chignutsak

You learn just as much, if not more, about leadership from bad leaders than from good leaders.

Cargo Man

Good for you! Also remember not every officer puts others first. Or always does the right thing.
If you make it in, you have a chance to do better then some of the disappointments you will see.
Don’t be a disappointment to those who need your leadership. Doing right has its own cost. That’s what makes our Country Great

TBoneF15

Sheer genius. Another really solid reason for joining the military.

Three years from now if you finally pin on wings, you can throw a nice big "I told you so" back at all of these anonymous people on the internet who won't remember you or this thread and really show us. And that satisfaction will make it all worth it for you.

Good luck dude.

Jetjok

CentralPilot,

Based on all of your comments throughout this thread, I'll again make the recommendation that you might perhaps endeavor to look elsewhere for your true calling. I'm sorry to say, but from your comments, it seems to me that you, at least currently, don't have an understanding of either the military, or the officer corps. How can I tell? I don't know....perhaps it's the 34 years I spent in uniform. Just a guess.

JJ

rickair7777

34 years??? You're older than me...

rickair7777

I think I've learned more from bad leaders

rickair7777

Niiiiice...

Centralpilot...unlike some others I'm not going to tell you not to do it. I've seen more than one person enter the military without a full understanding, or possibly some misconceptions, about what they were getting into. Some of those turned out OK in the long run once they figured things out.

But I do agree that you maybe need to do a little more reading. It's OK for a clueless HS grad to enlist in the army with a primary motivation of getting the GI Bill for college. But combat-arms officers need to have more commitment, or at least a very open mind and a willingness to assume they have a lot to learn. You've gotten advice and comments from combat vets with many decades of combined military experience...I wouldn't disregard any of it.

Kilgore Trout

Be a bit of each.

Hobbit64

I have say, like others here, that I watched the good and bad decisions of leaders around me as I continue to shape my style. It is a continual process for me.

For the second, I chose AH-64's because I was enthralled (is that a 'man' word?) with the weapons systems and how they worked. The different warheads on the rockets were interesting to me. There is quite a variety. I could nail people with flechetes (what a crowd pleaser!), drop nine bomblets per rocket on a gaggle of terds and their equipment, or just use good ole b4 and steel to give 'em a zing! The hellfire is neat to: a woosh, a streak of light, and shortly thereafter you get a flash in the distance. That is gratifying. Helmet shots with the 30 were fun, but the diving rocket fire was the best - really accurate. I hear the longbows have even more toys and tricks up their sleeves... I do miss the attack world. I'm sure other airframes are more glamorous and move more dirt but I was happy. Having Infantry say thanks was the payoff.

Bottom line, I worked to have the best chance to select the aircraft I wanted because I wanted the fight to be as unfair as possible when stepped on to the 'field'. I did, it was, I went home happy.

CentralPilot

Yeah, sure. You guys are the only people I am proving wrong. No one else. I will be in the AF for atleast 12yrs just to tell you guys I did it. Yep, thats the only reason I'm joining. Come on, don't be ridiculous.

AND..If you guys go back to my question, to where I made the 1st post, the question was "is military the BEST choice?" I never asked if i should join or not. The title is "Military or Not?" which means, is military the best choice or is something else. I think only ONE person answered the question and said that military experience is better than civilian.

So I'm just making it clear.

I have my own reasons for joining and when I have people saying "Don't join, you don't have the right attitude based on your comments," it will not make me not join.

No one here knows what my attitude is like. None of you guys have known that my I've had my eyes set on the military for years. I remember writing a paper when I was in 5th grade, on how I wanted to fly in the AF. Its not like I just thought of this the other day and wanted to ask some people on the internet "if I should join."