broke/ unemployed and out of options so i signed up for the military.

Pat Tillman, now there's a name I haven't seen in a long time. He was a man of extraordinary personal integrity. He is reported to have turned down $9 million five year contract offer from the St. Louis Rams out of loyalty to the the Cardinals. And he declined a $3.6 million three year contract from the Cardinals to join the US army. How do you think a man like Pat Tillman would approach the field of trading? In the words of Dr. Brett Steenbarger:

Would he join a proprietary trading firm that frantically searches for stocks in play, robotically fading moves or chasing strength or weakness? The mere thought is ludicrous. Would he attend a few seminars or read a couple of books and trade the same untested chart patterns as other other beginners? It's unthinkable....
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Economic success for a trader like Tillman would be a tangible indicator of his efficacy and the rightness of his efforts. It is effect, not cause. He doesn't trade to simply make money any more than the late Pat Tillman played football to make money. His work is an extension of who he is; his profits are the result of years of effort and integrity. Pat Tillman's play on the field was just a part of the much greater work that was his life. Dr. Steenbarger again:

[Tillman] the trader... would stand for something. He would have a view of markets and how and why markets move... It would be his view, not something borrowed slavishly from tradition or current fads.

When confronted with the choice of following the crowd versus acting on his convictions, he wouldn't hesitate to do the right thing.
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:D :D

Farm Kid in the Army

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Army beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once.. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,




Alice.
 
Quote from pspr:

You forgot to mention, getting shot at, killing other people, ordering people to their possible death and possibly getting maimed or killed yourself. War is HELL.
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You see a lot of stories on the news and there have been many killed or wounded. However, that is not the majority of the armed forces. The majority of the armed forces are not in combat roles and will never see combat.

I would wholeheartedly encourage someone to join during wartime for a cause that I truly believe in. I believe going into Afghanistan was right. As for Iraq, well, I didnt understand that. However, the war in Afghanistan has been badly mismanaged.

So I would not encourage someone to join the Army or Marines for a cause they do not truly believe in. There are other services where you can serve your time and probably not get sent to Afghanistan like the Coast Guard, Navy or Air Force. Well, you may get sent anyway.

As you near 38 years old, you wonder why you did not join right out of high school. You could be starting a second career at 38 with a pension and full medical benefits. However, there is no guarantee you will make it 20 years in the military. They have an up or out policy. You cant simply stay at one rank forever. You need to either move up or they basically can you through different regulations.

http://www.g2mil.com/enlisted.htm

So the military has no guarantees. No guarantee where you will be stationed...no guarantee you will make it 20 years.
 
He said he's going USMC. That means MOTIVATED. Or, he BETTER be soon!:eek: We had guys in the 3rd Batt crying all damn day long, and that caused us to get in the pits, or run that much more. Argh!

Semper Fi

Do or die!

Ooh rah!
 
Now here is the most important thing I said in this thread and I will reiterate my point.

The US military has a well known "up or out" policy. You cannot simply hang out in any position forever. This guy is in his 20s, but what if he is stuck in a position and then gets dumped out at some point in his 30s due to the policy? Therefore, it is very important that he chooses the right specialty that will translate to an immediate job out in the real world.

Lets look at a few examples. Lets say he chose to be in the Infantry. He is now 25, but lets say in 8 years the military decides to can him because he is not moving up. Then he is washed out into the real world with only Infantry skills which do not translate immediately into a real job. He is in his 30s with no real job skills. What does he do now?

Consider the fact that the military has the same politics as the real world. What if someone doesnt like him and decides they are not going to promote him? What if there is some ideaological leader that decides he isnt fit to get promoted and decides to manage him out of the military?

The best move is to find a specialty that will translate into an immediate job out in the real world. Lets say a crane operator in the Army Corp of Engineers or the Seabees. A crane operator could probably get an immediate job out in the real world.

Doing something like operating a crane is not Infantry and, therefore, doesnt have the excitement, but it will be insurance against a future unknown fate. Its best to sit down with the recruiter and take it real slow trying to choose the specialty that will translate into a job out in the world.
 
There's no reason to give up, and I think the OP has a very legitimate reason to complain.

You've spent a lot of money on your education, you've built a debt doing it, and you don't want to work a crummy job.


Why not leave the US? So many people are doing it today? Companies are out sourcing their labor, so why not just out source your self?

For example, you could find a job teaching finance in an international University in China or Korea. Instead of getting banged on by drill sergeants, you can bang hot Asian girls?


Then, marry a hot Asian, become a citizen, and renounce your US citizen ship. They'll have hard time getting you to repay your debt.
 
You might have something, except I suspect you have never lived in Asia for any length of a time and completely unaware of their racist, xenophobic stance against outsiders. Asian families will never accept you, society will never accept you, learning the language will be Hell on earth.
Most people living in Asia as expats are either of Asian descent (they still are outsiders) or live in expat community, getting drunk and buggering young boys or girls to ease their alienation and homesickness.
It may be bad here but I would just visit foreign countries first before renouncing your citizenship and have that garage sale....

Quote from joe4422:

There's no reason to give up, and I think the OP has a very legitimate reason to complain.

You've spent a lot of money on your education, you've built a debt doing it, and you don't want to work a crummy job.


Why not leave the US? So many people are doing it today? Companies are out sourcing their labor, so why not just out source your self?

For example, you could find a job teaching finance in an international University in China or Korea. Instead of getting banged on by drill sergeants, you can bang hot Asian girls?


Then, marry a hot Asian, become a citizen, and renounce your US citizen ship. They'll have hard time getting you to repay your debt.
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Quote from loza:You might have something, except I suspect you have never lived in Asia for any length of a time and completely unaware of their racist, xenophobic stance against outsiders. Asian families will never accept you, society will never accept you, learning the language will be Hell on earth.
Most people living in Asia as expats are either of Asian descent (they still are outsiders) or live in expat community, getting drunk and buggering young boys or girls to ease their alienation and homesickness.
It may be bad here but I would just visit foreign countries first before renouncing your citizenship and have that garage sale....
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This is so wrong. I do not know about south-east asia, but absolutely not true in India. In India, they might try to shake down the caucasians a bit, that only because of the perception that they are loaded. And after you have lived there for a while, you look that part, and even the shakedown attempts stop. Beyond that, there are absolutely no issues. India is more of the proverbial melting pot than USA (been that way for millennia), and millions of caucasians live in India. Plenty marry indian girls, and generally get their pick :D. Yes, you would have your share of Indian problems, but none because you are a foreigner.

But, I am not advocating anyone absconding to India or something like that to escape debts or whatever.
 
Quote from loza:

You might have something, except I suspect you have never lived in Asia for any length of a time and completely unaware of their racist, xenophobic stance against outsiders. Asian families will never accept you, society will never accept you, learning the language will be Hell on earth.
Most people living in Asia as expats are either of Asian descent (they still are outsiders) or live in expat community, getting drunk and buggering young boys or girls to ease their alienation and homesickness.
It may be bad here but I would just visit foreign countries first before renouncing your citizenship and have that garage sale....
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And living in certain parts of the western world isn't any different. Of course, some areas are worse than others but most metropolitan cities won't care about any color except green. Big difference between Tokyo vs Shanghai and Kansas City vs NY.
 
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