College Student with Marine Father looking to enlist. Requesting advice.

[ChadMcintyre]

I am a 21 year old college student and my father is a former Marine sergeant. Am am currently taking classes and want to enlist as a reservist, then possibly take the officer route later in life. My concern is that my father is set on me completing school asap and while I know only I can make this choice, I will not proceed without my father's blessing and support. Any advice on how to have this conversation with him.

[USMC 2571]

Hi Chad...there's a rule against double posting, so this one will probably be removed by admin or mods and the one in Ask a Marine section will probably be the one to be left alone, so I'll respond there.

[USMC 2571]

Actually, it should be in Ask a Marine, not Open Discussion under Marine Family, so why don't you post it a third time, once in Ask a Marine, and let the mods get rid of it here and in Open Discussion---besides, Ask A Marine is where you'll get the most responses anyway.

[ChadMcintyre]

I attempted to, but it wouldn't allow me to post in that forum

[USMC 2571]

ah, okay, so leave it here then,,,,I'll talk with the mods and admin about it and see what they want to do.

[USMC 2571]

In response to your post, here is my take on it, and it may be basic stuff you already know, and others might disagree with what I'm about to say, but that's okay.

You being 21, not 16 or 17, you know that you control what happens, as you already acknowledged. You want your dad's blessing whichever way you decide to go. And that's a laudable goal, but if it means your sacrificing what YOU really want to do, that is another thing altogether and probably requires more thought on your part.

In the meantime, PM a squad leader (mod) here by the handle madsox----Andy Maddox----he served as a reservist and may offer some tips......also, if this thread is not seen by 2 others who frequently visit the Ask A Marine section, consider PMing them also---crazymjb and tennessee top-----what do YOU want to do about college? Your dad wants you to finish. Do you? Do you intend to, or do you want to enlist right now?

[USMC 2571]

Short answer to all of this is do what is best for YOU. Others cannot live or relive their lives through you, consciously or subconsciously----YOU must live your own life, and sacrificing important personal goals and aspirations in order to please others, even parents, is not a good road to go down, simply because then, you are in essence living a different life other than your own. But this is all easier said than done. Just give it some thought, and give us some more details re are you just about done with college, just starting out, not interested in a degree ?? etc etc

[USMC 2571]

Notified Admin, asking him to delete the duplicate thread in Marine Family--Open Discussion and to leave this one here in Open Squad Bay....he'll decide what to do.

[Tennessee Top]

Your question has to do with how to have a conversation with your father regarding joining the reserves. You don't say anything about having a relationship with a recruiter at this point. It's important to understand the benefits of being a reservist so you can explain them to your dad, and help sell him on the idea. Recruiters are taught how to communicate with parents in recruiters school and do it routinely on the street. They can give you tips, or even sit down and talk to your dad with you. You should be enlisting the help of your local recruiter for this conversation since they get paid to do it. There are no recruiters here.

Good luck.

[USMC 2571]

Excellent advice----Chad, this is why I suggested you PM Tennessee Top and also crazymjb, as well as madsox

[USMC 2571]

I wish I knew other former reservists on here besides madsox but he's the only one I know of

[USMC 2571]

((Just an aside here to Wayne aka chulaivet1966----can't send you a PM til you clear out your stash of PMs there, brother))

[chulaivet1966]

((Just an aside here to Wayne aka chulaivet1966----can't send you a PM til you clear out your stash of PMs there, brother))

Mornin' Brother Dave.....

I didn't know that......I'll clean it out now and thanks for the G2.
Regarding this thread, I damn near chimed in. :)

Carry on....

[chulaivet1966]

((Just an aside here to Wayne aka chulaivet1966----can't send you a PM til you clear out your stash of PMs there, brother))

Done....
I'd guess you already know how I would respond to the OP. :)

OP....you are an adult and YOU have to decide what's best for YOU and your life choices.
My parents had absolutely NO say in my decision.
I laid it on them AFTER I joined and wouldn't change a thing.
But, that's just me. :)

Do carry on....

[Marine1955]

If I were you I would get ROTC under your belt graduate and try for OCS, at lest you could be and Officer and that would make your Dad very proud of you...

[USMC 2571]

Good advice---bottom line, it is always good when father and son are on the same page, but if they are not, it's time to turn the page and move on.

[jeffrey 4131]

Chad,
Here's a start:

https://www.marines.com/becoming-a-marine/officer.html