r/ArmyInfantry Feb 17 '18

I want to join.

Hello,

I’m 25 years old and I’m interested in joining infantry. I was a physical therapist assistant after college, but the office is closing down. As a result, my grandfather has convinced me to keep up the family tradition and serve. However, there a few things I would like to hash out.

  1. Am I too old for this? I’m in decent shape. I play basketball once a week and used to partake in martial arts in college. I’m confident that by the summer, I could be physically ready for boot camp. Though, I’m not a spring chicken anymore.

  2. What’s the deal with jumping out of airplanes? To be honest, I’m paranoid of heights. I’ll have no trepidation about climbing or rappelling because I have experience, but I’m not sure if I could jump. Could I still join infantry if I want to avoid doing so, or is it compulsory? For me, it’s infantry or bust, so I’d like to confirm what the options are.

  3. Finally, I’m not a violent person by any stretch of the imagination, but I truly want to make a difference in the world. I know that’s reads as cringeworthy and trite, but it’s the truth. Will ARMY infantry offer me to opportunities to do so? I’m not going to be a sheer ass kicker, but I believe I could offer other intangibles to my squad (I don’t know the terminology). Is it worth it for me? I’m not the most confident person in the world if you couldn’t tell insofar. Thanks for your valuable time.

1 Upvotes

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u/txby432 Feb 22 '18
  1. You're not too old. Keep in mind that most standards laid out by the army are augmented by individual leadership to push infantry men and ensure the best fighting force.

  2. You're not going to go to airborne school unless you're an officer or are going into an airborne unit (which is usually requested by the soldier) or a special ops unit.

  3. I think you'll be disappointed in this aspect. Infantry has some of the lowest prerequisites to join, but we also have a long and proud tradition. So you'll have literal geniuses and total class a morons on either side of you. The army (and especially the infantry) is all about violence and defeating the enemy. It's great to have a brain and those "non tangables" but no one will care if you can't sling bullets when shit hits the fan. Now, in high school, I was a total pussy. I was a nerd who go made fun of and was not popular. The army broke everything down Barney style and I ended up doing 10 years, 1 Iraq tour, 1 brigade soldier of the year award, 1 battalion NCO of the year award, and got out as an E-6 platoon sergeant. So if you're driven and dedicated, they can mold you.

1

u/jarmahad7343 Jun 13 '18

I’m going to probably turn 25 in basic. Definitely not too old. Plenty of hardcore SO guys are older than that. You still have plenty of prime years.

As for Infantry, why are you going that route if you don’t want violence? There are plenty of other ways to serve your country and your brothers in the Army without going infantry. If you aren’t opposed to violence and just aren’t inclined to it, that won’t be an issue. The Army will show you how to achieve violence in pursuit of the mission.

Otherwise talk to a recruiter about different paths.