February 22, 2012

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Benefits of Joining Unites States Military

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College isn’t cheap these days, and many American youth are being left out of the college equation as family’s struggle to come up with the funds necessary to send their child to college.

While student loans are an option, young people are often left paying hundreds of thousands of dollars on their loans until they are well into their thirties.

If you have a child, or multiple children that are nearing the college years, and don’t have the means to attend college, the United State Military is a terrific option for many.

Benefits of joining the U.S. Military:

1.    With just a few years of service under their belts, Uncle Sam in many cases picks up the cost of tuition through their G.I. Bill programs. Instead of paying huge student loans, many military veterans are able to attend school, work and enjoy a family without the financial stress that can accompany post high school education.

2.    Learning work and life skills along the way: Students that enlist in the military for a few years tend to come back more focused and armed with new life skills that allow them to be better students.

3.    Doctors and lawyers: Becoming a doctor or lawyer takes many years and costs a lot. The U.S. Military offers options that pay for these students schooling, if they commit to a certain amount of years to the military to pay back their debt.

4.    Better job skills: Even if a person joins the military and doesn’t want to go to school, the military tends to instill discipline and teach life skills that can be applied to the workforce.

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Is Enlisting Worth It?

Enlisting in the armed forces carries a lot of challenge with it. The hardships are great, and any day you may be called upon to risk your very life in the service of something larger than yourself. Since there’s no draft, this is a volunteer military, so you have the option to think about it. When you do, a lot of things are going to go through your mind, both for better and for worse.

On the one hand, the military is all about keeping the country safe. This goal of safety is no easy task, and it can easily result in being badly injured. But on the other hand, there is also the issue of making sure the fight is as far away from the United States as is humanly possible. If the fight gets too close, let alone right on our soil, it can be disastrous. One of the most noble goals in the world is to serve other people, and keep them safe even if you don’t know them.

While the war on terror has not always gone as smoothly as one would hope, ultimately its purpose is a just one. But what about where you can go from the foundation of a military career. Not only do you receive training in a valuable skill. You also receive one of the best possible lines on your resume, for when you rejoin the civilian world. Sooner or later you’ll come back, and the more patriotic people might call you a hero. You’ll know you are one when you feel like you don’t deserve the title. Ultimately, it’s a decision that requires some thought.

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Do you Want to Join the Military?

A military recruiter will have a hard time taking no for an answer, and will press you and drill you for a yes. They want to recruit more soldiers because they generally are going to earn a bonus every time that they sign up a new soldier for their branch of the military. You should not join simply because a pushy recruiter is trying to get you to, because then the liklihood will be great that you will have regrets and want to quit later on, and you may find it difficult it not completely outright impossible to do that.

When you decide that you want to join the military, you are going to want to make sure that you are doing it for you. Do it for your career goals, your school goals and your personal achievement goals, but do not join unless it is completely 100 percent your decision. Do not let your friends, your family members or any recruiters tell you to do it or not to do it, unless it is your own personal decision. Do not let anyone tell you not to try something, because if you really want to go out there and give back to your country, then that is going to have to be your own distinct decision to make and you simply cannot let anyone else have an impact on you. Make sure that you take the time to really consider what your options are rather than making a split decision and the results will definitely be more to your liking.

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Is the Military Right for You?

Is the Military Right for You?

When it comes to joining the military, it should be pretty apparent to you that everyone has different reasons for getting started. Whether you decide that you want to join the army or the navy, the air force or the marines, and whether you decide to enlist on your own or you get some nudging from a friendly recruiting officer, the results are always the same: Joining the military is going to give you a distinct chance to take charge your life, do something with your life and actually achieve some of your goals.

If you decide to join the military so you can go over seas and shoot guns, then that is up to you. If you decide that you want to join the military because you are looking for new career opportunities and you want to go to college with the government’s help, then that is your prerogative as well. The only thing that really matters when it comes time to join the military is that you are doing it for the right reasons for you. Do not join because your friend is joining, do not join because your girlfriend broke up with you, do not join because you want to cause death and destruction everywhere you go. make sure that you are joining the military for legitimate reasons. The reason why you are going to need legitimate reasons in order to join is because once you decide that you are going to join, you are going to find it relatively difficult to change your mind.

