Boyfriend wants to join the Marines

Do any of you ladies have boyfriends/husbands/fiancees in the marines? My boyfriend really wants to go to the Citadel once we graduate and then join the marines and I can't even imagine having him gone that long :( what's it like? I'm so proud of him and he's so brave but it's hard not to think about how sad it'll be. My parents already don't like him too much and they keep telling me that's not the kind of life I'd want to live