Questions on joining the military

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oldcatholicguy said:
This I did not know. That actually sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Standard 5 year obligation like the other academies?
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My son applied for the Naval Academy and missed but was told to apply again next year. Missing was the best thing that could have happened because it led him to dig deeper into the USMMA. Upon graduation, he owed the USMMA 6 years of work in a maritime related field and the Navy (or any other branch he chose) 8 years, running concurrently He chose Navy Reserve (inactive). He had an engineering job with a major East coast shipbuilder two weeks prior to graduation and made good money immediately.

If he had made the Naval Academy, he would have graduated an Ensign and would have spent the next 8 years as a sailor…period.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is an unknown jewel…but it’s much harder to get through.
 
R1ch4rd said:
My son applied for the Naval Academy and missed but was told to apply again next year. Missing was the best thing that could have happened because it led him to dig deeper into the USMMA. Upon graduation, he owed the USMMA 6 years of work in a maritime related field and the Navy (or any other branch he chose) 8 years, running concurrently He chose Navy Reserve (inactive). He had an engineering job with a major East coast shipbuilder two weeks prior to graduation and made good money immediately.

If he had made the Naval Academy, he would have graduated an Ensign and would have spent the next 8 years as a sailor…period.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is an unknown jewel…but it’s much harder to get through.
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I’m going to have to file this info away for when my kids get old enough for college. Would you or your son recommend the USMMA and or the merchant marines for a girl?
 
oldcatholicguy said:
The reason I didn’t bother to respond to your ramblings is because a) you seem to have trouble understanding how not to lie b) you seem to have some severe emotional and possibly mental issues c) your general lack of maturity and d) unlike you I don’t plan on violating forum rules concerning charity toward others. Now, if you feel you can stop acting like a child and post mature comments I might wish to continue our conversation. Otherwise have a good day.
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Well, I wish you would bother to read what I said and consider it. I did not tell one lie. I have no reason to lie. I really wish someone with some pull in the Army would fix this terrible stuff. People are killing themselves over it (among other things).

i forgot to mention the little booty shorts they put you in. You know those real short shorts that girls wear? They yell “nut to butt privates” while you are wearing them. This happens generally every last place you go. I don’t want to fight with anyone who is too scared to NOT adapt to that.

As far as lieing goes… you just told him if he doesn’t finish his contract due to losing a limb he will retain his bonus. That is a lie. You were in combat right? Why lie? I’m sure you know what I am talking about.

In the field, if you get shot, you have to pay out of pocket for new armor if you want it. It is that simple. My cousin went ahead and finished his rotation without new armor after he got hit. Would getting shot by an ak-47 be normal wear and tear? Or is that his fault?

Since you were in a Cav unit, I am guessing you are familiar with everything I am talking about… Why does everyone try to down play it and act like this stuff isn’t happening? You say people have emotional or mental issues when in truth they are just being realistic about things. You are not the only person in the Army that does this.

Do you think all those soldiers killing themselves are mentally or emotionally challenged? Do you really think it is PTSD or nightmares causing it?

Come on man we both know better than that. There is one heck of a lot that needs to be fixed in the Army.

That is why I tell the OP-

You can do A LOT of good as a combat arms officer (especially cav… infantry you will be more lost in the crowd and see slightly less combat). There is one heck of a lot that needs to be fixed we need more Catholics or just Christians in general to be at the top of the food chain or you end up with this stuff going on.

I didn’t lie about anything; that should give you an idea of how much good you can do in there. If you can put up with all this **** you just might be able to change it one day.
 
FaithInTheSon said:
Well, I wish you would bother to read what I said and consider it. I did not tell one lie. I have no reason to lie. I really wish someone with some pull in the Army would fix this terrible stuff. People are killing themselves over it (among other things).

i forgot to mention the little booty shorts they put you in. You know those real short shorts that girls wear? They yell “nut to butt privates” while you are wearing them. This happens generally every last place you go. I don’t want to fight with anyone who is too scared to NOT adapt to that.

