Army

[StephenM]

I got hauled into helping with a cesarean section at 2am on a Boxer! That was fun...

[EXTspotter]

but did you shave a ferret and have to try and take a blood sample from it, by god theyre dry!

[DarthRobby]

I agree with Sam.

No disrespect to the guys in the army, but most of them aren't the brightest people around. It's pretty poor pay for the job that they do.

No comment on that because I know people take great prides in being in the military.

Personally, I come from a place where we not only don't need to serve, but basically can't serve in the military. I feel blessed.

Some of the military controls, I don't really understand. Those sacrifacing for country bs... and those be a robot and follow orders even you know you would get killed bs... they are bs.

To me military are people would train for either nothing, or train to get killed. They are people who go into some place vertically, and come out horizontally. Saddist thing is they have to go get themselves killed whenever some false intelligence surface and a cowboy says they should go.

I don't know why the military appeals to you. Maybe you have been playing to many shooting games irl or online. At 13, it is not a realistic worry. Try to be open and remain undecided for a few more years. Other opportunities may present them to you.

ok, first, the military (officers anyway, and a lot of enlisted men) are geniuses! how do you think they do all the things they do? do you know genneral patton? he was a great general, there are a lot of bright army men, in fact to be an officer you need to get a college degree from the ROTC (reserve officer training corps)
and it isnt sacrificing yourself for nothing, for example, because of the military being in iraq, there has been next to no terroist attacks, while it is true homeland security catches a lot, the military is making the country self-sufficient
on the intelligence thing, the military has great intelligence officers, and i dont think they rely so much on locals, especially in iraq
also, i am not allowed to play first person shooters, and i dont want to go out there are blindly kill people, i want to protect my country, no matter the cost!

@hampo, thanks, but they dont do that, the best i could do would be talk to a recruiter or military folk, because of 9/11 i doubt they would let non-military personnel (besides military family's) inside a base, or there would be a visitor center, but no staying there, also, some people think i am very mature for my age, for example, i have a business (with two regular customers) and i am saving up for a computer!
and i can not stress that the military men are very smart!
EDIT: i also want to say that if i dont pass the medical or whatever (right now i see no reason why i shouldn't) i have a plan set up that i will follow, i wont join the rotc until i know i have a fallback plan secured!

[DekoCwb]

Problably in 4 years i will be an Brazilian Army lieutenent, now i am an cadet!!!

Well thats in Brazil, i think in the US u have to do West Point Military Academy, i am not sure about it!!!

[DarthRobby]

thats awesome! good for you
one question though, is the bazillion (however you spell it) army required? like, are you forced to join, or do you have a choice (sorry, i dont know much about foreign army's) but either way, good for you!
also, you just need to go to BCT (basic combat training) and there are several places to go! also, i will be joining the rotc (officer core, or corps, i forget)

[zkvac]

ok, first, the military (officers anyway, and a lot of enlisted men) are geniuses! how do you think they do all the things they do? do you know genneral patton? he was a great general, there are a lot of bright army men, in fact to be an officer you need to get a college degree from the ROTC (reserve officer training corps)
and it isnt sacrificing yourself for nothing, for example, because of the military being in iraq, there has been next to no terroist attacks, while it is true homeland security catches a lot, the military is making the country self-sufficient
on the intelligence thing, the military has great intelligence officers, and i dont think they rely so much on locals, especially in iraq
also, i am not allowed to play first person shooters, and i dont want to go out there are blindly kill people, i want to protect my country, no matter the cost!

@hampo, thanks, but they dont do that, the best i could do would be talk to a recruiter or military folk, because of 9/11 i doubt they would let non-military personnel (besides military family's) inside a base, or there would be a visitor center, but no staying there, also, some people think i am very mature for my age, for example, i have a business (with two regular customers) and i am saving up for a computer!
and i can not stress that the military men are very smart!
EDIT: i also want to say that if i dont pass the medical or whatever (right now i see no reason why i shouldn't) i have a plan set up that i will follow, i wont join the rotc until i know i have a fallback plan secured!

