<p>No,not yet. Currently in FL. He had thought SD might be his first choice when he finishes all his schools…then he thought Guam sounded pretty sweet. Then last week he mentioned trying for Italy…who knows? Ultimately he’ll go wherever he’s sent… needs of the Navy and all :)</p>
<p>Both my stepsons are in the Navy, both enlisted and in intelligence work. It has been great for both of them, even though they have both been deployed to the Middle East, one multiple times. One has been in for nine years and one for eight. One is stationed in Japan for the second time. </p>
<p>There are many opportunities and advantages, but you do have to want to serve.</p>
<p>If I’m assigned to a dangerous area, I’ll just say I’m gay and quit.</p>
<p>*nychomie - The Navy is not “safe”. even on a ship in the middle of the ocean it is dangerous work, so don’t join because it’s “safe”. *</p>
<p>Most of the people I have known who have joined the military, have joined the Marines.
They liked the training and the autonomy.
I don’t know why anyone would join unless they believed that they were going to accomplish something.
You don’t accomplish things by hiding under a bed-.
You don’t need to be foolhardy, but you do the men and women serving next to you a grave disservice if you do not take the commitment seriously.</p>
<p>If you are just trying to get your loans deferred, join Teach for America and be assigned to D.C. or Detroit- that is probably safe :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Doesn’t mean I won’t be committed. I just don’t want to be stationed in a dangerous area.</p>
<p>TFA is really good but exploring the Navy doesn’t preclude exploring TFA and other options also. TFA is really competitive though.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>then the military is not for you.</p>
<p>Sorry, choose another career.</p>
<p>If you are a senior in college and you just turned 20, I would suggest that you perhaps take some time to explore the world without so much structure- for instance my younger daughter is just about your age ( although she is a freshman in college) she took last year off after graduating high school ( and after working two jobs to save up some money) and took a long ( almost 5 months) volunteer vacation in India.</p>
<p>I expect after so much classroom time, a more global perspective might give you a better idea of what you are after.</p>
<p>“If I’m assigned to a dangerous area, I’ll just say I’m gay and quit.”</p>
<p>We little old ladies do not want you in the Navy. Nor do we want people like you in any other branch of the military. We do not feel secure when people with such attitudes are in charge of protecting our old bones.</p>
<p>
There’s this place the military has for people who make false official statements and other crimes. I hear Levenworth is an interesting prison.</p>
<p>If that was a serious thought, don’t even think about joining.
There is ABSOLUTELY no place in the US military for people like that. If you would dare risk the lives of your fellow servicemembers for your personal comfort, you don’t belong. Period. Dot. End of story.</p>
<p>Hmmm? I truly am gay. The policy is “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Well, if I do tell, that changes things.</p>
<p>Nychomie, no one really gives a rats that you’re gay - but your attitude that you’ll use it to your advantage to leave someone else to go do the hard job is not the sort of attitude needed in the military - most people take it as the serious business it is - avoid it if you don’t wish to approach it the same way.</p>
<p>nychomie, by now I’m thinking you’re beginning to see that people aren’t against your thoughts about joining the Navy, but they are concerned about your motives, assuming that you’re only looking into this because of the benefits and are unwilling to pay the price for these benefits if things become not to your liking.</p>
<p>But they also forget that people join the volunteer military for a multitude of reasons. Yes, some are drawn towards a “calling of service to their country”. And that’s fine. Some also join because they are looking for a way to better themselves, or want money for college, or need a new path in life. Those reasons are just as valid and just as fine.</p>
<p>But I think you are forgetting that benefits and opportunities you can achieve through service in the military DOES come at a price. The price is your country asks, and your fellow citizens EXPECT, that will you put the welfare of your country and its citizens above your own welfare while you are serving. When you raise your right arm and take your oath of service, they come first. You? You come a distant second. A VERY distant second. Other professions can ask you to put your life on the line; you can refuse that request if you choose. The military will ORDER you to put your life on the line, and if you don’t you can be SEVERELY punished. </p>
<p>Yes, there are careers in the military that some would consider safe and away from the front. But America’s current conflicts have changed those paradigms; EVERYONE is taking a turn in those hot spots because we need the bodies to get the mission done. No career is SAFE or excused. In the past, I may have even recommended service in the Coast Guard, but even they are finding themselves deployed and in the fight.</p>
