I know this might be a stupid question but.....?

Question

I don't know how to swim at all & i'm afraid of water cause of that.I also have a fear of heights.But I'm gonna have to take care of the swimming part before I go to basic right?? Say I aslo maybe wanted to go to Ranger school after word, yea I know tough ( and I'm emtionally fragile at times). I thought Ranger school would help me toughen up and get over my fear of heights do you think thats possible??

... I'm not an emotional wreck. Idk if emotionally fragile was the right word. I'm shy and soft-spoken. And if I get yelled at a lot or criticized sometimes I get sad. basically I meant its easy for me to get sad to a certain extent.

I doubt counsouling will help me get over my 2 fears. I know the only way that I will be able to do it is to face them. I just have to gather up my courage.

I'm not looking to be babied. I'm an JROTC cadet yet I've never gotten yelled at before because I'm the "good cadet". But I have been punished along with my squad, for other people's behavior.

Answer 1

Yes.

You are going to be taught to look fear in the eye.

Once you see that you can still do things - even while being scared, it will give you more confidence than you've ever known.

Best wishes.

Answer 2

Some one said you did not need to know how to swim in the Army. When I went to boot camp at Ft. Dix, NJ, (a long time ago) we had to "drown proof". Jump in the water with ruck sack, combat load bearing equipment and weapon. We had to hold the weapon and float for 10 min. Then we could take off the ruck and tread water for another 10. Then we ccould use our pants for a life jacket and tread for aonther 30 min. BUT NEVER DROP THAT WEAPON.

I too have a fear of heights...but I loved rapelling...I even taught it to ROTC Cadets. It is a rush, given my fear. You can do it. Get over the easily hurt feelings, start working out...everything else can be taught.

If you want to be a Ranger, you better reach down and grab some sack...it is HARD.

But if you want to, GO FOR IT. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. You can if you want to.

Answer 3

If you get sad because you get yelled at you will NOT make it through any part of the army especially Ranger school. That's a seriously tough school and they are NOT going to care if you get sad and get your feelings hurt. Honestly just go get swimming lessons, maybe go do some tandem sky diving and get over your fears that way.

Answer 4

For Army basic it doesn't matter if you know how to swim or not. I have a battle buddy who cant even float to save his life. He's been in 8 years now. Ranger school might be different, but I really cant say about that either.
You might want to learn to do some basic swimming just for your own sake, in any case. It would suck if you got deployed to say, Guantanamo Bay, like my friend who couldn't swim and I did, and you couldn't even snorkel or get scuba certified, which is the only thing worth doing in GTMO.

Answer 5

I found the best thing for getting use to heights is to put a ladder up against your house and keep going up and down it until it feels comfortable.When you get this far try walking around on the roof.This will help you before you go infront of anybody to look like a fool.You can do this in your spare time.

Answer 6

ive known people in the army who could not swim, and there is no swimming involved at basic training, but it is a good idea to get acquainted with water, if only for your own sake. you will be faced with heights in basic training, nothing drastic, but it can be scary. i am afraid of heights and i did just fine in basic training, its really not all that bad. however if you cant really handle being yelled at, you get yelled at a LOT in basic training and i do mean a LOT so if you dont think you can handle that i dont recommend joining the army. good luck in whatever you choose

Answer 7

To be honest with you Kazura you sound like the kinda of person that will pee his pants the first time your Drill Sergeant is screaming in your face.

The military will either make you, or break you. if your scared of something yet your litteraly being forced or should I say being "Highly Motivated" by your Drill Sergeant to do it, than you may overcome your phobias, or you might break down into a panic and try and kill your battle buddy the first time they give you a rifle with live rounds and then the Drill Sergeant will get to kill you :) Good Luck!

Answer 8

Go Coast Guard for your first enlistment. Then go Army for your second enlistment. You can change military branches at the end of your enlistment.

Then again, you might like the Coast Guard and make a career of it.

And the Coasties are tough - see the Guardian movie!

Answer 9

Don't know how to swim and a fear of heights? I am going to tackle these two issues separately.

First, the swimming. Swimming is a technical skill that needs to be learned. I don't know if you need to be able to swim in the army boot or not but if you want to succeed in the Corps you need to know how to do it well. I suspect that you will need the skill for Ranger school as well but, not being an army-doggie, I don't know that for certain. My advice, learn to swim BEFORE you go off to boot. You will have plenty of other stresses on your brain without adding "Learn to Swim" to it.

Now fear of heights. I was afraid of heights before boot camp. I'm not talking a phobia here. I didn't go into hysterics if I got too high but it was strong enough that I didn't like to look down from a second story balcony and I would NEVER ride the ferris wheel. By my second time through the O course I realized that my fear of heights had pretty much gone away. Oh, I still didn't like being up high but I found that I was the master of my fear instead of my fear being master of me. It was a valuable lesson. Today, I take my kids of ferris wheels, roller coasters, and on those rock climbing walls. We have a ball. Where I used to be afraid of heights I now enjoy them. Fear is like a schoolyard bully that way. The more you face it the less of a hold it has on you. Boot camp will present you with a situation where you have no choice but to face your fears and I believe that you will find they are not as powerful as you think they are.

A word of caution: The above advice is about fears not phobias. Phobia is a clinically diagnosed irrational fear that is extremely powerful. The vast majority of people who claim to have a phobia are really just scared of something. People with real phobias know the difference and if you ever see someone have a phobic attack you will know the difference too. If you have a phobia seek professional medical help right away. Real phobias are often symptoms of a much greater psychological ailment and should not be taken lightly.

Now about "emotional fragility" I see that the same way I look at phobias and fears. People who are truly "emotionally fragile" would not even consider military service to begin with. I suspect that you just have never been placed in a situation that really challenged you to be assertive. In boot camp you will discover the warrior within you or you will wash out. Either way this is the safest way to find out if you've got what it takes to be a fighter or not. You see in boot camp they are going to yell at you, call you names, threaten you, scare you, and piss you off but they are not going to really hurt you. Every DI is looking out for signs that you are really in danger of hurting yourself or others. If you get to that point they will pull you back in an instant. Yes, boot camp is about breaking you down but it is not about breaking you entirely. The goal is to scrape away all of the preconceived notions and bad habits of a lifetime of easy living that limit your ability and allow your fears to control your actions. They want to get down to the bedrock so they can build from that a foundation of strength and discipline that will not only keep you alive when you are in real danger but which will help you to adapt and overcome any obstacles you may encounter in your life. Don't worry about being shy. The toughest Marine I ever served with was so shy he couldn't talk to a girl without stuttering. He could also pull your legs off with his bare hands.

Answer 10

Ranger school (and basic training) is too difficult to be a place for you to work through personal issues.

If you cannot swim and are afraid of heights, you may want to reconsider the military. For your own safety.