Hey everyone........

Reading all these posts this past week that I've been a member here, I got to wondering about something.......

Actually, I wondered about it when I saw that some people here are only 14.

Anyway, for those of you who always WANTED to join the military, why did you want to??
To explain: Once when I was with Dexter in the PX they had these little baby-sized camoulflage uniforms...... I remember commenting about how I didn't like that. He told me that HIS parents used to dress him that way too.
And my parents had two daughters...... but they always said that if they had a son he they would have made him join the military.

Anyway....... Were any of you sort of "conditioned" that joining the military was the right thing??? When you were older, did you join because you wanted to, or because you were taught that it was right??? Or both????

Personally, although I come from a military family, my Dad's service was done before I was born and the last thing he wanted was for me to join the military. However, I was raised with a strong sense of service and what one's obligations were in a community (including the nation). When I told my Dad I was going to sign papers, he made me promise to wait, and I did for three years, finally signing when I was 20, so I was definitely not pressured into joining the service or "programmed" or "conditioned" in any way, but I have just always wanted to be a Soldier, ever since I grew out of wanting to be an old west gunslinger .

I don't put too much stock in the idea of programming a child to become something, I believe that each person will make their own decisions about who and what kind of person they will become on their own as they mature. Heck, if anything, my family tried to "condition" me to become a doctor, and obviously that idea went down in flames.

Thanks for the response Redneck......

Although sometimes parents unintentionally program their kids, ya know??

Considering all that I saw as a kid, its no wonder that I tend to have a violent mentality.

Anyone else have an opinion??

I was attending a French Riviera cosy university and discovered how intolerant the humanists / lefties /good doers are... strikes for about everything and anything that would provide the "revolutionary thrill" of a brush with the police, intolerance for anything that goes against THEIR views, feel good love and peace SPEECHES, common promiscuity and apparent sloppiness that goes with the life style, pot and binge drinking, hate for the mainstream John Doe seen as a racist bigot inbreeder.
I guess I was too mature for that and that I somehow succeeded in controlling my hormonic revolution...I had a pretty clear idea of what Real life was really about!
There, I realized what I did not want to be!
I felt a strong call for the people they despised the most, for law and order, for the military....

Well, both my Parents were in the Air Force. (most of my kin are in the Air Force) But they were all ways like don't join, don't join, don't join. (well at least my Mom was) So it was not all that easy telling them I want to become a Marine. I had to have some good reasons. 1) I Love my country, and I want to do all I can to help it. 2) I am a Christian, (Mom thinks I'm gona go to hell if I join the Corps) And I am commanded to Love my God, and to love others. Part of loving others is helping them. I can help and maybe give my life serving others with the Corps. 3) I've live all my life in the military and am not to big on leaving it.