brother wants to join the marines - just some questions

[blurlucas]

My brother is a strong, good hearted, dedicated individual - He is 25 and feels that he has been bouncing around for the most of his years, and wants direction and discipline - He has his Commercial Driver's License, and will no doubt be a strong asset to a platoon - He has been in a phase of getting drunk a lot and feeling sorry for himself, and the family doesn't want him to sink any lower - Will the Marines be right for him? And also with the whole Iraq crap going on, I am sure I won't get any sleep knowing he is overseas with those bastards beheading and what not - I guess my real question is how much of a chance is it that he would be headed to a combat area? And should i encourage him to enter or should i try to steer him to another branch - or even something like another trade school?

 

[LIBERTY]

Going into the Marines, better yet any branch of the armed forces is possibly the best thing he can do. Though I cannot guarantee his safety, it is a risk he must take. The Marines will possitively straighten his life out. One question though is he going career or for 4-years?

 

[blurlucas]

I am not sure, as tomorrow (Monday), he is going to his second meeting with the recruiter for some kind of testing - He is up in the air as to whether it would be a career move, or something like the 4 year program - Is that the usual commitment?

 

[MilidarUSMC]

i can bet that almost all individuals in the marines will head to Iraq or somewhere near, it depends on his job as to how much danger he will be in, if he is smart he can get a good job and not be in the infantry he wont be in to much danger, like mechanics dont really go out on patrols, they stay in the green and wait for the dammaged vehicles to come back to him. so it all depends on his job

 

[Sooners1]

if he is smart he can get a good job and not be in the infantry

Hold on a second, are you tryin to say you have to be stupid to be infantry??? I certainly hope not..

blurlucas - as far as your brother goes, it sounds like he needs some direction and since he is seein a recruiter they should be able to hash it all out. About you encouragin or steerin hom one way or another, the best thing you can do is support what HE wants. No matter his choice, he is 25 and realizes he needs some direction and that is the true first step. As far as combat goes, who knows. Danger, yes, there is dangers in every branch in every MOS, it is just a different degree of danger. The best I can tell you now is support him, that is what he needs more than anything now, not lectures or " I dont want you to do this", he is findin himself and it is a tough thing to go through especially at that age.

 

[implicature]

-quote-
The best I can tell you now is support him, that is what he needs more than anything now, not lectures or " I dont want you to do this", he is findin himself and it is a tough thing to go through especially at that age.
-end quote-

AMEN sir.

i wish i had support like that. it may come slowly but it would be nice to have it now. another thing you may want to note is that when he makes his decision he will be gone for a while to train and such. support him now and show love that way when he is homesick and needs someone to talk to he will come to you without thinking thus making it easier on both of you in the future simply because you supported him initially

great advice above

 

[blurlucas]

Thanks for the advice - I am trying to be positive towards his decisions - Our father isn't really present, so I am kind of the guy he looks up to for approval - I spoke to him today as he was going to Springfield, Mass for his physical - He wants to go into the Crash Fire Rescue division - He has been a volunteer firemen in Connecticut for a few years, and would like to use his knowledge from his certifications he had to go through, in the Marines...Is the Crash Rescue unit something that he can say he wants to go into before he joins up- or is that decided by a commanding officer? He said he won't sign up unless he gets a guarantee to be placed in that program...

 

[Lil Hulk 1988]

if he is smart he can get a good job and not be in the infantry

Hold on a second, are you tryin to say you have to be stupid to be infantry??? I certainly hope not..

Yup like me dumb as a stump, at least that's what my second Master's Degree says.....

 

[03USMC]

, if he is smart he can get a good job and not be in the infantry he wont be in to much danger,

God I did'nt realize I was stupid Guess I wasn't smart enough to figure that out Bein a GrUnT and all. Thanks fer pointin that out PFC.

Your brother will get out of the Corps what he puts in.

 

[cbbr08]

question.. what makes him drink alot?? because if he drinks because he is depressed and emotionally unstable.. I wouldnt recommend him going in the military.