I have a friend that I met in college who was in the C.G.Reserve at the time. The experience seemed to be great for him. He's now a Chief in their M.L.E. (I think the M is Maritime, Law, Enforcement) section, and doesn't regret any of the 19 years in service. I passed on an opportunity to join the navy when I was in college, and sometimes still hurt my leg trying to kick myself. I could have retired this year with 20. I would advise any young person to give the service a try... pick your branch, but you're young enough that you can give it a try and not regret NOT having done it later in life (this is coming from someone with quite a few friends in the various services, and sometimes I DO have those regrets). Give me a few days to contact my friend, and if it's O.K. with him, I'll get you in touch with him, sounds like his path might be one you'd be interested in following. P.M. me if you want some more insight from my buddy who's been there and done that.