Make sure that you are joining the military for all the right reasons and none of the wrong one, and you should not have any regrets going over seas to serve your country. Joining up will give you a real chance to fight for your country and to make something of yourself.

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Top Reasons to Join the Military

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Top Reasons to Join the Military

People decide that they would like to join the military for a wide variety of different reasons. Everyone has his or her own distinct reasons for joining depending on personal preference, life situation and career goals. Here are some of the top reasons for why people join up:

As a Test of Courage: For many people, joining the military is sort of like a daring activity. People go and join up with the military because they want an opportunity to prove that they are brave and courageous and that they have the guts to do it. For many people, it is just a “man thing”. Many men join the military because they feel like it is a way for them to prove that they are strong and tough, because not just anyone can “make it” in the military.

For Good Citizenship: For many people, the reason why they decide that they would like to join the military is because they want to fight for their beloved country, becoming a good citizen. The pride that comes with joining the military and being able to fight for your country is something that cannot be replicated in any other way. Being able to join the military is like pledging your allegiance to the entire country by proving that you would be willing to do anything to pay tribute to your home country. The biggest consideration when this is the course of action that you take is the fact that once you make the decision, it is not one that you can simply take back at will.

These are just a couple of the reasons for why someone might like to join the military. Ultimately it is up to you to decide which reason is going to drive you to join up as well. Just keep in mind that the military is not ideal for everyone, but it may just be ideal for you.

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Talking to Your Family about Joining the Military

Joining the military is an honorable choice. It can still be difficult to tell your family about your decision, since they are likely to start worrying about you getting hurt. By telling them about your decision, why you made the choice you did, and what you hope to gain from the experience, you can help them understand your choice and respect it.

If at all possible, you should consider including your family in your decision. If you are dealing with your parents and siblings, this isn’t necessarily true. If they object to your decision, you don’t need to include them.  However, if you are married and if you have children, it is absolutely essential to include your family in the decision-making process. Your choice will decide where they live, where they go to school, and how they spend the next four years of their lives.

It’s important to tell your family why you made the choice you made. There are lots of options to advance in life, and the military is one of many. Tell them why you decided that the military would help you in your career of choice. If you are joining the military to serve your country, tell them that; it is an honorable reason to make that decision.

Rather than focusing on the negative, as your family is likely to do, focus on what benefits you’ll gain from joining the military. You will get to travel the world, meet people from all different countries, gain work experience, and earn money towards college. Focusing on these upsides is a good way to give your family some perspective and show them the positives of you joining the military.

Making the decision to enlist in the military is a tough one. Don’t let your family make it an even tougher decision.

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Army Boot Camp: What Basic Training Is All About

Besides the heroism associated with US military personnel who serve their country and preserve American society, perhaps another reason why the US military is so honored and revered is because of the physically demanding conditioning that soldiers have to endure. Soldiers have to be in top physical condition in order to serve their country. Basic Training, or Boot Camp, is how the Army gets its soldiers from the recruitment process to the point where they are ready for deployment. But that means waking up early, running to the bone, and getting into peak physical condition.

Basic Training is generally a 9 week session of intense physical conditioning, combat training, and teamwork building. Soldiers wake up early, at 5Am, have morning physical training and then breakfast, then more training, such as a lesson on how to fire an assault weapon, the lunchtime followed by more training. After diner, it is time to go through with drills, and then there is some free time before going to bed early.

Even basic physical conditioning has to be performed according to military standards. A military-style sit-up requires a full arch of the back to the knees. A military-certified push-up requires that a soldier bends the elbow to a right angle.

While it is important to be in top physical condition as a soldier, there are other things that a soldier must do to prepare for deployment. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and other branches of the military all demand that soldiers submit fully to authority. Soldiers must learn how to fold their bed blankets with perfect corners and how to salute their superiors formally.

The United States military has been in operation since the beginning of the nation, when rag-tag bands of militia men fought in the Revolutionary War. But since then, the military has developed the basic training and other methods to ensure that the US department of defense is one of the strongest in the world.

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The US Military is in Fashion

Fatigues are selling well this Christmas season, but that’s not unusual. Military style clothing has been in fashion for a while. From stylish epaulets on army trench coats to camouflage cargo pants, military style has influenced mainstream fashion because it is functional, durable, and looks great on just about anyone.

