Thinking of joining the British Army.

[Deleted]

Oh, I would want to stay local.

Sounds like fun. Starting to get fit tomorrow.

You do not stay local, you are based where the army puts you. You will however be based with people from the same area as you, if you want to that it.

You could end up based in Scotland, Wales, Germany, Cyprus, some other random place. Do not join any branch of the armed forces if you want to keep living locally, join the TA if you want to do that.

[Deleted]

Every Infantry regiment is unique, not at all like the US system. Individual regiments have their own customs, ways of doing drill, different colour berets and different cap badges. It is something truly unique to the British army. Once you join a regiment, it is damn near impossible to transfer to another one, but most people never even try. You get so attached to your unit that you think you are the best in the world, It inspires a lot of loyalty among the troops.

Where are you from, I can tell you your local regiment.

Talking to unique regiments. Apparently Philip Hammond is putting several of the Scottish Regiments down for the chop due to 'Cost cutting'. Black Watch amongst them.

[steveyboy]

You do not stay local, you are based where the army puts you. You will however be based with people from the same area as you, if you want to that it.

You could end up based in Scotland, Wales, Germany, Cyprus, some other random place. Do not join any branch of the armed forces if you want to keep living locally, join the TA if you want to do that.

Sorry I meant local people.

[Deleted]

Talking to unique regiments. Apparently Philip Hammond is putting several of the Scottish Regiments down for the chop due to 'Cost cutting'. Black Watch amongst them.

Shit, that will not be popular. There was an uproar in the army when they started amalgamating units, they will lose a lot of experienced men if they do it again. Myself included.

---------- Post added 2012-05-23 at 10:01 PM ----------

Sorry I meant local people.

Sure you want to hang around with a bunch of midlands boneheads? It's why I moved

[steveyboy]

Shit, that will not be popular. There was an uproar in the army when they started amalgamating units, they will lose a lot of experienced men if they do it again. Myself included.

---------- Post added 2012-05-23 at 10:01 PM ----------



Sure you want to hang around with a bunch of midlands boneheads? It's why I moved

Should be fun.

How long do I have to be in infantry untill I learn to drive a tank? Or mortar team? Or possibly a sniper?

[Deleted]

Should be fun.

How long do I have to be in infantry untill I learn to drive a tank? Or mortar team? Or possibly a sniper?

By tanks, you mean Infantry fighting vehicles, we do not have tanks in the Infantry. When you first join your unit you will be a dogsbody, made to do all the crappy stuff. If you are really lucky they won't make you lug the GPMG around, you will just be a plain old rifleman. When you have 2 years or more under your belt and have proven you are not a complete fool you can request further training in other areas.

Forget about sniper training until you are at least a Corporal, and never mention wanting to be a sniper to any instructors during training. They HATE Call of duty kids, we get too many of them joining up nowadays.

[Deleted]

Because of the new defence treaties why not consider joining the French army? Far less will be expected of you and you'll get a designer uniform.

[Deleted]

Because of the new defence treaties why not consider joining the French army? Far less will be expected of you and you'll get a designer uniform.

Would you want a Frenchman watching your back?

[Jackmoves]

Should be fun.

How long do I have to be in infantry untill I learn to drive a tank? Or mortar team? Or possibly a sniper?

Not sure how the british army does it but you apply for a MOS here, or an empty position in a unit then you get the training for that. You don't need to do a bunch of "dog" years if you want to drive a tank, you apply for that position, if you are lucky you get it and then they train you for the job you are supposed to do.

Snipers just get hand picked here.

edit: Rich already answered

[Deleted]

Would you want a Frenchman watching your back?

Sure, if they were L'Garde Écossaise.

[Deleted]

Not sure how the british army does it but you apply for a MOS here, or an empty position in a unit then you get the training for that. You don't need to do a bunch of "dog" years if you want to drive a tank, you apply for that position, if you are lucky you get it and then they train you for the job you are supposed to do.

