Can i enlist in the army at 16?

Question

i am 16 right now but turn 17 before my next summer break when i would have basic can i enlist at 16 since i'll be 17 before basic

Answer 1

Negative Ghost Rider, you can not sign enlistment papers until the day you turn 17.

Answer 2

no you must be 17 or older with a high school diploma to join. good luck  

Answer 3

Short answer? No.

Answer 4

You can't enlist at 16.  Besides, you'll have to get your parent's permission once you turn 17.  You won't be allowed to be Active Duty Army. You'll be limited to either Reserves or National Guard.

If your parents refuse to sign the consent form, then you'll have to wait until you're 18 if you're really serious about joining.  Talk it over with your parents.  You'll basically attend your BCT before your Senior year and your AIT will be right after high school graduation.  If you still want to go Active, you could always enlist in the Reserves or NG and then request release to go Active Duty.

Answer 5

Don't do it, buddy. You'll regret becoming a slave to the army. Once they have you, they OWN you -- brain and all.

Pick up a good history book and read about U.S. military actions. You'll find that the real purpose of the military is to go forth and kill so that America's rich can move in and steal. It's called imperialism.

War is a Racket

By Major General Smedley Butler

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the many.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912.  I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

Answer 6

You have to be 17 and have parents permission to join any branch of the Service.

Answer 7

go to college

Answer 8

No but do some ROTC at your hight school and you can go in as a PFC

Answer 9

18 would be right age

do you really like Bush idea of war killing women and children  

Answer 10

You can enlist when you are 17... but have to be 18 by the time you complete basic training.

Answer 11

Not in the US Army you have to be 17 and have your parents sign off.

Vet-USAF