why are you moving why are you moving
americans join the army for plenty of reasons for country family and honor according to a new
study of enlisted soldiers however a core motivation is relatively simple for money
a rand corporation exhaustive survey of 81 soldiers between e1 and e4 suggests that the
choice to enlist is influenced by two overlapping factors institutional ones like family and duty
and occupational ones like professional development and job stability
but while 37 percent of soldiers identified cited both institutional and occupational reasons for
joining the army a full 46 percent said they enlisted due to purely occupational reasons
only nine percent said they joined for entirely institutional
ones interestingly those who did cite service as a calling were mostly medics
in other words the overwhelming majority of respondents had economic reasons for joining up
for most enlistees it seems military service is a job first and a calling second
according to the rand study the primary motivations for enlisting include
perhaps matthew modine was on to something in full metal jacket when he commented that he
wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture and kill them
i uh i wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient
culture and killed them i wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill
42 of soldiers joined up to get out of dodge i've been in kansas the majority
of my life so i figured if i joined the army i'd have a greater chance
to go out and visit new states and new countries one soldier told rand researchers
benefits
a significant number of soldiers 32 percent called military benefits a major motivation for enlisting
healthcare active duty tuition assistance and post-service support structures like the gi bill
military service is a lifeline for some americans the researchers note citing one single mother
who joined just because i had my son and i needed the benefits i guess you could say
job stability and pay
nearly a quarter of soldiers had a simple explanation for their decision to enlist they
needed to make money especially given the economic turmoil the country's faced in recent years the
army can provide me with great education benefits great career benefits later on one soldier told
the researchers so why not start that and do that instead of just working at some dead end job
that's only paying minimum wage maybe ten dollars an hour when i can go and get fantastic benefits
after weighing the factors another added i was like well why not and if i stay in for 20 plus
years i can retire at 40 so it seemed like a good deal to me especially in the economy we're in
escaping a negative environment
for many the military isn't just an economic lifeline it's a socio-political one
i guess i joined to get out of the situation i was in didn't really see myself going anywhere
one soldier told the rand researchers yeah
i feel like the army has provided that for me the kids that i grew up with out of the group
that i hung out with two of them are in jail and then three either passed away or disappeared
job training
many of the enlisted soldiers chose the army over other service branches
because it allows enlistees to choose their mos before enlisting providing
an extra incentive for those who see the military primarily as an economic vehicle
according to rand participants stated that this provided them a bit of autonomy and allowed them
some idea of the role they would be expected to play once their terms of service began
ironically those soldiers who cited occupational incentives for enlisting
over sacred ideals tended to stick with military service in a long haul
though soldiers who saw the army as a career tended to cite institutional motives with more
frequency than those who did not the researchers write just because the military service is a job
and not a calling doesn't mean enlisted soldiers aren't planning on kicking butt at their job
well maybe not too much but when asked why they chose to pursue the army over
other service branches a few soldiers responded that they felt the marines were way too hardcore
according to rand one respondent recoiled from joining the marines after his marine
recruiter became overzealous and tackled him during a game of ultimate frisbee
that's all my friends press like if you liked this video and press no if you don't like it thanks for
watching hopefully it was useful are the hallmarks of a marine that's priority meaning this is a
race you're sick yes sir it is up to you to get your comrades and supplies that you're carrying
out yes sir a little danger why are you still smiling danger here's don't freaking smile one
come on
i asked you a question
ranger right there
you