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QDG, FR will have a role - Look up Army 2020, it will show you how the army will transition to

Originally Posted by gillyjk

Hi Guys,

I know you all hate the bullsiht questions and lads coming on here asking random recruiting questions but I'm in really need of your help. I passed ASDC yesterday and whilst there asked the infantry corporal if the QDG did all the infantry field work and craft which I had been told be my recruiter (welsh guard). This took the siht out my arrse as this was the reason I changed my first job choose to QDG as I wanted both a amoured and infantry based role. So the question I'm asking is, do the QDG do infantry activities as well as armoured so I'd get the best of both worlds or was my recruiter talking wind?

If not which you would you recommend QDG or Welsh Guards? Does FR even have a future?!

Again sorry for the bullsiht
James

Firstly, yes FR very much has a role which is not going away.

Yes, FR soldiers conduct a mixture of mounted (on vehicles) and dismounted (on their feet) activity, about 50% of each in fact.

As an FR soldier you will find yourself up at the 'front', often in front of the infantry. Your role will normally be to gather information on the enemy, but as a secondary role you may also be tasked to fight the enemy, either mounted or dismounted. FR regiments (now re-titled Brigade Reconnaissance Regiments or BRRs) include squadrons who are equipped with the CVR(T) tracked recce vehicle (to be replaced by FRES SV) and others which are equipped with armed wheeled vehicles such as JACKAL (these squadrons are also known as the BRFs). Both squadrons will conduct mounted and dismounted activity as part of their normal business in the field, the BRFs do more dismounted activity and are (or at least were) trained up to the same dismounted standards as light role infantry companies during their collective training.

If you want to be at the sharp end of the army and want a good mixture of mounted and dismounted, then FR is probably a very good choice. While FR is first and foremost for watching the enemy rather than directly attacking it, the opportunities are certainly there.

The Welsh Guards is a light role infantry battalion, which also conducts ceremonial duties. Therefore, in theory, they only really move about by foot (in reality everybody gets vehicles of one sort or another). You certainly would not get "the armoured experience" by joining a light role infantry regiment/battalion. But if you just want to do "pure light role infantry" (i.e. attacking things on foot) and fancy the ceremonial duties, then one of the foot guards regiments (such as the Welsh Guards) would suite you fine. By and large the QDG do not do very much by way of ceremonial duty.

Good luck.

Thanks lads, QDG look like the obvious choice and my recruiter said I could stay on scimitar or the new upgrade of I wanted to stay on the armoured side of things.

However, I was then told by another sgt in the officer to go MBT as they also have FR sqd but was then told they don't have a future and after 2020 will most likly be scrapped and their FR don't do the same job as BRFs. Whats your views? Will they survive last 2020 and do their FRs do the same dismounted roles as QDG. I want to make the right desicion and my recruiter doesn't seem to have the answers.

Originally Posted by gillyjk

Thanks lads, QDG look like the obvious choice and my recruiter said I could stay on scimitar or the new upgrade of I wanted to stay on the armoured side of things.

However, I was then told by another sgt in the officer to go MBT as they also have FR sqd but was then told they don't have a future and after 2020 will most likly be scrapped and their FR don't do the same job as BRFs. Whats your views? Will they survive last 2020 and do their FRs do the same dismounted roles as QDG. I want to make the right desicion and my recruiter doesn't seem to have the answers.

To deal with your questions separately:

1. MBT will survive past 2020. Post-afghanistan, the British Army is looking to regain the skills that we have lost in combined arms manoeuvre warfare. This means that we will train with heavy armour as our primary asset, with FR (now renamed to Brigade Reconnaisance, by the way) suporting that closely.

2. MBT FR squadrons don't do the same things as FR regiments. Strictly, MBT regiments have a 'close recce' troop, not an FR troop. They do slightly different things when operating in Scimitar, but the key point for you is that an MBT recce troop will not operate dismounted nearly as much as an FR troop.


As a further point, the QDG may be getting Jackal as a replacement for Scimitar in the near future if they become one of the new 'Light Cavalry' Regiments. This may suit you as it will involve even more dismounted work than FR, whilst still maintaining more vehicle work than most Infantry will experience.

Originally Posted by gillyjk

Thanks lads, QDG look like the obvious choice and my recruiter said I could stay on scimitar or the new upgrade of I wanted to stay on the armoured side of things.

However, I was then told by another sgt in the officer to go MBT as they also have FR sqd but was then told they don't have a future and after 2020 will most likly be scrapped and their FR don't do the same job as BRFs. Whats your views? Will they survive last 2020 and do their FRs do the same dismounted roles as QDG. I want to make the right desicion and my recruiter doesn't seem to have the answers.

It sounds like you are not getting the clear advice that you should be from the recruiting office. I suspect you may have heard a bit of office banter amongst the recruiting office staff.

Neither FR (now Brigade Reconnaissance) nor MBT is being got rid of entirely, but as you will know, the army is changing quite a bit between now and 2020. In that time some regiments will change role. Nobody yet knows whether the QDG (or any other regiment for that matter) will be doing exactly the same thing in 2020 as it is now. Best not to worry about it at this stage, join the regiment whose current role best appeals to you. If you come from their recruiting area then so much the better. You clearly want a good mixture of mounted and dismounted soldiering and I suspect (given your other choice was the Welsh Guards) that you are from Wales or close by; therefore QDG would seem an excellent choice for you (they are a good regiment in my experience).

Originally Posted by brave-coward

(they are a good regiment in my experience).

They were a cracking regiment during the 3 years I was attached to them (MBT role at the time) and I would highly recomennd them.

Very professional and efficient in everything they did but you could enjoy it at the same time.
And at that time, I cannot speak for now, there were no attached arms. When you were with them you were QDG, you just wore a different capbadge to them.

And Waterloo dinners. What more needs to be said.

Thanks for the replies lads.

If I was to join a MBT regiment however. Which would you advise. As I'm from Wales I don't have a associated regiment so I was thinking 1 or 2 RTR but wouldn't know which to choose, I know their amlagimating in 2014 but I have 2 years until then. Any advice? Ta

I would be very surprised if we end up with only RTR using MBT.
Likely that cavalry regts will switch between the roles therefor go for QDG.

All REME are bastards NAHNAHNAHNAH