RMR whilst doing Alevels (full time education)

[batess01]

I am currently 17 and half way through my first year of sixth form doing Alevels (which consist of two years altogether).

I was planning on gaining some military experience that will bring in a bit of money and at the same time set me up for RM.

I was just wondering, do you lot think its a good idea to join the RMR (bristol - closest to me), even if its only for 1 and a half years?

Also how long does it take to get everything sorted (tests,interviews etc) before im in?

Will this get in the way of My Alevels etc?

And at any point can i quit, if im finding it too hard to manage my time etc?

Finaly, is it likely that at the age of 17 i have a good chance of getting in compared to others who are much older then me, and at this age how may joining up differ to older applicants?

Thank you very much for your time,
Seb

[Chrisbrum]

Hello there, couple of points to be made here.

Firstly regarding your age - there is no reason why being only 17 should affect your chances of getting into RMR, if you are up to the required standard then you'll get in, simple as.

In terms of how long it will take you to get into training, this depends on various factors. First and foremost is when you're local unit have their next intake of recruits. For example, I am having to wait until September to do my selection weekend and subsequently begin RT, as this is when Birmingham detachment's intake is. There are also factors to consider such as interviews, medicals etc. I am currently awaiting medical, having passed the interview stage. It's taken me nearly 2 months to get to this point, however this may vary depending on the AFCO. I've also had the additional complication of having to obtain medical documents and discharge certificates from my previous TA unit.

I think the major problem that you're going to come across is fitting RMR in with your A-Levels. To my knowledge, there are at least two occasions during RMR recruit training when you will be required to attend Lympstone for a 2 week course. You may find it difficult to get the time off college in order to attend these courses, and if they happen to fall during your exam periods, then to put it lightly, you're buggered. Even without these courses, there is still a massive time commitment. You will be expected to turn up to most, if not all, weekends and drill nights. Couple that with studying, coursework and exams you may find it difficult. For university students, this is not much of a problem, as there is a lot more free time available for catching up with work, but for someone studying for A-Levels, this could prove to be more difficult.

Personally, my advice would be not to go for RMR during A-Levels, as I believe the time commitment to be too great. That said, if you're looking for military experience, you could consider joining the TA instead. In my experience they are a lot more lenient when it comes to missing weekends/drill nights so long as you let them know in advance. The TA are constantly putting people through the training process, whereas RMR will only have one or two intakes a year, so if you miss a weekend you can simply drop back and join in with the recruits coming through behind you.

As always, however, I'd recommend the best course of action would be to contact your AFCO and speak to them about it.

Hope that helps

Chris

[batess01]

briliant help thanks.

[sandam]

There is also nothing stopping you going to the RMR detachment offices and speaking to them as well. They give you alot of advance notice for weekends and the 2 week courses. You may find that you are able to fit them in. But like has already been stated, the AFCO is the place to start.

[batess01]

if the 2 week courses land on an awkward time for me, is it possible for me to book the courses for a later date?

[Chrisbrum]

Not 100% sure on that one. I would have thought that your own detachment will only run the 2 week course once for every intake, in which case it won't be possible to rebook. Having said that, it might be possible, if you are forced to miss one of them, to join a course run by one of the other detachments at a later date, though the obvious problem with this approach is that it will put you out of synch with the rest of your troop. To be totally honest, I'm not really sure, so unless someone on here can give you some more concrete information I would get in touch with your AFCO or local detachment.

[batess01]

Can anyone from tell me all the dates i need to know for this year?

ie: PRC, intakes, etc

[sandam]

Phone the detachment itself. They will be able to tell you. If anyone here did know, I'm sure they wouild have told you by now mate.

[batess01]

fair enough thanks.