Help Would joining the militairy be a good idea?

[Ociv]

I've been working through some ideas and options for myself and I wanted to know what you guys think of the (US) military for those who have experience with it.

I feel like if I were there would be three outcomes:

1, I would go through my service for a while and nothing would happen and I would be in the same situation I am now, so it would be a wash.

2, I get deployed somewhere dangerous or something and get killed in the line of duty, a good outcome because I feel like dying by a convincing accident would be the best way to do it

3, I do my service and end up loving it for some reason and find a reason there to keep on living.

They all seem at least acceptable. Is there something I'm missing? What do you think would be the best way to go about this?

 

[tbroken]

I've been working through some ideas and options for myself and I wanted to know what you guys think of the (US) military for those who have experience with it.

I feel like if I were there would be three outcomes:

1, I would go through my service for a while and nothing would happen and I would be in the same situation I am now, so it would be a wash.

2, I get deployed somewhere dangerous or something and get killed in the line of duty, a good outcome because I feel like dying by a convincing accident would be the best way to do it

3, I do my service and end up loving it for some reason and find a reason there to keep on living.

They all seem at least acceptable. Is there something I'm missing? What do you think would be the best way to go about this?

IMO it would be a really good idea, you can also learn a lot of stuff there. If I could go back in time and if I did not have serious PTSD at the time, i would have done it.

 

[Ociv]

IMO it would be a really good idea, you can also learn a lot of stuff there. If I could go back in time and if I did not have serious PTSD at the time, i would have done it.

Do you have military experience yourself?

 

[LunarLight]

Someone wrote the exact same thread yesterday.

Does anyone else want to enlist in the army as a way to ctb?

I'm on a downhill spiral currently, and one of the only things keeping me going is the thought that I can enlist in any military unit. The hope is that I'll either die in action, ctb, or find a reason to keep going. Terrible reason to join in your opinions? Or Is there anyone else who has a...

sanctioned-suicide.net

Hope you'll find answers.

 

[belowhorizon]

It is definitely an interesting idea but it really depends on your current mental state. Have you seen Full Metal Jacket?

 

[Ociv]

It is definitely an interesting idea but it really depends on your current mental state. Have you seen Full Metal Jacket?

No

Someone wrote the exact same thread yesterday.

Does anyone else want to enlist in the army as a way to ctb?

I'm on a downhill spiral currently, and one of the only things keeping me going is the thought that I can enlist in any military unit. The hope is that I'll either die in action, ctb, or find a reason to keep going. Terrible reason to join in your opinions? Or Is there anyone else who has a...

sanctioned-suicide.net

Hope you'll find answers.

Oh wow what a coincidence, thank you

 

[Endlichkeit]

You can join the Ukrainian International Legion. This is the most effective way to gain real military experience. If you die, you die as a hero.

 

[Ociv]

You can join the Ukrainian International Legion. This is the most effective way to gain real military experience. If you die, you die as a hero.

As fun as that sounds, I don't think I could. A requirement of mine is that what I do needs to be believable. My parents are very close to me in my life and if I just do some random thing like join an International volunteer army for a war on the other side of the world, they will freak out and start asking a lot of questions and get worried about me. I don't want that to happen. Though they would be upset, if I were to join my countries military as a career, they would at least accept it.

 

[rozeske]

There is also another possible outcome....the experience ending up giving you social and psychological issues and a lot more than you bargained for and adding to your suffering.

 

[Ociv]

There is also another possible outcome....the experience ending up giving you social and psychological issues and a lot more than you bargained for and adding to your suffering.

How would it do that? What kind of social and psychological issues?

 

[letsgetittogo]

Currently active duty in the Marine Corps. Everyone on here saying they "want to join so that they can be deployed to a war zone and die" is spreading a pretty dangerous narrative.

I will use the corps as an example since it's the branch I'm most familiar with. Only Around 15% of marines are 0300 Infantry, while the rest of the MOSs are logistics or aviation related. Chances are if you join you'll be a POG, and far far away from any combat zone.

Even if you were strong / resilient enough to go through boot camp and ITB (which is the most basic infantry course), you will not get your wish (probably).

the United States currently isn't at war with anyone. We're in a "peacetime" garrison environment. Sure, special forces and other niche units are still operating throughout the world, but a basic 0311 Rifleman isn't shooting at anyone or being shot at in a war zone.

The majority of 0311s are therefore stuck in a endless cycle of training: they'll do field OPs in Camp Pendleton or 29 Palms, maybe do some winter training in Bridgeport and a training event in Camp Lejeune; all in the United States, far from danger. You MIGHT go on a MEU, which will have you on a navy ship in SouthEast Asia, where you'll also train and do field ops, but that is the closest you'll come to "war" unless the United States decides to fight Russia or China tomorrow ( we won't). The military also does background checks. If you're diagnosed with mental disorders or if you've been sectioned, there's a good chance they won't let you join anyway.


If you don't have any direction in life and have no prospects as far employment or education, I'd say go ahead and join the military, get some experience, get your free college. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it and make a career out of it. But joining because you want to CTB is an incredibly dumb idea.

so yeah, to the 4-5 people who I've seen posting military threads, you'll have better luck getting shot if you buy a plane ticket to Ukraine or just straight up committing suicide by cop.

There is also another possible outcome....the experience ending up giving you social and psychological issues and a lot more than you bargained for and adding to your suffering.

This. The military is extremely taxing physically and emotionally, that's why the #1 cause of Veteran deaths is suicide. The chances of you coming out without MORE mental problems is low

 

[LaughingGoat]

Currently active duty in the Marine Corps. Everyone on here saying they "want to join so that they can be deployed to a war zone and die" are idiots.

