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I've been with the Army ROTC for two semesters now in college and its time to finally take my relationship with it to the next level. My father, a Marine of 30+ years, thought it would just be a brief fling but I truly love what I'm doing. How do I tell him that I'm joining the Army without him disowning me from the family?
Update: Well he took it way better than I thought he would have. He was highly skeptical at first and grilled me about every aspect to make sure I knew what I was doing and hadn't just been swindled into signing my life away. Then after he was satisfied he asked why I wasn't joining the Coast Guard as I've been an auxiliarist with them for a while now. After I gave him the explanation to that he told me to wait on the couch and went into one of our side rooms and came back with some papers. Said papers were my grandfathers DD-214, while they weren't as detailed as the ones that come out now they showed that my grandfather had served in the Army and Air Force and had retired from the latter. I had never met my grandpa as he died before I was born and for some reason he'd never come up in conversation beyond the fact that he had been in the military. I'd always assumed he had also been in the Marines. So overall it went well and I learned a bit more about my family tree. Thank you to everyone for their advice and kind words. I actually used a good bit of that advice over the course of the conversation.
Update: Well he took it way better than I thought he would have. He was highly skeptical at first and grilled me about every aspect to make sure I knew what I was doing and hadn't just been swindled into signing my life away. Then after he was satisfied he asked why I wasn't joining the Coast Guard as I've been an auxiliarist with them for a while now. After I gave him the explanation to that he told me to wait on the couch and went into one of our side rooms and came back with some papers. Said papers were my grandfathers DD-214, while they weren't as detailed as the ones that come out now they showed that my grandfather had served in the Army and Air Force and had retired from the latter. I had never met my grandpa as he died before I was born and for some reason he'd never come up in conversation beyond the fact that he had been in the military. I'd always assumed he had also been in the Marines. So overall it went well and I learned a bit more about my family tree. Thank you to everyone for their advice and kind words. I actually used a good bit of that advice over the course of the conversation.
Humor
ROTC
Marines
Edited 9 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 78
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You could have said a couple of things. The first being that you wanted to look at US ARMY in the mirror and say to yourself, 'Yes My Retarded *ss Signed Up.' Or you could have said, 'Dad, I want to live by another motto other than Muscles Are Required Intelligence Not Expected.' All jokes aside, I'm sure he was happy that you made a decision that you felt was right for you. I'm Army, my father was Air Force, and I have Grandfathers and Uncles who were Marines and Soldiers as well. Family history doesn't have to have a single lane of influence. And your father's knowledge and experience can be passed onto you in a manner that you can use it to be successful in the Army. Good luck to you and your endeavors.
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You tell him you're joining the Army because even Marines need heroes.
SSG Dugena.
SSG Dugena.
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My father, is a WWII-Korea-Vietnam USMC Veteran and me, a Retired US Army Officer via the ROTC program. When I came back from basic ROTC training I was hooked and he knew it. For the first time in his life he then asked me to consider the USMC. I grew up on Marine Bases and would have been proud to follow in his footsteps, but in truth the USMC commissioning programs were not as robust as the Army. In the end, I had my last two years of college paid for by the Army, received $100 a month from the ROTC program and about $200 from the US Army Reserves under the SMP program. By the time I had earned my RA commission from ROTC, I had also earned my Air Assault and Airborne badges.
You should have seen the pride in my father's eyes the day I was commissioned. He pinned my bars on and it is a memory I will always cherish.
You should have seen the pride in my father's eyes the day I was commissioned. He pinned my bars on and it is a memory I will always cherish.
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Excellent, the roadblocks are in the mind. In actuality it was not that difficult! See yourself as a winner in all circumstances, and keep climbing that mountain!
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The same way I told my 23+ years Army Father and 20+ years Mother that I was going into the Nuclear Navy. Just tell them and deal with the non-communication for 3 months!!
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Just simply talk to him like if was a friend. Tell he served the marines but your calling is in the army. Tell him all about the army and show how excited it makes you.
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I was a soldier in the Army. Damn proud of it. My daughter just Joined Air Force. I'm proud she's serving her country in a way that best suits her. Army would have been easier to define her career path, but won't elevate her post military career as much as the Air Force will (Astrophysics & Aerospace).
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