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I’m not overly familiar with how it is determined. But say it’s the Iraq war and marines are having to go house by house looking for someone. They are in the frontlines of battle. I’ve heard rumors that every service person is given a test to look at intelligence and other things. If you score low on the test it could put you in the frontlines. If you score high (as in higher IQ) you would probably avoid the frontline and maybe be put in a support or troubleshooting role. Is this accurate? Again I have little experience in this but am looking to see if this is correct.
Thanks
When you enlist you take an Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test. That test determines what specialties you qualify for. People are on the front lines because that is what their military specialty is -- not because they are stupid. All of the services have many specialties, most of which exist to support the few specialties that exist to do the fighting. That said, people who score poorly are not going to be sent to highly technical schools.
When you enlist you take an Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test. That test determines what specialties you qualify for. People are on the front lines because that is what their military specialty is -- not because they are stupid. All of the services have many specialties, most of which exist to support the few specialties that exist to do the fighting.
That's true up to a point (although, unless it's changed, every Marine is considered Rifleman as his/her primary MOS) but the reality is that the lower you score on the ASVAB the fewer specialties are open to you, increasing the likelihood of being Infantry/Rifleman.
That's true up to a point (although, unless it's changed, every Marine is considered Rifleman as his/her primary MOS) but the reality is that the lower you score on the ASVAB the fewer specialties are open to you, increasing the likelihood of being Infantry/Rifleman.
The lower you score nowadays, the less likely you'll be accepted into any service.
And don't get the idea that infantry is stupid. Maybe in the past, but not today.
The Infantry field manual is two inches thick of stuff the soldier is supposed to remember while being shot at.
The gear and equipment is more complex, more technical, and there is more of it, and more each soldier is expected to know instead of merely depending on the squad leader or platoon leader for immediate guidance.
Once upon a time all they needed to know is which direction to shoot ("The enemy is thataway. Everybody over there is enemy"). Today, it's a matter of a pre-patrol briefing of who is friendly today, what are the names of key locals we like today, which ones we liked yesterday that we want to kill today, stuff that changes daily.
Smart soldiers know how to integrate field data quickly and accurately, note changes, analyze what they mean within moments, and redevise plans
Brains are highly valuable tools for staying alive on the battlefield.
I’m not overly familiar with how it is determined. But say it’s the Iraq war and marines are having to go house by house looking for someone. They are in the frontlines of battle. I’ve heard rumors that every service person is given a test to look at intelligence and other things. If you score low on the test it could put you in the frontlines. If you score high (as in higher IQ) you would probably avoid the frontline and maybe be put in a support or troubleshooting role. Is this accurate? Again I have little experience in this but am looking to see if this is correct.
Thanks
That would be silly. Infantry operations are in fact very mentally challenging. You constantly juggle a ton of variables - where am I, where is the other guy, where can I be in 5 seconds, 5 minutes, 15 minutes? Where can he be? What are my friends to either side doing? What support can I call, how fast? If we meet the enemy, do we bug out (and how?), do we stay snug and observe, do we take positions and let fly? And that's when the dust isn't actually flying.
The pointy end of the spear calls for smarts. Whereas a driver in a logistics company - with all respect due - doesn't have that same mental load.
Of course, other things count, too - ability for decision-making, basic aggressiveness (you can find that in the most surprising places, btw. - some of the most mild-mannered men can turn ferocious once they're allowed to, it's something to watch), capacity for striking the balance between initiative and strict obedience to orders.
Some specific aptitudes will make you more or less suitable for specific tasks - for instance, used to be that people with a really good head for numbers would become mortarmen, because the ability to compute a correct fire solution, quickly, could make quite a difference. Electronics have probably taken some of that need away, though.
Infantrymen on the front line are like decathletes - they don't necessarily have to excel in every category that makes for a good soldier, but they cannot afford to be really bad in any particular field, either.
Thanks for the replies all I'm just trying to learn. Great info.
Someone mentioned above that if you score low on the ASVAB its possible that you will not be admitted into the military. Are the dismissal rates greater than at one point in time? When does one actually take the ASVAB?
In the end, does it make sense that if one does not want to fight in combat then its probably best that you don't join. Agree?
Thanks for the replies all I'm just trying to learn. Great info.
Someone mentioned above that if you score low on the ASVAB its possible that you will not be admitted into the military.
How Important is the ASVAB Test? Your scores in four critical areas -- Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension and Mathematics Knowledge -- count towards your Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) score. The AFQT score determines whether you're qualified to enlist in the U.S. military.[/quote]
I pretty much agree on that. Most people I met who joined really did not understand what they were getting into...
This is what I'm trying to get at. I hear there are more than enough people that go into the military. And the rejections if you don't score well on the tests could indicate that.
I guess your statement is the part that I struggle with. I think its great that people fight/enlist to defend the freedoms we have. But do they really know for sure that they could pay the ultimate price? Good discussion.
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