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Does anybody know if the pathfinder platoon members are paid special forces salary?, this is a branch i am particulaly interested in joining. Any info would be gratefully received.
Cheers Rob

Hi rob, are you in the paras at the min, or thinking of joining? ther is a rumour going about that they are on half pay, they where fairly active in iraq and had quite a few contacts.

I'm starting training soon, but I always aspired to go for pathfinder. Thanks for the info surfa35uk!.

Good luck rob, i have twin lads in with 1 para, one of them was in for the feb selection for the Pf cadre, but due to iraq he couldnt get the time in on training in wales, so he is on the next cadre.

If they are on half pay it is becuase they have nothing to spend it on. Would you want to carry large ammounts of cash around with you all the time, or leave it behind in some tent for a couple of weeks while you are out on patrol, I think not. We used to leave it till we had some leave or had returned home and then have a really good blow out.

hey i wouldnt mind money growing in my bank.. nothing to spend it on means that you can save more for when you have to leave the army after 22 years..

cant imagine why the PFs would be on half pay..

Pretty certain they are not on any SF pay at all however, I will check tomorrow at work and if I get the definative answer I will post it here.

The RM MLs do get half SF pay.

ss

Don't the pathfinders often get attached to SAS patrols, I thought that was there part in SF I also know that pathfinders carry M16s instead of SA-80A2s, maybe now though as SAS are equipped with that new Canadian rifle, the pathfinders will get it also?

Pathfinders whilst good are definately not part of the SF grouping.

Regards

ss

Along with the M16s they also get M203s which pionts towards the fact that they are SFish. The Pathfinders do do alot of operations with the SAS (I've just read Operation Certain Death where 2nd Bat Para Reg also went in with Pathfinders from 16 Air Assault and 22 SAS into Sierra Leonne to do an operation to retreive captives taken by the westside boys. Who by the way got f*cking slaughtered) Good book to read...

Jackal, type of kit matters not. Pathfinders are very good at what they do. They have to pass a slection course and do well at it. I can confirm that as part of their course they have to pass a package that my unit runs. Not all did this time round. Those that are successful are good in their chosen specialist field. It could be argued that my unit is SF then as there are only 20 of us and we have a highly developed skill where the drop out on our selection is running at 25%. However, I KNOW that we are not SF at all, in fact far from it. The Pathfinders are in the same position, to be UKSF you have to pass the UKSF course and that is that.

So in summary, they are good at what they do but are not SF.

Regards

ss

PS Just in case people mis-read above I am NOT SF!!!!

If you don't mind me asking: Then what are you in?

Just intrigued.

Mike

I am assuming that PF is the natural step before UKSF?

Cheers si

The JaCkAl wrote:they also get M203s which pionts towards the fact that they are SFish

All Canadian infantry, incl. reserves, are equipped with C7s. Two per section are fitted with M203s.