Ha.. Military officers geniuses.. Ok so you've got one smart officer.. there's a smart person in every job..

"and i can not stress that the military men are very smart!"
Exactly.

I wouldn't join the armed forces here, because the only thing I would do is the Air Force and all we have is 2x 757's plus a couple of King Airs and some ancient Iroquois'

Also you may get good flying training, but then you are stuck with them for 10 years at NZ$20,000 a year (FedEx MD-11 Captains get NZ$450,000 a year as a comparison).

I don't see the point wasting your life in the armed forces, when you could actually do something you love for a living (like being a pilot for me).

[DekoCwb]

thats awesome! good for you
one question though, is the bazillion (however you spell it) army required? like, are you forced to join, or do you have a choice (sorry, i dont know much about foreign army's) but either way, good for you!
also, you just need to go to BCT (basic combat training) and there are several places to go! also, i will be joining the rotc (officer core, or corps, i forget)

Yes you are forced to join, only to be a soldier..But with u want to be a liutenent you have to do really hard military schools...I will problably be an brazil army helicopter pilot   ...

[DarthRobby]

ok, i am tired, like, i have gotten no sleep for a while, and also i am not a military man, and i am 13...
also look at all the famous military men!
also i never said i wanted to be in the air force, in fact, if i had a choice, that would be the last branch i join (other then coast guard)
and i dont want to make a career of it, just have that job for a little while!
also, did you ever take into account that you dont have to pay housing and a lot of other bills in the army, while you are on a base they pay it for you!  so bet you never thought of that, huh?

[zkvac]

ok, i am tired, like, i have gotten no sleep for a while, and also i am not a military man, and i am 13...
also look at all the famous military men!
also i never said i wanted to be in the air force, in fact, if i had a choice, that would be the last branch i join (other then coast guard)
and i dont want to make a career of it, just have that job for a little while!
also, did you ever take into account that you dont have to pay housing and a lot of other bills in the army, while you are on a base they pay it for you!  so bet you never thought of that, huh?

I never said you would be in the AF, I said the only branch I would join is the AF because it is the only one I find remotely interesting.

Why just be in the army 'for a little while'? Why not just get a real job straight away?

And did you ever take into account that (for example) Emirates pilots get free housing (which is MUCH better than living in an old house on an army base) free healthcare, free schooling and no tax?

So yes, I did think of that.

[DarthRobby]

ok, i am tired, like, i have gotten no sleep for a while, and also i am not a military man, and i am 13...
also look at all the famous military men!
also i never said i wanted to be in the air force, in fact, if i had a choice, that would be the last branch i join (other then coast guard)
and i dont want to make a career of it, just have that job for a little while!
also, did you ever take into account that you dont have to pay housing and a lot of other bills in the army, while you are on a base they pay it for you!  so bet you never thought of that, huh?

I never said you would be in the AF, I said the only branch I would join is the AF because it is the only one I find remotely interesting.

Why just be in the army 'for a little while'? Why not just get a real job straight away?

And did you ever take into account that (for example) Emirates pilots get free housing (which is MUCH better than living in an old house on an army base) free healthcare, free schooling and no tax?

So yes, I did think of that.

ok, so the pay isnt great, so what? you are defending your country and you only need to pay for luxuries, like tvs and stuff
also, i only want to go in for a little while because i think this is a really noble to join the AF and defend freedom, and i do want to pursue another career, but i feel this is something i have to do

anyway, i never asked for people to tell me not to join the army, i am asking for army folk to tell me how they got there parents to be ok with it
and if you arent in the army, dont talk bad about it, it is a very noble cause filled with very noble, smart people!

[Hampo]

No offense, but you've never been in the army so you can't possibly know if you'll like it or not.

You will never see half of the stuff that happens in places like Iraq because its all censored. After the Vietnam war the government finally realised that they cannot allow cameras to be with the armed forces willy nilly. When people sat down for their evening meal and saw images of children being horrifically burned to death, they started to oppose the war.

