BEagle

This is a simple query on behalf of someone else:

What attracts someone to join the RAF Regiment as a commissioned officer rather than the regular Army?

Given the choice for a school leaver, precisely what are the pros and cons of RAF Regt vs. Army?

....and I do know, of course, that there's more to being a Regt officer than just being in charge of the bananas and looking after station GDT/ODT/CCS or whatever 'gas and guns' is called nowadays!

Big Unit Specialist

I would encourage any school leaver to join the Regt because.....well the main thing is it's different form the army.
You are in the first instance going to be employed amongst air-minded people - always a good thing?? Secondly you are not tied to any particular specialisation for your whole career - Infantry (Field Sqns), Air Defence (Rapier - but for how long?), NBC (nuff said), Force Protection, Combat Survival Training, Training establishments various, Forward Air Control and then there's the out of branch (whoops - out of Corps) tours - with the Army (16 Air Assault, OPTAG, Sandhurst (instructor), etc, etc.
You can now go all the way (almost) to the top - NB the increasing numbers of 2* + that there are.

19 Years man and boy in the Corps. "Proud to serve" and never a dull moment.

Oh and let's face it you usually have both your bed and your toilet provided in a sturdy non moveable form.

Downside is that you will probably be deployed 8 months out of every year.

Oh yes and there are the NATO jobs.

Greetings from Kabul!!

TC27

There seems to be a big push to get new recruits to look at joining the RAF regiment.

PPRuNe Pop

Never seen a better drill squad! Except the US marines - maybe!

Big Unit Specialist

There is one more thing.. no girls (in the regulars).

Now I'm probably opening myself up for some abuse/intelligent debate.

If the policy were to change I for one would be very welcoming as long as they passed the same selection/achieved the same training standards ...... other branches discuss?!

althenick

For your entertainment - I heard this one from a mate of mine so don't shoot the messenger....

ROCKAPE - A Crab, who dresses like a Pongo, and thinks he's a Bootneck.

Mate had just joined the Marines BTW

Big Unit Specialist

Question: Who were the last UK unit (other than special forces) to parachute into an operational theatre?

Answer: RAF Regt - Sierra Leone

Tell that to the Paras (tee hee!)

jwca

Was that the "operational" para drop that had a crowd line?

RubiC Cube

But do remember recent newspaper rumours that the Regiment was going to be taken over by the Army.

Grimweasel

Army means better postings and a larger choice of jobs. The RAF Reg are very good at what they do, but really, its just for poofs that are too scared to join the Army!!

Stag on and guard that airhead rock ape!!b

Blacksheep

That RAF on the front of the word Regiment stands for "Royal Air Force" Says it all really. Utter superiority over the hiking and sailing fraternity. Why would anyone settle for second best?

force_ale

If they are so good why is it that their place of work has to be protected by techies and admin clerks.

whowhenwhy

Possibly because their "leaders" aren't sadistic enough to send them out on guard as well as train all day and spend 8 months every 12 away on ops! Besides, if you've got some other bu*ger to do something, why bother putting your own name down??

Pontius Navigator

jwca,

Crowd lines go with modern warfare. But then they went with Napoleonic warfare too.

Remember the macho invasion of Somalia? The newsie, standing up,who helpfully pointed out the the grunt, head down in the sand, that he had dropped his wrist watch?

Remember the crowd lines in Umm Quasr and Bagadad?

Accuracy and precision from well trained forces means that civilians are relatively safe if they are separate from the bad guys. Even Afghanistan had a crowd line and cheering crowds as our friends lowered the profiles of the mountains.

flygunz

Whenever I worked with the RAF Regiment I found them to be highly professional and motivated. Whoever created the idea of aggressive self protection for the RAF did a good job. The downside as I've always seen it, and you pompous gits in the RAF are terrible at this, is the way the Regiment is looked down on as the lowest form of life that the RAF can produce.
I tried to promote the idea that the AAC should have an 'AAC Regiment' based on the the same principles of the RAF Regiment providing protection to the fleet of utility and Attack helicopters. The repsonse was typically short sighted by the AAC hence no protection exists for a very expensive asset.

If the person with the choice wants a fully rounded career as an Officer then he should join the Army, if a more narrow field of expertise is what he wants then the RAF Regiment fits that bill. Incidentally, I don't see it as a downside having girls around but perhaps that's because I'm heterosexual!

PPrune Pop - I suspect you have never seen proper drill, go watch the Trooping.

lasernigel

Agree with Grimweasal,being ex REME(the very best) it's a matter of names. Does Rock Ape sound more appealing than Woopert or Wodney?Don't know what it's like in the RAF but know that SNCO's run the Army and officers just sign things.

adrian mole

Only problem I found with the RAF Regt is they cannot get their head around shift workers. In both Afghanistan and Kuwait they would assume anyone sleeping in a tent during the day were skiiving and would drag 'em out to fill sand bags, never listening to reason...

Big Unit Specialist

Entertaining debate starting here - as far as the RAF treating RAF Regt as the lowest form of life, I would suggest that that is now not true. All of the Drivers Airframe and associated oily mechanic types seem to enjoy having us around now...could it be that we have proven to be useful in ensuring that:

a. The Gods of the sky have somewhere safe to take off from and

b. It's still there when they get back!

Oh, and shift workers are all skivers and should be grateful for the experience of filling sandbags etc....... only kidding!

One further final(ish) point, I tried the army; found it far too much like hard work and opted for the easy life. Or was it that I saw the light? You decide.

All for having girls in the Regt - I say again, they should pass the same selection/entry criteria.

And yes it was far tooooooooo hard in the army all that polo practice and those riding lessons at early o'clock, played havoc with the social life don't you know!



Ed C is now a civilian doing something in the city (owning most of it) and is still a gentleman.

BEagle

Aircrew in the RAF don't 'look down' on the RAF Regt - maybe banter them a bit, but that's all part of the game.

Plus getting on with the Regt SNCOs during CCS is a smart move. Show interest, ask the odd intelligent question and understand their role in life - and you might get away with one less CS pellet in the RTF if nothing else. Grumble about "B£oody waste of time this NBC farce" and deserve all you get!

RAF Regt has a good reputation for esprit de corps - and looks after its own very well.

Bill O'Average

What purpose do the RAF regt serve? Now you may quote airfield defence etc but as we all know, most in theatre airfields are so far back that the laundry has to get sent forward. As for Rapier? Say no more.

I spent an awful lot of time training Rocks at Catterick back in the good old days when the RAF had a proper fire service, also trained at said establishment. I just
don’t see the need for such an expensive resource in this day and age of massive cuts.

As for the AAC requiring an equivalent of the Rocks to defend the shiny new pointy thing. They do, it’s called the Inf or to be more precise, the Parachute regt. (Cant see them chucking themselves out of a C17 collecting medals in the future, can you?)

BTW, maybe the reason for the time of this posting is because I’m not actually in Blighty? There’s a thought!