MilitaryForums.co.uk

Briefly:
When i first thought of the Forces, after college, i wanted to join the Marines as a Reg...
Then after a few years out of college working as a fitness instructor i joined a recruit cadre for 4Para (Volunteers) last summer, and i really enjoyed it. (Including, suprisingly how we fairly were treated by the recruit team, senior NCOs, PSOs and Depot Staff)
However earning an amazing 10k a year in the gym didn't appeal to me so i dug out my A Levels and went to the University of Leeds to study MEng Architectural Engineering, and quickly realised that the transfer from work full time and 4Para recruit to fresher student with no time to train wasn't worth the reward...
Therefore now i am going into the Regs as OPMI (hopefully).

Anyway, my point is...
At varying stages i've either thought it better to live a normal life and be a weekend warrior, as i would still get to serve, however be more or less a civilian before and after tour(s)
OR - i thought if i was going to have to go to Afghan, i would like to be thoroughly trained 24/7 before it and not have to make do with the odd weekend a month...

I was just wondering what other people's views on TA vs Reg were, except the general banter there is between the two, i.e. why you chose one over the other etc...

would you prefer a w4nk alone every day, or to shag an essence bird everyday?

Each is good and has individual benefits, but one is better than the other.

Not saying the TA are w4nk by the way!

I get what you mean.
Plus my only experience of the TA is 4Para, and the Artillery we shared a Unit with, and we all called their trained ranks, so i do appreciate why people do think they're w@#k to be fair.

I just think "you can learn when your old... Use your youth doing what you want, not sitting in a lecture theatre"
to paraphrase...
"Soldier first, graduate second "

Well i'm unsure about whether i want to make a career out of it or not.
I'm just a curious bastard really and i want to know what's going on all the time, plus i'd like to learn a language but realistically i never would in civilian life; i'd just go for a run or somethin instead.

as of late i am getting a few doubts over Int tbh, as the more i hear about it the more it sounds like it's in a dark hole behind a laptop kind of work, i dont want that...
i dunno, i just presumed no matter which arm i'd end up in the sand really..

Carlos - Good Scouse name, that!

Best bet is to grip your nuts and make a decision. Full-time, part-time, whatever. It's what fits with your wants and needs out of life. Some start off as a part-timer to get them through collegeand such, while others do it to get a taste of the military before making a final decision on full-time service. You'll get a different experience from each, obviously. If you're lucky, your TA unit will have a good mix of pure TA and ex-Reg to provide some depth of experience. There will always be good and bad in every unit, TA and Reg. Don't let anyone broad brush the issue for you - it's utter bollocks. I've come across many Regs that I wouldn't employ out of morbid curiosity, but then the same can be said for part-timers. The standards are more consistent in the Regs, though. Another truism is that the quality of your average TA unit is a direct reflection of the stahdard of Reg daytime staff there. If they're dross, things will generally be shyte. I've been very luck over the years. My unit in the UK had a large and rather eclectic proportion of ex-Regs. There were inf, Para, RM, SAS, RAF Regt. No end of piss-taking of course, but then the OC was ex-SAS, so he go the last word! I'm sure it's also different these days with so many reserve lads getting operational experience under their belts.