STAB baiting (TA acceptance)

Having been a regular many moons ago I look back and cringe at the way in which I judged and treated part time soldiers.

Especially in the modern climate with our men and women dying in two theatres, why are the TA getting such a hard time?

STAB baiting is fair game when its meant as banter and to get a slight rise or a bite. I know TA soldiers who work a full time civillian week, with all the pressures that go with it, homes to run, famillies to cater for, no cookhouse to square away thier scoff etc.... Then after all this, commuting and general earache that goes with being a grafting civvy they put on green kit at the weekends giving they're all.

I know amongst them there are walts, wannabes and w@nkers, but I can recall plenty of them from regular Army life too....

TA soldiers are dying, getting seriously injured alongside our regular forces... What are the views of the current regular Army towards the TA?

TA Military Cross winner

Was this chap greeted with 'Get off me you big timing civvy walt cnut' when he rescued him platoon commander?

Is the TA still sneered at or accepted as a good and welcome thing?

Surely its a good thing? they wan't to be there, not biding thier time to sign off, not whining about how crap everythign is, just simply giving thier own time giving and sacrificing to serve in the same army as the regulars...

I don't understand why the fangs are out....

Is it jealousy, knowing they can do 'your job' and do so as a hobby? and manage to run a totally seperate life on the outside?

Thoughts?

 

Hello, I'm new here, and hope I'm not going to get grief for saying this but I think the TA is underrated for the very reasons you have mentioned.

I'm sure that TA members are valuable additions to our armed forces and as your posts shows, are no less brave or enthusiastic for the tasks they get involved in.

As you state, they work full time, and even though their TA service might be seen as a 'hobby', they still do the training, they still do their service in what would otherwise be their spare time, and many of them sign up to go on tours, to wars or become regulars.

Their civilian roles can also bring valuable skills and thought processes.

Having said this, the banter/insults between them and the regs is surely no different to banter/insults and even full scale punch-ups between regular units. Ie: Crap Hats etc.

 

I for one give up my weekends because I love it. Sometimes I really don't look forward to it, after a ball-bagged week knowing I'll not get a rest and face another ball-bagged week on the Monday, and on it goes.... but it's worth it in the long run, and I look forward to if I deploy, helping where I can.

It only becomes an issue when some TA personel have an over-inflated opinion of themselves or their capabilities, which is rare in my experience. That's also why my ears prick up whenever I'm being instructed by a regular, because they have far more experience and knowledge than most people you meet for 2 hours on a Wednesday evening. In summary, we know our limits, but can offer much as part of a team. Not to mention the perspective and additional skills some of us can bring to it.

I for one look up to my regular counterparts (and family) out of respect for those attributes mentioned above, however civilians are just as good at spotting w@nkers and bullsh!t, so such respect has a limited warranty.

 

The main difference I noticed between us and the regs is that the general level of fitness is lower (we don't get paid to run during the week), and slightly less communications between privates, in small groups.

It tends to depend on who they have worked with in the past. If your a reg and have only worked with one or two TA and they were total throbbers, its going to put you off. If they were good blokes you'll think better of them all.

 

i think this is a two way thing, most regs i have served with show you respect if you can do the job ( after some inital pi*s taking which everyone should be prepared for anyway). just as much there are poor reg soldiers out there too, however TA should always try and learn from their regular counterparts until they are up to speed( which in most cases does not take long).
the problem with the TA is firstly an image one, when are the powers that be going to finally make the change to British Army (R)?
Also a continuing drop in standards does not help either ( no pft at all needed now in MATT's) -ridiculous!

 

TA is no longer (if it ever were) a hobby? Its a second job/career/vocation and maybe sacrifice.

How many hobbies might get you killed? Its certainly not the 'gun club with a drink problem' that some units were during the cold war, but now a 'Citizen Reserve' where the expectation is you will do a real tour, probably somewhere sandy and dangerous too.

ATC/ACF adult staff. That's a 'hobby'

 

These are all very sensible answers from TA personnel. Are there any raging bigots out there who think the TA are a waste of resources/oxygen?

 

Maybe hobby was wrong choice of word, apologies.

 

Admittedly I could count the number of years I’ve been in the TA on one had, but I’ve met quite a few regs in the guise of both instructors and blokes on the same course and I’ve never come across any problems with them.
There’s always been a bit of baiting but that came from both sides and never with any malice.

Is STAB baiting really a problem or have I just been lucky?

 

Having been both, TA and now currently reg, there are kn0bbers in both and certainly the TA attracted a small amount of Walts but they were quickly weeded out.

Certainly my unit was very committed and 3 others went on to join the regs as a result and a large majority were on Telic 1.

As for how they peform on Ops as longas they do the job, I don't care. I have met some hard working STABs and some lazy regs and vice versa.

I was fortubate in my recruits training to be in the same troop as a very funny RLC lad from Scotland. I met up with him by chance very briefly a couple of years later, me in the Regs with a commission and he a LCpl with a MC. It was humbling to hear him speak, just doing my job type of thing.

see link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4721897.stm

Boils down to the character of the individual in the end

 

The majority of the TA I've served with in the past are the cream of society. How many other non regular jobs require you to put your life on the line in spare time. There are a few Kbnos but nowhere near the general Civvy street proportion from which they are drawn.
As far as baiting them goes on, they just aren't up to speed with Army humour, lets face it it takes a while for the Regs to learn the funny side of things some of which are patently unacceptable in civiian life.
TB

 

I can recall a discussion in a Regular Sgt's Mess on the merits and pitfulls of the TA with several mess members having served as PSI's.

One of the WO2's described good TA guys as "Frustrated Soldiers".

One thing i have never been able to understand is this -some TA guys give up their marriage and everything to stay in the TA -if they are that committed why dont they join the Regular Army. I think there is a certain "comfort Zone" that the TA gives which you dont get in the Regular Army.

I had a friend who had been in the TA for years and asked the PSI if he thought he would have fitted in with the Regular Army. The PSI said he would have been filled in every day in a Regular Bn -The Reason being he was too keen.

BBM

 

Only in the Newham area...