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young triathlete interested in military, advice?
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 2013-10-31 11:56 AM |
 45 |  Subject: young triathlete interested in military, advice?I'm 21 years old and in love with triathlon. Lately I have been putting the thought of joining the military (not sure on which branch) into my head. I just had a simple question. Anybody on here an active service member? Would triathlon training be about impossible if I went fully active? Thanks! |
| 2013-10-31 12:04 PM in reply to: calebTris |
Master 1858    Salt Lake City | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? There are/have been lots of active military personel here on the board. I'll let them chime in with specifics, but I would say that tri training might be at times more difficult but certainly still possible. |
| 2013-10-31 12:06 PM in reply to: calebTris |
Expert 2180 Boise, Idaho | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Check out the Team RWB thread (below COJ). Alot of those folks are active duty military. I'm an Air Force vet, myself so I can only speak for that branch. IMO the Air Force offers the most 'civillian' lifestyle, therefore you may find it easier to train with some consistency. However, you can NEVER lose sight of the fact that any branch of the military is an ARMED SERVICE. You are the tip of the sword in displaying the countries military might. You may go places you don't like, see and do things you find personally offensive. You will carry a weapon in defense of the country and be expected/required to use it when necessary. THAT IS A FACT! Sorry-Rant over! Good Luck in your endeavors. |
| 2013-10-31 12:14 PM in reply to: jeffnboise |
| 1439 | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Honorably serving in any branch of the military is much more fullfilling than any triathlon or endurance race for that matter. I am retired Navy so I feel I can speak on the subject a little. You will still be able to train but maybe not as often or event specific as you wish. |
| 2013-10-31 12:20 PM in reply to: calebTris |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Hi! I'm an Army National Guard member. I enlisted at age 27. I've got lots of active duty friends - their involvement in triathlon (or marathoning, or any sport, really) can be easy or hard to maintain, mostly depending on where they are stationed. For example, it takes a different level of dedication to train at Fort Drum in the winter vs. Fort Sam Houston. Or to train in Korea or Afghanistan, or on board a submarine... But it's (almost) never impossible. A large part of the reason why I went NG instead of Active was maintaining my ability to choose where I live. There are lots of active duty and retired active duty personnel here on BT - I'm sure they'll chime in. |
| 2013-10-31 12:24 PM in reply to: ratherbeswimming |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Along the same lines....I know that the Air Force and Naval academy have great college triathlon teams. Do any of those guys/gals go on with triathlon under the Navy or Air Force banner after college as a recruiting tool? You know, like Forest Gump did with ping pong. |
| 2013-10-31 12:24 PM in reply to: calebTris |
Elite 5145 Cleveland | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? There are many men & women who are active military and involved in triathlon. There are even a select few like Brad Williams and Hila Levy who do nothing but train and compete as part of their military duties.
Granted, I've been out of the service for 20 years, but I would anticipate that the only time you'd find it tough to get in a mostly normal training regimen would be when deployed. |
| 2013-10-31 12:33 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
Extreme Veteran 3025 Maryland | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Originally posted by Left Brain Along the same lines....I know that the Air Force and Naval academy have great college triathlon teams. Do any of those guys/gals go on with triathlon under the Navy or Air Force banner after college as a recruiting tool? You know, like Forest Gump did with ping pong. If you like drafting, go to navy /end rant |
| 2013-10-31 12:39 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
Champion 9407 Montague Gold Mines, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Originally posted by Left Brain Along the same lines....I know that the Air Force and Naval academy have great college triathlon teams. Do any of those guys/gals go on with triathlon under the Navy or Air Force banner after college as a recruiting tool? You know, like Forest Gump did with ping pong. Tim O'Donnell was in the Navy for quite a while; I'm not sure what his posting was but he was very active racing on the ITU circuit so I would suspect that his posting was somehow related to recruitment. Shane |
| 2013-10-31 12:54 PM in reply to: calebTris |
Regular 127 Ankeny | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? As someone who is retiring after 20+ years in December, the short answer is no, training won't be impossible. That being said, initially your training will take a back seat to Basic Training and Technical Training. Once you show up at your first duty assignment you'll have all the time your schedule allows. Of course your schedule is dictated by your job and branch of service, so be mindful of this. Outside of Triathlon if you are serious about the military my best advice to you is to 1) look at ALL Branches (Including Coast Guard, and your State's National Guard and Air National Guard) and 2) Know or have a good idea of WHAT you want to do in the Military. When you talk to your recruiter STICK TO YOUR GUNS. Don't let them tell you what you want to do. If they tell you there's no "class dates" for a specific job there will be. It's your career, take control of it from the start. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. |
| 2013-10-31 1:53 PM in reply to: BigN321 |
New user 55 Pleasant Grove, Utah | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? It's not hard to maintain a training regimen in the military. Speaking of my experience in the Air Force, all my commanders have always allowed an hour of workout time during the duty day as long as your work is getting done. |
| 2013-10-31 2:00 PM in reply to: CRS |
| 434 | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Retired USCG here. Lots of active duty folks (all services) are active triathletes. You are supposed to be and stay in shape, and this qualifies. There will be challenges if you are on a ship that is underway or deployed overseas, but that time is usually balanced with time that allows for a full three sport training schedule. Ironman training is probably a little tougher, but there are those that do it (or plan to when their next assignment sends them to a desk job ashore).. |
| 2013-10-31 2:01 PM in reply to: jeffnboise |
Extreme Veteran 2261 Ridgeland, Mississippi | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Originally posted by jeffnboise Check out the Team RWB thread (below COJ). Alot of those folks are active duty military. I'm an Air Force vet, myself so I can only speak for that branch. IMO the Air Force offers the most 'civillian' lifestyle, therefore you may find it easier to train with some consistency. However, you can NEVER lose sight of the fact that any branch of the military is an ARMED SERVICE. You are the tip of the sword in displaying the countries military might. You may go places you don't like, see and do things you find personally offensive. You will carry a weapon in defense of the country and be expected/required to use it when necessary. THAT IS A FACT! Sorry-Rant over! Good Luck in your endeavors. I really like this post. Makes me proud of our military. Thank you (and all the other military personnel posting here) for your service! |
| 2013-10-31 2:49 PM in reply to: BigN321 |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Originally posted by BigN321 That being said, initially your training will take a back seat to Basic Training and Technical Training. I got WAY FASTER at running at Basic... ...then lost most of that during OCS
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| 2013-10-31 7:14 PM in reply to: ratherbeswimming |
Member 169 | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Air Force officer here. Yeah, we can train for tris. |
| 2013-10-31 9:07 PM in reply to: jeffnboise |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: young triathlete interested in military, advice? Originally posted by jeffnboise Check out the Team RWB thread (below COJ). Alot of those folks are active duty military. I'm an Air Force vet, myself so I can only speak for that branch. IMO the Air Force offers the most 'civillian' lifestyle, therefore you may find it easier to train with some consistency. However, you can NEVER lose sight of the fact that any branch of the military is an ARMED SERVICE. You are the tip of the sword in displaying the countries military might. You may go places you don't like, see and do things you find personally offensive. You will carry a weapon in defense of the country and be expected/required to use it when necessary. THAT IS A FACT! Sorry-Rant over! Good Luck in your endeavors. Air Force vet here as well, and this is absolutely spot on. If you want, hit up AfBadBrad on ST, he is active duty Air Force, and very close to pro level. I don't know if he posts here or not. Another option would be Reserves, unless you are looking at active duty because you want it to be your main full time gig. One of the most rewarding things I've ever done (I was a medic). John |
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