Is It Worth It?? :-/

I don't know. I have been doing it since I was in my teens and it is now almost 49 years, and I'm still keeping on, keeping on. It won't make you rich, but it is a great feeling to make a difference for others.

I retired from the Navy in '03 after 22 years. I can't imagine having done anything else but then again I was in delayed entry at 17 so the Navy was all I knew until I was 40. It's not for everybody and the value of it is relative to the individual. I had known since I was 6 that I would go in the Navy so joining was just the natural path for me. I had a blast and I had some pretty hard times but I was lucky in that the former greatly outweighed the latter, some aren't and leave after an initial enlistment very disgruntled.
There are a couple facets of military life though that you will be hard pressed to encounter in the civilian world, teamwork. Working with people who are committed and perform their job because other peoples lives depend on it and because they are able so feel a duty to perform is quite rewarding in itself. Also the travel does much (IMO) to make you a well rounded and generally more interesting person.

My advice would be to make that tried and true list of what you want to do then make that list of positives and negatives of Navy and civilian paths. Hopefully the answer will be obvious.

You can go here and ask questions but be warned the people and answers are going to be quite biased:

http://forums.military.com/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/790108875

good luck

My dad has been in the US Army for over 20 years and he's over Iraq right now! He loved the time he served in the army but he wish he got out sooner because of family issues. I think that it is every man's resonbility to defend his nation and serve at least 1 or 2 years in the military.

[BIBLE]Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.[/BIBLE]

--1 Peter 3:7

This verse says we must be will to give our lives away for our wives and our family.

matt225 said:

Yello, I'm a senior and lately I've been lookin into enlisting in the Navy and have had a bunch of questions and have talked to a couple recruiters and yeah......hmmmmm......I havent made up my mind. <<not the best decision maker>> They have been throwin a lot of stuff at me you know... career paths and oppertunities, and the $$$ for college blah blah blah. Now they wont leave me alone since I got a 92% on my ASVAB. I was just wonderin for those of you guys and gals who did do it and for those that still do, is it worth it?? Is it worth leavin for so long, seeing the world, havin the time of your life, and yeah the $$$ too. I've been havin some difficulty weighting the do's and dont's. Well, if you can help me out, please do!! thanks a bunch.

God Bless!

Matt

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If you have the opportunity to go to college, I'd go unless you have a desire to go enlisted. College gets delayed several years by going enlisted first (I would advocate college in any situation) because you have to get trained in your job before starting your college classes and then you can only attend part time in correspondence in the vast majority of situations.
There are definite positives regarding going enlisted, though. In doing so, you are much more likely to get training in a vocation you can use outside of the military. Officer jobs are typically less hand-on, and more administrative (unless you fly, of course). As an officer, you can get leadership skills that are highly marketable, but you get those opportunities as enlisted military members as well...just not as fast or vast.

Pray and ask God what He wants for you. He may not answer immediately (He has a plan), but He will give you guidance as to where you are supposed to go.

That's a good ASVAB score, so you should be able to have a wide array of jobs for your choosing.

God bless you,
Dave

When I was at 19, I was at the crossraods of " Should I go to college or should I enlist in the Army?"

Did I want to go to college as a 19 skinny kid, who'd never left the house and had zero confidence in himself? Or did I wanna go as a 22 year old barrel chested, steely eyed, 3 time veteren of war, with more confidence in himself then a bucket full of frat boys?

Yeah, question answered.

BourbonFromHeaven said:

When I was at 19, I was at the crossraods of " Should I go to college or should I enlist in the Army?"

Did I want to go to college as a 19 skinny kid, who'd never left the house and had zero confidence in himself? Or did I wanna go as a 22 year old barrel chested, steely eyed, 3 time veteren of war, with more confidence in himself then a bucket full of frat boys?

Yeah, question answered.

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Nice.

I had a similar thought pattern, though bear in mind, I haven't signed on yet. My five-year high school reunion is coming up (which I won't be able to attend). It got me to thinking about the ten-year one... do I want to go back home after college, hang with the same people, keep the same look and attitude (overweight and completely insecure), do the same things?

Or did I want to have stories to tell about things you can't find in Backwater, Indiana? To do and be something different, something worthwhile, something honorable and interesting? (Yeah, it sounds a little hokey, but there it is.)

To quote Bourbon: Yeah, question answered.

WBK
Navy OCS, Spring '06 hopeful

whitleybk said:

Or did I want to have stories to tell about things you can't find in Backwater, Indiana?

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Thing is about coming home and telling stories is you'll get a lot of head nodding, then it'll hit you that your old friends can't relate to what you're talking about, you cut your leave short and go back to your unit to hang with your buds.

I will pray for your decision, I hope you can find your way

Sybaris said:

Thing is about coming home and telling stories is you'll get a lot of head nodding, then it'll hit you that your old friends can't relate to what you're talking about, you cut your leave short and go back to your unit to hang with your buds.

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To true. To true.

I'm only going home on my next leave ( Which starts in 2 weeks! ) for a few days to see the folks, then I'm going to go hike the Appalachian trail with some buds from my unit ( Our trip to England got nixed )

Last time we went Ireland, time before that Praug. It's like I never lived my life till after I enlisted. Don't get me wrong, deployments suck, schools suck, going to the feild sucks. However, when you and your war buddies hit the town to cause a little rebel raising, nothing is better in the world.

I'd agree with Sybaris, if you have something specific you want to go to college for, do that first. If you are unsure, don't know or don't care, then I'd enlist.

Look at it this way. I may show up as a college freshmen thats 23 or 24, but who cares? I'll be so far ahead of the game. I'm discplined, physicaly fit, agressive, mature and well experinced in the ways of the world. You won't have to worry about me doing keg stands on a dare on the night before the examine like so many frehsmen kids get caught up in.

You learn your lessons hard in the service too. Show up to class a little drunk still from the night before, bomb a test and what happens? You just wasted some money of a course you'll have to retake (Most likely your parent's money) and your lesson isn't learned.

Show up late to a military formation smelling like beer and you'll wish you hadn't. I made that mistake as a young private and it landed me a smoking of a life time and 2 weeks extra duty, which was the worse thing ever. I shudder to think the kinda thing the Navy comes up with when it comes to details. Those are lessons to remember and learn from. Hard knocks baby, the only way to go sometimes.

Airborne!

Good luck in deciding your path. Just remember to get everything they're promising you in writting. Recruters could sell ice to Eskimos. When I was in the Marines I heard plenty of stories of so called "bonus" insentives that never panned out. So when a recruter tries to sell you something, have it documented for use later. Trust me

Well, here is my advice. Let God guide you, do your favorite or most needed classes in College and let God guide you to your lifes job. It's all in his hands Good luck!

There is obviously something in you which is attracted to the idea. Many people have a natural feeling about their career paths. Go with your natural feelings and curiosity.

Is the military worth it? Hmmm, good question. I'm not sorry I went to Iraq, but I did come back permanently changed, and have lost most of my family and friends as a result. Pray hard about it. There are rewards, but heavy prices to pay as well.

~~Cheryl

matt225 said:

I'm kinda attached to home, kinda... I'm really attached to my church. I'm very involved in Kids and Youth Ministries and I dont know if I want to leave that for 4+ years. If anything, that is what I love.

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Your attachment is normal for your age. It's easier to stick with a known environment however, you could add a new and beneficial dimension to your church activities with the experiences and knowledge you would gain by leaving home for a while.