Any advice?

[dcmyst]

Hello all Poolee's, Wannabe's, Currently serving, and Veterans. I am 16 years old and will be going to my local USMC Recruiting Station this coming November after my 17th b-day. I have always wanted to be a Marine ever since I saw one at a local store.

But the problem I have is that my father is against me joining any Branch of the Service wether it be Coast Gaurd, Navy, Army, Air Force, or The Marines. I know that no matter what he says I will still become a Marine because my mother is behind me all the way and motivating me towards my goal, and I'm sure she could talk to him about it and make him see that my mind is set. But I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what to tell him to maybe make it easier on him to accept what I want to do?

Sorry bout lengthy post. :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[GySgtRet]

dcmyst,
Thank you for being interested in being a member of the worlds finest organizations. If you have a house devided like yours seems to be about you joining any branch of the armed forces it may be difficult but not impossible. Remeber you can always join after your 18th birthday without parental consent, but sometimes that is not the correct way to go speaking of your divided views of your parents. I spent 39 wonderful months on recruiting duty in Buffalo New York June 80 - June 83. I had some tough parents that would not sign, this to me is something between parents and their children. Talking your father into this may not be a wise thing to do. If you want to be a Marine you will become one of us. Obstacles are a way of life and being a Marine sometimes makes the obstacles even greater at times because of certain goals that need to be achived. I would set out to speak with both of your parents and let them know what your goals are. And do this in a very methodical manner no kids stuff here, you are talking about your future. When speaking to your family get uncles and autns opinions too, and brothers and sisters, this also involves them if you have any ciblings. What part of the country are you in? The mind set of different parts of the country may have an impact on how things affect your enlistment.

I hope that this has helped you to make a wise choice and help you grow a little more mature.

GySgt Ret.

[Super Dave]

It took me 6 months to "talk" my parents into signing for me. I just let them know that I WAS going to be a Marine. Even if i had to wait until I turned 18 and sign up myself. Now i was NOT being a jerk when i said this. I told them why i wanted to be a Marine and that is what i had chosen to do after high school.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

My father didn't accept my enlisting in the Corps until I had moved well passed entering, going to boot camp, and spending time in the fleet. In fact, I don't know that he accepted it totally until I had been in the 1stCivDiv for about two years. Parents don't always understand, but you have to do what is right for you. If that means waiting until you're 18 to enlist, so be it. It isn't as if there will be a long wait involved. Chances are you would still have to finish school if you enlisted at 17, so you wouldn't be missing out on any time you could be in our Corps.

[MillRatUSMC]

I'm sitting here debating, what might we say?
From a parent's point of view.
Your father might be looking for your interest even if it means not wanting you to join any service.
You still have a way to go.
Finish your education, workout to get in shape for boot camp.
I personally had to ask some Marine Corps recruiters to back off one of my sons.
With the assurance that if he was going to enlist, he would do so after graduating.
Which he did.
I myself enlisted when I was 17 1/2 years of age.
It has to be more than just money for an education.
It has to be self-motivation and the drive to achieve what few have done.
With desire and self-motivation, you should go a long way.
Yet our Core Values tells us we can't advise going against your father.
Just do the best till he might see a difference...

<MARQUEE BEHAVIOR=scroll DIRECTION=left LOOP=infinite>"The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps."
~ General Alexander A. Vandergrift, USMC ~
To the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, 5 May 1946</MARQUEE>

http://www.geocities.com/millrat_99/index.html

"The saddest part of the job that I have undertaken is that the armed services by their nature, represent the last resort,
when rational solutions to the country's problems have failed."
~ Lt. Cmdr. Harry Mossman US Navy ~
Remains recover in 1992 and indentified recently.

"A man or woman is measured
by the footprint,
he or she leaves behind".

"They were the best you had, America,
and you turned your back on them".
~ Joe Galloway ~ Speaking about Vietnam Veterans

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

[HardJedi]

Hmmm toughie. DEpends on the kind of man your pops is I suppose. My father was dead set agaisnt me entering the service as well ( silly old hippie :) ) now, I do NOT suggest this to you, cause YOU are not ME. My father absolutley refused to sign for me. So I told him plain and simple, " Dad, you can either do this for me, knowing it is something that I want, or you can have me resent you the rest of your life, and live without me as a part of it. Your choice."

