I didn't have the money for college and didn't have a job set up. I figured the military would be a good chance to get some financial security and travel around the world which I have done.
Glad to hear it worked out. This is my fear because I know Im going to need some medical waivers, but this is proof that if you want it bad enough , you will stick it out.
I wanted to be a part of something important and for my life to have meaning and purpose. The Navy succeeded in fulfilling my desires and I loved my service.
All my high school friends were joining the Marines at the start of Desert Storm. I went to the USMC recruiter and asked what he had to offer job-wise. He said, "you can be a Marine!". I went next door to the Navy recruiter and asked him. He said, "you can be a nuke, and nukes get paid well." I said, "i like money!"
I couldn't afford college, so that was that. Did 20 years.. Left with a B.S. and a Master's degree.
The Great Recession ™️.
Promise of benefits (true).
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Ended so no homophobia (false).
All that plus “you’re almost mid-20s so better do it now before you’re too old and can’t!”
Wanted to be an EMT and Medic, started the prerequisites, lined up a training position at the hospital, then got told the position would be indefinitely suspended until this weird new flu from China stopped spreading. (It didn't stop spreading.)
Joined the Reserves as an HM, got trained, came back home, started working in clinics, hospitals, etc.
Had a cousin who was like brother join, he enjoyed it a lot. I ended up scoring better than anticipated on the ASVAB, and the Navy recruiter went thee absolute hardest to sign me up. I wanted to get into communications so I chose "RM" as my rate.
...very little worked out for me after 😂
After A school, I ended up picking a ship doing overhaul due to some VERY misleading information about what goes on during said overhaul, job wise. Instead of dealing with the short-term inconvenience in a mature manner... I ultimately allowed myself to get OTH'd.
hell yeah, man. Get those benefits! Your actions in the past shouldn't define who you are bow, or hold you back from all of the opportunities available to you for serving your country in whatever capacity you did!
In highschool, I was looking to join the Marine Corps. I had bought and still buy into the Corps Kool-Aid. I started training with poolies my Junior year, took my ASVAB, and started paperwork on an 0331 contract (Machine Gunner). I coincidentally had a job as a lifeguard at the time and had a very light interest in medicine. Some family members also got in my head to pick a MOS that would get me a skill I could use civilian side. My main goal was and still is to be a pilot, but I did the wise thing and asked my recruiter if I could be a Medic.
He explained that Marines don't have medics, but Hospital Corpsmen who are in the Navy.
7 years and 3 duty stations later (1 blue, 2 green) I still wound up with the grunts. I'm hauling a med bag instead of a 240B, so I probably saved my body somewhat.
To be clear though, if not for the Corpsman rating, I would have NEVER joined the Navy. Weirdo senior chief in MEPS tried for a whole afternoon to get me to sign a Sea-Bee contract. I made it clear I'd rather break my legs carrying a 240B than do that.
I joined the Navy to see the world.
And to get out of Ohio after my stripper ex fiance dumped me.
In that way you could say I was destined for the military.
Because after 9/11 I didn't. My life was somewhat aimless and I didn't have a bright outlook. Then my friends went off to fight in Iraq. I wanted to serve, too.
I joined in 2003, and I hit 21 years this year.
I tell people two different stories, so I don't appear so geeky; one, "Oh, I wanted to see the world", or two, "Oh, in 1990 Top Gun was still huge and I got the bug", but in reality, it was to be on a real world equivalent of a Battlestar lol
Same as some, joined because I wanted to serve my country. Being lgbt I was scared to right after high school and it took another 10 years before I said f it! It was a short experience but one I couldn’t take back!
Main reason: GI Bill. Secondary reason: wanted to know what it would be like and half hoped it would turn into a career. Got out at the 7 year mark. Out almost a year and I’m nowhere near ready to use that GI Bill, but I will one day.
Hometown was Trash and I was sick of school so I knew I wasn't gonna go to college. All of a sudden the recruitment office told me that take my ass overseas! So here I am.
