Anyone Planning on answering the call of duty...

[Mike_41786]

For all us crazy, warriors for Christ who feel the every present trumpet call to service for our God, Country, and fellow warriors, is there anyone that is going in to the service, has already signed up, or is almost certain of their calling? My best friend for many years might be signing up Monday In the United States Marine Corps, so PLEASE pray for him!
I have been feeling the calling almost as long as I can remember! It changed from pilot in the Air Force to pilot in the Navy to Marine Ground Pounder ( For 5 years I was stuck on that one!) and Now I think im going to be joining the Army because of the guarantees of MOS/Jobs (I think this is where God wants me too). So if you see a Spec Ops guy on TV with his face blurded, that might just be me . Hey, Anything can happen with Christ!
Anyone who is in the same position or was please post, im all ears !God Bless you all and please don't forget out servicemen and servicewomen in foreign lands. God bless all who have answered and feel the call of duty of service to Country, God and Fellow Warriors...

P.S.-Sorry for the long story about me, its a big part of my life and I am proud of my calling and my God!

 

[Jesae]

I was in your shoes bout three years ago. I even thought bout the marines too but when they couldnt offer me the training i wanted i went to the army. piece of advice, drill your recruiter about what you want.... and dont give in... if you have any questions just pm.

 

[ChristianPilot]

i'm in air force ROTC now, 2 1/2 years left until active duty

 

[daidhaid]

I was in your shoes bout three years ago. I even thought bout the marines too but when they couldnt offer me the training i wanted i went to the army. piece of advice, drill your recruiter about what you want.... and dont give in... .

There is an old saying in the military. " do you know how to tell when a recruiter is lying"?

A. "His lips are moving".

and now for something completly different.
for the original poster
I never quite understood how a Christian serves in the military.
Oh sure Gods on our side yadda yadda. But setting the jingoism aside.
If being a Christian means something roughly like following Jesus, I'm wondering if Jesus blowing sinners away in an [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] of violence is a-ok.
Or who would Jesus bomb.
I bet Jesus would make one heck of a sniper.
You see where I am going with this.

It is my contention that for most xtians Jesus is not all that important to the belief system.

Somewhat in the same way Love is used, in name, by many folks who just wanted the sex.

But by all means if you feel God's call then join the Army.
Get that cool special ops job, or be a combat pilot, whatever.
Kill some bad guys, get a few folks that were in the way, watch some buddies die, observe the wounded suffer.
And rember the day you thought Jesus wanted you to do this.

You might come to question believing in a God that called you to war.

Or you may need that God to help justify the memories you will carry forever.

Who knows? Oh yeah God knows.
Maybe he even cares but I doubt it.



" If God's on our side He will stop the next war"
Bob Dylan he wrote that a few wars back.

 

[Xen_Antares]

Already have done my time in the service, I got out almost 5 months before September 11. I tried to get back in afterwards, I was so angry and hurt I was wanting revenge which is the wrong reason to join the military, the Air Force turned me down saying they didnt need prior service at the time.

 

[pgp_protector]

daidhaid you need to learn a little more about the military , it's not all about killing & bombing. How sad that it's all you see.

You have Comunications
You have Satelite Comunications
You Have Electronics Repair
You Have Medical
You Have MoterDepot
You Have All sorts of Support jobs that will only involve guns on the fireing range.

Yes I AM speaking from experiance, Once a Jarhead Always a Jarhead.


And as for the recruter, Just make shure you get EVERYTHING in Writing.

 

[USincognito]

Mike, you sound very gung ho like I was when I was your age, but don't forget the military is a job first and foremost. It's not all Iwo Jima and Normandy. They don't want Rambos, they want professional soldiers and being a professional means lots of training.

One thing about Special Forces is you don't enlist into it. You're selected once you have shown proficiency in your field and complete other requisite training (Airborne, Air Assault, Medic, etc). You have to be at least a Sergeant to enter special forces. Here's a link to Special Operations Weapons Sergeant (which has links to other SOF jobs at the bottom.
http://www.goarmy.com/jobs/mos/mos18B.asp

What you can do is get into a combat or medical MOS and then start applying for the training, hitting the gym (a lot) and being the best soldier you can. Anyone can learn to shoot, but medical, communications and language skills are always needed. You could also try for a slot with the Rangers and then transfer to SOF after you're a Sergeant.

