hey
i thinking off joining the army when im a bit older.is it tuff and do you get to fire off any guns.



matt

1) Tuff? If by tuff (tough?) you mean hard, difficult, dangerous and sometimes incredibly nasty.. then yes. Of course it's not always like that. Lots of beer and women are more the norm in certain places.

2) Fire guns? Umm, yes... That's generally the point.

HOWEVER,

3) Will they let you near a gun???

Are you serious mate or are you just taking the piss outta it.
I wouldve thought a 14 year old us marine from new zealand wouldve known the answer to that one anyway.
Cheers ....

are you kidding me? in the army NO ONE fires guns, thats against the rules. We shoot spit wads of course at the airforce which are paper planes. while we use rubberbands for our artillary. Seriously mate, what kind of question is this?

Hello Matt,
I'm not sure how the training is in New Zealand, but most often you'll start of in basic training. You'll learn to march and take commands. As for being hard, well you'll need to be fit for the physical portion of your training. You will also learn to work as a team. You'll run and go through obstacle courses daily. Then you'll start to have hands on training such as weapons, first aid and so on. Before you get to shoot your weapon you'll have to understand the basics of the weapon, then your off to the range to qualify the weapon. I'm just giving you a small description and to answer your question about fireing wepons... yes, I'm sure you will. The main thing is to pay attention to your instructors and to follow along, then it won't be so hard.

From what ive heard, the NZ army being tight budgetted and all only get to head to the firing range once in a blue moon....or so my other mates serving in there tells me.

Since i served in the Singapore Army, i cant really tell you how its like in the NZ army but its generally the same throughout all countries....there is no such thing as an easy time in the army.

As my singaporean countrymen will tell you, in terms of firing a gun, we did it so many times with both live and blank rounds that we ended up hating to fire the weapon as cleaning the weapon after is just a pain. I still remember the 'ringing' sensation when a round explodes in the chamber when you aim carefully with an M16....then followed by the smell of gun powder.

Dont be dis-illusioned by the glory and pride stuff they tell you. When you head in there, its tough but you come out a better man once you live through it.....most of the time.

And i'm wondering what kind of reply this is

Dave

Yup my answer will be the same as Jazza, being in the Singapore Armed Forces, we have the luxury of a super big budget. So hosing 5.56 from M-16,Sar-21,SAW its like so often till we hate it. If its not the live range, its the simulators, or blanks...just shoot and shoot.
Combat manouvres, section level(squad) platoon level, Company, battallion, brigade, division..etc..

Its not easy but if u like it, you 'll never want to leave.

You could always try
http://www.army.mil.nz/

I've been in the RNZAF for 10 years now, I've worked closely with the army (everything we do is very 'joint' these days - not so much individual services working alone).

The army is the hardest service physically, and the one that is the most regimented. That means it takes the whole military thing quite seriously, calling people by their rank and marching etc. The airforce is a wee bit more laid back in that we very rarely use ranks to address people (after all we have perfectly good names) and don't march around our bases unless it's a ceremonial occasion of some sort.

So you can expect to spend quite a bit of time running around and marching, especially on your basic course. The same with cleaning and polishing things.

As for firing weapons, you will learn the Steyr IW inside and out, and fire it on the range. You will also fire the C9 Minimi, and the army learn to throw grenades on their basic course as well.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Phil
RNZAF Armourer.

It isn't video games! You kill people and people kill you/ your buddies. Just remember that the people you're shooting at are shooting back at you. If you can accept the gravity of the situation then go for it. Your country needs guys like you but if you don't think you can handle it save them and you a lot of heartache.

well cheers for some of the advice.hey im maybe 14 but ive shot off heaps of guns and seeing something die hasnt affected me.

Seeing a mate bleed to death in your arms is very different to taking pot-shots at the odd sparrow.

Is anyone shooting at the NZ Army right now? Unlikely you'll have to worry about that. Peacetime armies are just the boy scouts with guns. Course you get the chance to parachute too. Other than that, dead boring. I've been out of the Army for 14 years but I still remember how dull it was in regimental depot or at battalion rear. Being with the rifle companies was ok cos we were at war. True, there were buggers shooting at us every day, but they were nothing compared to our NCOs:-X

If you can go in with the option of getting out in a couple of years, try it. You can always re-enlist or get out. Ideally do it straight after your A-Levels, then you can always get out and go to uni if you still wanna.

Funny thing about the Army,... They train more on running than shooting weapons... I think thats pretty funny.. I run every other day, and I shoot a M-16 twice a year...

youve got alot to learn buddy...

I do not know how the New Zealand armed forces work, but I'm guessing that they have recruiting stations around. One of your options would be to go talk to them. I dont know the age for joining up, but in the states its 17 years old. (thats when I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps...about 2 months ago) so they might not talk to you for a few years.

