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Hi everyone!!! I am going to join the RAF and i want to join as either a Mechanical transport driver or a movements operator. Has anybody out there joined either of these trades? I was wondering if there are any female recruits out there to give me their opinion of these trades or the basic training at RAF Halton? Cheers ears!

MTD's great if you want to drive the shift bus , be a taxi driver for w*n*erd officers or hang out with civvy drivers ( who are usually ex mob )

Get a trade YOU want to do , not one someone at the careers office wants to push you into

Trades I wouldnt recommend are basically anything a civvy contracter can do

ie Driver, stacker,
or the more bizarre ( I knew a disip who came out in 97 and hasnt held down a job since apart from security or doorman )


Most trades will see you doing the same thing in your "free " time

ie Guard, unpaid barmaid, etc

Dont get me wrong I loved it and would have my time again over and over

Mercury,
I wasn't pushed into being a driver. I went into the AFCO requesting info on the two trades and i was given them without any questions. I admit the questions will come later in the process but i have heard all sorts of stories about the travelling a driver can do with the RAF, not always i know but at least the opportunity is there instead of being somebody on civvy street who isn't appreciated as much and doesn't take pride in their job or can move up the the ranks like you can in the forces. Thanks for reply and i appreciate your comments.

MTD's great if you want to drive the shift bus , be a taxi driver for w*n*erd officers or hang out with civvy drivers ( who are usually ex mob )

Or learn to drive anything with 2 wheels, 4 wheels or tracks. Travel LOADS. Develop onto VIP duties, Tactical Driving (2 MT Sqn) etc etc etc

Get a trade YOU want to do , not one someone at the careers office wants to push you into

Wouldn't this depend upon; ONE, your qualifications/test scores and TWO what trades have vacancies?

For a start...the RAF aim to RECRUIT and RETAIN personnel. This means they won't accept you unless they are 100% convinced you will be satisfied with your trade choice. It would cause more problems if they spend tax payers money training you and you quit because you don't like the trade......

Trades I wouldnt recommend are basically anything a civvy contracter can do ie Driver, stacker,

The RAF partially 'civilianised' some trades (chef, driver, supply). This means that the guys in those trades don't sepnd their time stuck in the UK doing 'lame' jobs...rather they enjoy more travel, operational deployments and higher value taskings.

Been in long sweetie ?

No, honey, i haven't. Have you been in long?

Sorry Proud salopian i was been sarcy to Biggles

I did 9 years , best of luck for whatever trade you chooose

Proud Salopian

Im due to start my basic training at Halton on Wednesday 24th Sept.
If you keep checking the forum I will post as much info as I can about the training when I get a weekend off, hopefully I wont have to suffer from re-flighting for any reason in which case I am led to believe I get approx 3 weekends out of 9 as free time.

The fitness standards you will have to attain for the recruit fitness test will be slightly higher than what will be expected from me as I fall into the 25-29 yr old brackets, but details of this can be found in the Fit for Action booklet.

But from what I can gather, both from scouring this forum and from family members who have served in the RAF, the Fit for Action and the Halton booklets issued at the AFCO are fairly accurate accounts of how things will be.

Watch this space. . . .
And wish me the best of British, I've a feeling I might need it. !

May the force be with you Dawnie. Best of luck.

Aye - Andy :fadein:

Dawnie
Good luck to you!!! Which trade are you going into in the RAF?

good luck for tommorrow Dawnie. Hope it all goes ok.

I took the aptitude test for the RAF yesterday and i failed to get enough marks to do the trade i wanted, which was Intelligence analyst (imagery). I was so disappointed with myself but i am going to retake it again in 6 months time, i don't want to give up on this. In the meantime, i will keep my fitness levels up and brush up my maths. Has anybody else ever failed the aptitude test the first time for the RAF?

I failed the apptitude test the first time I took it. My advice is to learn your multiplication tables so that you can recite them without having to think, this makes things alot easier. It's what I did, and I passed the next time easily.

Quick handbrake turn there Sal? MT last week, imagery analyst this week, what happened?

I changed my mind because i realised that i could be a driver in civvy street. I want to make sure i get the most out of my time in the RAF and Intelligence analyst sounded much more demanding and is a trade where you really contribute something to RAF operations. I am determined to get in so i am going to retake the aptitude test in 6 months.