Join the Army??

[Matt@RFR]

There's some pride that goes with being a member of a combat unit that you just don't get with a rear-echelon unit. Of course, the flip side of that is that in a combat unit you might - gasp - be exposed to combat.

I agree 100%, although it all depends on how much work you actually want to do. Being a grunt is tough, being a pencil pusher is...not so tough.

Don't worry about bootcamp. In or around 1997-8, mothers of america stepped in to make sure all our prescious little boys didn't get spoken to disrespectfully while in bootcamp. Just two years prior in '95, I was getting the sh*t beat out of me by my my drill instructors. That job still gets done (hopefully) once you reach your final destination in a platoon, just more descretely than in years past. Ofcourse, this applies, to my knowledge, only in infantry/combat units.

If you decide to be an MP, be prepared to be one of the most hated people on base. (Again, this only applies to my experience in a marine corps infantry unit.) I've also heard a lot of people talk about police departments not really being interested in former MP's, because MP terminology and rules are completely different than PD's, so they not only have to train them, but un-train them.

Being a mechanic-type in the military is the only thing I'm aware of that directly crosses into a civilian job.

I do agree that, across the board, the military is a helluva experience. You'll meet people from every religion and background, and probably be good friends with much of them. I'm still in contact with a few of my friends from the marine corps. It's a life altering experience, and you'll be a better man...nay, human being afterwords. I only wish I could send every single stereotypical rice boy through the marine corps and see how much more respectfull and grown up they are in 4 years.