need to speak to a military family

Discussion in 'Pit Buzz' started by rick macedo racing, Nov 26, 2007.

  1. rick macedo racing

    rick macedo racing New Member

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    My 18 yr old wants to join the military.I would like to get a opinion from some one with a objective perspective.
    Thanks, Rick
     
    #1
    rick macedo racing, Nov 26, 2007
  2. jim phillips

    jim phillips ta/fc

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    my first question is why the pay sucks and you work your ass off and could possiblly die nothing wrong with serving your country and im a veteran my advice would be go to college then if you want to join the oppertunities are a lot better with a college education, officers school , better pay, better jobs, and great retirement 'does he just want to get away from the house and thats the way he thinks he has to do it are does he just want to go fight for are country and maybe die so we can live free and do what we do also as a dad i would be hard pressed for my son to go but if thats what he really wants to do i would be proud of him for wanting to do that there are alot of good boys and girls and i say boys and girls because of there age most have not had a chance to grow up yet and there are dying every day i wish you and your son the best with what ever dicission you can come up with if he goes i hope it makes you proud its big dicission for some one to want to go and serve there country with a war going on and chance they might die doing it may god bless
     
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    Last edited: Nov 26, 2007
    jim phillips, Nov 26, 2007
  3. mark6052

    mark6052 Member

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    military service

    First off, GOD bless for raising a son that is thinking of service to his country. I was the nam era, thought there was a reason to help people who wanted to eat rice and fish heads. that aside, there is nothing better for any young person than to serve. they should require it for everybody. my two brothers were lifers in the air force. there are many I know now serving, freely, no draft, and are aware of the dangers. the last couple wars its more dangerous to go to a hospital:eek: remember when racing was dangerous and sex was safe?;) there are others on here that have a son now seving, I'll let dave join in if he wants to. military service or a liberal school? :confused:
     
    #3
    mark6052, Nov 26, 2007
  4. jim phillips

    jim phillips ta/fc

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    mark you did say what branch you were in but any one from that era thank you
     
    #4
    jim phillips, Nov 26, 2007
  5. mark6052

    mark6052 Member

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    I went into the army, my draft number was 44, they went to 144 that year. myself and 1 brother were in the army, 2 brothers in the air force. my DAD was disappointed we didnt go navy. he was on an aircraft carrier in the pacific, ww2, 7 landings. my real hero, GOD rest you dad. I would love to be a sniper intodays service. reach out and touch someone:eek: love 50cals.
     
    #5
    mark6052, Nov 26, 2007
  6. Inspector 12

    Inspector 12 Member

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    I served in the Air Force for nine years from 1976 to 1985. My oldest son just finished six years in the Air Force. My number two son now 17 is planning to attend college and then go into the Air Force as an officer.

    My view and my son's after his experience. The Air Force offers good training and livable wages while a young man further matures and decides what he wants to do with his life. In my opinion this is better than college right out of high school. I too am a college grad, went to school at age 32 graduated four years later. I took college very seriously because it was costing me and my family for me to attend. The younger folks attending on mom and dad's dime, well let's just say they were not quite as devoted as the older students.
     
    #6
    Inspector 12, Nov 26, 2007
  7. nxs7280

    nxs7280 New Member

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    Rick, Check your PM.
     
    #7
    nxs7280, Nov 27, 2007
  8. Chsbldr

    Chsbldr Member

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    My Son will be wrapping up his 4 years in the Air Force this coming June, from his opinion it has had ups and downs. But all around has been a good experiance for him. He did spend time in Iraq and that was the worst time of my life! If you are interested in hearing more of my thoughts just shoot me a PM and we can chat.
     
    #8
    Chsbldr, Nov 27, 2007
  9. Frankie

    Frankie Jr. Dragster

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    Rick,

    Congrats on your son feeling the need to serve his country. My wife's 20 y/o nephew is currently a tank driver in the Army stationed in Germany. He has been to Iraq once already for a unit relief tour ( about 3 months ) and saw action. Sometime next year he will be deployed to Iraq for the full 18-20 month tour. I dont think he regrets his decision to serve our country voluntarily be talking to him, he's definately not the same kid who we all knew. After seeing combat, he is having difficulty with depression, anxiety and such. Understandably so I guess.

