Have you ever thought of following a similar path? Great minds think alike and all that jazz. If the two of you are truly life long friends, it would be my wager that you have more in common than you realize.
In response to a few of your questions:
What are things you wish they had not done?
- I wish a lot of my pre-military service friends had kept their lives together. I wish a few of them had stayed away from drugs and alcohol. I wish a few of them had at least been willing to acknowledge some of the comfort and freedoms that many 'civilians' take for granted (and good on you for that - thank YOU for recognizing the sacrifices that some of the folks on this board have made).
- I wish they hadn't called me a "pussy" for not wanting to smoke dope with them while I was home on leave.
- I wish they hadn't told me that I was "stupid" for embracing hardships.
- I wish they hadn't told me I was "fucking retarded" for jumping out of airplanes.
- I wish that one of them hadn't thought it was "OK" to hit on the girl friend was soon to become my wife of 35 years and counting.
- I wish they would have never decided to politicize our friendship by asking how I could justify serving under whatever Commander-In-Chief was in Office at the time. (and yes, listening to a civilian bash a service member for serving under whoever might be occupying the White House, fills me with bipartisan feelings of "go fuck yourself"). America's men and women join the military to serve their nation, not to illustrate some nonexistent form of blind partisan bond with the current 'CinC' - ALWAYS hate on the politician, NEVER hate on the service member.
What are things that close friends did for me?
-Close friends will at least try to come visit you. I was from Atlanta, stationed at Ft Bragg at a time when you didn't need to stop at the gate and show ID just to get on post.
-Close friends will recognize that when a service member is home on leave, or just in town during a four day pass over a long weekend, it is easier to take time to go see them that it is for the service member to take time to try and visit five different 4th of July BBQ's
-Close friends make sure you know that even though they may not "understand" the problem, they'll still listen without judgement.
-Close friends understand that the military has a way of interfering with social priorities, and don't take it personal.
I have a few high school friends that joined the military about the same time as I did. To this day, I still try to maintain contact with them. YEARS have passed between get togethers, and because of our early friendships and shared experiences, in the time it takes to swallow the first few sips of a beverage, it feels like I just talked with them a few days ago. Others from our same peer group, never joined the military and took other paths. A few of them, I see almost every time I return to my home town but the gatherings with those same folks feel more like a formality than a reunion. Some of them have drifted so far off that I am only aware of them because my wife is still friends with a few of their spouses on the FakeBook.
Maybe you aren't at ALL interested in joining the service. Maybe you just aren't sure. I'd say it is evident that you ARE - at least a little - or you wouldn't be quite so interested in the path your friend is taking.
The current landscape in America can feel post apocalyptic sometimes. Some of us look around and don't recognize the country that we joined to serve because "the culture wars" have taken such a toll on our nations heartbeat. Nobody seems to care about much any more - unless it allows them to enjoy a little bit of victim hood every so often. While some Americans go into harms way, others go to the mall. While service members are complaining about their mail being "stuck at BAF" - there are civilians complaining about the graphics on the most recent release of Minecraft. Too many people in America just point at the dumpster fire and says things like, "someone should do something about that" - then, instead of picking up a fire extinguisher, they pull out their cell phone and post the video clip to Tik Toc. Your buddy has decided to pick up a fire extinguisher to help put the fire out. Good on him. Be proud of him, support him. Maybe you could even think about helping him put the fire out.
Maybe you don't want to be a SWCC guy, maybe you want to be an Army Ranger (just not the kind that turns out like that guy Jason Crow from Colorado), maybe you want to be a PJ - I'm not sure why, but they're pretty cool too - maybe you just love the taste of a good Crayola crayon over that of a freshly warmed "Chili Mac" MRE, and can't seem to get over those classy looking USMC Dress Blues...
...maybe you want to be a member of the US Army Special Forces; men who are carefully assessed and selected for their innate ability to do everything objectively better than everyone. Military superiors to everyone in the known universe (with the single exception of Dr Spock from the USS Enterprise). Fighting Soldiers from the sky, fearless men who jump and die, men who mean just what they say; experts in guerilla warfare, the best with guns, with knives, with bare hands, trained to ignore pain, ignore weather; to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy-goat puke, a man whose job is to dispose of enemy personnel, to kill, PERIOD - trained to win - by attrition. (plus, they give you the coolest looking hat in the US Military once you graduate from the course)
Maybe you could do something a little less extreme. Maybe it means you see your friend LESS - but become even closer because of your shared experiences and your willingness to grab a fire extinguisher and help put out the fire instead of just posting dumpster fire videos to Instagram.
Who knows? You might like it. Good luck to your friend, and good luck to you as well, which ever path you choose to take.
Think about it. You were motivated enough to find this bulletin board and start asking questions - maybe now you can ask yourself a few questions:
-Is this choad named Box being serious? Is he just fucking with me? Is he trying to 'recruit' me into the Armed Forces of the United States of America? Is joining the military really something that would change my life? Is it more than I could handle? Is there really a future for someone like me in the US Military?
Are SF guys really as unbelievably talented and awe inspiring as this Box guy says they are?
Yes, No, Yes, Yes, No, Yes...
...and you're damn right they are.
