kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Anyone here in the armed forces? Have been in my current job for nearly 6 years now,and although the pay is good i am sick to death of my job to the point that its starting to make me ill now. I had planned to go into the navy when i was 19 but i met my then gf and put it all on the back burner and forgot all about it.
Was just wondering what to expect,whether its a culture shock when you first join(not the most disciplined of people) and have heard military life can be a bit monotonous when you are are not bullet dodging in Iraq .

Any views would be greatly appriciated

rob878

I am currently serving in the RAF and i have had a great time, seen a lot, have been lucky enough to play rugby around the world, plus have done some great detachments. I would rather not go into everything that has gone on or the current state to the RAF on a public bulletin board, if you want more info on career options what to expect then pm me and i'll do all i can to answer your questions.

rob

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

chhers

AudiLover

Navy life is meant to be hard, all that time spent on boats away from family. Join the RAF, theyve got shortages from what I hear.

taffyboyo

I've done 15 years in the army and my only advice to you is to join the RAF,


taff

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Ive been advised by my mate who has just left the army to go into either the RAF or navy, he has left after 5 years demoralized and very bitter.

AudiLover

Every army guy has told me this too.

Leslie

My entire career was in the RAF and I would do it all again.

Les

Brendan Hughes

Les - under modern-day morale/conditions? This has been asked once or twice before on SN, and the impression was given that the armed forces generally are nowhere near as nice a place to be as 10 yrs ago. Not sure if that's rose-tinted nostalgia, but the above sounds like it.

I tried to get into the Fleet Air Arm in 1991, but not good enough. I'll never know if that was a bad or good thing.

trevsubwrx1

I leave the army after 23 years very soon, lets just say that if you fancy a six month tan every year, then join up. Depends of course which bit you join, but if its Infantry, Royal Logistic Corps or any of the armoured units, then your going away at least 6 months in every 18 months, probably Iraq or Afganistan.
Pay is good, I must admit, but it aint everything.

My final advice..........join the RAF

rob878

This is not a dig (for once) The RAF as is known in the public domain is going through massive change come this time next year we will be down to 40,000 people (achieved by redundancies and time outing of contracts). The Met police has more people than we do. Recruiting is limited at the moment across the board but there are always spaces for gunners and blanket stackers. That doesn't mean there aren't any spaces but you will have to be good to get in.

My final bit of advice is this: when you go to the careers office they will be very nice and helpful, my mate is a recruiter at dundee, make sure you go in there knowing what trade you want to do and stick to it. If they don't have the trade available, don't fall for the classic, "why don't you join up as (whatever trade they suggest) you can remuster to the trade you really want at a later date" this never ever happens, unless your going for a commision, but that is a cut throat business in it's self. You end up joining up doing something you didn't really want to do, but they get to fill that months quoter of recruits.

And one more thought, the raf still go on boats, harriers and helicopters (h force) are a nearly permanent fixture there. In addition to that expect a high pace of ops out of area i such lovely places as the 'stan, iraq, falklands. But the flip side is you go to some great places as well.

brihoppy

ive been in the RAF nearly 16 years now, with another 6 to go...

ive had a hell of a lot of good times, but it has its pros and cons like anything and depending what your character and personality is can require alot of sacrifice and compromise...

ill tell you this though, the main thing that keeps me in is that im very proud to serve Queen and Country (cheesy i know, but true), but if someone offered me a job in civvy street that kept me at the same standard of living, id leave tomorrow...

just make sure you do your research...!

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Cheers people Turn 25 this year and starting to realise that being in a job you like is as important as earning big $$$. I earnt nearly £27k last year but am sick to death of the job and think it is time to get out before i get seriouslly depressed.
I know its cheesy but i would be proud to serve for this country, although there are things wrong with it there are still a hell of a lot of things right with it worth fighting for.

trevsubwrx1

King.
Ive already posted on this, but if its what you want, make sure your not railroaded into some unit or organisation you really dont want to be. Ive seen so many young, and not so young soldiers stuck in a job they didnt really join up to do because of some quota grabber at the recruiting office.

Good luck......overall it isnt that bad.

mart360

Interesting... about the raf...


in the 80,s when i got made redundant, i applied for the raf...


went to the recruitment day, and did all the bits and bobs...

