How strict is the US Army Training?

[Andrew1990]

I am thinking of joining the US Army as soon as I graduate from High School in 3 months but am worried about the physical requirements.

Height - 6ft
Weight - 167lbs (average build, not athletic)
1 Mile Run Time - 6:23 (probably around 6:40 due to winter)

I am not overweight or fat or anything, is is just I cant do pushups to good. I can maybe do 30 in 2 minutes if I pushed myself to it. I can easily run long distances and do situps, its just the push ups.

Will the army training build me up on doing push ups for the first week or would I have to start doing it before I sign up? Also, is it very common to do hours of push ups in a single time frame real as I heard? Would I even make the weight requirement, not sure on how the army sets up its charts.

Then, what are the chances of me actually getting promoted above the rank of a lowly private?

 

[Proprioceptive]

Physical requirements???? Holy crap, man. They hand out waivers for that crap left and right. We had so many dead beats at basic training, it was a JOKE. They pencil pushed the guys who were on the border by graduation time. It was pathetic. I went to Basic back in Feb '07 at For Knox. It will NOT be nearly as challenging as you think it will be in the beginning.

They will build you up with the physical ability, though. Start working out now. The better you are before you go, the easier it is there. Every DS is completely different in their work ethic and punishments. Promotions are dependent on so many different things. PM me if you have any questions. I could go on forever about this.

 

[overst33r]

Pretty sure a 1.5 mile run is required. If you can get it under 10mins youre good. As for pushups, i suggest you just continue doing them, they are more of an endurance exercise than anything, so the only way to get good at them is to keep doing them.

 

[imported_Imp]

It's 'basic training', and they need every warm body they can get, so yes they will 'build you up'. Not sure if they have 'warrior platoons' or remedial PT like the Canadian Forces.

The real question is: do you want to be the one being called out for being inept all the time?

Work harder, get yourself well past minimum standards. If they can build you up, you can build yourself up.

 

[Proprioceptive]

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Pretty sure a 1.5 mile run is required. If you can get it under 10mins youre good. As for pushups, i suggest you just continue doing them, they are more of an endurance exercise than anything, so the only way to get good at them is to keep doing them.

It's 2 miles. Two minutes of pushups and two minutes of situps. The total you need depends on your age. Your requirement will be 35 pushups and 47 situps.

 

[Proprioceptive]

Minimum run will be 16:36.

Are you enlisting to go Active Duty or National Guard?

 

[adairusmc]

You want to be Army Strong?

 

[Proprioceptive]

I'm sorry... to be clear, this will be your requirement by the time you GRADUATE. All you need to do is 11 pushups and 17 situps... and be able to run 1 mile under 8:30.

 

[Andrew1990]

Well I am probably enlisting as Active Duty in the Infantry.

Also, this is kind of a weird question, but would I have a lot of trouble if I have a slight speech impediment? It isnt bad or anything, just a slight lisp. I can easily be understood but you can tell slightly.

 

[Proprioceptive]

You should have no problem with the lisp. You might get poked fun of a few times, but nothing serious. I've seen some pretty bad stuff. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. There are a lot of implications in enlisting that you probably have no clue about right now. Bonuses... Benefits... time commitment... etc. www.armybasic.org... check that site out. It's invaluable and extremely helpful. I am National Guard myself and had to go through RSP (Recruit Sustainment Program) before I shipped to Basic. I believe you will do this as well if you don't ship right away. Again, PM me anytime you have any questions. I am more than willing to help out anyone who wants to go in to the Army. I did a huge amount of research before I enlisted and it's paid off tremendously.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: Proprioceptive
I'm sorry... to be clear, this will be your requirement by the time you GRADUATE. All you need to do is 11 pushups and 17 situps... and be able to run 1 mile under 8:30.

Wow. And I thought Canadian standards were low when I saw what you needed for the Marines (entry level/pre-basic reqs.).

 

[dbk]

what about the navy and the air force?

 

[Proprioceptive]

Marines are much more disciplined and physically fit. They train much harder from my experience.

