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Howdy howdy,

Just got back from my xmas leave, and finally had some time to post here heh..

I just wanted to quickly give some advice to people that will be joining up on january - and some good news :]

First of all, although its a very good idea to be physically fit, being mentally fit is very very important.. three weeks into my course, around 17 people have lost or been recoursed. namely due to them not being fully prepared as to what was to come..

Just a quick few points that might help people..

[1] swim as often as you can, and put your self to the test.. the swimming activitys you will do can be very very demanding on the body.
[2] do pushups when ever you can... the PTI"s love to hand them out to the course, and it will cause alot of pain if your not prepared.
[3] find a way to practice the bleep test - its one of the first tests you'll run into.
[4] be sure your prepared and aware of what your going into.. getting homesick is a real killer if you havnt found a way to overcome it.
[5] do your best not to screw up from the start.. once your names out there, you either improve really really fast - or feel the pain...
[6] learn to iron! they will teach you how to do it, but its one of the most dawning tasks at the start for most people..
[7] If you smoke a fair bit , try and cut down.. you'll be on 5 a day pretty fast, and the withdraws can really make everything seem so much harder.
[8] Break your boots in really really nice.. one of the lads on the course ended up getting a blister infected within a week, he ended up going to hospital.. and got recoursed.
[9] Practice pull-ups, that 9-foot can be a real pain if your not as fit as you should be.
[10] Bring blister tap along with you, we didnt get issued any till the end of the 3rd week, by that point - the blisters we're almost all gone.
[11] Get use to cleaning up after your self.
[12] Be prepared for a little amount of sleep, if any at times - your body will adapt to it, you just have to keep on trucking.
[13] You will most likely get sick within the first few weeks with something or another - try and man it up, and keep your chin up.
[14] Try not to bombard the senior man with questions at the start, its a very stressful job - and they will get shit for your mistakes.
[15] Bring a mobile if you can, even if its a crap one.. keeping in contact with your loved ones will make the home sickness easier.
[16] Try not to fall asleep during lessions, it easily happens - but doesnt leave a good impression.
[17] You will get beasted at the start.. try not to take it personal, the corporals and staff are just trying to mold you, and make you a better person.
[18] Have a loved one show you how to sew if you dont know how to... name tags will get torn off if they are poorly done - and it can get very very annoying!
[19] Bring some form of music with you [mp3 player], you will want to block things out at times.
[20] smile and keep your chin up, if you remain positive - the course will seem great. if you complain about everything, you will soon find your self leaving.

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now for some good news to the january course!
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[1] You are apparently joining the easiest of the courses.
[2] you will "apparently" get the blocks you are shown to on pgac... not everyone is so lucky :p

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But yea, there ya go.. just some lil tips for the soon to be trainee gunners :]

Wish i knew half of this stuff before i joined to be honest! :]


[ps] i love the training, best thing i've done in my life by far.... i was a screw up for the first week and hated it.. and suddenly i changed, my admin vastly improved and the course became so much better... although it can be tuff at times, just give it 110%... Just try and look at everything as a ways to improve your self..

PTI has you do an hour circuit? no problem - just grit your teeth, and dont give up.. they are improving your body, and you will see it when you look in the mirror!

Corporals or sergeants shouting at you? you probably did something you shouldnt have, just take it on the chin, and learn from your mistakes - and dont do it again!

Sooner you get the mentality down that this is training, and not a holiday camp - the sooner you will understand that everything that happens to you is a ways to improve your self - and eventually - hopefully - turn you into a regimental gunner :]

Keep going rookie rock you'll make it.

Interesting to note what you say about swimming. In my day (late 70s -early 80s) there was no swimming at all and no requirement to be able to swim. Fact is I only learned to swim a year after I left the Regt in 82, when I joined the Met Police which did have a swimming requirement. You see back in those days it wasn't unusual for central London boys like myself to be non-swimmers because it wasn't an activity we had much interest in.


EX of II Sqn - when they were still at Hullavington

For the record, of all the sqns and GDT units I seved on, II Sqn was the best with regards to how the officers looked after you and how the men behaved towards each other. Attitudes on II Sqn were completely different to the rest of the Regt. I came to the conclusion rather quickly that all these airborne gunners respected each other because of what they'd all achieved. So the "tough guy" posing and posturing was at a minimum compared to other sqns. In fact, I can hand-on-heart say that I never ever saw any in-house fighting when I was on II Sqn.

