I,m thinking of joining but do I need to share a room with others?

Hello,

At some point you will definitely be sharing your living space with others: it's a part of life in the Army.

This will start with being in a 12-bed room, as well as ablutions, with your section in Basic Training. Later, you'll share a "shell scrape" with up to 2 other soldiers while on exercise. You can also expect to share bedrooms when you go on courses or when you're in transit/temporary accommodation.

Once you finish your Basic and Initial Trade Training you can move into your own space such as Single Living Accommodation (which is normally an en-suite for one) or into Service Family Accommodation (which is normally a house for your family).

As a personal example, I shared an 8-bed room and ablutions on a course I was on a couple of months ago, but I normally live in Service Family Accommodation.

I hope that helps to answer your question. Please feel welcome to ask any follow up questions in the comments.

hi thanks for your reply

I have 2more questions- how long can I sign up for initially and if the army isn't for me, how hard is it to leave?

When you start basic training your terms and conditions of service will be fully explained to you before you commit and sign a contract. If you are under 18 when you start basic training your legal guardians can recall you.
If you are over 18 when you start basic training you have a "Discharge As Of Right" (DAOR) window. Once you have completed 28 days of basic training this window opens which allows you to leave the service, this is a one time offer so if you do DAOR and chose to re-join at a later date you will no longer have the opportunity to DAOR.
The DAOR window closes a couple of weeks before your basic training finishes. From then you will have to complete a minimum of 4 years service before you can "notice to terminate" (NTT) which will start the process of you leaving the service. The NTT is a 12 month notice.