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Well, when you consider the medical coverage (completely free for you and your spouse and children, even after you retire), complete dental coverage for you, access to commissaries and exchanges, housing benefits (either base housing or a monthly allowance for housing), and other benefits...you really have only to weigh the personal sacrifices you would be making. If you have a wife and kids, you WILL be deployed away from them at some point, for who-knows-how-long. Also, if you've had some college, you won't be starting out as an E-1, unless things have changed since I joined...or if you have your degree, you can try to get in as an officer. Also, the job experiences and training you will receive are VERY valuable once you've retired...especially if you are in the Intelligence field, or some other field that requires a Top Secret security clearance. That right there will net you a 50-55K starting pay, AT LEAST. And that is with very little experience. If you stay in and retire, you'll keep getting all your retiree bennies (commissary, exchange, medical), AND you'll have your new job. So, really, that's a decision that you have to weigh in your heart and decide...especially due to the high stressors of military life. I'm in the military myself and my husband is on a year-long remote...it's hard on families. So, bottom line is, I say yes, but it also depends on a lot of your personal situation. The biggest benefit for me, though, is the fact that I am serving the country that I love...
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