Joining the Army at 16

[mistergixer]

My stepson (currently 15) has decided he wants to leave school as soon as he is 16 and join the army*.

I kind of thought that this was either a) no longer allowed, or b) generally 'frowned' upon by the MOD, as they prefer someone with a bit more maturity etc.

I may have just dreamt the above, but I know there's quite a few military types on here who may be able to advise me a little better.



*Personally, I see him lasting exactly 5 minutes in the military. He's a lazy sod with a massive chip on his shoulder. Might do him some good, but I think he'd either leave or be kicked out very quickly.
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[smegballs]

IIRC there are "army foundation colleges" where you can join up from 16 years and 9 months. Pretty sure you have to have completed secondary school first though. You go to one of these AFC's until you are 18 or so when you go to your first regiment.

As I remember it (been fucking years since I looked at this stuff, so may well have changed by now) the education at the AFC's was pretty basic: key skills this and key skills that etc etc, the sort of thing for the kids who left secondary school with a string of sub-C grades.....


May be completely wrong on all this though so feel free for someone else to come and correct me.

[Pie-Roe]

I know a guy who sort of ran away from being bullied at school to the army at 16/17. He was a wussy sort of chap, lazy and boring.He did 2 tours of Afghanistan and currently is earning a fair amount as a comms officer. Got a nice house, paid most of it off. He's 22 same as me, so maybe it'll work out for your stepson in the same way.

Maybe you could help him by getting him to try and learn a trade so when he's out he has something to do? I hear people do engineering/building/sparks/chef stuff in the forces. I have a friend who is doing an engineering degree whilst being a submariner, again earning good money.
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[MarJay]

A mate of mine from school joined the RAF at 16. I think nowadays you can't be sent into a war zone until you're 17 and a half, so it could be that they can't be arsed to recruit soldiers who can't do anything for a year after completing their training.

My advice is... Don't do it. My mate wasn't the same afterwards, and actually ended up resenting and then hating it. This seems to be a common theme with the forces especially if you join at a relatively early age. Also bear in mind that the RAF is considered a soft option compared to the Navy, and the Navy is considered a soft option compared to the Army.

The best person to speak to on here (that I can think of) is probably Goose. He'll soon put him off doing it.
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[GhostRider]

...I thought they were cutting the army down, so would probably be more selective of those they do take on than the usual "do you have legs? Great, quick march to Operation Human Shield".

GhostRider
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[DrDonnyBrago]

[Derivative]

[Benno]

Tell him to join the TA instead, that way he stays at school but can still do the army stuff. He'll quickly realise its worse than school for being bossed around etc. But on top of that he can show off his uniform to his schoolmates and it will improve his self-esteem a bit.

A lot of ex-soldiers have problems with having no transferable skills - they know how to use a rifle and take an enemy position as a section/platoon, but no skills useful in the civilian job market. As a 16 year old he won't realise the importance of this.
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[bazza]

[Derivative]

My view is really that the army just doesn't pay enough.

I'd compare it to say, offshore rig work. Except with higher casualty rates. And you might be away for longer. And you'll earn less. And it ends rather abruptly once you're too old (then again, this is probably true of offshore - anyone care to chime in on that)?

As far as I can see the only reason to join would be to get to play with cool toys.

[smegballs]

Whats the deal with army food and accommodation these days? Is it still comparatively cheap?

A plan I've entertained before is joining the army for 5 years, taking advantage of the cheap food/rent and basically only spending the bare bare minimum possible. Leave after 5 years with a considerable cash lump sum built up, proceed to buy house in europe outright or have deposit for uk house.

https://i.imgur.com/oJp8Zzv.png

Looking at that a private earns 17.6k!! Coming from cornwall, where the average wage is about 12k, the idea that someone could have fuck all in the way of qualifications and walk right into 17.6k is pretty good.

Or to look at it another way, I live pretty well on about 7.6k a year, if I continued my current standard of living, I could put 10k a year in the bank for 5 years, even assuming I stayed on private grade one.

[Tungtvann]

[oldpink]

I joined the Marines 1 month before my 16th Birthday
if it helps they can't be in a combat zone till they are 18 and we should be out of Afghanistan by then
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[BTTD]

Sister in laws husband joined up when he was young with almost no qualifications and was on £22k when he was 19, posted in Germany in barracks with very little in the way of living costs. Being young he saved f'all but had a great time.
He didn't enjoy Iraq so much, or the subsequent investigations into other unit members actions. From what I understand he wasn't directly involved in whatever the hell happened, but he knows what did happen, and even after being out for 5 years he was still being asked to attend interviews. That wasn't really helping him get over the PTSD.

