Ever ask yourself... Why did I join the Armed Services of The United States of America? Well, why did you join up?

[The Rooster]

27 minutes ago, Gear Fanatic said:

I know some people who have had positive experiences, but maybe it’s because I’m bias, today the military seems to be shown in a negative light which may be why I am here asking questions, I have no doubt there are great opportunities in the armed forces, but maybe it is not my path, like I said I still have plenty of time to think it through. Again at the end of the day It’s whatever I end up choosing. Thank you for your input that cleared up a lot for me. P.S. I would love to here the Rudolph Hess story!

Yea its whatever you end up choosing, and if you have high enough scores on the entrance exam.

You can choose whatever you want, but youll

need the aptitude and inner perseverance to do it. Study and start working out.

This is def not the right thread for these questions you are posting.

See the title.

Thank you.

[The Rooster]

Gear Fanatic, re read Neil Albaughs post #19.

Your asvab scores or whatever they use as an entrance exam now a days,

will determine what jobs you will qualify for. So study. Reading and comprehension

are as important as math skills. If you score low on the asvab, you too could be

cleaning the heads 6 decks down on an aircraft carrier.

The entrance exam determines what you can or cannot do in the military.

Get a high enough score, and all the doors are open.

[Gear Fanatic]

Similar to his experience, I remember when my uncle took a similar placement test in the marines he scored so high he had the ability to pick any job he really wanted and wanted. I am very strong in the subjects mentioned and really in school in general, it’s not the problem. Just trying to gauge the pros and cons between a military tenure and  going into the same field in the civilian form (aviation) thanks for the advice.

[Brig]

On 4/22/2025 at 11:44 PM, Gear Fanatic said:

Hey ya’ll, I know this isn’t necessarily the right thread to post this in, but you are all experienced and probably the best audience for the question. Do I just started high school and have thought about the army as career path for aviation specifically. Many of my relatives have been in the military from my great grandfather who was a colonel in Korea to my uncles who were in OIF. So it runs in the family. My question is, why should I join the military? Benefits these days don’t seem to make a difference, heard terrible stuff from all my relatives about how messed up the VA system is and how it doesn’t provide like they thought it would. I’ve also learned that most people seem to join the military because they don’t have purpose or any other career options which is not my case. I’ve been looking at joining the Marines for aviation, or going through the AF academy and getting college payed for. Otherwise my option was Cal Poly SLO for mechanical engineering. I’ve also seen how it destroys people, my uncle was an MP in Baghdad and he is wrecked, and I don’t my want to turn out that way. I know that there are great career options through the military but I’m still on the edge as I have many options. Thanks!

 

I'm just going to say it... it sounds like you've bought into every cliche and negative stereotype in the book. This is bothersome considering you have 700+ posts on this community full of veteran stories and veteran members who have proven otherwise. We're not all broken, PTSD-wrecked, VA-abused individuals. There's a lot of sour grapes among veterans who did not get the career they dreamed of, or who feel entitled to milk the taxpayers for as much as possible just because they rode a desk for Uncle Sam for a few years.

 

There are absolutely benefits that are not easily obtained elsewhere...college debt is a very real, very significant problem in this country, and the military takes this concern off your plate - both with the Montgomery GI Bill after service, and full tuition if you attend while you're serving - this tuition assistance can over one degree at each level does not count against your GI Bill...meaning, if you plan accordingly, you can easily walk away with a doctorate completely paid for. And, you don't have to attend any service academies to accomplish this.

 

Rent, food, and full medical/dental/optical coverage at 18 years old is something few dare dream of. You get all of this, on top of free technical training, and it all comes with a paycheck. Since your room and food are all covered, that's all money in your pocket. You can do what most 18 year olds do and p*ss it away guilt-free on booze and pizza, since you have no expenses outside of a phone bill, or you could start building a nest egg or investing it at a young age.