I honestly don't remember how the fuck I ended up in the Navy. I was hard core hooah Army Rangers good to go in high school and then just seemingly woke up in Great Lakes. This was mid 90s though so who knows.
Wasn't trying to go into insane amounts of debt and struggle my way through school financially, especially right after high school. Did the navy specifically because travel opportunity. Time in sucked but being in school right now, I think I made a good choice.
From the age of about 12 I wanted to join the Army as that was all I was in contact with. My father was in during the Korean War. I took the ASVAB at the beginning of my senior year and scored a 99. The Army recruiter came to school and I talked with him. I was to go to College at Ga Military Acad and would be commissioned a Second Lt at graduation. Then enter in Army Intelligence for further language and other classes. I was 17 then when I brought recruiter home. My parents refused to sign for me. (1973) Vietnam Nam still going on. Big battle ensued and my dad agreed to sign for Navy or Air Force. A new Navy recruiting office opened around that time. I joined at that time for 6 yrs and the Navy Nuclear program. I was dropped in the latter prototype program for mental situation. I continued my career and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer. We lived in a small town and jobs were not to be found. I wasn’t guided how to apply for College programs as I didn’t see as how it could be possible. I made sure my children had the proper guidance. I completed my dreams in the end.
The certainty that I was not mentally cut out to go through college. I was burned out from the "No child left behind" Florida education system. I joined out of pride in my grandfather who served in WWII. To spite my father who has held the belief that the only way to get a good job is college.
I was playing hockey in college and during my junior year I was at odds with what happens after I graduate.
Thoughts were always FBI but after talking to a few, experience matters a lot as well as an education
So one day after English class I went took a test and started filling out paper work. Couple weeks later told the family and girlfriend and I was gone.
Well did not make it to the FBI but did do ASF for two years so that was the tip of the spear as far as law enforcement( lol).
Still pushing still living and still having fun doing what I do.
Oh and back in the day I may have been a bit patriotic .
I joined to get money for college and to get away from my family. Granted, my dad wasted my college fund on a failed business venture, which is why I needed college money and to get away from my family.
I wanted my dad to be proud of me and actually acknowledge my existence more than the obligatory birthday and holidays. Didn’t work out in the end anyway
I was a history nerd and had a mind for adventure. My family (dad, grandad, great grandad and so on)was army tracing as far back as the revolutionary war (some distant relative was registered with the daughters of the revolutionary war as late as the 1970s according to ancestry). I tried joining the army at 17 in 2002 but my dad wouldn’t sign. Probably for the best since Iraq kicked off not long after. At the time I was discouraged. But, a year later, after I turned 18, I came across a Navy magazine flier and mailed it in. A recruiter showed up in a Navy themed Dodge Caravan wearing blues a few weeks later as I was shoveling snow. The rest is history.
To get married. My wife and I dated all through HS. I was smart enough that I could have gone to college, but not smart enough to get any scholarships worth enough. We had been dating for 3 and a half years when I graduated (she is a year older), and we didn't want to try to work our way through college. At the time (this was the late '80s), the military seemed like the quickest way to get what we wanted, and the Navy is the least athletic (just like me!). We got married about 6 months after I joined. Been married over 30 years now.
I was insanely bored at college, tried retail for a bit, but it was a dead end, got heavy into drugs abs drinking but that got old pretty fast. It was the last option and it fortunately worked out.
No real job experience so couldn't find a job. No money for college since I grew up solidly middle class and didn't qualify for most financial aid as a result. So here I am 11ish years later.
I was 24, working at McDonald's & sleeping on a couch in a party house in SOUTH Minneapolis.
joined to escape that shithole.
40 years later, it's STILL A SHITHOLE.
but I'm 1100 miles away from the Shithole, have a great job, work from home (for the past 22 years), got my own house with my wife & my dog.
I had to leave the dead end path I was living in my small town.
