After a lot of careful consideration in my cooling off period after doing Army Selection I had decided that joining the Army at my age and for other reasons would be bad idea. I looked into the other Armed Forces and the RAF Regiment really seems like a good career with lots of opportunities. After a lot research on theses forums (Basically ive read ever post on the Raf Regiment ) I found out to join the Regiment the minimum age is 17.5! and im 16 this Saturday! so if i wait ive got a hell of a long time so I looked into other things that i can join at 16 and the closest thing to the Regiment i could find and that doesnt sound like a bad job was Weapon Technician I was wondering would i be able to join this then transfer to the Regiment when im 17.5? if not how long would i have to wait until i could? Thanks
Having gone through Halton recently, I would suggest waiting a year and getting a bit of 'life experience' before joining up. Don't take that the wrong way, but the 16 yr-olds on my intake really struggled with basic stuff like ironing, self-organisation and just generally being away from home and getting shouted at. Not suggesting that you would have, but it's probably better to do something else for a year, then go and do all that stuff at Honington with the rest of the Regt bods.
Anyone else, feel free to contradict me. It's only an opinion.
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Don't ever count on having both at once.
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HAve you considered trying to get a couple of AS levels or completing a BTEC while you are waiting?Only reason I suggest that is because it makes you stand out from the next Joe nobody next to you.
There is nothing to stop you requesting a branch transfer however this of it this way, the RAF will have spent alot of money training you to be an engineer, behind pilot its one of the most costly training programmes they have. Now the question I would be asking is will the head sheds allow me to move trade just because i wanted to be a gunner and wouldnt wait a year?
Thanks for the answer Rock Ape i am thinking of doing a years worth of education then joining, but the courses that ive expressed wish of doing either have too higher grades (although i have not got my GCSE results yet the longer there making me wait the more nervous i get about them) or the course is fully booked up. So the RAF really seems like the best and most interesting option for me now. Just one question ive never been able to find why you guys are nicknamed RockApes has it got something to do with Gibraltar?
Good stuff, like i said its always best to get as many quals as you can before joining.
The name rockape is a long story, it has to do with 2 Rupperts going hunting for apes (in that region they where called Rockapes), they went their seperate ways. One saw something moving that he thought was an ape, took aim and fired....it was the other Ruppert he had shot...The name Rockape started off as an insult but was adopted by the Regiment.
The official story as stated in 'Through Adversity - The History of the RAF Regiment' by Kingsley M Oliver is as follows:
"The term 'rockape' came into use within the RAF in the 1950s as a disparaging term for Regiment officers and airmen - who quickly adapetd it as a title of distinction, thus turning the tables on those who had intended to label them with a derogatory nickname. SInce then, a wide variety of theories have been advanced as to how and why this term originated, possibly most bizarre being an attempt to link the RAF Regt with the Rock of Gibraltar and the Barbary Apes which are maintained there by the British Army. In reality, the truth is simpler than fiction.
In November 1952, two RAF Regiment officers serving with the Aden Protectorate Levies at Dhala, inthe Western Aden Protectorate, decided to amuse themselves by going out to shoot some baboons (locally referred to as rock apes) which came down from the mountains in the cool of the evening to forage for food in the plain - and throw stones at the Levy camp. Each officer took a Service rifle and ammunition from the squadron armoury and set off on forth to look for baboons. Unwisely, they went their separate ways and in the semi-darkness one of the hunters saw a movement on a rocky outcrop some distance away. Taking careful aim, he fired and was delighted to see his target fall - but horrified when he reached the spot to find his colleague lying with a bullet wound in his chest. TYPICAL BLOODY ROCKAPE MISTAKE
Flight Lieutenant Mason was still alive, although the bullet has passed within inches of his heart, and thanks to swift medical attention he survived to make a good recovery before returning to active duty several months later.
Although the incident itself did not gain much publicity a statement made at the subsequent board of inquiry did. Under questioning, the firer of the almost-fatal shot said, in mitigation of his actions, that his target had "looked just like a rock ape" in the half-light. This remark reverberated throughout the messes on RAF stations wherever members of the Regiment were serving, and it was not long before the term was in general use. But as a burly Gunner (RAF Regiment private) said to a penguin (the Regiment term for an RAF tradesman) in the NAAFI soon afterwards "you can call me a rockape - but make sure that you smile when you do!"
If you join as a weapons technician then you will be in trade group one, It used to be the case that you could not re-muster to a lower trade group, not sure if this has changed or not. The Regiment are trade group 8 (I think). So it it very unlikely that you will be allowed to change trades once you have completed your training.
splitter wrote:If you join as a weapons technician then you will be in trade group one, It used to be the case that you could not re-muster to a lower trade group, not sure if this has changed or not. The Regiment are trade group 8 - it is - . So it it very unlikely that you will be allowed to change trades once you have completed your training.
You also need to remember that the RAF Regt is going through a period of restructuring. This may affect recruiting forecasts, although in the short term all those employed on GBAD are being posted to fill gaps in other Sqn's.
The Sgt at my AFCO told me yesterday that Regiment are now going into competition, which apparently for that trade is unheard of. An ed course may be the best plan.
) I found out to join the Regiment the minimum age is 17.5! and im 16 this Saturday! so if i wait ive got a hell of a long time so I looked into other things that i can join at 16 and the closest thing to the Regiment i could find and that doesnt sound like a bad job was Weapon Technician I was wondering would i be able to join this then transfer to the Regiment when im 17.5? if not how long would i have to wait until i could? Thanks