 

As others have said, the military will give you opportunities you would have to pay for elsewhere, and many cannot be bought. I have snowshoed under the aurora borealis in Norway, swam in the Dead Sea of Israel, trekked the Mojave Desert, helped give an entire generation of Afghan women an education, given Saddam Hussein the :) in person and celebrated his death in the streets with the Iraqi people who were grateful to be free of his tyranny, and personally influenced and helped turn 17,000 entry level men and women into United States Marines.

 

We can't offer you anything the other branches don't also have, other than the opportunity to be a United States Marine. I will say that if you are doubtful of wanting to serve, then maybe the Marine Corps is not the place for you. Which is fine, as the other services also offer aviation opportunities. Deciding whether or not to join is a deeply personal decision made for deeply personal reasons, so I will not stand here and tell you that you should or should not join the military. However, Also, there are plenty of ways to serve outside of the military, and I will say that you absolutely find a way to serve even if it is outside of the military.

[Gear Fanatic]

I appreciate your honesty. You probably are right in the sense that I’ve been misguided in my sense of the subject, but again, that’s why I’m here asking questions about it. I apologize if I came off in bad way regarding my experience with family members and there post military life. That has been my experience so far and that’s why I came here to ask about the good experiences from other veterans because I know there’s plenty of benefits from the service. I really did not mean to be insulting. As it has been said by other members including yourself it’s a personal decision, I am someone who thinks things through thoroughly and I want to have all the information at hand before I make that choice. And that’s why I came here because I know there are plenty of vets such as yourself who would be willing to assist. Thank you for the response from everyone.

[The Rooster]

I remember being a passenger on several Huey flights where I would sit there and marvel at the fact I was on a helicopter,

wearing the Armys clothes carrying the Armys gear and weapon and being paid to do it!

There is no where else I can think of where you can do things that the vast majority of people never get to do in their

entire lives, and get paid to do it! I personally will never be able to shake the experience. I was never sent to combat,

never got hurt seriously while training and I had a lot of fun. I learned a lot about people and about myself.

Being in there was a gift. Nothing prepared me for it. No body I talked to, movies TV books... advice etc etc.... nothing

was like I thought it was going to be..... The only way to really know is to join up. I had not realized that the military

is a whole separate society un to itself. And I had no idea I was going to be just a number. Just another body.

NBC training... eye opener.... lol

It was sobering to say the least. If you are thinking about joining, start doing pushups and running.

You have to be in good shape just to wear the gear. the body armor etc etc.

 Hopefully some other vets will weigh in with their experiences... and we can get back on the topic...

Thank you.

 

 

[Gear Fanatic]

Good thing I run cross country…

[Gear Fanatic]

Agreed, sorry I kind of took over the topic with my questions. Thanks for the insight everyone who answered and if anyone had any more advice or anything else to say I wouldn’t mind a PM. Thanks

[DD937]

Blah, blah, blah Gear Fanatic are you going to talk this stuff until you are 35 or are you going to join? There is risk yes but the Armed Forces will present you with many opportunities which may only be limited by your attitude. Is there a risk that you will run into really bad leaders yes I saw a few but joining the Navy was the best decision I ever made. Sorry about my brusqueness but I think you are overthinking this and being swayed by negative thinkers.  

[Neil Albaugh]

On 4/22/2025 at 7:50 PM, Neil Albaugh said:

I debated with myself about publishing this story here. I did not want to appear to be an egotistic A-H but I thought that telling a realistic, personal story about what it was like to enlist in the US military may help some young men make the same decision... so here goes.

 

Enlisting In the United States Army 1960

 

Since I had made a mess of my college career, it was clear that I could not continue to live at home much longer. I needed to get a job of some sort and provide for myself like a grownup.

Earlier I had visited the local US Army recruiter in Buckhannon, WV and we had discussed options that I might consider. In those days- 1960- young men had two options concerning the military. They could voluntarily enlist for three years or they could wait to be drafted, a two year term. Some used another option and enlisted in the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, or Air Force. None of these had a draft. When it came to the Army, there were definite advantages to enlisting- having some choice in what type of job you wanted. There was no guarantee but it was better than being assigned at random.

