Basic Training

[Jizman]

Hi all,
I have been given my date to start at RAF Halton for basic training and im having trouble finding out what to really expect? I have studied the sylabus etc but wanted to find out first hand, peoples experiences?? Can anybody help?
Thanks

[ExRAFRadar]

How much leave ?

You had better find the flak jacket quick mate. :)

[stillin1]

If you go to RAF Holton the first thing to be made aware of is that you will be terribly lonely mate.
The rest of the intake will be at RAF Halton methinks;)
Good luck, stop thinking about leave and work at passing the course:ugh:

[622]

And its Halton..not Holton.;)

Edit - Damn, I was beaten to it !!

[ZH875]

Expect bullsh1t, but whatever is thrown in your direction, just accept it and get on with it, remember that all those who have gone before you will have been through the same, and in most cases, worse.

No leave until the end of the course, so make sure that you take mummy's apron with you, as the strings will be easier to cut.

Learn how to use an iron and how to polish shoes before you go, and I would certainly get my hair cut beforehand, even though you will get one sometime in the first few days. First impressions count.

[jonnyloove]

Dont worry to much sort your Phizz out plenty running and swimming and start doing loads off pushs build the upper body. Remmber its not the army your joinning so you dont have to be a gym monster. Expect loads off bull in your first few weeks lots off late nights bulling shoes and polishing everything that moves. Get your head around the fact your going to be sharing with loads off other blokes and get a sence off Humour thats your biggest tool when going through depot. But most off all enjoy it you will look back in a few years and smile about it. I was in the army and looking back now it was some off the best times off my life. Have a positve outlook to everthing and when things get ****ty remmber its just a means to an end.
GOOD LUCK.

[airborne_artist]

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafhalton/aboutus/rts.cfm and the pages linked to it will tell you what you need.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafhalton/rafcms/mediafiles/FEF2B9B8_B9AF_706E_BC9B766EBC047282.jpg

[Al R]

Is that fellow holding the door open for 'em? God, I almost want to fall for this fellow's post and have a go at modern (bah!) standards.

AA,

I'll never forget Chris C, doubling us to the bedding store at Catterick, in No 1's (.. leave after Swinderby :eek:? Bah!), and making us do bunny hops around the airfield with them on our shoulders. Ok, just down the drag alongside the A1 and back, but that was enough. We had 4 VWs by the end of it. If I had the energy to put my hand up and step forward, they'd have had 5. :E

[Al R]

ITV? :eek:

I try to avoid that. ;)

I remember the Paras from 1982. I bumped into Ally Melvin (sp), one of the recruits, in Norway a few years back when 3 Para was the AMF btn. I recognised his name, he was a Sgt by then, and asked he was amazed and quite pleased.. until I reminded him he was the w#nker who wimped out of beastings quite a lot.

That was a great series.. remember Fighter Pilot? Here's where my ability for trivia comes into its own. John McCrae (sp) was at Boscombe trialling TIAALD (sp) and when I built my own extension, from a self build mag, Martin Oxborough leapt out at me building his own home (I think it was him).

[airborne_artist]

Martin Oxborough leapt out

What did he leap from?:confused:

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

Jiz,

Check your PM's :ok:

[Airborne Aircrew]

I'll never forget Chris C, doubling us to the bedding store at Catterick, in No 1's (.. leave after Swinderby :eek:? Bah!), and making us do bunny hops around the airfield with them on our shoulders. Ok, just down the drag alongside the A1 and back, but that was enough. We had 4 VWs by the end of it. If I had the energy to put my hand up and step forward, they'd have had 5.Ahhh... Sunny, smiling Chris... :eek: We were in NI over Xmas one time and Pre-pre Para was back at Catterick. On Xmas eve at 0400 he took them up on the moor, laid them in a stream in ambush and gave them an early knockoff at 1400... They had to run back to camp so they would warm up... His rationale? The rest of the Sqn. were on Ops - the least they could do was suffer... :D

I remember passing out parade at Swinditz. We had this little guy, (he wanted to be a FLMech... ;) ), who was so skinny and weak that he could not do a present arms with those nasty wooden gats they used to give you, (his shoulders sagged forwards almost immediately). I was tasked with having him not look like a sack of sh1t. After some thought I scrounged up a wooden coathanger and some old rags and created a camouflaged "support system" in the back of his No. 1 Jacket. It worked rather well... :}

[john50uk]

Ah yes, I remember that series in the early eighties. Managed to video all the episodes bar the last one as I was away on ex. so never got to see the last episode.
Anyone know if this series is available anywhere on DVD. Got the Sailor series about the Ark Royal last Christmas, Fighter Pilot on DVd would make a great pressie this Christmas.:)

[rafmatt]

If you are a space cadet don't tell em.
you will just be in for a load of abuse lol.
just play the game and you will be fine.

[serf]

Usually lasts about 2 weeks and mainly consists of teaching you how to be scruffy and call everyone 'mate'.

[Sospan]

I think you might well be getting confused with IOT ! :E

[Sentry Agitator]

Jizman

Check PMs

Regards

SA

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

MJ,

1976..........get some time in sprog :E

As regards Halton and "Halton today??!! :p Duvets, carpets & central heating - luxury!!".................tosh:=

Try bedpacks, bumping floors, scrubbing ablutions and brasso, not quite as tough as we had it but when No2 sprog showed me, just a couple of months back the multiple bruises received learning the feckin leopard crawl I realized not much has changed......Fact :ok:

[Robert Cooper]

My God, that is basic training? Things have obviously changed. Looks like the Hilton. :E

Bob C

[mr Q]

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafhalton[/URL]/

Mission statement is a bit semantic...
.............................To prepare courageous, martially spirited and innovative professionals ready to deploy and use their secondary specialist skills on, or in support of, the front line"

What happened good simple say what you mean English???

[Al R]

:sad:

WTF is 'martially spirited' when its at home, and 'innovative' is just as awful. Thank god they didn't find room for 'defence solutions' in there somewhere too.

Are 'mission statements' in or out at the moment by the way?

[airborne_artist]

WTF is 'martially spirited'

It's a typo - should read "maritally spirited"

[Al R]

Ah, ok. In that case, for realism, shouldn't that read 'maritally spit roasted'? Or was the Q patch at H in the late 80s not representative of service life?

(Berengaria too, come to think of it.. :oh:)

[Mark M'Words]

Aye Mike, Mrs Jenvey left a fair few packets of that particular product on the kitchen window sill as I remember :E:E