Is there any reason you shouldn’t join the army? No way! My friends, relatives, and neighbor are in the military. If it wasn’t a promising career, why haven’t they left? Not so fast, friend!
Today, joining the military is a dream for many people. That’s because they perceive how well-respected military personnel is in society. Even their families respect and speak highly of them.
Wearing the military uniform seems tempting. But like other careers, the military has risks, and high risk, for that matter.
There are many reasons you should abort your dream of joining the military. Don’t be carried away by the smiling faces and bold-looking military personnel you see on the street. Deep down, some of them wish they never joined the military.
In this post, we will look into several reasons you shouldn’t join the military. After reading, you should be able to make an informed decision.
1. Monetary Remuneration Not So Attractive:
Yes, the Armed Forces do offer bonuses and other benefits. But ask yourself these questions; is money my reason for joining the military? Will I earn more money in a different job or by working in a different setting? The answer is a resounding yes.
No one is trying to demean the military, but knowing the truth is vital for wannabe officers. The military’s remuneration cannot compare to what some employees working in the private sector earns. These include the junior and senior military personnel.
So, the remuneration officers get isn’t up to par with the kind of job they do. Most people doing far lesser work in other sectors earn better salaries.
But let’s be frank. Someone working in the military can live a comfortable life, depending on how well you use the benefits.
You can’t live the luxurious life you dreamed of with a military salary, including the benefits. Let no one deceive you.
There is little chance that you’ll ever get paid an amount of money that will make you super-rich. Have that at the back of your young mind.
A Handy Tip: What makes a military career attractive is not the money. Part of it is the respect you’ll receive from your family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. If you base your interest on the salary or benefits, you’re going to get disappointed unless you don’t plan to become super-rich.
2. A Highly Hazardous Profession:
Every job has risks, be it fashion design, welding, construction, teaching, farming, etc. However, some are riskier. Some of the professions mentioned here may only cause you bodily harm that may heal up in no time. The possibility of losing one’s life in these professions is very low.
The moment you join the Armed Forces comprising of Navy, Army, and Air Force, your life won’t matter anymore. You have to be ready to lay down your life whenever the country requests it.
By joining the military, you have taken an oath to protect the country and millions of citizens. You can’t run away from a war front, leaving your colleagues behind.
Many young and promising individuals have lost their lives to senseless wars, aggravated by politicians who only care more about their reputation. They can deploy you to war because of a silly misunderstanding. What they need to do is make it look like a national issue.
When one dies as a military officer, the best they can get is a hero’s burial. The military usually honors fallen soldiers and compensates their families. But is that enough to fill the vacuum left by a father, mother, brother, sister, relative, friend, and colleague?
A report by the CDC on military personnel’s national mortality is enough to discourage anyone from joining the military. It stated that the annual death rate of serving military officers on active duties is 94.9 per 100,000 military personnel. It further noted that males account for over 95 percent of these deaths.
A Handy Tip: The military is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. One can lose his or her life while in active service.
3. The Job Is Physically Demanding:
The military is a rugged profession. So, members must be ready to face any situation. But let’s be frank, it’s one of the most physically and mentally demanding jobs in the world. We are not just basing this fact on the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s the same thing everywhere.
However, the U.S. military is not the best because they look good. It’s because of their level of physical fitness, intelligence, and mental alertness. Military personnel train hard. And some of the training takes place in the most unpleasant environments.
The reason the military train its personnel this way is understandable. They’re preparing them for battle, which may take place in similarly harsh conditions. Whoever survives the training can survive anywhere in the world.
Now here’s the shocker. Most people don’t survive the training. From the year 2006 to 2020, the Department of Defense recorded 5,605 deaths. Now guess what; these were service members killed due to training accidents. More troops lose their lives in training than in combat.
4. Passion And Endurance Are Crucial:
If you join the military because of the benefits, you may find yourself resigning in no distant time. But passion can make things much easier for you.
So, it would help if you had that strong desire to serve your country and protect lives. The passion you have should also drive you to surrender your life to defend your country.
The truth of the matter is money cannot sustain you in the military. Besides, you can earn much more working in a private company. The respect you’ll get from people is also not enough. You must have passion and endurance.
Why is endurance crucial? You’ll face several harsh treatments on and off training. Your training will be physically taxing, and you may feel like giving up most of the time.
Seeing a friend drop dead to the ground during training is enough to demotivate anyone. It’s not just mere talk. It’s what military personnel face during training and on the battlefield.
