Military intimidation?

Question

i am a female signing up for the Air Force but i have what one would call a ridiculous problem....i am intimidated by my male counterparts. Can anyone tell me how to overcome this immature feeling? when i talk to them i look down automatically. i hate how i do that without thinking. please give some advice.

Answer 1

You just have to take control over your feelings. She can feel intimidated but you can't act it. It is kind of like the lion in Wizard of Oz. He was not a coward but courageous in the face of fear. The military training will help you. Good luck

Answer 2

Don't mean to sound overly dramatic, but this sounds like a "habit" that may occur in any work or social circumstance -- not unique to a particular place or people. If you don't think there's some deep, hidden cause for this and you don't think professional help is needed, make a conscious effort to keep eye contact w/anyone you're talking to. Obviously, you are aware of the problem, so make a conscious effort to keep eye contact. Maybe that will become your new habit -- over time. It's easier to hold eye contact when you are certain of what you are saying, i.e., confident. Speak when you know something, quiet when you don't.  Good luck.  

Answer 3

I know exactly how you feel, except maybe even worse. You see, My Pa always put me down ever since i was a kid, so my self esteem was always quite low. When ever I talked to most men And women, i felt intimidated. BUT, after spending my Time with people that cared for me and wanted me to do better, I gained confidence, and little by little, actually, no, I gained leaps of confidence, and now I can talk to Most people. I'm not fully confident yet, but I'm working at it. So basically what you have do to, is find a group of people that want you to succeed, and have fun with them! go out and do a lot of activities. THese type of people help you interact more. In your case, men. For me, I started going to church, and joined the youth group, and boy did I have a Lot of FUn. and now, I'm so much better than I was! :)

Answer 4

You're a boot when you join and your enlisted superiors will mess with you no matter the gender. Joining the military is like joining a frat in terms of the hazing in the beginning. The difference is that this hazing has a reason. If you can't operate under a bit of stress in a peace time environment then you surely won't be able to do anything in a combat zone. Additionally you may find yourself a large amount of tasks that you would consider below you while your seniors delegate the tasks. This also has a purpose of learning how to follow orders prior to issuing them. Example: if you can't clean your own room then you'll be worthless at conducting room inspections.

Bottom line is don't take any of this personally. Once everyone realizes that you are there to work and want to learn then your situation will improve.

Answer 5

Don't sign up!  You won't find trouble in the Air Force (or any other branch of the Armed Forces), it will find you!  The Armed Forces is a male dominated environmentt and if you are a woman serving in the U.S. military you have to be strong willed and indepenant, able to stand up for yourself and prove on a daily basis that you are just as capable as any male in the ranks.  If you do not believe you're capable of running with the pack, then you should steer clear of serving in the military or you'll be steamrolled right into the ground before you're aware of whats going on....

Answer 6

You need to find the strength, basic training serves three purposes...first it weeds out people who can't cut the mustard. Second to knock you down and build you and your self esteem. Third is to teach you the basics about that particular branch of the military.

Nothing they say or do to you is personal it has it's purpose and it's a tried and true system. In other words it's been used on hundreds of thousands before you...

Strength comes from within - don't sell yourself short - you can do whatever you put your mind to... take the time to do it - don't give up before you try - you can't hide from this problem - attack it head-on.

Answer 7

OH join  I know you will get over it... Rmember what they dois not personnal... you will learn to get over it.