 

After a couple of weeks without any decision being made on my part, I received a call from the recruiter asking to see me to discuss what he thought might be a good opportunity. I saw him that afternoon in his office and he explained that the Army had just opened up a new field and was looking for qualified applicants for training in “Nuclear Weapons Ordnance Electronics”. To make their offer more enticing, they offered a written guarantee that if I were to enlist, I would be sent to that school- providing that I could pass the required tests, of course.

 

This was an exciting opportunity; I had no doubt that it was something I could do, and do well. I had been involved in electronics since the seventh grade as a hobby and had had my amateur radio license since the start of high school. I discussed this new development with my Mother at home in the evening (my Dad was in Korea at that time) and we agreed that it sounded almost perfect for me. The next day, the 18th of August, 1960, I signed the necessary papers to enlist in the US Army. Since I would be required to have a security clearance, I had to provide additional paperwork showing everywhere I had ever lived, had a job, or visited a foreign country. Since I had grown up as an Army Brat, living all over the US and even Japan and Germany- plus traveling extensively in Europe, getting this information together was not easy! We reconstructed a timeline and we discovered that I had attended twelve different schools.

 

After submitting my documents I was told by the recruiting Sergeant to report to an Army Recruiting Main Station in Fairmont, WV, about 35 miles away in a few days. At home I prepared to leave, saying goodbyes to my family and friends and wondering a bit apprehensively about what lay in the future for me. On the designated morning, I left home on a bus to Fairmont carrying a small sports bag with a change of cloths and a shaving kit.

The Army Recruiting Main Station was a one story yellow glazed-brick building with a small group of young men wandering around in front on the sidewalk. From my experience of being a Brat, I knew that the proper thing to do first was to report for duty. I went up the few steps into the front door, and announced to the Sergeant behind the front desk that I was “Neil Page Albaugh” and that I was reporting to the Station as ordered. He extended his hand and took the paperwork from me, looked at it briefly and said to wait. So I joined the small crowd milling around outside.

 

After a while that Sergeant came out and formed us into two lines and we stumbled along into the front door, down a hallway into a large auditorium. We were seated for a short time before an officer came into the room. The Sergeant shouted “Attention!” and we all shuffled to our feet uncertainly. The officer explained that we were about to enlist in the United States Army and with that came grave responsibilities, etc, etc. We all raised our right hands and repeated the oath to defend our country “So help us, God”. Congratulations, you are now members of the United States Army. We all looked at each other, sensing that something had changed within us.

 

The next step was to take a written test- I assumed this was to access our level of education and basic learning ability. We would be taking many other tests later but this was the first one. An enlisted man passed out a test sheet, a pencil, and a sheet of blank paper to each of us. We were told to complete this test in a certain amount of time- I forget how many minutes we were allotted- to guess at the “best answer” if we did not know it, and to do any needed calculations or other work on the blank paper provided and both would be collected at the end of the test and graded for accuracy.

 

A timer was set and we were ordered to “Begin”. The test involved English language usage, basic math, spacial relations - visualizing geometric shapes in different orientations- and questions with hypothetical situations designed to test our judgment and ability to reason. Other questions related to basic electricity and mechanics. The test was pretty easy and I finished early. After going back over my answers to check for dumb mistakes, I sat waiting for the test period to be over. Sitting in my chair was boring so, to amuse myself and help pass the time, I used the blank sheet of paper to sketch a few drawings and explore a couple of cartoon ideas.

 

Finally the test time expired and we were instructed to write our names at the top of our test sheets and our blank pages, “last name first and first name last”. We would get used to this way of writing our names for the next few years. Our tests and papers were collected and the enlisted man disappeared down the hallway. We talked about the test among ourselves and I was a little surprised that some of the guys had struggled to complete it. We were left alone for a short time and then the door burst open. “I'd like to see the test score of the man who had time to do this!” he announced to us all and he held up a piece of paper to show the offending work-- it was my blank page with my drawings! I wisely kept quiet and he stormed out, back down the hallway.