As far as lieing goes… you just told him if he doesn’t finish his contract due to losing a limb he will retain his bonus. That is a lie. You were in combat right? Why lie? I’m sure you know what I am talking about.

In the field, if you get shot, you have to pay out of pocket for new armor if you want it. It is that simple. My cousin went ahead and finished his rotation without new armor after he got hit. Would getting shot by an ak-47 be normal wear and tear? Or is that his fault?

Since you were in a Cav unit, I am guessing you are familiar with everything I am talking about… Why does everyone try to down play it and act like this stuff isn’t happening? You say people have emotional or mental issues when in truth they are just being realistic about things. You are not the only person in the Army that does this.

Do you think all those soldiers killing themselves are mentally or emotionally challenged? Do you really think it is PTSD or nightmares causing it?

Come on man we both know better than that. There is one heck of a lot that needs to be fixed in the Army.

That is why I tell the OP-

You can do A LOT of good as a combat arms officer (especially cav… infantry you will be more lost in the crowd and see slightly less combat). There is one heck of a lot that needs to be fixed we need more Catholics or just Christians in general to be at the top of the food chain or you end up with this stuff going on.

I didn’t lie about anything; that should give you an idea of how much good you can do in there. If you can put up with all this **** you just might be able to change it one day.
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You know what. Your right. There’s an ultra top secret document everyone in the Army but you has to sign that states we have to troll internet forums after we get out and lie to civilians. There’s also a super ultra top secret club we have to join which exists for the sole purpose of discrediting you since you seem to be the only person in the world who knows the “truth” about the Army. We even get issued secret decoder rings.
 
oldcatholicguy said:
You know what. Your right. There’s an ultra top secret document everyone in the Army but you has to sign that states we have to troll internet forums after we get out and lie to civilians. There’s also a super ultra top secret club we have to join which exists for the sole purpose of discrediting you since you seem to be the only person in the world who knows the “truth” about the Army. We even get issued secret decoder rings.
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You bothered to act like a child. Did you bother to acknowledge the reality of my statements?

I am not the only one who knows. You know. Why don’t you talk about it? It is the same reason no one else does.

You get issued booty shorts child go snitch on someone.

EDIT: O sorry. Forgot to mention that a ton of them just kill themselves instead of talking about it. Some just deny the truth cough.
 
So far, every time I have posted the truth you have insulted me like a child. I am done talking to you. I have now stooped down to your level I don’t plan on staying here.
 
To the OP -

The reality is we had people killing themselves in training. Some people can not deal with all that stuff that I mentioned (rightfully so, I would not want to be in combat with someone who will put up with it). Some of those people are so brainwashed by the drill sergeants that they actually think they can not get out of the Army without ruining their life.

So they just kill themselves.

Sometimes the drill sergeants wake up to how stupid things have become and kill themselves (happened in my cycle).

There is a LOT of stuff to be fixed. As an officer, you will have the ability to help fix this mess. There is honestly an insane amount of good you can do if you join. It will just be the most annoying and lame experience of your life for the first parts of it.

Remember that for the most part NCOs will treat you like a cop and most privates will be too scared of you to talk to you. If you want to find out the truth as an officer, you will have to think a little outside of the box.

You can not partake in the glory without also partaking in the suffering though right? Good luck with your decision, it is a very tough one. Don’t let anyone oversimplify it to you, they are not trying to look out for you. Many (like that one guy) just want to justify their own actions.
 
Why would any Catholic Christian want to “protect and defend” a country that murders its own unborn children? (I’m a veteran.)
 
boldlygo said:
Why would any Catholic Christian want to “protect and defend” a country that murders its own unborn children? (I’m a veteran.)
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If your a veteran, you are most qualified to answer your own question.
 
boldlygo said:
Why would any Catholic Christian want to “protect and defend” a country that murders its own unborn children? (I’m a veteran.)
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You know as well as I do that there are about 3 main groups of people that run the world.

Ours is by far the best. In the other 2 I would probably be killed for saying the things I have said in this very thread.

