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If you want to be like us so much, why not join a real regiment like the Paras.

Never heard that one before!

A couple of reasons, first class scoff, en-suite rooms in barracks, not being treated like a child by officers who don't trust their men to behave (was in Kenya earlier this year, all the Army were gated while the RAF were drinking down town and doing Safaris on their stand-down), being able to have an input to O' groups etc as a Lance-jack equivalent rather than being treated as a grunt etc.

Wouldn't be surprised at what you saw at Honington, i went through there 10 years ago and unfortunately things seem to be going down hill. However i suspect what you saw was probably a bunch of lads who had just arrived and were still finding their feet.

We're not 'trying too hard to be like you', why woulds we, we have a completely different role. If the fact that we are required to complete infantry training, employ infantry tactics, carry infantry weapons and wear DPM offends you then i'm sorry!!

I'm assuming the reason there seems to be no other RAF Regiment on this entire forum,is because of the slaggings every one of them has received from the people who don't understand what we are and do. I've never claimed us to be 'elite', 'special', 'air force commandos' or any of that bollocks, but i do know what training i have done and what tasks i've put my alll into in my career.

What exactly constitutes a 'professional soldier'?

By the way, i'm trying to keep this as light hearted as possible as i realise i'm in your section of the forum and feel like i've just walked into the fecking NAAFI at Colchester, on my own, wearing a RAF Regt T-shirt!

What constitutes a professional soldier? Not you window lickers!!

Do they still man the firetrucks

?

Sorry Artist, missed that one. Not anymore, that stopped before the RAF Regt left Catterick or even Swinderby, I think.

Nah, they still man the NAAFI though!

RAF Reginald wrote:we have a completely different role. If the fact that we are required to complete infantry training, employ infantry tactics, carry infantry weapons and wear DPM offends you then i'm sorry!!

Yes, it does offend me.

people who don't understand what we are and do

Why dont you explain what YOU do exactly? After all, i am merely a "grunt", so what would i know about your exclusive regiment.

Stag on........stag off........stag on


hang on wtf do I know Im a mere ex matelot , still I looked great in DPMs

Probably better than those REMFS! Don't forget room jobs between stag!

been on the lash in a little village outside raf akotiri in cyprus 87 ( i think) went on the camp, about 10 of us, got a crate of carlsberg each, and just sat and chewed the fat. In the other part of the naffi were the feared 2 para, i think they call themselves ? some of them must have thought they could join our little company and decided to swan on over, allright lads was there way of saying, can we have a drink, one of the lads, in a polite tone told this misguided wannabe, where to go. the wannabe, on closer inspection of the tatoos that most of us happen to have, suddenly doubled back to the rest of his mates to the cryes of " its the real ones" . sad but true, we never had time to socialise with these heroes in blue, because no sooner had he left us than a platoon of mp wearing white helmets, kindly asked us to leave the location .

Can you really give the RAF Regt a hard time... i mean they're sorted for life when they get out - Heathrow will always need security guards! Lets face it guys... your loosing rapier to the ARMY then what you gonna do, ponce around the parade square at Uxbridge and stag on at airfields. I only feel sorry for those mis-guided young recruits.

RAF Regt SOP 001 - Lost Procedure.....

- Keep walking
- Find perimiter fence
- Turn left or right
- Follow fence to guard room

Girls, this is getting a tad repetative don`t you think?
We know the Para are only good for stag.
What`s stag for fark sake
Is it like Moose
Try not to abuse the Raf Regt as they are easilly bruised.
Besides which, there is a shed load of other forums awaiting your input.
And you know what?
This shits getting boring
Get stuck in Toms, just stop wasting your time on this thread.
Oooh yawn, is that the time

Jason_m4 wrote:Ok,this is my first post here,most of my question have been answers using the search function but this hasnt been coverd and if it has,im not satisfied with the replys,so please bare with me...

Ive been looking at joining the paras for sometime now,but have been turned off,specialy because of the role they have played in Iraq and Afghanistan and as far back as the early 90's.
Is it just me or are they getting shafted with peace-keeping operations while the Marines get all the sexy missions? I thought they were shook troops! I want to join a fighting unit,I dont want to baby sit anyones neighborhood,I dont want to hand out food.

Are the paras for me,or should I take my ass over to the Marines for some action.Ive read on these forums,many times comments along the lines of...if you wanna see action,join the paras...this dosnt seem to be true anymore.This is very disapointing,how do the paras themselves feel about it? Knowing that there are iraqi and taliban instalations to blow to hell and rebel fighters to send to hell,and instead they get to clean up and restore the peace.

Why has the Paras role changed so much? Im sure they are capable,if not more so then the marines are to excecute search and destroy missions in the mountains of afghanistan.

Im joining the military to fight...where do i sign?

Sorry that the armed forces isnt 'Gung Ho' enough for you, if you only want to be blowing stuff up mate. May i suggest Command and Conquer Generals, or what about Grand Theft Auto? No doubt whatever part of the forces you join, i think that this eagerness for battle will soon be forgoten when its you and your mates on the receiving end of some serious fire. Oh another thing why dont you go and ask the squadies serving over there now how the 'action' is. When now most of the action seen is an I.E.D going off five metres to your left.

Thank fark we got back to the original subject at last! Good effort dalo, for pointing out what a space cadet Jm4 is. Been watching too much 'A Team' re runs I think. And the Paras have hardly been left out of anything in the last 10 years, in fact we have been at the forefront of virtually every op going. However it's not all shooting the baddies, any serving soldier will tell you it's 95% boredam, 5% shit hits the fan.

We all joined for various reasons. I joined the Bootnecks because of my memories of them when I was a Kid in Singers. Me Pop had a ruck of Oppos in 3 CDOBDERM back then so we were always paying visits to the RM MQ's. And also Captain Hurricane from the Valiant Comic. He of the Raging Furies was my hero!!!!

RAF Regt never came into my head as a thing to join. My Pop was an RAF PTI. Prior to that he was a Bootneck attached to the Malayan Scouts in the Fifties but his eyesight due to copping a dose of malaria forced him to re-muster. Pop never had a lot of time for the RAF Regt truth be told. To him they were Rockapes and were to be ignored.

The Paras just didnt enter into it. Still did me Para course in 1975 mind when I was the 40CDORM Recce Troop Sigs rating. Had only been in a couple of years but I had to be Para trained to serve with Recce troop so Of I went and did the course.

As it is I reckon I choose the right course of action concerning my Career as a Bootneck. Strikes me the Paras are not getting a very good Rub at the moment with all this crap about shortage of airplanes. Forming the Rangers and such like. About time the knobbers in Whitehall considered the morale of the forces a bit more and stopped trying to copy the bleeding Yanks in all things Soldier.

Artist

The shortage of aircraft is a bit crap, but that's just down to commitments really. However, as for ops the Bns are getting overused if anything, not underused. And as for the JSFSG (1Para), the blokes are pretty optimistic about it, they are getting some decent kit and some good jobs.

Yer but Greenronnie surely it's going to be a bit "Them & Us" in time what with 1 Para taking on this new job.

Me Winger Big Geordie was first 2 para and later 1 Para and he int to happy about it in any way shape or form.

Artist