Being a military officer is physically and mentally taxing. So, before joining, ask yourself these questions; am I sincerely ready? Do I have the passion? Is my desire genuine? Am I strong enough to endure the harsh training and maltreatments?
Don’t just say yes and no. Think about the answers and rate yourself. If you wish, you can discuss it with an officer you know. Just ask specific questions.
That’s because if you ask any military personnel in service if joining the military is a good idea, the answer you’ll receive is yes. The officer wouldn’t want to be the one discouraging you from joining.
5. Relocation Challenges:
Relocation is another thing that should discourage anyone from joining the military. Servicemembers relocate from one station to another once every 2-3 years.
Moving the property is not the issue. There are military-contracted moving companies stationed to help move your parcel to the new location. The Department of Defense also provides relocation and travel allowances to servicemembers.
However, relocation can be so exhausting. Another thing that makes it tiring is that you won’t have stable friends and neighbors.
What about your family? They have to start afresh. Your kids would have to change their school, make new friends, and acclimatize to the new environment. The same thing would happen to your wife. She has to make new friends and learn about the new area.
Unfortunately, in the next 2 to 3 years or so, you’ll be relocating again. That’s the irony of joining the military.
6. One’s Self-Worth Is Based On Rank:
Can you remember how senior students maltreated you in high school? Or perhaps, you were lucky not to run into trouble with them. In the military, seniority is power. The seniority here doesn’t mean one’s age. It implies the rank a servicemember has.
If you fall within the bottom rank, be ready to receive a child’s treatment. Your seniors will bully you, insult you, and even rub their levels in your innocent face. They could even punish you for the slightest mistakes.
When a service member with a higher rank orders you to do a menial job, you must obey. Failure to do so won’t be good for you. You could get beaten and punished severely.
Even if you report to a higher authority, there’s little or nothing they can do. From there, you’ll become a target to the officer in question.
Senior-ranking officers will start treating you like a living being when you reach the middle tier rank. But getting there doesn’t happen overnight. So this means you may have to endure the punishments, insults, and hard labor from your superiors for a while.
7. You Will Become A Killer:
The 9/11 terrorist attack brought fear to every American. It made the country more vigilant too. Successive governments have been investing in the military and launching a series of military operations in countries with a high presence of terrorists.
So, there’s a high possibility that you would one day be deployed to these troubled countries to fight terrorists. That means you have to kill or get killed.
If you don’t want to take lives, don’t join the military. Once you join, killing people tagged as terrorists, criminals will become a regular thing to you.
8. Your Civil Rights Are At Stake:
Are you ready to give up any of your civil rights? Do you like the idea of your boss dictating how your life should go? If yes, you’re welcome to join the military. But if no, now is the right time to step back.
Once you join the Armed Forces, you’ll relinquish most of your civil rights. You can’t assemble with any group or individual that opposes the Armed Forces’ plan. You can’t do a second job unless the military approves of it.
Then again, you can’t wear most civilian clothes on base. Furthermore, you can’t get certain tattoos or nose piercings. So, in general, the military will take a part of your life away from you.
Unfortunately, you can’t just wake up one morning and say, “Hey, I quit today.” You can’t run away either. Whether you like the job or not, you must continue until an opportunity to quit legitimately presents itself.
9. You Can Go To Jail For The Slightest Mistake:
You can end up in prison for anything considered against the military. What makes it annoying is that most of these so-called offenses are minute and negligible.
Some of the offenses include failure to button your shirt correctly, talking or glaring at your superiors, failure to remove your hat when you walk inside, stepping on the grass, failure to salute the flag, and so on.
Read the summary of the Uniform Code of Military Justice or Article 134. It states that anything an officer does can be viewed as an offense or against the law.
So, anyone in your group can claim that you did something terrible, and it would be considered a punishable offense.
10. You Might Not See Your Family For Months:
If you feel you can’t stay away from your kids, wife, or relatives, you don’t belong to the military. Just know that once deployed, you could spend six, nine, or 12 months away.
Even when you eventually come back home, you may have a duration of one year or 18 months to train and bond with your family.
Conclusion
Being a military officer has some prestige. Strangers, friends, and family would respect you. It doesn’t matter your rank. All that matters or earns you that respect is the uniform. However, respect isn’t enough to join the military. It’s a tough job, and your life is at stake.
One can die during training or in combat. You have to be ready to lay down your life for your country at any time.
With that said, before joining the military, think about the challenges and ask yourself this question; Am I equal to the task? And please be very honest with yourself.