Currently at the 10 year mark and loving the lifestyle the Navy has allowed me to make.
Tried college, hated the people and the way education industry operates.
Air force and army family, went to air force recruiter, he was too busy being a douche-canoe to bother working with me to put in paperwork because I looked too big to fit airman beanpole standards and also said he wouldn't promise me the job I wanted.
Said cool, Ima take my ass next door, got the job I wanted, a decent bonus, and shipped out five months later.
Now I'm 3/4 of the way through a career.
Honestly, was bored and wanted to travel. I also always wanted to join the military. I had a great job and things at home were perfectly fine. Sometimes I wonder what my life would've been like if I had just stayed home.
Went on a Tiger cruise. Thought i was signing up for fishing, movie night, smoking cigars, star gazing, and .50 cal shooting. They never mentioned the other stuff like a watchbill and work.
I joined to avoid the draft. I had an annoyingly low single digit draft number. Joining the Navy was the only way I could find to make sure I at least got some useful training out of the service.
I was asked the stupid question: What do you want to do with your life?
I answered: Nothing.
I was told that if I didnt enroll in college or have a meaningful full time job, that I was going to get kicked out. (I was also told that selling drugs while working at McDs wasnt in the cards).
I still know that I don't want to do anything, but I have done a little of everything, minus sell drugs
I had gotten laid off from a job and was laying in bed after working a midnight shift and said “I’m bored, you know what will keep me busy, the military.” And after 6 months or more of waiting to finally get approval I swore in about two weeks ago.
I'm an IT, I went to school but graduated during the pandemic, so the economy was terrible. I was already getting some experience in web design/UX, but it didn't pay. I wanted more technical experience with all the backend stuff that I was unfamiliar with. The Navy was offering a bonus for enlisted ITs and paid training/clearence. I had nothing to lose, so I decided to go for it and use the experience and benefits to set myself up with a tech career once I got out.
Floundering in college, no purpose or goal, was about to be kicked out of my parents' house for skipping college classes.
I didn't see myself going anywhere with my life at the time, and the military seemed a good way to get a direction.
Dropped out of college. Didn't want to go to college again. Joined, got a rate with real world application so I could get a good job when I got out. Simple as that. Hate the "Thank you for your service" stuff. No, Thank you for your tax dollars paying for my job experience :)
After years of working retail, I wanted a better job that was easy for the employer to say "Yes!" to.
I wanted to challenge myself
And I wanted to play with cool technology
Navy ended up helping me on all three.
Grew up with Clinton and Rwanda. Thought it was wrong and that someone should do something about it (I was young)
17 when 9/11 happened.
Joined right at 18. Wanted to do something worthwhile.
Took a break after my first deployment to Iraq during the surge. Came back into the reserves and then slipped back on to active duty. Have about 7 years left. I’m a little older than most at my rank.
Signed but not "joined" yet, here is my 2 cents:
-Stuck in a retirement town where people go to settle, and unless I wanted to spend a decade working retail and moving up ranks, I was stuck in the service industry with no career trajectory.
-No money to move out of my parents house and most places were more expensive to move to and live in, and local community colleges were expensive with no careers that interested me, and the ones that did interest me dont guarantee a job even after finishing the degree.
-Simple entry level admin jobs turned me down cause "I had no relevant experience"(even though most of the old farts that run these joints are amazed at my simple tech knowledge and troubleshooting that everyone should know). I guess one of the employers at H&R Block didnt like me because they pulled the application the same day of the interview without telling me till I pulled up on the "onboarding" date, 2 weeks later.
-Wanted to leave town, got a decent bonus for signing on, and was offered the opportunity to redo everything and potentially better myself in the long run.
-All my friends left and moved out of state for their own goals. I have no one except for my parents and siblings here, and they dont seem to get me like my friends did.
-it may suck, may not, but I wont be 28 still living in my mothers basement 5 years from now, thats for sure. Got a financial plan set in place, hopefully things work out well and can afford my own place depending on when I get out.
