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hi there, names tony.
im a kiwi, ex RNZIR (royal new zealand infantry regiment) section cmdr for about 5 odd yrs.
currently stuck in NYC after a couple of yrs in the UK and one in africa.
i signed up to chat with current and former UK/commonwealth military types.
getting myself ready to join the yank army and go have some fun in the middle east
before you ask why the yanks? i tried to join the paras when i was in the UK but the f**king recruiters told me i was too old (30)
the yanks will recruit until 35.
one of the guys in my section back home was ex-2 para. we did alot of training together
so thats the story
look forward to chatting with you blokes/blokettes
tony

hiya mate, what are you joining in the yank army? parachute infantry? whats NYC like then ive always wanted to go there cheers Dan

CantWaitToStartBasic wrote:hiya mate, what are you joining in the yank army? parachute infantry? whats NYC like then ive always wanted to go there cheers Dan

yes going to try for airborne, nothing compared to the paras but a good start. see how it goes after that.
NYC is a pretty cool place, a real eye opener
more freaks than you can shake a stick at
its deffinatly worth a look.

Hi Tony,
Where in NZ you from bud?
I gotta a bunch of old buddies around Huntly and Wellington.
How long you been in the US?
Oh,BTW us Sourthern boy's don't much take to being called"Yanks"
"Elmer"Is the accepted way to address Americans on this forum,it's much less offensive than that other word.
Welcome Aboard!
Wholley.

Gidday bud welcome to the forums. Another kiwi here...in Wellington at the mo.... RNZIR..Linton or Burnham right? Why did you leave the NZ army?? I passed my OSB and start IOT in Januraryand was hoping to join the infantry, but that's if I stay. Is it a worth while job? I can't get any info from anyone

O well enjoy the banter and good luck with the US Army

Cheers, Gareth

(Sorry if this should have been a PM)

hey mate, i come from Timaru about half way down the south island on the east coast.
been over here about 2 1/2 yrs, still waiting for my green card!
thats whats stopping me from joining up now.
haha sorry johnny reb about the 'yank' label no offense meant.
where does 'Elmer' come from?
never heard that before.
ive got a good chance of being posted in N.C. when/if i finally join up.
you anywhere near FT BRAGG?
thanks for the welcome
tony

wholley wrote:Hi Tony,
Where in NZ you from bud?
I gotta a bunch of old buddies around Huntly and Wellington.
How long you been in the US?
Oh,BTW us Sourthern boy's don't much take to being called"Yanks"
"Elmer"Is the accepted way to address Americans on this forum,it's much less offensive than that other word.
Welcome Aboard!
Wholley.

hi garth, yes linton and burnham are the main inf bases, though im hearing rumours of burnham closing! who knows
its a bit harder to choose your corps if you go officer, as you are joining the officer corps not an actual job corps (like inf, arty, etc.)
but you can ask!
a worth while job? hmmm thats a complex question. why are you joining? what do you want out of it? what is your life goal? (if any)
an officer is a manager, not a worker.
the training is physically hard, and long. i happen to have a freind of mine who is going to be one of your instructors
are you going RF or TF?
im happy to give you any advice i can, though remember i was a JNCO (junior non commisoned officer) not an officer.
ask away!
tony

p.s. feel free to PM me, im easy either way, it might be interesting for others to hear or you can keep it private.

Undertow wrote:Gidday bud welcome to the forums. Another kiwi here...in Wellington at the mo.... RNZIR..Linton or Burnham right? Why did you leave the NZ army?? I passed my OSB and start IOT in Januraryand was hoping to join the infantry, but that's if I stay. Is it a worth while job? I can't get any info from anyone

O well enjoy the banter and good luck with the US Army

Cheers, Gareth

(Sorry if this should have been a PM)

Hello Tony,

welcome to the nut house mate, pick a wall, bang your head off it while singing lullabies to yourself and you'll fit straight in

Hey mate...its not Sgt Craunston(sp?) the pti is it??He was the pti on the OSB and hes going to be at OCS. He recently came second in an 18km cross country and does his RFL in about 7.40 Don't wanna get on the wrong side of him, he was a laugh though.

I think the main thing im worried about is ending up behind a desk in 5 odd years as an officer. And since there is less publicity on RNZIR's activites except in Timor etc.. I'm not totally sure of the entire role they would take. Do they tend to only do the aid ops in the pacific? And what sort of patrol strength do Lts/Capts go out in, I don't want to be the guy who sends everyone out while im at camp

Cheers for the help mate, Gareth

Tony,
that would be"Prime Port"Timaru if memory serves.
"Elmer"Comes from Elmer Fudd the well known cartoon hunter.
If you go to Bragg you'll be one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children.
If your joining the USMC you will probably go through boot camp in
SC,James Island I believe.
You married or single?
Wholley.

you know your NZ geography, you are correct.
never heard of 'elmer' being used, is it unique to militaryforums?
going to go army when/if i get to enlist, so basic is in ft benning, GA i think, then posted to ft bragg.
im married hahaha

wholley wrote:Tony,
that would be"Prime Port"Timaru if memory serves.
"Elmer"Comes from Elmer Fudd the well known cartoon hunter.
If you go to Bragg you'll be one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children.
If your joining the USMC you will probably go through boot camp in
SC,James Island I believe.
You married or single?
Wholley.

no wrong guy, my mates a bit higher ranked than that, i'll wait until you're in before i let you know be alot more interesting that way
as an officer you will get to be behind a desk alot more than the other ranks, but everyone who gets to higher in rank does alot of desk work the higher you are the more you'll do.
RNZIR traditionaly does less deployments than certain other branchs, e.g. medics and engineers.
though an officer has more chance of a UN deployment than an other rank.
since vietnam the RNZIR has deployed to bosnia, solomons and timor thats about it.
not much, i was bored shitless.
the army has units in iraq (not sure for how long though, i heard they might be pulling them out) and they're in afghanistan, small deployments though, these are the kind of deployments an officer can get on easier than a other rank. (the guys in iraq are engineers BTW)
LTs led a platoon of 33 pers, a CPT/MAJ led a company of 120 pers.
if you are the commander of a PL or COY you will ALWAYS led them on patrol.

Undertow wrote:Hey mate...its not Sgt Craunston(sp?) the pti is it??He was the pti on the OSB and hes going to be at OCS. He recently came second in an 18km cross country and does his RFL in about 7.40 Don't wanna get on the wrong side of him, he was a laugh though.

I think the main thing im worried about is ending up behind a desk in 5 odd years as an officer. And since there is less publicity on RNZIR's activites except in Timor etc.. I'm not totally sure of the entire role they would take. Do they tend to only do the aid ops in the pacific? And what sort of patrol strength do Lts/Capts go out in, I don't want to be the guy who sends everyone out while im at camp

Cheers for the help mate, Gareth

Tony,
you married to one of those erm..Northern persons then?
Or did you drag the entire famdamblily with you?
Wholley.

tonyh762....dont you have to be living in the USA for a certain amount of time befor joining their army or can you go straight over there and go in?

Cheers for the info mate...good to finally get some from a reliable source