So, I’ve Gotten the Ball Rollin’

First and foremost, thank you all so much.  All of your advice and opinions have meant a lot to me.  That’s why I love the internet.  By posting one entry, I was able to receive a myriad of responses.  They ran the gambit of “Girl, You crazy!” to “Just follow your heart” to just solid fact.  Believe it or not, I really took each and every opinion to heart.  Not just the opinions from people that I was “friends” with.  Even the random anonymous comments played a part in my decision.  Thank you again.

I decided to start the whole decision and research process all over again.  Instead of looking into just the Air Force versus the Army, I took into account ALL of the military branches.  I set my vanity aside and over looked the haircut in basic training of the Navy.  I actually listened when my Jarhead boyfriend spouted the benefits of the brotherhood that is the Marine Corps.  Still a tough one to swallow for me, but hey, I listened.  I met with recruiters for the Army, Marines, and Navy.

The Marine Corps is out.  I just can’t picture myself as a Marine.  It’s not that I doubt my capabilities.  I just genuinely do not feel that there is a place for me there.  I love my Marine very, very much.  I am prouder of him than I could ever possibly explain, now so more than ever.  In the midst of his second deployment to Iraq, not only is he strong for himself and his brothers, but he is so supportive of me as well.  Of course we don’t see eye to eye on everything, though.  “I don’t know why we don’t just get married.”  I’m not one to get married just to reap the benefits.  Plus I’m trying to get more out of the military than just health coverage and a roof over my head.  I love him very much, but it’s just not the right time.

Next stop was the Navy.  I’ve come to learn at this point, that while the missions of the branches are different, the positions it takes to make it work, aren’t.  Meaning that if I had my heart set on a certain AFSC/MOS, and I’m qualified for it, I can have it.  No matter what the branch.  What I didn’t like about the Navy was something that I hadn’t realized prior to this new round of research.  Obviously, I know that there are always going to be things that I am unable to do in the military due to my gender.  In the Navy this was even more apparent.  Many “rates”, as they are called in the Navy, are closed/very limited to women due to the fact that women cannot be stationed aboard certain types of vessels.  For some reason that really pissed me off.  Really, really pissed me off.  Ugh, Gloria Steinem would be so proud.

OK.  So I was leaning towards the Army in the first place.  The bonuses are better.  The health care is the same.  Promotions come quicker (hey what can I say, I’m a product of the NOW generation).  The Army plays a larger, if not more vital, role in current world affairs.  Now that could also be seen as a drawback.  It definitely is in my parent’s eyes.  Which is the major drawback for me.  My parent’s absolute hatred of the idea of me in the Army.  Which really friggin’ agitates me.  I know I’m the one that has to live with my decision and I’ve told them just that.  I’ve also told them that they have absolutely no power over my decision process and that I was fully prepared to make my choice without their input.  I still would like them with me every step of the way.  I don’t want my parents to truly hate the life path I choose to embark on.  They tried to bribe me.  Like who does that?!  As if I could be brought.  As if dangling a new car in my face would suddenly change my aspirations.  Well, given the state of my current automobile, I can understand why they chose that avenue.

I spoke to my Air Force recruiter.  Boy was he not happy with me.  He basically told me I was a waste of his time and that he was sorry that he had invested so much into me.  He told me I was an idiot, that I was throwing away a great opportunity, that so many would die for.  I explained to him why I wanted to discharge and the second thoughts that I was having.  He morphed right before my eyes.  He went from a man that I considered a god among men, a man that I felt very close with and that I had trusted, to a man that was callous and rude.  A man that was pissed because I was throwing his quota off.  A man that was standing beside his office door escorting me out before I was finished with my sentence.  It broke my heart.

In the end, all of the branches have something to offer.  I would be lucky to be a member of any of them.  Thanks to good test scores and a very open mind, I have the military world at my feet.

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