Good look if you're looking for a career, but if you just want to kill a commie for mommie look to the combat arms.

 

[daidhaid]

daidhaid you need to learn a little more about the military , it's not all about killing & bombing. How sad that it's all you see.

You have Comunications
You have Satelite Comunications
You Have Electronics Repair
You Have Medical
You Have MoterDepot
You Have All sorts of Support jobs that will only involve guns on the fireing range.

Yes I AM speaking from experiance, Once a Jarhead Always a Jarhead.


And as for the recruter, Just make shure you get EVERYTHING in Writing.

 

[daidhaid]

Oh experienced one.
We had a many sayings in Nam where I got my first experiences as an infantry medic.
Here is one that pertains to Marines.
Q...What do you do when a Marine throws a frag at you?
A... Pull the pin and throw it back.

Now I'm not saying that Marines are stupid ya just have to tell them what to do and remind them a lot.

You've made the assumption I am unexperienced.
I'm gonna leap out and assume you are not a Mud Marine.
For the Marines I've known the military was about doing it to it.
In other words fighting and so on.
But then those are guys weren't in the rear with the gear.
As to all those far out REMF jobs you mentioned sure the military uses support troops. Not as much as they used to but yeah you can still get a MOS you can expect to be safer.

but then
I'll wonder if Jesus would make a good Intelligence analyst deciding what targets look good for an attack.
Or if Jesus would be good at delivering ammo or processing paperwork to ship the dead home..?

I was a Christian and I was a soldier and I was wrong on both counts.
But I do believe that Jesus's teachings... his plain words,
would not lead a believer into the military.

I am not a Christian any more but I am convicted of the wrongness of what I did.
I believe Jesus taught universal truth when he walked the earth.
but for the most part his followers are not really following him.
so it is pointless to get back in that line.

The young man with the original post is at a point in his life where his decisions now may have great importance later.
I intend, to at least, point to the importance of that cusp.

if he is one of those unique even rare followers of Jesus he might reconsider.
If he wants to follow the drumbeat, farout I said what I wanted. He decides in his heart or mind what he will do.
But he didnt hear any 4th of July Rally round the flag jingo's from me.

I still love soldiers like I did when I was a platoon medic.
I humped a ruck and carried my 16 alongside the finest men I've known. They saved me everyday.

I want our current military out of the preemptive war for oil business.
And if Jesus were alive I think he might feel the same way too.

 

[alonesoldier]

I've been out of the Army for a month. I resent the post above but I am not going to debate it in here.

 

[IrishJohan]

I've been out of the Army for a month. I resent the post above but I am not going to debate it in here.

3rd ID? God bless you my good man! Funny, I grew up an Army brat and resentment from my father being away so much probably contributed to my entering the Navy instead, my respect for the Army and Marines has grown exponentially since, well Gulf I but even more so since 9-11. I've been out now for a few years, but have thought about returning to the Reserves at times...

 

[IrishJohan]

Already have done my time in the service, I got out almost 5 months before September 11. I tried to get back in afterwards, I was so angry and hurt I was wanting revenge which is the wrong reason to join the military, the Air Force turned me down saying they didnt need prior service at the time.

I understand. I too wanted like heck to return to active duty or at least Reserves after 9/11 for similiar reasons. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to due to financial reasons (military doesn't like accepting people with lots of debts). Now things are much improved and I suppose I could, but this is my last chance to do it as I turn 35 this year.

In fact, I have a question. I'm finally out of debt now. 2003 turned out to be a banner year for me personally as I was even able to purchase a house about 3 months ago. I've been thinking about entering the Naval Reserves (I served previously active Navy), but am very concerned about losing the house. I do not mind being deployed when the country needs me, but do not want to lose my house due to the dramatic difference in pay. I couldn't afford the mortgage payments on a sailor's income. I'm currently single too if that matters. Is there a law to protect one's home from being seized due to inability to make the mortgage payments because of deployment? I'd appreciate any referrals to relevant laws. If this last hurdle can be met, I may just go talk to the Reserve recruiter soon...

 

[PegasusOnFire]

My husband served in the military during 9-11 and after, he has recently come home and is now inactive duty. I have great respect for any man or woman willing to serve in the military. I personally couldn't do it, unless I really had to, like my life depended on it. I will say though, that I will pray and support anyone who is currently serving.

