join the military servise?reason/

[MiraM]

It may sound "hokey" to some I guess but I joined the Marines because I wanted to be a Marine and serve my country.

Nothing "hokey" about that that. That's why I joined the military....To serve my country. Now as for joining the branch I did, that was a different story. My father was career Marine Corps, so I joined the Navy knowing it would just chap his a**. I also come from a long line of Warriors. On my father's side of the family, we have traced our military history back to the Vikings. My mother's families military history goes back to border raiders in old world Scotland. As far back as we could trace things, military service has not skipped a generation.

[Tess]

Like most enlistees, I joined for personal reasons. I wanted training, and didn't have the money for college. I did feel good about serving my country as well as some benefits for myself. While serving, I gained a lot more appreciation for the opportunity to be part of protecting our country. I gained a lot from the experience. I learned a lot by being exposed to different cultures, beliefs, and some of the best people you could ever hope to know from all 50 of our states here in the U.S.A. I knew of my fem side going in, but it was not an attempt to get rid of it..... They will probably always be "the best times of my life"

I couldn't have said it better. The difference for me was I enlisted during the era of the draft so I probably wouldn't have joined the Air Force if the draft wasn't hanging over my head. The training I received led to a civilian career that was beyond my wildest dreams. While serving in Europe I spent weekends in Paris, leaves in London, Copenhagen, and skiing in the Alps. What a grand time for a kid who hadn't been more than 100 miles from home before joining up.

[Dana]

I intially enlisted in the Marines because?

"Ask not what you country can do for you? But what YOU can do for your country?"

Yes, I figured I had a patrotic chore do and debt to pay to all of those that had gone before me? To include three uncles that served four long hard years during WWII

And there were selfish reasons?

I figured I'd enlist for four years, party my azz off for the first two years, travel, see the world (and I did)

And then settle down and use the Corps most generous education/training benefits while I was in the Corps without even using my GI Bill.

I got out and attempted to going to college, but trying to come back home and work and live off subsistence pay (just enough to rent a shack, buy some beans and wennies etc) drove me back into the Corps.

I ended up doing my twenty and retiring ~ and THANK ALMIGHTY GOD I DID

Smartest thing this old poor boy ever did!

[joanna marie]

Originally Posted by MAJESTYK
It may sound "hokey" to some I guess but I joined the Marines because I wanted to be a Marine and serve my country.

Same with me

My father landed on Omaha Beach with the 29th Div during WWII
Older brother fought in Korea
another brother in the Cold War Army

I figured that vietnam was my turn to serve my country
Enlisted in the Army after High school in 1968,signed up for the Infantry and volunteered for Vietnam.Got there in 1969 and served with the 1st Cav. as a grunt.

My desire to serve didn't have anything to do with my CDing,
Three years in the Sevice did put it on hold but sure didn't stop it

[TxKimberly]

I joined and stayed for 12 years for a variety of reasons, and believe it or not, the hope that they would "cure" me was not one of them.
I Joined to get out of the Mojave desert, and because I wanted a future. I stayed because I was terribly proud of what I was doing and wanted to serve my country. I suspect that never again in my life will I feel so much pride as when I used to say "I defend the United States of America". What can possibly compete with that?

For anyone thinking of joining I will tell you this. It will be the hardest thing you ever do in your life.
There will be moments when you think to yourself "Oh my God, what have I done?!"
There will be moments when you think that you have made a terrible mistake.
The good news is that the vast majority of the time, you will feel that you are at last doing something worth doing.
You are doing something that you can be proud of.
You will be doing something that you can tell your Children and Grand Children about with pride ringing from your voice.
Serve your country so that you can feel that you have earned the right to enjoy it's freedoms.
Serve your country so that you can hold your head high when you speak to your descendants.
Serve your country so that you can know that you took your turn standing at the wall keeping the barbarians out.
Serve your country so that you know you helped make and keep your country a place where a cross dresser is free to express themselves.
It's a hard thing to do, but it's a thing worth the doing . . .

[VtVicky]

TxKimberly. As well put as anything I have ever read on this subject! Thank you. An outstanding post.

[Renee_E]

Because the poster said the Marine Corps buils men. So it lied. The only thing it changed was the size of my sholders.

[PretzelGirl]

I didn't do it to hide anything and I didn't do it to become a man. Simply put, I needed a paycheck. Did the buddy system like Marissa and did end up with my best friend for 1 1/2 years. Then I did 18 1/2 more without him.

[LitaKelley]

I enlisted back when we had the first Iraq war, but got kicked right out while being processed at the MEPS