Recently for students, it seems the world has gone mad. War in Iraq, tuition hikes, and American Idol scandals have distracted students from what really matters: the 3-4 hours per credit you are supposed to devote every week to your studies.

At UW, tuition hikes threaten to price some students out of this university system. Even increasing financial aid will not work for some of these students. However, there is an alternative that requires as little as three months of your time and can clear up all your monetary concerns as well as provide you with an experience that will last a lifetime. That job is in the military.

Entering my senior year in high school, I had barely given any time to the idea of joining the military. My views of the military were formed by movies Rambo and Full Metal Jacket. Not until one of my science teachers told me about the opportunities the military offered, specifically the National Guard, did I come to do some research. Soon after, I was giving serious thought to joining the military and decided to do so with the Air National Guard out of Volk Field midway through my senior year.

Now, I’m not trying to be a recruiter. I am going to lay down the benefits and the drawbacks to a job in the military from my viewpoint. As with all jobs there are risks. When you go into a barber shop, don’t expect an ice-cream cone, expect a haircut. As with the military, the risk of war and direct combat exists, and that is something you must accept when you enlist. However, from personal experience, I can tell you the benefits far out-gain the risks.

When I enlisted, my recruiter told me basic training would be “difficult, but not impossible.” He was right. Initially, the hardest part was getting by on a dinner roll, a few french fries and three cups of water at each meal. Eventually you were given the option to add a cheeseburger and, if you were lucky, cake to your menu, albeit you could consume all in no more than five minutes.

In basic, you learn a number of skills that employers look for in almost any applicant.

The greatest skill I came away with was being able to work in teams to accomplish your objectives. When you are thrown into basic, from day one or zero week you have to work hand in hand with people from all over the country and who you don’t know. This in turn builds trust, which is something critical to the idea of teamwork.

According to the drill instructors, it should be impossible for you to make a mistake. In order for you to make a mistake, it requires thinking, and that is something trainees are incapable of. Therefore, the Air Force steps in and thinks for you. Only in lapses of judgment, like calling the squadron commander a “Sir” when she is a “Ma’m,” will you find yourself in the trouble, or in my case, the “modified thinking position.”

I could go into additional details all day, but that would require more room than I have here. After basic, the next step in the process is attending a technical school.

Most technical schools vary in length from four weeks to six months. Like basic, you continue working in teams and building trust. You also are tested on your ability to maintain attention to detail. In jobs with the military, this could be the difference between life and death when you are working on aircraft. Back at college, this could lead you to more thoroughly proofread a report, or in the workforce you could streamline the operations of an office and receive a promotion.

The entire time you are in technical school you are earning a paycheck and college credit, which might transfer when you return home. Now, there are some drawbacks to technical school.

If you somehow end up at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, you might find yourself hanging out a lot at the Super Wal-Mart or going to the mall. Also, failing a military test is not like failing a test in college. First off, failing your Math 112 exam does not entail an earlier curfew and taking away your right to wear civilian clothes whenever you please.

When you come back, you are obligated to one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer for the duration of your enlistment. Now for the financially strapped, the Montgomery G.I. Bill will cover your tuition and help out with some other expenses.

I have recommended this to a number of people I know. Most say they don’t want to go to war and seem to hold the stereotypes that typically plague the military. Joining the military now might be a more riskier venture than three years ago. Yet without taking risks, we could never reach our full potential. Choosing to going to college introduces us to a number of risks, yet the end result we foresee as positive.

My military career was cut short when it was found out I had Type 1 Diabetes. I completed basic and technical school and worked a few months at my home base. I can tell you I only caught a glimpse of what benefits the military had to offer. This might only be true for me, but from everyone I talked to who joined, they had nothing but good things to say.

One thing is for sure, a job in the military offers you the opportunity to go places you never thought possible, as well as tuition assistance, a monthly paycheck and a sense of pride only available from serving your country.

Derek Montgomery ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.