breaking military contracts

[rppearso]

I have a question for fellow christians about getting out of a contract with the military. I have not been able to get a straight answer from other sites on the military due to the hostility I encounter.

When I signed up I took an oath, however when I was in nearly everyone I was surrouned with were heavy handed, beligerant, oppressive ways (basic training and officer candidate school as well as just everyday life) the bible speaks very clearly about the people you surround yourself with. I was fortunate that I joined the national guard so it was much easier to seperate myself.

While it was foolish to take the oath to join the military, would it not be more foolish to continue to surround myself with thoes who seek to destroy me (christians will know what im talking about when I say "to destroy me")

I already know how to get out paperwork wise, I just want a christian perspective on cutting your losses on a foolish oath. I am not looking for any negitive input from hardliner military members. Thank you

 

[wildthing]

I'm non military type...I quess when you sign a contract your word isn't worth much...Or least that the way I see it...

 

[PastorMikeJ]

of course if you break your contract will you be giving back the sign up bonus that you received??? every cent of it?? right away??

I always was taught that your signature on a contract was golden...

When I was in you couldn't just decide that it wasn't for me and go home...there were a lot of Christians joining up then and being drafted also.. sure glad that they all didn't decide to go home when the training got tough..

but you need to do what is right for you

 

[justanobserver]

I have a question for fellow christians about getting out of a contract with the military. I have not been able to get a straight answer from other sites on the military due to the hostility I encounter.

When I signed up I took an oath, however when I was in nearly everyone I was surrouned with were heavy handed, beligerant, oppressive ways (basic training and officer candidate school as well as just everyday life) the bible speaks very clearly about the people you surround yourself with. I was fortunate that I joined the national guard so it was much easier to seperate myself.

While it was foolish to take the oath to join the military, would it not be more foolish to continue to surround myself with thoes who seek to destroy me (christians will know what im talking about when I say "to destroy me")

I already know how to get out paperwork wise, I just want a christian perspective on cutting your losses on a foolish oath. I am not looking for any negitive input from hardliner military members. Thank you

If this is already your mindset, then it is best you get out - since you already "know how to". Its not just your life your dealing with - its also the other lives of those you would be serving with if you for some reason stay in. It wouldnt be fair to them.

No one is out to "destroy you". What they are trying to do is make the soldier out you that you signed up to be. So, as with the others here, I agree - please use your way to get out of your oath/contract/word/bond. If for some reason you were to stay in and you got deployed to a hotspot - the other troops would assume you are ok to rely on. Dont do that to them. please.

And yes, I am a veteran - served with pride and honor.

I may not be a christian now or for the last 20 some odd years but I was before for a number of years so I feel I can post this to you.

 

[rppearso]

I never recieved a bounus. My bounus was to go to OCS, but I disenrolled myself so it was a clean break. The bible talks about making oaths but when you take that oath and in the process of carrying out that oath you are forced to do things that are contrary to the bible you have to cut your losses somewhere. My word is still good just not when im asked to do things or tolerate actions that are questionable.

I have to ask why are you no longer a christian?

 

[wildthing]

I don't understand why you think it is contary to what is written in Bible about being soldier. I have look everywhere and never seen Jesus telling someone they shouldn't be one.

I see that you are married is not what you said to your wife on the wedding day an oath?

Still if you feel you must then you must. Just don't come around me with a contract that you have signed. It's not worth the paper that it's on.

Have you appeared in court. I would like to know what you did there?

 

[rppearso]

It is not the fact of being in the military that Jesus preachs against, but more the attitude and heavy handed nature of thoes in the military. In proverbs and other places in the bible it talks about association with others and how violent beligerant melevolant behavior is not good to be around, that is exactly what the military is. The military also broke there spoken word that was made along with the writen contract, which legally is not worth anything but God knows all that is said as well as all that is written. I know I am in the wrong to a point, but when do you have to say enough is enough. Im not worried about anything legally, I was in the national guard OCS program and it is very clearly stated in the literature that if for any reason you fail to complete the OCS program for any reason you will be discharged or have to go in as inlisted, I have no intentions of going enlisted nor am I within medical standards anymore to finish enlisted training. I have all of my medical paperwork well documented and have been gone for almost a year, I got one call and I explained my situation and never heard back. I am more interested in this from a biblical standpoint, there is a story of a man of God who is comming back from a journey and he vows to God to kill the very first living thing he encounters, the first thing he encountered was his daughter, God had then proved to him not to make foolish oaths but never the less that oath does not justify him killing his daughter in Gods eyes, making a foolish oath is a sin like anyother, no worse or no better than when you get road rage and flip off another driver. The military has attached a stigmatism to breaking military contracts, which is unfortunate because it is no better or no worse than lots of other things.

