You can login if you already have an account or register by clicking the button below.
Registering is free and all you need is a username and password. We never ask you for your e-mail.
Ironically, joining the Army. It had never been an intention of mine, and it was almost an act of desperation and abandonment at the time. Even when I was on my way to basic training, I strongly doubted it would be a career. That said, it wasn't the worst place to spend my early- to mid-twenties. It provides on-the-job lessons in teamwork, stress management, safety, money management, etc. Admittedly, some of those lessons are from seeing how not to do things from the other dumb privates.
The greatest benefit, though, would be education. In the US (for any international voaters), education is generally not provided gratis beyond secondary education. Scholarships exist both for merit and those in need, but most of these organizations are private foundations and require reams of paperwork to apply for each one. However, any servicemember (Army, Airforce, Navy, Marines, and maybe Coast Guard) who has served at least 2 years after 2001 (I believe) and left with an honorable discharge is eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition assistance (so long as they hadn't used the previous version of the tutiion assistance -- the Montgomery GI Bill). If I remember correctly, it provides up to the highest in-state tuition rate for your state of residence (payable to the university) as well as certain allowances that are paid the veteran (housing allowance, etc.). With it, I was able to return to the university I had left and finish the degree I was previously pursuing, all without incurring any debt through student loans. Also, being a little older, a little more focused really helped.
The only lasting costs of being a soldier for me were a tricky knee, a trickier shoulder, an inguinal hernia (fixed via surgery at no cost to me), a late start in the career I am pursuing (which is slightly different than what it would've been had I stayed anyway), and having to answer the same questions over and over again (which isn't that bad--more annoying because it can get repetititve and my stories aren't very entertaining).
Upon review, I notice that I really seem to like parenthesis. Sorry for the mess, anyone who suffered through all that.
view the rest of the comments →
[–] robotATTACK 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Ironically, joining the Army. It had never been an intention of mine, and it was almost an act of desperation and abandonment at the time. Even when I was on my way to basic training, I strongly doubted it would be a career. That said, it wasn't the worst place to spend my early- to mid-twenties. It provides on-the-job lessons in teamwork, stress management, safety, money management, etc. Admittedly, some of those lessons are from seeing how not to do things from the other dumb privates.
The greatest benefit, though, would be education. In the US (for any international voaters), education is generally not provided gratis beyond secondary education. Scholarships exist both for merit and those in need, but most of these organizations are private foundations and require reams of paperwork to apply for each one. However, any servicemember (Army, Airforce, Navy, Marines, and maybe Coast Guard) who has served at least 2 years after 2001 (I believe) and left with an honorable discharge is eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition assistance (so long as they hadn't used the previous version of the tutiion assistance -- the Montgomery GI Bill). If I remember correctly, it provides up to the highest in-state tuition rate for your state of residence (payable to the university) as well as certain allowances that are paid the veteran (housing allowance, etc.). With it, I was able to return to the university I had left and finish the degree I was previously pursuing, all without incurring any debt through student loans. Also, being a little older, a little more focused really helped.
The only lasting costs of being a soldier for me were a tricky knee, a trickier shoulder, an inguinal hernia (fixed via surgery at no cost to me), a late start in the career I am pursuing (which is slightly different than what it would've been had I stayed anyway), and having to answer the same questions over and over again (which isn't that bad--more annoying because it can get repetititve and my stories aren't very entertaining).