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A few questions about the TA

Discussions about the Territorial Army.
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Tom1989
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A few questions about the TA

Post by Tom1989 »

Hey guys, I'm 20 and live in Warrington. I've recently been seriously considering the TA although I believe I'm probably misinformed on the little I know about it! I've always been interested in the military and I want to give this a good and proper shot to see if it is for me. I'd appreciate it if some people could clear up some things for me so I know what to expect that little more. Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, I guess you have these same kind of questions a lot.

My first question is about health. I have been working on my fitness but suffer from heart palpitations, would this be a problem? It isn't a listed medical condition and my Dad had the same problems, he was in the regular army for 27 years. I've heard though that they frown upon these sort of things more these days. I went to my GP today and will have blood tests and an ECG on Monday 16th.

Secondly, is it true that there is compulsory deployment now in the TA, i.e. could I end up fighting in Afghanistan any time soon after signing up? My mate recently served in Northern Ireland for 6 weeks. Of course I'm well aware of the risks and wouldn't bottle it, I'd even like to serve overseas after training, but I'd just rather know about the possibility of a call up than getting one out of the blue.

Lastly, I work shifts on the weekend. I imagine this is a problem for a lot of people new to the TA. How would I go about balancing weekends with my shifts? Any help would be hugely appreciated! Sorry about the long winded post and any advice, thanks in advance.

Cheers!
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MSI64
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Post by MSI64 »

Ok lets tackle these one at a time.
Heart palpatations???? has it actually been diagnosed?? there will be a medical and if its found you have a heart murmur then thats the end of your application sorry?

There is no such think as compulsory deployment in the TA its a volunteer thing if you want to deploy.

you dont train every weekend you have to do 19 days a year and a two week camp each year to qualify for your bounty

lastly good luck and let us know how you get on
Tom1989
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Post by Tom1989 »

Thanks a lot mate. I had blood tests 2 hours ago and I'll get the results soon, I'm almost certain that I don't have a heart murmur.
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JunkBox
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Re: A few questions about the TA

Post by JunkBox »

Tom1989 wrote:
My mate recently served in Northern Ireland for 6 weeks
I do hope you are not compairing present day Northern Ireland to Afghan LOL? There are no troops on the streets here anymore mate or anything like that really, so he was probly training like, I doubt he was serving unless his unit is based over here mate (or he's in the SRR)
Tom1989
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Post by Tom1989 »

I do hope you are not compairing present day Northern Ireland to Afghan LOL? There are no troops on the streets here anymore mate or anything like that really, so he was probly training like, I doubt he was serving unless his unit is based over here mate (or he's in the SRR)
Haha, don't worry I sure aint. Half of my family live in Ireland, in fact I just got back from Derry on the 3rd. I know enough about the history of the troubles and so on, I know the 2 can't be compared.

Anyway I just got back from the blood test, get the results on Friday. Really hope I get the clear!
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JunkBox
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Post by JunkBox »

Well goodluck with it mate

PS LONDONDERRY...not Derry :lol:
Tom1989
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Post by Tom1989 »

Got the results yesterday and everything is clear! :D
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