Needing some advice

Hi
My stepson has recently applied to join the Navy and has passed his recruitment test. He will be 16 in December this year. After the test we all went and had a chat with the recruitment officer and he was pretty explicit about the level of fitness, qualifications etc that my stepson needs to get in and how difficult it can be. His dad and I are really struggling to get him to take his fitness and academic work seriously and are worried that if he doesn't get a wiggle on he will miss the boat (pardon the pun). I am really looking to see if we can get in touch with someone who might be able to help him to decide what job he wants to apply for and perhaps give him a bit of a short sharp shock about the level of fitness needed.
Any help of advice would be really appreciated.

Worried stepmum

 

Hello,
I am sure that someone better qualified and more pleasant than me will be along at some point with some sage advice.

A few things though.

Levels of fitness when an individual turns up for training are important and there is an increasing demand that recruits turn up with a good level of fitness.

It is important that your son takes responsibility for this himself, and part of your challenge is to help him to discover this self-discipline.

I would suggest a couple of things. One that he joins some sort of sports club. Football or whatever he may be interested in, if he does not really seem interested in very much then some sort of martial arts may be exciting and macho enough to pique his interest.

Second, some sort of organisation that would help him to develop personally and would also give him skills and exeriences that will stand him in good stead when he turns up for training, something like Duke of Edinburgh Award or Cadets similar.

 

Get him a day's work at MacDonalds.

Once you've shown him his future without effort or exercise, drop him off at the local Boxing club, and let them sort him out (they happen to be generally the finest motivators he will ever experience, and excellent role models)

 

It's funny you should say that because I have been teaching him to say...
"do you want fries with that?" just in case.....

lol

 

I applied at 15 and joined not long after my 16th birthday. 6 years later I had been to over 40 different countries. 10 years on I am running a factory with over 40 employees. On the whole my mates from school all have worthless degrees and thousands of pounds worth of debt, most of them are in jobs they hate and are earning around half what I do. I owe everything I am today to the RN and the experiences I gained while serving.

Tell your lad to pull his finger out and strive for the best, he won't regret it.

It might also be prudent to remind him that when dressed in square rig women will chase him down the street and fight each other for just a sniff of his cock.

 

If he thinks that he can just turn up and attend phase 1 training without any preparations, he is seriously mistaken. Get him off his arse now in order to start preparing. Start off slowly and if you can join in with him it will be a great help for him and you will get fitter at the same time.

 

You might like to read the first post in this thread:

http://www.navy-net.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic/t=30260.html

 

8O

 

Might sound like a daft question but does he really want to join the RN or does he see the armed services as alternative to school / the unemployment queue?

The reason I am asking, is that as a mum, I know when Junior's heart isn't in something.....usually preceeded by hours of nagging. If he wants to do something then its done off his own back.

 

Cadetsmum,
Did this actually happen, or is it a figment of my imagination?

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7844481/

 

girlie freind just ran into the room thinking i was having a heart attack, when i was watching this.....she did not understand.

 

Fully concur.

Funny thing about our youngsters is that they seldom listen to their teachers or Mum & Dad when it comes to seeking employment, but they do tend to listen to their future potential employers, which is usually why Careers Advisers try to "illuminate" the individual information seeker by stressing that qualifications indeed carry rewards, despite what they may think & where possible we will deliver the "wake-up" call with regard physical & personal administration preparations.

It usually works when the information sinks in of it's own accord.

As an aside, I always remember my Dad berating me when I wanted me to join, endlessly quoting what the Careers Adviser said, (stay out of trouble, get yourself fit, learn how to wash & iron, get the best possible exam results etc.) as though he was some sort of all-knowing messiah. All it did was get my back up to be honest as I felt that being reminded was unnecessary & I was perfectly adult enough to understand what he said. Boy, did I get a surprise when I joined?!

Possibly the best way, from a parent's perspective, is to let them find out for themselves, but at the same time supporting their decision rather than criticising it. Easier said than done, as I find myself giving unwanted careers advice to my 12 year old son, it's just human nature I s'pose.

 

Morning,

As he's only 16 he will have plenty of time to prepare. There are plenty of stories on here about lack of preparation etc. His problem will be that he will probably not get medicalled until he's within 12 months of joining.

Once he's got his medical done the best thing to do would be to book a Royal Navy Acquaint course/Rating prep course. They will tell him all about the RN, his chosen branch and he'll get a chance to do the Royal Navy fitness tests (including running, gym work and a swimming test).

I was down at Raleigh recently and they are quiet adamant that if someone isn't able to pass the fitness in the first couple of weeks then they will just send them home. The basic course is 9 weeks and they have to pass everything in that time.

Best of luck

SM

 

Hey, im 18, started my application with the RN when I was 17, am going in as an AET....
I think an idea would be speaking to your stepsons AFCO and getting them to book him on an RNAC (Royal Navy Aquaint Course)- and that's easy compared to Raleigh apparently.!
Its got a taste of the life anyways..
I struggle with my fitness all the time and force myself to go running and to the gym, but I make myself go because I know I want the career, I want the whole package, its not something you can go into half-heartedly, and I think your stepson has to realise this, and consider if it is 100% what he wants, and if so, to put some effort in, he may think that because he's got a huge wait for his post that he's got plenty of time but it pays to be prepared and he doesnt want to find himself trying to get the fitness standard up a few months before Raleigh.
Good Luck

 

I thought the new PJFT times the same as the the RNFT now? I'm sure they have changed recently.

 

http://www.navy-net.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic/t=30260.html