Royal Engineers National Units

[Clynester]

Hi all,

I am looking at moving to Dorset in October for work (I'm a Civil Engineer) and this will coincide with getting a bit more freedom from my previous job. As a result, I was looking at joining the Army Reserve, which I've wanted to do for quite a while. Given my Civil Engineering career and degree, I was thinking about joining the Royal Engineers, however, in coastal Dorset (Weymouth/Bournemouth, where I'm probably going to be renting), there are no RE units. The closest RE unit to me is 131 Commando Squadron in Bath, which is still up to two hours' drive.

With that in mind, are there any national units available within the Royal Engineers that I could join? Would I be able to join 131 Commando, but due to the distance I would have to travel, be allowed to serve a reduced number of training nights, perhaps?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Grim_Squeaker85]

Army Reserve units - British Army Jobs

Reservists in the British Army usually serve locally, although some, where they recruit people wit h specialist skills are based nationally. Find out where you could get involved.

apply.army.mod.uk

You can search for national units there.

 

[medwaymud]

Hi all,

I am looking at moving to Dorset in October for work (I'm a Civil Engineer) and this will coincide with getting a bit more freedom from my previous job. As a result, I was looking at joining the Army Reserve, which I've wanted to do for quite a while. Given my Civil Engineering career and degree, I was thinking about joining the Royal Engineers, however, in coastal Dorset (Weymouth/Bournemouth, where I'm probably going to be renting), there are no RE units. The closest RE unit to me is 131 Commando Squadron in Bath, which is still up to two hours' drive.

With that in mind, are there any national units available within the Royal Engineers that I could join? Would I be able to join 131 Commando, but due to the distance I would have to travel, be allowed to serve a reduced number of training nights, perhaps?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

No - you cannot be excused attending the required training due to distance.
Look for what is available near you, pick the one that gives the best vibe, enjoy that for a few years.
Your day job and Degree will not be wasted and it may give a nice change from Civ Eng.

If in a few years you move area - you can transfer Units, and there may be an RE Unit nearby.

Many people on this Website have served in more than one Regt or Corps.

 

[Grim_Squeaker85]

Do something different from your day job. Learn new skills etc.

 

[CutLunchCommando]

Hi all,

I am looking at moving to Dorset in October for work (I'm a Civil Engineer) and this will coincide with getting a bit more freedom from my previous job. As a result, I was looking at joining the Army Reserve, which I've wanted to do for quite a while. Given my Civil Engineering career and degree, I was thinking about joining the Royal Engineers, however, in coastal Dorset (Weymouth/Bournemouth, where I'm probably going to be renting), there are no RE units. The closest RE unit to me is 131 Commando Squadron in Bath, which is still up to two hours' drive.

With that in mind, are there any national units available within the Royal Engineers that I could join? Would I be able to join 131 Commando, but due to the distance I would have to travel, be allowed to serve a reduced number of training nights, perhaps?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Have you considered commisioning?

 

[Clynester]

Have you considered commisioning?

Commissioning as a Reservist? Yes, to be honest, that was going to be my plan. I just wanted to get an idea of what units would be good for me to join.

 

[aed78973]

Joining 170 group will mean you'll use your civil eng skills and you aren't expected to go to drill nights as its a national unit. It's a lesser commitment of 19 days per year as you don't have drill nights.

You will still have to do the required basic training and following annual training however. I think the closest for your basic training to you might be Exeter.

They recruit from all over the country. Also you don't necessarily need to commission to use your civ eng skills for 170.

There'll be an email address on their facebook page/the army unit finder. They're a good organisation, just need to get your basic training out the way and you're golden. Note medicals can take a several months to sort, so don't expect to start for a for a while at least. Good luck pal.

 

[CutLunchCommando]

Any progress @Clynester ?

 

[putteesinmyhands]

I'd offer the same recommendation as mooted by others upthread - 170 (Infra Support) Engineer Group RE.

No drill nights, minimum 19 days commitment (opportunity for many more if you can fit them in). As a civil engineer, the world is your lobster. Join one of the Works Teams for the best travel opportunities or 509 (Ports Infra) STRE (V) if you want a bit more time on the south coast.

The training weekends could be anywhere, they're not necessarily at Nottingham. They tend to take into account that most people attending will be travelling long distances so reporting time on Friday is generally 10pm though it's OK to be later (but let someone know so you can be allocated a bed). Depart at a sensible time on the Sunday so you're not driving tired.

It's a very grown-up organisation as the bulk of its members tend to be a bit older, most of whom have professional qualifications (though younger and non-professionals can also be found work and should be considered "force multipliers"). An advantage to being more mature is that people trust you to act responsibly so it's not uncommon to be allowed privileges that are withheld from typical units.

