Trying to understand where people like me end up in military.

[Perturabo]

I can't go there because of health problems I have due to psychological liquidation in toxic school.

But it bugs me lately.

All the games I played were about commanders, tankers, infantry, etc.

The same with almost all war memoirs I've read.

But I don't think I fit this bunch.

One thing is that physical stuff definitely isn't my strong side - despite that I was enjoying P.E. and adventuring in neighbourhood with other kids, I had very poor physical strength, endurance, visual-motor coordination, etc.

My main strong side before I was deprived of my health was good memory and analytic-synthetic intelligence and creativity.

What people like this do in military if they qualify for service at all?

[altipueri]

You could volunteer to be used for target practice.

[Lobster]

ORIGINAL: altipueri

You could volunteer to be used for target practice.

That is the military occupation of all infantry. [;)]

Perturabo would probably fit in with the oxymoron group called 'military intelligence'. Or you could be a part of an early warning crew in far off exotic locations. Someplace like the Arctic. Just you and the Polar Bears. They say the bears don't have enough to eat so...

[Zap]

If you pass their physical and physiological evaluation you may consider clerical work. work in the different dispensaries handing out uniforms and whatever else.

[Orm]

Is driving trucks or cars behind the front still an option?

[AbwehrX]

Perturabo,
The cost on your health, pcyche & wallet are way to high bro. Trust me you didnt miss much.

[JWW]

There are all kind of technical jobs in the military now for people who do not want to be grunts. See one example at the link. There are also civilian government jobs associated with the military, many in technical areas, that do not have the same physical fitness requirements of actually serving in the military. Many of these can be done by people with physical disabilities. I'm talking about the US military, but the same would hold true in many nations.

https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs ... alyst.html

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Orm

Is driving trucks or cars behind the front still an option?

Even in that case there can be an ambush, so military is likely to want its truck drivers to be capable of defending their cargo. But I guess military can (and does) hire outside delivery organizations to help with transportation to some extent.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: Kuokkanen

ORIGINAL: Orm

Is driving trucks or cars behind the front still an option?

Even in that case there can be an ambush, so military is likely to want its truck drivers to be capable of defending their cargo. But I guess military can (and does) hire outside delivery organizations to help with transportation to some extent.

Indeed.

In Sweden we used to have conscripted soldiers who drove staff officers, sat guard on barracks, or did clerical work and so on. They all had weapons training, but most of them were also not considered fit enough for full military service.

[Poopyhead]

Perturabo, in the U.S. military, everyone to include supply clerks, cooks and "targets" have to possess a certain level of physical strength. Every 6 months, you must prove this by passing a physical exam. When I was in the Army, that consisted of push-ups, sit-ups and a 2 mile run. If you are injured in combat, you may be given a waiver. IIRC, one Marine got his lower legs blown off and was put in charge of a rifle range. However, these are rare exceptions. Every soldier has the secondary Military Occupational Specialty of 11B, infantry. However, you can work for the military. When I wrote training books as a soldier, many civilians worked as editors, training developers and so on. Much of the national intelligence services have been "weaponized" to gather raw data for SEAL teams and so on. Learn a foreign language like Farsi and you may yet find yourself working for the military.

[Hentzau]

There are pregnant women in the US military so.... Most of the USN required no physical ability whatsoever from what I remember. If you're smart the USN will try to make you a "nuke", I suggesting playing a little dumb. [;)]

[Blond_Knight]

ORIGINAL: Hentzau

If you're smart the USN will try to make you a "nuke",

Its funny you say that. They tried the same to me, but oh! no! I HAD to be a grunt. But in hindsight it was kinda fun.
A buddy of mine got the same offer, took it signing up for six years, and bombed out of the nuke school. So he ended up polishing brass fitting for those six years.

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: Perturabo

I can't go there because of health problems I have due to psychological liquidation in toxic school.

But it bugs me lately.

All the games I played were about commanders, tankers, infantry, etc.

The same with almost all war memoirs I've read.

But I don't think I fit this bunch.

One thing is that physical stuff definitely isn't my strong side - despite that I was enjoying P.E. and adventuring in neighbourhood with other kids, I had very poor physical strength, endurance, visual-motor coordination, etc.

My main strong side before I was deprived of my health was good memory and analytic-synthetic intelligence and creativity.

What people like this do in military if they qualify for service at all?

On the serious side...Only ten percent of the army is considered "combat arms", the rest being in the support echelon, which is valuable in keeping those in the forward areas prepared to stay at the front.
All troops are required to get through "basic training" but after that, most rear-echelon units may only get close to calisthenics *maybe* once a year.

Most "wannabe commandos" love to tell "war stories"...but the real warriors respected those in the rear with the gear who kept us stocked with what we needed.
Most of those "big talkers" never got closer to the "front" than the chow line.

Consider medical, supply, transportation, special services(bars and bowling alleys), aviation, engineers(post engineers, not combat engineers-major difference), unit police(not MP's, more like post security), munitions, Intel, etc.

[Poopyhead]

Were any of you in the military in this millennium? Walk around Fort Hood in the morning. Everyone is doing Physical Training. Our mechanics, combat medics, supply clerks, and yes, even the pregnant soldiers were on a special PT schedule. We had a cook in Germany with a perfect PT score. The Army down-sized in the 90's. Everyone has to be battle ready, fit to fight.

[Lobster]

Big Red One here. Not in this century. But in the last century we would get up, lounge around in our pajamas till 11:00. Stroll over to lunch. Maybe some golf in the afternoon and some time by the poolside. Go clubbing at night.

LMAO...what, you think PT is a 21st century invention?

[Poopyhead]

I was pointing out that the three posts before mine seem to have a discontinuity with 21st century reality. So you may re-attach your rear end.

[MrsWargamer]

I tried the green machine when I was young and stupid Royal Canadian Regiment.

I can say I've signed on the dotted line. My time in didn't amount to much. Just as well. There's a small darkness inside of me I forget most of the time (99.9%), that bothers me a bit. Killing doesn't actually bother me. I'm just guessing that's wrong. Those were the blue helmet years. We weren't allowed to shoot back then

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Lobster

Big Red One here. Not in this century. But in the last century we would get up, lounge around in our pajamas till 11:00. Stroll over to lunch. Maybe some golf in the afternoon and some time by the poolside. Go clubbing at night.

LMAO...what, you think PT is a 21st century invention?

Actually, that is pretty close of what my brother has told me about his time in basic. I wasn't deemed fit for the service (overweight and some health issues), so I wasn't there even if I had wanted to. And we (my brother and I) are in Finland.

[edit]
He was even allowed to have a cell phone at hand. My mother had told him: "Have fun". So when I called him (in evening), the first thing I said (after greeting) was: "Have you had fun?"

[rico21]

I did not choose, it was mandatory.
I was like the child soldier who would have engraved on his grave, "binding and forced".
I laughed a lot with my comrades when the sergeant instructor asked us what the difference was between a civilian and a military and that one of us answered: "to kill, the soldier needs orders."[:D]

[Mobeer]

For the British Army, everyone has at least a basic fitness standard required, with higher standards then defined by profession. It's also been stated that 22% of the trained army is either 'medically not deployable' or 'medically limited deployable' (to limited areas).

Alternatively the Army has (reportedly) no standards for Cyber Warfare, with all fitness tests waived, no need to fire a gun and no requirement to travel. Plus there are more support jobs in the (civilian) Ministry of Defence.