right, they require people to wait until they graduate before they are accepted into the academy. you can train beforehand, but they don't accept kids into the military academies. There is a reason for this.
You forgot that we do have Senior Military colleges like VMI, Norwich, Univ of North Georgia, Citedal, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Mass Maritime, Maine Maritime, SUNY Maritime, Cal Maritime that allow 17 years old in on ROTC scholarships. You have to be 17 years old to obtain an ROTC scholarship but be under 30 years old to get a commission as an officer.
sure... many departments allow this. My current department allows this. my first dept in NJ allowed this. however, they don't allow them to replace an adult firefighter, because they aren't considered fully qualified firefighters.
In Connecticut, many Volunteer fire depts allow cadets to go on calls. They are not allowed to enter a burning building until they are 18 yrs old. They help out on scene such as rehab and overhaul. Here's Connecticut's rules
DOL Guidance for Cadet/Junior Firefighter Programs
DOL initially issued a guidance letter for cadet/junior firefighters in 2004. This year representatives of the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, and DOL met to further develop the guidelines. On October 25, DOL Commissioner Patricia H. Mayfield issued a new guidance letter that includes the following.
All cadets under 18 are prohibited from:
1. driving any fire department vehicle in an emergency;
2. performing interior fire suppression in structures or vehicles or in wildland fires, except grass fires;
3. entering a confined space as defined in federal regulations;
4. responding to hazardous material fires, spills, or other events that may expose a minor to hazardous material exceeding a threshold set in federal regulations (allows for small motor vehicle fuel leaks);
5. performing firefighting “overhaul” duties (i.e., checking to see that an under-control fire has not spread, which may include ripping open walls or similar activities);
6. operating a personal vehicle with blue emergency lights;
7. performing ice rescue activities;
8. any activity that involves the risk of falling six or more feet; and
9. activities include using a self-contained breathing device or cutting torches, filling air bottles, operating aerial ladders, and any duty involving hose lines with a diameter greater than 2.5 inches (except five- to six-inch drafting suction lines).
Cadets 16 and 17 years old are permitted, between 6 a.m. and 12 midnight, to do the following:
1. take part in supervised training;
2. respond to emergencies on fire department vehicles, after proper training;
3. fight grass fires, after proper training;
4. perform search-and-rescue operations, not including structural fires;
5. enter a fire structure after the fire is out and the incident commander has declared the structure safe;
6. perform traffic control duties after proper training;
7. drive emergency vehicles under 10,000 pounds in nonemergency mode, after proper training;
8. pick up hoses and clean up fire scenes after the incident commander has declared the area safe;
9. use pneumatic- or power-driven saws, shears, Jaws-of-Life type devices, and other power tools only during training;
10. operate certain pumps at fire scenes; and
11. handle charged hose lines up to 1 ¾ inch in diameter.
Cadets 14 and 15 years old are permitted to volunteer only between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and may only do the following:
1. observe exterior firefighting activities, while under supervision;
2. clean up at a fire scene, only outside the structure and only after the incident commander declares the scene safe;
3. after proper training and turning age 15, ride on fire department vehicles responding to emergencies;
4. receive training and instruction that does not involve fire, smoke (except theatrical or latex smoke), toxic or noxious gas, or hazardous materials;
5. respond to incidents no later than 7 p.m. and remain on-scene no later than 10 p.m.;
6. attend meetings that end no later than 10 p.m.; and
7. wear protective equipment that readily identifies them as “minor firefighters.”
The work group that drafted the guidelines issued a joint statement that reads, in part:
It is the intent of these [fire cadet] programs to provide a safe, yet meaningful experience for the youth of our communities. These programs are to be viewed as an instructional and educational activity. Cadet programs are not intended to replace fire personnel, but rather to expose our youth to the occupation of firefighting. These guidelines are to be considered maximum parameters for operation. Fire departments are free to restrict the participation of cadets within these guidelines. The safety of the cadets is the highest priority at all times.
Sure. Nothing wrong with that. I was in EMT school at 16. If a teens wants to become an EMR, they should. But still, the town should be funding a fully functional and staffed EMS agency, not taking kids out of high school to patch staffing gaps during the day times; high school students belong in high school.
That's how they get the teens interested in EMS in Connecticut. They start them as EMR's and they take the exam when they are 14 years old. When they turn 16 years old, they are sent to take the EMT class. By 16 years old, High school EMT's are normally High school Juniors and Seniors and EMR's are normally High school Freshmen and Sophomores.
Some towns think it's a win-win situation because it gets High school students interested in healthcare fields and healthcare majors in college as well. The school boards are on it too because it gives them a Co-opt experience when they go to college and they even go on to major in Nursing, Paramedic, Physician assistant school, NP, or biomedical science that leads them into Medical/Dental school. The teens that are in these EMS programs, have to maintain the same requirements that high school athletes are subjected to such as maintaining a certain grade such as no lower than a C- in class. Have good attendance records for both school and EMS.
