Question for Military hikers

[yellowsirocco]

Your mind can make you a lot more money than your body. Try for linguist and sharpen your mind while you are there.

SF on a resume gets you to the front of the line, but if you don't have the job skills to back it up then it is worthless.

[bfayer]

I know a lot of people are saying basic/boot is easy, I guess hind sight is a pretty good filter There are a whole lot of people that don't make it through basic/boot, however the majority are either medical because their body is not used strenuous to physical activity and they get overuse injury, or and this is the big one; they don't keep their mouth shut and do what their told, it's that simple.

As long as you don't get any serious injury that will get you DQ at MEPS, the trail will not hurt you.

Here is the deal, if you do what you are told and keep your mouth shut, you will get through training. The DIs/CCs are professionals and their job is to get you through training, and they will do it if you let them. When people say it's mostly mental, they speak the truth. Do situps and pushups every other day on the trail, this will make your life a little easier, but either way as long as you shut up and do exactly what your told, you will make it through training.

[leaftye]

Here is the deal, if you do what you are told and keep your mouth shut, you will get through training. The DIs/CCs are professionals and their job is to get you through training, and they will do it if you let them. When people say it's mostly mental, they speak the truth.

The mental challenge is being able to keep listening even when stressed. Some people get so stressed when getting yelled at that they shut down mentally, and that's a start to getting kicked out. I quickly realized there was no reason to be mad at me, so I knew the yelling was for show and I didn't get stressed out about it. If anything, I found it amusing.

The other challenge was getting enough to eat. A prior thru hiker will probably have a huge advantage in eating lots of food quickly.

[Majortrauma]

If you really want to be a bad ass, go MARSOC. http://www.marsoc.marines.mil/Recrui...sOperator.aspx
You have to complete one 4 yr enlistment first as a Marine and then get screened for MARSOC but until then you get to be a Marine which is great.
As far as hiking the AT doing anything to actually negatively impact your ability to complete basic training/bootcamp I'd say it's a total non-issue.

[coach lou]

A prior thru hiker will probably have a huge advantage in eating lots of food quickly.

Oh yes indeed.........I still eat like I'm in the chow hall.........I'm done before everyone else is done seasoning and laying out their napkin!

[daddytwosticks]

All great advice IMO. I'm just an old fart who went thru basic training (USN 1979-1985) back in the stone age after about 4 semesters of community college. What a joke. I was in better shape before basic than after. Too much starchy food in the mess hall. Maybe things have changed now? Congratulations on choosing to server your county. Thank you. And oh, by the way, everybody knows that Navy Seals are the toughest...no question.

[bfayer]

The mental challenge is being able to keep listening even when stressed. Some people get so stressed when getting yelled at that they shut down mentally, and that's a start to getting kicked out. I quickly realized there was no reason to be mad at me, so I knew the yelling was for show and I didn't get stressed out about it. If anything, I found it amusing.

So true. Basic/Boot Camp is one non stop stress management course. And trust me on this, no matter how silly something may seem, never ever smile, it will not turn out well

[Furlough]

A lot of good advice above. I like you went to Basic after college (28 years ago). I was in better shape and more mature than most of the other folks (primarily kids right out of High School). The physical part was never a challenge. I adopted a shut up and lesson attitude, quickly understood that a lot of BT was geared toward the mental side of getting a bunch of varying indivduals to understand how to conform to the greater good of being on the same team. Easy for me somewhat differnt for the recalcitrant 18 year olds. Given your current schooling and skill sets, ambitions and goals it may be worthwhile to begin your service to the nation by applyng direct to the CIA. Link below. Either way thank you for wanting to serve.

www.cia.gov/careers/index.html

Furlogh

[swjohnsey]

Army Special Forces is the only option to utiilize your language skills. Mostly, folks don't go directly to SF on the enlisted end. If you enlist for a Ranger Battalion you will go to a Ranger battalion unless you flunk out of infantry basic or jump school. How long you stay is up to you.

[Camel2012]

A prior thru hiker will probably have a huge advantage in eating lots of food quickly.

Oh yes indeed.........I still eat like I'm in the chow hall.........I'm done before everyone else is done seasoning and laying out their napkin!

Same here, and when i go eat at my mom's, her husband (Vietnam vet) and i always finish before she's done fixing her plate.

[TheYoungOne]

I am not 100% sure where to post this or how to word this, but I am a few months away from graduating college, and am planning to join the military sometime this fall/winter.

I am playing one last hoorah with a thru-hike that I have yet to determine. My question is will a thru-hike bust my body up and set me up for a rough go in basic and training beyond basic? I am shooting for a Special Forces position in the military, most likely Para-rescue in the Air Force. I am currently working myself into that kind of shape... will hiking for 3-5 months totally crush that?

In my past thru-hikes I have lost significant weight and muscle mass, which wasn't a problem back then, but gearing up for the military weeks after my hike could potentially be a problem? Yes/no?

Any advice? Eat more? Push ups, pull ups, sit ups on the trail? Any information would be greatly appreciated... the fear of hindering my chances of being selected and in great shape for basic is holding me back from committing to a hike.

I wouldn't worry too much about muscle mass/weight loss with a thru hike. Thru hiking should make you lean and light. When I was your age I was like that. 6'2" and anywhere from 160lb to 170lb and I could do push ups and chin ups all day long. Later on I got into bodybuilding and got bulky and even though I could easily lift twice my body weight, doing a large amount of push ups and chin ups actually got difficult.


