best military branch for engineering--military pays for college

[rc4x4nut]

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

Most youngsters today have a hard time making any kind of commitment let alone joining the military, which by the way is a 4 year bang right out of the gate. Teenagers that have (lets say) a passive nature about them steer clear of any military affiliations, and the ones who have an aggressive nature will either have a criminal record or psych issues, which both will disqualify them. When I joined years ago most of the friends that I grew up with soon followed into one branch or another. Out of like a dozen kids only 3 of them actually made it through their first year, 2 died in the first year, and the one who did make it only stuck it out for 4 years and got out. A lot of people just cannot deal with Military life in general even if the money is a solid living.

I was a bootcamp DI for 5 1/2 years, and the atrition rate for the Navy was something like 25% to 35%(just for bootcamp. Special programs that rear the kind of bonuses that you mentioned have more like 80% to 90% loss rates in the first 1 to 2 years due to the high acidemic demands and stress levels. These are the things that no one tells you up front because they don't want to scare anyone away, but this is the reality of recruiting and trying to make (invisable) quotas. Yes that bonus money is there for the taking, but actually achieving the requirements to get it are very tough in deed and pretty much reserved for the top 5% of all military people.

You hit the nail right on the head. A lot of young kids cant adapt to the military life and they dont like to be told what to do. They enjoy being able to do what they want and when they want and not having any real responsibility.

Academics...another big disqualifier. They seem to think that once you got in the military you dont really have to study anymore. Im not sure about other jobs but my job we have between 10-18 4" binders filled with military and base regs that have to know. It sounds like a lot but it really isnt.

The combination of both not being able to adapt and keeping up with academics I started withdrawal paperwork of 11 out of 13 newbs in the past 1 1/2 year.

[JERRY2KONE]

Just another thought. The thing that most young men and women seem to have a hard time with is finding their place in the chain of responsibility and doing their part. Sure everyone is afraid of taking the first step into adulthood. That is just the way life is. Many people think if they hold some kind of control over their lives that they can do wahtever they want. Well that is just not the way things work. If you don't put out a good effort, then you will only get so far in life with your dreams. If you want to succeed,, then you have to be willing to sacrifice in blood, sweat, & tears plain and simple. Joining the military helps people do just that and in a hurry to. There is no time to sit around questioning what to do and what not to do. Being in the military forces you to move fast, because our nations security is vital our survival, and a lot of that responsibility lies with the military strength of its people/service members. I have seen people who had no sense or idea of what any of that meant, but the military way of life forces you to do just that. You will learn quickly or get left behind in a hurry. Watching others pass you by is a good motivator to. The question is what do you want in life, and what are you willing to do in order to get there? Make your peace with God and get moving. Don't be one of those kids who live off of your parents and make them pay for your mistakes and laziness. I am not pointing any fingers, just stating the facts.