Joined the Army when I was 18, in 1967. It was either join and have some say in the choice of my MOS, or let them draft me and end up as a grunt in Vietnam.
Would I do it again? Absolutely!
My only regret? Not being a grunt in Vietnam!
You'll make some of the best friends you'll ever make in your entire life in the military. That alone was worth it for me. I also benefitted from the GI Bill, because the Army has a way of opening your eyes and making you say, "Oh crap, man, I've gotta go back to school!" And when you do, you'll study harder than you ever did before, and you'll do great if you concentrate on why you're there.
Dangers? Of course. But you knew that. My advice: Do what you can to serve your country, whether as a typist or a grunt. It really is an obligation. You'll benefit as a man, but there are risks...
18. USMC. Fight the Communist in Vietnam.
I saw the world, got some good training, the GI Bill, and most of all discipline. I went back to college, graduated in 3 yrs on the Dean's list.
I would recommend Uncle Sam's boys club to most 17-21 year old males (some females too). At the time I enlisted I was sure I had made a mistake. In retrospect, the best choice I ever made (except marrying my wife).
5.56mm
I forgot to say that my father is a shellback, having served aboard the U.S.S. Oglethorp transport and was on his way to Japan to invaded the Japanese mainland when the war ended. He was to drive an assault boat during the invasion.
My father was younger that my uncle, who was in the USAAF and was crew chief on a C47 that dropped paratroopers on D-Day behind Normandy and also at the invasion of Holland (A Bridge Too Far). Uncle also saw action in North Africa and Italy.
So I wanted to serve too, just like they did.
By coincidence I saw a documentary about a man who quit corporate america, sold everything, bought a sail boat and sailed all over the world. I knew that this was the life for me.
However, living in a small town in the desert, I knew that I would have to get near water to begin this life, so I joined the navy. All my duty stations were near the beach, but I never set foot on a single Navy Ship. I spent all my time with the USMC.
I have no regrets joining the Navy and definitely no regrets serving with the Marines. -Devil Doc
At age 20 during the Vietnam war I ended up with a low draft number (106 as I recall). My Uncle, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines, recommended I join the Air Force or the Navy so I wouldn't have to sleep in a foxhole. He also recommended I pick a program where the military would give me as much training as I could get (Uncle John was one smart cookie). The Navy had an Electronics program and a Nuclear Power program, so I became a nuke. Had to enlist for 6 years active duty but became an E-4 right out of Boot Camp and got 2 years 3 months of training before reporting to my submarine. That training and experience translated into a lucrative career in civilian Nuclear Power.
I recommend exactly the same for any young person considering a military career. Pick a military career where you can get the most training possible and that will get you a good job in civilian life. The country is about to start building more nuclear power plants, and they will need radiation protection technicians and chemists and reactor operators and shift supervisors and plant managers. Traditionally, those plants are staffed by graduates from the Navy Nuclear Power program. The current crop of employees at nuclear power plants is aging and will be retiring, needing to be replaced by young fresh nukes. It's a guaranteed good career at relatively high salary/pay.
Joined at age 17. Thought I was gonna kill commies in Nicaragua. Ended up patroling near the dmz in Korea with the 25th Inf. and guarding the Hannover corridor in Northern Germany with the 2nd AD(fwd). '82-'88.
If I was 18 again. I would work for a year (it helps mature you.) Then I would join and try to find the most challenging job I could.