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Alrite eveyone, if you don't mind I would like to ask a few questions and would greatly appreciate it if someone could provide some answers.

First of all I have always had an interest in joining the forces since an early age, the reason I have chosen to attempt the marines is well.....it's fairly obvious .

Anyways after leaving school I enrolled on a construction course at college, which was one of the other career paths I would like to take. My original plan was to get an apprenticeship in my chosen trade, serve my time, then try and join the marines. So if I decided to leave the marines or got bored at some point (unliklely), I would have something to fall back on in civvy street.

Getting an apprenticeship now is easier said than done, and is proving increasingly difficult. I have sent out many CV's and letters to loads of companys in the yellow pages with no success. As a result of this, I have decided to keep on hunting for an apprenticeship but in the meantime start training in preparation for a PRMC.

So today I looked out all the info I had been given at my local AFCO on the marines, and bought a pair of running shoes, and have decided to start training in preparation for a PRMC as of tommorrow. Now back to the questions I was going to ask. By the way I'm 16.

I would also like to add that I have thought for a long time about joining the marines and have discussed it with family and friends and they are all for it.

1. If I was accepted and completed RT, what would I be doing?

2. Is there many other 16 year olds who have completed RT?

3. Can anyone provide me with a training program that has worked for them personally? There is so many out there and I'm not too sure which one to choose.

4. How long should I train for roughly before handing in my application form?

5. How difficult is it finding a job on civvy street after being in the marines (In your opinion)?

6. Does anyone know (or have any experiance of) doing a trade (construction) in the marines? If so is that training suitable for getting a job on civvy street?

7. Does anyone know if you can do thai boxing or kickboxing in the marines?

Thanks in advance

Bydand

Alright mate, well my view on it is....
Carry on trying to get a trade behind you. It will allow you to experience a bit of the adult world and toughen you up a bit, although its not to the same degree as the marines but building sites can be a bit of a dauting place especially when you have a 18 stone irish man screaming at you telling you what a useless little twat you are.
Secondly depending on what trade you are looking for it will allow you to hone certain skills that will come in handy with in the marines ie problem solving and thinking for yourself.
Thirdly you will always have a trade to fall back on that you will always have at your despence no matter what. If you was to leave the marines at thirty with nothing behind you could struggle to get a well paid job.

Paul

Oxford

Welcome to the board mate, im just a wannabee but ill do my best to answer your questions.




1. If I was accepted and completed RT, what would I be doing?

Once you have passed RT 9/10 you will be drafted into General Duties.
If the Corps needs new blood for a particular specialisation you will go there if deemed fit for the role.

2. Is there many other 16 year olds who have completed RT?

Quite a few lads your age have passed RT but many find it hard.

3. Can anyone provide me with a training program that has worked for them personally? There is so many out there and I'm not too sure which one to choose.

MFAT is full of training programmes a quick search will pull up more than you could possibly use.
The AFCO will have issued you a "green bible" PRMC fitness schedule, start with that.

4. How long should I train for roughly before handing in my application form?

If you are confident that your fitness is up to scratch then start the process, you are the only one that knows if you are.

5. How difficult is it finding a job on civvy street after being in the marines (In your opinion)?

N/A

6. Does anyone know (or have any experiance of) doing a trade (construction) in the marines? If so is that training suitable for getting a job on civvy street?

You are given the opportunity to do courses that will give you civilian qualifications NVQ etc, as far as trades are concerned I dont believe construction will be an option. At best guess id say that Drivers and Vehicle Mechanics have the most transferable skills.

7. Does anyone know if you can do thai boxing or kickboxing in the marines?

You can do what you like on your own time, the Marines will teach you Close Quarter Combat skills.


I hope that helps a bit, hopefully someone will be able to better answer your questions about trades etc.

My two pence, get a trade behind you then apply, I wish I had.

Good on ya, I'm 16 and im going for RM and i'm gonna start applying in june after my A/S exams so good luck to you!

Hi,
im also 16 and wishing to join the RM,
how ever i must stress. DO NOT OVERTRAIN at this young age or this may lead into major problems that can set you back from life, I know, i have to have surgery on my hip because of overuse.
Build yourself up slowly, and if best wait untill you are 18+ before you begin to train seriously. I would reccommend only doing swim training at this age, as it does not put as much stress on the body as running.