 

After siting in the auditorium for a long time, the door opened and the Sergeant read off my name from a paper he was holding in his hand. I rose from my seat, wondering why I was being singled out, and followed the Sergeant down the hall and into an office with “Captain Gerard B Overman, Commanding” written on the door. Whatever was about to happen was something important so I stood at attention in front of his desk and waited. Captain Overman introduced himself as the Commanding Officer of the US Army Recruiting Main Station,Fairmont, held up my test and scratch paper and asked me if it was mine. I swallowed hard and answered “Yes, Sir”.

 

“Albaugh,” he said, “In my whole career in this job I have never seen anyone achieve a perfect score in this test.” Maybe the relief showed on my face; even the Sergeant smiled.

Next month my Dad in Korea received a letter from this Captain reaffirming what he had told me and he also mentioned my later test scores and he offered his congratulations. He confirmed that the Nuclear Weapons Ordnance Electronics Course that I had signed up for would commence on October 21st. It was a very considerate thing for him to do.

 

All of us collected our bags and were placed on a Greyhound bus to Fort Knox for Basic Training, a 10 week training period for young civilians to learn how to become soldiers.

 

And so it began.....

 

 

I'll add the letter that Capt Overman wrote to my Dad.

 

[DD937]

Gear Fanatic get tested and see what is offered. If the recruiter makes you feel like a pushy used car sales man walk away. find someone else there are recruiters who are passionate about fitting you into the right contract. How do I know this? by a gift of God I met this man and he did not betray me in any way.period,,, 

[Gear Fanatic]

I started looking into it a little more and looking at recruiting offices in the area. I also interviewed a Marine this weekend and asked what compelled  him to join and all that kinda stuff. He came from a. Long line of marines from ww1-OIF so it didn’t apply as much to my situation. He was still SUPER interesting to talk to and all the stories he had were great. I’m only a freshmen so I have some time, but I will definetly look into getting tested. That would be great. Thanks.

[DD937]

GF .  

You are young and are going to have to blaze your own trail. My grandfathers bother was an ambulance driver in WW1, My grandmas brother was ww2 infantry my dads brother was USMC fire control and my cousin was VN infantry replacement. and my dad volunteered for Korea and ended up jumping into Alaska. At 18 I wasn't having any of that sni+ I joined the Navy and they introduced me to Typhoons and the Hothie grandparents but still I could have not made a better decision to join anything in my short life.

[Dave]

7 hours ago, Gear Fanatic said:

I started looking into it a little more and looking at recruiting offices in the area. I also interviewed a Marine this weekend and asked what compelled  him to join and all that kinda stuff. He came from a. Long line of marines from ww1-OIF so it didn’t apply as much to my situation. He was still SUPER interesting to talk to and all the stories he had were great. I’m only a freshmen so I have some time, but I will definetly look into getting tested. That would be great. Thanks.

 

There's no harm in asking questions, and if you can't ask them to a bunch of veteran (and active duty) collectors, you'll lose a lot of possible insight.  🙂

 

At any one point in time, there are about 1.3 million people serving on active duty in the US military. Those 1.3 million people come from every walk of life, every culture, every religion, race, ethnicity, belief system, upbringing, reason for joining...you name it. Every one of them is different. Those 1.3 million people will have vastly different experiences in the military, and those experiences will grow even more different the longer they remain in the service. 

 

In my 23 years, I never had to eat an MRE (I tried one, once, because I was curious while stationed at the Naval Academy). I also never slept in a tent. I was never shot at. I'll fully admit that I had 600-thread-count sheets and a 3-inch foam topper on my beds on the ships where I served. I also always had a king size pillow. I did use a "woobie" to sleep with, but it wasn't out of any particular lack of anything else...I thought it was comfortable and there were only two nights a week I actually slept in my sheets (I usually slept on top...it was easier if I had to jump out of bed). One of my hobbies on my last deployment to the Middle East was hanging out with our staff judge advocate after dinner and chasing around the aircraft carrier to see who still had ice cream available. :)

Did I have stressful times? Sure did. I served with some real winners too. I've been yelled at, sworn at, had things thrown at me, and worked for 12 months for an immediate boss who literally never said a word to me...even though I saw him 20 times a day as he walked by my desk outside his office door. I also participated in hundreds, maybe a thousand, combat-like scenarios, including live fire ones, that were both stressful and exciting at the same time. I spent many, many months at sea, patrolling for "bad people" and ensuring the freedom of navigation for thousands of ships as they transited around the earth, making the world's economy work. I also had the unique opportunity to be illegally dismissed from the military, with my wife bursting into tears as the verdict was read while I stood at rigid attention in the courtroom (it was later overturned, but it took over six years...)