Ours is by far the best. I would fight and die to keep my family from being under tyranny you find in China for instance.

I am not saying I disagree with you. I believe there is a lot to fix in this country as well. But do you want to start from scratch? We have the best template in the world here. I think that is worth fighting for. When we are fighting for reasons other than saving lives is when I have a problem.

– I know I am not telling you anything new. These are probably things you used to justify your service and it definitely holds water.
I just wanted to point out the other side of the story.
 
R1ch4rd said:
Things were getting pretty hot. Thought ya might be here too:D:D:D
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Haha. Just doing my duty as an American. If no one talks about it nothing gets fixed. As you can see, plenty think it is just fine the way it is. I’m not saying anyone should be held accountable - just fix it.
 
If you go enlisted in the Army or Marines, especially infantry, be prepared for hazing and a relatively unpleasant life.
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What do you mean by “hazing”? Is this more like practical jokes/lots of pushups or is it something more serious?
 
I was a National Guard medic for many years. It was with an infantry unit. I wouldn’t trade that experience. I met a lot of really great people, and learned a lot of really useful stuff. Regular army is different, though. But my brother has made a great career in the Army while remaining a faithful Catholic. He says you just need to carefully choose who your friends are. While you do get exposed to morally questionable things, I was exposed to greater harm at a secular university and working in business. Let’s face it. We don’t live in a moral, Catholic society. The military reflects that fact, just like state university systems and corporations reflect that fact.
 
TheUserName said:
What do you mean by “hazing”? Is this more like practical jokes/lots of pushups or is it something more serious?
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I had two sons in the Coast Guard and One in the Navy. The sailor grows a 5 o’clock shadow around noon and his drill instructor thought he neglected to shave so he and his shipmates shaved 28 times that afternoon. They caught on to remove the blades from the razors after the first four or five times.The youngest in the Coast Guard was waken, along with his fellow trainees, at 1 AM by his DI who wanted a sand castle built in the middle of his barracks. They emptied their sea bags, went to the beach, filled them with sand and built the sand castle. When it was finished, the DI told them now they better get ready for inspection and he better not find one grain of sand. They don’t joke in boot camp, they play for real, preparing you for a very real war…and yes, there will be push ups, almost to the point of vomiting. They laugh about that part now, but not the war part…
 
FaithInTheSon:

If you ever want a place to go talk about it many of the veterans I know have found the Vet Centers to be very warm and compassionate.
 
TheUserName said:
I’m considering joining the U.S. military (if I can get in shape, haha). I’m a19 year old man and would probably go through ROTC, but I have a few questions first. I’d really like to hear from those recently or currently in the military:
I’m considering
Army enlisted, probably military police or EOD.
Army officer, probably some combat arms branch
Army JAG, but I’m concerned about what “family law” means after DADT repeal.
Marine officer, probably some combat arms branch
I’m open to other suggestions

So here are my questions:
1: Putting aside just war issues (I’ll get to those in a minute) what is the general moral environment like? Remember I’d be one of the younger guys.

2:Moral issues again: Right now I’m in college but DON’T live in a dorm, and it seems that, other than the ocassional secularist political appeal, there isn’t that much moral risk. This is probably because I avoid any and all parties, drinking, dirty materials, lewdness, etc, and am not that talkative. I’m wondering if the military is like that, where I can avoid the stuff?

3: Are there any other significant moral risks, particularly with sins of the flesh? I got over impurity a few years ago and really want to stay over it.

4: Less serious issue: I’m a geeky engineering major. I’m big, and I used to be in to wrestling and the like, but I’m still fairly nerdy. Should that be cause for concern?

5:Just war issues: I know military service in general is good, but what would be the considerations if a war was unjust? What if the role was primarily a peacekeeping/counter-insurgency after the inital attack? Please, cite a good source, I’d rather not rely on speculation on this point.

6:JAG-specific: What does “family law” entail, and is it mandatory or do I pick an area of specialty?
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After reading your post I don’t think you would be a good fit for the military. I served four years in the Army and 4 years in the army reserve. Just my 2 cents.
 
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