jamrobmic
New Member
difficult child has decided he wants to join the army. He has a friend who joined a year ago; the friend is trying to talk him out of joining. I told difficult child that should be a clue to him to maybe give this some serious thought. He says he has given it a lot of thought. He also says his friend's view of the army is due to his own stupidity. He has gotten into trouble three different times since he enlisted, has been demoted twice, and is only getting 1/2 pay; if it weren't for that, he says his friend would probably like the military a whole lot better (okay, maybe we're seeing a tiny bit of maturity, since he realizes his friend's plight is his own fault and not the army's).
The recruiter knows about difficult child's issues, and is dealing with them and not trying to sweep them under the rug, which I appreciate. difficult child has to get a statement from his therapist, from husband and me, and has to write one himself regarding the details of his treatment and how things are now. The thing is, things seem to be going well right now, but he has a goal and wants very much to achieve it (joining the army). He goes like gangbusters when he decides he wants to do something. It started out the same way when he wanted to go to technical school. Then it got hard, and he gave up. If he joins the army, that won't be possible.
He says he's bored and there's nothing here for him (that much is true, but he sleeps all day, so no, there isn't much to do when you're only awake from dusk to dawn). He says he can't find a job (he has put in some applications, but no one is calling, or if they do, they don't call him a second time), and he still wants to go to college. He also wants out of this state, and he says the army will get him all of that. He says he realizes things will be hard-they told him the first three weeks of boot camp will be horrible. He also said the recruiter told him he'll get out of the army what he puts into it; he agrees with that statement.
I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, and I'm rambling now. This has been extremely difficult for me since he told me he talked to a recruiter. I would be afraid for him to go overseas, of course, but even if he stays here, there's no guarantee he would stay safe. And I realize some of what he's feeling is normal teen restlessness. He's saying all the right things, but I'm still very worried this could end badly.
The recruiter knows about difficult child's issues, and is dealing with them and not trying to sweep them under the rug, which I appreciate. difficult child has to get a statement from his therapist, from husband and me, and has to write one himself regarding the details of his treatment and how things are now. The thing is, things seem to be going well right now, but he has a goal and wants very much to achieve it (joining the army). He goes like gangbusters when he decides he wants to do something. It started out the same way when he wanted to go to technical school. Then it got hard, and he gave up. If he joins the army, that won't be possible.
He says he's bored and there's nothing here for him (that much is true, but he sleeps all day, so no, there isn't much to do when you're only awake from dusk to dawn). He says he can't find a job (he has put in some applications, but no one is calling, or if they do, they don't call him a second time), and he still wants to go to college. He also wants out of this state, and he says the army will get him all of that. He says he realizes things will be hard-they told him the first three weeks of boot camp will be horrible. He also said the recruiter told him he'll get out of the army what he puts into it; he agrees with that statement.
I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, and I'm rambling now. This has been extremely difficult for me since he told me he talked to a recruiter. I would be afraid for him to go overseas, of course, but even if he stays here, there's no guarantee he would stay safe. And I realize some of what he's feeling is normal teen restlessness. He's saying all the right things, but I'm still very worried this could end badly.