Hi all, few questions, ideally looking for responses from those who have done RMAS or are in the RE.
Thinking about applying to be a reg officer with the Royal Engineers. Have wanted to do it for years, now seems like the perfect time, I've got no house, no gf, a BSc + MSc in geology/hydrogeology and 3-4 years working experience under my belt, as well as 3 months international dev experience in India. (Not bragging just background info).
I'm on the way to doing my first reserve training in a few weeks (phase 1 Alpha), but the more I think about it, the more I'm just keen on just doing it full time.
Questions:
Thinking about applying to be a reg officer with the Royal Engineers. Have wanted to do it for years, now seems like the perfect time, I've got no house, no gf, a BSc + MSc in geology/hydrogeology and 3-4 years working experience under my belt, as well as 3 months international dev experience in India. (Not bragging just background info).
I'm on the way to doing my first reserve training in a few weeks (phase 1 Alpha), but the more I think about it, the more I'm just keen on just doing it full time.
Questions:
- After Sandhurst, assuming I am chosen for RE, how easy is it to specialise in a certain area, especially given previous experience. For example i'm really keen on water supplies, however I am also keen on having a hollistic knowledge of all things military Engineering
- With that, is there a way to have less of a focus on combat engineering and more on overall engineering? I'm aware combat is still important, but i'd rather be working out how to build a base/clear a wood, than for exampling defusing bombs.
- What are the chances of not getting picked for RE after completing Sandhurst, especially given my background in technical subjects? It's a definite RE or nothing for me really.
- Language learning - would be very keen to enhance this as I've done a fair bit of french already, is this still a possibility for a lot of officers?
- I would submit an application ASAP, but I have a wedding one weekend next year (sisters) that I can't miss in early October. How easy is it to get a weekend off during RMAS? I can wait, but that would technically mean I wouldn't be able to start until Jan 2022 at the earliest (i'd be 28 by then, 26 now). Am I right in thinking that starting in September 2021 would be a definitely not be able to get the time off for it, as the wedding is start of October, i've heard the first 5 weeks are the most intense. This is fine as I can train as much as possible with the reserves until the, but still, 2022 seems like a very long time away.
- Age is another thing I've thought about, i'll be one of the older chaps most likely, however I like to think I'm still quite fit as I do a lot of running and climbing. WIll age be a disadvantage do you think?