I'm Thinking of Joining the Navy: Good or Bad Idea?

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:41pm

Tomorrow I'll be turing 17, and for a while I've been seriously considering joining the Navy. I have so many things that I want to do college wise; but unfortuantely I don't have the money, best of grades, or a strong parental backing to do this. I'm wondering if it may be a good idea to enlist in the army, serve my time and have college payed for afterwords. Does this sound like a naive idea? Any advice about this subject would be helpful.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:46pm

Updated On: 1/24/09 at 06:46 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:46pm

I was in it when John Paul Jones was around but it has probably changed drastically since than

You will see a lot of the world & having college paid for in the process is great.

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:49pm

I'm really into photography and journalism, so I was hoping to look into a field like that. I'm also into the performing arts, but I'm betting they wouldn't need a Nellie Forbush to entertain the crowds

[artscallion]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:50pm

My nephew joined the airforce for that very reason. He thought, "this is a ground war. They won't send Airforce people." This assumption was affirmed by the recruiters. They sent him anyway, and immediately. They kept him there. Chewed him up. Spit him out. Then gave him a discharge on a trumped up charge just before he would have been enlisted long enough to qualify for anything like tuition or veteran's benefits. He never set foot in a plane or a college classroom and he's a mess from what he went through over there.

Find another way up and out.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:51pm

Photographers mate was always a hard thing to get into. It may be different now. Journalism would be great if you could get it

Good luck whatever you do.

[mominator]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:56pm

Have you checked out the ROTC program? College, books fees, and most everything else all paid for PLUS you go in as an officer!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:57pm

People who enlist in the Armed Forces to "pay for college" and then complain that they were sent into combat make me furious. The Army (Air Force, Navy, Marines) are there to fight wars. If you go into it with any other assumption you are wrong.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 6:57pm

Updated On: 1/24/09 at 06:57 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:02pm

does this sound like a naive idea?

yes.

[mominator]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:04pm

Very true JoeK, but IF someone wants to serve the ROTC program is the best way. You get your education up front (my son had a dual major of PoliSci and Journalism) He is now 2nd PA officer and commanding officer of Media events at a USAF major base in CA. He knows that he may deploy, but feels it was worth it

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:11pm

That's great- I think it's a most admirable decision- but I get so frustrated when I hear people complain that they didn't enlist to fight a war or simalr crap.

[artscallion]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:14pm

I agree with you, Joe. I'm not complaining on his behalf. I thought he was joining for misguided reasons and told him so. I also told him that I thought he was fooling himself if he thought military service was a free ride to anything. The choice comes with responsibilities and consequences. He didn't listen and he endured both. I tell this story only as an example for Brina.
::edited for clarity::

Updated On: 2/29/08 at 07:14 PM

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:20pm

I agree with you JoeKv99, if I do this I understand that I would be fighting and I'd be serving my country first before my career.

And secondly I want to thank everyone for their feedback, especially Papa's. A bit harsh perhaps but I know he's probably right. To be perfectly honest this whole college search thing has been a nightmare, and it's really been reflecting on my personal life and my schoolwork. It's like I try so hard to get things right (school-wise) but I can never please my father; and sometimes I wonder if being apart of the military would finally make him proud of me.

[midnghtdolphin]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:23pm

i'm sorry, i have to add my two cents here. i wouldn't. i've known way to many guys that have come back from iraq messed up (my ex being one of them... and yes, we were together while he was there.) and if you're there, it's not only hard on you, but it's hard on everyone that you care about too. i have way too many friends that came home so different... and not in a good way.

[mominator]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:26pm

What ever you do don't do it to please someone else. This is a hard choice, and not one to be made quickly.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 7:46pm

Updated On: 1/24/09 at 07:46 PM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 11:55pm

you mention the Army and the Navy. The Navy would be safer at this point. But, I can also tell you that while both have a photography MOS, those "schools" are usually booked up for a long time, so chances of you doing that in the military are slim to none.

Frankly if it's all about money, work AND go to school.....makes much more sense than the possibility of not coming home alive or in one piece

[slimandslam]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 12:12am

I second mominator. Whatever you do, do it for yourself, your own goals, and your own sense of right and wrong.

That, more than anything else, will (eventually) make your father proud of you. (And if it doesn't, that's his problem, not yours.)

[Elphaba]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 11:40am

and.....your value and worth in this lifetime should not be decided by whether your father is proud of you.
We come into this world alone, and we leave alone.....the only one you have to truly be honest to is yourself, and it is the one person that we most often try to fool.

[Yawper]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 12:49pm

If, on the other hand, you're looking for a sense of structure in your life you might also check out the Coast Guard.