Poll: Military Service

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

I very much wanted to serve, away back in the 1980's, when I was a teenager. I read everything I could on military history, played lots of board wargames, and even picked up the Twilight thing. At the end of high school I applied for the US Military Academy-- rejected.
I went to college and tried to get an ROTC scholarship-- rejected.
I stayed in college, and took the first two (no-committal) years of ROTC, and then applied for the 3rd year-- rejected.
US Army Reserve? Rejected.
Ohio National Guard? Rejected.
I transferred to a less expensive school closer to home, took a major in military history with a minor in national security policy studies and Russian. I applied for work with the CIA and DoD-- rejected.


Why the rejections? The first five were because of childhood asthma, which had persisted after my 12th birthday (or was it 14th? I've blotted it out). A professor later told me it was because the tear gas in Basic might well have killed me. The last one was because it was 1990, and there was a big ol' hiring freeze on for those departments, since the Cold War was shutting down.
I gave up on the gummint, and now I raise children.

I remember the year classes that I processed through - and how we had to sent some guys home that really wanted to serve ,and keep some on that you see a mile off were going to be bothersome,negative louts.

I remember a friend of me telling me about this one guy they managed to keep although he should have been rejected .He really wanted to serve despite a former head injury .Makes me smile to think that regulations were broken

Lots of the legends and heroes of various military organizations have been people that would be rejected today as too old,not meeting health requirements,to near sighted or whatever.

I raise children myself these days -let me tell you -teenage girls are like a protracted stint under fire .The strain on your temper and nerves ...