Just a tip, if you're still deciding where to go.

Good stuff Roki. I'll be doing my TG sometime next year, always good to get a bit of info from those who've been there and done it!

Overall what would you say the standard was like of the guys turning up to TG compared to PGAC? Are most people a lot fitter/more mentally up for it/better prepared or what? Just out of curiosity really. Also has anyone dropped out/been kicked out?

memories, memories. my sentiments exactly and very informative and well put post. I may add dont let the more immature mongs on the course get you down and realise your all in it together! teamwork!! good point about harrassing the senior man though, i done that job for nearly 5 month!! nothing a lot of in house MFV (maximum f*ckin violence) and 'heated debate' doesnt sort out mind ;o)

mr_man_2168 wrote:
Overall what would you say the standard was like of the guys turning up to TG compared to PGAC? Are most people a lot fitter/more mentally up for it/better prepared or what? Just out of curiosity really. Also has anyone dropped out/been kicked out?

I would say it was around even to be fair.. there was alot of people who had no idea what they we're getting into - and ran into a lot of bridges when it came to fitness and certain situations. On the other hand, there was alot of people who had prepared for it the best they could..

End of the day, both sides have had people drop out and recoursed. Out of the 64 that started, we're down to 49 orginals, and 5 people from casino flight - thats within 3 weeks might i add.

People that have gone have done so for several reasons.. injury, homesickness, not adapting, not pulling there weight, and of course certain people found that the course was not for them.

Personally, and my mistake big time.. when i started my TG trainining, i hadnt done alot to improve my self since PGAC, i only maintained what i had already done... and due to that - i suffered alot. :p

Yeah a few fair points there, but what you said about the course in January being the easiest is bullshit. All the courses are the exact same, they all have the exact same ASPECS, tests, programme, fitness requirements etc etc. Only difference being whether the corporals are dickheads or not. Being on capitals must be shit for you cos most of your corporals are nobs. Im on Salalah, out corporals are only harsh when they need to be, but it doesnt make the course any easier to pass or anything, all the courses are the same.

makes sense.

reason i said "apparently" was due to not being 100% on that, just words floating around ya'know?

Either way it doesnt bother me, it being harder or easier - it will all be the same by the end of training i reckon :]

Yeah fair one, cos the thing is lets say capitals was harder than habaniya, and one lad from each was posted to 1sqn, one would be more highly trained than the other, and that would just open a whole can of worms. Just all depends on how you're corporals treat you. We're lucky enough that we'r now in single man rooms. Great stuff lol . You enjoying caps then? I hear you's marching round base while I'm lyin in my bed lookin at a porn mag lol sucks to be you :p

You enjoying caps then? I hear you's marching round base while I'm lyin in my bed lookin at a porn mag lol sucks to be you :p

Thanks for that pal! that mental image sure makes my mornings all the better ;<

But yea, caps isnt all that bad... most of the corporals are pretty alright, although one loves to flip our beds and tear apart our lockers - which is the last thing you wanna see after you spend all night ironing :p

other than that, its all good. We've got our marching/IW tests when we get back from xmas leave, and im pretty confident we'll do fine on both of them.

how did ya'll get into single accommodation so early? arnt you only on like week 7 or 8? :s pretty sure we dont get our single accommodation till after phase 1 :/

Well understood demands Roki - and well delivered advice - You'll do

capitals.... is that flight still run by the airborne??? was in my time! think all the nco's were ex 2 sqn and preached their mantra ;o)

Yeah the tests are piss easy, tho if thers afew mongs on ur course it'l just make things so much harder. We nearly failed our drill test cos of 6 or 7 mongs that just didnt have a clue. but yeah, gd times. Ere, are you the yank on caps? When did you do your PGAC mate?

haha yea, im the yank on caps - nice guess ^^

i did my pgac twice [i failed the first one sadly, but bucked my idea's up for the second.].. first one was may or june, and the 2nd was around September i think :s.. been a while to say the least

im curious, how did you figure out who i was?

Yeah i know you, you were on my PGAC on 5th may, I was talkin to you briefly for afew seconds outside the NAFFI afew weeks ago. Im the lad from Northern Ireland. You smoked a terrible amount lol