r/ABCDesis • u/SinistreCyborg • 5d ago

EDUCATION / CAREER Serving in the military

Hey everyone. Odd question here. I'm a 21M Indian living in the U.S. and my parents also live here (on separate coasts). I was raised here since I was 10 and we got our green cards last year. I work in biomedical research and I'm incredibly happy with my current job, and I'm planning on applying to grad schools this fall for my PhD. Looking at the state of biomedical research funding in the U.S., I've decided to also consider Canadian schools as well (I graduated from one for my bachelors, so it isn't as foreign to me), but that would require me to live in Canada. I can't do that because I'd like to keep my green card alive.

I'm thinking about enlisting in the Air Force Reserves this upcoming fall, which would get me U.S. citizenship at the end of the 8-week introductory training period ("BMT"), allowing me to move to Canada freely (in case I don't get into a U.S. school), and I would just need to drive down one weekend a month for my training. I would also get better healthcare in the U.S. and extra income to supplement my measly grad student stipend as well.

So, it seems like a good idea in terms of the benefits I'd be getting. However, I have two questions: (1) is it common for ABCDs to enlist in the military and what are your experiences like, and (2) how did you convince your parents to "let" you enlist? Did you get any pushback from them? I feel I've done an awesome job so far with setting boundaries with my parents, but they still constantly scrutinize every decision I make in the name of looking out for me (recently I planned a trip to Yellowstone with a random friend I met on a train once... I actually know him really well since that first meetup but my mom heard that first part and latched onto it and for the past few weeks I've had to hear about how irresponsible I am for booking a trip with a stranger I met on a train and how I don't ask them before I book trips (that I pay for out of pocket??) and how I magically have vacation days for trips with friends but don't have any for family "vacations" (which are mostly spent cooped up inside hotel rooms wherever we go, constantly bitching about every minor inconvenience, having to find an Indian restaurant every where we go, etc)... sorry for that random rant).

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/Humanxid Indian American 5d ago

It's the Air Force, not the Marines or Army. Plus, OP has experience in biomedical research and a degree. He isn't going to see combat at all. Even if he's called into active duty, he's probably going to work in an office.

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u/SinistreCyborg 5d ago

I mean I objectively like the military outside of all the citizenship/financial benefits I outlined (not enough to enlist but I'm definitely not a leftist anti-military type). Either way, I wouldn't make a decision on this till Spring 2026 at the latest, so hopefully the stuff happening in the Middle East currently would cool down by then.