Do realize that if you join, you are putting your life on the line. If and when you deploy, you are at risk. A mortar can kill a finance clerk as easily as an Infantryman. PTSD is a possibility. You'll be out of the loop for long amounts of time, missing time with family and friends, blockbuster movies and the like. Also you'll change and find that you'll never be able to go back to the way things used to be.
Yes I forgot to mention this. Like RisingBean said you can be a finance guy or a god damn C.A.G. operator, when you deploy you WILL see things you might wish you hadn't. I have never had to go, but I know plenty of what you would call "hard" guys need to see a doc.
2) Are you an atheist? There is a lot of rampant religious stuff in the military. You may face abuse from it. From chaplain nonsense to "free time" to attend service to various other things. You should be aware of it. I would tell you to go find a youtube channel called voodoosixxx, but his channel was deleted and the videos talking about this stuff are gone, but if this is an issue for you you might want to PM him. He's generally a nice guy from my experience with him. Here's his new channel that has some of his army stories that are great ^.^ http://www.youtube.com/user/VooFn6/videos
I can't speak for all branches, but the Air Force does not recognize any denomination of religion, or non-religion, and I've never seen anyone punished. I don't go to church, I am not a believer, and it is open knowledge in my unit. No one cares. So saying it is "military" is incorrect, but again I only have experience with the Air Force.
Keeping in line with what Durakken said though, yes, there is an large amount of homeless veterans. That is why IF you decide enlisting is for you, my recommendation is find a job with an after-military value. I know guys who get crap for "POG" jobs, but you know what? When they get out they have a marketable skill. I myself am looking into retraining for the same reason. JTAC is great, but I can't kick in doors and call in air strikes in the civilian world, so with mine and my family's future in mind I am going to retrain. DO NOT be machismo-swooned into doing something you don't want to do because it looks "tougher" or "more bad-a**". Especially if you don't know if you'll enjoy it and want to stay in for a full 20 years. If you get 4 years infantry experience what does that qualify you for in the civilian world? Don't let them tell you cop, I have a friend who went Army Cavalry Scout and he's getting out trying to be a cop but guess what? Cops aren't anything like infantry or Cav Scouts.
Oh and FYI, liking guns, war movies, and COD and similar games is a HORRIBLE reason for wanting to join. People that join with that mentality, in my experience, do not last and hate it. You must fully understand that combat (if that's what you want) is not a game. It is not fun, exciting, or heroic. It is dirty, painful, and you will be lucky to come out the same. Recruiters love COD gamers, because they are so high on the "idea" of combat they are easy to rope in. Think long, think hard, take your damn time deciding.
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