How in fit do you have to be to join the army?

Question

I am thinking of joining the military. I am 5 feet and need to loose a lot of weight but I know arabic it is my second language and I wanna do something with my life without feeling useless something that will help make me strong and independant and not so un happy all the time. I feel like the army can do that for me but I don't know what to do to get qualifed to get in. I am 21 and I am an American a very proud one.

How do I get in touch with a recruiter?

Answer 1

The best thing to do is to talk to a recruiter.As far as being "in shape" the main thing they look at (to get in) will be your body fat as opposed to weight. They will do a tape test to determine your body fat, your recruiter can do that right in his office.Your recruiter can also tell you exactly how much weight/body fat you need to lose and the best way to do it. The best way to lose the fat is through cardio exercise( walking,running,stationary bike,etc...). I do suggest finding out what your minimum APFT standards are and make sure you are able to meet them(or at least get close to meeting them)before you head off to basic,it will make basic training alot easier. the following website has all the information you need to join any of the services.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/Joining_the_United_States_Military.htm

Just look in the yellow pages under Recruiters-Armed Forces, it should have a list of all branches of service, you can also go to www.goarmy.com and click on the link "Locate a Recruiter" on the right side, type in your zip code and it will give you the phone number and address of the local Army Recruiter.

Answer 2

lots of stamina is thekey. so if u smoke - quit already. drinking won't help you bring the most out of your body, strength and suppleness wise. cut it down. Push-ups, do as many as you can and as many sets as you can. You can only enjoy doing them if you don't weight a tonne, hence I advise you to go on early morning jogs and maybe join a gym if u cant. work the midsection, tone it a bit. if u do push ups regularly you'll strengthen your shoulder and bicep muscles as well as your forearms. When you can start lifting your own body weight off the ground 30+ times, invest in some dumbells. The idea is, to get the weight which makes you feel a burn when u pumping the iron. if u find yourself lifting the bell 20-30 times, its WAY too light. if u find that you're struggling to lift it more than 4 or 5 times properly, its way too heavy. if u find yourself managing say, between 12-18 lifts on each arm, its prob just right. Form is key - so do them properly (good posture, no swinging of the upper arm, try to maintain a perfect L shape and make the lower arm LIFT the weight up to shoulder level and SLOWLY lower it down again. if u feel the BICEP burn, thats good - youre doing it right. but to really get the most out of doing pushups and weights, do some cardio. cardio will keep you fit. weights will strengthen and bulk your muscles. once u do that for a few months, maybe a year - and join the aermy, you'll feel confident and ready to attempt their exercises.

Answer 3

I don't believe you make the height requirements, that can be waved in certain circumstanses Your second language is a big plus. Your weight is against you too. A high school deploma, or GED, is required I don't believe that can be waived, but it's not hard to get the GED before you apply. Do you have any concept of the military life?
You start in basic training, this is no picnic. It prepares you for the rest of your time and training. You may pick a field you are interested in before you go, but may end up doing something totaly different than what you expect. The physical training is tough but if your in half decent shape other than a bunch of sore muscles you'll do okay. Before you ever go you have to ask yourself a couple things. Can you take orders without getting mad or tearing up even in front of a whole batallion and having it screamed at you? Could you take an order to do something even if you think it is wrong, but be able to do it and give it the best you can? Could you look into the face of the enemy and kill them to protect yourself and the other members of your unit? Even if that face looks kind, or scared? Are you prepared to be in an area in active combat?
you may pick a job to learn and think, "Oh I'll never be in danger doing that kind of work. Wrong! Say like working in supplies. Who do you think takes the supplies to the front lines? Machine repair, they break down on the front lines too. Communations, got to have the orders given and taken and reports of movements of the enemy. They don't get all that info from a base.
Now the good stuff, you'll learn about yourself and know yourself better than your friends back home will ever know themselves. You will be able to think fast and solve problems almost as fast as they occur. You will learn to be totally self sufficient and yet work so close with others you'll be like one person. You'll have self respect, and learn respect of others. You'll have pride in yourself, and have pride when your unit does well. You will develop friendships that last a lifetime.
You'll have days you think are and might be the worst days of your life, but in the service the next day may be your best. When you do come home you are prepared to take on any job, the reason being is you know what it takes to get a job done. I know, I was in the Army, it was the best thing I ever did for myself and had my health held up they would have had to run me off at retirement age. before you decide you can call a recruiter and talk to them about height requirements, weight, and the deploma? DONT let them talk you into signing anything. NOTHING, just don't do it. Once you get the information you should really think things through. Once you've signed those papers there's no changing the mind. You don't go when they say go, they will come take you into custody because your AWOL (Away With Out Leave). Remember once you sign on the line you belong to the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force which ever you sign up with. If the Army doesn't have the schooling or training in the field your interested you can check with the other branch's because not all, teach the same things. It's easy to get in, much harder to get out. Do your research first, and be prepared they will do every thing but stand on their heads to get you to sign. I think I know a couple recruiters that would stand on their heads if they thought it would help.

Answer 4

You have to be in decent shape to join the military, but you need to be in really good shape to join the Marines. The Army isn't that bad. Have you considered the Air Force? I could give you hundreds of reasons to wear Air Force blue over any other color, but I'll sum it up with the words I've heard countless times from my colleagues in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard: "Man, I wish I had joined the Air Force!"

I strongly encourage you to talk to an Air Force recruiter.

Answer 5

You do have to be in reasonably good shape, though you don't have to be Mr Muscle. The Army takes care of the training - and you will sweat. Perhaps you can visit a recruiting station near you and have a chat with them. Best of luck.

Answer 6

Basically you just have to meet the entry height and weight requirements to get in, once you to to basic they will get you in shape, dont worry about that, it will be easier if you go in a little bit in shape, at least be able to run a mile or two. You should definitely give a recruiter a call and tell them you speak arabic and want to join (tell them you want to be a linguist).

Answer 7

The army will get you in shape believe me. Just go see a recruiter he will let you know what to do.

Answer 8

As long as you meet height and weight standards and pass your initial fitness test before you go to basic training, you will not have any problems with training.

3 push-ups females/13 for males in one minute
17 situps in one minute
8:30 minutes males/10:30 minutes for females one mile

US Army 15 years
OIF 2003

Answer 9

You've asked multiple questions, but I'll answer the fitness part of your question.

PLEASE run and do lots of push-ups before you show up to basic training. The more fit you are, the better you will 'enjoy' your weeks in 'basic', because they won't be able to wear you down physically.