Should I join the US armed forces?

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I don't think most people actually get dishonorable discharges. Those are reserved for people who are convicted of a felony-type offense in the military.

Most people either get "other than honorable" (OTH) or "General under Honorable Conditions" if they screw up in a misdemeanor sense.

No my point is to Fnord who said that a lot of homeless vets just messed up their lives purposely.

I'm just wondering how he could possibly know people mental state, as people often suffer in silence.

Do a lot of research before making any decisions. Read blogs and watch youtube videos by people that are presently in or have been recently regarding military life. Disregard obvious naysayers. One of them in this thread (whose name I won't mention lest I be accused of trolling) is only butthurt because he couldn't pass the medical to get into the RAF. Can you say "sour grapes"?

It is a commitment not to be taken lightly, though. Choose the branch of service wisely and don't bite off more than you can chew.

Do some research first, see if you like the idea of being ready to give your life in the service of people who treat you like this:-

Heres a few avenues you might wish to look along:- america performs experiments on its military

And here is another Google search you might wish to look at some of the links and ask yourself, Why? suicide rate among us military

You will also want to consider how you will view yourself once you have done the thing you are employed to do, and its not always as morally justified as Hollywood war films like to portray. Probably related to the suicide rate.

Best to hear it from another young man who followed the path you are considering.

Hang on chump, you arent being exactly fair.

My reasons for applying were rather different. I wanted in the air force not solely to improve my lot in life but because at the time I wanted to learn to fly and coming from a disadvantaged background this represents your best chance to do so. That is only one small factor in the equation though, since i failed my medical I did a political 180 and realised that there is empowered figures who i would have been a pawn of. So in many hidden ways, failing that medical was a boon. If i'd got in I may have got caught up in the awful adventures of 2003 and be recovering from Gulf war syndrome now myself, or worse. I've now got a wife, lovely children and the full use of my limbs and birth faculties.

Though, technically i can say I was in the RAF for one week since I did my school work experience there.

Than probably not, don't see how it would fill any void in your life...it will just put you in position to be the first in harms way should the government decide to take military action.

I think there are a lot of military veterens that would disagree with that...based on the ones I've talked to.

Well some people might see the lesser risk of death and/or psychological/physical harm as a fair trade off...

I suppose it depends what your background is. If you're from a well off background you can probably elbow your way into the officers ranks more easilly and stand a better chance of avoiding becoming cannon fodder.

...AS/spectrum-ness is an automatic " No-No " to enlisting now , though , I'm told .

If you are officially diagnosed then it would 100% disqualify you from serving, I guess it might be possible you could get a waiver but I doubt it especially now with the military being the only opportunity for so many people in this country. With the way the world is now, they can be choosy and pick the most able-bodied and minds by whatever their standards are and still have more than enough troops. They do not need cannon fodder. If you're not diagnosed, I guess it depends on how well you can cope and manage yourself without accommodation and if you can it shouldn't be an issue I don't think but mind you they treat fraudulent enlistment pretty seriously. That can get you a court martial, dishonorably discharged, and put into military prison so you gotta be pretty honest with them.

I thought about the military for a little while some years ago before I knew I had a disqualifying condition, I don't think I could really handled at that point of my life but maybe I could but obviously that shipped sailed a long time ago. I don't agree with the mission but that's not the place of soldier, the military is a good opportunity that don't have anything else going on for them and unfortunately its seems the burden of protecting this country is put on the shoulders of the disadvantaged and that's part of the reason I feel so strongly about how our country engages in foreign policy and when send our brothers and sisters off to war. It is personal, I don't cast blame on some poor 17 year old that doesn't know anything about the world or the mission they're sent on. The politicians, the generals, and whoever else crafts these policies needs to blamed not our soldiers. That's not to say individually these folks cannot be good or evil and I think the natural cruelty of man exposes itself when put into these situations.

Well put...I actually considered the military as well when I was close to graduating high-school, in retrospect I am glad I did not choose that not that I would have been accepted in the first place. By that time I had only been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and had, had a suicide attempt at age 15 so that alone may have gotten in the way had I tried joining....I had undiagnosed Aspergers and PTSD at the time no real clue but yeah pretty sure I would not have handled that environment well.

Yup, I was thinking of joining the Army Reserves and when I told them I had Aspergers they said don't bother applying. Stupid military, they could use weirdos like me.

Question is, looking back can you still say you would have wanted the opportunity to be used by the military.

Well some people see so much more risk in just stepping outside that they spend most of their lives huddled under a blanket in their bedrooms.

Sure, and it is sane to fear death, but when you have a choice to make between the small chance of a fast bullet through the head or the certainty of the slow, lingering death that living in fear brings, which would you say that have you already chosen for yourself?

Now see that is too far the opposite way...you get bored that way, at least I would. But I certainly don't want to sign myself into being a pawn on our corrupted governments chess board either, its not really a cause I'd be willing to die for...not to mention I would not make it a day through any kind of military training. Of course I'm also not going to hide in my room because leaving the house carries risks, though some days if my anxietys really bothering me I might decide not to go out in public. So have not chosen either of those.