Active duty problem

[Sgt Leprechaun]

I'm with TD on this one. He sounds like a punk, a bully, and quite frankly, you'll be better off (and quite likely your family will be as well) if he DOES leave.

Go active and get on with it.

[brian0351]

Then have a talk with your mother. To keep the peace...tell her to "not" accept your choice. It will keep the peace at home and allow you to go do something with your life.

Then you can come home and get that piece of $hit thrown out on his ass. Father or not...gambling with the welfare of his family makes him less than human to me. Even a rat will defend their young!

[Lisa 23]

Poolee Giordano, maybe you should've been open with your dad right from the beginning out joining the Marine Corps, and things would be different today instead of waiting all this time to tell him now. I can understand how he could be pi$$ed at you and your mom....but to leave his family over you going active duty, just doesn't sound right.
I'm with Bulk on this...you sure you're not getting cold feet?
You're 23 years old, be the man that you are and stand up to your dad and "tell" him that this is YOUR life, YOUR future you're talking about. He can threaten or show all the papers he wants, you are going to go through with this no matter what.
Your father really needs to grow up!

[BR34]

Your father is going to be controlling you with his threats to do 'whatever' for the rest of his life if you allow it to start now.

[Lisa 23]

Your father is going to be controlling you with his threats to do 'whatever' for the rest of his life if you allow it to start now.

Exactly!

[Splash0341]

Look man I had the same problem when i first came in especially after my brother got blown up in Fallujah. but you are grown up, time for you to start living your life independly. you wont regret it. hell you may even like it. i'm not gonna bash on your family for wanting all you guys to be together and such that is a cool concept that most American families have forgotten. your dad is just being difficult with you b/c your doing somthing huge.

With all that being said my dad did the same but now since i have my own life we are even closer than ever. and we have a great mutual respect for one another. its awesome.

All i got to say is just do it! it will be worth it in the long run.

[CommBubba1999]

That puts you in a tough bind. You have to make the decision, though, for you. You can help your family out by sending them money just like thousands of other individuals do around the world. You can't help them if you're stuck in a dead-end job while you're attached to a Reserve unit. Oh, and if your recruiter tells you that it's hard to find you an 0311 Reserve slot, he's not bs'ing you. There may not be a Reserve unit in your area filling 0311 jobs, which means that your recruiter has to look at units farther away, which also means that you'd require a distance waiver due to the distance you'd have to travel for drill.

Best advice I can give you? Take care of yourself and execute the plan you have for yourself. I was a recruiter for four years and have seen a ton of parents freak out when their son/daughter announced what they were doing. After boot camp, though, it seems like most parents really came around. Your situation may be different, but you have to start making your own choices. Figure out how you can cover your family, if it comes down to that, but do what you need to do for you. If you want to be an 03xx on active duty, then do it. It is what it is.

[TJR1070]

Sounds to me like your Dad is searching for an excuse to leave. You have been given some great advice on here, it is now up to you to do something with those comments and make a desicion. Whichever option you choose make sure it is the right choice for YOU. Not your Mother, Father, Brother, sister, Aunt, etc, etc. Forced choices also usually have a habit of backfiring for all parties involved. You don't want to end up bitter toward your family for preventing you from doing what it was in your heart to do.

[fjmas1976]

Any man that would abandon his family or use it as leverage against a son that is trying to advance in life, is a d-bag. Plain and simple. Sounds like a real first class azzhole