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I finally decided what's wrong with me. I miss JROTC... and all that junk. I missed being yelled at and doing PT and everything. So i want to join the army. I mean why not!!!! i have always wanted to... i wouldn't mind being gone in a different country or sitting behind a desk... I am excited for my decision! thought about it loooong and hard and that's what made me the happiest so now i am going to do it! ..... anyway

Does that involve you finishing your college qualification where you are as part of signing up? I'm certain nobody here is going to criticise whatever you decide to do Skittles, I'm interested to know that's all.

Pfft i'm spontanious ya'll! Who cares about long terms! lol of course i thought it through! ummm so i plan on hmmm idk lol i'll think about it before i actually do it. maybe idk...

Jester;780554 wrote: WHAT!

hehehe Skittles!

I have questions, and not to discourage you but, you ned to seriously consider what the best way to go in is.

It's not the best way to go in enlisted, unless your not going to make a career of it and theres a skillset you can use on the outside.

My best advice is to check the Airforce first, and please please highly consider finishing college and ogin in as an officer.

Ask yourself this question: Why would you purposefully place yourself into a position of being a second class citizen?

Think about it, please, think about it!

Lets talk long term goals before you jumped inot something because you miss being yelled at! Heck, if you want I can yell at you and get it out of your seystem!lol i don't know i didn't really think about it. I'm just so tired of doing NOTHING all the time. So can i blame boredom? well, my current goal is to finish my Communication Arts degree. Before that the army was the only thing i wanted to do. I think it sucks being a woman going into the army. Navy maybe... airforce... i have not ever thought of. lol

JAB;780564 wrote: As someone that started out in ROTC and almost went that full route herself, I say goodonya!! Go with your heart Skittles. Say a prayer, have faith and go for it!

:yh_hugs
see i like that better then ya'lls sanity junk! i will go and just go for it! thanks JAB!

Jester;780566 wrote: Good!

Then consider a position as an officer as a communication specialist. You sit tight, I'm gonna find you an airforce officer recruiter contact from one of my buddies. They will sit down with you and your mother, and explain how ROTC works, how you can get them to pay for your college, and how much time you owe them upon completion as an OFFICER!

We'll write down a plan and then you and I can check it off as you achieve your goals!

I'll hold you accountable and you can nag me about something in return!Why does my mom have to get invovled? pfft i'm almost 18 yo. Like an adult almost! wait... when did i say i would do ROTC... or the Air Force! are you like deciding this on you own?

Jester;780571 wrote: 1. yer mom loves you and despite being almost 18 or 18 she is your line of counsel and the one you should primiairly go to for advice.

2. never ever go to a recruiter alone.

3. you expressed a desire to go in the army to have folks yell at you, im just here to try to convince you that you can have it ALL under ROTC.

think about it is all im sayin...

you get a degree, you get to be in the resevres while your in colleg and play army, you get sgts pay while you drill, when your degree is done you get to be an officer in the US military, a leader among men!

And I'd be dang proud to offer your name forward and write a recommendation.My mom says i need to finish college first. pfft. I should tell her about ROTC. she might go for that. But the school here doesn't have a program. So i might have to go state... to a evil heathen college.

lol are you saying the army is a bad choice? lol

Jester;780577 wrote: Skittles, thats some of the stuff you need to negotiate with you mother. All I can say is my father always said, if you want to logically discuss a subject, bring it up, do it with respect, and a demeanor that ackowldeges my authority and I'll listen. What he was saying is to make your appeal wisely. In your case you need to gather your facts, fix a goal, and lay it all out for her.

Now, heres what I'd do if I were you:

Find the closest college you can and make a deal to live at home and commute in to school. That way your mother can be reasonably secure that your ok, and not there being wierd and tossed around by all kinds of strange doctrine or wild parties!

Its time to grow up a little more Skittles. Your gonna have to make your word coutn to your mother, so she'll trust you to make wise decisions and then she will turn loose those apron strings a bit at a time.I just talked to her about it.... and she said she would talk more to me about it during spring break. That's a good sign! right? and nooo not living at home. Nope can't do it.

Skittle you have a good head on your shoulders what ever you decide to do, you will have thought it out and know all the pro's and con's of the choice. Nothing wrong with being in the service just make sure you join for all the right reasons.

Jester has made some excellent points he was a military man himself, he knows what he is talking about.

Good Luck.. :yh_wink:yh_hugs

Jester;780582 wrote: If your going to go in enlisted, I dont advocate any military. I cant be serious enough in this matter to you.

If your goin in as an officer, I'd try the AirForce first, they seem the most professional to me. Then I'd try the Army. I can't imagine being on a ship, those are prison barges to me, nothig more but thats a personal bias, if you can stand it then go for it.

I would never ever in my life join the Marines as a female.

I would seriously consider the Us Coast Guard as well!


Retired Coast Guard here. Don't join if you don't want to spend time on a ship. The Coast Guard has plenty and they spend a lot if time at sea.

