my son is thinking about joining the national guard

[tiasman]

My son is thinking about joining the national guard. He has a bsme and is 33 yrs old. Also has msie.

I say go for it, what does he have to lose? Life is all about experiences. It sure won't hurt if he's a decent human being that can follow some basic rules.

My son went into the Army at 19 and has parachuted out of C17s, C130s, Blackhawks and Chinooks. He has shot big bazooka things rode on tanks, slept in the swamp with only a poncho for shelter, thrown grenades, shot machine guns and met some guys that will be lifelong friends. Hes had days he's hated and days he's loved.

As a Father I've seen him become confident, mature, physically stonger, mentally stronger and has great pride in what he's doing in his life, all before his 21st birthday. He has not met nor known of any of these famous trannies that the right wing media rages about, nor has he met or known of any of the homosexuals we hear about infiltrating the military. I'm so glad he did not let that stuff ruin his dream of being a paratrooper!

I've seen the same in his two friends who joined the air force although their lives are measurably more boring! One is honor guard in D.C. and the other maintains generators in Delaware.

Meanwhile most of his high school friends work part time jobs, play video games, gain weight and smoke dope all day with their "medical cards". Just aimlessly lost. I have noticed most of the girls are attending college but not the guys.

P.S. I joined the Navy at 17 and spent 4 years haze grey and underway on the USS Sampson DDG-10 and I would not change a thing!!

 

[Jack Shootza 50]

I'm

Yikes!

I wonder how many lives that saved OUR country for an “opinion” like this would regret that someone posted this?

The real horror is that you shared what goes thru the mind of a citizen in the greatest country in the world who won’t defend it?

Bizarro.

I'm 75 years old, I did my time in Vietnam, I watched my brothers die around me, I still have nightmares and I would to this day stand and die for my country if an enemy decided to attach us but to be transported to some far off s--thole to defend some political agenda, for profit by a mob of criminal politicians not gonna happen. If you haven't be there, you don't know s--t!

 

[Duncandl]

Reminds me of when my son was headed to boot camp and asked my father what his favorite duty station was, “I hated every one of them…”

My father retired, I retired and my son served our country. I know what shieet smells like 50 miles offshore in more than 1 country. I never smelled that coming home but I am getting a whiff the longer I stay on this site.

Peace to you and thank you for your service, quit playing the tough guy and encourage those willing to sacrifice for our country.

 

[Duncandl]

By the way, my son still loved his grandpa and I got along with him enough to be proud of his grumpy rear end. Hopefully you have someone who benefits from your service like we did.

 

[AV-8R]

Thanks for the input guys.

Wow. Lots of replies and advice. Your son should certainly give it a try. As far as all the recommendations about his job choice, the guard will let him know what his choices are and he can make his own choice, that may tip the scales on his pursuit for the Guard or not. I went into the Marine Corps wanting to fly jets. That meant graduating top 10% in ground school, then top 10% in basic flight, then top 10% in intermediate strike, then top 10% in advanced strike flight school - to select jets. One way I knew I would NEVER , EVER fly a single seat jet was to not bother since the odds were so high against me. You only live once, so I gave it my best shot. Luckily, God saw fit to let me beet the odds and I spent over 25 years in the Corps flying jets and retired as a Colonel. If he want's to do it but the chances look slim - one way to know you WON'T do it is to never try.

 

[TerryMiller]

Back when I enlisted in the regular Army in 1966, my recruiter gave it to me straight. He had seen my test scores and informed that the Army would "encourage" me to go to OCS. His advice was to avoid doing that until I had qualified in some kind of MOS that I wanted to be in. He said that if I flunked out of OCS, without the MOS, they could send me anywhere they wanted.

 

[65ny]

I thought of going NG officer, submitted my packet and all that jazz and then I didn’t. If he has a family or a job that he actually cares about…tell him no.

I’m not being argumentative, but what makes you say that?

 

[65ny]

A little cowardly, but whatevs
It's the OK National Guard....he's pretty far back on the burner for sacrifice. There are hundreds of thousands more before his number would get called.
Besides, picking which war you wanna serve in doesn't work out, you're gonna go or not go if you serve. If you don't wanna go to some sh*thole, then don't go in.

That’s dependent on what unit and AFSC are chosen. My unit has had members deploy every 2.5 years since Desert Shield.

 

[JEVapa]

That’s dependent on what unit and AFSC are chosen. My unit has had members deploy every 2.5 years since Desert Shield.

AD is gonna deploy way before an NG unit will.

Besides, picking which war you wanna serve in doesn't work out, you're gonna go or not go if you serve.

I said If you serve, you're either gonna deploy, or you're not gonna deploy, you don't have a choice in the matter. You can't pick what war you want to serve.

If you don't wanna go to some sh*thole, then don't go in.

If you don't wanna deploy and wanna be safe, don't serve.

 

[dennishoddy]

I'm

I'm 75 years old, I did my time in Vietnam, I watched my brothers die around me, I still have nightmares and I would to this day stand and die for my country if an enemy decided to attach us but to be transported to some far off s--thole to defend some political agenda, for profit by a mob of criminal politicians not gonna happen. If you haven't be there, you don't know s--t!

Thanks for serving your time in hell.