I personally would not encourage my children to join the military as a way to gain further education. It is a tempting lure to join and get a free education, should a person stick with the degree program and then serve their country, i.e., follow the program as it was intended.

If either of my children wanted to join the military to serve their country, that is their decision (I'd want to know about it, of course), although I wouldn't encourage it. To be frank, when one joins the military, they do so to serve their country. If a person wants to go to college, they go to college. I guess what I'm trying to say it that, if either of my children signed up with the military in order to get a college education, and they were actually called to duty, they could be killed, and never get that education.

I think if people re-read my earlier responses, they would see that only the best and brightest students get admitted to the Military Academies. Those are students who could get accepted to almost any university that they applied to, with good scholarships anyway, so they aren't interested in attending just for the free tuition...they have a desire to serve the U.S. as well as get excellent engineering training and developing their leadership capabilities. They are commissioned officers upon graduation, but if they change their mind prior to graduation about serving in the military, there is a way to pay back the costs incurred. It's a steep price, however, over $300K.

healthy11, you are right, I did mis-read the question. I'm still quite upset with this boy's decision to sign the contract without telling his parents.

Let me answer the question again...I personally will have trouble sending my son away. I don't like binding agreements even though sometimes they are good for you (such as job contracts!:) I feel that I should have a choice to change my mind if I wanted to. As tempting as it sounds, I also believe that the reason to go to the forces should be different than say for instance free education. OK healthy, I think I got this time! :) Thanks for correcting me. Cheers

I imagine that enrollment will surge at the moment, with the stunning NAVY SEAL resuce of the captain off the Somali coast. The resuce was truly amazing and the Navy couldn't ask for a better recruitment tool.
Also with the tough economic times a free education is very appealing for some.

Eccentric, your friend's son apparently did not apply to attend one of the elite U.S. Military Academies, he enlisted. It is a completely different subject from what we are discussing. The Military Academies only take the top students, and there is a rigorous application process which requires interviews and nominations from state congressmen/senators, etc.

Well, young recruits stay on active duty for almost 4 years after which they can graduate. That's the response I got from the family friend I mentioned earlier. If it's the other way round, I would have no problem! According to my friend's son, he has to serve first and then he'll have an option of studying. Our friends son is 19 and will be joing the army on June 1st this year.

Perhaps, I did misunderstand the question but there is no misunderstanding with my friend's son.

Thanks for that reminder, healthy. I remember David Robinson was at the Naval Academy, and was relieved of duty (given that 7' tall men don't exactly fit on ships). I was young enough, that I didn't realize that allowing him out of his service came at a cost.

Because these students come out as officers, in peacetime, it's an attractive option. However, in times of war or international crisis, there's a deterrent to these programs.

I would have supported my son's decision regardless, but he wasn't interested in the rigidity of the program (regarding personal time on and off the academy grounds), let alone the 5-year commitment.

Eccentric, I believe you misunderstood the question that was asked. In the U.S., Military Academies ARE elite colleges. Students who apply to the Military Academies obtain their degrees first, at no tuition cost, and then they graduate as officers and are expected to serve 5 years in the military. There is actually an option, if they change their minds and don't want to serve in the military, to pay the government back for their costs of tuition/training/room/board. It's expensive, but they are young adults and not teens.

My answer is NO! I have very strong opinions about going to the forces. Country where I come from, going into the forces is an "honour" thing. Most ellites serve the Army or the Airforce to become Colonels or Generals.
I was very disappointed when I just found out about one of our family friend's son who signed up an Army contract without tellling his parents! He just turned 19 and got lured into the "coolness" of the uniform. At 19, most of us don;t think straight. He's recruited for an active duty for almost 4 years after which he will get free education. Realistically, rather than spending his precious years in learning and getting eduaction, he'll be sent off to Iraq or Afghanistan.

I asked him why he decided to sign without his parent's consent. I wish he'd said he wanted to serve the country (although I do believe that there are many different ways of serving your country)...unfortunately, he had no answer! I was very sad. My opinions are not meant to offend anybody who has young family members on active duty. I just believe that 19 year old kids belong in the school!

We have 4 different friends whose sons have applied to the various Military Academies. All are engineering majors, but only one of them did it with financial need being a motivating factor. In truth, if you've got a child who is qualified enough to get into one of the Academies, that student is likely to get generous scholarships at virtually any university they apply to. Of the 4 friends I mentioned, 3 sons were accepted (1 Coast Guard, 2 Air Force) and the other ended up at Embry-Riddle under the Naval ROTC Program, which provides the same paid-for college experience. That student is graduating as a commissioned officer next month. His mom actually said she thinks it worked out better for him NOT to have been at Annapolis, because he's had more flexibility in his scheduling/free time, while still getting the leadership opportunities and financial advantages of military training.