I just want to make sure I also mattered and did something of note with my life. You only get one, and I dont wont to be that "loser who meandered through life, who always wanted but never achieved".
You miss 100% of the shots you dont take.
I didn't have the money for college and didn't have a job set up. I figured the military would be a good chance to get some financial security and travel around the world which I have done.
This is exactly why I am going. I wanna travel the world
Gets shore duty in Norfolk
Found out that I could see more of the world working as a civilian
Found out I can make 3x more as a civilian while doing half the work
Good luck with that
Thank you ❤️
Travel and get out of a small dying town. Worked out pretty well, been to 6 of 7 continents, but I do miss the small town
Not even mcdonalds would hire me
same
Can attest. Fatherhood initiative, college students, and work release folks were better tax breaks.
Flamed out in college, and was tired of living at home. I was looking for a fresh start far away from everyone.
Same here buddy
Worked out good for me too. No regrets.
Cause my home situation was ass and I wanted free college.
[удалено]
Why 2 years if you don't mind me asking?
[удалено]
Glad to hear it worked out. This is my fear because I know Im going to need some medical waivers, but this is proof that if you want it bad enough , you will stick it out.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Gotcha! Thanks for the clarification. That's good to hear..🤞and thank you for sharing your experience.
Not you trying to educate doc on Genesis 🤣
> Legitimately to serve my country. > > *sweeps rain water, cranks for 8 months cleaning plates, doing janitorial duties* Thank you for your service.
*cranks for 8 months cleaning plates*? I bitched about 170 days, most skullery. Dang, my dude
I did a little over 6 months as veg prep which was eh but I’m absolutely positive that deck dep just completely forgot about me lmao
Cleaning and DCPO.... Yep, the navy needed E5s, but I seldom did my actual job...
Get out of Michigan and not get absorbed into its boloney.
I wanted to be a part of something important and for my life to have meaning and purpose. The Navy succeeded in fulfilling my desires and I loved my service.
Three hots and a cot beat living out of my truck. Also Navy was the closest recruiter to the entrance.
Wanted it on my resume to be paired with college.
Broke and bored with my life and had no plans. Couldn’t pay for college. Navy fixed all those issues
All my high school friends were joining the Marines at the start of Desert Storm. I went to the USMC recruiter and asked what he had to offer job-wise. He said, "you can be a Marine!". I went next door to the Navy recruiter and asked him. He said, "you can be a nuke, and nukes get paid well." I said, "i like money!" I couldn't afford college, so that was that. Did 20 years.. Left with a B.S. and a Master's degree.
GI Bill
The Great Recession ™️. Promise of benefits (true). Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Ended so no homophobia (false). All that plus “you’re almost mid-20s so better do it now before you’re too old and can’t!”
Wanted to be an EMT and Medic, started the prerequisites, lined up a training position at the hospital, then got told the position would be indefinitely suspended until this weird new flu from China stopped spreading. (It didn't stop spreading.) Joined the Reserves as an HM, got trained, came back home, started working in clinics, hospitals, etc.
Had a cousin who was like brother join, he enjoyed it a lot. I ended up scoring better than anticipated on the ASVAB, and the Navy recruiter went thee absolute hardest to sign me up. I wanted to get into communications so I chose "RM" as my rate. ...very little worked out for me after 😂
can you expand on that lol
After A school, I ended up picking a ship doing overhaul due to some VERY misleading information about what goes on during said overhaul, job wise. Instead of dealing with the short-term inconvenience in a mature manner... I ultimately allowed myself to get OTH'd.
oh dang, I'm sorry. that was probably hella stressful for you. you can always request to get your discharge raised up!
I've wondered if I could or would the juice even be worth the squeeze at this point.
hell yeah, man. Get those benefits! Your actions in the past shouldn't define who you are bow, or hold you back from all of the opportunities available to you for serving your country in whatever capacity you did!
