Quote: "If I go to a nearby recruiter, do they tell me all of this information?"
The recruiters will tell you anything. However, they are salesman desperately trying to fill a quota. The thing about being a new recruit is that you just have no idea what to really ask. The recruiters will volunteer as little as possible to get you jazzed up and to sign the contract.
One recruiter told me that after basic training it was just a matter of going to work, then playing basketball and video games. That sounded bogus, but I didn't join to be lazy so I didn't care. I joined to go through Airborne and Air Assault schools and to do Army stuff.
The bottom line while in garrison is that they take a lot of your time. You typically arrive at 6:00, do PT (work out) until 7:30, shower and eat and come back to work at 0900 and typically stay until 1800 (6 p.m.). It basically amounts to 12 hour days. You do get plenty of days off and there are also family days where you get off early.
The reality is that you won't spend all of your time in garrison. You'll get deployed. Then they've taken all of your time. It's relatively dangerous, but in reality you aren't that likely to die. When you are deployed, though, you'll make the greatest friends ever (provided that you're not a weirdo). Nothing binds like common misery. It's the people that make it a worthwhile experience, not the organization itself (benefits aside).
The educational benefits are great, and the health care is unmatched in America. I feel sorry for everyone in America that has to decide between taking their kid to the doctor and buying groceries. I can take my kids to the doctor for a cold to get Tylenol for 'free' if I want to.
You also get food and board in addition to your pay. If you are single and low ranked you stay in the barracks, which aren't great but I had a lot of fun. When you get married or have kids (probably both) then they pay you extra for housing and food. If you live on base you just don't get that extra pay. It's worth it though because all utilities are included. The only reason it wouldn't be worth it is if your family is too big to fit in the standard sized military house or if you and your spouse are both military.
A big risk, though, is becoming an alcoholic. A disturbing number of vets have severe problems. I drank a LOT in the Army, and although don't have addictive tendencies I still drink more than I should.
If you join, good luck. There is lots of practical information available for you, here and elsewhere.
Quote: "If ur thinking about joining the US military you will be fighting for a great country!"
Living abroad has really opened my eyes about my country. I'm patriotic, I love America, but at times I am deeply embarrassed about and for it. By the same token no place I've been has been perfect. Every country that I've been to has something fantastic and lousey about it. America's shortcomings would probably be the health care, crime, and its blind isolationism. Like I recently heard in Amsterdam, "Here we have marijuana, in America you have guns. Which do you think is worse?"
Come see the WIP!
