Military with children?

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Originally Posted by RyanT

Dude, give it a rest. It's obvious from your responses that being a sheep suckling on the government's teet like a good little mindless drone makes you feel very safe and secure. Enjoy that. You're exactly what they want and I'm sure they love you very very much. So adorable.

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.....not cool

Dependent care plan is where they have you prearrange who will be taking care of your kids. You sign power of attorneys so that this people can get there medical coverage and what not. Then also while deployed the unit your assigned to will go out of there way to support your family while you are gone. I had been Active Duty Air Force for 6yrs and then the Reserves for 6yrs more. My wife was Active duty for 7yrs and has been and still is a reservist for over 4. We had two children during this time, one of which has a terminal illness, and I can say that the military has been nothing but a blessing to us both. Not just in the income and support they provided while we were in, but in the job opportunities that were presented to us as a result of being in. Yeah I had to deal with my wife being gone for 7 months and being left with my 1yr old and 3yr old, but I dealt and I think we are stronger for it. I'll tell you though if you go Air Force reserves, and pick your job wisely you may never have to deploy unless you choose to. While in the reserves it has been a blessing, because often you can find orders to be put on fulltime when other jobs are unavailable. Then as soon as you find a job you can curtail your orders and start your new job. Plus you will meet tons of people who can offer you jobs. I truthfully believe that in your situation the good outways the bad.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Bump, any more advice/guidance?

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If your not looking to go active duty then the military may be a very good option for you. Reserves will not require you to spend much time away from your kid.

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Originally Posted by Rob

You are a complete d bag, but hey it's guys like slim and I that give you the right to live in a country where you are free to be a complete d bag, your welcome.

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Easy with the name calling chief. I dont wanna see you get kicked off the forum bc of someone gettin under your skin...

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Originally Posted by RyanT

Dude, give it a rest. It's obvious from your responses that being a sheep suckling on the government's teet like a good little mindless drone makes you feel very safe and secure. Enjoy that. You're exactly what they want and I'm sure they love you very very much. So adorable.

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What do you do to contribute to your country? From the sounds of your statement any help would make you a pawn of the man! Do you just go around and try and tear everything down?

Sounds like Ryan is gunna be invited to the Veterans Day picnic next year lol...

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Originally Posted by tcutting

just to point out when you ask two people in a row whether they served or not, it is condescending.

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Actually it was a quirk of how the forum works...I was asking you when RyanT piped up. In other words, I didn't see his when I was asking you. I had a feeling where he was going, that's why I asked again.

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Originally Posted by tcutting

additionally I was unaware of the dependent care plan that they have. I must ask what are these like? what do they consist of?

Could be extremely valuable info to share.

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Our dependent care plan was a two part set up. We had to have a short term plan, for if we both had to pull a 24 hour shift at the same time. In those cases we had someone local near the base with a POA for the kids. For long term care when we both deployed at the same time members of both her family and ours had POAs for the kids and either took them or came to live with them in our home depending on what part of the school year it was. Our folks were invaluable in supporting us, especially right after 9-11. Starting with Operation Enduring Freedom I was deployed for 37 of the next 48 months, and she was deployed for 7 of those months.

And finally for RyanT
Bash away my friend. Call me every name in the book. Disrespect eveything I've ever done and stood for during my military career.

I take pride in the fact that not only do you have the freedom to do it, but that you are doing in English, on a free and public form, and that you have no fear of men in black fatigues kicking in your door.

That is a validation of my millitary career. Thank you for reminding me.

First off...to answer the original question from my own perspective...

I can't speak to the single-parent angle, because I'm the spouse. I imagine the challenges presented would be very different for you than anything I've experienced. But I CAN tell you that the support for military members and their family is very strong as a whole across the board, and I know from personal experience in the Air Force. And that is NOT some "empty promise" from a military recruiter with an agenda to fulfill. That's from someone who understands the commitment and sacrifices involved in choosing the military.

I also can't speak directly to how things work in the Reserves. We've always been Active Duty. Going on 22 years now. Some years he was gone more...but never so much as the Army or Navy or Marines.

The opportunities for personal growth and professional advancement (both in service and as a civilian) are tremendous and not to be discarded lightly.

And most of all...our children are VERY resilient. Of course we want to be with them as much as possible, but every challenge in their lives helps to form them into the adults they are going to be. Learning to be a little more independent, learning to make friends quickly, learning to adapt to new situations and surroundings, learning to be flexible and to bend without breaking ....all of this can lead toward an adult you will be supremely proud to have raised. It's not that you might be away from him sometimes...it's how you choose to handle it that will set the tone for his own personal growth.

Feel free to PM me anytime if I can help with any questions or whatever.

And to RYAN....I said it to you in private (if you've the wits to find it) and I'll say it again here in front of everyone. It's VERY rare for someone to actually make me seriously consider breaking the rules of my own site. But you did just that. Bully for you. Aren't you just the big man on campus because you can look at the people who work their asses off and sacrifice more than you can possibly know and think they are simply "sucking off the government teat." Go ahead, Ryan....keep it up....and you might find yourself looking for another site to spread your crappy attitude on.

As I have said before, I have no military experience what so ever. But I would like to say...... Thank you to all military folks! Thank you for your service, and Thank you for my freedom!. Best of luck to you Leah, in whatever decision you make.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Our dependent care plan was a two part set up. We had to have a short term plan, for if we both had to pull a 24 hour shift at the same time. In those cases we had someone local near the base with a POA for the kids. For long term care when we both deployed at the same time members of both her family and ours had POAs for the kids and either took them or came to live with them in our home depending on what part of the school year it was. Our folks were invaluable in supporting us, especially right after 9-11. Starting with Operation Enduring Freedom I was deployed for 37 of the next 48 months, and she was deployed for 7 of those months.

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Ok so it sounds like they do the best to help out in ensuring the child's best interest are taken care of. now knowing this i can easily see its appeal. between paying for school and Job training combined with the above(plus your other post), seems like it very well is a good option. Plus I know when i look at resumes and I see the person was in the military, it is a big plus.

Leah it seems like you are set on this and you feel it is the best fit and you have considered all the angles and the options. with that said, best of luck to you and thank you for being able/brave enough to go for it.

and Slim, thank you for your service. by no means was i trying to put down serving. I always seem to be the one to play devils advocate and take a contradictory perspective which sometimes my not always paint a clear image of what my full opinion is.