Should I ENLIST in the Military or Join as an OFFICER?

Young people are always asking me, “should I enlist in the military or go in as an officer?” I would never want to make that decision for anyone. But if this is something you are debating, let me give you several factors you should consider: Timelines & Educational Requirements, Commitments, Roles & Responsibilities, Quality of Life, & Pay

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Thanks for watching,

Christopher Littlestone
Life is a Special Operation
Are You Ready for It?

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[Ace-pdlp]

Well then, I suppose enlisted it is. joining as an officer would mean I'd have to face my worst enemy; computer log-on screens.

[FeWolf]

My personal experience, is join the military, take a break from school and earn some benefits, see what it is like, if you want to go officer, do short enlistment, than go reserves to keep your benefits while attending school, than go OCS.

[unclesam]

I recommend going to the closest army recruiting station.

[VikingPreparedness]

Retired SF officer here. I agree. Good job on this vid. DOL

[DigitalApex]

Currently active enlisted, but if I was going to do this for 20+ years, I'd definitely switch over to officer as soon as I got my degree. Plus, if I meet an officer that was prior enlisted, instantly have more respect for them.

[PGJoel]

Going in as an officer is not as easy as everyone in the comments is making it out to be. It takes more than just having a bachelor's degree.

[latinoveteran]

I was enlisted. Go officer. More money. More opportunity.

[chrissequioa]

My advice, go in as enlisted, gain some experience and respect, then recommission as an Officer.

[derek]

I’m definitely enlisting then, I hate desk jobs. Thank you!!

[zososldier]

I went the enlisted into officer route. I have to say, if you want job security and you can keep good grades in college and maintain your PT standards, I feel its the way to go if you want job security.
On average, an enlisted person can do 8-10 years before they have to worry about what is called higher tenure (basically if you don't promote you get kicked out. Usually happens when you are in a job that doesn't promote well. I made e6 in 5 years but I had friends that joined the same time as I did but were still e3/e4 by their 8 year mark because their job was over manned). If you transition from enlisted to officer around your 10 year mark, you are basically guaranteed a 20 year retirement because you higher tenure time restarts when you become an officer. The ranks of 01-03 are basically time based and as long as you don't mess up majorly, you will promote and be at around the 18 year mark. Your first "earned" rank of O4 lets you have a couple tries before they force you out if you don't make it. That puts you at right around 20-22 years service with a much better retirement than enlisted only.
Another benefit of starting enlisted is you usually get more respect from your troops because "you been there, done that". You can also develop more feasible plans because you already understand limitations and expectations. While I was a PL, my Platoon regularly got best Platoon in the Company or Battalion because I had a strong go-getter senior NCO and I was ahead of my fellow PLs because of my prior service.
Regardless of your choice to go enlisted or officer, I highly recommend latching yourself on to one or more strong NCO mentor/s. It doesn't have to be in your chain of command. Find one and try to be the best whatever you are. NCOs are the back bone of the military

I did two years in college, was burned out, and enlisted in the USN. I was a Corpsman and had rewarding work in a Naval hospital and then two years at sea. In my world I rarely saw an officer during my work day while at sea. I had the run of the ship and was welcomed everywhere; everybody likes "Doc". I sometimes wondered where the officers went and I considered that I had a wider range of contacts then they did. Socially, I was better off and kind of felt sorry for them because they only had other officers to hang with. It looked like a lonely life to me.

[purgetheheretic]

I respect you sir, and your advice to younger people on military life.

[Cookiesrfood]

I'm prior enlisted I was in the Air Force and my advice is if you have the opportunity to do it go, officer, especially if your looking to make the military your career you make a lot more money, have a much higher quality of life, more perks get treated better, and you get to experience a leadership position. I would only advice going enlisted over officer if you wanted to go do the down and dirty out in the field activities if you hate the idea of desk/computer work, and you don't want to take on that many responsibilities

[JanB]

"Officers and some senior NCOs spend a ridiculous amount of time these days on the computer"
Man, that kinda hit home. After getting promoted to first my daily routine changed from hands on work and being on the field constantly to reports, reports, some more reports, paperwork, and a whole lot of computer work. I regularly had to break out of the office to get a little fresh air and meet my subordinate NCOs and my friends. The amount of time you spend on a computer really is ridiculous...

[jacobklein]

Remind every patriotic young man that education is vital in all aspects of life, including the military!!

[michaelforrester]

Just a tip, you can pick your job as an officer if you do something specialized like medical field (nursing, PA, MD) but your degree would have to qualify you for that specific job.

[Captaincodeine]

Enlisted out of high school in 2014. Got picked up STA21 and will commission in less than two weeks now.

[appleninja]

i have a question can you make a video about all the mistakes that you made in the army so more people don't repeat thous mistakes.

[haszahngrimes]

I’m pretty sure that all service academies have a service obligation of at least 5 years active duty and 3 years reserve. I know for sure that this is the case for West Point.

[Bryankrall]

100% truth about computers and the Air Force. We spend entirely to much time on computers and every year it gets worse and worse. You almost need to be Microsoft Certified these days.