Thinking of joining the AirForce or Marine Corps.

[Anonymous]

Hi, I am a fellow student of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am on my second year and the longer I stay, the lower my self-esteem gets. I was always considered to be the brain of the family and I was always told I needed to go to college. The military never crossed my mind. Well I am in my second year and I see my life going no where. I will have 27 credits after this year and I do not want to come back as a student. And I know I do not want to go home and do nothing. So I am thinking about joining the military. I want to join the Air Force or the Marine Corps. Everyone has their own little opinions about these two branches. Most people I have spoken with have suggested the Air Force, since I insist on joining. My brother is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force and he went straight out of high school, because college was never an option to him. I went to college and now I am thinking, I made a mistake. Everyone in my family wants me to go to college. I am the first and only one in my immediate family to ever go to college. My brother always told me not to join the military ever since I can remember. I need some advice on my decision. Would the military be a good place for me and if so, what branch should I chose between the Air Force and the Marine Corps. I heard the army promotes faster, but really do not care for the Army. I plan to finish up my courses for the spring to leave myself in good standings with the school, but after that I do not want to return, because I do not think that I am ready for college right yet. I do plan to go back to college that way, once I start I can come in as a junior with 2 years out of the way. I also need the money for college. Will you please give me some advice on this situation? Thank you in advance.

danielle@unc.edu

[Anonymous]

: The one thing I can tell you is that joining the military is a very personal decision, one not to be taken lightly as it will affect your whole way of life. Since I am in the Air Force, I do have my prejudicies why you should join. First off, we have more jobs available to women than any other branch of the military. Only two jobs are not available to women. Second, the Air Force takes education very seriously. In fact, we have our own community college. When you join and go to your tech school, all the training you receive will be worth college credit. Our living conditions are usually better. Ask any vet from the other branches and they will all agree that our billeting etc.. is better. If education is in your future, you want a job where you will be able to go to school. I am currently in graduate school and have done all my education while in the Air Force. We have a higher percentage of women in the Air Force than the other branches. There are many reasons to join the marines as well. I definitely respect the Marines. They have a very rich heritage, however, as a women, I feel the Air Force would be more suited to you. Good luck in your endeavors.

[Anonymous]

Hello. Since I'm a civilian (for how long I'll stay I'm not sure...), who wants to join AF, I can only give you a personal advice. Please, forgive me if you don't like what I'll say to you, but the point here is not if you should join AF or Marines, or some other branch, point is that your looking for some excuse to hide from what looks like a bad situation at a moment. I know how hard sometimes can be to be "chosen" for certain path (have a lot of experience here, my parents also had a future pre planned for me), and, the worse is when you feel you're on slippery slope, or, in other words, things don't work out as expected... and, there is a slight (or intense) feeling of betrayal if you can't, or won't, or both do what someone ELSE expects from you, and, the only thing I could say is - think about your future, don't mean tomorrow, or few weeks from now, think about what is it that you want to dedicate your life to, think about where you see yourself 20 years from now, or even when your 50 y.o. ... yes, it's hard, but, you are talking about something that can influence your whole life... even if it looks like a good choice for now, the worse is when someone who's 50, 60, 70... starts saying how stupid it was to make a fast decision that was wrong... I'm not sayin' that sometimes it doesn't work out great, and your completely happy etc., BUT, it doesn't most of the time. I can only say what would my reasons for joining be: I simply LOVE flying, and, even if odds are totally against me, I'll do whatever I can (or, give my best...) to be where I ONLY want to be, simply because it's the only place I see myself at in future... No need to say, it's the absolute opposite of what everyone expected from me... but, it's simply what I want to do. And, to do it (I would need to enter as officer), I MUST get a Bachelor degree. Even if I'm not too enthusiastic about spending 4 years and learning all I must to get my degree, I know WHY... and this is the reason that keeps me going... also, while your at the college, isn't there anything that you could at least try to get interested in, also, don't forget about what happens one day when you leave service, you must find some job, and, the quality of life is influenced by your pay, and your pay is influenced by your education... isn't that so simple? Also, just think about the day of graduation, you need only 2 more years, my advice is - finish college, get a degree, think very carefully about your future, and if you want to join military becouse you love it - join, otherwise, don't. This is just my advice, if you totally desagree, ok, doesn't matter, but I do hope it helped your decision. Bye.

deana_3@hotmail.com

[Anonymous]

Good luck with whatever your decision is, but I highly recommend the Marine Corps. I enlisted in May 97 and it has been the greatest thing I have ever done. There are a lot of great opportunities in the Corps and you feel a great pride in wearing the uniform. Go MARINES!

[Anonymous]

Coming from an Army gal, I have to agree with you on the AF living conditions! I have been to Goodfellow AFB twice and am now station on Kelly AFB, San Antonio working under a joint assignment. Here, because of rank and living constraints, I get to live off post in my own apartment as a single soldier. Let me tell ya, I'm crushed! :) One thing though...depending on what job you take, you could end up on an installation run by another service. It's not all rosy, but for the most part, the AF does have it made.

Best of luck, whatever your decision may be!

nmdreamcatcher@hotmail.com