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RAF Police

General discussions on joining & training in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
big jar of wasps
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RAF Police

Post by big jar of wasps »

Hi,
Can anyone tell me whether the RAF Police have any TA/AUX units, where are they and how would I go about applying to join?
Cheers,
Big jar of wasps :P
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Hostage_Negotiator
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Post by Hostage_Negotiator »

3 Sqn (Aux)
Tactical Police Wing
RAF Henlow
Bedfordshire
SG16 6DN
"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy."
big jar of wasps
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RAF Police Aux

Post by big jar of wasps »

Many thanks!!
Is this the only one?
Is there one near North Wales? RAF Valley many be?
Cheers,
BJOW :D
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RAF POLICE TRAINING/COMMITMENT

Post by big jar of wasps »

Having done a little research, i have discovered that the only RAF POLICE AUX Unit, is in Bedfordshire. I would be very grateful to anyone who can give me an insight into what training they conduct and when, given that this appears to be a national recruitng unit, I assume that they train at weekends and have some sort of annual camp. My main concern is do they hold week night training? As an ex-reg Army JNCO, serving Police Officer, currently serving as a reservist in Iraq, how much training would I be expected to do initially? Is it a case of starting from scratch again? What sort of criteria are they looking for, will my pst military experiance and civvy job, be of any advantage to me?

Hope to hear from someone in the know!
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Post by Hostage_Negotiator »

BJOW' Your previous experience,ie Army CivPol etc will be very relevant and with your background I'm sure you'd find a warm welcome. There are several guys currently on 3 Sqn who are serving civvy coppers. Don't quote me on this but I believe the Trg Schedule is you attend Henlow on the last weekend of each month.Turning up Friday evening and wrap up Sunday afternoon. I'll speak to the Sqn WO on Tuesday and see what I can find out for you!
Hope this little bit helps till then!
H_N
"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy."
big jar of wasps
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RAF POLICE AUX

Post by big jar of wasps »

H-N,

Thank you very much indeed, for all your help & time on this one. I look forward to hearing from you.

If it turns out that they only meet at weekends/annual camps, that would suite me down to the ground, I don`t mind traveling all that way, for that, but for a few hours on a night time, would be impractical, I`m sure you`ll agree.

BJOW. :lol:
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Post by Hostage_Negotiator »

No worries mate ' there are defo no single midweek evening parades, I'll get as much gen as I can and will either post here or PM you!
Cheers H_N

PS. The training might suprise you! They're doing some pretty interesting stuff. The training team are keen as F*CK with a couple of them having some SF background and loads of operational experience behind them!
"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy."
big jar of wasps
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RAF Police

Post by big jar of wasps »

H-N,

Quality!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This sounds like just what I`m after!!!!!!!!!

Look forward to hearing from.

Thanks again for all you time.

BJOW :D :D
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Re: RAF POLICE TRAINING/COMMITMENT

Post by Guest »

big jar of wasps wrote:... As an ex-reg Army JNCO, serving Police Officer, currently serving as a reservist in Iraq...
I am also a serving police officer and have just completed 30 years both Regular and Reserve Service with the Australian Defence Forces and I would be interested to know how UK Plod looks after you in relation to Leave Entitlements to attend TA.

I get 9 weeks per year Recreation Leave with Oz Plod + when I was with the RAAF Reserve, I was entitled to an extra 2 weeks Military Leave, this I got on full pay from the Police and the RAAF paid me as well.

Because I was an ex Regular and transferred straight into the Reserves, I did not need to do any further training and I retained my rank.

The RAAF mainly employed me on relief manning and I spent most of my time working at the International Air Terminal on Movements Control and it was really a nice little earner as a part-time job, this I achieved by combining my Police Rec Leave & Police Military Leave.

Do you have the same system in the UK?

Cheers.
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big jar of wasps
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RAF POLICE

Post by big jar of wasps »

Hi John,

I think the simple answer is no. :cry: But it would be nice if we did.

The only bonus I have, if you can call it that, is that the army pay me what the police pay me, and I can continue with my police pension.

BJOW :P
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Post by Hantslad »

civvy plod get special leave that doesnt come out of their annual leave. The only problem is, it aint very much, I think its a week at the most, so in order to do annual camp, you still end up having to use at least a week of your annual leave.
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Post by big jar of wasps »

TPW Overview
"TPW will provide the RAF with a capability to support air operations independent of the other services, allies or coalition partners. Specifically it is configured to provide LOC-P support to 2 concurrent medium scale operations, one warfighting and one non-warfighting".
T
hank you for your enquiry regarding the Auxiliary unit 3 TPW (Tactical Provost Wing). This paper is designed to introduce you to our unit and to give you an idea of the type of training that you will undertake, should you wish to join.

Current Organisation
The current organisation has three Police squadrons: two full-time and one auxiliary. The two regular squadrons currently carry out their tasks on a rotation basis. The Auxiliary unit is still progressing towards FFR (Fit For Role) standard, and is making good progress.
Where the Auxiliaries Fit In
The Auxiliaries will get the opportunity to augment some of the tasks that the regulars will need assistance on. This could be from playing a part in joint training exercises, to accompanying them on police tasks. Volunteers who are suitably trained will get the opportunity to deploy with their RAF Regular counterparts on tasks around the world. Specialist courses such as ATSy (Air Transport Security) will enable the Auxiliaries to assist in many of the short term assignments (normally a few days in length), such as being the police personnel on RAF aircraft, wherever they travel.

The Reservist

The role of the Reservist is to support the UK Armed Forces, in both peace time and in conflict. Reservists have assisted in times of national crisis (such as Foot and Mouth / fire strikes / fuel strikes) to international conflicts (Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq).

The majority of the Reservists (some 42,000) are part of the TA (Territorial Army). There are currently less than 2,000 RAuxAF personnel, playing vital support to key RAF roles, the Police being one of them.


By signing up to be a Reservist, you will become service personnel when you are on duty. You will commit to the required number of days training and standards stated further below. There is a possibility that should national or international events dictate, you could be ‘called up’ to support the Regulars on Police duties. There are legislative and financial mechanisms in place to protect and maintain both your civilian employment and your civilian income within prescribed limits, while you are away and on your return.




The TA normally mobilises their personnel for upto 6 months, TPW’s intention is to utilise the Auxiliaries on shorter term assignments (the shortest being a number of days), however, opportunities will be offered to those ‘Fit For Role’ to undertake longer assignments. The regular Sqns currently operate a 16 week on/16 week off system, where the first 16 weeks are made up of deployments, with the next 16 weeks being training and taking leave.
Your Full-Time Civilian Occupation
The majority of the Auxiliaries have very successful and varied backgrounds from all walks of life. Most of us work full time, and the organisation recognises and understands the importance of employer support for the Armed Forces. A support organisation, named Sabre can be accessed on the internet at www.sabre.mod.uk . Here you will find much information about the support network for employers and reservists, with downloadable information too. The majority of employers support the Reserves and many of them even give employees up to 2 weeks extra leave per year, mainly being a combination of paid and unpaid leave. Check your company policy.
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Post by big jar of wasps »

There are also some who do not need to work such as housewives / househusbands but want something challenging in life to keep them occupied.

Your main objective should be to achieve a work-life balance, which at times is easier said than done!
The Commitment

Each Reservist must undertake 15 days continuous service per year, as well as 12 days non-continuous days (i.e. weekends), and the first course you will undertake that meets this commitment is the Basic Recruit Course, which is covered later. Built into this timeframe, you will also take an annual fitness test, weapons, first aid, NBC and Police trade assessments.

Much of the training is over a long period of time (upto 18 months), however, it is much more intensive in practice due to how fast our Training weekends pass by. The RAF will commit to spend a great deal of time and money on your training.

Chapter
2



Recruitment Process
Initial Enquiry
The fact that you have made contact with us shows that you have an eye for a challenge. Signing up to be a Reservist is not a decision that should be taken alone, especially if you have family / partner. You will have been supplied with the Squadron tri-fold leaflets to give you a good idea of our unit and trade.

Look at our pages on the internet at www.rafreserves.com and find our Henlow Unit. We endeavour to put on news reports and additional information as they happen.