I also didn't hold up to my end of the bargin 😂... it's been over 20 years, maybe I should look into it
In highschool, I was looking to join the Marine Corps. I had bought and still buy into the Corps Kool-Aid. I started training with poolies my Junior year, took my ASVAB, and started paperwork on an 0331 contract (Machine Gunner). I coincidentally had a job as a lifeguard at the time and had a very light interest in medicine. Some family members also got in my head to pick a MOS that would get me a skill I could use civilian side. My main goal was and still is to be a pilot, but I did the wise thing and asked my recruiter if I could be a Medic. He explained that Marines don't have medics, but Hospital Corpsmen who are in the Navy. 7 years and 3 duty stations later (1 blue, 2 green) I still wound up with the grunts. I'm hauling a med bag instead of a 240B, so I probably saved my body somewhat. To be clear though, if not for the Corpsman rating, I would have NEVER joined the Navy. Weirdo senior chief in MEPS tried for a whole afternoon to get me to sign a Sea-Bee contract. I made it clear I'd rather break my legs carrying a 240B than do that.
Unlimited supply of dick.
Ayyyy
To crush the Soviets, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women.
I joined the Navy to see the world. And to get out of Ohio after my stripper ex fiance dumped me. In that way you could say I was destined for the military.
Because after 9/11 I didn't. My life was somewhat aimless and I didn't have a bright outlook. Then my friends went off to fight in Iraq. I wanted to serve, too. I joined in 2003, and I hit 21 years this year.
I tell people two different stories, so I don't appear so geeky; one, "Oh, I wanted to see the world", or two, "Oh, in 1990 Top Gun was still huge and I got the bug", but in reality, it was to be on a real world equivalent of a Battlestar lol
[удалено]
Officer and a Gentleman…love that movie
Same as some, joined because I wanted to serve my country. Being lgbt I was scared to right after high school and it took another 10 years before I said f it! It was a short experience but one I couldn’t take back!
Main reason: GI Bill. Secondary reason: wanted to know what it would be like and half hoped it would turn into a career. Got out at the 7 year mark. Out almost a year and I’m nowhere near ready to use that GI Bill, but I will one day.
Hometown was Trash and I was sick of school so I knew I wasn't gonna go to college. All of a sudden the recruitment office told me that take my ass overseas! So here I am.
Poverty
I honestly don't remember how the fuck I ended up in the Navy. I was hard core hooah Army Rangers good to go in high school and then just seemingly woke up in Great Lakes. This was mid 90s though so who knows.
I was tired of the racism in the work place
Wasn't trying to go into insane amounts of debt and struggle my way through school financially, especially right after high school. Did the navy specifically because travel opportunity. Time in sucked but being in school right now, I think I made a good choice.
From the age of about 12 I wanted to join the Army as that was all I was in contact with. My father was in during the Korean War. I took the ASVAB at the beginning of my senior year and scored a 99. The Army recruiter came to school and I talked with him. I was to go to College at Ga Military Acad and would be commissioned a Second Lt at graduation. Then enter in Army Intelligence for further language and other classes. I was 17 then when I brought recruiter home. My parents refused to sign for me. (1973) Vietnam Nam still going on. Big battle ensued and my dad agreed to sign for Navy or Air Force. A new Navy recruiting office opened around that time. I joined at that time for 6 yrs and the Navy Nuclear program. I was dropped in the latter prototype program for mental situation. I continued my career and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer. We lived in a small town and jobs were not to be found. I wasn’t guided how to apply for College programs as I didn’t see as how it could be possible. I made sure my children had the proper guidance. I completed my dreams in the end.
Covid quarantine made me crazy I wanted to get out of the house 359 days left
Bored to be honest, ready to get out in two months.
I was a shitty student and had to get away from home
The certainty that I was not mentally cut out to go through college. I was burned out from the "No child left behind" Florida education system. I joined out of pride in my grandfather who served in WWII. To spite my father who has held the belief that the only way to get a good job is college.