Snipers just get hand picked here.

edit: Rich already answered

We do it differently here, if you say Infantry you start as a rifleman. You need to convince the people above you that you are not a complete screw up and can handle more responsibility.

Other branches like the Royal engineers or signals for example do it the same way you guys do, you apply for the job and train for it.

[Deleted]

Because of the new defence treaties why not consider joining the French army? Far less will be expected of you and you'll get a designer uniform.

Asking an Englishman to join the French Army... Doubt many would opt for that lol.

As for infantry - If you wanted to join infantry or at least that sort of role, I'd probably prefer to go with Para's or Marines. My dad was a Para, both uncles were Marines and one of their cousins was infantry. From what I've heard from them all, Para's and Marines get far more opportunities to get out and do stuff that's pertinent to training and what they're expected to deliver as part of their role.

I dunno though really. I think every branch and role has a part to play and I'd imagine they all have their pros and cons.

Personally wouldn't join unless it was on Subs and that's already been written off because of so many issues with my gammy knees lol.

[Deleted]

Would you want a Frenchman watching your back?

Yes, if I was running away.

[Deleted]

Asking an Englishman to join the French Army... Doubt many would opt for that lol.

As for infantry - If you wanted to join infantry or at least that sort of role, I'd probably prefer to go with Para's or Marines. My dad was a Para, both uncles were Marines and one of their cousins was infantry. From what I've heard from them all, Para's and Marines get far more opportunities to get out and do stuff that's pertinent to training and what they're expected to deliver as part of their role.

I dunno though really. I think every branch and role has a part to play and I'd imagine they all have their pros and cons.

Personally wouldn't join unless it was on Subs and that's already been written off because of so many issues with my gammy knees lol.

Para's and Royal marines are excellent soldiers, but they do exactly the same job as line Infantry when out in the field. Sure Para's and Royal Marines get some nice additional training but when was the last time we parachuted into battle or did a beach assault? Line Infantry do get the bonus of better armour though, the Warrior is an excellent fighting vehicle that Para's and Booties do not use.

[steveyboy]

Oh I was just using Sniper as an example to see how hard it would be to progress throughout my career and to see what I could do in say 5 years in the army.

[Deleted]

Oh I was just using Sniper as an example to see how hard it would be to progress throughout my career and to see what I could do in say 5 years in the army.

Snipers are hand picked from the regiment, you will need to prove you are up to it before they let you do something like that. Still, being a sniper is not as cool as you think, not like Hollywood portrays it at all. Its very boring, you will sit in an observation post for days on end watching random crap. If you are lucky you may get to fire a few shots if you get permission, meanwhile the rest of your unit will be doing patrols and using some very cool kit. They will see more action than any sniper.

[warpath2k]

Join the Royal Marines. Second only to the S.A.S. You'll get to travel with them.

[Jackmoves]

We do it differently here, if you say Infantry you start as a rifleman. You need to convince the people above you that you are not a complete screw up and can handle more responsibility.

Other branches like the Royal engineers or signals for example do it the same way you guys do, you apply for the job and train for it.

Sounds better tbh

Missed that he was just talking about infantry btw.
You do GMU here, for 3 months, which is basic training pretty much, after that you got 3 options, Home Guard, or apply for a unit/regiment or apply for cadet school(is that the correct term in english?), you need that if you want to get into officers school later on. Once you finish GMU you can apply for almost any job, then once you get approved for the job you get all the basic courses and training for the job you have, if you are in the infantry we kind of do it a bit like you do I guess, as you will get hand picked for certain classes and training if they find you suitable for it.

[Deleted]

Join the Royal Marines. Second only to the S.A.S. You'll get to travel with them.

Odd that someone so RM biased didn't say S.B.S :P

[Deleted]

Join the Royal Marines. Second only to the S.A.S. You'll get to travel with them.

Say that to a Para and watch the sparks fly, Para's and Booties have a bitter rivalry. Comical to watch them trying to out do each other all the time.