That only worked for me, because even at a young age, I was known as a person who did NOT make threats. If i said i was gonna do something, then I did it. end of story.


Best bet, is to just sit and talk to him and tell him WHY you want to be a Marine.

[Arlene Horton]

I can relate to your problem, but from a different perspective. When I was 18 (a long time ago!) my parents were worried about my reputation! (I am female). They had heard many horror stories about women in service, none of which concerned me as I had spoken to Woman Marines in the recruiting station and they explained to me that a Woman Marine's reputation was very important because if only one female did something out of line it would not be said that THAT Woman Marine but THOSE Woman Marines were all the same. Consequently we were all very careful to avoid giving anyone the wrong ideas about servicewomen as a whole. Comments were made that the only reason females enlisted was because they couldn't find any eligible men in civilian life! Of course that was a mild one. Eventually my parents were very proud to have a daughter who was a member of a very special group..a UNITED STATES MARINE! When my younger brother decided to join the Corps my father was so proud that both his children were two of The Proud, the Few, the U.S. Marines. Hang in there young man. In time your father will be proud to say that he has a son in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi.

[tophor]

Just sit down and tell your father how you feel, don't argue, it does not work. I am a father of 3 sons and I will listen to them when they want to talk, most parents will listen. It may take a while for him to realize that you are at the age that you know what you want to do with your life and the choice to become a Marine is a very wise choice, the values that you will learn in the Corps will help you throughout the rest of your life. Your father may not listen at first, but persistance is the key. He will see that you are making wise decisions and not just going off half cocked and making irrational choices like a lot of todays youths. Just talk to him, he will understand. SEMPER FI!!

[fulmetaljackass]

dcmyst....just don't worry about it and just go with the flow. You'll be 18 one of these days. I can't remember my exact situation, but it was something like my mom wouldn't sign for me unless my dad did first. Luckily for me (and don't go getting upset because this isn't your situation....sounds like your mind's already made up, and you've waited this long so just continue to wait it out), my 18th birthday was just a couple months down the road, so my parents weren't too hard to win over. My dad was always trying to get me to change my mind, though. He was always talking about how much he'd shell out to send me to college, or that he could get me a job as an apprentice electrician with a company that pulled in A LOT of business.....but I turned 18 and my recruiter drove me to MEPS and the rest is history.

Alright...enough of the b.s. Now for the actual advice. Like I said, just wait it out. I wouldn't even try to talk to your dad about it too much, except to respectfully remind him of your intentions whenever he should ask. Even if he doesn't want you doing it, it's more than likely he doesn't want you enlisting not because he looks down on military service, but because he wants you to be safe. Holy crap, where did that come from? Jeez!! I was never a parent...honest!!

And before you go about apologizing for the long post, search around on here and go read some of MY posts!

[cjwright90]

Long post? Not at all. I did not have an arguement from my mom to go. She wanted to make sure that I truly wanted to become a Marine, first. I did want it, and got it. The title, that is. My mom, dad, and brother after me were all in the Brotherhood. (Still are):)
My dad was not around, but I think FMJA hit it right on the head. I think if the country was not involved knee deep in the War on Terror, his thoughts might be different. He knows the Corps is the finest fighting force on the planet. He knows that somehow somewhere, the Corps is going to be involved with some fighting, and casulties are part of that. He wants to keep you safe.

[Namvet67]

Don't get in a hurry. Finish high school, train for boot camp, keep asking questions to your self about why you want to become one of the few and the proud. My Dad did not want me to join the Marines either...don't know many who would. It's a Dad thing. Boot Camp is tough so get mentally as well as physically ready if this is want you really want to do. Good luck!

[dcmyst]

Thank you all for the advice I really appreciate it, I recently spoke to him about joining after I came home from Football, he did not give a clear indication that he was ok with it or if he was against it. So I'm just going to play this by ear, and he may not like this decision I will be making or he may like it but this is my future and my decision so like I said I will play by ear, and hopefully come Nov. he will accept it enough so that he can sign me up, if not I will sign up after my 18th b-day. Hopefully after I graduate boot, which I will do b/c I will never give up no matter what, he will be proud of me. Oh and Gnny I am in Ohio so it will be PI for me. :)

Again thanks all for the advice.