Request for Formal Application Forms
If you like what you see and you feel you have the ability to undertake the annual number of day’s commitment, then call our Recruiting Officer on 01462 851515 extension 6380. You will be sent a formal application pack.


It can be quite daunting filling in all the boxes and providing such a history, however, please bear in mind the position you are applying for and the position of responsibility you will be put in once fully trained. These forms can take a number of hours to complete.

Once the forms are received, they are sent to the relevant departments for scrutiny, and can take up to 6 weeks to process. If you are ex-service, they may take slightly longer because your previous service information is normally retrieved also. If these come back without any issues, you will initially be invited to come into RAF Henlow for half a day for aptitude, medical tests and an interview.

Aptitude & Medical tests & Interview
In order to gain entry to the RAuxAF, all applicants must undertake Aptitude and Medical examinations, followed by an interview.

Upon successful completion of these you will be invited to an Attestation ceremony, normally with fellow ‘recruits’.

Attesting
All Service personnel are required to make an oath on joining. This is a formal occasion and is witnessed by an Officer. Generally, these are conducted in small groups where each individual will take an oath of allegiance to the Crown.

The Basic Recruit Course
All new personnel need to undergo the BRC (Basic Recruit Course). No assumption is made on any person’s previous background or expertise. This course is aimed at people with no previous military experience and at the end of the course, all personnel will be competent and very used to the L85 A1 weapon, first aid, NBC (Nuclear Biological and Chemical) drills, personal and group hygiene, close quarter living and working conditions. The course is split into three phases.

The main objective of this course is to enable you to become accustomed to service life and to be suitably competent in all the basic drills.

To get from Phase one to Phase three can take a number of months. Each phase is regularly repeated during the course of the year, to allow for people who simply cannot make the dates.

Phase One – Three day Weekend – RAF Henlow

All personnel typically meet up on the Thursday evening to socialise in the TPW Bar. This is a TPW specific training weekend. This is a great chance for the new group to get to know each other. On Friday, all personnel get their initial kitting – from all the clothes that they need to wear to all the kit they will eventually ‘deploy’ with. During the day the Attestation Ceremony will take place and everyone will be formally dressed for this occasion. This is a nervous time for some as it’s the time when each person will make the Oath.

Late in the afternoon you will find yourself doing a spot of ironing to make your new uniform presentable for the next day. You will also find boot polishing a newfound task.

Saturday and Sunday will be devoted to health and safety, history and foot drill briefings. Other Auxiliaries will be about and you will get a chance to mix with them.

Phase two – Two day Weekend – RAF Brize Norton

All personnel meet on the Friday evening at 2000hrs to receive a weekend briefing. As their accommodation is for double occupancy, you will be allocated a random partner and room. The first task of Friday will be to prepare the rooms for inspection. This means for the old sweats, the making of ‘Bed packs’.

Saturday and Sunday are both similar in timings (with inspections each morning after breakfast), but you will get your first taste of doing drill, handling the L85 weapon and being on the receiving end of PowerPoint presentations!

Phases two and three are a multi-unit training course so you will meet Auxiliary recruits from other units.

Phase three – 16 days Continuous - RAF Brize Norton
This is the big one. It will be on a similar discipline and inspection standard routine as Phase two, but over a longer period! Lessons become more and more intense; the amount of new information being taught is disproportionate to the amount of sleep you will be getting! But as a team, everyone supports one another.


Bursting in between the PowerPoint lectures, you will have lots of practical sessions such as NBC training, first aid, the fitness test, drill and weapons training.

The course culminates in a 3-4 day deployment to a local army training area, where you put your skills to the test. By the end of the two weeks you will know everyone inside and out, you will learn how your mind and body dealt with the different environments that you were confronted with. You will also be physically and mentally exhausted! When you get back to the normal TPW training weekends all of this basic training will be a distant memory!

Trade Training
Even while you are progressing through Phases 1-3 on your BRC, TPW mayl commence some elements of trade training with you, whether it be the introduction to Law, some practical elements such as how to set up tents and shelters in field conditions, or other theory based exercises.


Police Trade Training – 12 months

The first priority is to train you as RAF Police.

