American Horse
AKA "Mustang"
I'm a former Marine, 1960-64.
If he has experienced some real discipline, particularly from his father, and he is presently in reasonably good physical condition he'll be ok. They do a good job of making the most of the recruits they get, although a percentage wash out. We lost a couple out of 70 who started in our recruit platoon.
It was among my best life experiences. When I came out, I felt much more capable of dealing with the adult world than before. There is no other service I would have changed for while in, or after I came out.
Thanks for this and thanks for serving our country!
My son is unique. He's a strong, good looking guy with a personality of Seinfeld. IMO his approach at life is one of the best, he looks for ways to laugh in every situation. He's a class clown but not rebelliously, I mean, he doesn't go for laughs from the class by dissing the teacher, he doesn't have to, he finds too much humor in whatever surrounds him. So his teachers have all loved him and raved about him. They have tried to give me credit for him as some have here, but I really can't take it. He was born this way. I did daycare, I know, having watched so many kids grow up, their disposition is often what they're born with. And I'm afraid part of the reason he wants to join may be because he craves discipline which I never gave him. I never had to. And the rare times he ever did anything wrong, I pretty much didn't punish him if he told me about it on his own. My kids both grew up knowing if they told the truth, it pretty much got them off scott free. A lot of people would chastise me for that but..gosh they've just always been so good.
So, um, if he does something wrong in life and thinks he's going to get away with it as long as he voluntarily admits it, um.....it doesn't usually turn out that way in real life...oops.
Seinfeld in the Marines...I just don't get it. But he's determined. And after this board and the many military and special ops friends I've talked with...I guess I'm going to have to support it fully and pray he comes home safe.
Thanks so much for all the input, it has really helped, and has been confirmed offline too.
When I enlisted, I enlisted in a buddy group of 6, and my best friend was in the group. His dad died when he was a baby and he was raised by his mom, and had only an older sister. He had no father in his life, and all his discipline came through his mom. He had a great sense of humor, and on thinking about it, I would have to call it closest to Seinfeld's than any I can think of. I think in our group, he was probably quickest to adopt to the reality of our situation. A sense of humor like Seinfeld's does help.
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