The infiltration of the military style is evident. There are olive green bomber jackets, aviator sunglasses, khaki pants, cargo shorts, chevron patches, and double-breasted pea coats. The color navy blue is often a uniform color in the workplace and for school children.

There are numerous army surplus stores in just about every major city. These stores – sometime warehouses – stock military-inspired apparel and accessories. Civilians can purchase full on battle gear or a flight suit to match Tom Cruise in the movie Top Gun. Military-inspired clothes are often popular among men, who value the durable material and the rough look of the wardrobe. Knives, bandanas, camping gear, and hiking equipment are also sold in army surplus stores, and this phenomenon shows that Americans often associate military clothing with outdoor clothing. Many times, sporting goods stores like Big 5 sell military fatigues or similar clothing in their stores.

This infiltration of military fashion is not only for practical reasons like durability, but also to patriotism and the association of military uniforms with heroism. Although the department story Old Navy has little to do with military style fashion these days, this very American department store has capitalized on American patriotism and traditional American values to sell its merchandise.

Although American society may shirk at the idea of conformity, Americans still love military uniforms. And although military uniforms are associated with orderliness, many of the film stars who popularized the styles, such as Humphrey Bogart and his trench coat, are anything but orderly. Still, America continues to dress in military-inspired clothing, and the trend will continue as long as there are smart-looking soldiers.

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The US Military in the Movies Part I

The US Military has been a perennial source of fascination for Hollywood. There are enough mainstream movies that feature historical wars, war heroes, documentaries, and historical fiction based on wars or battles that Military Film could be considered its own genre. For military history buffs and those interested in how American society views its military, an overview of military-based films makes for a fascinating study tool.

War films have been a popular genre since the dawn of film. The 1930s saw All Quiet on the Western Front, now a classic, along with Alexander Nevsky, a Russian film by the master director Sergei Eisenstein, which does not concern itself with the US but nevertheless shows the strong interest in war film. But it wasn’t until during and after World War II, when America finally woke up from its sleepy isolationism, that society began to demand war movies.

In 1963, the now-classic The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, features a gang of POWs who try to make a break from a Nazi camp, culminating in a fantastic motorcycle chase. The film is based on true events, but is clearly edited for entertainment purposes.

Few movies about the Vietnam war were produced until The Green Berets, a classic John Wayne film that stars and was co-directed by the Duke, who was pro-Vietnam. In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola directed Apocalypse Now, which is based on the literary master Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness, but is about the Vietnam War. The movie is a dark and fascinating tale about American soldiers entangled in the depths of the Vietnam jungle.

There are plenty of American war movie lists, from the American Film Institute’s Top Films list to homemade lists from war buffs around the world. Although the lists vary from viewer to viewer, one thing is for sure: the US military has a strong presence in American film, right down to the toy soldiers in the Toy Story series.

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The US Military in the Movies Part II

After the Vietnam War, Hollywood has continued to produce films based on America’™s military involvement. With the progress of special effects, improved film technology, and extensive research, war films have become more accurate and convincing, although many debate that war films are now more geared towards entertainment than historicity. Still, the prevalence of American war films produced in the past decades shows that the US military is ever-present in the American consciousness. Top Gun, produced in 1986, is one of the most popular recent American military films. While not technically a war film, this story of three pilots in training for the Navy has permeated American culture and, after 24 years, continues to be a favorite with military enthusiasts. Starring Tom Cruise and Meg Ryan, the pop film includes classic 1980s music and now-clichéd phrases such as “Too close for missiles, I’m switching to guns,and “I feel the need for speed.” The 1999 film Three Kings, starring George Clooney, is one of the first mainstream Hollywood films about Operation Desert Storm, set in the early 1990s Gulf War. Along with Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump, produced in 1994, and Saving Private Ryan in 1998, these films show that the 1990s was a decade with mixed points of view towards American involvement in wars during the 20th century. A slew of war films in the early 2000s, such as The Patriot in 2000, Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor in 2001, and Letters from Iwo Jima and Annapolis in 2006, continues the popular trend of American war movies. Letters from Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood, is a World War II film that turns the tables on the traditional American perspective. Black Hawk Down is a gruesome, fast-paced film about a series of special operations in Somalia in 1993 that went awry. With the tense and thrilling Hurt Locker released in 2009, Hollywood seems poised to continue producing high-quality American war films.

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