Adam had his heart set on becoming a Marine. His grampa was a Marine. His second choice is the Army because he wants to be Infantry. Now that, I must admit, scares the hell out of me. I'm not ready to know that he's on the front lines of a war. But then again, what mother ever is. However, if it's what he really wants then it's something I'll support him in.
However, we discovered that things have changed. They've changed more than I could ever have imagined. With so many men losing their jobs, evidently the military has "upped" their standards. It's not easy to join, in fact, in downright difficult. The Marines won't even consider you if you have taken any online classes for high school. Yep. If you haven't taken all of your classes from a regular high school, you're screwed. Adam was so disappointed. He never would have done online high school if he had known, but then again, it wasn't like this when he started online school.
And the Army, well they did say that if he actually graduates from Boise High, they'll take him if he scores high enough on the ASVAB. What a shame that our military is taking people who probably don't really want to join, but have to because of the economy, and ruling out those who really want to serve their countries.
Adam spent two entire days just crushed, saying that he doesn't know what he'll do with his life if he can't join. He's not ready for college yet but will be someday. I thought the military would have been a wonderful start for his transition into adulthood. I had no idea that it would turn out like this. I guess we'll wait and see what happens next spring...
5 comments:
I was in the Marines and it was the best time of my life, I bet if he sends enough letters to congressmen and dept of the navy he may get a waiver.
Wow. That's crazy. I'm sorry Adam has to let go of that portion of his dream. But, now he knows what he needs to do to get into the Army and he can do it.
Craig, you're probably right. We'll see what we can do! I'm hoping that between now and then things will be different, but who knows, the economy is so bad that it could be worse. We'll see.
He can still get into the Army. He just needs to do his senior year at Boise High next year... and if he really really wants this, then I know he can do it. My senior year was one of the best times of my entire life. And I know I've said this a million times, but I just wish he could experience it. You just CANNOT let him quit when it gets hard!
I have discussed this with a number of people, especially ex military. THEY say the Air Force is the way to go, that when he comes out he could actually have been trained in something that would give him a career for the rest of his life. Have Adam think about that and talk to one of their recruiters.
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