Transfer Artillary-Infantry, help please!

[Matt444jc10]

hey, i put this in a different forum, but looking now i think i might be able to get more help in here. maybe some of you have guys in ur regt that have done this already....

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hey people. jus lookin for some help on a none formal level on transfering from the artillary to the infantry. i know the person who knows best would be in the chain of command but as some of you may no, regiments dont like loosing people, and people will just try putting me off to make me stay.

i spent 6 months in iraq working with the infantry, due to the fact that i wasnt really needed as a gunner so to speak. my role has changed recently and now im employed as a dismounted artillary OP, adjusting fire and so on. now working as an infanteer showed me that the job im in isnt really what i want to do, so ive decided to transfer across to the guys i was attached to in iraq. the questions i have;

*as i lance jack will i loose my rank (some people say yes, others say no)?
*will i have to do any additional training, catterick maybe? and if so will i be reduced to a PTE for the duration of it?
*being a qualified arty OP, i think the regt will want me to go straight into mortars, will it be better for me to spend some time with a rifle company first to gain experience in what will be my primary role?

i think the most important part to me will be keeping my rank, because i dont want to go across and start at the bottom again.

dunno if ive put this in the right forum, but any helps appreciated guys.

cheers

 

[bangalore]

Hard to say really I'm not sure about the rank thing - you'd need to speak to your RCMO and see what the score was. The gaining unit may ask you to do a Potential JNCO's Cadre to prove yourself as the job of an Inf LCpl is as a Section 2IC who is responsible for the training and leadership of his F/T and the G4 of the section. I'm sure if you did lose it, it wouldn't be long before you got it back - having already shown the qualities of being a JNCO.

As an ex MFC and Mortar Platoon 2IC I would have been happy to have you (saves training someone up) and would employ you within one of the MFC party's as you already have the knowledge to adjust and engage as well as all the other things that go with it. Some of the methods and terminology is slightly different but not too much.

Also to get your Cpl you'd have to do a 9 week course at Warminster so you'd have to learn the whole Mortars package (the dirty, smelly, loud end too) in order for you to pass, so apart from MFCing, you have to learn how to operate and fire the Mortar, CPO and ACPO when working in the command post.

At least you'd have a basis of knowledge to start with - I was dragged kicking and screaming from a Rifle Company, sent on the course with about 2 weeks pre-training and still passed.

 

[Matt444jc10]

lol thats the thing, ive already done a jnco cadre, we do a 6 week one witht the artillery, and its purely infantry based, no arty shit involved, so im hoping that will have qualified me to keep rank.

the only part of mortars i would have to learn would be the dirty end as ya say, ive co-ordinated mortar fire before, on its own as well as with my guns, so im more than competant at the control side. as with the command post side, for my sins when i first arrived at regt i did CP work for a year. plus in the artillary command systems course i did (10 weeks of shit) we learnt all the FCA work, emergency firing from firing tables, CPDC checkmaps and all the bollocks to go along with it. we work with the mortar lines sometimes on ex and from what ive seen theres not that much different, maybe as u said, sum terminoligy and stuff. but yeh i think itll just be the workin the mortar thingy, cus we dont learn how to use the guns, they get fired by thick bunny ******* lol the regt i want to go to have said id have to do the standards course so im happy with that.

cheers

 

[bangalore]

I'd go and speak to your RCMO he/she should be able to give you some answers. Which capbadge are you interested in?

 

[Matt444jc10]

2 royal anglian, i worked wiv them in iraq

 

[bangalore]

I've Pm'd you

 

[Matt444jc10]

havent got it yet but ill keep my eye on my inbox, cheers m8