Brother Thinking Military......

[*Mystic*]

My brother just announced to my folks earlier today that he wants to go in the military. He's strongly thinking about the Navy.

I'm sorta happy for him & also a little worried as well. My folks don't want him to go at all! Mostly all my uncles were in the Navy...I still have one uncle left in the military. He's a colonel in the Army. And I have several cousins who are in the Navy as well.

My brother is 21 & he really wants to follow in the footsteps of my uncles & cousins. He's already getting in shape & everything. I really excited but worried at the same time.

[chickendad]

May not be too Bad

I was an active duty Marine and now serving in the Army National Guard. If your worried about him being in harms way in Iraq or elsewhere. It would depend on his MOS. Mostly the Navy stays out of the way. It could be a great chance to learn something that could help him in the futrue. Also it could look good on future resumes. Military duty on a government job appl. looks good also for the future. Though they may stay out of harms way most of the time, their job is still needed and greatly appreiated.

[andre]

My brother is in basic right now for the Army, 1st Infantry. Supposedly he is going to Kansas for more training, but I am definitely worried. We are just keeping all of his "options" secret so my mom doesn't become any more insane than she already is (I bet she heard me type that too -- sorry, ma!).

Good luck to your brother; being a part of the military is a good thing, but can definitely be stressful for EVERYONE. This is a major undertaking.

[Ndnsoldierboy]

Good luck to him if he decides to join...the Navy is defintely alot safer than the Army, or the Marines MOS wise, if he joins the Navy to be a Corpsman, he'll be with the Marines for sure. So then he'll be in harms way then. As the Corpsman are the medics for Marines.

[*Mystic*]

I think it would be cool if he joined the Navy. One of my mom's friends is in the Marines and he told both me & my brother that the Marines are pretty tough. I can't choose for him but if I was him, I would pick the Navy.

Unlike my folks, I'm really happy for my brother. This is something that he's been thinking about for awhile now. The only reason why my mom is flipping out is because my grandma wouldn't let her go into the military. So now she's trying to hold my brother back. Sometimes, you just have to let him go, even if you don't want to.

[Ndnsoldierboy]

Too bad about Mom not wanting him to leave the, "nest" so to speak...he is going to have to make his own decisions and be a man someday so he can learn and become a better person.

[*Mystic*]

Yeah, that is so true. He's not a baby anymore.

[andre]

It's hard to let go, but it is his decision, no one elses. Like NDNSoldierboy said, it definitely makes you an overall better person (an much more fun to camp with at powwows!). I've already noticed an attitude change from the letters my brother has written and as sappy as it sounds, I'm really pround of the less egocentric mindset he is developing.

[Annie Fawn]

At 21 he's old enough to make his own choices. It's tough being a military mom, but it's also a proud feeling knowing that your child is williing to fight and defend the values you raised them on.

[LakotaTexan]

I served 3 years with the US Army. Served a tour in Germany (1st Armored Division) and Presidio of SF. I didn't have a choice. My financial situation after high school was not the best.

I will say this, it was one of the best times of my life. I got to do things and go places that I wouldn't have got to otherwise.

Of course during wartime, I probably would've thought a little harder on it, but again, I wouldn't have changed anything.

I didn't do the Marine & Navy thing, cuz I can't swim. My dad was in the Air Force, and didn't want to make it look like I was following in his footsteps. So the Army was it.

Good Luck to your brother if he does decide to join. I'm sure he'll do fine.

[chickendad]

This is an answer to some of the reply's to CherokeeTears. The military isn't bad. Between the Active Marines and now the Virginia Army National Guard, I feel I've done the right thing. MOS is very important. I have been an infantrymen my whole career. The only problem is there isn't many jobs for grunts. Do a job in the military that can help you in the future. Also take advantage of all the educational benefits that are avaible both while serving and when your finished. Service in Iraq isn't as bad as the news makes it look. The number of attacks on Americans thank God is low overall. Most of the time I was on patrols were hot and boring. We didn't take incoming fire everytime. So if you know someone who goes over to the big CatBox. The average's are on their side for being safe.

[*Mystic*]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will definitely let my brother know all of this. He kinda have his mind made up about joining the military. My mom is starting show a little bit of happiness. Yeah, I bet it's pretty tough to be a military mom but its just something she's gonna have to deal with if he goes.

My uncle is a colonel for the Army & he just came back home from his trip to Germany. He's suppose to sit down and talk to my brother about the rules of being in the military. As well as my cousin, who is about to retire from the Navy. He's gonna try to help walk my brother through this.

Both of them have been in the military since they were my brother's age & now they in their early & late 40's. So they know what's it like. Hopefully this will help him out a lot. I'm sticking by his side 100%....I'm really happy for him!

[chickendad]

Glad to hear that your bother will have a family with alot of military experience to help guide him. The last word of advice I would give is active military is like every other job. There will be days he will hate it and of course days he will love it. What it will come down to is what he makes of it. The rules to promotion and success are easy to follow and it will be up to him to learn and earn the promotion points to get ahead.