 

[Wolseley]

I served five years active duty Air Force and four years Air Force Reserve. My only regret is that I didn't stay in for 30 years.

If you go into the armed forces, don't make that mistake. Go in with the determination that you will stay there for 20, 25, or 30 years. If you enlist at 18 and get out at 38, 43, or 48, you're still relatively young and you'll have a dandy pension.

 

[daidhaid]

I've been out of the Army for a month. I resent the post above but I am not going to debate it in here.

OK resent away. The 3rd ID is a big unit plenty of room for every sort of opinion. Even resentment though that seems misplaced to me.
Maybe angry I could see, but resentment seems a tad small.
Besides I wasn't looking for a debate. The Marine just tossed off a few rounds at me.
Anyway assuming we both saw infantry action we have earned the rights to our opinions.
While I might disapprove of our current war and so on, and even question how xtians can both follow Jesus and Donald Rumsfield, at no point do I want to hassle
a combat vet at least not without a lot of provacation.

I know a lot of vets many disagree with my views, but we still sense the bonds and get along.

I'' admit freely I do not as a general rule like Christians.
It can even be a deciding factor for me in dealing with people, but I earned the right to that opinion also.

 

[Livinloud316]

in answer to the original question(ignoring the recent debate) I do plan on answering. I'm a high school junior right now and as soon as I am able I will be a marine. I would join now if i could. It has been my dream since 7th grade to be a marine, and I will do so

 

[Mike_41786]

Mike, you sound very gung ho like I was when I was your age, but don't forget the military is a job first and foremost. It's not all Iwo Jima and Normandy. They don't want Rambos, they want professional soldiers and being a professional means lots of training.

One thing about Special Forces is you don't enlist into it. You're selected once you have shown proficiency in your field and complete other requisite training (Airborne, Air Assault, Medic, etc). You have to be at least a Sergeant to enter special forces. Here's a link to Special Operations Weapons Sergeant (which has links to other SOF jobs at the bottom.
http://www.goarmy.com/jobs/mos/mos18B.asp

What you can do is get into a combat or medical MOS and then start applying for the training, hitting the gym (a lot) and being the best soldier you can. Anyone can learn to shoot, but medical, communications and language skills are always needed. You could also try for a slot with the Rangers and then transfer to SOF after you're a Sergeant.

Good look if you're looking for a career, but if you just want to kill a commie for mommie look to the combat arms.

Thanks for the great info USincognito! God Bless you for it! I know that Being a servie man in a professional job not a run and gun, pull the grenade pin with your mouth, go it alone profession. Thats Special Operations in one word, Professionals! I didn't mean to sound like some cocky rambo/hotdog guy, the first thing I want to be is humble! Forgive me if it sounded like that, im just trying to exercise alittle faith and confedence which I have not had alot of in my life...

Please do not turn this thread into a debate thread. This thread was meant to be one of honor and proud service.

 

[swsatterfield]

I salute all who are serving in the armed forces around the world. I'm finishing up my first year long deployment as a US Army chaplain in Kuwait and Iraq. Keep praying for those here!

Steve

 

[IrishJohan]

While I might disapprove of our current war and so on, and even question how xtians can both follow Jesus and Donald Rumsfield, at no point do I want to hassle a combat vet at least not without a lot of provacation.

I wouldn't hassle such a vet either, without serious provocation. However, if one views the war as being just than I do not see it as a matter of Jesus vs. Rumsfeld. There are times when not to act is immoral and would bring about greater suffering. Whether this case was such a time, I leave to each one's personal conscience. My own conscience, however, is clear: this war was a regrettable necessity.

 

[IrishJohan]

I salute all who are serving in the armed forces around the world. I'm finishing up my first year long deployment as a US Army chaplain in Kuwait and Iraq. Keep praying for those here!

Steve

I keep all of you in my prayers everyday.

Btw Chaplain, you might be interested in this website for Catholics in the Military: http://www.catholicmil.org/ There may be items there that would interest you for those in your care who are not Catholics as well. If you know of any similiar websites for Protestants or Eastern Orthodox serving in the military, I'd be grateful if you would post them. Thanks and God bless.