Hello,
I've been thinking about joining the army recently. I've thought about it before when I was younger, but everybody discouraged me about it.
Thing is, I don't know anyone in the army, so that's why I'm asking you guys (and gals) so I can have the correct picture before enlisting.
Being a 29 years old woman, 5'3'' and 120lbs, I have certain questions:
1) I'm looking into construction officer or logistic officer (I'm a civil/industrial engineer already, and could qualify for both). Considering my physique, is it realistic that I could do the job? I'm all for equal opportunity, but only if you have the physical strength for it, which as you can gather, is not necessarily my forte... I've already ruled out infantry because of that (I don't want to waste my time or anybody else pretending I can lift 120lbs pieces to build a bridge while I probably can't, I haven't tried it though). Or is there another trade that would be better considering my physique and my background?
2) Honestly, what is the situation for women in the army? Feedback I get is kinda mixed: sexual harassment, discrimination, sexual abuse and even rape on one side, and ok, equal opportunity, good professional relationships on the other side. Really, what is it? The truth here please, no sugar-coated answers, even if their harsh. Ask yourselves: would I recommend the army to my daughter/wive knowing what they're going to go through?
I had conflicting feedback from a teacher who was in the army a couples years back: He recommended enlisting, but when I asked if he would recommend it to his 13 years old daughter, he hesitated big time... Hence my question.
3) Being 29 years old, it's probably not a good idea to wait until I'm forty to have kids. However, I've been told it's still very frowned upon to get pregnant in the army, that's it's preferable to enroll when you're 20 and leave after 5-10 years to have kids. If you have kids while being in the army, you get put on a shelf and passed by for promotions, so you end up leaving. What's the current situation about that? Any examples of officers in a situation similar to my own?
4) When you're assigned to a base, are your preferences really taken into account, or is it complete bullshit, they assign you wherever the hell they want 99.8% of the time? I understand they assign you where they need it, but if it's always not where you asked, you must get pretty annoyed after a couple of times! I'm asking because my husband will not be able to follow me across the country all the time.
Thanks!
I've been thinking about joining the army recently. I've thought about it before when I was younger, but everybody discouraged me about it.
Thing is, I don't know anyone in the army, so that's why I'm asking you guys (and gals) so I can have the correct picture before enlisting.
Being a 29 years old woman, 5'3'' and 120lbs, I have certain questions:
1) I'm looking into construction officer or logistic officer (I'm a civil/industrial engineer already, and could qualify for both). Considering my physique, is it realistic that I could do the job? I'm all for equal opportunity, but only if you have the physical strength for it, which as you can gather, is not necessarily my forte... I've already ruled out infantry because of that (I don't want to waste my time or anybody else pretending I can lift 120lbs pieces to build a bridge while I probably can't, I haven't tried it though). Or is there another trade that would be better considering my physique and my background?
2) Honestly, what is the situation for women in the army? Feedback I get is kinda mixed: sexual harassment, discrimination, sexual abuse and even rape on one side, and ok, equal opportunity, good professional relationships on the other side. Really, what is it? The truth here please, no sugar-coated answers, even if their harsh. Ask yourselves: would I recommend the army to my daughter/wive knowing what they're going to go through?
I had conflicting feedback from a teacher who was in the army a couples years back: He recommended enlisting, but when I asked if he would recommend it to his 13 years old daughter, he hesitated big time... Hence my question.
3) Being 29 years old, it's probably not a good idea to wait until I'm forty to have kids. However, I've been told it's still very frowned upon to get pregnant in the army, that's it's preferable to enroll when you're 20 and leave after 5-10 years to have kids. If you have kids while being in the army, you get put on a shelf and passed by for promotions, so you end up leaving. What's the current situation about that? Any examples of officers in a situation similar to my own?
4) When you're assigned to a base, are your preferences really taken into account, or is it complete bullshit, they assign you wherever the hell they want 99.8% of the time? I understand they assign you where they need it, but if it's always not where you asked, you must get pretty annoyed after a couple of times! I'm asking because my husband will not be able to follow me across the country all the time.
Thanks!