I knew that the chances of being a pilot were nil but was interested in being mp or similar...

they went through the room in reverse order, ie the lower scores first, and it got down to the final two ( me and a copper interestingly)

i went in and they gave all this spiel about being able to fit any role, and they needed flexible people, they asked what branch i was interested in, i told then MP.. and then they flustered and started to flick through the test results, bearing in mind, i was one of the last candidates so i knew my results were pretty good...

ahh ummm oh he said you didnt do well at maths.. well you need A level maths, you never know, you may need to add up the contents of someones wallet, and you need good maths for that...


ok i said, what have you got available then...

ermmm then he has a look through his paperwork..

were activley recruiting at the moment for............. cooks..

and anyway he replied we decide on whats best for you, not the other way round!!

suffice to say i didnt take him up on the offer...


the copper behind me got the same too.. they reckoned his background would make him unsuitable for MP

Mart

rob878

Hmm interesting A levels for raf copper, they usually have the alsation with them to make their decisions for them (i'm only joking chaps just a bit of banter you know) but now i have started have some more rafisms.

Another source of amusement for Raf techies along with the police are our friends the Regiment and this story kind of sums up the humour between the trades.

A germany based techie on GST prior to an excercise

J/T Techie "excuse me Flt Sgt i have all my kit i haven't been issued my lilo"
Regt Flt Sgt "you don't get a f***** lilo, this isn't a f***** holiday camp" cue more abuse etc.
J/T Techie "Oh if thats the case then i'll just have to sleep on my wallet"
Regt Flt/Sgt lost for words.

Alse my mate who asked in a CCS course, "if nerve agent made it hard for you to breath and that atropine (the antidote) gave the exact opposite symptoms then would he find it really really easy to breath. Again another stunned regt dude.

pete1977

Also depends what exactly you want to do?Trade etc?The navy,raf and army have so many different trades/job to offer.Remember you also got the reserves/TA if its not totally for you.I think you need to decide where you want to be in the future then go from there.Also bear in mind wether the skills you,ll learn in the forces transfer over to civvy street if the forces arent for you in the future.Whatever you decide you,ll meet some mega mates and visit some mega countries and you,ll do things that only your average civvy can dream about.Let us know which Arm of the services you go for.

Julz1983

I'd say RAF or Navy.

My husband has just come out the Army last week, he signed off last year after doing 8 years, 5 of which were brilliant and the last 3 not so brilliant, after what has happened in the last 3 years with different things in his career I wouldn't say to anyone to join the army now. That's just my point of view, others may be suited in the army or be having a brill time, unfortunately for us it went downhill and any problems fell on deaf ears, which where we were there were alot of people with probs throughout their army life that could never speak to anyone high up or get problems sorted. My husband is going further with them as if you join the army fit then you should leave fit, he joined fit and has left unfit, through them he has ended up with a back problem which was ignored and put to one side even though we constantly persisted for him to be checked out and find out that there was a problem, once they took ages to find out he now needs physio all the time for it.

Bonehead

My old man did 40 years in the army and retired in 99.
For a workaholic who for as long as I could remember loved working in the army, I was -to say the least- suprised to hear him say how "f**king glad" he was to get out.
A friend of mine left the RAF last year and a couple of good mates are talking seriously of going for RAF redundency (sp),
The common reason?...the Labour governent.
My Dad had a very successful career and his last job was running a TA Royal Engineer unit, he'd come home and say he'd get orders through such as, army vehicles used on the public highway have to be painted in non-offensive green....wtf?!?
My mates say it's changed so much in the past decade. Moral is at an all time low.
My band plays in a few forces bases and I chat to various service folk when I'm out. I sometimes fancy going for the forces myself but when I hear how unhappy folk are these days it's quite an eye opener.
There's always two sides to it, but loads of em are trying to get out.
The governemt send them all over the world with s**t kit. Not forgetting how quick the human rights lot'll jump on 'em at the first chance.

All in all its no suprise to me to see some of the above comments - funny thing is, my Dad always said he'd have gone for the RAF if he knew how bad the army treats its staff. The RAF tend to treat you more like human beings and work more social hours, obviously not when at war!

KOT, ever thought about the Police?
They're going to s**t as well thanks to Bliars lot, but if you pick the right force and try and avoidall the PC nonsense you can still have a rewarding job.
Plus if you ever fancy emigrating countries like Canada and Auz really rate Brit Police.

