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Are there more benefits than downsides in joining the military?
I believe that military has way more benefits than downsides. I believe that people criticize the military
excessively. Each person who joins the military learns a variety of values. All soldiers get an assortment of
benefits. Not only does the G.I.s get benefits but also their families get some benefits as well.
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Topic Sentence 1: Lots of people learn a couple of values as they get older or from a few experiences. Everyone who
joins the military learns values like loyalty, duty, respect, integrity, and courage.
Loyalty means faithfulness or dependability to a commitment. A loyal soldier is one who listens and follows the
leadership and stands up for and sticks together with fellow soldiers. A soldier doing his part in a mission or
operation, he is loyal to his unit, government, country, and people.
Duty means the binding force of something that or something that is expected of, someone to do because it is
morally right. By putting on the uniform when required to or following orders, a soldier is doing his duty as an
individual in the military. But doing his duty means more than carrying out his assigned tasks. It is to help out fellow
soldiers who are in need by telling them advice and giving them choices for them to choose. It is to help his
community and country. I believe that duty is to do something voluntarily that is morally right.
Respect means a sense of worth or excellence of a person, personal trait, or ability. Everyone knows the saying,
“Treat people as they should be treated.” But in soldiers’ terms, it is “Treat others with dignity and respect while
expecting others to do the same.” Respect is letting people know that someone acknowledges them and admires
them. Self-respect is essential in everything. It lets one feel confidence and motivation in oneself.
Integrity means the devotion to moral principles. A true soldier does what is morally right. A soldier who has a lot of
integrity never deceives others for personal gain. A soldier can strengthen his relationships with his friends, family,
and co-workers.
Courage means the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, adversity, or pain without
fear. The military risks their lives every day by just going to work but they will not quit. They will keep going because
they have courage. Facing fear of adversity is a long, slow process but the feeling of accomplishment and doing the
right thing is always sweeter.
The values and experiences that a soldier learns in the military will last them a lifetime and they will always be useful
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in every day or in every situation.
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I advise everyone, who has a bad job or can not find a job, to go to their local recruiter and talk about their many
options in the military or go to college and minor in ROTC so one can be an officer. Other than the intangible benefits,
there are still perceptible benefits.
The average civilian, who works one job forty-two hours a week on minimum wage, makes about one thousand, four
hundred a month. An active duty G.I., who just got out of boot camp and has the rank of E-1, makes about two
thousand seven hundred dollars a month. Someone who just finished boot camp already makes about twice than
someone on minimum wage. (According to Military.com’s Pay Calculator.) The next promotion is only eight or nine
months away and then they get paid about three thousand, three hundred a month. Some people have to wait years
until they get a promotion or bonus. Not the military. There are still the tons of options to get more money like Staff
Assisting, Special Operations, or etc.
Anyone can still go to school and be in the military. Most branches have a Reserves Program so they can still serve
their country, go to college, and get paid. There is also the R.O.T.C. program in college. R.O.T.C. is a college program in
which one learns how to be leader and undergo many obstacles. After graduation, one will be an active duty officer.
If someone enlists and decides to go to straight to boot camp, there is still a way one can get education benefits.
Someone can get free college tuition. It is called the G.I. Bill. As one spends more time in active duty, they gain more
and more college tuition. After someone retires or goes to the Reserves, they can go to college for free depending on
how much G.I. Credits they have.
The military is committed to welfare of every soldier. As a soldier, everyone is entitled to an automatic life insurance.
TRICARE, a G.I. health insurance, gives every soldier medical care and dental care that costs little to nothing. A soldier’s
life insurance coverage is available in ten thousand dollar increments up to a maximum of four hundred thousand.
There is also a premium life insurance which is seven cents per one thousand dollars of insurance. A soldier also gets
thirty days of vacation every year.
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Everyone worries that the military life will affect their family dramatically. The military has several programs that will
take of their family.
Military families will also receive a big portion of a soldier’s life insurance and health insurance. Their spouses can
also have jobs on the base.
The military has a wide variety of support groups ranging from spouse separation to substance abuse to children with
disabilities. All of them open to all soldiers and their families. The Mobilization and Deployment Support Program
offers classes for soldiers and their families to help aid them in personal family situations or communication. The
military has a Relocation Assistance Program. The military will help soldiers and their family move to any base that
they are relocated to. All military families are highly encouraged to join Family Readiness groups.
All military bases have a Legal Assistance Center. They have free walk in services. They help soldiers and their family
with personal legal matters, review contracts and leases, and prepare wills and other legal documents.
Child and Youth services provide affordable child-care programs to all military children. The military offers full day
care services to children of the age of six weeks to five years. For children, who are older, they offer children care in
military quarters watched and entertained by Military soldiers or civilians, who live on the base and volunteer. There
is free schooling inside every base. During the teen years, the military offer the children extra activities, which are
exclusive only to military bases. These extra activities teach them life skills and leadership while providing a challenge.
The same programs one can find at a public school, one can also find at a base school. There is free walk-in
counseling to the children open to them twenty-four seven.
Everyone should join the military. If not, they will regret it. They will have to learn the values and the experiences
the hard way and they will have to take unnecessary damage. If someone is a hard working American, they do not
need to be. They could just join the military and get way more pay and benefits than their jobs could ever give. The
military will always take care of the families of soldiers. Now knowing all of this, what are you going to do? Go find
your local recruiter and talk about your options in the military. Join today.
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