Why you should support them even if you disagree

Supporting a loved one's decision to join the Air Force, even if there are disagreements, is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, it's essential to respect their autonomy and individual aspirations. Joining the military is a personal choice that reflects their values, goals, and desire to serve their country. 

By offering support, you provide them with a strong foundation to pursue their dreams. Your encouragement can boost their confidence and morale throughout the challenging journey of military service. Additionally, the Air Force offers numerous benefits and opportunities for personal and professional growth, including education, training, healthcare, and a stable career.

While it's natural to have concerns or reservations, it's important to maintain open lines of communication. Express your thoughts and concerns in a constructive manner, allowing for an honest and understanding dialogue. Acknowledge that joining the Air Force is a significant decision that may involve sacrifices, but emphasize your commitment to their well-being and success.

Ultimately, supporting your loved one's decision to join the Air Force fosters a strong sense of unity, respect, and encouragement within the family. By standing behind them, you contribute to their overall happiness and fulfillment as they embark on this transformative journey of service to their country.

In reality, not supporting someone typically leads down 3 different paths. 

The first is they resent you for never supporting them even though they followed through with their goal. Even if they become successful and you eventually come around to supporting them, they will never forget your lack of support when they first joined and it will always be a hurtful memory for them.

The second path is that they will listen to you and not join, and years later they may still have the desire to join and they resent you for making them delay their decision or completely miss their opportunity to join. They will feel like they were trying to live life to please you rather than themselves.

The third path is that they listen to you and don’t join and appreciate it. However, is this really worth the risk? More times than not, the first two cases will be the norm. And if they want to join and do join and then it turns out to be the wrong decision for their life, they will never fault you for supporting them. They will be glad that they were allowed to make their own choice and have their loved ones support them fully. Also, joining is only a 4 or 6 year commitment initially. If it isn’t the right choice, it’s not a detrimental amount of time, and they will get out of the Air Force with several benefits to set up their new desired path.

Naturally we want to make our own choices in life.

People typically handle making mistakes better if it was their choice to begin with. If someone does something to please someone else and it turns out to be the wrong choice for them, they usually will resent that person because they feel like they gave up control of their own life to that person and they were led down the wrong path. 
It is best to never put yourself in a situation where someone can blame you for the path that they went down. The only way to truly do that, is to support people with their decisions. You can discuss the pros and cons with them, but ultimately, let each person make their own choices for their own lives and support their ultimate decision. That will always have the best outcome in the long term.

No matter what happens, be supportive.

Sometimes the Air Force doesn’t work out for people. Whether that be not making it through BMT or tech school, or an entire enlistment due to injury, failure to meet standards, or some other reason. Your Airman may also decide that after their first enlistment that it’s not for them and they get out. It is imperative that you remain a support system for your Airman even if things don’t work out as they initially had hoped or planned. It is even more important that you don’t rub it in their face or put them down for their initial choice to join. We typically learn from our own experiences and have to go through things ourselves to see if it works for us or not. Respecting your Airman’s decision to join and also respecting your Airman’s experiences if it doesn’t work out is vital to them feeling loved and supported.