Why join the army

bakes0310

bakes0310

bakes0310

Soldato
Joined
22 Oct 2004
Posts
13,705
Im joining the army next year and lately all im hearing is bad stuff off the tv and newspapers that the army is not what it used to be. Soilders going AWOL, extremely poor living conditions, no repect for the army anymore, no one wants to join thats why the upped the age restriction, and of course there just seen as another number :(

So i would like some reasons why i should join the army heres my personal reasons:
Ive always wanted to do its since i was very little.
To see the world
To do my part in protecting this great country
To be a better person whos disciplined and a real man :) :p

Ill be leaving a good job that pays good money, which i keep getting told is crazy that the money is really poor in the army. All i say to them is you dont join the army for the money which im right.

Anyway im just looking for some positve vibes about the army :)
 
Im thinking of joining the Cold Stream Guards which will be an infantry role, my dad was in it. And a mate in work was in it and he speaks very highly of them, which does motivate me and gets me really excited.
Ive for the past nearly 3 months been getting myself fit ive joined a gym and i go about 6 times a week which is an hour session, and just recently got a mate who really wants to go running so thats gonna be aload of fun :)

If i was fit enough i would join the paras but saying that i might be fit enough by the time i join. Ive given myself a nice deadline of about next year febuary thats when ill start to get the ball rolling.
Im totally commited i really want this and whenever i do actually hear negative stuff its through one ear and out the other :p
 
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cheers for all the great replys theyve all been helpful and some a bit cheeky :p
I know knowones gonna change my mind my hearts set on the army and thats that :)

Next year ill be Private Baker of the Cold Stream Guards :cool:
 
Guardsman baker is ordering this thread back on track :)

I came home today from work and my grandparents gave me a paper cloth and said theres 2 black lumps at the bottom of my bed, so i naturally thought dog poo. I was pleasently suprised that it was running shoes, which is also telling me that theyve accepted me that i wanna join the army so im chuffed :)

I want to have an infantry role in the coldstream guards so ill be a basic rifleman. But as i progress i could be trained as a sniper which would be cool or even mortar like my old man :)
 
everyone i know whos been in the army wishes they stayed in there longer as they really do miss it. So that says something to me about being in the army is a ok place to work.
I went running this morning with my new shoes done about 5-6 miles and they felt lovely compared to my heavy trainers.
 
Firespark said:
On the Original subject matter the Army and Air Force have been good options for my cousins and in laws.

One cousin left school at 16 in the 80's with zero job prospects and managed to get into the Blue & Royals, he did Buckingham Palace guard duty and armored recon, learnt mechanical trade and HGV driving licence. His only regret is letting his wife talking him into leaving in his mid twenties. Service include a tour of NI.

His brother who as a kid loved to dismantle eletrical items but was crap at written work went into the Air Force late early twenties and trained as a Electroncis / Comms techie, the training was pretty impressive in the first 2 years they crammed in basically 3 HND equivalant qualifications, he moved on to do IT work and left the RAF highly qualified and is currently wandering the globe as a senior IT manager. His service included first Gulf War.

My brother in law is a serving Sergeant, he joined rather than sign on and because he loved athletics, started of as a basic infantrymen and eventually got transferred out to a support role (cant remember unit). Is now intending to do the full stretch to max his pension and his only regret is getting to fat for his athletics since going into the offices. Despiute his support role he still could end up in Iraq or Afghanisatan.

For all of then the forces have had a positive effect despite the risks involved. The forces are not for everyone not by a long shot and only an idiot joins especially now without considering the risks.
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brilliant inspiration story there hope it goes well for your brother in law.
I went running today i managed to run just over 2 miles none stop and then a 2 minute break and ran back none stop so im very happy with myself so if i carry on improving like that by feb ill be fit enough :)
 
teaboy5 said:
Cant some on you understand we need to fight for oil to protect our way of life.

I find it funny how you all say this while sitting infront off your PC's in you nice warm home; but without all the oil we need you would have half the stuff you do now.

