A few questions from a Potential Commonwealth Aspirant

[sandeep]

Hi , a quick introduction. I am a 29 year old from India. I plan to take advantage of the opportunity given to citizens of the Commonwealth and join the British Army. I have the Para regiment in mind and have built up my physical fitness level to qualify for selection.

Why did I wait so long..well I had a few family issues which stopped me before which have now been taken care of. I have already researched that the maximum age for joining is 33 years and that this was changed from the previous top limit of 26 years sometime in 2006 to meet the requirement of deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq . I have a few questions that I have tried researching but have not been successful with in finding any precise answers.

1. Recent newspaper articles and statements by the British government have bought out that there is going to be a substantial cut in the defense budget and that the UK forces are currently 100% manned.

a) Does this imply that recruiting of individuals from the commonwealths is going to be reduced/ stopped ?

b) Is it likely that the policy of recruiting individuals up to 33 years of age is going to be reviewed and lowered back to 26 years?

c) The waiting period for a potential commonwealth recruit will become longer ?


2. I have not yet contacted the AFCO with my application as I wanted to prepare myself for the challenge. I have achieved a satisfactory level of fitness now to start with my application. I have also saved enough money to finance a trip to the UK and support my self for a period of about 6 months if required. I would really appreciate any answers to my queries or any guidance from the fellow members... :n00b: