IDF or the RIR?

Achilles1599 · 07-03-2012 10:17pm #1

bit of a toughy for me after a week in the local barracks(aiken barracks) for work experience ive decided a career in the army way of life is perfect but my tough choice is should i stay with the defence forces or leave for england to join the royal irish regiment any comments or advice?

It wasn't me! · 07-03-2012 10:39pm

The charter is pretty explicit on this one. If you read it, you'll understand that nobody is allowed suggest RIR or any other foreign force to you. Now, you can look for information, but if you ask which to join, according to the Boards interpretation of Irish law, nobody can suggest the BA to you.

DipStick McSwindler · 08-03-2012 1:38pm

This post has been deleted.

thecommietommy · 08-03-2012 1:45pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

bit of a toughy for me after a week in the local barracks(aiken barracks) for work experience ive decided a career in the army way of life is perfect but my tough choice is should i stay with the defence forces or leave for england to join the royal irish regiment any comments or advice?

:eek: Another British army recruitmet thread

Do the British forces recruitment sponsor this forum or give backhanders to someone in boards.ie !!!!!!

RMD · 08-03-2012 4:17pm

Research both thoroughly, make an informed decision. There's a very good book called Callsign Hades written by Patrick Bury, an Officer from Wicklow who served in RIR. Gives a good indication into daily life, certainly seems like a unique place.

Problem with the PDF is a lack of clear information. Make sure though you're making an informed decision, see if you can talk a few soldiers in the PDF about their career.

KickstartHeart · 08-03-2012 5:12pm

Yeah man,
Look into it. Military.ie is full of info. But definitely try to speak to some people in both armies. And its up to you on what you want. The PDF is particularly hard to get into at the moment because the government is keeping it at 9500 and there's very limited recruitment.

Do you wan't to go to college and become an officer or do you want to finish school and join up as a recruit to become a soldier?

Also, as an Irish person, your'e not just restricted to joining the RIR if you want to go to the British. Infantry isn't your only option. Just for your info.

Achilles1599 · 08-03-2012 6:07pm

thanks any way lads for all replies but for added information i am looking to going along the officer route

DipStick McSwindler · 08-03-2012 6:19pm

This post has been deleted.

Achilles1599 · 08-03-2012 6:33pm

same here man but i was talking to some of the soldiers today in my local barracks today and they were saying how the same story with the irish army is that were under funded, under equipped and under staffed so this is why i was asking should i consider the royal irish regiment even if are fighting men are some of the best still need some heavy equipment. One lad told me how how hes seen a 7.62mm round pierce the side of a MOWAG so that was a bit shocking to say the least

Turbine · 08-03-2012 9:26pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

same here man but i was talking to some of the soldiers today in my local barracks today and they were saying how the same story with the irish army is that were under funded, under equipped and under staffed so this is why i was asking should i consider the royal irish regiment even if are fighting men are some of the best still need some heavy equipment. One lad told me how how hes seen a 7.62mm round pierce the side of a MOWAG so that was a bit shocking to say the least

6 British soldiers were blown up in an armoured vehicle in Afghanistan on Tuesday, so joining the British Army won't protect you from getting killed. Joining any army will always involve the risk of being sent into a warzone at any time, where there is always the risk of being killed or maimed.

If you talked to soldiers in the US Army or British Army, they'll probably tell you they're under-equipped and under-funded as well.

SIRREX · 08-03-2012 10:01pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

One lad told me how how hes seen a 7.62mm round pierce the side of a MOWAG so that was a bit shocking to say the least

A lad by the name of Walter Mitty by any Chance?

Achilles1599 · 08-03-2012 10:16pm

no actually a corporal in the 27th infantry

goldie fish · 08-03-2012 11:59pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

no actually a corporal in the 27th infantry

Sure he's never seen a Mowag so.

Achilles1599 · 09-03-2012 5:37pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Sure he's never seen a Mowag so.

well am sure hes pretty familiar with them since they spend alot of time working with them soo...

CZ 453 · 09-03-2012 7:37pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

same here man but i was talking to some of the soldiers today in my local barracks today and they were saying how the same story with the irish army is that were under funded, under equipped and under staffed so this is why i was asking should i consider the royal irish regiment even if are fighting men are some of the best still need some heavy equipment. On e lad told me how how hes seen a 7.62mm round pierce the side of a MOWAG so that was a bit shocking to say the least

Did someone replace the door with a paper one???

goldie fish · 09-03-2012 10:30pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

well am sure hes pretty familiar with them since they spend alot of time working with them soo...

Well....

What part of the side did the supposed 7.62mm impact? The exhaust perhaps? And where?

I'm calling bull**** on this one.
Pics or gtfo.

Achilles1599 · 10-03-2012 7:08pm

thats all this corporal told me, was giving out about equipment and mentioned it

cruasder777 · 10-03-2012 10:56pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

bit of a toughy for me after a week in the local barracks(aiken barracks) for work experience ive decided a career in the army way of life is perfect but my tough choice is should i stay with the defence forces or leave for england to join the royal irish regiment any comments or advice?

Depends if you want to take part in the most intense fighting since Korea or guard cash in transit vans, your call.

goldie fish · 10-03-2012 11:03pm

Achilles1599 wrote: »

thats all this corporal told me, was giving out about equipment and mentioned it

Well, he's lyin to ye.

Manic Moran · 11-03-2012 8:00pm

In fairness, 7.62mm AP is surprisingly capable (But also surprisingly expensive). You should see the swiss cheese I've seen 5.56mm AP make of APCs, it's disturbing.

The charter is pretty explicit on this one. If you read it, you'll understand that nobody is allowed suggest RIR or any other foreign force to you. Now, you can look for information, but if you ask which to join, according to the Boards interpretation of Irish law, nobody can suggest the BA to you.

