So, the other day my Ma'am (mother) asked me why, out of all the armed forces, did I want to be in the Marines. I gave her simple answers, basically things to do with stuff I wasn't about to do even if they paid me, ie be a submariner..Haha, no thank you, very much.. But I got to thinking, what if there's more to the Marine life that I've somehow scanned over in my searching and interviews of Marine buddies and that such. So, figured I'd just ask and see the response I get. Thanks in advance as always.


Oh! And serious apologies if this post's already been put up.. o.o;; It'll be a matter of seconds that I find it and I'll feel like a loser. Lol.

I can tell you the reasons I joined the Corps. Not sure if it will be of help.

When I was 18 I dropped out of the Air Force boot camp. (Won't give the reasons except to say that at that time they were good ones to me.) I felt like I had left something undone in my life.
I wanted to set myself realistic goals.
I like a structured environment with a set pecking order.
I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.
I wanted the feeling of accomplishment when someone says "Thank you for all you are doing and have done".
I wanted to give my children something to look at other than an average everyday Dad.
I wanted to fulfill a dream I have had since I was 16 years old.
I wanted to go out and see new places and experience new things. (not been dployed yet so that is a bust so far)
I wanted to provide myself a retirement.
Many different job opportunities.
On the Job training and on hand experience.
More potential employers will hire you over someone that has no military background yet the same experience.
More education opportunities.

There are as many reasons why a person would join the military as there are people in the military. You need to look at what you want, and what you expect to get out of it, then make a choice. Just make sure that you "have all your ducks in a row" so that you can make an informed decision. I am sure others will add to this and help give more insight.

This is a more obvious point,
but tell her about all the educational programs in the Marines
tell her about financial benefits (healthcare, etc...)

i tried the healthcare approach. my mom shot right back with, "who needs healthcare if u get shot in the face."

that was pretty funny.

What if you never even get shot at or shot? What if you just come down with some wierd syndrome or disease or medical condition that was harboring itself in your body? Then what? What about that awful case of foot fungus you got in HS that never really went away and now is some viral infection? You don't have to be deployed to get hurt either...what if that copy machine falls over and breaks your foot? What if while you are out PTing you get run over by a car...etc etc...

Healthcare is a good point being as it will cover you even after your term of service is over.

Do you mean choosing the Corps over the other services vs. choosing the military in general?

From my perspective, I've always viewed Marines as a self-selected, focused group. They know exactly what they're getting into, and know why they're doing it. People will enter the Army to get the benefits, but people enter the Marines "for God, for Corps and for country." They tend to have a much higher sense of responsibility for their country, and are willing to do anything for it. That might anger a lot of people in the other services, because they feel that their service is belittled by that, but by the same token, it's also acknowledged that Marines also border on the insane.

Just my $0.02.

The little voices in my head say I am not insane.

I am not in the marines, so maybe I dont know what Im talking about, but just tell her straight up why you want to join.

I told my parents i wanted to join the Army because I want to make a difference. I want to actually do something with my life, something that has an impact on people, even if they dont know it. I want to serve in order to give people a choice, even if they choose wrongly. That is what freedom is; the right to choose. Even despite those who do choose wrongly, or despise who I am and what I stand for, or misuse the gift so many of our soldiers have bought with their lives; there are those people, no matter how few, who do understand. If I can give my life to keep the war out of our homes, protect the innocent, bring freedom to the oppressed, then so be it.

I seem to be having a hard time expressing what I mean, so if I confused anyone, Im sorry.

Well bear runner, I don't know what you want to be in the Corps, but I know they have positions where you don't get shot at. For instance, I took a test on military.com to see what jobs I would be good for. I got intelligence officer, chief and specialist, all of which (to my knowledge) are non combatant positions

Just say America has gone down the shitter so much you have more of a chance of getting shot at home than in the marines.