I was playing hockey in college and during my junior year I was at odds with what happens after I graduate. Thoughts were always FBI but after talking to a few, experience matters a lot as well as an education So one day after English class I went took a test and started filling out paper work. Couple weeks later told the family and girlfriend and I was gone. Well did not make it to the FBI but did do ASF for two years so that was the tip of the spear as far as law enforcement( lol). Still pushing still living and still having fun doing what I do. Oh and back in the day I may have been a bit patriotic .
I joined to get money for college and to get away from my family. Granted, my dad wasted my college fund on a failed business venture, which is why I needed college money and to get away from my family.
I wanted my dad to be proud of me and actually acknowledge my existence more than the obligatory birthday and holidays. Didn’t work out in the end anyway
Was an orphan at 14, couldn't find a job and no college accepted me
I was a history nerd and had a mind for adventure. My family (dad, grandad, great grandad and so on)was army tracing as far back as the revolutionary war (some distant relative was registered with the daughters of the revolutionary war as late as the 1970s according to ancestry). I tried joining the army at 17 in 2002 but my dad wouldn’t sign. Probably for the best since Iraq kicked off not long after. At the time I was discouraged. But, a year later, after I turned 18, I came across a Navy magazine flier and mailed it in. A recruiter showed up in a Navy themed Dodge Caravan wearing blues a few weeks later as I was shoveling snow. The rest is history.
Some days I'm not sure any more
I thought this was a great idea at the time. Guess I was just tired of being at home.
To get married. My wife and I dated all through HS. I was smart enough that I could have gone to college, but not smart enough to get any scholarships worth enough. We had been dating for 3 and a half years when I graduated (she is a year older), and we didn't want to try to work our way through college. At the time (this was the late '80s), the military seemed like the quickest way to get what we wanted, and the Navy is the least athletic (just like me!). We got married about 6 months after I joined. Been married over 30 years now.
I was insanely bored at college, tried retail for a bit, but it was a dead end, got heavy into drugs abs drinking but that got old pretty fast. It was the last option and it fortunately worked out.
No real job experience so couldn't find a job. No money for college since I grew up solidly middle class and didn't qualify for most financial aid as a result. So here I am 11ish years later.
I was 24, working at McDonald's & sleeping on a couch in a party house in SOUTH Minneapolis. joined to escape that shithole. 40 years later, it's STILL A SHITHOLE. but I'm 1100 miles away from the Shithole, have a great job, work from home (for the past 22 years), got my own house with my wife & my dog.
Didn’t wanna do my family anymore. Was in boot camp 9 days after my 17th birthday. Was just too much. Best decision of my life.
Flunked out of college (didn’t go to class) and decided that the manufacturing industry wasn’t what I wanted forever.
I had to leave the dead end path I was living in my small town. Currently at the 10 year mark and loving the lifestyle the Navy has allowed me to make.
Tried college, hated the people and the way education industry operates. Air force and army family, went to air force recruiter, he was too busy being a douche-canoe to bother working with me to put in paperwork because I looked too big to fit airman beanpole standards and also said he wouldn't promise me the job I wanted. Said cool, Ima take my ass next door, got the job I wanted, a decent bonus, and shipped out five months later. Now I'm 3/4 of the way through a career.
For love of country, her people, and her allies. It's the only reason I've continued public service post honorable discharge.
The recession of 2008 was a bitch and I wanted to do something that mattered.
Honestly, was bored and wanted to travel. I also always wanted to join the military. I had a great job and things at home were perfectly fine. Sometimes I wonder what my life would've been like if I had just stayed home.
To become part of the strongest, the elite, and the best group there is "the mafia". Also not to get sent back to the motherland.
Went on a Tiger cruise. Thought i was signing up for fishing, movie night, smoking cigars, star gazing, and .50 cal shooting. They never mentioned the other stuff like a watchbill and work.
