The few, the proud...

Bah, I wanna be on the front lines. You know, pistol whipping terrorist, smoking an overly large cigar, unshaven coarse stubble on my face. Wielding a large caliber gun with the name "Ol' painless" painted into it.

But seriously, if I join a branch of the services. It would be either the army or the marines. Fuck being in a tin can in the middle of the ocean so the Navy is out and the Air force. pfft like the would put me in charge of a jet. Wel,, I guess there goes the army they wouldn't even let me near the tanks. Damn it! Never get to have any fun.

If you want to be a careerist in the military, you should try to attend to academy relevant to the branch you want to be in. You start as a com. officer, and the people from the academies have the easiest path to promotions and such. No one will deny that a noncom. is more valuable on the battlefield than a fresh com. officer, due to front line experience, but the people who move up to high leadership positions tend to favor graduates of the military academies.

One of the biggest disadvantages of the armed forces is that moving up in the heirarchy is difficult. The institutions are pretty conservative and often put very senior people in high places, even at the expense of merit. Lately, things have been shaken up, mainly because a number of high ranking officers and commanders not named Petraeus were unable to adapt to a new kind of battlefield and innovate in new situations. Still, it is much easier to move up quickly by showing aptitude and merit in the business world than in the military.

Not to sure what the benefits you get from joining the marines.

I know here in Australia they pay for your University fees, which is why i may consider joining the Air Force some time.

semper fi,
semper fi,
semper fi.

My brother is a helicopter and fighter electician in the marines and is on his second tour in the war. I may not think the war we're fighting is right, but no matter what the troops will always have my support and they deserve yours to.

My oldest friend is a US Marine. He hasn't been for very long; last time I talked to him he was in MP school.
I'm not really interested in joining the military personally, but if I was, I most likely option to be a Marine, if possible. I mean, it seems to take more effort, and if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right, yeah?