Your Body, Liberty, & Leave

Imagine having the strictest parents in the world who are also your boss. Imagine they control over your body and your time well past 18 and can punish you with docked pay or confinement if you disobey. 

Your body belongs to the military. The military decides what civilian clothes, tattooes, or piercings are appropriate. The military decides where you're stationed, where & how long you're deployed, and where you're allowed to live. The barracks generally prohibit overnight guests. Your commander can decide if you're allowed to keep or drink alcohol when you're home at the barracks after work, even if you're over 21. The military can impose long hours without overtime, such as 6 AM runs and late night barracks cleaning.

The military decides how far away you're allowed to travel during your free time (liberty) as well as how much liberty you have (if any). Even when you're not at work, the military can force you to wear a uniform on or off base. You may be subject to early curfews even on the weekend. The military decides when you can go home on leave, even during family emergencies. While on liberty or leave, you are still subject to recall at any moment for any reason. Such limitations are common while in training to learn your job and may be used as mass punishment if someone in your unit gets into trouble. 

Failure to obey may result in loss of rank, docked pay, confinement, or even a bad discharge that can follow you around for the rest of your life. They are called "dog tags" for a reason: you are government property. 

Trained to Kill & ready to Die

It may seem obvious, but take some time to think hard about the fundamental training you will receive in the military: how to fight, how to kill. Later you will be trained for your military job that may or may not be a combat job. 

All the jobs exist to support the military mission and nearly every job can be deployed. During times of emergency, you may be reassigned to a deployable job. This means any job may require you to fight or kill. Ask yourself,

Am I willing to kill on order, without hesitation, be it a civilian, woman or child?

No job is guaranteed to be "safe." Even the training can be dangerous; roughly 40 servicemembers die each year during training. Joining the military means accepting that you may be ordered to do things that risk bodily harm or even death. Ask yourself,

Am I willing to risk bodily harm or even death during training or deployments?

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