 

[Andrew1990]

Well I know that I will get a few benefits and items along those lines, but joining would most likely be for some experience and what not. I may PM you with a few questions tomorrow afternoon as it is quite late here.

In your opinion, was joining worth it?

 

[Proprioceptive]

For me? I have mixed feelings for it. I won't lie. A huge reason I joined was for the money and the benefits. I also do have a desire to serve my country in the best capacity. I'm actually getting ready to attend OCS (Officer Candidate School). Forgive me if I'm spelling things out for you, but I'm not familiar with your familiarity with the Army system. All in all, it will help me get where I ultimately want to be in the future. If you PM me, send me your e-mail addy and we can converse that way a bit more efficiently. I'd love to offer any help I can to someone I could potentially serve with.

 

[imported_Imp]

If you're going infantry, do think heavily on what you will be faced with. It isn't black and white, shit happens out there. If you think you can live with it, go right ahead. I finished my application and realized that I couldn't, so I decided against it (for now at least).

 

[Proprioceptive]

He's right about the infantry route. It's a chance you will take. Infantry can be treated like crap. They can also be praised as the backbone of the Army. When you go to Basic for Infantry, you will go to Fort Benning... or possibly Knox because of the transitions they're doing right now. You will experience OSUT (One Station Unit Training) where you will train straight through Basic and AIT with the same unit at the same location. Infantry gives you VERY MINIMAL civilian skills. So, be aware that if you're going infantry and you decide to not re-up your contract at the end, that you will not be that employable in the civy world. There are many things to consider.

 

[zzuupp]

Originally posted by: dbk
what about the navy and the air force?

some Air Force friends picked that service for the easiest boot camp

 

[Red Squirrel]

You'll probably want to do pushups super easily. Do one thing wrong and you have to do 10 pushups. A thing wrong can be a simple rock in your shoe, or not standing straight.

 

[Proprioceptive]

Originally posted by: zzuupp

Originally posted by: dbk
what about the navy and the air force?

some Air Force friends picked that service for the easiest boot camp

I did my AIT at Sheppard Air Force Base. Whenever we asked the airmen what their basic was like, they almost universally described it as doing laundry and marching. They have one week of training comparable to what the Army does for 9 weeks (10 weeks now). They're hella good at marching, though.... go figure.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

I do not want to hijack this thread, but since we seem to have posters from the military here that be able to help with the following question.

Would it make sense for a college graduate to join the military? I am in the middle of school but wondered if it would be a good idea to do something interesting before starting a potential life of cubicle slavery. Maybe the chair force?

 

[dbk]

Originally posted by: PieIsAwesome
I do not want to hijack this thread, but since we seem to have posters from the military here that be able to help with the following question.

Would it make sense for a college graduate to join the military? I am in the middle of school but wondered if it would be a good idea to do something interesting before starting a potential life of cubicle slavery. Maybe the chair force?

i think you're eligible to go straight to officer training which pays more but you're also put in a position to lead/manage.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Proprioceptive
I'm sorry... to be clear, this will be your requirement by the time you GRADUATE. All you need to do is 11 pushups and 17 situps... and be able to run 1 mile under 8:30.

I'm almost 40 and can do that and more with the flu. Can't say how applicable it is to service unless you're special forces but that seems rather a low bar. Why even have a PT test?

 

[Proprioceptive]

With a college degree you can enlist under MOS 09S. This essentially means you're enlisting as an officer candidate. The real money is in the officer ranks anyways. But then again, way too many factors to answer so quickly. Heck, you can even join ROTC half way through college... you just have to go to LTC to make up for the the first two years missed. Like I said, SO many different factors here. PM me your e-mail addy or whatever with more questions if you're really serious about this.

 

[Proprioceptive]

PT tests are honestly just there to test your physical stamina and abilities. It's a good way to make sure soldiers are staying in shape. You can't receive promotions if you can't pass your PT test, among other consequences. Yes, I think it is a bit low for the Army, but standards have lowered under the idea the "The Army is training smarter soldiers now"... which I think is true in some ways, but a poor excuse to lower standards.