I think you will be fine, but my only suggestion is to take care of your feet during the thru. Have fun and good luck.

[sfdoc]

I think that a thru hike might bust up your body, it will help develop your patience and sense of humor, if they need improving. Also, SPECIAL FORCES is the ARMY'S GREEN BERETS. Airforce para rescue is one of the SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES (SOF), along with the SEALS, RANGERS, etc.
sfdoc

[sfdoc]

But maybe not the smartest, since SEAL medics are taught by the GREEN BERETS.

[flemdawg1]

I studied Middle East Studies (emphasis on Arabic) and doubled up with Criminlogy. (My end goal is the CIA)... I am finishing up at the University of Utah. My fear dates back to my Appalachian Thru-Hike where I went from a solid 225 to a stick (a muscular stick, but a stick nonetheless) and I went from being able to dunk a basketball violently to being able to jump about 15 inches after my thru-hike (my quick-twitch muscle was all but dead)

Like many have said... it does come back... but I have a fear I will get into great shape prepping for hitting that top 1% of all the PT junk (push ups, pull ups, sit ups, running, etc) and then after my hike be somewhat emaciated.

I am young... totally get it... maybe I just stress too much.

From all y'all with experience (and I am very grateful for all of you... you advice/services) what would you head into with an end goal of the CIA... I got a 98 on the ASVAB and will be a college graduate with a 4.0 in Arabic. Should I take a linguist route or shoot for some sort of SF? I am open to all opinions, advice, or whatever you got.

Many thanks... this is all very very very helpful!

Cryptography.

[Bill Strebler]

So true. Basic/Boot Camp is one non stop stress management course. And trust me on this, no matter how silly something may seem, never ever smile, it will not turn out well

Especially when an instructor asks, "do you think I'm stupid?"

[Bill Strebler]

Just as "airman" in the Air Force can mean a rank, a flight crew member, an enlisted person or any member of the Air Force, depending on usage, the term "special forces" is used differently in different cases by different U.S. branches as well as foreign military- some of which predate use of the term by the U.S. army. If any clarity is important I suggest use of the phrase "U.S. Army Special Forces" or similar in that case.

I completely missed the bit about being almost done with college. If that is a bachelor's it seem a shame to go into the Air Force as enlisted, but unless things have changed you cannot get a guaranteed job, including an attempt at a job where most students wash out. You might end up pushing a pencil in a warehouse on Guam. Not that there aren't jobs worse than that. I don't know about guaranteed jobs in other branches for officers, but if your degree is a bachelor's it would certainly be worth checking out.

In case it wasn't clear earlier, you can get a marketable job skill, or even more than one, and be a green beret in the end. That will be a much more useful resume than you might end up with going in as an Air Force officer in admin, for instance.

[Sassafras Lass]

After doing a thru-hiker, you will be in great shape and tired for the next couple of months.

Wolf

Did anyone else catch this? LOL My husband and I were cracking up!

[leaftye]

If that is a bachelor's it seem a shame to go into the Air Force as enlisted, but unless things have changed you cannot get a guaranteed job, including an attempt at a job where most students wash out.

From airforce.com regarding enlisting with a guaranteed job.

Yes, but you must remain qualified to retain that reservation. Basically, once you have signed your contract at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) and have sworn into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), you have reserved that job, and the Air Force has taken action to hold that job reservation for you.

http://www.airforce.com/contact-us/f...job-guaranteed

[prain4u]

Here is the deal, if you do what you are told and keep your mouth shut, you will get through training. The DIs/CCs are professionals and their job is to get you through training, and they will do it if you let them. When people say it's mostly mental, they speak the truth. Do situps and pushups every other day on the trail, this will make your life a little easier, but either way as long as you shut up and do exactly what your told, you will make it through training.

The secret to survival in the military:

Be in the Right Place at the Right Time, in the Right Uniform (Doing the Right Thing with the Right Attitude).

[Bill Strebler]

From airforce.com regarding enlisting with a guaranteed job.


http://www.airforce.com/contact-us/f...job-guaranteed

Let me clarify- in the early days of powered flight, electric lights, the wheel and such when I was in the Air Force ENLISTED jobs could be "guaranteed" but not officers' jobs. There has been plenty of time for that horribly annoying policy to have changed, and I hope it has. It still seemed fairly frequent, however, and I hear it still goes on, that someone waits an extended time for a "guaranteed" enlisted job and it is not available, and the person has options presented such as contract change for another job, waiting, or not going in at all. I know this has happened with other branches as well, but the wait for the Air Force seems to be particularly long on average. The enlistment contract is full of fine print that many people don't pay a lot of attention to.

The Air Force careers page on that link appears to be dealing, at least largely, with enlisted-specific information. My point was that with a bachelor's degree it would definitely be worth looking at getting a commission rather than going in as enlisted. I strongly recommend "verifying" information with branch-appropriate recruiters, although some are more knowledgeable- and honest than others. My Air Force recruiter still owes me a steak dinner and was a marine before becoming an Air Force recruiter. My other recruiters seemed more knowledgeable involving their own branches but not others. When dealing with a recruiter, remember Ronald Reagan's words regarding dealing with the Soviet Union- "trust but verify."