And in the armed services there are more jobs then just shooting guns and blowing things up. A lot of the jobs in the armed services have counterparts in the civilian world i.e. public affairs, intelligence, police force etc...
at the same time a lot of jobs dont mesh with any job in the civilian world, infantry, tank drivers...I think you'll get the point.

-Shain









He's only fourteen, of course he does, and seeing how you're only a teenager as well, and not in the armed forces, I think that your reply is a bit condescending.

I went to military school for a year and a half, 2 years ago. I also am in ROTC with my highschool. Every summer I go to a military training school where we go through almost the same exact training as the soldiers do, we live fire, and even train on tactics.

Hey, Shaine & Harrison, give it a rest. You two sound like the kids in my old training platoon arguing about who's senior cos one enlisted on Monday and the other on Tuesday.

Neither of you have finished basic so you aren't really soldiers, just pond-scum, low-life, monkey-wanking RECRUITS! GET IT????!!!

Ha ha :-) Just kidding, guys, couldn't resist being an NCO again.

But seriously, you gotta finish basic, AIT, and serve a tour with a line unit before you really get a feel for what Army life's like. And then there's combat...

I guess it also depends how active your country's armed forces are on the golbal arena.... in SA you mostly stand around guarding empty bases and historical monuments, and assisting the police forces as riot police.

Then of course there's drilling.... drilling... drilling... drilling... and just when you thought you were done... some more drilling... :-)

Hey, Rudi, which part of the SADF did you serve with? A guy who served with me here in SL was a Rhodesian-born South African. His name was Rudi, too!

Well, if you are serious about joining the army, you'd better be prepared.

If not allready doing so, start with joining a sportsclub. You'll benefit from that later.

Also, your education level can determine your rank, so you may get that as high as possible. If you can join as an officer, then by all means try to.

Then, it's time to think about what part of the army you want to join.. infantry, cavallery, artillery, logistics, medical services,.. you name it.. there is allways a place somewhere in the army.

And, when you join: don't forget to enjoy.

I did

Hi matt, well i was thinking of it also and talked to my couzin also. I can't realy say he got anything out of it in hte 2 years he served, i guess he only saw the negative parts of being in the forces.

But keep in mind you belong to them, and if they say you cooking potatoes for everyone, you are, even if your trained to kill the enemy, you do as told.

Frank

Listen Matt,

Go for it and do a short stint (three years or whatever) and if you don't like it then leave.

One thing is for sure, if you can handle being a soldier then you can generally handle just about anything else life will throw at you.

Civilian companies (at least in UK) generally seem to have a liking for recruiting ex - military as they usually have a more disciplined work ethic.

That doesn't necessarily mean they are sane, just that they can work hard... :-) :-) :-)

Since there have been plenty of replies from well meaning but fairly uninformed people regarding the New Zealand military, here are a few facts:

1. you need to be 17 1/2 to join.

2. Army Basic is conducted at Waiouru, which is a nice place to visit by pretty desolate. Extremes of climate all year round. Army Basic is 11 weeks long, then you go on to your corps training.

3. You can generally leave whenever you want, giving three months notice. Unless you are on a Return of Service obligation, which is a time you agree to serve in return for certain training courses.

4. Standard engagement is 15 years, but you can leave sooner, or you may be offered longer. You have one of the best Superannuation scheme in the country. You contribute 7.9% of your salary, the NZDF contributes another 10%. At 14 a super scheme may not mean much, but this one is worth having.

5. The NZDF is currently serving in all sorts of places, most notably Bamian in Afghanistan. We have recently finished deployments in Iraq, the Solomon Islands and of course East Timor. We have soldiers in Cambodia, Mozambique, Sinai, Sudan and the Balkans. All the crap on here about the New Zealand army not doing anything is a load of toss. If you join up you will be deployed overseas, no question. You might not (probably wont) see combat, but you'll get the money, the travel, but with somewhat less chance of being turned into red mist. Win-win situation!

6. The NZDF as a whole, and the army in particular is undergoing a fairly major replacement of all it's equipment. We recently introduced the NZLAV into service, the Pinzgauer 6x6 and we are getting Javelin AT weapons to replace the carl G. The RNZAF is getting new NH90 helicopters that will be heavily involved with the army. By the time you are old enough to join, we should have sorted most of the teething problems!

7. Standard weapon is the 5.56mm Steyr AUG. Currently due for replacement, however as an interim measure they will be refurbished until there is clearer indication of what direction NATO is taking with a new calibre. The standard light machine gun is the Minimi, pistol is the SIG 226. Also in service is the MAG58 GPMG, and the .50 cal browning. Our artillery uses the 105mm light gun.

8. You will be posted to Waiouru initially, then either Trentham, Linton or Burnham after that, depending on what trade you want to be.

9. If you can, join as an officer. It's considerably harder, but you do get treated a bit better a bit sooner!

10. If you have any questions PM me.

cheers for the info guys i still have a few more years to make up my mind