Hi Everyone,

I am 33 years old this month and I come from an EU and Commonwealth country. been living in the South West UK for a year now and I have always wanted to join a real army.. and let s face it no army is better than the British.. anyway.....

I have some experience that might (?) be useful for me joining the army, like deep sea diving, abseiling and rock climbing, full driving licences, 4 fluent languages and 21 years of martial arts etc, i really dont know if these could be considered assets for the forces as they are after all civilian qualifications.

First of all I wanted to join the RMR but I dont qualify as I was told I need to have lived in UK for 3 years. Therefore due to my age I am left with 3 options, being the signals, the artillery and the Rifles. being rather adventurous and definitely willing to serve overseas, I guess Rifles would be the best for me... any thoughts and advice? would be greatly appreciated.

Missus is moaning a little but hey ho.. it s now or never for me and I believe any able bodied man should have the pride to serve his country or his host country.. but thats just me..


Well let e conclude by saying that as am ex colonial I would be proud to serve in HM forces even though I cannot qualify for regular army.


Over

Yep you sound perfect for the job in the TA. I can't understand why the RMR has a minimum amount of UK living time prior to joining (maybe they're just being a bit picky?)

Best of luck Bud

Thanks Tentoes for the reply. I called the RMR recruitment office today to confirm what I said above and indeed they said that at least 3 years of continuous living in the UK is a pre requisite. So that s out of the option for me. I read all I could on the web in regards what would be the best choice for me between 6 Rifles and The Royal Artillery, however I am getting more inclined towards 6 Rifles.. Started a whole new training program as from today to increase my cardio stamina...

What I could not get much info about is what the training would constitute of.. I mean is the basic training all the same for all regiments or is there different set of training? I mean would Rifles have more training in light weaponry (?), survival etc? or is the same for the basic training and then there are specialising courses afterwards? An overv iew of training would be extremely valuable information for me at this point.

Sorry for the multitude of questions but I m obviously very green on the matter. I just wanna make sure I make the right choice, My age dont allow me time to play games and waste my time and the army's time.

Thanks once again

Have a search trough the other TA threads on here the info's bound to be there.
Just out of interest why are you unable to qualify for the regular Army? I know very little of the TA but I assume that the entry requirements must be near enough the same as for the regs?

All Bootnecks are SC'd, probably the reason behind the 3 year rule.

Originally Posted by tentoes

Have a search trough the other TA threads on here the info's bound to be there.
Just out of interest why are you unable to qualify for the regular Army? I know very little of the TA but I assume that the entry requirements must be near enough the same as for the regs?

I deffo wanted to join regular army but the cut off age was 32 years by the recruit time so i was a few months late as I had to wait to be in UK for a year otherwise there would be no doubt I would go for regular Armed Forces... I have been browsing through many pages on this great forum and had a few laughs as well at a certain Walt exposure whom I had the unpleasant experience to meet... but that s for another section.

Anyway some questions I cant find answers to.. like the training programme, combat training, weapons handling etc etc. Also it might be a stupid question but I guess there is no way a TA soldier can convert to regular? Oh well I ll have a deeper look into the thread hoping to find my answers before Tuesday..

Thanks once again

Originally Posted by FNUSNU

All Bootnecks are SC'd, probably the reason behind the 3 year rule.

Bootnecks being? Sorry did not catch the meaning of 'SC'd'

I know I' m new and havnt got a clue on the jargon used, apologies for that

Bootnecks= RM's, I think FNUSNU is trying to explain that the 3 year thing for the RMR has something to do with background clearance, I don't know have no recruitment history (other than my own, and thats a bit out of date) try the AFCO

Got it, thank for the jargon translation. Background clearance makes sense, lucky me that it is 1 year for TA.

Hello Mate

In perspective:

All Royal Navy & RM /RMR will need to be Security Cleared

All royal Signals (the same)

But very few Artillery trades or Infantry actaully require it.

(helpful I hope)

Originally Posted by Ares79

Got it, thank for the jargon translation. Background clearance makes sense, lucky me that it is 1 year for TA.