So this is a difficult one for me to answer as i joined when i was in my late 20s, and as an Officer, where you couldn't join until you were 18. But ill give it a go...

Overall perceived difficulty when joining the Army is different for everyone. Some people find following a routine hard and some dont, some people find PT hard and some dont, some find being away from their family hard and some dont. Your Army experience is entirely a personal one. Everyone finds at least one thing that becomes their "Everest" to climb. An issue that is very hard and seems insurmountable but you get through it with the help of your friends and training staff. For me it was my first weapon handling test on the Challenger Main Battle Tank. It is a long test and there was a lot of detail to remember and unlike a driving test there are no minor problems that you can scrape through with. There was no way that prior experience could help me with it and If I got something wrong i would fail and have to start again. But with the help of my Gunnery Instructor we got through it and i have been friends with him ever since for helping me through it.

Alongside each persons "Everest" everyone often has low periods where you question why you joined. For me, these would come when things got challenging but not in a task based way, usually when i was cold, wet and exhausted and still had a long exercise ahead of me. It was at these points i focussed on my reasons for joining and not letting down my tank crew, this enabled me to dig deep and get through. I also didn't want to be the guy who went home having to explain to everyone that i hadn't completed training for some ridiculous reason that was within my control and easy to overcome. There is a behaviour that soldiers often develop when things get hard and thats to see the funny side of it and get on with the task at hand.

There are also other challenges, especially when you are younger. The Army is a big change in lifestyle most have not experienced. Having people tell you what to do at the start can be challenging. Likewise the values and standards we hold ourselves to can be hard to maintain when out with civilian friends who might not hold themselves to such a code.

The Army is really good at helping those who find things hard, both physically, where they give you ample PT and training and also mentally where there is mental resilience training to help you become mentally stronger.

https://youtu.be/LCzTUw2KJMM?feature=shared is a good video giving a very rough overview of what mental resilience training in the Army is. This training has been going for 11 years and is always improving and changing to meet the needs of our soldiers.

I hope this helps. Just remember sometimes the thought of doing something is worse than actually doing it.

09 September, 2024 08:14