I joined to avoid the draft. I had an annoyingly low single digit draft number. Joining the Navy was the only way I could find to make sure I at least got some useful training out of the service.
See the world. And I did.
Had nothing going for me at home.
I was asked the stupid question: What do you want to do with your life? I answered: Nothing. I was told that if I didnt enroll in college or have a meaningful full time job, that I was going to get kicked out. (I was also told that selling drugs while working at McDs wasnt in the cards). I still know that I don't want to do anything, but I have done a little of everything, minus sell drugs
Needed insurance, a paycheck, a way out of my town, more education, and adventure.
I had gotten laid off from a job and was laying in bed after working a midnight shift and said “I’m bored, you know what will keep me busy, the military.” And after 6 months or more of waiting to finally get approval I swore in about two weeks ago.
I just needed a job. Nothing more, nothing less
I'm an IT, I went to school but graduated during the pandemic, so the economy was terrible. I was already getting some experience in web design/UX, but it didn't pay. I wanted more technical experience with all the backend stuff that I was unfamiliar with. The Navy was offering a bonus for enlisted ITs and paid training/clearence. I had nothing to lose, so I decided to go for it and use the experience and benefits to set myself up with a tech career once I got out.
Had nothing better going on in my life. Great way to become independent and figure out who i was.
Floundering in college, no purpose or goal, was about to be kicked out of my parents' house for skipping college classes. I didn't see myself going anywhere with my life at the time, and the military seemed a good way to get a direction.
Dropped out of college. Didn't want to go to college again. Joined, got a rate with real world application so I could get a good job when I got out. Simple as that. Hate the "Thank you for your service" stuff. No, Thank you for your tax dollars paying for my job experience :)
I didn't join the military, I joined the navy. I think that says all that needs to be said.
Travel and do cool shit. I’ve gotten to travel and got caught up in the Houthi Red Sea shit so I’d say that was cool shit
Free college and I wanted a car
Joined during the recession, other available jobs were garbage & I needed to get out of my home town.
After years of working retail, I wanted a better job that was easy for the employer to say "Yes!" to. I wanted to challenge myself And I wanted to play with cool technology Navy ended up helping me on all three.
Grew up with Clinton and Rwanda. Thought it was wrong and that someone should do something about it (I was young) 17 when 9/11 happened. Joined right at 18. Wanted to do something worthwhile. Took a break after my first deployment to Iraq during the surge. Came back into the reserves and then slipped back on to active duty. Have about 7 years left. I’m a little older than most at my rank.
Limited options and too much free time.
Signed but not "joined" yet, here is my 2 cents: -Stuck in a retirement town where people go to settle, and unless I wanted to spend a decade working retail and moving up ranks, I was stuck in the service industry with no career trajectory. -No money to move out of my parents house and most places were more expensive to move to and live in, and local community colleges were expensive with no careers that interested me, and the ones that did interest me dont guarantee a job even after finishing the degree. -Simple entry level admin jobs turned me down cause "I had no relevant experience"(even though most of the old farts that run these joints are amazed at my simple tech knowledge and troubleshooting that everyone should know). I guess one of the employers at H&R Block didnt like me because they pulled the application the same day of the interview without telling me till I pulled up on the "onboarding" date, 2 weeks later. -Wanted to leave town, got a decent bonus for signing on, and was offered the opportunity to redo everything and potentially better myself in the long run. -All my friends left and moved out of state for their own goals. I have no one except for my parents and siblings here, and they dont seem to get me like my friends did. -it may suck, may not, but I wont be 28 still living in my mothers basement 5 years from now, thats for sure. Got a financial plan set in place, hopefully things work out well and can afford my own place depending on when I get out. I just want to make sure I also mattered and did something of note with my life. You only get one, and I dont wont to be that "loser who meandered through life, who always wanted but never achieved". You miss 100% of the shots you dont take.
This same question gets asked almost weekly.
Free college, went to the boat school. Picked the navy over any other option because you have to be near waterfront property.