    I agree with whoever it was that suggested going to college first before going into the armed services. But thats just my opinion.
     
    #9
    Frankie, Nov 27, 2007
  10. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    Amen Inspector

    I'm an Army vet. I did 3 years right out of high school. My family didn't have the means to pay for my education, so I had to take care of that on my own. I also had a strong desire to give something back to my country.

    Like Inspector said, it teaches you a lot of life skills, leadership, responsibility in some very formative years of adulthood. If you consider the education benefits, it's a damn good paycheck, and gives you a chance to grow up a little and figure out which direction you want to go in life. That was huge for me. How many jobs can you take right out of high school and work for three years and have $50,000 saved up to go to school? Plus you have to spend it on school, which is a good thing. So you may not make a killing week to week, the money ain't bad.

    We're adults when we turn 18 by the law, but you're still trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do with this new 'adulthood' you've stumbled into. I've always been a very goal oriented and driven person, and at 18 I knew all I wanted to do was race, but I didn't know exactly what road I was going to go down to get there. I knew I needed a college education, so I decided to join the military. My plan out of high school was to become a dentist. Why? Not because I excelled in biology or really liked teeth. I wanted to become a dentist because it was a career that made good money and had plenty of time off to race. Three years in the military to grow up a little bit, I quickly found out that wasn't the road for me. I don't have any doubt if I had started down the road to pre dental school right out of high school I would have changed gears at some point down the road, and had to start down the path I'm on. I think thats why you see so many kids in college do that. They're still growing up and figuring out what they want to do.

    I picked the Army because they were the 'highest bidder' so to speak. Armor Crewmember and Infantry had the highest college fund bonuses. Between my dad and some friends that had recently joined, I had a good idea of the games recruiters played, and played my own games back. I held out until I got some stipulations IN WRITING on my contract, namely choice of duty station.

    My motivation was paying for my education. It worked out well for me. Not only did I find out which direction I wanted to go in life and college, but it gave me the money to support my education. The nice thing about the GI Bill is every time it gets raised, everyone on the bill gets the raise. It's not like you're locked in at the 'rate' you signed up at. I went to college for four years (two at jr college two at university) got my degree and had one $2,500 note to pay off I used for some books. Not many of my classmates could say that. Many are still paying off loans, or their parents are. I'll never forget the last two trips into the payments office. The next to last payment I told them it was like that Clint Black song "One more payment and it's mine". The next payment I was grinning like a jack ass eating Bryars because I was done.

    While not everyone starts a business while they are in college, the Army College Fund/GI Bill is the only reason this site is a full time business for me. The way the GI Bill works is you get a check every month to pay for school and living expenses. It's not like the money goes directly to the school. (Some tuition assistance programs do though). Between living at home most of school and the GI Bill, the business didn't need to make much money to support me; I didn't need a full time job. I took a "real job" and I'll leave it at that out of college chasing big money and big dreams, but this site had grown beyond my wildest dreams and ended up being big enough to make a living. So I moved back to Texas and haven't looked back since.

    Sorry for the long winded story. I just wanted to get the point across the military has been a big part of my small amount of success. It helped me get where I wanted to go in life, and I was able to give back to our country along the way. That said, I'll be honest, there's some bumps and bullshit along the way that you have to put up with. I joined during a much more peaceful time (1997-2000). There wasn't the hotspots of Iraq and Afganistan. Talk's cheap, but I knew what I signed up for and was ready to go if called. So when people ask me if I had it to do it again, I tell them I would in an instant, but I'm glad it's behind me. Had it not been for my desire to race, I might have considered making a career out of it. But deployments and weekend field exercises got way too much in the way of my racing.

    Which direction to go depends a lot on your motivations. If education is it, shop around the different branches and do your homework on additional benefits your state may provide. The Army usually has the best education benefits because of their troop level needs. Air Force and Navy have lower chances of seeing the front lines. Whatever your son's motivations are, just do your homework outside of what your recruiter tells you, and realize you can get more than what they initially offer. Especially if you wait to sign up closer to the end of the month when they're trying to make quotas. The biggest joke in basic is what the recruiter told you. Make damn sure everything you were promised is in BOLD PRINT in that final concract you sign at MEPS before you're shipped out. Your Drill Sergeant will tell you don't thank me, thank your recruiter.

