Joining the paras?

[Ash21]

Hi, i've been training myself for a couple of months now for a military career, i've gotten myself to a level of fitness where i wont have to worry about the entry fitness test thing for the regular army (sorry about the vagueness, acronyms are lost on me at the moment) however, i've had my sights set on being a para since i was small being told war stories by ex-military relatives. Now i'm aware that the army and the para's are not seperate forces and should command equal respect but the army just won't do it for me (it's a pride/motivational thing) You may be wondering what i'm trying to ask at this point but i wanted to reassure you that i'm not just some wannabe wasting your time or trying to rub any of you the wrong way (or any other way for that matter.) regardless i will be starting the application process as soon as my birthday's passed in april (last big blowout before my life changes drastically ) Basically i've been hearing that the paras have been effectively absorbed by the other forces, is there any truth to this? If so are they still hiring? And are the entry requirements the same as the army? I'd expect it to be slightly more intense than the regular entry requirements but admittedly i know sweet f@#k all about these sorts of things. I have googled and searched these forums but a lot of the information could easily be out of date or supplied by "walts" as i've seen described in other posts on this site. So sorry if this has been accurately answered before but i'm after genuine up to date knowledge from people in the know, that and i'd like a clearer idea of what i'm going to discuss with the recruitment officer when it comes to my appointment. Any answers/advice would be much appreciated.

[Ash21]

Thought i'd add this here rather than make a whole new topic. Does anyone have any idea whether a firearms offence would ruin my chances of joining the infantry? It's an incredibly petty offence that looks pretty bloody serious on paper (when i was 17 me and a couple of mates were out shooting eachother with bbguns, cue armed response unit) i was charged with possession of an imitation firearm and had to do 40 hours at an attendance centre. I'm pretty sure my conviction doesn't count as spent yet but the army careers bloke i spoke to on the phone was confusingly vague over whether or not there's a rule specifically barring firearms related ex-offenders. Would that be an automatic exclusion? Should i just apply for a job in tesco instead?

[Wholley]

Firstly,welcome to MF.
I can't answer your question regarding the Parachute Regiment however in answer to your question about a firearms offence,it should not affect a military career as at seventeen you are regarded as a minor so your juvenile record should be expunged(it won't be,but that's what the law requires)
I think your first plan of action should be to contact your nearest AFCO and speak to the recruiting teams there.
Finally,by the construction and grammar of your post you would be wasted as a shelf-stacker at Tesco.

Any more questions,just ask and if we do not know the answer we can find out.

Hope this helps,
Best.
Wholley.

[Ash21]

Cheers for the welcome, always nice! And thanks for that, i wont lie i think my fears of being rejected due to that offense was keeping me from applying earlier lol (gotta keep the dream alive.) i was going to go and have a word with them in the careers office about it personally but my nearest one is in london and being a dirty benefit scrounger at the moment i cant afford to spend the 20 quid on the train ticket getting there. As far as tesco goes i'd be lucky if they did hire me. Being a little bastard as i was when i was younger i managed to leave school with no qualifications and the only thing on my c.v. is my criminal record! I've been told that official qualifications aren't needed for non-technical jobs in the army and i cant say the idea of being an officer appeals to me either so hopefully it wont matter, i'm just hoping my intelligence will come across during the interviews. Tell you what though, i'm wishing i did apply when i hit 18 before all of these budget cuts! Well thanks again, you'll probably hear from me on here multiple times within the next two months running up to my application as i'm sure i'll think of more awkward questions between now and then! (i'll try not to be too irritating.)

[Tab]

Ash, there are Para's and Crap hats in the Army, and there is difference in the training levels and the effort required top become a para. You never hear of a Unit in the Regular Army turning down 75% of all the recruits that come in for training as they can't measure up.

[Ash21]

Suddenly i don't feel so stupid for doing all of this extra training!