A rock and a hard place

Rotguts

I am here obviously looking for advice. Recently I have seen to found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Here is the low down four months ago I decided to join the military. I have yet to ship out my date is the end of may. Now the reason I have chosen to go in is because I want to be a police officer and feel the military would give me a good background in law enforcement since I would be military police. I made this decision after failing entry into the local police department and on some advice of others. Here is the thing I have been completely gun ho on doing this and wanted it through and through as of two days ago. My gut is telling me to bail out of this, its not that the military is not ripe with oppurtunity or a bad choice it just feels like the wrong path. I can become a police officer without the military so am I going in for the wrong reasons? All i know is my gut is telling me this is a stupid decision and I should find another way of doing this. Then again this could all just be pre-ship jitters. Any insight, advice, or just help on organizing my thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Vae Victus

MuddBudd

Sounds like jitters to me.

Which is fine, shipping out is scary, given our current situation.

_K_

Bail out. Once a soldier you are always a soldier inside.

You can be a perfectly good police without serving in the military.

Invisible

Well, you said it yourself there are other ways to reach your goal without joining the military. It's most likely just jitters, but it's your decision and you need to make sure it's what you want to do. Joining the military is a significant commitment, especially at a time of war, so you have to make sure you're OK with what all of that entails.

Big Dookie

Invisible wrote: »

Well, you said it yourself there are other ways to reach your goal without joining the military. It's most likely just jitters, but it's your decision and you need to make sure it's what you want to do. Joining the military is a significant commitment, especially at a time of war, so you have to make sure you're OK with what all of that entails.

Yeah, I agree. The military is a good option for many people, but no one should enlist unless they are 100% certain that's what they want. Think about it for a few more days, talk to your family and friends about it, and then see how you feel about it. If you still aren't feeling right about it, you should definitely bail, assuming that's still an option at this point.

Getting out now will hopefully be fairly painless, but waiting until you're already there and then figuring out that it's not what you want would be a pretty bad situation.

Rotguts

Yeah its still an option no dishonorable discharge. Might piss off a few people in the process but if i havent shipped and dont have the will to basically the military doesnt want you. Saves them the trouble of having to do it later.

shorttimin

Hey bro. I just got out after 5 and half years in the Marines. It was the hardest time in my life, but it's definitely made me a better person for having done it. I guess you're going in the Army, so you can expect at least one year long deployment to Iraq. Honestly after that, the only thing you're going to deal with is traffic tickets on base, domestic disputes in base housing, and the drug arrests from idiots popping on the piss tests. It will help you get a job in law enforcement, no doubt about that. I worked on helicopters, and I can't keep cops away. You're gonna get the jitters, and you're never going to be 100% sure. I wasn't ut I'm glad I did. Had I backed out, I would have been ashamed of myself. Can't tell you what to do, but as long as you keep your eyes open and head down, use your training, you'll stay safe. I know guys who worked on computers get put in a provisional rifle platoon and to door to door patrols in Iraq. They did what they were told, paid attention, and made it out ok. The odds are in your favor. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Kyanilis

Most people wonder if its the right path before they ship. I know I did, but I kept with it and I'm glad I did. Sure its tough and you should be expecting at least one deployment, but all in all, its quite the experience. On the other hand, it isn't for everyone, I can't tell you how it'll go for you, all I can say is that I personally wouldn't change my decision.

LondonBridge

Yep, it's jitters and it's perfectly normal. Once you're done you'll find being a cop in the real world much easier.

crake

Consider why you're doing this in the first place. Is it *just* so you have something good on your resume for the police? I would assume there are a few other important factors that made you decide this was the right course of action. Focus on those again. I agree with the others, in that this seems to be just the pre-ship jitters. It's hella scary to start something like this.