Anyway, he came out quite a few years ago and trained as a brick layer. Hates it.

[Pete.]

[clancy]

2 friends of mine joined the marines at 17, the took a year out after school to get fit etc, don't think there was any age related issues
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[drzsta]

Just for the prestige I would never bother with the army. Put the effort into your PT and attempt selection for RM then see if you last 32 weeks at Lympstone.

Sure you could do the AACC when in the army but it just isn't the same.

[unitynotsocri...]

if he joins then get him to have a CAREER PATH......skills,transferable skills.......DON'T join as a plain brown job/mud/trench dweller /obedient killer.......get a trade as this will greatly aid him if he leaves the army and returns to 'civvy st'..........not just for work,but socially/mentally................instead of just being some onetime lager drinking mastubating porn loving thug who got ptsd'd in some false capitalist theatrical war......who's only option is to tank up on seroxat and join the police.............he could lead a normal life.....but beware......soldiers are for shooting at........common behaviour all over the world.....many die.
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[Teflon-Mike]

As I understand it; you can sign-up for regular army from 17 1/3 yrs old. Been like that as long as I can remember, as in going back as far as my O-Level options 'careers' conventions when the mil-mob handed out brochures from behind desks in the school gym!

Catch is, you sign up for I think its a 6-Year contract, which you cant get out of before 3 years, and then only by 'buy out' (or court marshall!)

If UNDER 17 1/2, you sign up for 'Army Aprentice'... they cant stick you in a combat zone until you are 18, and you only sign up for a 3-year contract, which you can opt out of after just 18 months, I believe.

Meanwhile; signing up for Regular-Army.... liklihood is that after basic training, unless you have shown some special aptitude... you get sent to infantry unit as cannon fodder.

Army Apprenticeship; is trade skill based; so you get to play with cool togs and do an HND in something useful... like cooking... or computers, or motor-vehicle maintenence... and IF you keep your nose to the grind-stone and remember your yes,sir, no sir, they are apparently quite keen to get you to renew or exchange your contract as an aprentice, to regular army, at each of the mile-stones; like your 18 months or end of term; so 'alledgedly' they are a bit nanny-like to the aprentices, and send them on lots of jollies and stuff, and wave the bigger pay-packets the regulars get under thier noses, to snag them for a 'six' term.

Ie: Signing up at 16, for Army Aprentice, has a LOT of advantages over signing up at 17 1/2 for Regulars.

Bumped into a couple of Nephews of an old School Freind a year or so back; Both went forces at 16; one's a petrol head, and did his apprenticeship in REME Motor-Pool as a motor-vehicle fitter; Had to do his recovery courses to go out and drag back broken down trucks, his HGV licence to drive trucks, and even more for over-sized loads, so he can transport buggered tanks... and drive them!

His 'six' came up a year or so back; and with all the groups on his licence as well as his time served as a mechanic, Careers officer, sending him for job interviews as part of his 'easement into civvy street' was offering him everything and anything in the transport industry; and at supervisory or manager level.... 28 years old.

His Cousin, went into the Marines; rather into sailing and has his 'Masters Ticket'(?) I barely know the bow from the bilge on a boat; but again, he had a load of qualifications that were transferable into civvy street; but he loved sailing the big sail-boats, and aparently on the Marine's team, was posting pics from his phone to Face-Book of him hob-knobbing with the Play-boys at Cows Regatta, all on expenses last three years, and a couple of other sailing events!

You never know.... in the forces lad MIGHT just find some enthusiasm for something and with a service size ten up his arse... run with it! Or they'll kick him out at the end of boot-camp!
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[metalangel]

[Tungtvann]

Just a point though, if you join up before 18, you can leave at any time before your 18th birthday (with parents' permission I think). But once you hit 18, THEN your minimum service starts. So in effect, if you join up at 16, reach 18 without discharging, you won't be able to leave until you've served almost 6.5 years.

[Kradmelder]

The problem of doing it is that at 16 he will not have finished school. If he gets out of the army with incomplete schooling, what then? Would you like to supersize that?

It is very difficult to go back to school later.

In effect what he is doing is locking himself along a certain path. What if he doesn't like it?

Benno's idea of TA has the most flexibility to decide what he really wants after finishing this rebellion phase
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[MarJay]

[Kradmelder]

[Tungtvann]

Your final exams (GCSE) are completed aged 15/16 and then you can leave school. Beyond that is A-Levels (16-18). You're comparing leaving school at the earliest age in SA with leaving school before finishing GCSEs here.