Oh and by the way, just because you “know a lot of guys” who reaped the benefits of the military, statistically speaking, they are just the minority…

I AM IN TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH THIS WEBSITE. THERE SHOULD BE NO RECRUITERS FOR ANY BRANCH.

WE SHOULD JUST START DRAFTING AND END ALL THE CONFUSION!

If you’re thinking about joining for money, you’re like the vast majority of high school graduates in that you’re unsure about your future and how you’re going to attain your goals, and the military seems to offer job experience and adventure. If you want adventure and to serve your community, become a fire fighter! Become a paramedic! And with all irony intended: become a job counselor!

When my head drill sergeant asked how many out of my platoon joined for the money, almost everyone raised their hand and the rest were lying. (If you happen to be a flag-waving kill-’em-all type, seek professional counseling as soon as possible; you are psychotic, uninformed, and likely need medication. Alcohol works for most.)

But before you enlist out of high school, consider a few things:
1. Your recruiter has a quota to meet and doesn’t give a flying fuck about you. The entire goal of the recruiter is to maintain or increase the productivity in his or her area of responsibility (say, a school district) and unless you happen to be recruited by someone other than a careerist, the future of his or her career is entirely contingent upon either happening to find a fat target like a flag-waving kid whose mother didn’t graduate from college (the Dept of Defense does market research like any other private corporation; the factors I’ve listed here, along with English proficiency, are a few of the major things that the DoD thinks makes you a fat target), or to convince you that you need the military to fulfill your goals.
2. If you do the math, you will be paid less than minimum wage; pay raises for enlisted soldiers haven’t kept up with inflation for years. This is something that a few of my friends and I realized when I was in Iraq, so that’s including hazardous duty pay and all the extra goodies. This is probably true for several ranks beyond that of E-4 (my rank at the time).
3. There are other ways of getting money for college and the only thing you need to do to find these resources is talk to your school counselor or, better yet, do the research yourself. If you’ve kept your grades up, done fairly well on the SAT/ACT, and done a little bit of community service, for the love of all that is holy GO TO COLLEGE!
4. The skills that you learn in the military are very rarely directly applicable towards the industry to which you may think it does when your recruiter is sweet talking you. (Some notable exceptions to this include obtaining some kind of paramedic certification for the 91A/W MOS.) There are entire books written on how to “adapt” military MOS training to the “civilian side” (like when you’re trying to write a resume in after you ETS in six years); being a guardsman avoids this issue somewhat but there are other considerations even if you think this is going to be your path (some listed below).
5. GO TO COLLEGE!

There’s an entirely different set of considerations beyond the most common fiscal ones I’ve addressed above:
1. You may be put in situations in which your survival instincts are not compatible with your personal morality or ethical guides (Example: Maintain a checkpoint at which there is a real possibility that you will accidentally fire on civilians because of the perceived threat that a speeding vehicle represents; something for which you will not likely be punished, but will live with for the rest of your life.).
2. You will likely be asked to participate in what has been agreed upon by the vast majority of international rule of law experts to be an illegal occupation (Iraq, in case you’re not up on current events.). In fact, this isn’t just likely, it is damned near certain. It is even more certain that you will in some way materially support the occupation. In other words, according to international law and the treaties to which the US is bound via the Constitution, you will be considered a war criminal. Prosecution, however, is less likely; if you want to be a criminal and actually make money, become an entrepreneur like TuPac or Al Capone.
3. If you are female, you will be sexually harassed. There is no way of avoiding this fact (although some cope with it by ignoring it or denying it). The instance of rape among military personnel is far higher than among the general US population for both men and women. The numbers are at http://www.stopmilitaryrape.org.
4. The military will put you where they want you, and do with you what they want because when you sign your enlistment contract you (your body–fingernails, skin, hair, reproductive organs, etc.) become government property. If you get a sunburn, for example, you won’t necessarily but can be punished for damaging government property (just one example).
5. GO TO FUCKING COLLEGE! Or, learn a trade, join a union, and do what my buddy did and make more money than most 1st-year college graduates can even dream of! The possibilities for your life are so endless you would–at the very least–be wasting 8 years of your life by signing such a bullshit contract (every contract is for 8 years, by the way).

And as for the jokers (some have posted above) that think that they can logically reconcile the fact that they’re soaking up federal funding by being in the military and therefore supporting the most inefficient and costly US enterprise–the occupations of Iraq/Afghanistan and their $3 trillion price tag–you are the true enemy of the people that want this country to be truly free, and I hope one day you can pierce the thick layer of denial that your lifestyle has developed (an ontological trait allowed by some creative blaming, might I add) because I know that these few words won’t do anything but enrage you much like fire enrages zombies. SLOGANEERING IS FOR SOPHOMORIC OSTRICHES; YOU ARE THE ENEMY!

And if you’re a veteran and think the war is bullshit (and have read this far!) try reading Gen. Smedley Butler for starters. He’s a kick and funny, too. He was at the trail end of the anti-imperialist movement that gained momentum when the US went to war with Spain over the Philippines, etc. Dedicated patriots like him were gradually weeded out, and now look where we are!