What were the most amazing times? I got to see some really cool things and visit some really cool places I'd never get to go to otherwise. I've been to India, nearly every country in the Middle East, most countries in Europe, was in London seven times, met my future wife while in school, got to live in Japan and travel all over Asia, have four kids on the military's dime, live in some really neat locations in the US and provide a neat experience for my kids in their formative years. Most importantly, was interacting with and having a positive effect on the lives of countless Sailors and Marines. I vividly remembered my dad's stories of his division officers and department heads while he was in the Navy during the Korean War and I felt that if I could have those memories as positive for the people that worked for and with me....that's an awesome privilege. 

 

I retired and leveraged my experience into a second career, while appreciating my retirement pension and my VA disability. Plus, I've had awesome experiences with VA medical...I dare say life-saving. No issues at all and I am exceptionally grateful for it. 

 

So...long story even longer...everyone's experiences will vary. I had some bad events in my career, but overall, I am beyond privileged to have spent the years I did in uniform. For my kids who are able to join the military, I highly encourage it...though it has to be their decision in the end. 

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

 

 

 

[Gear Fanatic]

It sure did help, thank you, I am definetly considering it as a major option but want to have all the info before I make a decision. Thanks for your input!

[P-59A]

     I asked my Grandpa why he enlisted in the US Navy in 1940. During the depression he did a two year deal with the CCC. That ended in 1940. He told me he enlisted in the Navy because they offered 3 hot's and a cot. Little did he know that a year later he would find himself at Pearl Harbor. I then asked him why he stayed for a full 20. He told me that compared to the farm life he grew up doing the Navy was the easiest work he had ever done.

     Different times have different realities.

     As for me, My grandpa nudged me towards the Navy after high school in 80. I did well on paper but my uncorrected eyesight settled the matter. I was gonna do a West pack with my buddy. They took him and he never spoke to me after that. O Well!

[Kurt Barickman]

On 4/26/2025 at 10:42 PM, Gear Fanatic said:

I appreciate your honesty. You probably are right in the sense that I’ve been misguided in my sense of the subject, but again, that’s why I’m here asking questions about it. I apologize if I came off in bad way regarding my experience with family members and there post military life. That has been my experience so far and that’s why I came here to ask about the good experiences from other veterans because I know there’s plenty of benefits from the service. I really did not mean to be insulting. As it has been said by other members including yourself it’s a personal decision, I am someone who thinks things through thoroughly and I want to have all the information at hand before I make that choice. And that’s why I came here because I know there are plenty of vets such as yourself who would be willing to assist. Thank you for the response from everyone.

You think the military is shown in bad light today?????? Go back to the latter 1970s and early 1980s.....hardly anyone of us were joining but I did. Post Vietnam vibes.

 

Kurt

[USMCR79]

On 5/1/2025 at 6:25 PM, Dave said:

 

There's no harm in asking questions, and if you can't ask them to a bunch of veteran (and active duty) collectors, you'll lose a lot of possible insight.  🙂

 

At any one point in time, there are about 1.3 million people serving on active duty in the US military. Those 1.3 million people come from every walk of life, every culture, every religion, race, ethnicity, belief system, upbringing, reason for joining...you name it. Every one of them is different. Those 1.3 million people will have vastly different experiences in the military, and those experiences will grow even more different the longer they remain in the service. 

