Are You Brave Enough to Be in the Army?

About This Quiz

Being a patriot is not the same as being a soldier. Some patriots have done more for the United States than the whole of the U.S. military. All soldiers are patriots, but not all patriots are soldiers. To be a soldier, and especially to be a soldier in the U.S. Army, one needs a symphony of qualities just to be eligible for enlistment. There is a physical, of course, and there are tests of mental health, but the quality that must be present to make it through the trials of basic training, and to succeed in some of the more difficult jobs in the army is bravery.

Basic training isn't just about potential soldiers learning things. It is about the army learning about its recruits. Basic training is meant to show the stress fractures in personalities, so they can be addressed before men and women are put in harm's way, and the stakes go up. If you are going to break down in tears it is better to you do that in upstate New York than in the mountains of Afghanistan with a dozen fellow soldiers counting on you keeping it together.

The army will build up its recruits, but before that, they have to test your innate bravery. Do you have what it takes?