"Peanut Butter Shot"

[Tennessee Top]

Yes. That same size. But, they stay in your arm till the pint of blood is drawn.

[PrimoG]

The needle is like a needle.

Mike

Ooo

[FoxtrotOscar]

Just wait until you find out your shot card and medical records turn up "MISSING"....

[crazymjb]

The best part is when it's not missing, they just keep giving you the same shots because someone put it in the wrong part of your medical record.

Mike

[PrimoG]

Oh god... You guys. xD If I have to take all those shots again, Im gonna be so sad... I just hope that from now to then that I will grow some balls and take the needles. Oh and while I'm here might as well ask 2 more questions. Should I go to college first then join the military or vice versa? Should I see a recruiter when my senior year is almost over or after I finish highschool?

[Tennessee Top]

Education should always be your first priority. So, go to college first.

You're eligible to see a recruiter during your senior year. Sooner the better, so you can get your questions answered and establish a game plan on how to proceed.

[crazymjb]

Whatever you end up deciding with education, do as well as you possibly can in high school. I've met guys who had decided they were going into the military so they just basically scraped their way through the rest of high school. That's fine if you are going to do 20 years in the military and never consider college when you get out... but you want to have the strongest academic resume possible when it comes to apply to college.

As far as whether or not you should go to college first, that's a personal choice. I opted to do the reserves so I took a year after high school to complete my training, and then started college. If the reserves weren't an option, I would have gone active duty. At the time I got out of high school I just wasn't ready to jump into college. If you don't have the money for college, I would recommend going active duty before college. If your family has enough money for you to go to college and not worry about paying for it, than I think that's probably a good idea. You can always take a leave of absence and join the military. A lot of my friends are saddled with debt currently, meanwhile my friends who could take advantage of the GI bill have none. Don't underestimate the stress and limitations 10s of thousands in student loans will put on you. On the reserves front, the issue with the reserves is you do not receive adequate GI benefits to pay for school until after you have deployed, which may or may not happen. Something else to consider is in many states just by being in the National Guard for that state you are given a free ride to school while in the Guard.

As far as when you want to talk with a recruiter, as soon as I got my license I drove my happy ass to the recruiting station. I also took the ASVAB when my school offered it. This gave me the opportunity to take it in a familiar, stress free environment, and on paper. If this is still offered and you can take it at school, I'd recommend doing that. A recruiter may or may not talk to you until a certain point, but most will be happy to answer questions. One thing to consider is that for job selection the fiscal year when the new jobs open up is in October. If you have your heart set on a certain MOS, it is helpful to be able to formally enlist prior to October of your senior year. Infantry fills up wicked fast, for example. If you are 17, your parents can co-sign to this end. I ended up "swearing in" November of my senior year, so I had obviously been in touch with my recruiter for a while prior to that.

Mike

[PrimoG]

Alright. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, sir. I'm doing really well in high school right now. So I do plan on going to college. If the country is in peace by the time I graduate college, my plan is to just get a job and remain a civilian... Only reason why I really want to join the Marine Corps is to help out in the Iraq/Afghanistan and get disciplined so that I can change my lifestyle. Those are my plans for now.

[crazymjb]

If your motivation for serving doesn't go beyond that, I wouldn't waste your time.

[m14ed]

THE - Only reason why I really want to
join the Marine Corps
is to help out in the Iraq/Afghanistan

and get disciplined
so that I can change my lifestyle.

Those are my plans for now.

# 1 *listen to your mother = stay in school
# 2 *look around for a BOSSY Girlfriend and
Marry her will change your lifestyle and
give you more discipline than you'll ever
want ..

both the above will cost less in the long run
than an Enlistment into the MarineCorps

"Sweetpea"

[Tennessee Top]

There's as much chance of the country being at peace in four years as there is in my hitting the Powerball. The odds of us getting into a full-fledged shooting war are increasing every day. If that happens, they may even be forced to bring back the draft. We even managed to pi$$ off Mexico and Mexico is our neighbor!