I will use the corps as an example since it's the branch I'm most familiar with. Only Around 15% of marines are 0300 Infantry, while the rest of the MOSs are logistics or aviation related. Chances are if you join you'll be a POG, and far far away from any combat zone.

Even if you were strong / resilient enough to go through boot camp and ITB (which is the most basic infantry course), you will not get your wish (probably).

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but the United States currently isn't at war with anyone. We're in a "peacetime" garrison environment. Sure, special forces and other niche units are still operating throughout the world, but a basic 0311 Rifleman isn't shooting at anyone or being shot at in a war zone.

The majority of 0311s are therefore stuck in a endless cycle of training: they'll do field OPs in Camp Pendleton or 29 Palms, maybe do some winter training in Bridgeport and a training event in Camp Lejeune; all in the United States, far from danger. You MIGHT go on a MEU, which will have you on a navy ship in SouthEast Asia, where you'll also train and do field ops, but that is the closest you'll come to "war" unless the United States decides to fight Russia or China tomorrow (hint hint, we won't). The military also does background checks. If you're diagnosed with mental disorders or if you've been sectioned, there's a good chance they won't want you anyway.


If you don't have any direction in life and have no prospects as far employment or education, I'd say go ahead and join the military, get some experience, get your free college. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it and make a career out of it. But joining because you want to CTB is an incredibly dumb idea.

so yeah, to the 4-5 people who I've seen posting military threads, you'll have better luck getting shot if you buy a plane ticket to Ukraine or just straight up committing suicide by cop.

This. The military is extremely taxing physically and emotionally, that's why the #1 cause of Veteran deaths is suicide. The chances of you coming out without MORE mental problems is low

I agree with your assessment of the reality of military duty and the likelihood of it leading to more issues, I would just caution against generalizing people who had a less educated understanding of that as "idiots". People on here are all struggling with their own journey and may not have the informed perspective that you have from actually serving. When they are discussing this and sharing their outlook, your personal experience is helpful in giving them an honest picture of what it would be like. We all have lack of knowledge in certain areas and, in truth, are uninformed in more subjects than we're informed on, me included.

 

[rozeske]

How would it do that? What kind of social and psychological issues?

It's already explained very well by @letsgetittogo .....to add to it, some of the issues include:

Alter the personality, emotional stability, and social function of the individual.
Trouble sleeping, anger, nightmares, being jumpy and alcohol and drug abuse.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other trauma-related disorders, as well as depression, anxiety, panic, and grief.

Am not in the military, this are some results of a very simple and rough Google search. A deeper research and reading would help you understand a lot more about the military service and the issues people face while in service or/and post service.

It is not as simple and as easy as most expect. There is a reason why suicide rate is higher with in the military and among veterans.

 

[letsgetittogo]

I agree with your assessment of the reality of military duty and the likelihood of it leading to more issues, I would just caution against generalizing people who had a less educated understanding of that as "idiots". People on here are all struggling with their own journey and may not have the informed perspective that you have from actually serving. When they are discussing this and sharing their outlook, your personal experience is helpful in giving them an honest picture of what it would be like. We all have lack of knowledge in certain areas and, in truth, are uninformed in more subjects than we're informed on, me included

Jesus Christ, you're right.

Talking about the military always comes off really harsh for me. I wasn't trying to belittle anyone, I just think perpetrating that kind of stuff COULD lead to someone joining when they should've and I think that should be avoided

I didn't mean to be condescending I'll edit my post

 

[LaughingGoat]

Jesus Christ, you're right.

Talking about the military always comes off really harsh for me. I wasn't trying to belittle anyone, I just think perpetrating that kind of stuff COULD lead to someone joining when they should've and I think that should be avoided

I didn't mean to be condescending I'll edit my post

Respect that response. Definitely get the personal feelings, my background is in education so it always drove me up a wall when retired people would tell me how schools should be run and claiming teachers were doing a bunch of things without having any actual understanding of how schools actually operate today or the needs of the modern generation.

 

[juna]

If you really want to join the military or have no other options, then I will say it is worth a shot. Maybe you would like it, maybe you would hate it. But don't even think about the scenario that you will get shot and die, it is pretty rare as others have mentioned already since we are not at war. As it is said - If you don't try, then how will you know. Also, if you don't like it, you can always quit.

 

[letsgetittogo]

Respect that response. Definitely get the personal feelings, my background is in education so it always drove me up a wall when retired people would tell me how schools should be run and claiming teachers were doing a bunch of things without having any actual understanding of how schools actually operate today or the needs of the modern generation.

There's a lot of misconceptions regarding the military, especially with people glorifying it. I think social media and military edits probably have a lot to do with it.
War is hell :p war is terrible. I've never been in a war zone but I've done humanitarian work while deployed. You end up seeing a lot of the worst aspects of humanity when you're out there.

If you really want to join the military or have no other options, then I will say it is worth a shot. Maybe you would like it, maybe you would hate it. But don't even think about the scenario that you will get shot and die, it is pretty rare as others have mentioned already since we are not at war. As it is said - If you don't try, then how will you know. Also, if you don't like it, you can always quit.

That's the thing! That's NOT how it works for most of us. If you don't like it, you can't just quit, which is why I don't recommend anyone join to just "try it out'
You sign a contract that ranges from 4-6 years, and once you go to boot camp, you are the government's property. Think about it like this:
The United States Government will spend money to house you, train you, relocate you, and put a roof over your head. They will get their money's worth out of you. A dishonorable discharge or administrative separation can ruin your entire life, and going AWOL is a felony. So yeah, if you want to join, definitely do research into what you're getting yourself into.
People like me, who have had mixed experiences with the military, have to just stick it out until the end of our contract, its one of the reasons I want to ctb


For future reference, if anyone ever has questions about the Marine Corps or the military in general, don't be afraid to reach out