 

In my 23 years, I never had to eat an MRE (I tried one, once, because I was curious while stationed at the Naval Academy). I also never slept in a tent. I was never shot at. I'll fully admit that I had 600-thread-count sheets and a 3-inch foam topper on my beds on the ships where I served. I also always had a king size pillow. I did use a "woobie" to sleep with, but it wasn't out of any particular lack of anything else...I thought it was comfortable and there were only two nights a week I actually slept in my sheets (I usually slept on top...it was easier if I had to jump out of bed). One of my hobbies on my last deployment to the Middle East was hanging out with our staff judge advocate after dinner and chasing around the aircraft carrier to see who still had ice cream available. :)

Did I have stressful times? Sure did. I served with some real winners too. I've been yelled at, sworn at, had things thrown at me, and worked for 12 months for an immediate boss who literally never said a word to me...even though I saw him 20 times a day as he walked by my desk outside his office door. I also participated in hundreds, maybe a thousand, combat-like scenarios, including live fire ones, that were both stressful and exciting at the same time. I spent many, many months at sea, patrolling for "bad people" and ensuring the freedom of navigation for thousands of ships as they transited around the earth, making the world's economy work. I also had the unique opportunity to be illegally dismissed from the military, with my wife bursting into tears as the verdict was read while I stood at rigid attention in the courtroom (it was later overturned, but it took over six years...)

What were the most amazing times? I got to see some really cool things and visit some really cool places I'd never get to go to otherwise. I've been to India, nearly every country in the Middle East, most countries in Europe, was in London seven times, met my future wife while in school, got to live in Japan and travel all over Asia, have four kids on the military's dime, live in some really neat locations in the US and provide a neat experience for my kids in their formative years. Most importantly, was interacting with and having a positive effect on the lives of countless Sailors and Marines. I vividly remembered my dad's stories of his division officers and department heads while he was in the Navy during the Korean War and I felt that if I could have those memories as positive for the people that worked for and with me....that's an awesome privilege. 

 

I retired and leveraged my experience into a second career, while appreciating my retirement pension and my VA disability. Plus, I've had awesome experiences with VA medical...I dare say life-saving. No issues at all and I am exceptionally grateful for it. 

 

So...long story even longer...everyone's experiences will vary. I had some bad events in my career, but overall, I am beyond privileged to have spent the years I did in uniform. For my kids who are able to join the military, I highly encourage it...though it has to be their decision in the end. 

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

 

 

 

Reading the part of stressful times.....Roger Hilsman author of American Guerrilla recalled from his West Point days that he determined that "There were more Horse's Asses in the Army than Horses"...I suspect that was true for the Navy.

[Chuckman1108]

My family had people serve going back as far as the French and Indian War, in every conflict except the Spanish American War.  Both grandfathers served, my dad retired from the Marines (1954-75), multiple cousins, uncles served.  No one told me I had to, but it was "in" me.  Plus the 80s were my formative years...Civil Air Patrol, cool war movies, Grenada/Panama, my mentor after my father died was my neighbor, a retired Army Special Forces soldier and our high school history teacher.

 

My route was a tad different.  I graduated from college, didn't care for my job, went to paramedic school, joined the Navy Reserve as a corpsman (FMF), went active duty, a few years later went back to the reserve, officer school, on and off active duty orders for a full career.

 

 

[The Rooster]

On 5/12/2025 at 6:42 PM, Kurt Barickman said:

You think the military is shown in bad light today?????? Go back to the latter 1970s and early 1980s.....hardly anyone of us were joining but I did. Post Vietnam vibes.

 

Kurt

Hey Kurt,

I can verify that. I joined in 1981, 6 years after the end of the Vietnam war. And this country was not in a military mood.

Senior year I got a buzz haircut. I was maybe 3 out of all the guys in HS who had a buzz cut. There were very few of us out of 1400 students who joined up or had plans to.

It just was not "Cool" at that time. Wasn't until 1983 Grenada... that people slowly started to be "Patriotic"

Reagan had won and he re developed and revitalized the armed services.

 Panama and then Desert storm

the country started again to appreciate its armed forces. A soldier was not looked down upon for being in the service.

This country did a great dis service during those years to its Vietnam Veterans.

