Starting next month, being all you can be is going to get a bit more profitable.

The Army, looking to boost its number of recruits, is offering would-be soldiers an enlistment bonus up to $40,000 toward a mortgage or new business venture.
Recruits pledging to serve three years would receive $25,000; those serving four years would get $35,000 and those serving five years would get the full $40,000, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

Soldiers could collect the cash after completing their initial service. They would have to provide paperwork showing they've begun the process of buying a house or starting a business. But they would be allowed to keep the cash should their plans fall through, the Journal's article said.

The military calls it the Army Advantage Fund. The program is supposed to show parents of potential recruits the tangible benefits of Army service.

The Army will test the offer in Cleveland, Ohio; Montgomery, Ala.; Albany, N.Y.; Seattle; and San Antonio. But before you run to your nearest recruiting office, remember this: The money could literally cost you your life.

A military recruiter might not put it so bluntly, but I'm of the opinion that they should.

I've heard too many recruits refer to Army compensation packages as including “free money for college.” And it's just not true.

In exchange for the military's money, a person has to give up his or her own way of life, plans and, in a sense, freedom.

A person has to commit to a future that could include killing another human being or returning home from war in a casket. He or she has to live a life in which the decisions about where they will reside and what job they will perform will be made by someone else.

Civilians also have freedoms their military counterparts do not: We can switch jobs whenever we want, move on a whim and aren't subject to any of the military's other rules — some of which dictate when you can drink, whom you can date and which businesses you can patronize.

To everyone willing to make those personal sacrifices to serve in the military, I'm grateful. It's because of those who step up and give up part of their freedom that the rest of us get to keep our own.

But I know the lifestyle isn't for everyone.

Donning the uniform requires a lot of sacrifices, and it's a decision that shouldn't be made lightly. While a big chunk of cash might make it easier to look beyond those sacrifices, don't let the dollar signs blind you.

I'm not saying joining the Army isn't a good way to get your college paid for because for many people, it is. What I'm saying is this: The Army's money — whether through an enlistment bonus or the G.I. Bill — isn't free.