Joining US Army at 17...?

Question

Basically, I was only wondering am I going to be ok socially at basic and ait? I know it is about re building myself as a person and just concentrating on being a soldier but will I make friends if I am this young? It may sound silly but I'm not very good at getting through any situation if im alienated, and I make sure i also alienate no one. thanks.

Answer 1

Most people at Basic Combat Training and AIT are going to be in your age group.  The average trainee at BCT is 18 years old.

That being said, for at least a couple of weeks during BCT, your Drill Sargents are going to try to turn everyone against everyone else, so you will have to endure alienation (at the same time as you are enduring physical exhaustion and psychological distress).  It's part of the process of turning you from a civilian into a Soldier, and chances are good that after BCT, alienation won't bother you too much any more.

Good luck!  Remember, it's just a mind game.

Answer 2

You won't be alienated. You have to work as a team in the military no matter what branch you're in. If you fail to work as a team nothing will get completed and failure will occur. When you're in the military you're in a family environment, and that is especially true for basic and AIT since you're in tight group of people.

Answer 3

I came in at 17. That was almost 12 years ago and I'm still doing this. So it's not that bad.

Answer 4

Dont Worry you will be able to find friends easy because you share a common goal in Basic and AIT you meet people from all walks of life. DOnt worry about being 17, I went in at that age, now it has been 7 years.Plus you see that its people there much older than you but lacks maturity. But Alll in All, You Will be fine. Good Luck

Answer 5

You'll be ok socially at basic and ait.  Mainly because you won't get much privacy.  You'll be surrounded by your battle buddies all day long.  You'll make friends really fast.  Trust me.