Things to Ask Yourself Before Enlisting:

• Are you prepared to fight in any war, any place, anytime that the government orders you to?

• Have you really considered and checked out all
  the job training and placement possibilities in
  your community?

• Is joining the military something you want to do, or are you being pressured into it by other people?

• Is this a spur of the moment decision you may
  regret later?

• Have you talked to any of the many veterans who didn’t like the military? Why didn’t they make the military a career?

• If you become unhappy after you enlist, do you
  know how hard it will be to get out?

• If you get a less-than-honorable discharge, do you know how hard it will be to get it changed?

Things to Remember When you Talk to a Recruiter

• Recruiters are interested in you in order to make a sale. If they fail to meet their quota of recruits, they can be forced to work overtime. An award winning recruiter told The Boston Globe, “You have to convince these little punks to do something . . . I figure if I can sell this, I can sell anything.” Another veteran recruiter told a reporter for the Albany Times Union, “I’ve been recruiting for years and I don’t know one recruiter who wasn’t dishonest about it. I
  did it myself.”

• If you have a police record or medical condition, don’t hide it––even if the recruiter tells you it doesn’t matter. You’ll be the one in trouble later on, not the recruiter.

• DON’T sign any papers until you have taken
  them home and read them over carefully. If you
  ask for a copy of the enlistment agreement, they must give it to you. If they refuse, don’t sign the agreement. REMEMBER, you’re not in the military yet; they can’t order you around.

• Talk the enlistment agreement over with your
  parents and friends, and with a trained civilian counselor. Ask about the parts of the agreement that you don’t understand.

• REMEMBER: If you don’t like your new job,
  they don’t have to let you switch, and you can’t quit! Early discharges that don’t also punish you can be hard to get.

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More info coming: The Delayed Enlistment Program, Health Issues, Stop-loss, bonuses