Were you a military brat?

2015-01-03T13:07:30-05:00

Did both your parents serve?

Why did you decide to serve?

Were you expected to serve?

Do you believe being a military brat had an impact on your career?

Was it positive, or negative?

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Jan 3 at 2015 1:17 PM

2015-01-03T13:17:06-05:00

Did both your parents serve? Yes. Mom was Marine then Transferred to the Navy, Dad was Marine. atleast 3 of my 4 step dads were Navy.

Why did you decide to serve? Because I had wanted to join since childhood.

Were you expected to serve? No, but all 3 brothers joined. 2 AF, one Army because he couldn't get in to the AF. My step sister even married a Marine.

Do you believe being a military brat had an impact on your career? Yep, parents told me if I was joining, I was going to the Air Force.

Was it positive, or negative? Positive for the most part.

Response by SFC Josh Jackson made Jan 3 at 2015 1:55 PM

2015-01-03T13:55:16-05:00

My father was in the Army in the early '60s, and then went full hippie. As a result, my parents expected me to not serve (they actually talked about ways to fake my death and smuggle me into Canada should they ever reinstate the draft). Needless to say, my parents were not happy when I announced that I was joining the Army. But since then they grew to be proud of me.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 2:12 PM

2015-01-03T14:12:39-05:00

Father served 27+ years including my entire life at home and through college and pre-commissioning; Mom was Army wife.
Not expected to serve, but I loved what I saw and wanted to do the same. I have a brother and sister who didn't go into the military.
Coming into the Army I felt I had a leg up based on my Brat experiences, and having my father to ask questions if has been great! (He gets smarter the older I get.)
I have been compared to him over the years, but that has never been negative.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 5:01 PM

2015-01-03T17:01:12-05:00

I am a military brat. Dad did 21 years in the Air Force - mom served alongside him as a military spouse.

It was pretty much a given that I would follow behind him and serve as well. Dad retired in 1981 and after a few years of college and realizing it was not for me at the time I enlisted into the Air Force in 1984. I wanted to follow along is career path as well and become a Security Policeman. Needs of the Air Force however (and an open-general contract) put me into Vehicle Operations. I do believe that being a brat had a positive impact on my career in that it wasn't a culture shock. The few years between my Dad's retirement and my enlistment was culture shock for me. I can proudly say that at age 50 I've had a 50 year association with the military in one status or another.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 7:21 PM

2015-01-03T19:21:12-05:00

Military family all branches, I learned everything from them they didn't want me to join because of everything going on. But to this day are proud I chose to swear the oath and don the uniform and serve the country.

Response by SSG Tim Everett made Jan 4 at 2015 1:07 AM

2015-01-04T01:07:23-05:00

Great-grandfather on mother and father's side: served.

Grandfathers on both sides, including step-grandfather: served

Father: retired Marine.
Brother: Marine.
Both sisters: Marines.
Uncle: retired Navy.
Cousin (his daughter): former Navy officer.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 4 at 2015 9:03 AM

2015-01-04T09:03:55-05:00

I was a military brat, 3rd generation to serve and become an officer in the army. For me it was a positive experience for sure, giving a unique range of experiences growing up.

Response by MGySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 6 at 2015 1:06 PM

2015-10-06T13:06:25-04:00

My father is a Marine, step-dad was a Sailor (retired). My wife was a Sailor (ret now) and our oldest son is a Marine. It was my destiny to become a Marine. I retired after 30. The percentage of military brats going into the service is pretty high. To the point that experts say we have a "warrior class" in the United States that nearly out numbers the 2% of Americans that serve.

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 8 at 2015 2:10 PM

2015-10-08T14:10:08-04:00

I loved being a military brat, and miss growing up in the Army of the '70s and '80s. My dad served nearly 30 years in the Infantry 11B. It's all I ever knew for a long time. I enjoyed the sense of safety and community I felt as a child growing up on post. I joined as a last resort, but I eventually found out that I loved it. It seemed to come naturally, and was easy. I ran into quite a few people that I grew up with during my time in service, and would probably still be in right now if I hadn't gotten such a late start.