Thats why there was finally the parades and honors given to our Vietnam Vets years latter.

The honors that they should have enjoyed at the time.

Better late though than never.

God please bless all who have served and all who are right now and all those to come.

I also noticed for the longest time that my service didnt really matter to anyone.

It mattered to me. Back in the day no one was patting you on the back for joining.

My Mom congratulated me (Prob because I was moving out) lol

and my Dad was upset and asked me if it was too late for me to get out.

That bothered me but as I got older and was in for several years,

I realised my Dad just loved me and knew things that I didnt. Because no matter how many people

you talk to, or how many books you read or movies you see, nothing really prepares you

for what you are about to do. You only can find out by joining up and going through the system.

Until that time, you dont know. You have to do it to know what its really like.

His Dad my Grandpa was in WW1. His Brother was killed in 1943 training accident

and he had served at the end of WW2.

He just cared about his Son.

For me the shock was realizing, hey this is not easy. Its not a cake walk like I thought it was going to be.

And at times, it was dam dangerous! lol

Dave

[Neil Albaugh]

I've already covered my enlistment in the US Army in 1960 but I'll add some info about my father. Dad was born in 1913 in a small community near Weston, WV. Both of his parents were tailors. After high school the Great Depression had begun so Dad joined the CCC and served in rural areas of KY with them. He became a CCC officer and transferred to the Army reserve in the late 1930s. in the she summer of 1941 he joined the regular army and was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation when Pearl Harbor was attacked. At SFPOE, he was part of a small group that planned convoys sailing into the Pacific. By then he had achieved the rank of CPT and went on the serve in many posts during the war and afterwards was assigned to General MacArthur's staff. At that time, a newly created "Transportation Corps" was created and Dad transferred from QC to TC. Many other assignments were served and his final one was as Commanding Officer of the huge Army Aviation Depot Maintenance Center (ARADMAC) in Corpus Christi, TX.

The Depression was the thing that determined his joining the military but he found a career that extended for 30 years.

[S.ChrisKelly]

Tell me this isn't SOME of you...

 

True...  The military does believe in second chances, even if life doesn't...

 

By the way...  U.S. Army 250th Anniversary to-day!  Thanks to ALL soldiers, in peace and war!

 

 

[S.ChrisKelly]

 

Addendum...

 

My dad worked for a major airline that went bankrupt right after my freshman year in undergraduate college.  He was able to retire with a pension.  My future, at that point, was super-extra uncertain, and not looking positive.

 

I applied for an Army ROTC scholarship and got turned down! 

 

So...  The Air Force took me instead (AFROTC scholarship).  It enabled me to finish undergraduate college AND complete two graduate degrees, while I was on active duty.  Education was my angle.  I got a second chance and then some!  God knows what would have happened if I'd had to drop out of undergraduate college due to lack of finances.  I'd have ended up like "Winger" in "Stripes".

[101CH47]

Intended to go in the Navy but ended up with an Army ROTC scholarship.  My primary reason for joining ROTC in 1976 was that I wanted to go to flight school.   

Now why I stayed in for 27 years?  Looking back on it I would say stupidity; I certainly would not do it again if I had a do over.

[S.ChrisKelly]

For Further Consideration:

 

I didn't fly.  Consequently, I knew my time on active duty, and in the USAF, was limited, so I made the most of it.  I was on active duty 1992 - 1996, during those terrible "McPeak Years", frought with "banked pilots", base re-alignments and closures, and reductions-in-force.

 

Nonetheless, once I got my honorable discharge, I was able to enroll in VA medical care, which spared me health insurance premiums, I had no student loans to repay, and I retired from state civil service after working twenty years, with 24 years credit for service because of my active duty military service.

 

More importantly, what I wear on my blazer lapel I wear with pride. Not because of patriotism, but because I earned it.  Nothing beats the feeling of having accomplished something, and being recognized for it.  I could have done my job in any branch, but I learned and honed skills that stood me in good stead for the rest of my life.

 

As I mentioned in post #48, it's highly unlikely I would have reaped any benefits had I not been in the military.