See, some of my friends have wondered why people sign up for the military.

[conuly]

This is why. Because the military aggressively recruits to teenagers - who, let's face it, are slightly more likely to tend towards the naive side of things. Because it would be un-American to teach kids to weigh commercials and recruiting, or to see when they're being oh-so-subtly coerced. Because the military presents itself as an option - sometimes, they only option - for kids in poor areas, who aren't likely to go to college and probably can't get a good job, not unless they join up.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

Not that surprisingly, both given the year and my school, the military did not make its presence known at my school.

The article lists many factors, but there are others. The main one being - what else is a poor kid to do? You're approaching the end of high school, there's a decent chance you've been told you can't afford to go to college... apparently, there's a decent chance you can't. You may get told things like we were: This is how much the government thinks you can afford to contribute, this is how much we will give you, this is how much is left over between the two, because we can't afford to give you even the amount the government says you qualify for due to need.

California schools are a mess. And I'd imagine the high school degrees aren't looked upon that well.

There are families that kick the kids out at 18.

So, where do you go? You don't have a decent job that can truly support yourself, you don't have an education, and you need a place to live. So, the military at least provides for the basics, until you die.

[conuly]

I rather cynically believe that the FAFSA is designed not to pay enough for college, just so that people are more likely to sign up with the armed forces.

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

My brother's in the Air Force, and he's learned how to fix planes.

He could get a civilian job doing that, but he's better paid and insured (and gets a house with daycare, ect,ect) than if he was.

The forces can teach you some advanced skills (Doctor, Engineer, Piloting, some otherstuff.) that are useable out of the forces.

The Army/Marines/Navy/Air Force can be a good way to better oneself, both externally (job skills), and internally (mostly discipline). some people are just made for it, some have to do it (it's like prostitution in that regard...freaky.), and some people were never really meant to do it.