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Entry bubble When a Loved One Joins the Military

By: Ginger | February 20, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

In 1980, my oldest sister joined the Navy after graduating from high school. It was an emotional thing for my parents to watch their oldest daughter, not only leave the nest for boot camp, but to eventually leave the country for exotic destinations. The whole military experience was a complete unknown for my parents. It was especially difficult back then because we didn’t have the internet to stay connected. Their only communication with my sister was via letters and a rare overseas phone call to keep in touch.

Soldier saluting the American flagNow my youngest sister is about to go through the same experience with her oldest son, Tony, who joined the Air Force. He finished community college, but seemed to be undecided what to do next. With our country’s economic troubles, he decided his best option was to join the military and get more education and skills. He heads for boot camp at Lackland Air Force base here in San Antonio at the end of this month.

The military way of life has its own culture and community that most people are not familiar with. I know my sister is worried. She doesn’t know what to expect. The good news is that there are all kinds of resources and information available to her now that weren’t around for my parents when our oldest sister enlisted.

The FAQ on joining the military provides links and phone numbers if your child or loved one is considering enlisting. The Military Home Front, the Consumer Action Handbook military page, and Family Support for Active Military Personnel contain links to information explaining benefits and other important topics.

These private resources have created wonderful communities for parents and loved ones to learn and share experiences among military families:

Getting informed about the military and becoming part of the parents-with-military-kids community may help ease some of my sister’s fears. Not everyone has a positive military experience, but I am hopeful that enlisting will be a good experience for Tony. I hope it will help him focus and give him a plan for the future. Do you think enlisting in the military at this time is a good thing or something he will regret?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [8] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: enlisting   ginger   military  

Comments (8):

blue comment bubble Posted by Marine Brother on February 20, 2009 at 08:01 AM EST

Thank you for this post, Ginger, my "baby" brother enlisted with the Marines 2 years ago and has been in Iraq for the last 6 months. it' sbeen difficult on the family to face the uncertainty of what could happen, what we pray we will not go through, but see other families going through every day. I hope it will be a good experience for your nephew, as it has been so far for my brother. Like they say, he left a boy, and came back a man.

To all our serving men and women, thank you! To that one in particular, our prayers are with you and come home soon!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ginger on February 20, 2009 at 08:53 AM EST

Marine Brother, thanks for your comment. I told my sister about my blog and I know that she will appreciate your kind words.

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blue comment bubble Posted by pacificdave on February 20, 2009 at 09:39 AM EST

To quickly answer your question... It will all depend on the person. Just tell him to stay focused and have a plan on what he wants to accomplish upon joining. Sticking to this plan will set him up if he decides to stay in or get out when his re-enlistment date comes up in a few years.

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blue comment bubble Posted by KDevilDog on February 20, 2009 at 11:48 AM EST

Ginger,

As always, your blog(s) is/are very "right on." And I agree with the comment made by another blogger -- it really depends on what you put in your military experience that determines what you get out of it. Being a former Marine, I always commend any young man/woman on making the decision to give back to this great nation. The first year or so of my military service was horrible, and I regretted my decision. It was mostly due to poor decisions I had made, but once I regained my focus and "grabbed the bull by the horns," I began to experience rewards beyond belief. I won several boards, was promoted quickly and got every duty station I requested -- beyond that first one. And to your nephew's credit for seeking to further his education, I also obtained my bachelor's degree before separating in 2003. With the remainder of my GI Bill money, I got my master's degree in 2006. So, to make a long story short, I think this is a great time for your nephew to enlist. He has tremendous opportunities ahead of him.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ginger on February 20, 2009 at 01:59 PM EST

PacificDave and KDevilDog, you both make a good point. The outcome of most experiences can be influenced and possibly determined by the attitude we all bring to them. I don't mean to sound like a Pollyanna, but I've certainly seen in my own life that while I can't control everything... my attitude can go a long way to making things work for me.

One thing I admire about my nephew is that he is kind of fearless about putting himself out there and willing to try new things. He doesn't seem to dwell too much on the what ifs of failure, or worry much that he may not look cool. He seems to have already learned that sometimes the most important thing is that he tried.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Dave on February 20, 2009 at 07:46 PM EST

I am afraid for your nephew. So many boys (and girls) are not coming home not as men but as empty shells that eventually live on the streets or kill themselves, sometimes taking their loved ones with them.

This is assuming that they come home with all their body parts intact!

Excuse me for ranting, but since this is a govt site shill, isn't this the wrong place to find out that you should indeed worry? Sure, a lot of service people came home from war to lead normal lives, but way too many come home with physical or mental disabilities.

I really do not care if this is posted or not (guess what I believe will happen, though!), but whether or not you do post this, I hope that Tony comes back alive in body and spirit. So many lives have already been wasted as a result of Bush's attempt to outdo his father.

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blue comment bubble Posted by 01010100011011110110111001111001 on February 22, 2009 at 03:00 AM EST

Your nephew is a crazy nutter. He'd be much better off keeping his enjoyable and fulfilling job as a stocker at Wal-mart. Who'd want to lose that 10% discount (only on non-food items)?

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Bwahahahaha! Thanks for thinking of me. I'm rather excited. ^_^ Gotta keep my head up and I'm sure things will be fine! Hope to see you at the end of Basic.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ginger on March 02, 2009 at 07:48 AM EST

Mr and Mrs. Schreiber, you left a comment on my blog trying to locate your son. While you appear to be ok with giving out your phone number, email address, names, and your son's date of birth, I am hestitant to post your comment because that information is considered privacy data. People may be able to use that information to try to scam you. You mentioned that you think your son has joined the Marines. I did some research and found this:

You can contact the Marine Corps World Wide Locator at Quantico, Va. That address is:
HEADQUARTERS U S MARINE CORPS
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SUPPORT BRANCH (MMSB-17)
2008 ELLIOT ROAD
QUANTICO, VA 22134-5030

For Marines with common last names, a Social Security Number may be required.

I hope that helps. Good luck.

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