since my AFQT score was a bit off the charts.

reply to post by unityemissions


That is something I never knew then. Thanks Mr. Know it all. Joking aside I need to finish high school and then the military. It would be much better.

Not just for RR, but for anyone else reading this thread, thinking about joining the military, there's something you should know...

According to the best research in developmental psychology, the human brain isn't actually finished developing until approximately age 25. This has less to do with overt structure, as it has to do with internal connection, or another way to put it, people are apparently not fully "wired" until around age 25.

Specifically, the function that is "last" developed seems to be what we generally call "judgment".

Another way to put it is that science seems to have found that people are not wired to exercise "mature" judgment for a quarter century after birth! Perhaps Mother Nature has a sense of humor, considering the vast majority of humanity is already married by then, but a lot of it is our culture, and traditions, which have not caught up to the science.

I hope no one takes this the wrong way, because plenty of young people can be very mature, and exhibit rather good judgment, in spite of this developmental challenge.

Should a person "wait" until 25 to make decisions?

It's actually a question that society will perhaps someday have to confront, if the ethical implications ever become important to us.

These implications touch on long-entrenched traditions. Should a person vote at 18, or drink at 21? Should a person make a life and death decisions before the faculty of judgment is fully "seated"?

It's interesting that this issue has long been recognized by the medical establishment, which is yet another reason why we see very few MD's handed out to younger people (in spite of a very few examples of genius on the fast-track). A doctor may have to make life and death decisions. Even before the medical "evidence" came in, there was a long tradition to delay the time when the young doctor would be on his own, with sometimes lengthy residency, etc.

Airline pilots...Is it "just" a matter of having so many flight hours in, or is it because by the time a pilot has thousands of hours in, they are usually old enough to handle the kind of judgment necessary when responsible for hundreds of lives?

Auto insurance reflects this reality as well. I guess I could go on, but hopefully I've made my point.

Your decision RR will be "yours", and yet, as a society we all bear some responsibility for "allowing" you to make such a weighty decision, especially when the evidence shows you are unlikely to have the judgment necessary to make a sound decision of this kind (one way or the other).

As for my children, thankfully they have listened to me, in spite of having uncles, and other relatives who have had different advice over the years, and generally thought the military was a great place to "grow up". Well, maybe...

My advice? WAIT. And that goes for marriage, and anything else life-changing.

Anyway, best of luck to you and anyone else considering such plans.

JR

reply to post by unityemissions

My dad didnt get his GED (Good Enough Diploma) until he was in the army. They are windows for people that have no diploma but that window opens once in a blue moon. I have a GED and I had a score of 84 (probably score a -2 now) the score will fluctuate at times. You must have a very clean record to enlist with a GED any minor offences will disqualify you at the start. As for beer he was my friend he helped me through many a cold sandy night.I sure do miss him.
.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


Sure, do what you feel you must. I just question getting the GED & a diploma. That wasn't an option when I was in school. Perhaps things have changed, but also perhaps you're a bit confused here? Are you sure you can test out of high school via the GED program and still receive a diploma? Maybe I just never realized this was possible, so never applied for one. All I got left is a worn out laminated GED card that I keep in my wallet.

Oh yeah, I know squat! I spent a bit of time doing problem solving puzzles, plus played a lot of chess and sudoku. I think this organized my mind in a way that was more aware of what to look for when taking IQ tests. Now most of them truly seem like a joke to me. Not that solving problems can't present a challenge at times, rather that the presumptuous stance that vocabulary recall and problem solving ability can accurately assess and encompass one's intellectual potential is just ludicrous!

reply to post by hillbilly4rent


I was told there was a limited number of GED recruits they could have each month. I'm pretty sure the reason they were allowing me was more having to do with the fact that I tested high enough to enlist as a nuke, than merely being "superior" or whatever. It seems the recruiters get bonuses for enlisting navy nukes. My record is very, very clean. I've done enough to get sent to the pen a dozen times over, but was only caught once, with a dash of marijuana at age 17. I went through the proper procedures, the correct filing, and presented my case before a judge. I was the first person in the state of Texas to have an MIP for marijuana fully expunged. I actually saw the lawyer who asked $5,000 of me to file and represent me, and gave out a big laugh his way as I walked out the building.

reply to post by unityemissions


Last time I called a recruiter for the Marines he mentioned I must have a high school diploma. Being from California I must pass two test; one for English and the other for math ( I passed the English test). I also want to get my GED for my credits.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
One of my greatest fears going into the military will be having to go through war.

Through basic and my RIP the last thing on my mind was war. I had to make it out of there alive first.

Nobody can guide the direction of your life but you. I have seen you post in the last few months as a militant atheist...then Orthodox Jew...a Buddhist and with this thread a killer in the marines. None of which are compatible with the other. I'm not saying you shouldn't explore these things but you seem to be really confused. I recommend you slow down a bit. Get your GED and take awhile to figure out who you are. There is no shame in this, we all have gone through it in life. If you take your time and find yourself your path may create itself. No need to force it....

reply to post by kinglizard


What can I say. I feel like a karma chameleon who's life is riddle with contradiction. Everyday there is a new idea on what I should do now and tomorrow.

Yeah man, it is confusing lol. Just relax a bit...one step at a time. Get your education which is invaluable no matter what you decide...and then slow the roll...