Joining the Army to get my shit straight

[Charnell]

Hey everybody! Coming at you from the not-so-fair-weather Ft. Benning

Failed out of Airborne school for reasons beyond my control

Headed to Fort Bliss this coming Wednesday.

I've decided to restart an Upwork account and learn how to make some BADASS copy and after that, Website creation.

- PV2 Jones

What kind of website creation are you going for?

I was in the Marine Corps, and depending on your unit you might have a load of downtime or next to no time to yourself. Especially being in the infantry. I wouldn't want to expect to get back to the barracks at 1700 to wrap up that copywriting job but oh wait, LCpl Schmuckatelli decided to do thing_specifically_told_not_to_do and now you have to stand in formation for hours.

Beyond that, you're in a prime position to start taking calculated risks. A $200 test run on ads is a lot easier to manage when you have that salary.

I wish I found TFF when I was on active duty.

 

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[sparechange]

curious, whats military life like?

ive just watched army shows on youtube and it looks preety intense (boot camps & tons of yelling)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7nIL1eSwmI


hilarious commentary on hell week by bill burr

 

[sparechange]

have you ever thought about doing a youtube channel?

not sure if thats allowed for you legally, but something like a daily vlog of military life seems like a niche you could capitalize on? just a random idea

 

[sparechange]

all those call of duty nerds would love that, sell em some gaming products

 

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[Scot]

curious, whats military life like?

ive just watched army shows on youtube and it looks preety intense (boot camps & tons of yelling)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7nIL1eSwmI


hilarious commentary on hell week by bill burr

Depends on which boot camp videos you watch. And this video is for SF selection, it’s about 10x harder than most parts of the military.

have you ever thought about doing a youtube channel?

not sure if thats allowed for you legally, but something like a daily vlog of military life seems like a niche you could capitalize on? just a random idea

Do NOT do this. There are a few funny channels of guys doing military videos, but they’re all veterans. Any time you see a funny video of stupid crap in the military, I guaranteed each person in that video got an Article 15 or worse.

Word of advice to @Spicymemer45 Take as many photos as you can with your friends. You’ll regret it afterwards if you didn’t. Take plenty stupid boot photos too, like up and pose with your rifles with the BFA on them. Take as many videos.

Do NOT ever ever f’ing ever post any of them on YouTube, Facebook, anywhere. I’ve seen too many careers destroyed by people posting videos of something they found funny that their chain of command didn’t and fried them for.

 

[B_Mac]

I don't know what made me think of a 2.5 year old thread, but for some reason I got on the forum today and immediately thought "I wonder how the guy who joined the Army is doing?"

So @Spicymemer45 , how are you doing? How was selection? Have you been happy with the decision to enlist? You are coming up on three years, most people do a three year stint first go around, are you planning to re-up?

 

[WestCoast]

Good bump, I'm curious now too!

Been listening to so much Jocko Podcast recently, I wonder why everyone doesn't join up. ha!
(spoken as someone who has never been within 1000 miles of anything to do with military anything)

 

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[Johnny boy]

I love the military. I appreciate them greatly.

But you just burned up a significant amount of your most valuable asset in a major way.

Thanks for doing it so I don't have to.

 

[B_Mac]

But you just burned up a significant amount of your most valuable asset in a major way.

What’s that mean?

 

[Johnny boy]

What’s that mean?

Time

 

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[B_Mac]

I love the military. I appreciate them greatly.

But you just burned up a significant amount of your most valuable asset in a major way.

Thanks for doing it so I don't have to.

Time

In the time he has “burnt,” he has likely learned:
Leadership skills
Time management skills
Critical thinking skills
And more than translate well to entrepreneurship.
In addition to that, once he is done burning time, he will have earned:
Monthly paycheck for life (perhaps more than one)
Preference by all government agencies at all levels for contracts and jobs.
An immediate in with untold numbers of people for all sorts of reasons. People who would ignore someone like you will gladly spend time with a veteran.
There is more. A lot more.
Time in the military is not poorly spent or burnt. 11 years ago I left the military, and I continue to reap benefits from it today.

If it’s not for you, fine. It’s not for everybody. But to tell someone they’ve burnt that time so you don’t have to is rude and disrespectful.

 

[rjdgreat]

bump^

 

[Kevin88660]

bump^

Personally I think military experience is a huge plus.

But it is what you decide to take away with it that matters.

Many came out of it, and live as an undisciplined civilian and become indistinguishable from the rest of the population.

 

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[Johnny boy]

You did not need to join the military.

You can just live a life of discipline.

If you do so, you will get asked if you are in the military.

I get mistaken for a soldier 1-2 times every single week.

Work out. Wake up early. Make your bed. Speak clearly. Don’t cover yourself in degenerate tattoos. Don’t dress like a hippie. Cut your hair. Walk like you know where you’re going. Take care of yourself. It’s the bare minimum and people think you’re a soldier because of it.

 

[Johnny boy]

One more piece of advice, which I am sure you don't need to hear, but remember that they own you. Do NOT fight the system, the military has a million ways to break a person.

Can you share them all with me so I know what to do with my employees and eventually my sons someday.

 

[Kevin88660]

Can you share them all with me so I know what to do with my employees and eventually my sons someday.

Not too applicable to the civilian world as the military has a lot of power over those who serve in it because soldiers are not civilians. They are subjected to military laws.

This means that absent without leaves and deliberate insubordination are chargeable offense.

For small mistakes you can get minor punishment like extra night duties or confinement (no traveling outside the base). Repeat offenders can be sent to detention barracks which are like a temporary prison.

 

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[Johnny boy]

Not too applicable to the civilian world as the military has a lot of power over those who serve in it because soldiers are not civilians. They are subjected to military laws.

This means that absent without leaves and deliberate insubordination are chargeable offense.

For small mistakes you can get minor punishment like extra night duties or confinement (no traveling outside the base). Repeat offenders can be sent to detention barracks which are like a temporary prison.

Well in my house and company everyone is subject to Johnny Boy Law and we have no Geneva conventions

 

[MJ DeMarco]

This post is 6 years old. I wonder how joining the military has worked out, or hasn't.

 

[Subsonic]

This post is 6 years old. I wonder how joining the military has worked out, or hasn't.

I'll guess it hasn't made him into "The Man".

Having someone else tell you to work your a$$ off probably doesn't help too much with being able to do that on your own.
Joining the military is an event, after all. I hope I am wrong about my assessment, but chances are that self-discipline is not built through being forced to endure something.
The difficulty is the ease of quitting something like entrepreneurship.
The difficulty is in the choice, to which only your future self will hold you accountable.

Just my thoughts on the situation, as I have never seen someone get changed for the better by an outside force.

 

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[cYn]

What you put in is what you get out. The military isn't going to change you if you refuse to change.

If you are accepting of coaching and mentoring, the military can be one of the greatest schools that teaches

• Discipline
• Accountability
• Leadership
• Selfless service (value)
• Execution excellence

The military helped with my personal development, to be tolerable and to tolerate others.

I admire the US military because they are one of the oldest organizations around, which means they have done more things, many times over. They are one of the best at organizational scale. One of the best at building culture. I experienced Extreme Ownership first hand before even reading Jocko Willink's book. I saw my "boss" (my sergeant) take the fall for my own damn negligence. That experience and lesson is hard to find anywhere else that matches the level of excellence an organization needs to be as the most powerful in the world.