Their are many things in life that are a life changing commitment some even more than serving in the armed forces. But I think the question of Why Not is more than appropriate for this...lets say a guy walks up to me and asks why do you want to be a marine, I would ask why not? Why not be a Marine? Its a life changing experience that you will NOT find anywhere else. With any great opprotunity their are indeed great risks and responsabilities, such as knowing that you are about send a squad into almost certaint death. But thats not what I see, I see as serving the country that I live in...I lived the past 20 years with the luxury of freedom, I now owe Uncle Sam a piece of my life in order to continue this luxury that I have breathed for so long, to continue this freedom that I want my children to enjoy, to continue this great country that we all live in.
I do not know how much a commitment it will take, I expect that I will want to quit at some point...but I rarely quit...at that point its a mental game..how far can I push myself? Great I made it this far...lets go a little further.
I like to challenge myself, this is possibly the greatest challenge I can think of. With the completion of this challenge I will know that I will stand with some of the finest men and women that have ever served this country.
This is why I want to do this, if this is not enough...then please let me know so I can not sign the dotted line.
I wouldn't try to talk you out of it, but I would caution...do not sign on the dotted line until you are almost done with college. Check out the Navy ROTC program if your college has one...it's combined Navy/Marines...at least where I work.
The military life isn't for everyone...for enlisted Marine Corps personnel it's a contract based on 6 years (active duty/inactive reserve)...13 weeks of physical and mental hell in boot camp...then on to more training in a military occupational specialty, which is generally granted based on preference, military need and ASVAB scores...but every Marine is an infantry rifleman first. When the call to fight comes in, even the office personnel in a line unit have to be combat ready. Annual rifle qualifications and physical fitness tests...regular inspections of quarters, equipment, uniforms, etc...daily unit physical fitness workouts before breakfast...field exercises...plus normal daily MOS duties...crappy food...basic living arrangements on a good day...few holidays and only 30 days a year vacation which can be denied for any reason...up before the sun rises and you don't shut down until you're ordered to.
Marine Officer Candidates go through 6 months of basic training which is as tough and sometimes tougher than what the enlisted personnel go through...it's more intense physical and mental hell for a longer period of time...they don't put brass on just anyone...even mustang (enlisted to officer) officers have to go through OCS before they get that brass on their uniforms...and as an officer, you don't have a contract that ends, you have to resign your commission or get put out by other means...it's a lifetime committment. As an officer you are given certain privileges and responsibilities that enlisted personnel do not have...but by the time you leave OCS, you will have earned them...and you will be held to a higher standard than the enlisted personnel.
I was Marine Corps enlisted and turd officers, especially among the junior officer ranks were more irritating than gung ho salty a-hole brown nosed Staff NCO's...little respect for their men, little knowledge of the concepts behind respect and loyalty, little knowledge of their mission responsibilities...if you do decide to become a Marine Corps officer, learn the responsibilities and traditions associated with the rank you will be given...understand that the guy with the stripes probably knows more about your job than you do...that will earn you the respect of the men you will be in charge of and when you are tasked with ordering them to do something, they will do it to the best of their abilities.
Here is why not:
Do you know beyond a resonable doubt that you could with a clear conscience, tell someone to risk their life for something you do not wholly understand nor fully agree with?...because as a Marine Corps officer the possibility of you being put into that situation is high.