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In Reply to: the big difference is posted by lydia on May 14, 2004 at 12:04:50:
My son was in the military too. I tried to talk him out of it, but he joined anyway.
The stories he brought back from basic training of being tear gassed, kept awake for days at a time, being screamed at and degraded, all sounded pretty much like brain washing and indoctrination to me.
He wasn't complaining about this, mind you. He still thinks it was one of the best things he ever did.
As far as a pension, they have to stay in for a career here (20 years) to get that. I think my son did six years, and he is struggling to get any kind of benefits at all. No health benefits at all. He's trying to get some money for school, but it seems like they want to make it impossible for him to get anything. We finally turned it over to a school to figure out.
I'm just glad he got in and out and didn't get sent to Iraq.
A young cousin of Jane's wasn't as lucky. He came home in a box a few months ago. He was about 23 years old, and had a wife and kids:
http://www.hernandezreunion.com/3615.htm
