# Is there a niche in militaries for really big guys? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724 "2011-01-24T01:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/1 "2011-01-24T01:52:43Z")
Say that a man was nearly seven feet tall and weighed over three hundred pounds, most of it muscle. Would his height and weight just be a pain in the butt given the standardization of gear and accomodations, or are there any specialty niches such a person would be ideally suited for? Maybe a real-life “heavy weapons dude”, who could manage firearms with too much recoil for a smaller person? ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/2 "2011-01-24T01:56:35Z")
Pain in the butt and while I don’t know the numbers offhand I know seven footers won’t be permitted in several of the branches because there is an upper limit on height. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/3 "2011-01-24T01:59:39Z")
From [here](http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlweight.htm), the Armed Forces in general won’t accept you if you are over 80 inches tall (6’8"), and the Marines won’t take anyone over 6’6". So the answer appears to be no. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/4 "2011-01-24T02:15:26Z")
I will say anecdotally, most of the really big military guys I have met have been infanteers, and some excel in areas like survival training and the like. They shy away from armoured (vehicles can be cramped). Some go arty, but by and large, most are infantry. This is strictly anecdotal. The tallest I met was about 6’6" and he was a machine gunner. ---
**Author:** ![Jockstrap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@Jockstrap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jockstrap)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/5 "2011-01-24T02:26:08Z")
An Australia soldier who recently won the Victoria’s Cross is 202cm tall, or about 6’ 7.5" [http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sas-corporal-ben-roberts-smith-take-a-bow-after-getting-victoria-cross-for-australia/story-e6freuy9-1225993273058](http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sas-corporal-ben-roberts-smith-take-a-bow-after-getting-victoria-cross-for-australia/story-e6freuy9-1225993273058) ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/6 "2011-01-24T03:58:54Z")
We send you in to infiltrate Castle Wolfenstein. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/7 "2011-01-24T05:16:39Z")
My partner, who is 6’10", was turned down when he tried to enlist around 1985. And I believe he was also disqualified for being underweight (for his height). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/8 "2011-01-24T05:32:04Z")
Big Guy = big target for snipers. Big Guy = huge foxhole during artillery and mortar fire. Just saying. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/9 "2011-01-24T05:34:55Z")
How big was “The Swede” supposed to be in Clint Eastwood’s _Heartbreak Ridge_? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/10 "2011-01-24T05:43:20Z")
David Robinson was 7 feet tall when he graduated from the Naval Academy and that didn’t prevent him from going on active duty. Wikipedia said the service academies don’t enroll anyone over 6 ft 8 in, but they don’t discharge anyone that grows past that. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David\_Robinson\_(basketball)#College\_basketball\_career\_and\_military\_service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Robinson_(basketball)#College_basketball_career_and_military_service) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/11 "2011-01-24T05:45:16Z")
Audie Murphy is the most decorated combat soldier of the WWII. Among his 33 awards was the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was barely 5’ 5". Being small in the infantry is an advantage. You can jump into any bit of cover. 20 mile marches are easier when you only weigh 160 lbs. Big guys would be better on the flight line as a mechanic, or some other tech specialty. Radar, radioman, computers etc. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/12 "2011-01-24T05:58:10Z")
Artillery. Those big shells don’t load themselves, you know. ---
**Author:** ![ramel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ramel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/13 "2011-01-24T06:15:54Z")
Too much muscle can actually be a bad thing in the military. It’s weight you can’t put down, and eats into your endurance. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/14 "2011-01-24T06:37:04Z")
> [@ramel](#): > > Too much muscle can actually be a bad thing in the military. It’s weight you can’t put down, and eats into your endurance. Speaking of eating, they (apparently) only make MREs (or whatever they call 'em now) one size. One portion does _not_ fit all if you have to cater to Hervé Villechaize and André “the Giant” Roussimoff at the same time. (Yeah, both dead, I know. Imagine a zombie army making Brains Ready to Eat.) ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/15 "2011-01-24T14:04:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Audie Murphy is the most decorated combat soldier of the WWII. Among his 33 awards was the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was barely 5’ 5". Being small in the infantry is an advantage. [This guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4) wasn’t bad either, and was 5’ 3". ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/16 "2011-01-24T14:36:17Z")
There’s a saying that short guys make better soldiers because their brains are closer to their balls. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/17 "2011-01-24T15:16:25Z")
Gen. Washington himself said the Revolution might not have been won, had it not been for Peter Francisco, a giant: [Peter Francisco - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Francisco) ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/18 "2011-01-24T15:31:38Z")
MP? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/19 "2011-01-24T15:32:43Z")
The pumped up military guys that I see on the news and in photographs who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan don’t look like the soldiers with whom I served. Or like the pictures of my dad and his comrades, for that matter. Muscle bulk like that was really uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724/20 "2011-01-24T15:35:57Z")
Robert Renneman graduated from the Naval Academy by which time he was too tall for shipboard duties at 6’ 7’'. As a result, he was transferred to the army just time to fight in Korea. The account of what happened there is, among other things, rather touching. [USMA link to Renneman](http://www.usma.edu/dcomm/pv/011214/BraveSoldier.htm) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-niche-in-militaries-for-really-big-guys/568724.md?page=2)