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| Agree | 31% | 61 votes | Total: 197 votes | |
| Disagree | 69% | 136 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe military gives those who seek it enlisted or commissioned - an opportunity to expand their horizons. One would think that these Senior Airmen, Sergeants, Petty Officers and Corporals joined because they could not find a job in the "Real World". On the contrary, many have completed 4-year degrees, and many others have completed a graduate program. Some of these enlisted members are former teachers, lawyers, and accountants, all stating that they wanted to feel like a part of something bigger. Conclusion: they weren't joining for a paycheck. There are those who have enlisted in the military because they've dropped out of college, several of whom claim that their college careers were spent partying. They've joined the military for direction and discipline two things that were lacking in their previous life. Still others could not afford to attend college, and have joined the military which pays 100% tuition and fees to further their education. To pigeonhole any military member, be they officer or enlisted, is not the way to view today's military. There are too many members, from such varying backgrounds, that classifying them in one category is extremely narrow-minded.
Yes, junior enlisted members (pay grade E-5 and below) might live in a smaller apartment than an officer. And, sadly, in some cases, they do not get the same amount of respect afforded a Captain or Colonel. This is because a junior enlisted member is a technician, not a manager. If you need your aircraft fixed, you aren't going to an officer; you're going to a Sergeant. And you will respect that Sergeant, because you're counting on her to account for every nut and bolt on that airframe, and get your feet back on the tarmac. Here's the thing, though: an enlisted member is also a leader, and his subordinates' first line of defense against an idiotic order from on high. This is the guy who countermands an officer's orders to "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later". This is the guy who speaks three and four different languages, learns the local culture, and gets the local tribal leader to sit down with the Major for a chat. This is also the guy who gets out and starts his own business and is retiring before you've gotten your second promotion. They are trusted and relied upon, and most civilian employers are clamoring for these guys because they have experience, education, and skills that aren't present in a college graduate.
In this day and age, not many people would consider the military as an option to start their lifelong career. When signing your enlistment contract, you basically sign some rights away that are taken for granted. There's no free speech if it harms your unit. You don't have the right to leave directly from work and demonstrate against the government in your uniform. Most military personnel do not have the opportunity to sit in a classroom with 149 teenagers and listen to a professor ramble about anatomy and physiology at 10:00 (that's 1000 to you military types). Others do not take advantage of it. I did, however, and I haven't looked back on my time in service with anything less than awe at what I've accomplished. I working on degree #4, I have been paid to learn a foreign language, how to manage people, speak in public, network, and get up before O-Seven-Hundred hours (that's 7:00 AM to you civilian types). I can analyze financial documents, set up a training program, feed my children, write a 10-page case study, go job hunting, shop for a new suit, and balance my checkbook in 24 hours. And I bring Starbucks to my co-workers.
Learn more about this author, Vanessa Weyland.
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Disagree
..On balance...If you objectively compare the available options.. the pros and cons of each path to a work career...Then by force of logic alone you cannot endorse the military as ..THE BEST OPTION for pursuing a career..The most dominating factor to take into consideration is simple, direct, and I believe indisputable..any option that opens the door to DEATH or worse Dismemberment cannot be considered the best option. End of debate..right? Not hardly!
Even if I had not served in the military, indeed.. even before I joined the military back in 1967, I knew this to be true. For many the ideal path, that of high school, college, post graduate, etc.; or perhaps out of trade school into an apprenticeship program; or say a business internship, is simply not a viable option.
Social and economic conditions we find ourselves in can make the use of the military to advance ourselves..THE ONLY..practical option.
There might be those who would take the position that not all military positions will lead to circumstances in which you find yourself in combat. Indeed, many there are, who spent a career in the military and never fired a weapon in defense of their lives or their comrades. Who never went on a patrol in hostile territory, or who flew in a helicopter into a hot LZ..(LZ=landing zone for those unfamiliar with military speak). Actually there are far more jobs in the military that are not combat based... such as Finance clerks, cooks, mechanics, engineers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. etc.. The military and its needs reflect an overall spectrum not unlike that of a major city.
The logistical side of the military is where most can look to gain the experience , education, and expertise in a given field that will transform into the civilian world with great and beneficial impact. However..there is no guarantee that an individual with a non-combat MOS ( MOS= military occupation specialty) won't find him or herself in harms way. Thats why everyone who joins the military has to endure basic trianing-basic..COMB AT..training. So even though I joined the army and endeavored to a non combat mos.. I still found myself in Viet-Nam, dodging rockets and mortars; siting on top of bunkers and in towers with my M-16 ready to fight; going on perimeter patrols looking for infiltrators; ducking under tables and behind sandbags while eating a morning breakfast,or lunch, wondering just what the heck was I thinking when joined the army. Good grief!
In conclusion, I would like to say, if you are brave enough, and lucky enough, and can come out of the military in one piece, and with a stable mind. Then the benefits and opportunities to further ones self and career, via the GI Bill, or even utilizing the life maturing experiences which are inherent in the military, can be considered worth the risk. And to all that decide to use the military path , I give you my undying thanks, for without you I could not be free to be writing this. Unfortunately I cannot say it is the BEST way to achieve career goals, but I will say it is the most NOBLE and HONORABLE way that I know of.
Learn more about this author, George F Pecoraro.
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