    If your son, or anyone considering the military would like to talk to me, feel free to call me at 979 415 4959 or email will.hanna@insidetopalcohol.com
     
    #10
    Will Hanna, Nov 27, 2007
  11. JT Heslink

    JT Heslink New Member

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    Will I couldn't have said it better. As I have 14 years active duty in the Navy I believe serving our country is a wise decision for young people. It provides direction, stability, and the opportunity to be a leader. If it works out for a 20 year career, they can retire like I will. I will receive a paycheck every month for the rest of my life. That is security that can not be matched. Along with the fact that the benefits are the best in the world. I get free medical insurance for me and my dependents now. When I retire my family medical insurance will cost less than $500 a year.

    But I realize the military is not for everyone, and we don't exactly want everyone. It is a big decision and if you or your son want to contact me feel free to at (972) 998-8230 or john.heslink@navy.mil.

    Good luck with the decision.
     
    #11
    JT Heslink, Nov 27, 2007
  12. Herb

    Herb Super Comp

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    Army service

    I was pleased to see all the positive responses to military service. I went in as an officer after ROTC and stayed 10 years. I flew helicopters in Vietnam and I am now 65. I look back at that experience with pride and gratitude. I think young people should be encouraged to join up in whatever service they want before or after college. Everyone else has said a lot of reasons to do this. I raced a TAD up until 2 years ago and the Army taught me how to focus for success among many other things. I accomplished all of my goals. Good luck to your son and be proud. Herb Linder Western Country Racing TAD
     
    #12
    Herb, Nov 28, 2007
  13. rick macedo racing

    rick macedo racing New Member

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    Thanks for the responses makes us feel better.Will be in touch.
    Rick
     
    #13
    rick macedo racing, Nov 28, 2007
  14. Soldierboy0098

    Soldierboy0098 Active Member

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    From a soldier

    Hi Rick,

    This is Spc. Trevor Sherwood age 25 of the U.S. Army national guard, formerly active duty army and Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 vet., I have also been diagnosed with PTSD and hear everyday what it's done to me from friends and family. I will give you an honest oppinion if you wish.

    You may call me if you wish, your son as well 616-642-6009 but it will have to be soon as I leave for Iraq again in a few days.

    Each branch has it's good and bad but we all do the same job essentially. ANy way you look at it no one gets left behind.

    I will tell you that the Air force looks after its people very well, I worked with them a lot in Iraq, only downside is they don't have as many jobs to choose from as some of the other branches . The guard doesn't seem to be bad either, I have friends in most branches and might be able to help some.

    Personally I Went through some very bad things in the Army and not the normal bad things, this isn't to say that all army units are as bad as mine was. I will give more details over the phone if you wish.

    The Marines look after there own but they drill it in very hard and sometimes it can be hard for them to turn it off when it's over. Don't get me wrong we are all soldiers and can suffer from the same problems.

    Will Hanna was in the army also.

    Hope this helps some Rick,
    Spc Trevor Sherwood
     
    #14
    Soldierboy0098, Nov 30, 2007
  15. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    civilian contractors

    also some research into military jobs that can turn into civilian contractor jobs can be profitable post military. when i was in kuwait, the itt contractors there entry level (2001) were bringing in $92,000 base salary plus like $1,400 seperate rations (living expeses). granted this was during peace time. it was a minimum 2 year contract, you got 2 months paid vacation a year plus one way of your plane ticket paid for anywhere in the world. some days i wonder why i didn't pursue that a little harder. it would have been easy to come back at 22-23 years old with over 100k in the bank.

    i just ran into my fishing buddy from high school at my 10 yr reunion and he was a marine and worked in iraq for two years. i asked him what he did. he said he made enough money he took a year off and was just fishing every day. he just went back over there...
     
    #15
    Will Hanna, Nov 30, 2007

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