Cheerz
16-RMC

Guys who are thinking about applying, Commando training wrecks your body, truly does and you will age rapidly when doing it. You need to take it easy at your age, your bones are still developing. I'm 20 and pretty much stopped growing. I have trained since I was 18, I started with 2 mile runs and then 4 then 6 then 8. You need a base layer of fitness which you will get shortly then you progress.

Felias wrote:Guys who are thinking about applying, Commando training wrecks your body, truly does and you will age rapidly when doing it. You need to take it easy at your age, your bones are still developing. I'm 20 and pretty much stopped growing. I have trained since I was 18, I started with 2 mile runs and then 4 then 6 then 8. You need a base layer of fitness which you will get shortly then you progress.

Pretty much bang on there.

regarding training at 16.

i think its very generalised that you shouldnt train hard at 16/17.
if what your saying is true, then the RM probably would have the minimum age for joining at 18.
only do swim training at 16? thats complete bollocks.
just because you had problems, doesnt mean all teenagers do.
just a few variables to consider:
family history of arthiritus, weight, height, musclular strength, running surface, frequency of running, intensity of running, running form, number of rest days, diet, where you live, alcohol, tobaco and drug use, daily calorie intake, equipement used (shoes etc), history of exercise, and also genetic make up are all factors that can cause injury or stress from exercise.

for example, you could have had poor running form, which would have cause impact related stress' on the legs and hips. that would be a problem fairly unrelated to your age, and is by no means a problem for all 16 year olds.

just think about all those young football players who are 17 and 18. rooney was an example.
they must have started playing football from an early age, and almost certainly played for youth teams before playing professionally.


all sorts of young athletes tend to have a long history of consistant training.
you do not get to play for england or compete at top level by doing swimming and light to moderate exercise.

i personally did serious exercise about 3 times a week while at school, usually a sport, cross country for a good 2-3 miles, and training for school teams. i had this sort of routine for a good few years, and have not had serious health issues.

teenagers reach physical maturity earlier then they used to, hell some 13 year olds can grow full beards nowadays.
at 16, most males have finished the vast majority of growth in terms of bone structure. unless your seriously weighty, run 3 miles 5 times a day everyday or enjoy taking a hammer to your legs, its quite hard to do long term structural damage.
getting fit at 16/17 means its easier to keep fit. if your body develops and forms around a fit body you will be structurally built in a way that lends itself to exercise.
your body adapts to its environment. sit on your arse until your 19, and you will most likely get a beer gut and poor cv fitness.
if your in good shape and are pretty fit, when it comes to 'bulking out' (ie stopping growing and producing muscle and/or fat and develop a 'male' physique), areas like intercostal muscles, legs, stomach, arms etc etc will all develop, because there in use.

lots of people say training as a teenager is bad, but it isnt if your sensible.
the human body is an amazing machine. training at 16 is perfectly possible.

just a couple of examples of things to show how far you can actually go:

http://www.howtobefit.com/tendai-marathon-monks.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraman_% ... allenge%29

only 46 people have done the first one, but that shows that a lot of stuff is just hype. this sort of stuff is basicly just like the people who make you wear gloves and goggles cutting your hedge, or who make you have a lecture on the fact that drinking car battery acid is bad, and if you drop a hammer on your foot it will hurt, before you can so much as think about repairing a car.

your in the wrong career if you so worried about long term health damage.
apart from the obvious risk of being shot, its well known the RM suffer premature arthritus, can have hearing loss in later life, PTSD, and a whole lot of problems related to spending prolonged periods of time carrying heavy bergens, spending lots of time exposed to gun fire and loud bangs and stuff life that.

im not doubting commando training takes its toll. if your 16 with only a small history of training behind you, yes, you may well struggle, but that is more to do with inexperience then young age.
and simply, most of the time, if you are prone to an injury because you train at a younger age, it will not resolve itself magically when you turn 18.
things like arthirtus will get you when you train hard, whether thats at 16 or 26

eagleeye wrote:Good on ya, I'm 16 and im going for RM and i'm gonna start applying in june after my A/S exams so good luck to you!

By that do you mean you aren't staying on to do A2?

Trying not to sound preachy, but you might want to consider doing your second year at college and get those A2's (as well as giving yourself another year to prepare fitness-wise).

There's a thread somewhere about 'life after RM', and getting a job that needs academic qualifications with just As levels is very difficult as most places only accept full A-levels. So unless you complete them during your service (if that's possible?), you might struggle later on.

Just a thought

Yes thats right i'm not staying on because i'm currently failing A/S so theres no hope for A/2
Thanks for the advice though.