U.S. Army

[tgace]

Boy you Brits think a lot of yourselves, and we Americans are labled as arrogant?

Just kidding guys. I served long enough in uniform to know that if a military unit dosent think they are the best on the globe, then they have a morale problem.

As to "foreigners" serving...I served with a few Canadians in the Army so yes it is possible.

[Col.Parsons]

The problem with the British Army is... it's not the British Army's problem!

The problem lays with the crappy MoD and the useless budget that the Chancellor of the Exchequer seems to think is a good way of spending our well earned money!

The lack of kit is borne straight out of this lack in funding - they've even said that the MoD is to recieve less and less money in the future

However, they're now considering these "IEP" thingies - Individual Equipement Packets. These will contain all the equipment a soldier will need for one month. Problem is - they don't know how many of what sizes of stuff to put together (as always).

Si

[Cobalt]

Day Tripper, a USMC mate informs me that there's a couple of guys in his unit who don't even have Green Cards.

And if I remember correctly if you do have a Green Card and serve out your first enlistment (four years) then you can apply for citizenship. I'm not 100% sure though.

I can understand you wanted to head over to the colonies. The guys I know there have a great lifestyle outside of work. Makes me right jealous.

[Edwards159]

I dont understand why you would want to join the US Army,

A Para was telling me that they have 'All the gear, No idea'.

He said he's had some funny experiences with them though on like exchange exercises where they go over to the US and the Americans come over to Britain.

I asked him what was there fitness like, he said that it was pretty shite, there PT involved getting up at 5am and running around with a flag singing songs and making grunting noises. And they are not like proper running just jogging. He said when they came over to Britain they took them on a few Tabs and they just jacked. Then on a Escape and Evasion exercise they just gave up because it was 'too cold'. Then when the paras went over to America with the 101st they were told by a American that instead of saying ‘sir’ or whatever they had to say ‘whooa’ and the paras started pissing themselves.

I don’t know how much of this is true, but from i see the Brits tell it how it is.

[bigbart]

I too heard that they don't tab/yomp and only run without weight. I also heard that they concentrate a lot on upper body, so they're all muscular but unfit compared to our troops. However, I never brought this up before as I don't know how true it is. To get a better picture, I'd ask one of the Americans on this forum who have served.

[Edwards159]

With all the gear they have got they dont need to run anywhere.

[bigbart]

Tankies don't need to run anywhere in our Army. Neither do the RLC but they still tab in training. It's the "just in case" factor.
What we've heard about the Americans may be bulls**t anyway.

[day tripper]

If you ask any british para whos the best its fairly obvious what they will say.

I believe before anyone jumps to conclusions about the ability/standards of a foreign force, they should study that force rather than hearsay.

As for when a co salutes troops, the response is whooo haaaa. Which means acknowledged. Its just a tradition, as we have ours.

[johnnyboy]

....

[bigbart]

I always thought what I heard about the US army sounded a bit iffy. I mean, what kind of an Army doesn't train ther soldiers to cover distances with weight?
Cheers for clearing that up

[Seven]

I too heard that they don't tab/yomp and only run without weight. I also heard that they concentrate a lot on upper body, so they're all muscular but unfit compared to our troops. However, I never brought this up before as I don't know how true it is

Yeah, I read the same somewhere. A Dutch SF instructor apparantly said "SEAL" stands for:"Sleep, Eat And Lift". But I suppose that also has something to do with the American way of life, and not necessarily with the way they train the armed forces. Also their forces are a lot bigger than European forces, so they can't afford to be picky.

[tgace]

In the US Army, soldiers physically fit to APFT standards are expected to carry loads at a 25 min/mile pace as a minimum, many individual units have their own standards ( 15< min/mile pace) The US Army manual FM 21-18 (section 5-11) gives guidance on proper physical training programs for march conditioning, and states that “after a 30-day preparatory training period, soldiers can march 12 miles in less than 3 hours loaded to about 60 pounds." Thats whats written.....

[Edwards159]

Just found out some of the fitness requirements to join the U.S. Army. These are requirements you have to pass to start basic training.

Minimum requirements for Male aged 17-21.

Pushups=35

Situps=47

2 Mile run=16:36

[Jascar]

I'm Canadian and looked into joining the American military about 6 years ago. An American immigration lawyer told me it's not possible to join unless you are an American citizen or have a green card, but the green card is quite difficult to get and the only realistic way for me to get one was for my parents to move to the US. Basically, I was out of luck.

It is possible for Commonwealth and Irish citizens to join the British military, even if they don't have British citizenship. Officially they should have lived in the UK for at least 5 years but this can be waived quite easily, though certain trades are restricted. On the other hand, most Commonwealth countries require full citizenship to join their militaries. Not fair, I know, but that's the way it is.

And as for the British military being underfunded and in need of better equipment, it could be so much worse. The Candian military is much worse off when our soldiers are sent to Afghanistan in green combats, then there's that sub that's in the news these days, rolling around in the Irish Sea.....

[Redhand]

Hey Jascar,

You signin up? What you looking to go into?

I have also looked into joining the US Marine Corps awhile ago, but thought it futile.

As for stories of American training, i heard bad stuff about their airborne from Canadian (now disbanded) airborne. Have to remember though, their armed forces are huge, and theres gonna be alot of junk in it, but also alot of good.

But from the outside looking in, in imho, i would have to say the British forces are the better outfit for a Canadian looking to join. (Immigration aside)...oh and our history of course, being loyalist and all that...ya.