Harvez

An interesting read !

Im also thinking about joining up, not sure what at the moment as its only a thought at the back of my mind but have alot of mates in the services and i really think id fit straight in. I love both physical and mental challanges, bored of my normal job window fixing and it really appeals to me. Just turned 20 and want to make the discion soon

Whats the best way for me to go, i try to read up alot but never known what group/reg or whateva to join. Only read what mates tell me etc ( Sorry To Hiject the thread a little )

Also when window fixing work on alot of base's doing the windows and everytime i go, i want to join up there and then but just having trouble making that first step

danwrx1980

I've done 5 years with the Royal Signals and have just re trained as a tech, I love it but like anywhere you get your fair share of nobbers.

As echoed before get your trade fixed in your head and don't be swayed from it, and by trade that can be anythin!!!!!
If running round with a jimpy is for you then trade can also mean infantry!!!
At the end of the day mate get yourself a good idea of what you want to do then book your BARB test to see if you score high enough to do it. You aren't obliged and you will pick up a lot more info.
One thing tho, at 25 you will find yourself in a room with a bunch of screamin 16 year old kids, but don't let that put you off!!!
As said before if you want any more info let me know.

Dan.

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Interesting you should mention emigrating ,Grandparents were canadian and i was told i could apply for dual nationality passport although i never looked any further into it.
Was leaning towards joining the navy pete ,but having spoke via pm on here am in two minds whether to go far a areer in the navy or the Raf. Did actually qualify as an electrician at college and served 12 months as an apprentice although in my youthful ignorance jacked it in for a quick buck, although im hoping i could still go in along those lines.

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

Mate,
Currently on 13 years in the Army and earn around £30k, if i go abroad this goes up. just as others have said make sure you know what you want to do and stick to it when the careers office try to talk you into the undermanned posts.
also i joined at 22 and was left alone in trg and all the 18 yr olds were getting it tight, and also you need to be quite fit. the fitter you are at the start the easier it is in the long run.
You get to go to some amazing places and see some sight i can assure you. you also get to meet some great mates but also a lot of dicks.
and lastly pick a job with a trade for when you leave,ie REME for technical stuff and fixing ****, signals for comms, infantry for shooting at stuff.

Good luck and PM if you need any other info.

Mac

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

fatherpierre

I did 12 years in the RAF.

I enjoyed much of it but leaving was the best thing I ever did. It's so easy to get into the mindset of being trapped, thinking there's nothing else out there. I went out recently with old friends who are still serving and they all admit to being scared of leaving, but want to.

I got a good education out of it, met some good people, travelled and "met" plenty of ladies , but am SOOOOO pleased I left when I did.

At 25 you're quite old to be joining and will always be playing catch up.

Richard_P

Am I right in thinking I've seen you say you're in the police? If so do you think it worked out well joining up after having another career? Has it given you any advantage having life experience?

Rich

fatherpierre

Yes, my time in the RAF helped to a certain point.

It probably helped me get into the police to start with and certainly made the training for the police seem like an 18 week holiday. The self discipline and standards expected certainly stick with you.

You get life experience through time. Being in the military gives you experience but also hinders experience as you're in a controlled environment and you tend only to socialise with similar people.

Tiggs

I was going to join fleet air arm and was talking to recruiters at 17 as i started A levels........by 17 1/2 i had grown a couple of inches and was clearly going to be too tall to ever fly - so i gave up that idea, walk out of A levels and got a job (lucky escape with hindsight)

Jerome

I spent 17 years in the TA and I would recommend not joining the army. For all but the last 3 months of service I was an unofficial recruiting NCO. But, when it really mattered, the army treated us really badly. The TA and reserves in particular, but most of the regulars were also pretty brassed off. I was with the Royal Engineers for the record.

I would personally recommend the RAF or, if you don't mind being at sea, the Royal Navy. Don't forget the Royal Marines if you are super fit.

If you really want to be up to your neck in "muck and bullets", consider the RAF Regiment. They do all the warry stuff the infantry do, but get much better kit and are treated with much more respect than Army equivalents.

Bear in mind that the Royal Navy and RAF are awash with guys with lots of qualifications before they join, so it may be more difficult to "shine" with them than the Army.

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

still only 24 at the minute so a young un