You will be issued with a folder containing much of what will be taught over the coming 12 months. As this programme is structured and building on lessons learnt previously, it is very important that every attempt is made to attend the lessons. You will be asked to read up on some material prior to the training weekend, so as to further increase the training pace. Mixed into these 12 months will be a deployment of some description (on a weekend) and normally an opportunity to go to an Air show (RAF Fairford or Waddington).

You will also be trained to drive the vehicles that are in use, on & off road. At the end of the training you will be confronted by a series of practical assessments and a written examination. On successful completion, you will be awarded your ‘Mars Bars’ and promoted to the rank of LAC Acting Corporal.

Vaccinations
Over the 12 months you will also go through a personal vaccination programme. Being in the police trade, and in preparation for any deployments, you will need to be vaccinated for Hepatitis A & B, Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio, Yellow Fever and Typhoid.



LoC-P Training (Lines of Communications Policing) – 6 months


This is TPW’s main role. Lines of Communications are basically a road or series of routes from either an Air or Sea Port, all leading to and from the front line. These are also known as re-supply routes. Fuel, supplies, food & troops are transported along these routes. These routes are subject to the day-to-day issues that you see on the UK motorways:- accidents, breakdowns etc. but as the vehicles are travelling through a potentially unknown area they could also have isolated attacks. It must be stressed that if there are any risks of isolated attacks then the police are normally located within a large base housing multiple Army and RAF units.

Having your police skills you will now concentrate on developing your deployable skills. This programme covers how to set up a mobile self-sustaining camp for your team in ‘field conditions’ i.e. anywhere that your section commanders may wish. You will become accustomed to living with your section on deployed tasks, in order to carry out the LoC-P. Only when you can set up a temporary camp, can you then be tasked to police the military routes.

You will be taught to conduct route reconnaissance tasks - to brief your commanders on their options available, dealing with road traffic incidents, breakdowns (and recovery) and Force Protection training.


Specialist Courses
Once you have your ‘Mars Bars’ you can then undertake further specialist courses that take your interest.


ATSy Course – 5 days – RAF Halton
This course qualifies you to search cargo and people prior to boarding an aircraft, in accordance with current rules and regulations. This also covers aircraft searches. Trained personnel generally go out with the aircraft, so that they can conduct the ATSy role when picking up cargo and people on the way back.

CP Driver – 2 weeks – ATE Longmoor

This is aimed at being a Close Protection Driver. It is an intensive two week training course provided by the army for both RMP and RAFP. This is a niche speciality and in quite a lot of demand by the forces.

Signaller – 2 weeks – RAF Henlow
The new BOWMAN radio system is due to come into service within the next 12-24 months replacing the Clansman radios. This is a tri-service system and you will qualify as a Signaller. This is another niche trade that is in much demand by the forces.

Chapter
3







Where do you go from here?

Once you have your ‘Mars Bar’s and are LOC-P trained, you are considered ‘Fit For Role’. That does not mean you will be called up, however, you are likely to be offered opportunities to deploy with the Regulars on certain tasks, which can range from a few days to a number of weeks.



The MoD is moving away from blanket call-ups, but encouraging a volunteer ethos, but with the same employment protection. These are still ‘call-ups’ (to protect your employment) but you will be asked by your superiors first. The MoD wants personnel to volunteer for tasks that are available, as personnel are much less likely to leave the service through dissatisfaction and more likely to be retained through personal interest and experience. However, it has to be noted that you enlist to serve Her Majesties Armed Forces, and the MoD has the right to call you up in a major crisis under the Reserve Forces Act 1996.

We are more than likely going to have many personnel volunteering to do tasks on the weekends or on non-shift days from their civilian employment, but there will be opportunities to deploy overseas with a regular section for a number of weeks. The opportunities are endless.
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Post by Hostage_Negotiator »

^^^^^^^^^ I was just about to PM you with all that but it looks like you don't need it! Sorry for the delay. Hope it helps you to make your mind up
H_N
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Post by Nocturnal »

Hi i want to join the raf police but i wondered if there was any way of preparing for the aptitude tests and what are the mars bars that jar of wasps was talking about and lastly i am getting fit but if anyone could tell me the requirements it would make it easier
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