I know I don't count. Slightly over 1 year of Air Force ROTC, then a few months of Army ROTC. Dropped out when I figured out they weren't going to pay for my college (was a "nontraditional" student, and my first year AFROTC only handed out
one scholarship to nontraditional students, AROTC wasn't much better the next year. Obviously I wasn't it.) Ended up dropping out of college completely after my second year due to financial issues. (AKA: It was a private school, I got denied financial aid, and I couldn't afford any more $15,000 checks.)
My life has been okay since, so I don't regret dropping out of college. I have kept in touch with a few of my ROTC friends (most of whom are Army or Air Force Majors now, with a scattered Captain or Lt. Col.,) and so, in spite of being a "hardcore liberal," have a healthy respect for the military. (Having
other friends that work at military contractors such as Lockheed, Raytheon, etc, doesn't hurt, either.)
While my father wasn't in the military (just
barely too young for Vietnam, 1952 birth, and likely would have gotten an education and/or dependent deferral,) both grandfathers and one grandmother were, along with two cousins. I have the irony (and possibly unique until very recently,) of having three grandparents buried in a National Cemetery, where my grand
mother is the highest ranking of the three! (One "Aviation Cadet" - who was in pilot training when WW2 ended and was discharged, the rank is not counted as an officer, since he wasn't commissioned yet - pay was same as a Private, yet they were called "Mister" like an officer, so sort of a combo E-0/O-0
; one "Radioman 3rd Class", (E-5
and my grandmother, a Marine Corps Drill Instructor E-6.)
I have one former Marine Corps MP (a female cousin who is about 51 cards short of a full deck - she honestly believed she was the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler for a while,) and one freshly minted Marine Corps Private cousin just back form his first overseas duty (to Okinawa.)
To all those in uniform, and all those who wore it in the past, you have my utmost gratitude and respect for your service. (That doesn't mean I'll respect you for ANYTHING you do, of course.)
