<< Serve yoru country, build character and shot weapons >>
hehehehe, merry christmas, (another of the perks is that you don't have to spell or type well). No offense meant.
Dont let bitter people jade you (chrisbest01), it's not for everyone, but it is a measure of your worth if you succeed. Cowards will always decry the sacrifice (GermyBoy). This is their way of assuaging their guilt for having never given of themselves for anything greater than a fistful of cash or a new vid card (even if a hot deal).
As for the folks who say this is a dead end, your breath is wasted. I served, went to college, and am now a physician, and my grammar isn't all that bad (even if I did take english from a community college while in the service). Yes, this is an unusual occurence, but it still happened to me. No, I wasn't a supply clerk or administrator, I was a grunt, and had to contend with odd duty schedules, weeks in the field, and TDYs where the doo-doo was hitting the fan. But I survived, rather I thrived.
Unlike the shallow, flag waving mock-patriots that have come out of the woodwork, I carry my love of country deep inside, inculcated in my youth, and forged by years of service to something I hold dear. I need no emblem to signify my patriotism, I lived it. I'll refer you to the verbiage below, which is an eloquent embodiment of a veterans look at service.
taken Sen. McCains speech at Annapolis
...I say that fully aware of the hardships and risks that we impose on those we send to fight for us. I say that fully aware of the horrors that war inevitably visits on the innocent. I don't think war is glorious. I don't know a veteran who cherishes a romantic remembrance of war. All wars are awful. When nations must defend themselves by force of arms, a million tragedies ensue. Nothing, not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify the cruel and merciless reality of warfare. That's what makes war a thing to be avoided if possible. But it is not possible now. There was no avoiding the war we are in today anymore than we could have avoided world war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
In America, our rights come before our duties, as well they should. We are a free people, and among those freedoms is the liberty to sacrifice or not for our birthright. We no longer have military conscription. Nor do we need it because we can rely on the patriotism of more than sufficient numbers of Americans to defend willingly the liberty of us all. Yet early in life, you have grasped a great truth: that those who claim their liberty but not their duty to the civilization that ensures it live a half-life, having indulged their vanity and self-interest at the cost of their self-respect. The richest man or woman, the most successful and celebrated of our citizens possesses nothing important if their lives have no greater object than themselves. They may be masters of their fate, but what a poor destiny it is that claims no higher cause than wealth and fame.
I do not believe that war and military service are the only means to honor in America. God grants us all the privilege of having our character and our patriotism tested. But those who wear the uniform of the United States know better than anyone the meaning of American citizenship.
<This next one is especially good.>
The terror our enemies have tried to sow in the hearts of Americans will now be the essence of their lives, however abbreviated their lives will be. And when they meet their Maker they will learn that they had their theology all wrong. Right, not hate, makes might. As they experience our power, so will they know the full measure of our righteousness. And as their last hour approaches they can ask an all-loving God for mercy. But don't ask us. We bring justice, not mercy.
My warrior days were long ago, but not so long ago that I have forgotten their purpose and their reward. This is your call to arms. This is your moment to make history. There will never be another nation such as ours. Take good care of her. The fate of the world depends upon it. May God bless you, as He has blessed America with your service.