Ghost Bladder

What kind of person do you need to be to survive a term in the military. Can a girly-wristed, poetry-composing chessmaster possibly make a go of it - do you have to be a He-Man?

I ask because I am half interested in joining the Navy in a 'Combat Systems' operator kind of role and as such wwould greatly appreciate some insight on what to expect if you are a current or former service man or woman. (They don't actually still have communal showers do they?)

hotzot

nope, if my panty waist brother could make it through 4 years in the army anyone can. It even paid off his college loans which endeared him to our dad for the first time in 28 years.

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HeyAgain

Yeah, I think everyone can make it, as long as you push yourself really hard to accomplish individual and team goals.

Plus never ever give up because a task is too hard or you feel like you can't do it.

Peetster

Go for it. You'll be sitting in CIC with all the other painty waisted chessmasters. ;-)

liquid_dreams

you can do it if you keep your mind on it and have a gole in mind if you dont then you dont have a hope sorry

fhqwhgads

With willpower, you could do it. It'll be the hardest, most satisfying thing you'll ever do.

Ghost Bladder

That easy, huh. How many hours of free-time in a day would you expect if you were stationed at your home base?

zipper

Some services are harder than others....I have been doing it for 13 yrs. To be honest, its better than working in the civilian world, sure you have to put w/BS. But you can retire when you are 40.

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Prae

It depends on which branch - if the issue is Basic.

Easiest being Air Force, obviously. Navy, I don't know about. 6 weeks of Basic for AF.

Army (I did), is so-so. But, it depends where you do Basic at. Fort Jackson is the easiest (everyone knows). 9 weeks of Basic.

Marines, of course, has the hardest Basic (13 weeks).

Liquor Dealer

There are thousands of job classifications and most often the person you are describing ends up with the best of them and operates under the best conditions available - get used to the shower thing. Privacy in the military is a luxury that is seldom available. The navy is going to be your worst choice if privacy is an issue - you will find that all space is a luxury and it is utilized to the max. You don't get privacy until your a whole lot older, wiser, and have scrambled eggs on your hat.

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rideough

i've been in the military for over 6 years now and you will be surprised what you will be able to accomplish. You become part of a team and as long as you put all the effort you can into any given task, you will do fine.
As for the community showers...just try to keep eye level with everyone!!
Don't worry about the term of service(3 yrs?? i'm Canadian) it will go by so fast it will scare you.

i8one2

If a crossdressing 171 IB guy can do his 3 year Army stint, get commendations, be on the DMZ, you can do it.

I joined for educational money not the love of weaponry, And once your a soldier it doesn't matter what you preferences/likes are you are A SOLDIER first!, everything else comes second.

PS...while we had downtime, I learned Chess, wrote, designed and learned more skills that were useful when I got out, plus I was able to appreciate a whole new culture. GO FOR IT!

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Frowning Budah

Interesting. I am well past that decsion but I wonder what choice I would have made years ago if I had had some of your insite.

Kllr Wolf

Heck survivng the military is easy unless you are infatery type of job it is more how much your brain can handle in stress and not the body.

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pangavan

You can do it! Just remember:
Never quit a task, its ok to fail in training but quiting is not an option.
Try alittle harder than the other guys.
Expect to be held to a higher standard

In the six years I was in the only time I saw hostility to the 'Dont Ask" crowd was when the rest of the unit had to do extra duty to cover for a slacker. Let me add that the "dont ask" crowd often had less slackers than any other group, but they seem to be treated like they were on permenant probation. Not everyone is an asshole though, so you should be fine

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william

If I was to give any advice to those younger than I, it would be to start a career in the military.
Here's the deal - you start out making more than most of your fellow high school graduates. If you stay, by the time your friends graduate college, you'll still be in the same pay area (while working on your degree). And from there you'll have a choice - stay military or go civilian.
If you stay military, you keep earning what you have, and more as time goes on. If you go civilian, you face the world.