If the government let TV crews into Iraq and allowed them to publish videos of the stuff going on in Iraq, there would be a hell of a lot more opposition to the war. The government are smart and will not allow TV crews into situations that may shine them in a bad light.

Next time you see film from Iraq or Afghanistan, I can almost guarantee it will be of US soldiers coming under attack, but they manage to kill the taliban/militants and all ends good. If you ever do see footage of a soldier being wounded, they normally manage to get them off the front line and they recover in hospital. Unfortunately, this isn't the reality of war my friend. If you are one of the unlucky ones who gets injured, you could spend the rest of your life missing limbs or possibly mentally unstable.

Sam

[Blue Sky Mine]

No offense, but you've never been in the army so you can't possibly know if you'll like it or not.

You will never see half of the stuff that happens in places like Iraq because its all censored. After the Vietnam war the government finally realised that they cannot allow cameras to be with the armed forces willy nilly. When people sat down for their evening meal and saw images of children being horrifically burned to death, they started to oppose the war.

If the government let TV crews into Iraq and allowed them to publish videos of the stuff going on in Iraq, there would be a hell of a lot more opposition to the war. The government are smart and will not allow TV crews into situations that may shine them in a bad light.

Next time you see film from Iraq or Afghanistan, I can almost guarantee it will be of US soldiers coming under attack, but they manage to kill the taliban/militants and all ends good. If you ever do see footage of a soldier being wounded, they normally manage to get them off the front line and they recover in hospital. Unfortunately, this isn't the reality of war my friend. If you are one of the unlucky ones who gets injured, you could spend the rest of your life missing limbs or possibly mentally unstable.

Sam

I think Hampo's right there. War isn't what the recruitment officers tell you. It's pain, suffering and unbelieveable terror. I don't know if you know someone who really fought in Vietnam or WWII. If you do and you ask him/her about their experiences, they will most likely not be very willing to tell you. The ones that tell their stories (and make speeches about how great it is to be a soldier) are mostly guys who simply stayed away from the fighting.

ok, first, the military (officers anyway, and a lot of enlisted men) are geniuses! how do you think they do all the things they do?

I can't completely agree with that. Of course there are some very intelligent soldiers, but I've also met some that really needed bigger brains (especially my neighbour, who was an officer in the German army for quite a long time - he's a candidate for the darwin award).

[boilermaker]

I think Hampo's right there. War isn't what the recruitment officers tell you. It's pain, suffering and unbelieveable terror. I don't know if you know someone who really fought in Vietnam or WWII. If you do and you ask him/her about their experiences, they will most likely not be very willing to tell you. The ones that tell their stories (and make speeches about how great it is to be a soldier) are mostly guys who simply stayed away from the fighting.

Quite true, which is why the only folks really pushing for the 2002 invasion of Iraq never served in the military (if Colin Powell had real intel, he would not have had anything to do with it).

Robby, go to school and get good grades. Go to a good college with a ROTC program. If tanks are what you want, go for it. By the time you get out of Armor School, you will be a 1st LT and lead a squadron of tanks. Tankers have fun, but the battlefield is changing. By the time you get into college, heavy armor may be a memory.

An engineering degree is most favored in the military, although a tanker can be pretty much anything.

[boilermaker]

I did my work experience in a vets, I had a great time, plus, now I have a load of photos which freak people out. I can also perform speying/neutering operations on cats and dogs (they let me do it on work experience!!!).

You don't need a week of "Work Experience" to assist a vet. I used to visit a country vet when I lived in IN and assisted in spaying all my dogs.

[DarthRobby]

oh my gosh, i know i wont go out there and never be wounded or killed or lose limbs, i just saw a show that showed a hospital full of iraq vets with missing legs, they all said they wanted to go back, and they were sad they couldn't fight without two hands!
i know it isnt fun and games, it is something i feel i need to do, and thank you boilermaker for being one of the few people who read the first post and didnt try to stop me without reading anything else