 

[Waren7]

Did you goto MEPs and sign a contract? If you did you HAVE to serve, there are ways out of this, but they are not moral.

Unless the National Guard is different?

I'm a DEP'r in the Army and if I fail any of my schools(I have three OSUT, BAT, RIP) my contract is void. But I still have to serve four years in the Army and four in the Army Reserves.

 

[rppearso]

English was never my strong suit in school, so maybe im not expaining things right. I understand that I am wrong to a point (or that my getting out is not moral to a point) but when do you cut your losses when the contract you are in requires you to be in the presence of maliace heavy handed NCO's and officers. Its kinda like signing a contract to be a hitman and then realizing what you did was stupid, obvoiusly it would be even more stupid to continue on with the contract.

 

[rppearso]

One thing is for certian I will never go back in of my own free will, the culture and attitude of the military is compleatly degeneratory to my christian walk.

 

[DesertSAPPER]

Did you ever talk to a chaplain about your issues with the 'heavy-handedness'? It is probably better for everyone that you got out of the military before one of those ruffians had to rely on you for survival. Life is difficult. The military is difficult. God asks you to serve others. In the military, serving is pretty clear. I'm certain that God would be far more apt to let that poor down-trodden PFC into his kingdom, than the NCO that abused his power with that PFC.

If you were asked to do things that are against God, you had available outlets to report such things. If you had a stronger will, you could have had a brilliant ministry to those that were leading ungodly lives.

Would Jesus have gone back on his word? Would Jesus have forsaken the sinners to surround himself with saints?

The military can be frightening, particularly when all the stress is placed on your shoulders.

Where would we be if Jesus didn't allow himself to be crucified, because he was being tormented by too many 'heavy handed' people. Just think of how much closer you could have been to Jesus, for Jesus truly does come to those in need. It's only unfortunate that you have such little faith to think that you need to live in a certain environment around the right people to have Christ.

 

[justanobserver]

Did you ever talk to a chaplain about your issues with the 'heavy-handedness'? It is probably better for everyone that you got out of the military before one of those ruffians had to rely on you for survival. Life is difficult. The military is difficult. God asks you to serve others. In the military, serving is pretty clear. I'm certain that God would be far more apt to let that poor down-trodden PFC into his kingdom, than the NCO that abused his power with that PFC.

If you were asked to do things that are against God, you had available outlets to report such things. If you had a stronger will, you could have had a brilliant ministry to those that were leading ungodly lives.

Would Jesus have gone back on his word? Would Jesus have forsaken the sinners to surround himself with saints?

The military can be frightening, particularly when all the stress is placed on your shoulders.

Where would we be if Jesus didn't allow himself to be crucified, because he was being tormented by too many 'heavy handed' people. Just think of how much closer you could have been to Jesus, for Jesus truly does come to those in need. It's only unfortunate that you have such little faith to think that you need to live in a certain environment around the right people to have Christ.

Trying to rep you for your post but the site wont let me for some reason so I am repping you here. good post.

 

[JoyforJESUS]

Did you ever talk to a chaplain about your issues with the 'heavy-handedness'? It is probably better for everyone that you got out of the military before one of those ruffians had to rely on you for survival. Life is difficult. The military is difficult. God asks you to serve others. In the military, serving is pretty clear. I'm certain that God would be far more apt to let that poor down-trodden PFC into his kingdom, than the NCO that abused his power with that PFC.

If you were asked to do things that are against God, you had available outlets to report such things. If you had a stronger will, you could have had a brilliant ministry to those that were leading ungodly lives.

Would Jesus have gone back on his word? Would Jesus have forsaken the sinners to surround himself with saints?

The military can be frightening, particularly when all the stress is placed on your shoulders.

Where would we be if Jesus didn't allow himself to be crucified, because he was being tormented by too many 'heavy handed' people. Just think of how much closer you could have been to Jesus, for Jesus truly does come to those in need. It's only unfortunate that you have such little faith to think that you need to live in a certain environment around the right people to have Christ.

I am retired from the army, so I do understand what you are saying. Okay. 1. You can go talk with a chaplin, 2. you can go talk with a JAG officer. 3. You can go to the psych clinic and talk to a counselor there. You could try for the good of the service request for discharge. I looked it up and Wikipedia has a decent article about it.

With that said, using your faith as a reason for discharge is a little "iffy" because you were a Christian when you swore your oath.

May God guide you in this and all aspects of your life.
joyce

With that being said,

 

[Kasia]

Or maybe you just haven't tried hard enough to find the right people within your service to surround yourself with? I mean, yeah, you're kind of "stuck" with your NCO's ("let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mt. 16:24), but there are plenty of faithfilled Christians within the military. Two of my closest and dearest friends are Marines and they are probably the most sincere Christians I know. They use the situation they're put in to help minister to those around them. One is in Iraq right now and he writes to tell me how glad he is that he has the opportunity to share Christ through the Bible with those seeking knowledge of Him, and the other sent me similar letters when he was deployed to Djibouti for 7 months.

