at the age of 14, rommel and a friend built a full-scale glider that was able to fly short distances. young erwin thought about being an engineer, and he showed a talent with technical work; however, because of his father, young rommel joined the local 124th württemberg infantry regiment as an officer cadet in 1910 and, shortly after, was sent to the officer cadet school in danzig. he graduated on 15 november 1911, and was a lieutenant in january 1912.