?

As you all know, the drawdown means that fewer and fewer people are being accepted into the comissioning schools. Now, my parents have been supportive so far but I have mentioned that I am more interested in pursuing a career in the profession of arms than the issue of whether I'm an officer or an enlisted man, which caused them to come down on me like a ton of bricks. In their minds I either join with a comission or don't join at all.

I understand where they're coming from. They don't want me to come back gutshot or in a body bag, or have to put up with the alleged misery of being an E-1 and it will probably look better on my resume if I was an officer, but these are all things I've thought of and if I'm judged non-competitive for OTS, I would still enlist. They also think of the enlisted as being a lower class of people that I wouldn't get along with due to lower levels of education or what have you which, to me, sounds like an absurd and vicious stereotype.

I am having trouble trying to convince them that enlistment is not something to be avoided at all costs and they have tried everything from personal experience in a bureaucracy (they both work in the UN) to class and education arguments (as detailed above. Apparently having a degree to them means you must become an officer) to outright emotional blackmail (Well if I were to do this, I would feel bad at having betrayed my education and squandered all the money my parents invested in me).

Is my situation unique? How have you dealt with your parents once you told them you were enlisting?

I have dual citizenship and I noticed that my Commonwealth passport allows me to volunteer for the British Army if I so choose. I do not currently live in the US and haven't for many years. I have no intention of relinquishing my American citizenship. I know the State Department discourages citizens from serving in foreign militaries, but the UK is one of our closest allies. Will serving in the British Army impact my ability to get a security clearance with the US government in the future?

Additionally, if the UK and Argentina come to blows over the Falklands and I am deployed there as part of a hypothetical British force, will I be in violation of 18 USC s958?

I remember listening to a Drum n Bass song several years ago that I can't recall the name of. The only thing I remember about it was that it uses a sample of Paul Bremer from his speech after they captured Saddam Hussein, saying, "Ladies and gentlemen... we got him". Does anyone know the name of this song?

I'm not trying to tell the recruiter what they want to hear, except by staying on topic. I do not really understand what kind of answer they are asking for - are they talking about my goals once I join or what I expect to get out of the experience, or something else?

I am in the process of applying to OTS but getting cold feet at the thought that I might not be selected because there was some red flag on my application I could have fixed. If I am not, does that mean I won't be able to try again in the future?

I've already graduated college and got my degree, but during that time my work ethic was not something I'm proud of. As a result, my GPA is pretty poor. Is there anything else I can do to increase my chances of being admitted to OCS or should I consider enlistment and try to work my way up from within?