We need to make sure we enough oil for the future.
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well said :)
 
Update on my progress:
running wise ive really have improved, on my first run i had to take breaks and that was only 4.2 miles. But after my third run i managed with 1 break at halfway so 2.1 miles. Today had been my 5 run and ive managed the 4.2 miles non stop so im very happy about that.
With my weight and strength exercises its steadily going in the right direction ive made up my own program and it seems to work and each week ill make it a little harder.

Thursday i went to see my dad and i told him that i want to join the army. I wouldnt say he was 100% happy but he said hes behind me all the way, which by the way he was a cold stream guard himself for 4 years.
Anyway hes good mates with a captain and hes gonna put a good word in for me when the time comes. So thats motivated me not to let him down aswell now.

Febuary still my deadline and im certain ill be ready for it, and i cant wait its all i ever think about.
 
Hugogo said:
Also get used to carrying weight on your back (30kg +) it sounds odd but if you can get used to how it feels then the infantry type stuff will be a lot easier when you come to do it.
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thats a good idea for a month or so ill just do without any weight. Then slowly add weight and by febuary ill be ready :)
 
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Hugogo said:
Be careful with the whole weight though you have to build it up really slowly and do it on the flat...in trainers not boots. Its not hard to get injured with weight on your back.
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yes cheers

ill be running in my running shoes and first of all when i do finaly take some weights ill start off with something like 7.5-10kg first of all in my bag.
 
pegasus1 said:
Ive just watched that and to be honest, joining the Army is a little more than doing press ups and lunges.
Im not sure what part of the Army you are interested in or even if you want to be a soldier but if anything, effort will get you a long way, i dont mean the kind of effort that the average joe thinks.
Somebody once told me that' a horse will run till it uses 95% of its energy and lay down and die, humans will run till they use 65% of their enrgy and lay down and think they will die.
Use cardio (running fast for 6 miles) and if needed, weight training and get the right attitude. I never come 1st at any P Company event (para training) but i won champion recruit cos i put 100% into all i did.
The Army will do the rest.
See you at the FRV
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cheers ok ill keep to what ive been doing and ill forget that, and just keep trying to improve my endurance. I go running about twice a week and on top of that go to the gym 4-5 times a week which has really helped.
But anway i run about just over 4 miles, so to improve my endurance should i run the 4 mile faster each time or do an extra mile onto my run every couple weeks or so?

cheers in advance :)
 
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im sort of playing with the idea of doing kickboxing once or twice a week but then id have to give up something.

current fitness regime
Running 2x a week
gym 4-5 a week

new fitness regime
running 2x a week
gym 3-4 a week
kickboxing 1-2 a week

So what do you think should i take up kickboxing or keep to my current regime.
 
Well i think ive got the fitness side underway so i think i need to know about the actual army life.
Questions:
1.I understand the army is a very strict and mentally hard, but what makes it so mentally hard. Do you get near constant verbal abuse from your superiors.

2.I understand they break you and build you up again into the soilder they need, how do they do that, and i dont mean the physical side.

3.I understand you live in accommandation where about 8-15 ppl sleep in but when you got a weekend off where do you stay then, could you stay at your room.
 
im gonna phone them up later today to find out about the fitness requirements. From what my mate was telling me when he was in it. He said they dont expect you to be really fit they sort that out for you.
 
Hugogo said:
10.2 bleep test OR 10 mins 30 seconds mile and a half.

44 press ups in (2 mins)
50 sit ups (2 mins)

This is the basic standard.
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are you sure thats right cause my mate said hes never done that many pressups in his life, and he was in the infantry for 8 years.
 
Well ive just phoned them up and i asked about pushups and the bloke said 50 in 2 mins :eek: but he did say thats more of a guidline and they would like to see you have the ability to do that many. And that you would be doing that anyway by the end of your training.
 
Zip said:
A press up is a psuh up right?

Dont worry about it if it is :)

I managed from struggling ot do 10 in a row to being able to do 50-60 in a row in just 1 week :cool:
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:eek: :eek:
How the hell you manage that. When i first started doing training about 3 months ago i could only do about 5 and now i can just manage 20, and your saying you can do 50-60 within 1 week :eek:
 
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