Shocking, isn't it? Shocking to me too, considering I've never really wanted to be a military girl. However, current events are making me choose...
Either I go, get great benefits, great pay, pretty much a free house, I get to travel the world at the government's expense, I'd have a guaranteed job once I serve my term...
Or I don't go, end up (more than likely) not going to school, working at this same job that I despise so much, never really being able to get anywhere in life, I'd struggle...
Right now, military is looking pretty nice.
Before I make any real decisions, lets look at the pros and cons of going, shall we?
Pros:
-great pay
(portion goes to me, other portion goes to my significant other)
-great benefits
(for both of us once we get married)
-basically free house once I serve my term
-full retirement at 40 if I stay in service for 20 years
-free travel, see the world at no cost to me
-job/field training for almost guaranteed job once out of service
-be able to provide a better life for my furture family
Cons:
-be away from loved ones for multiple weeks/months at a time
-good chance I won't be able to handle boot camp
(I don't like being yelled at, and I'm not in the best shape)
-no phone/internet at boot camp, which is 2 months long
(oh how will I survive?!)
-significant other might...might...get so bored and lonely that he may look for attention else where
(oh god I hope not)
Honestly, thats all I can think of, and I think the pros list is outweighing the cons.
Big time.
Let me be straight... I'm scared shitless to leave, I don't want to leave... But... if going into the military means I can give myself, Devin, and Molly a better life and a brighter, more comfortable future, then fuck... Why not...?
There's also the chance that you'll get so bored and lonely that you'll look for attention elsewhere also. I know my girlfriend at the time cheated on me like... a week after I got out of bootcamp. I'm surprised she lasted that long, really, lol. Not trying to be flirtatious, flattering, creepy, whatever, but you're really cute, so you'll have a lot of guys over you. That's just the nature of the beast, especially in the military and especially during deployment. You'll go to a party one time and probably have people handing you drinks non-stop and trying to get into your pants. But that depends on what kind of friends you decide to make and, hopefully, you decide to make friends that'll also try to keep you out of those kinds of situations as well.
ReplyDeleteBoot camp's not that hard. It just lasts a while. You're basically just sitting and studying most of the time. Just have to be patient is all. As long as you fly under the radar and don't make yourself known, you'll be fine. That means doing what you're supposed to do. Don't leave shit out, fold your clothes the right way, make your bed the right way, pay attention... Stuff like that. The day will go by a lot quicker once you realize the only thing you're really looking forward to is chow. Then your train of thought is "Sweet, only two more hours". or "Sweet, only one more hour". Even when there's still 8 hours to go in the day. As for the working out portion, that's easy. They'll give you one test to see where you're at within the first few weeks, then a second test about halfway through, then a final test the week before your last. You'll be running or doing some sort of workout every day before then and, honestly, if you just start running for 20 minutes every day two weeks before you leave you'll be in plenty good shape to get through the Cardio aspect of the workout routine.
"Great pay" is a matter of opinion. You save a lot, a LOT of money on deployment if you don't have any dependents or anybody using your money for anything. I know I did. I have almost 10k in the bank right now, myself, most of which is left over from deployment. However, the only thing I'm paying for is a cell phone bill. I don't have a car or anything, because I don't really want one at the moment, so I don't have to pay for insurance, which is mandatory, or gas, or the bill for the car. As an E-1 through E-3 you're getting about $600-$700 a paycheck, twice a month. You get free food on the ship, sure, but it sucks. The rate that prepares the food is called "Culinary Specialist" but that title's a puffed up joke. They can be replaced by a room full of microwaves and I guarantee you shipboard moral will improve 10-fold.
ReplyDeleteFree medical is awesome, especially if you have a family.
A free house... if you're married or E-5 and above. Until then you're probably either splitting the bill with someone or living on the ship. They also offer PPV, I'm not sure what it stands for, but it's basically a military housing project for E-4 and below that have been in the military for less than 4 years. You have to have your qualifications up to date and put in a request chit for it.
"Full retirement" is 50% of your retiring pay and a free house. I'm not even sure about the free house. I don't plan on staying in that long myself. 30 years gets you 75%.
Free travel once every two or so years for a one-day-to-one-week port visit. Which is going to happen maybe once or twice a month depending on which ship you're stationed on, which it isn't even guaranteed that you'll be stationed on a ship. The countries you see can be pretty cool though. I've been to Spain (Awesome), Greece (Sucked), Bahrain (All right), Dubai (Awesome), Turkey (Sucked bawlz), and Jordan (Sucked monkey bawlz). I also went to Haiti after the earthquake. I didn't get off the ship at all, and 98 days at sea without a port visit kinda' sucks. A lot.
By "Job field training" they mean "Give you a quick day-to-day reference of what you're going to be working with, with minimal lessons actually taught because you're going to learn when you get to your command and not really here lol go party after class is over". At least that's how mine was.
There are other benefits, such as the G.I. Bill, which will provide, I believe, $55,000 for school. They only give you three years after you're out to use it though. They also give you Tuition Assistance, which is, while you're actually in the military, they'll pay for your college and stuff as well. Which is awesome.
If you get stationed in the Norfolk area, let me know. We can hang out... Woo~
Thanks for the epic-long read, Cameron. Seriously, though, thank you for the insight ^-^
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