careers in the paras?

[Pvt. Flanagan]

Hi lads, I'm wondering can any of the ex-Paras here give me a hand? Im considering going into the regiment but i have alot of questions ive asked on te army site but I get the impression they were telling me what they thought I wanted to hear. I have also tried a search of the forums but there was loads of results and most werent even related to my search topic.

Firstly, is there any specific tests in training like say a 30mile route march etc? Not that im unfit its just I know very little about the training and I'm trying to get a better idea of what will be ahead. According to the Army site Para training is 11 and 19weeks in two parts is this true? do you train all week or are weekends free?

What about deployments, I'm using this as an umbrella term for excersises and operations, can you give me a fairly good reckoning of how much time I would be away for in a normal year not that I mind going away but i would like to have a life outside the Army too.

Also a recruiter told me that once your 'badged' to a unit you stay with them that theres no room to move around? Is this true?

And lastly can someone explain the higher pay band thing I've been looking at the charts but dont realy understand it, does 1,2,3 after the rank mean years of service?

Thanks for the help lads.

[Greenronnie]

Ref the fitness, concentrate mainly on running between 4-6 miles most days, with the occasional long one (say 8-10 miles). You can mix this up with a bit of time on CV machines in the gym to give your legs a rest. You could possibly try a bit of tabbing with light weight (25/30lbs) over 6-10 miles, but don't overdo it. Running is the main emphasis.

Ref the weekends, not sure what the score is these days, when I did it we worked weekends for the first 13 weeks, then got them off, unless we were on guard or on exercise (never then!). Obviously, once you get to your unit, you will get weekends off as long as you're not on duty.

About moving aroung once you're in, there are lots of opportunities within Para reg to do different jobs or work in different places, however transferring is a different matter. It is possible, but firstly you probably wouldn't want to, secondly it's a far bigger step and will be harder to undertake as opposed to moving around the regiment.

God knows what the score is with the pay, I just look at my pay statement then rip it up!

[Pvt. Flanagan]

Thanks mate cheers for the info

[Pvt. Flanagan]

Sorry another question I forgot to include with my first post, what about bullying in the paras? I know what the score is normally but im just concerned as im Irish and given what some people from Ireland have done i could understand if I was bullied but all the same i'd hate to have to leave or spend my time miserable in one of the best jobs around. Any ex or serving Paras able to give any thoughts on this?
cheers lads

[Greenronnie]

Yeah there's as much bullying as you want mate.

Not really, also it doesn't matter where you come from, there is a big mix in the Reg. I've worked with guys from Canada, South Africa, NZ, Australia, Zimbabwe, Fiji, never mind the Scots, Irish and Welsh. It's just more ammo for piss taking at the end of the day!

[Tab]

Bullying, if some one tries it on just smack them one. I have never seen gangs form in the battalion for bullying. Although I did see a chap caught thieving and that was not a pretty sight.