I agree that the best way to go is as an officer no matter what branch you choose. That means finishing college.

When I was in it was difficult for women in every branch of service. I don't think that has changed a lot. The military has been a male dominated institution from the start. Being a young woman around a bunch of young men who are often isolated from women subjects them to things many find difficult to accept.

Skittles, if you don't have your parent's blessings, think and pray long and hard.

Wow i did not realize how big of a decision this actually is... WOW....

Clint;780606 wrote: Retired Coast Guard here. Don't join if you don't want to spend time on a ship. The Coast Guard has plenty and they spend a lot if time at sea.

I agree that the best way to go is as an officer no matter what branch you choose. That means finishing college.

When I was in it was difficult for women in every branch of service. I don't think that has changed a lot. The military has been a male dominated institution from the start. Being a young woman around a bunch of young men who are often isolated from women subjects them to things many find difficult to accept.

Skittles, if you don't have your parent's blessings, think and pray long and hard.Hmm that's a really good thing to think about i guess... AAAA so much thinking.

Omni_Skittles;780616 wrote: Hmm that's a really good thing to think about i guess... AAAA so much thinking.


I'm sure you will think it through and do the right thing. Ultimately, you are the only one who knows. We take all the information and advice we can get our hands on, pray, apply our best judgment, make a decision and refuse to look back. Tha't all we can do.

could all this confusion be because i am turning 18? My mom keeps saying that anyway.

At 18 there are a lot of decisions to make. It's a time when we want to establish ourselves as individuals who make our own choices. The danger is in wanting that so much we don't consider things we know down deep are things we should consider. It's also a time we want to go fast to experience all there is to experience.

Oh! to be 18 again. I envy you.

Clint;780622 wrote: At 18 there are a lot of decisions to make. It's a time when we want to establish ourselves as individuals who make our own choices. The danger is in wanting that so much we don't consider things we know down deep are things we should consider. It's also a time we want to go fast to experience all there is to experience.

Oh! to be 18 again. I envy you.I'm not 18 yet. Ya'll are right i need to consider everything!!! it's crazy! UGH life sucks.

Omni_Skittles;780623 wrote: I'm not 18 yet. Ya'll are right i need to consider everything!!! it's crazy! UGH life sucks.


You are far ahead of many. You realize the gravity of your decisions. That means you will make better ones than most.

Life is an opportunity. After 60 years I'm begining to realize that.

Clint;780624 wrote: You are far ahead of many. You realize the gravity of your decisions. That means you will make better ones than most.

Life is an opportunity. After 60 years I'm beginning to realize that.But it takes me talking to a million different people to realize the gravity of my decisions.

Omni_Skittles;780625 wrote: But it takes me talking to a million different people to realize the gravity of my decisions.


You make the effort and talk to a million different people. That's what makes you different and that's what will make you successful if you keep doing it.

Clint;780626 wrote: You make the effort and talk to a million different people. That's what makes you different and that's what will make you successful if you keep doing it.I guess you're right. Well, I realize i have a lot of different things to research... a lot to take in and talk about. so... i'm only 17... what's the rush right?

Omni_Skittles;780627 wrote: I guess you're right. Well, I realize i have a lot of different things to research... a lot to take in and talk about. so... i'm only 17... what's the rush right?


No rush. Life will come at you fast enough.

I hope you will keep posting here so we can follow your accomplishments.

Jester;780632 wrote: Ha-Hah! I love it!

Skittles!

Life doesnt suck! Your at the beginning of the adventure! Enjoy every minute of it! Clint is a wise man.

And your a lucky girl!But all this thinking and actually worrying about my future thing is insane i am not going to lie. I guess that's the beauty of life!

Jester;780635 wrote: Nah insane people dont really acknowledge they are insane, except Nomad, he is insane and admits it!:wah:

It is the beauty of life, its predictably unpredictable!lol i love that... Predictably unpredictable. I use to say that a lot. I'm not insane just 17 haha

Skittles, I think you have a pretty wise head on your shoulders - why? because you are asking for advice from people who have done what you're thinking of doing. Many, many people your age don't bother (me included) they just jump in and hang the consequences.



The saying is that life is short, well it is but it's also long too and you have time to finish studying then join whichever branch of the services is best for you.



Being 17/18 is tough and confusing too, in many ways I wouldn't want to be that age again, unless it's knowing what I know now, so many opportunites wasted, so many boys and so little time........



Keep us posted, you're part of the family too!

I'm at a point right now where everything has just... BAMMED on me! wee this is fun i guess.

Sometimes when it gets that way for me I have to ask myself what is really important. I can get caught up in things that I don't even need to be thinking about.

The first thing I need to ask myself is whether or not I have the power to do anything about what I think I need to be dealing with. If I have the power is it simply the power to give the issue to the real owner. If I own it, how soon do I really need to deal with it and can I set it aside to do something more important and urgent? If it is the most urgent and highest priority then I need to gather all the information I can about it, apply all the knowledge and wisdom I can muster to deciding what to do and...do it.