The military has changed since Vietnam.
My father was in the Airforce. He joined 4 days before being drafted to the Army during Vietnam... the military for that matter see's you as an expendable and exploitable asset and will rape your finances and personal life for the foreseeable future. On second thought he says that the military will do the above regardless if you are enlisted or not. Remember, when you join... you are given a serial number, which means you are SOLE PROPERTY of the government.
.....one other thing. He always used to say that it sucks going through basic training, but when you get done..you realize that it is just like a regular job
... one LAST THING.
Your recruiter is there to trick you.... period. That's his job. If they tell you, "Oh of course we can give you [insert requested job]" its pretty likely you are NOT going to get that.
those were words JUST spoken to me by my dad.
There are a few things that I would like to point out. First, your father's experience was during Vietnam and the draft. The quality of the low ranking enlisted force was rather low. Many were not there by choice, and some felt like giving Uncle Sam hell for sending them there. Since the draft ended, our military has become an all-volunteer force. Everyone raised their right hand and said "I will." While some may regret this decision later, most are happy to serve their country. To meet recruitment goals, Congress had to fix military benefits, pay, and quality of life issues. The military of today is not the same as Vietnam.
The military has a good understanding that the backbone of their force is volunteers. With that in mind, they appreciate the low ranking enlisted much more. Retention of valuable experience is critical to the Air Force. The Air Force enlisted structure is 45% E1-E4, 52% E5-E7, 2% E8, and 1% E9. They depend upon a fairly high percentage of Airmen re-enlisting for at least a second term. You cannot do this by mistreating them excessively.
Finances and personal life are not likely to be raped at this time. You can search online for the 2009 military pay chart to see what you will receive each month (basic pay). As an E-1, the pay is fairly low, but food and housing is given free of charge (also tax free). The pay is never as good as the civilian sector, but is not too bad, IMHO. Personal life is largely left alone as long as it follows certain rules. Adultery, homosexual behavior, and a few other items are strongly discouraged. However, the military does have a very high divorce rate because of the strain of military life on a marriage. Some wifes get rather upset when their husband is on the other side of the world during their entire pregnancy.
Basic training is a trial by fire to ensure that a recruit can handle military life. It is intentionally rough, but everything afterwards is much better with the exception of combat. If one can listen, follow simple directions under stress, and obey the rules, basic training is not too bad. Sure, a military training instructor (MTI, TI, or "Drill instructor") will be loud, obnoxious, and in your face. They yell so that everyone can hear them in hopes of not having to repeat themselves too many times. I found them to be more pleasant to work with than family and basic was one of the least stressful times during my teen years. Your experience will vary.
Recruiters are a salesman! Do not let anyone convince you otherwise. Do not lie, allow the recruiter to convince you to be dishonest, and take what he says with a grain of salt. When he says "most bases have single occupancy dorm rooms", this means that some are not there yet. It is his job to word everything in the most positive light. False statements are very illegal for recruiters and will be punished harshly (hard labor possible at Leavenworth). Ask detailed and specific questions for anything you would like to know. Also, if it is not in writing, it is not guaranteed. My enlistment contract listed "2A031B" as my job before I entered basic. If they denied me that job, it would be a breach of contract. If I failed to pass the school, it would be me that broke the contract and they could pick a different one (cook anyone?).
A few things have changed, but some things still remain true. Military members are serial numbered property of the US government. Paperwork is excessive. Also, expandability is still applicable to some degree. Some tasks are too dangerous to be allowed in the private sector. Hand loading an armed bomb or missile is not the safest job in the world. Convoy duty is dangerous. Some risk cannot be mitigated.
