The Military Is Not The Girl Scouts, Can YOU Handle It?

Many young Americans have a dream of joining the United States Armed Services.
They dream of adventure and glory, patriotism, and being the hero of their home town.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this dream.
However do realize that when you enlist, you are not signing up for the girl scouts.
The military is hard work, so be prepared.
When my unit arrived in the middle east for our Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment, we landed in shifts.
However, just after the first group landed, the massive earthquake hit Haiti.
The rest of our unit was diverted to Haiti to help with the recovery and aid efforts.
Unfortunately, this meant that we were not fully manned, and still had a job to do.
For the first few weeks of deployment we worked overtime standing longer watches every day, without a day off in between.
Some of the youngsters in the unit did not take to this idea very well.
Perhaps they had dreams of a paradise in the desert where you lay by the pool all day, getting served ice cold beverages, and earning the status of 'hero' by simply BEING in the middle east.
These guys learned the hard way that in the military, we work.
and we work HARD! One aspect that makes this ordeal bearable is knowing that this is what you are signing up for.
When you don't expect to work double shifts, they are hard to do.
However if you enter with the mindset that you will be exposed to grueling tasks, and lengthy work hours, then it will be easier to accept.
It's all about the attitude and preparation.
And if you apply yourself with a positive attitude then you will not only have an easier time achieving these tasks, but in fact you will feel quite proud of yourself at the end knowing that this can be done, and that YOU have pushed yourself to what you thought was the edge without breaking.
Perhaps you are a high schools student considering a military career.
Perhaps you are a high school graduate and already speaking with a recruiter regarding enlistment.
Whatever your current status, it's never too late to understand the military mentality.
You work hard, and you reap the benefits, but you first have to work hard.
So get that lazy mentality out of your head, and you will find yourself experiencing what you will later look back on as the most exciting years of your life.