should i join?or too late now?

[disturbia]

hi i am thinking about joining the military. as new yorker i think i am pretty street smart and have lived abroad so i can bring that with me. plus i speak 5 languages fluently and am in the process of learning two more (v.v.slowly). and if i were to spend time is DLI i think i could learn faster, better etc....i think that i could fill in some of the linguistic void that is supposedly a problem in the defense community. my main reservation is that i am scared of IEds and RPGs and have no idea how to navigate minefields etc.. and from what i hear they dont teach you that stuff in BCT. also i am thirty years old maybe too old to be running around in a battlefield. finally the war seems to be at its ending so maybe they dont need south asian languages anymore? what would i do in the military with as a linguist once the war is over? ok thanks in advance...

[disturbia]

this is supposed to be in the "military other" category.(Mod's Note: done as requested)

[SethB]

The military always has a use for smart people. If you want to serve but are unsure of making a complete commitment, look at the Reserves.

[Old Eagle]

You could put in a full career until retirement and still be using those languages. The demand will not dry up.

The military isn't just another job. It takes discipline and dedication. You will be put through a lot of experiences that you would rather forego, but won't have that option. You will have to complete tasks that you consider menial. You will be yelled at and ordered around by people that you consider intellectually inferior. You will be put in dangerous situations, as that's just the nature of the beast. Yet, there's no better calling in my book.

The military also hires civilian linguists. They also serve in dangerous locations, but don't go through the basic combat training that uniformed recruits do.

OBTW everybody's scared now and again.