Camp lympstone

[degrees of passion]

thats true an i see your point,but im not comparing the getting the green lid to these gadgets,all im saying is that they would be a nice bonus,and yes we dont actually NEED them but if you break everything down to what you actually need and what you dont,then we'd all be living in a forest on f@#k all.dont get me wrong im not arguing consumer capitalism is a great thing,but its part of life and partly the reason why were not living in a third world country.

all im asking is to be realistic,i realise the way the world has gone and how our culture has lost its way,but dont take it to the extreme and try to tell me that you dont have or want some of these material possessions,your posting on this forum using a pc and internet that you dont truly need,lets put it into perspecive,were trying to be marines here not tree huggers.

[ADDiction]

I'm sure you would also agree with making the best out of what you have.

[degrees of passion]

yes we do have have to make the best with what we have,i just think some people are too quick to accept the fact that they dont have much and so have to make the best of it,instead of striving for more

[fubar84]

Everyone has their own motives for joining and personally if your only thought is to earn that lid and no more then you're being a bit silly.

Speaking to the guys down there when I was on my POC last year, more than one were coming to terms with having just passed their commando tests and suddenly realising the fact that in less than half a year later, they would be leading men into battle in Afghanistan.

Every guy that wants to join the royal marines wants to take on the challenge of earning the lid but as other's have mentioned sometimes you have other factors to consider in your life such as a wife and kids.

For me it's a case of 'I'm making a massively important life choice and commiting my future to the navy so I need to consider money, wellfare, job security etc..' I'm single now, but that could all change within the next 5 or so years, and if it does I need to be sure that my family will be taken care of because currently dying in theater is an all too apparent risk. One i wholly accept but a risk nonetheless.

I think it's also important to think about where you're going to be 10 years down the line. It's easy to say 'I'm in until i'm 55' but your view of forces life can easily change when your in, or may be out of your control entirely if you get seriously injured.

Coming from an army background it's astounding the amount of guys that you meet who join up at 18, realise they hate it by the time they're 25, but have nowhere to go because they have few-to-no qualifications that are applicable in civvy street. Yes they'll have plenty of friends for life, but they can't be expected to pay his/her mortgage for him/her if he/she can't.

So it's all great to say as long as I have my lid and a full-belly when you're living in Royal-land where somebody else cooks your dinners and arranges accomodation, but if that's all you consider when you join up then sooner or later you're going to come crashing back down to the real world with a bang.

My 10 pence.

[AJtothemax]

Why the hell are you guys even talking about money?

When I put in my application and through the whole process, I havent even thought about money. I dont even keep it in the back of my mind, It hasent affected my descision to do this at all. If money is a desciding factor to whether you apply to join then your not thinking straight.

Aslong as I have a Green beret on my head and food in my stomach, I will be bloody laughing.

Im quite suprised like others, that you said that mate. Its not about doing it for the money really, that point is its about having a decent living, a good standard of life so that when you come home from a war zone you dont have to worry about bloody money ontop of anything else that could be an issue for you.

Personally i think the forces should get more money for what they do - end of in my view. Joining up isn't all about the money, everyone has their reasons though. Im not really concerned about the money much either, but its just trying to illustrate the point about your life at home and your future. Money is going to be a part of that.

All the best everyone.

[gjd1986]

Money for me is an issue, i'd have my phone bill to pay, loan payments, car, etc. Like AJ said money is the one thing i wouldn't want to worry about, and i agree that the forces should get more pay than they do, on par with the fire service and police, if not more, after all, its more dangerous isn't it? plus alot more of a commitment is required from you.

End of the day, the pay is what it is - shyte, thats life. I'm still joining on the 11th june regardless.

[fubar84]

Admittedly these aren't the most important reasons to influence your decision to join but if you are in a scenario like this:

Royal Marine chosen a trade such as vehicle mechanic, Cdo Logs, driver, metalsmith etc attached to army unit currently stationed in Cyprus/Germany etc..

You would like to apply for a loan/credit card/mortgage/sky subscription.

Try explaining to the person on the other end of the phone (probably in Bangladesh) that you're a British citizen but you live in Germany and don't have a UK address, and you aren't on the electoral role because you joined up when you were 18 so have never voted and/or you don't have any family in UK so you've never voted by proxy either.

True, for most of us this isn't an issue we're likely to worry about, but for the more, ahem, mature lads that join up with families in tow, they can suddenly become very important factors.

[druadan]

When I was a nod, I cleared around £700 a month after tax, food, accom etc. It's probably a bit higher now (that was £11,152 annual salary then). You don't really have any extra commitments except beer money, and the odd bit of kit here and there. I'm not trying to discourage, but make sure you can afford it before you go in, I ended up in more debt which I'm still repaying two years later. It's very hard (or at least I found it so - maybe just weak-willed ) to avoid going out on the piss with everyone on a Saturday, that alone adds up to a coupla hundred a month. It can be done assuming you still have SOME spare cash, but IMHO if you've got a well paid job, better to wait a year and reduce your outgoings before joining - the experience is a lot more enjoyable when you can live the young free and single life that the job suits.

[Tommo12K]

Guys,

I have read the posts you have put on and i don't agree. I don't think there has been a drop in standards at all, the corps and especially CTC is evolving the same quality is still produced after 32 weeks of training. At the end of the day whether you get beasted from day 1 or day 12 it does make you better or worse than anyone and to think so is a little naive.

At the end of the day it down to the individual and his desire to be the best a unique quality that i think is in all potential/serving Royal Marines. It not the corps standards we should be worried about its personal standards.

Just to add i have been RT twice before 1999 13 weeks 2003 8 weeks and also 18 months with the T.A. i'm re joining on the 25/6/07 for another go i wouldn't be joining if standards have dropped and i assure i have been beasted in my time.

Stay Commited to you goals and don't let antything get in your way... Whatever It takes !!!