Please conveince me not to join the T.A.

vaultingSlinky said:
have you considered doing medicine instead of the TA, it means more uni time, but its fairly accessible for biomed students, and it doesnt involve playing with samples in labs!
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Medcine (as a GP right or other areas of specialty right?) is kinda long TBH. After uni, spending years as a trainee etc. I dont think i fancy it at all.
 
Spud21 said:
but until they equip our army with something better than the SA80 as it breaks,
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Right. Nice one with your "my mate told me..." attitude.

The SA80, post H&K refit, is a damn sight more reliable than any of the other weapons NATO are using (M16... M4... G36). The SA80 has got a bad press when it was in its older A1 incarnation, which was a jammomatic piece of doo-doo.

The **5A2 (SA80 A2 to the uninitiated) is one of--if not the most--reliable 5.56mm rifle in the world.

Why would be go and buy a less-accurate and less-reliable 40 year old weapon system (M16?) to replace our perfectly working weapon?

As for the TA, go and join if you like. You'll have a lot of fun no matter what you choose to do. Going on 'ops' is only 5% of your army life, don't dwell on it.
 
Join the TA now and it will help you decide if you want to join the army.

You should be able to tell in the first 6 months whether you enjoy it or not, and i would imagine that most of that time is spent training with NO chance of being sent anywhere!
 
Cueball said:
The SA80, post H&K refit, is a damn sight more reliable than any of the other weapons NATO are using (M16... M4... G36).
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That can't be true with the M16 and M4 surely!? I thought they were extremely reliable weapons. I do agree the SA80 ain't all that bad though.
 
In my opinion I don’t not feel that the TA are adequately trained, recently they have been thrown into potentially hostile situations with a limited amount of training and basic weapons handling.

Personally I would stay well clear, if you were considering a career in the army then go for a unit such as the parachute regiment or royal marines (navy). Although there is more risk being sent on tours in Iraq etc. at least you have had some of the best training available.
 
Im in the UOTC which is a TA unit but category B (means i cant get sent to Iraq).

Its a good break from your typical day to day stuff. Every tuesday i go to the TA centre learn some interesting things meet some new people. Once a month i go spend the weekend in a cold wet field. I love it :D. (AND i get paied to do it!)

I intend to go join the army as an officer afterwards so it was a good taster of whats to come (although its completly different...if that makes sense).

Also wonder how many of those people out there talking about all these guns have actually used one in an excercise...please just stop!
 
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just go to your local AFCO and have a talk with them

,when i went they where very helpful in helping me decide i didnt want to join the army anymore :o
 
things in this thread that are true:
  • joining the TA carries a high risk of mobilisation atm.
  • almost all MOD equipment is made by the lowest bidder
  • the current boots (non-frontline boots) are exceptionally bad.
  • getting shot by a 7.62x39r is NOT PRETTY.

things in this thread that are untrue now corrected:
  • the G36 is less reliable than the SA80A2 series of rifles. it is significantly more reliable
  • the M4 / M16 series of rifles that are in Active service are just as reliable as the SA80A2s
  • just because the AR-15 design is 40 years old, it doesn't mean its any less applicable to the modern
    warzone than a 20 year old design (SA80) or a 10 year design (G36)
 
Me personally, I wouldn't join the TA as I dont wanna partake in a war i dont believe in... But then Im of the mind that problems need to be solved closer to home before we invade other countries heh

join the police!
 
big_white_dog84 said:
I'm in the Royal Naval Reserve and it's fantastic. Great second income and you get paid to do some quality stuff.
BUT...there is a very high chance of mobilisation at the moment. When I joined it wasn't very likely but is becoming increasingly so. Just go along to an acquaint night at you local TA unit and see what it's like.
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Don't join the TA, they have really rubbish initiation rites and all that ********. Join the RNR (I was RN and RNR) or the RMR (your fitness/lack of may be problematic) - they do everything the pongoes do, but the chances of getting shot at are significantly less. Although what they do shoot at you with is considerably more dangerous.

In my first 3 months I spent two weeks at sea, fired off huge amounts of 7.62mm ammunition (SLR > SA80), learned to fight REAL fires in the pitch black in enclosed spaces, learned to survive in the open sea, got significantly fitter than I had ever been in my whole life and I was made to feel a part of something really special. And then I got to do some real training. Helicopter operations, boatwork, diving aptitude test (not for me as it turned out!) and I also got introduced to one of the best man-management systems ever devised. I still run my own departments like I used to run my divisions with regular performance/training reviews and taking a real interest in my staff - not just their work life.

The only thing I regret is, as a member of the RNR, at lunch in the Wardroom at HMS Nelson asking the Captain of the Royal Yacht what he did for a living! He was very kind about it though.

I would really recommend the Royal Navy over the other forces (the Royal Marines are part of the RN) as the "200 seamen trapped inside a hull" and having to rely on each other makes for better teamwork than the other forces in my opinion. You realise that you cannot do your job unless everyone else can do theirs, so you need to rub along together. That's worth it's weight in gold in the real world of work.
 
Keep reading until convinced:-

You could loose an arm.
You could loose an eye.
You could loose your legs.
You good loose your twig and berries.

Rinse and repeat :)

Do it if the idea appeals to you, and you're ready to accept that you may well have to offer your life in service to your country. If you're willing to make that sacrifice, then the army is for you. If not, don't.

Ant :cool:
 
Basic training in the TA takes almost a year, its shockingly **** too.

If you really want to take that route, take a look at the army, or even the royal marine commandos.
 
I'm having a good laugh at all the keyboard warriors in here.

'All MOD equipment is made by the lowest bidder'.

Of course it is made by the lowest bidder - who else is it going to be made by? That doesn't say anything about the equipment standard.

I bet most people in here have never even seen a weapon, never mind fired one. Even though I'm in the RNR I have never fired a live round and I don't pretend to know anything about the reliability or otherwise of the SA80.
 
@big_white_dog_84

Yes - that's because the most dangerous thing in the world is a Matelot with a gun!

I left under 'Options for Change' which shows you how long ago that was, but even then they were seriously cutting down on anything expensive - like live ammo! But I reckon if you went and asked someone nicely they would arrange for you to get trained up on the SA80.

Which branch BTW?
 
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