The most iconic part of being a member of our nation’s armed forces has to be basic training or boot camp, depending on what branch you join. The iconic images of Sergeant Hartmann (played by real life Marine R. Lee Ermy) berating his recruits in the film “Full Metal Jacket” have captivated audiences for years. Countless videos on the internet of new recruits going through exercise after grueling exercise continue to make for good laughs.  

However, what many do not know is that in order to join the armed forces in the first place one has to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. This test assesses test takers on their knowledge about everything from mechanical knowledge to grasp of vocabulary. Recently, the school offered this test to students who wished to take it. I was one of those test takers.

I was not in prime test-taking condition that day. I had an infection that made me feel like I had the flu, but because I had signed up for it, I decided to push on and take it. The test was several hours long and was divided into multiple mini tests. These mini tests included subjects such as general science and arithmetic reasoning.  

We received the results back after a couple of weeks. The test had several scores, the one that would seem the most like a conventional test score would be the AFQT score. The test is scored from 0 to 99 points, where I earned a 76. Various branches of the armed forces have their own minimum AFQT requirements in order to be able to enlist. For example the branch I wish to join, the army, requires an applicant to have a minimal AFQT score of 31. In addition, each Military Occupational Speciality has their own ASVAB requirements based on how well you did on a certain portion of the test. One MOS that I am interested in, psychological operations, an applicant must have a General Technical score of 107.

Overall I am happy with my score as it qualifies me for the jobs I want. Because I plan on taking this test again next year, I plan on studying areas related to cars and technology as that is the part where I screwed up.