 

[Clynester]

Any progress @Clynester ?

Sorry for the very late update! Phoned up 170 and they were good to chat to. I sent them my CV and they’ve agreed to sponsor my application as an officer! I already had an application up and running with 6 RIFLES as a local unit, but I made the switch to 170. There’s an insight weekend up in Nottingham in early May, so that’s my next deadline, but I’ve got all the usual stuff to go through with my application as well - next of kin info, medical documents etc.

 

[paddyplanty]

Sorry for the very late update! Phoned up 170 and they were good to chat to. I sent them my CV and they’ve agreed to sponsor my application as an officer! I already had an application up and running with 6 RIFLES as a local unit, but I made the switch to 170. There’s an insight weekend up in Nottingham in early May, so that’s my next deadline, but I’ve got all the usual stuff to go through with my application as well - next of kin info, medical document

Over a dozen years since I was in, the Troop in Bath hadn't established etc - however, we had a couple of guys, who I always assumed were part of our establishment being green lids, but belonged to RE CVHQ - I think they were organised from Minley at the time.

Have you contacted any RE (AR) to check whether that option still exists?
I presume you can bid for courses, camps and attachments without drill night attendances.

 

[CutLunchCommando]

RE (AR)?

I assume someone else was hading out the acronyms that day.

 

[putteesinmyhands]

Sorry for the very late update! Phoned up 170 and they were good to chat to. I sent them my CV and they’ve agreed to sponsor my application as an officer! I already had an application up and running with 6 RIFLES as a local unit, but I made the switch to 170. There’s an insight weekend up in Nottingham in early May, so that’s my next deadline, but I’ve got all the usual stuff to go through with my application as well - next of kin info, medical documents etc.

Best of luck! Remember, what you get out of it is proportional to what you put in - not in terms of time but in effort and loyalty. As the phrase goes, it's not the amount of time you put into your work, it's the amount of work you put into your time...

 

[putteesinmyhands]

RE (AR)?

I assume someone else was hading out the acronyms that day.

(V) was always good enough for me.

 

[Clynester]

Have you contacted any RE (AR) to check whether that option still exists?
I presume you can bid for courses, camps and attachments without drill night attendances.

I'm sure you're right in that I can still attend different courses (especially as part of a national troop, where drill night attendance is severely limited), but it doesn't get over the hurdle of a 2 hour drive each way to Bath to attend drill nights with the Troop there. It's a shame they don't have national options.

 

[paddyplanty]

I'm sure you're right in that I can still attend different courses (especially as part of a national troop, where drill night attendance is severely limited), but it doesn't get over the hurdle of a 2 hour drive each way to Bath to attend drill nights with the Troop there. It's a shame they don't have national options.

It's asy to say but Drill nights are pretty limited for what they can impart. Weekends are more beneficial and a good aspect of 131 is that they have a pretty high tempo of activity so there's likely to be more than just one active weekend per month.
If you feel you could successfully pass the Commando course it may even be possible to attend a RMR unit if there's one closer.
We had guys from infantry units attend our Troop locations (also had regular officers drafted on to the AACC for Reserve Forces.
I reckon it would be easier as a OR - you could consider commissioning later.
What I'm saying is, you get along for the few drill nights you need initially to get attested and on to your Alpha course (and Bravo) then you're in.
You can plot your course easier from then on.
In 131 you'd be surprised how fast that could be because nothing really starts until the beat phase and afterwards.

 

[Clynester]

It's asy to say but Drill nights are pretty limited for what they can impart. Weekends are more beneficial and a good aspect of 131 is that they have a pretty high tempo of activity so there's likely to be more than just one active weekend per month.
If you feel you could successfully pass the Commando course it may even be possible to attend a RMR unit if there's one closer.
We had guys from infantry units attend our Troop locations (also had regular officers drafted on to the AACC for Reserve Forces.
I reckon it would be easier as a OR - you could consider commissioning later.
What I'm saying is, you get along for the few drill nights you need initially to get attested and on to your Alpha course (and Bravo) then you're in.
You can plot your course easier from then on.
In 131 you'd be surprised how fast that could be because nothing really starts until the beat phase and afterwards.

I'll definitely look into it - I thought there were only the four Royal Marines Reserve locations (London, Bristol, Merseyside and Scotland) - I didn't realise they broke down further into detachments. There's one only 40 minutes from me which is a good option.

Thanks for the information!

 

[paddyplanty]

They used to do their own RMR Courses twice a year and pretend they were somehow different to the AACC - exactly the same training teams, exactly the same tests.
One of my mates got injured, RTU from AACC - went on the ext available RMR course going for their 2 weeks at CTCRM and passed.
Once you're in you can ask, ask from the outside and the answer will probably be 'not possible'.
If you know how things work you can try make it happen.