Truth is, you're going to find that "hard headed" attitude even in the civilian world, so it's not necessarily that you'll be escaping it.

But you know what's best for you. May God bless you on your journey.

 

[rppearso]

I am retired from the army, so I do understand what you are saying. Okay. 1. You can go talk with a chaplin, 2. you can go talk with a JAG officer. 3. You can go to the psych clinic and talk to a counselor there. You could try for the good of the service request for discharge. I looked it up and Wikipedia has a decent article about it.

With that said, using your faith as a reason for discharge is a little "iffy" because you were a Christian when you swore your oath.

May God guide you in this and all aspects of your life.
joyce

With that being said,

Thank you for the support and your support as well Kasia, it boils down to a foolish naive choise to join. I had no idea that the treatment would be so bad as to skirt the edges of human rights violations. I took my grievences to the drill himself and the chaplin but never JAG, I was never physicaly struck, and phycological trauma is difficult to prove. I knew I would have to do early morning PT and the like but I honestly had no idea that the intense hazing and bullying would occue at the level it did and that is probably just me being naive. I have prayed about the fact that I did break an oath but I have not been compeled to go back. I guess I just feel bad for breaking an oath but also disapointed in the military for there deception that led me to join, I guess I answered my own question but it feels good to talk about it with thoes that do not take an immediate nasty stance against me. The truth is I do fine in the civilian world as a degreed chemical engineer sitting at a desk, I have about 2 yrs left to get my PE, then I will likely go for a physics masters.

 

[JoyforJESUS]

Thank you for the support and your support as well Kasia, it boils down to a foolish naive choise to join. I had no idea that the treatment would be so bad as to skirt the edges of human rights violations. I took my grievences to the drill himself and the chaplin but never JAG, I was never physicaly struck, and phycological trauma is difficult to prove. I knew I would have to do early morning PT and the like but I honestly had no idea that the intense hazing and bullying would occue at the level it did and that is probably just me being naive. I have prayed about the fact that I did break an oath but I have not been compeled to go back. I guess I just feel bad for breaking an oath but also disapointed in the military for there deception that led me to join, I guess I answered my own question but it feels good to talk about it with thoes that do not take an immediate nasty stance against me. The truth is I do fine in the civilian world as a degreed chemical engineer sitting at a desk, I have about 2 yrs left to get my PE, then I will likely go for a physics masters.

God Bless you. I worked in Basic Training Units, I know the emotional breakdown and hazing that you go through. I will tell you that God Is With you. He has great Plans for you. May his strength carry you through these days.

God Bless you

 

[DesertSAPPER]

I am glad that you decided to get out when you did. The military is not for everyone. It is fortunate that the system is set up to expose you to intense stress early. It would be truly unfortunate if you weren't burdened through basic, and then were faced with a real enemy that really wants to kill you and your buddies. That is real stress, and no matter what psychological stress was felt in basic training, it can never come close to the stress of combat. You are here, you are breathing, Christ will find another way to use you to serve others. Perhaps your calling is elsewhere, and you can better serve God's mission elsewhere. Many of those that have served in the military are bristling at your insinuation that servicemembers are uncouth and ungodly. This is very far from the truth. Some of the most inspirational Christians are servicemembers. I attribute it to the very real nature of their relationship to God. They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Imagine what that same feeling of needing divine intervention means to believers. My faith has only been strengthened by my trials.

It is good that you have something worthwhile to contribute to society (engineers are always in need). I wish you the best with your chosen path. God Bless.

 

[alonesoldier]

This is ridiculous. If you don't like the life style and your word isn't worth much then get out. But to try and justify it by saying God doesn't approve is pathetic. How many millions of Christians have served in the armed forces. Everyone is wrong but you?

 

[JoyforJESUS]

breaking military contracts

I have a question for fellow christians about getting out of a contract with the military. I have not been able to get a straight answer from other sites on the military due to the hostility I encounter.

I have one more possible solution, that I should have mentioned. Ask if there is anyway that you can become a chaplins assistant. That way you are fulfilling your contract, and still standing in line with your faith.

 

[rppearso]

I actually just got an email from the guard and they are currantly processing my discharge so I am excited. Chaplins assistant is a good idea but as the assistant you are typicaly lower enlisted and still subjected to denigration. I thought about asking for a direct commission into the army corp of engineers, but I looked into it and direct commissions are not given to engineers and the biggest thing is having to redue basic again in the form of OCS. Also even if I were to get direct commissioned I would then be subjected to up to 24 month deployments and that would be terrible for my family and my work as an engineer. If people wanted to be deployed for 24 months they would join the active duty, people join the guard to help out in state emergencys etc.