Hello All,
I've been thinking of joining the Paras since I was at school, and have now decided to do so.
My question is this; how long after signing on the dotted line do you have to wait until actually starting basic training? I have asked this question of a recruiter in the past (I was going to join about two years ago but didn't), but he wasn't able to give me a straight answer - ie. could be a month could be six! I've obviously got a job at the moment, and have a months notice period, so was essentially wanting to plan around that ... I was hoping to go to the recruiters at the end of March, and was expecting I'd start training around July. Is this a realistic/typical timeframe?
TIA,
joe
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How long after signing do you get to basic?
lozhop,
Thanks for the reply!
I did a bit of digging around on the (apparently now redesigned) Army website, and found an FAQ answer that said the following:
"The length of the process to be recruited for the Army varies depending on individual circumstances. It can take anywhere between 3 weeks and 6 months - however 6-8 weeks would be an average length of time."
... which is essentially the answer I was given by the recruiter the first time I enquired (and in your case it took even longer!).
I was intending to wait until March as I am still working on my fitness. I have recently come off treatment for shin splints, which started in October last year, would you believe .... so obviously I haven't been doing much running over the last three or four months, so I have been wanting to get my fitness back up before enquiring - although from what you say, I may have plenty of time for that even after the initial form filling etc.
Me thinks I will go and ask the recruiter for specifics .... the reason that I really need to know some time frames is that I have a lot of financial commitments at the moment, and I can't just drop them in favour of the Army (as I'll be taking over a 50% pay cut once I join). I'll need to earn as much as I can during my current job to to pay off my debts etc, then quit at the last minute (or rather, a month before the training starts) ...
... thanks for the help
joe
Thanks for the reply!
I did a bit of digging around on the (apparently now redesigned) Army website, and found an FAQ answer that said the following:
"The length of the process to be recruited for the Army varies depending on individual circumstances. It can take anywhere between 3 weeks and 6 months - however 6-8 weeks would be an average length of time."
... which is essentially the answer I was given by the recruiter the first time I enquired (and in your case it took even longer!).
I was intending to wait until March as I am still working on my fitness. I have recently come off treatment for shin splints, which started in October last year, would you believe .... so obviously I haven't been doing much running over the last three or four months, so I have been wanting to get my fitness back up before enquiring - although from what you say, I may have plenty of time for that even after the initial form filling etc.
Me thinks I will go and ask the recruiter for specifics .... the reason that I really need to know some time frames is that I have a lot of financial commitments at the moment, and I can't just drop them in favour of the Army (as I'll be taking over a 50% pay cut once I join). I'll need to earn as much as I can during my current job to to pay off my debts etc, then quit at the last minute (or rather, a month before the training starts) ...
... thanks for the help
joe
SHIN SPLINTS 
Stop running on pavements, start running round your local park. Boring as hell, but if you are prone to shin splints stop running on hard surfaces. You too Tony Dean.
Stretch, stretch and stretch. Take up cycling and swimming until the pain stops, and NEVER run with weight.
Get onto AFCO and get on a familarisation weekend.
When your shins are better, run on asphalt roads, wear a reflective vest.. Better still if you have a forest or woodland path near you, use that, measure the distance using a bike speedo.
Good Luck
Stop running on pavements, start running round your local park. Boring as hell, but if you are prone to shin splints stop running on hard surfaces. You too Tony Dean.
Stretch, stretch and stretch. Take up cycling and swimming until the pain stops, and NEVER run with weight.
Get onto AFCO and get on a familarisation weekend.
When your shins are better, run on asphalt roads, wear a reflective vest.. Better still if you have a forest or woodland path near you, use that, measure the distance using a bike speedo.
Good Luck
hi feathers,
thanks for the advice, I have done all that you mentioned (and more) but am still having problems. I've not ran since Christmas Eve, so I went for a ten minute run on a treadmill yesterday afternoon, and in the evening started to get shooting pains up my left shin again (I can hardly believe this has been going on since October).
Anyway, my physio is not around until tomorrow, so I am going to try the treadmill again today and see what happens. Last time I saw my physio, she said that if the shin splints reoccur, she may refer me to a consultant that she used to work with who specialised in sports injuries. Hopefully he'll be able to get them sorted once and for all!
thanks for the advice, I have done all that you mentioned (and more) but am still having problems. I've not ran since Christmas Eve, so I went for a ten minute run on a treadmill yesterday afternoon, and in the evening started to get shooting pains up my left shin again (I can hardly believe this has been going on since October).
Anyway, my physio is not around until tomorrow, so I am going to try the treadmill again today and see what happens. Last time I saw my physio, she said that if the shin splints reoccur, she may refer me to a consultant that she used to work with who specialised in sports injuries. Hopefully he'll be able to get them sorted once and for all!
