Do you feel that joining the military straight out of highschool is the best choice?

Joining the military right out of high school is really a matter of choice as it depends on your reasons for joining the military.

In some cases, there are a lot of reasons for the individual to go right into the military. There are a lot of benefits available and quite honesty, it is the one aspect of providing maturity for many individuals. In other, it makes a lot of sense to go the college route before joining. Against, it really depends on what the individual wants to get out of the experience.

There is no right or wrong answer.

Seeing as how I've repeatedly traveled the world, have a college degree, a family, a home, a stable life and am generally content and all my high school friends haven't left the city and are still working at the same Walmart, I'm going to go ahead and say yeah, it was a good call...

I agree with COL Randall C., in that it really depends on an individual's circumstances. For me, it was just the thing to join right out of high school. My prospects for college were not terribly good (for financial reasons), and the idea of working at the local mill was not appealing.

The military was my best option, and it turned out to be a great choice. If I had left the Army after four years, I would have learned discipline, matured, etc. I didn't leave, though, and staying made the decision to join up right out of high school even better. I was able to get the college that I couldn't initially afford (nights and weekends), and I wound up serving my country for 30 years of active duty.

As I have posted elsewhere on RallyPoint, I am sooo glad I made that decision at the tender age of 17!

It was for me. My family couldn't afford college. I was 17 and a month out of high school. I turned 18 in basic. When I got out and went to college I was more serious I feel about college and buckled down.

Agree with COL Randall C. that there is no right or wrong answer. I'll just tell you what I experienced. I falsely believed that my options were limited, that college was out of the question, so I joined the Army on delayed entry in the middle of my Senior year of high school. My parents had to sign the papers because I was still 17 when I entered active duty.

I was not a rebellious teen, but I looked at my prospects and the military seemed to be my best option. Now, 39 years later, I am SOOOO glad I joined the military right out of high school. It was the best decision for me. I got those college degrees later - during evenings, weekends, and online. Joining up right out of high school was one of the best decisions of my life.

I like A1C James Pendergraph joined the Army through Delayed Entry at 17 and the reason was I knew I did not have the discipline to go off to college and succeed. The Army taught me discipline, a trade, and experiences I would not ever had if I did not join. Do I think 17 is too young no and I wish more kids would want to join the military. Did I miss out on things by not going to college yes but on the flip side I got to do things and see things I would not have gotten.

A1C James Pendergraph

As others have stated, it is a personal choice. I myself joined at 17 and retired at 39. I have absolutely no regrets and it was the best thing for me to do. Waiting for me would have been disasterous.

Was I really mature... Absolutely not! Some would argue I still haven't matured... only gotten older. Did I become a professional? Absolutely!
I did gain and have experiences that in those formative years my peers could not even imagine.

My 2 cents

I enlisted before I was out of High School, and left for BMT 6 days after graduation. There are times that I have regretted not going to college first. I am a firm believer in the importance of education, but not at all to be over shadowed by common sense and field experience. We have all certainly seen people with more degrees then a thermometer, but they have no social skills and no common sense.

I joined right out of HS and have no regrets. I personally advise sooner rather then later.

At one point I had a Airman fresh from tech school that was an E3. I was an E6 and his Flight NCOIC and we were 3 years apart in age. He was a great Airman, but as a marriage 28 yo he still got stuck doing all the "Airman" things. Another Airman came in at 27 and had lived on their own since they were 18 and was forced to live in the dorms which made them a little disgruntled for being "treated like an child."

My other main reason is simply you are not going to get any younger. The military is hard on your body.

A third reason is you will have a second career, if you stay for at least 20 do you really want to start that second career at 48-58 (under the old cap) or 58-68 (under the new cap) vs as young as 38?

Exactly what COL Randall C. and CW5 (Join to see) said! We all have reasons for joining when we did that were right for us.