College may not be for everyone; joining the Army presents other post-high school opportunities for seniors.
There is a lot to consider when wanting to join the Army. Benefits include serving one’s country, financial aid, scholarship opportunities, earning college credits and degrees, as well as veteran benefits, G.I. Bill.
Some who chose to enlist in the Army are passionate about the thrill of being a part of the Army. Some people join because their family has been in the Army for generations. In other cases, they might go to the Army for financial support.
There is also a physical aspect of wanting to join the Army. As one of the steps of being enlisted, one needs to pass the physical exam, so a new recruit also needs to be physically fit.
“When we talk to a recruiter, a lot of times they say if someone’s interested in enlisting, [they should] start running. Meaning, start physically running and getting in shape. And then also start studying for the ASVAB,” said school counselor and military liaison James Del Giudice.
The requirements to enlist are to be a minimum of 17 years old, be medically and physically fit, be a legal permanent resident, have a high school diploma and earn a minimum score on the Army’s entrance exam covering ten different subject areas, according to the US Army’s website, goarmy.com.
“[The entrance exam called ASVAB] is a standardized test that assesses aptitude for military service and stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. The different branches and the different jobs within the branches have different ASVAB score requirements,” said Guidice.
With being in the Army there is also an emphasis on the importance of being diligent, focused and resilient.
“I think enlisting teaches important life values […] but it would be hard for [recruits], they would be under a lot of pressure and probably have a strong mindset,” said freshman Gianna T.
A recruit needs to be mentally and physically tough when faced with stress. Being in the Army can strengthen one’s mental health as it puts a recruit in stressful situations which allows recruits to use one’s mind to think of solutions fast.
“It would help you in so many ways, such as financially and meeting new people, but also mentally it could have a big toll on people,” said freshman Isabella C.
With making any life-path decision there are always pros and cons, one must see if the pros outweigh the cons.◼️
For more information about becoming a recruit, go to goarmy.com
