Help!! My daughter wants to join the Navy directly out of High School.

Parents Forum
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<p>My brother faced this issue with his son. He came to realize what has already been said here. Once they are 18 you can’t stop them so your choice is either to support them or not. His son was determined and so my brother took the support route even though he hated the whole idea.</p>

<p>From their experience, here are some thoughts. Make sure what the recruiter is telling your daughter isn’t sugar coated and is actually true. Know that it’s the military and whatever they say doesn’t always matter. My nephew wanted to be part of the medical core and he was told that there was a high demand for medics and he would be able to pursue that. And, after basic training that was the specialized training the Army gave him; but once his unit was ordered to go to Iraq, my nephew was informed they didn’t need medics; they needed truck drivers so that’s what he did for 18 months. My nephew discovered that being an officer was a much better road than being an enlisted man, but by that point he wasn’t crazy about officers and he didn’t want to be one of them. After his time in Iraq, he was able to go to college on his benefits. He struggled because after being in the military, going to Iraq and just being two and a half years older, he wasn’t in the same place most entering freshmen were. But to be fair, part of the reason he joined the military was because he was never really enthusiastic about more school. </p>

<p>On the positive side, he really matured and grew as a person. He’s a different person in a very positive way. He’s very well-mannered and confidant and he’s very thoughtful and articulate on a variety of subjects but especially on the topics of foreign policy, the middle-eastern culture and our place in the world. Most importantly, in hindsight he values the experience and he plans to stay in the guard. But also on hindsight, if he had a do-over, he would not have enlisted right out of high school.</p>

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<p>When our nephew, (an exceptionally bright student) considered joining the military right out of HS, his career military grandfather STRONGLY encouraged him to to go to college first, advice which he did end up following. If your daughter is college material (which I imagine is the case since you are on this website), I would work toward the college first- join later plan. Yes, she would get experiences in the military before collge, but going to college provides many opportunities for experiences also, sometimes even including semesters overseas, etc. If her goal is to serve her country, you might approach it as having a college degree first, will give her more to offer the military, which in turn should give her more options within the military.<br>
Another thing for her to consider is that if she goes to college after HS, she will be going with her peers, where if she waits until later, she will likely be older than the majority of the students, which could have an effect on the overall college experience.</p>

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<p>I have a friend whose son also wants to enlist right out of HS. She and her husband, who was a Navy doctor, are also trying to encourage him to go to college first. Why? Because it is very hard to become an officer if you enlist before you have a degree. This will significantly reduce your daughter’s chances for advancement. Does she realize this?</p>