Dear fellow Dollars,

I'm considering a career in the Canadian Forces as an Intelligence Officer but I have many questions to ask. If anyone here(military or not) has any advice please enlighten me. :) I want to know what life is like on base.. There are stereotypes saying that when you live on base, it's extremely hard to keep in touch with you're civilian social circle and maintain(or start) relationships. I would like to know which aspects of civilian life will disappear (or become restricted) once you become military. Do you still get to travel freely on your freetime (overseas and where ever you wish) or you become a "slave" to the government? I never had any family members or friends that are military so this is relatively new to me.

All advice will be greatly appreciated and please do not post any hurtful comments :)

My dad was in the army (American) until I was in seventh grade. I don't know how hard it is to stay in touch with civilians since I was younger when we were moving around, but I am still in touch with some of my friends whose parents are still in the military. I still talk to my friend Shayla, she's been through about 7 moves since I first met her. My family went on vacation just about every summer I can remember, including going to Australia with my brother's boy scout troop. However, my father would sometimes have to leave early or join us late on these vacations.

My cousin joined the marines and still hangs out with his civilian friends. He has had to be away from his family for long periods of time, though.

The military provides some excellent experiences. I think you should go for it, but if you have trouble with discipline I would advise against it.

My brother-in-law is in the US Marines, and as far as I can tell his social life is totally ok. Working and living on base is pretty normal, except the government pays for almost everything and work is much closer to home.

I could be wrong, I don't know much, and the marines probably isn't exactly the same thing but...

anasthaeziiya is right my father is in the marines and thats exactly how it is so you should be fine

Being a intellegence officer you need to work hard to get from the start. a lot of education is behind getting an officer ranking from the get-go. if you enlist you could work your way toward it. So living on a military base isn't that bad, you can live in on-base housing or off-base. Food can vary depending on the dinning facility. You can still contact family members. And they can come to you, if you are unable to take leave to see them. Starting relationships isn't bad either. People on base can start relationships. You can even start relationships with some people off base, or start or have a long distance relationship with someone from home. Now as for traveling, when you are on leave you can go any where as long as it follows the rules.