Joining infantry as an officer or squaddie

MB, some wise words above. If I could open it out to a more general perspective, be assured that anyone who has served in the military (either commissioned or as an OR) will likely have had the same mindset and concerns as you at your age. However,who you are now, is not who you will be in 5/10/50 years time. That journey is called life, and it’s a road of discovery, adventure and learning and fulfilling your potential. But only if you make a few leaps of faith and sometimes step out of your comfort zone. In your case, only you know what you are like and what you are capable of in the future. It’s ok to have butterflies about unfamiliar and novel experiences, but with time you will discover you can do the difficult things which may make you feel uncomfortable at the time. You will also discover what your level is in life, but as a general rule I would always advise youngsters to reach for the stars, as you don’t want to hit retirement and have regrets about your career.

FWIW , I was the archetypal 9 stone weakling at 17 who wouldn’t say boo to a goose. But I really wanted to be an RAF fighter pilot and actually got selected for that at 18. Sadly I got found out at Officer school and was advised to leave and grow up. I could have easily retreated into my shell but instead regrouped and applied to the Met Police to learn about life (and death) in very quick time. Certainly did that, so when I reapplied to the RAF , I was accepted back, but as non commissioned aircrew . There followed 30+ years of fun, tears and professional satisfaction. I ended up at the top of my particular tree and met some amazing people and made lifelong friends along the way. I became very comfortable with instructing and leading and being a subject matter expert, briefing Royalty, Politicians and senior Officers. In the twilight of my current career, I use all the skills and confidence that I’ve gained in life to influence change at high levels across national organisations and Govt departments.

This isn’t to demonstrate how great I am, (I’m definitely not 🤣) but to encourage you to think beyond the next few months and years and imagine what you can achieve with a bit of personal inner strength and resilience .

Go for it buddy and very best of luck.

Ikky

MB, some wise words above. If I could open it out to a more general perspective, be assured that anyone who has served in the military (either commissioned or as an OR) will likely have had the same mindset and concerns as you at your age. However,who you are now, is not who you will be in 5/10/50 years time. That journey is called life, and it’s a road of discovery, adventure and learning and fulfilling your potential. But only if you make a few leaps of faith and sometimes step out of your comfort zone. In your case, only you know what you are like and what you are capable of in the future. It’s ok to have butterflies about unfamiliar and novel experiences, but with time you will discover you can do the difficult things which may make you feel uncomfortable at the time. You will also discover what your level is in life, but as a general rule I would always advise youngsters to reach for the stars, as you don’t want to hit retirement and have regrets about your career.

FWIW , I was the archetypal 9 stone weakling at 17 who wouldn’t say boo to a goose. But I really wanted to be an RAF fighter pilot and actually got selected for that at 18. Sadly I got found out at Officer school and was advised to leave and grow up. I could have easily retreated into my shell but instead regrouped and applied to the Met Police to learn about life (and death) in very quick time. Certainly did that, so when I reapplied to the RAF , I was accepted back, but as non commissioned aircrew . There followed 30+ years of fun, tears and professional satisfaction. I ended up at the top of my particular tree and met some amazing people and made lifelong friends along the way. I became very comfortable with instructing and leading and being a subject matter expert, briefing Royalty, Politicians and senior Officers. In the twilight of my current career, I use all the skills and confidence that I’ve gained in life to influence change at high levels across national organisations and Govt departments.

This isn’t to demonstrate how great I am, (I’m definitely not 🤣) but to encourage you to think beyond the next few months and years and imagine what you can achieve with a bit of personal inner strength and resilience .

Go for it buddy and very best of luck.

Ikky

Thank you for your service.

Thanks Wired, you’re very kind. That phrase is an import from the States and actually makes a lot of military vets cringe, which is symptomatic of our own views and values and the reasons why we became public servants. No one in the military joins for public recognition but to serve the Monarch and the country and to uphold the values of our society and protect our way of life and those of our allies. It’s just as well that vets don’t expect recognition for their service as neither govt nor large corporations display any genuine gratitude (other than trumpeted tick box initiatives) . Most of the media certainly don’t respect the sacrifices that service personnel have made but are more than happy to headline any personal weaknesses and promote the idea of institutional bias and failures, as measured against the prevailing viewpoint.

So, yes, maybe if we did adopt the US attitude towards patriotism and rewarding service to your country through very visible and meaningful gestures and words , then perhaps we would regain some pride in our public servants and that would encourage recruitment and retention.

I ain’t holding my breath 🤣