<p>Join the military, and chances are very good that sometime in your service, you WILL be deployed to some not-so-nice locations. It happens.</p>
<p>Now, if all you looking for is an opportunity to get a job that may provide you some good benefits and perhaps pay off some student loans you accumulated while in college, while at the same time you don’t desire to be placed in a situation that you find dangerous or that you just don’t find comfortable, I recommend you look elsewhere than the Navy (or any branch of the Armed Services). Those who are also in the service and would rely on you to share the load of defending this country would not appreciate the attitude of “I’m just here for the good bennies. At the first sight of hardship, I’m outta here”. </p>
<p>There ARE other avenues of serving you nation that also provide ways for a good start in life and good benefits. Teacher, Park Ranger, NASA scientist, VA Medical Staff, etc. All are excellent ways to serve your fellow citizens. Heck, get a job cleaning the highways for all we care. Your desire to serve our country is commendable. You attitude to quit when the going gets tough is not…</p>
<p>And BTW, there are many Americans who are currently serving their country who because of some stupid policy have to hide their sexual orientation in order to serve. I think they would find your attitude to just use you orientation as an excuse to get out of hardship as an insult and disgusting. Just saying…</p>
<p>One of the reasons I’m avoiding being deployed to areas with critical missions is that I might serve as a distraction and actually keep the military from doing its job when it’s most crucial. I think that’s even one of the reasons government officials themselves use to justify the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, so in that sense, I’m not just avoiding the hard job for my own good. </p>
<p>
People remain divided on this issue-- some gays are for the repeal, some are against.</p>
<p>One of the reasons I’m avoiding being deployed to areas with critical missions is that I might serve as a distraction and actually keep the military from doing its job when it’s most crucial</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Why would you think many people even care about your sex life? Is that really going to affect how you do your job?</p>
<p>Gaydar isn’t 100% accurate or effective.
;)</p>
<p>I would have to exert more effort to fit the military mold so I would be more inefficient in that sense. </p>
<p>An enemy fighter might see me as an easy target.</p>
<p>I could cause divisions in the barracks because unlike females who have to live separately, I will actually live with men in close quarters.</p>
<p>could cause divisions in the barracks because unlike females who have to live separately, I will actually live with men in close quarters.</p>
<p>unless you insist on dressing in drag- I guess I don’t see what the problem is.
You do * realize* that some people can live their life without anyone knowing about their preferences behind closed doors. If you are saying you can’t be circumspect and behave appropriately, then I will stay with my assumption that the military and you are not meant to be * as one* at this point in time.</p>
<p>If you want to be out- then be out- if you want to enlist- you haven’t made a very good case- you do understand that promises the recruiter makes are void in times of war.
This is a time of war.
You can join the National Guard or the Coast Guard and be sent to Afghanistan.
Once you sign that paper- * All your base is belong to us*- you must obey orders.</p>
<p>I also wouldn’t go in assuming that you will always have an “easy” out by coming out of the closet, since its not impossible that don’t ask don’t tell won’t be around for too much longer (and hopefully not the 8 years of your contract!)</p>
<p>There’s serious talk of dropping the whole gay policy- society and the military can finally deal with a person’s sexual orientation not necessarily interfering with the needed cohesion in a military group. Adults often turn off their brain regarding sex- ask most doctors and nurses…</p>
<p>The purpose of the U.S. Military is to protect and defend the citizens of our country.
Here is the Oath of the Enlisted:</p>
<p>“I (name) do solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies ,foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, so help me God.”</p>
<p>It does not appear that you plan to obey, adhere or even take seriously this oath with your plan to jump ship in the event that you become uncomfortable with your assignment.
My S is in the U.S. Navy. It is not easy or for the faint of heart. I suggest you look elsewhere not due to your lifestyle preferences but due to your lack of commitment to the cause of the military.</p>
<p>First, apologies for my assumption about your sexual preference WRT DADT procedures.</p>
<p>Next, if you find yourself continually trying to rationalize how to get out of likely situations, utilize the most obvious–don’t be in that situation!
If you don’t want to be deployed, either do a ton of research and find a non-deploying job (a few actually exist, due to homeland security concerns) OR don’t join.</p>