is the economy making it hard to join the military nowadays?

Z

Zombie Hunter

New member
i heard from one of my coe-workers that some of his friends are actually "Trying really hard" to get into the army but because of the way the economy is doing people are lining out the door for the GI bonuses. Are they just making up excuses or have things really got that bad?

The reason i ask is because i was thinking of going to into the Army as an infantryman, possibly get Ranger Rip in my contract, within the next 2 years or so once i finish college.
i graduated high school with a B average and now earning a degree in Law Enforcment.
i'm not really interested in it for the bonuses as mch i am interested in what i'de be doing
 
Joining the military has never been easy. Most people believe anyone can join, when in reality over 50% of the population is not qualified for one reason or another.

With the economy is bad shape people are lining up trying to enlist, monthly quotas are being met within the first 10 days of the month.
 
the economy and job market is so unstable that people are joining the military, but bonuses have be cut down and in my case to nearly nothing i joined about a little while ago because it was my life long dream, but my bonus was supposed to be 32,000 but i finally joined after the bonus cut i ended up with 7000 instead, and the guys i talked to at MEPs werent getting anything for joining
 
There is truth to it. Since the economy is bad and people are losing their jobs, more and more people are trying to join the military in order to have job security, free health care, etc.

What this means for a lot of those trying to join is that the standards have gone up and there are few if any moral or medical waivers being given out anymore. Many people are going to have a rude awakening when that time in high school that they got caught vandalizing property, smoking marijuana, or getting a DUI comes back to bite them.

Keep in mind that bonuses are incentives to get people to join. When there is not a need to entice people to join, bonuses will go away.

The ideal time to join was from about 2005 through early 2009. That is when enlistments were at their lowest relative to past times, bonuses were at record levels, and waivers were being given out like crazy. For those who have waited too long or are seeking the Army as a crutch to keep them going, many will be disappointed.

Hopefully this is a wakeup call to many young people reading this that what you do when you are in high school and think you are "rebelling" or just being funny, has consequences later.

EDIT: It is tougher to get in now than it has been in years, but every case is unique. As long as there is nothing preventing you from joining, go ahead and sit down with a recruiter and try to get what you want. The worst than can happen is that they say no.
 
Back
Top