Why do so many people emphasize that the military is bad.
Sure a lot of people can get hurt probably will get hurt but that's they signed
up for. But some find the military to be a quite useful even productive in
certain areas such as medical research which is an interest to me. In most
cases the military is good at helping out a kid who comes from a broken home or
when a kid ages out of foster care that has nowhere else to go. So the question
is, is the military the right choice for me?
I believe enlisting in the U.S. Navy as corpsman is the
right choice for me. I believe because of my upbringing and background I am
more suited for the task more than others. I grew up in a harsh environment and
still do today. I'm interested in medicine whether pharmaceutical or nursing. Those
seem to be my calling.
Yet alot of people say it's the wrong choice to join, I say
the choice is not up to them and it's entirely up to me. People also say the
reason why it is a bad move is because you could be killed or even worse, end
up crazy with PTSD. They also say I should stay and get a job to support myself
while attending school. This is true. But where I want to go in life and what I
want to do in life has much more than just getting a job and going to school
until I'm like 30. I want to experience a different life. I can do that and
learn about myself while studying medicine in the military. I do believe it's
the right choice for me to join the Navy as a corpsman.
I started asking questions as well as finding decent
information about people who were or was in the military. Although I couldn't
find much on the Internet because of the same repetitive notion that military has
its pros and cons. I will say this much each side had a valid argument. I
learned about the benefits of serving. Those who serve as a hospital corpsman
have a better chance of finding a medical profession a lot easier than those
who are on the field when they get out of active duty (all professions do see
combat).
It seems that the main reason some join is for either for
money for college, life experience, military career or even a decent job in their
field when they get out of military or go in. But for some it seems self-worth
will be based on their rank.
Therefore with that being said this seems to be a lot of
myths about why people join up and I'm here clarify through extensive research
as well as my own personal conversations with people who I know where the
military or knew someone who’s spouse was in the military.
One day after school I went to my neighbors at their home .They are 10 years my senior but
really cool people. We engage in a conversation about school, life, and what
you want out of life.
So my neighbor Nathan and I and his girlfriend Colleen
were discussing his experience in the Coast Guard and it was really eye-opening
and intriguing. This is what Nathan told me;” I was in the Coast Guard, I will
tell you this much I hated it and I loved it. I'll say this much I loved to
travel that was the perk of serving and I did a lot of it, traveling that is.”
And I responded with a boatload of more questions asking why he did in the
first place.
Later on in the
conversation Nate also said,”Dude don’t join the military unless you have no
choice. If you do, join the Coast Guard. No combat plus much bigger quarters
than the Navy. I’d recommend getting grants bro. You can live a much better
life then going into the military”. Nathan is great photographer as well as a
great cook and some of his recipes came from his travels.
I took in consideration that he knew what he was talking
about since he served. Later in our conversation I also talked with Colleen who
was agreeing with her boyfriend. She responded,” As Nate was saying you can get
grants dude, there is a shit ton. Because you're so multiracial you can find so
many grants that will pay for you to go to school. I wouldn’t recommend you go
to the military dude unless you feel as though you should. The choice is
totally up to you”.
Later on that day on my way back home I was actually
thinking a lot about what they had said. Most of it lingered. What they both
had said made total sense. If I can stay out here and get/receive grants I “could”
be taken care of.
What made me really consider joining before my conversation
with them had to do alot with my little sister who is going to the Naval
Academy after high school, and my brother Pain who's joining the Navy some time
in 2013.
I want to be watching their back also being able to meet up
with them if I could. When I was younger around the ages of 18-20 I was
considering joining the Marines because
of hotheaded situations that involved women that I loved. As I got home I
wanted to know what it was like to be in a combat situation that was one of the
things that was lingering in my mind.
So I asked the only guy I knew who seen combat firsthand. My
former foster guardian named Glenn. This is what he told me.
” I served in Vietnam. It was the best thing for me since I
lived in poverty. I grew up living in a hellhole, between my father and group
homes. I couldn’t wait to sign up at 17 and enlist. The military treated me
good. But I must warn you combat is much worse than hell itself. Movies don't
even come close. You have 50-50 chance of being killed. Luckily for me I
wasn't. But my friends weren't so lucky. I recommend if you enlist in the Navy
take on a medical profession with minimal combat. That way when you get out you
can work in the medical field”. What he said made sense as well as what Nathan
told me.
So they had my mind pondering. These were alot of true facts
that I don't think I could have gotten on the Internet without the information being
misleading or ”beating around the bush “as you would say.
Although I did find information that was true to its nature
and they all said the same thing. All branches in the service are mainly maintenance
or supporting roles such as techs, docs and operates. It also told the same
thing my former guardian told me that if you're unfortunate you can get deployed
alot. But the main thing that stuck out to me was they teach you how to
re-adjust to civilian life then back to military life.
To me this is like your brain being reprogrammed over and
over again by other people.
Although when you come back to civilian life you don't have
as warm of a welcome as you thought you did. Some beg to differ. Like myself I
respect the troops and anyone who is willing to lose a limb or their life to
make sure no one else has to endure neither suffering nor pain. This is one of
the reasons I want to be a healer and to also protect. To help people. To fight
for people who cannot otherwise find themselves.
Yet most jobs when you come back from either retirement or
deployment, depending what you done can be useful in the civilian world. Such
as fixing computers, becoming a medical assistant or even a doctor. Being a
tank operator is not in high demand these days but a mechanic is. Life after
the military doesn't mean you end up crazy or suicidal just means you have to keep
your my hands busy like the rest the population. Some people think people in
the military are different. To some extent they are. To be perfectly honest ,
the they are just regular people same as you and me. They just wear a different
uniform is all.
For instance there was a medical corpsman in an article I
read by Channel 10 news called “Navy corpsman killed by roadside bomb”. Clayton
who was the corpsman who is spoken of ,was on patrol when a explosive device
went off. As stated in the article,” A 21-year-old Navy corpsman assigned to
Camp Pendleton was killed this week by a makeshift roadside bomb in
Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon”(ch.10news)
It goes on to also state that, “Petty Officer 3rd Class
Clayton R. Beauchamp of Weatherford, Texas, died in the blast of an improvised
explosive device during a dismounted patrol in the Shaban District of Helmand
province, a Defense Department statement reported”(ch.10news).
This is a warning as well as reminder what could go wrong
and what to avoid
Yet Petty Ofc. third class Clayton was a normal human being
just like the rest of us .he wanted something different out of life. As I read
further read, that he had a girlfriend he wanted to settle down with.
I read things like this it makes me have a better
perspective on what I could potentially get myself into. But I also weigh out
the benefits .when you go in or come out you do receive some benefits. Just
like any other job you get healthcare, housing, and a decent paycheck. Not too
shabby if you can handle the years of service ahead of you.
But what really caught
my attention was the discounts you could get when you join. I could later on use this to help me buy a house, car
or even a decent apartment. I looked into the G.I. Bill. And the bill upon
service relinquish I can pretty much do whatever I want but I'm going to use it
to further my education in the medical field.
All in all I think I'm going to join if I know I'm not going
to make it out here with the same” day-to-day routine”. Regular people live
their lives day by day, paycheck to paycheck, meeting a woman, settling down,
having kids, and getting married. To me it's so monotonous .So played out. So cliché.
I don't want to work until I'm 30 . I don't want my life to
be worrying about bills and women that have no clue what they want . My reason
for joining, is to give back to a system that's given me a chance at life as
well as allowing me to go to college. As I stated before the choice is up to me
not anyone else.
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