ma cdo

[al]

Hi all this is my first post here but i have been visting the site for a long time and thing its top dog.

Anway i have heard wispers along the grape vine that the ma cdo job option has been closed. I was just wondering if anyone new anything about this and could shead any light on the subject. Any help would be great as thi is the specialisation i want to apply for. I have also been told that i have to wait 1 year and a 1/2 to even start training at raleigh because so many people are applying for the job. Does anyone know if this is also true or just bs. Any help would be great. Thanks al.

[voodoo sprout]

Hello and welcome!

I'm in the middle of joining as an MA (I applied in October last year) and haven't heard anything about the position being closed, and I've made my aspirations to become a commando MA very clear so I'd have thought the AFCO would have informed me if this was the case .

With regards to waiting time, yup that's about right . I was told seventeen months from when the security clearence is through, but it may have grown larger since then, so a year and a half is about right. However as you only specialise (commando, general service etc) after training, your preference doesn't have an impact on the application process UNLESS you want to go into submarines in which case you apparently get fast tracked as they're so short of people. Still, not much good to us is it .

[joshualoftus]

Hey guys,
I'm also waiting to start training as an MA, and I haven't heard anything about the position being closed, better not be or I'm screwed big time.

[al]

Hi there guys thanks for your responses. the ma post is not closed but i have been told that the commando ma job choice has be closed (just thought i would clarify this point) but i deffiantly want to do it so i will keep on at the chap at the afco as i think that its a bit of bull. my bro is in the army (ramc) as an ma and his mate is in the navy and just finishing his ma training at keolgh and i going on to do his all arms course when he finishes. But a year and a half is a long time to wait i have a mate who is an mo in the navy and he says that they are desparate for ma and more so commando ma but with the afco giving joining booklets out that are two years old and some older plus the fact that the whole armed forces are reshaping it would not surprise me if some of the facts that we are given may be a little wrong.

[voodoo sprout]

One other thing to bear in mind, while the waiting list is apparently a year and a half long, you might not have to wait it out completely. I've just been given a provisional start date for the 10th January, only fourteen months after the security forms went off which is no bad thing (although it does mean I've got to work like a loony to slap on some weight ), I can only presume because someone further up the line dropped out.

Another idea floating around in my head is that given my preference to go commando, they are still perhaps interested in people for this. Logically if they could fast track someone, they would choose someone set to go into the most undermanned specialisation (hence submarines chappies getting bumped up), so perhaps MA CDO's are still in demand?

[al]

Hey threre all. Well i took my entrance exam for the ma post on friday and i did not pass the cpo said because i had applied for the royal marines about five or so year ago that retaking my entrance test would be a very difficult thing as it would have to go through the head of recruiting for the whole of the south area and that i would need so sort of recognized qualification (like a maths gcse at grad c or above) to show that i had improved and even then he may make me wait up to a year to retake the test. The job i was offered are (and i know that this may make me seem like a dum shit) operator mechanic, aircraft handler (if i choose this job there i a two year waiting list), a steward or i could change my application from navy to marine. He also suggested that i join the navy resrve for a year and do the ma thing as after a year i might be in with a chance of applying for the regulars again. My only other option is to join the army as an ma i did aplly for the army before the navy and i passed the testbut stoped my application because i wanted to join the navy so they might be a bit of with me. The cpo said i have to this friday to think about it so i have to come up with a choice. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appriciated. :turn-l: other wise my head will be twising like this poor little fella.

[voodoo sprout]

Sorry to hear it al . First off, don't pick a job you don't want to do simply because you can't reach your target now. How old are you now though, as if you're quite young it could be best to put it on hold for a year while getting a qualification or two (and as a bonus you could use the time to improve fitness etc, impressing them on the PJFT for instance might boost your chances).

With the army, bear in mind they no longer have MA's, the nearest equivalent is the Combat Medical Technician (CMT). These generally work in field hospitals or in small teams as far as I can tell, so the job is rather different to the RN MA. Also initial medical training isn't as comprehensive as the MA so it would takle time/promotion to get the same skills. In any case, if you pass the tests for the army I doubt your previous application would be held against you this time. That said, you might find that you'll have to do more to prove your commitment.

A couple of MoD links;
http://www.army.mod.uk/careers/healthca ... _tech.html
http://www.army.mod.uk/careers/healthca ... cooke.html

[al]

hi there sprout thanks for the advice. in answer to your question i am 21, with regards to pt i am training 5 days a week as is lots of running, curcuit training, cycling and swiming i can do a 3 mile run in about 21 to 22 mins, 8 pull ups, 43 push ups, 50 sit ups well you get the idea. i know what your saying about going for a job that i don't really wan't and getting qualification would be a good idea just i just feel that know is the time to act i have wasted the past 3 or 4 years going from job to job and i am sure that the forces is the way forward for me my brother is in the ramc as a cmt and is of in a few week to do his para course so thats why i was think about the army. but your right thats there is no point ruching into it so i am just going to have to think on. thanks again and thaks for the links .al

[lew]

You sound like your in a similar situation to me mate, I failed my BARB for the marines on the maths bit I was told I had to wait a year before I could re sit it.

A few weeks later I rang them back and asked if there was any way I could get the waiting time down a little, I was told I needed to do a numeracy course with some proof of completing it i.e. certificate and they would look at it again for me.

Might be an idea to call them and find out if that would help.


All the best.


lew

p.s. I also want to go MA but through royal instead.

[Doc]

Can I clarify?
Is the RN MA Cdo option closed for now or the RM MA post?
When I left the branch and the navy we were well short on people willing to avoid cushing RN sickbays, seapay and submarine pay for a life in a field in the rain with Royal whopping his willy out to ask if the blisters were normal
If you are serious about life as a medic best go Navy, as as soon as you get to cpl level in the RM and want to go further you need to leave and join the RN anyway. Both options in fairness are good as a start but if you want a career then Navy it is.
Its a great job and one I miss and look back on with great memories and great mates (mainly Royal) if you go RN then AACC to get your lid and work with the corps the only tip Id give is to accept that as a jack theres going to be a fair amount of stick coming your way, but once you show Royal the rusty needle and sort a few lads out and prove your worth, its a great time.
I left because in my day any advancement needing Navy time and when it came to that time I said sod it.
Good luck lads and good luck joining the best branch in the forces "booty MA's".

[voodoo sprout]

As far as I can tell this rumour is about RN MA's training as commandos, and given the information available this does seem plausible. As I mentioned in an older thread, MA training for Royal Marines has been a significant success, with places for RM MA's doubling during this year ( eight to sixteen places annually). So if the upper reaches of the commando forces think RM MA's are the way to go, they may be limiting the number of RN commandos to free up spaces for more RM MA's?

That said even if this is the case, it may be possible to train as a Royal Navy MA, pick up plenty of experience and so on before retraining as Royal Marine (perhaps by leaving then rejoining). Even if the MA qualification didn't carry forward directly, you ought to have a blimmin' good chance at specialising as an RMMA later. Methinks I'll have to ask the AFCO about this .

Oh, and

...a life in a field in the rain with Royal whopping his willy out to ask if the blisters were normal

BWAHAHAHAAAA! Superb!