We can answer your questions, if you have specifics about conditions etc. We can't say 'We think you should join...'

NTM

goldie fish · 11-03-2012 11:14pm

Manic Moran wrote: »

In fairness, 7.62mm AP is surprisingly capable (But also surprisingly expensive). You should see the swiss cheese I've seen 5.56mm AP make of APCs, it's disturbing.

NTM

Indeed, but they are not using Mowags as targets in the Glen yet...Not while there are still old panhards about.

KickstartHeart · 12-03-2012 1:43am

cruasder777 wrote: »

Depends if you want to take part in the most intense fighting since Korea or guard cash in transit vans, your call.

Ireland, Britain, and the USA are THE ONLY countries in the world that are signed up to the NATO partnership for peace programme, that actually maintain the required 8% of forces on oversea's ops at all times. Your continuous Defence Forces bashing on this site is getting a bit annoying because you haven't a bloody clue about what the Irish Defence Forces do. Stop posting stupid posts on this site about the Irish Defence Forces because some people who don't know any better will be naive enough to believe the crap you post.

OP, You won't spend all your time guarding a transit van. I know people in the British forces, and the PDF, who mutually agree that training and exercises etc. in the PDF and the Brits are similar, and are both of the same standard, which is good. The only difference is, you'l get paid more in the Irish army, and although you will take part in operations that might be very dangerous, in very dangerous parts of the world, you probably won't see the kind of combat that British forces are currently facing. But don't join the Irish Army expecting a cushy safe number. Lots of Irish troops have lost their lives on missions. Just because the Irish army isn't involved in Afghanistan doesn't mean that you definitely won't come into contacts with belligerents oversea's on operations. Peacekeeping isn't always very peaceful. You will have to train hard and became a fit, capable, professional soldier in both the British forces and the PDF.

tac foley · 12-03-2012 10:49am

KickstartHeart wrote: »

Ireland, Britain, and the USA are THE ONLY countries in the world that are signed up to the NATO partnership for peace programme, that actually maintain the required 8% of forces on oversea's ops at all times. Your continuous Defence Forces bashing on this site is getting a bit annoying because you haven't a bloody clue about what the Irish Defence Forces do. Stop posting stupid posts on this site about the Irish Defence Forces because some people who don't know any better will be naive enough to believe the crap you post.

OP, You won't spend all your time guarding a transit van. I know people in the British forces, and the PDF, who mutually agree that training and exercises etc. in the PDF and the Brits are similar, and are both of the same standard, which is good. The only difference is, you'l get paid more in the Irish army, and although you will take part in operations that might be very dangerous, in very dangerous parts of the world, you probably won't see the kind of combat that British forces are currently facing. But don't join the Irish Army expecting a cushy safe number. Lots of Irish troops have lost their lives on missions. Just because the Irish army isn't involved in Afghanistan doesn't mean that you definitely won't come into contacts with belligerents oversea's on operations. Peacekeeping isn't always very peaceful. You will have to train hard and became a fit, capable, professional soldier in both the British forces and the PDF.

+1

Good post - needs paying attention to.

AAMOI, elements of the British Army regularly exercise dealing with and containing a major terrorist incident at London Heathrow Airport.

tac

DipStick McSwindler · 12-03-2012 12:08pm

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OS119 · 12-03-2012 12:31pm

feeney92 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity Is the pay that much worse? considering cost of living is less in England?...

its very difficult to do a direct comparison because of all the differences in what you have to pay for and how much - as an example the issues of service accommodation, free healthcare, the lack of 'voluntary' contributions towards school books etc all make a 'X earns A, while Y earns B, ergo X is better paid than Y' statement a bit stupid.

as for the other thing - in Ireland Death Certificates and Corroners inquests are public affairs and are reported in the press: if anyone had been killed in any of these deployments other than those declared by the DoD, we'd know about it.

KickstartHeart · 12-03-2012 12:33pm

feeney92 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity Is the pay that much worse? considering cost of living is less in England? I kow when they go away on tours The PDF get double what the BA get....Correct me if im wrong, but wasnt the last time (that we know about...and I stress this bit) that a member of the PDF was killed in contact In the Leb in 1998?

I think so mate. There were quite a lot of Irish troops killed in Lebanon. Its been over a decade since an Irish soldier has been KIA oversea's. Thank god as far as I'm concerned. But there has been contacts etc. since from what I've read/heard. The army has just been lucky enough to not take casualties.

As for the pay, I'm not sure. But there's pay scales on military.ie for the Irish Army, and I've seen pay scales on the BA website too. There's a fair difference. But a lot of the lads I know in the BA live in barracks so they always have money. So its hard to know what way it would work out when you consider cost of living etc. too. I'm not too sure on that one but the info is out there. Post it here if you can find it

I definitely know that a corporal in the IA can be earning roughly the same as a lieutenant in the BA. Big difference.

OS119 · 12-03-2012 12:48pm

KickstartHeart wrote: »

...I definitely know that a corporal in the IA can be earning roughly the same as a lieutenant in the BA. Big difference.

i know Cpl's in the BA who get paid more than Lt's in the BA - its no great achievement!

KickstartHeart · 12-03-2012 1:07pm

OS119 wrote: »

i know Cpl's in the BA who get paid more than Lt's in the BA - its no great achievement!

Really? I guess that kinda takes from my point then

It wasn't me! · 12-03-2012 1:31pm

There have been fatalities in the last decade. One certainly in Liberia that I know of. Was an accident though rather than combat, but it doesn't change the fact.

cruasder777 · 12-03-2012 1:46pm

KickstartHeart wrote: »

Ireland, Britain, and the USA are THE ONLY countries in the world that are signed up to the NATO partnership for peace programme, that actually maintain the required 8% of forces on oversea's ops at all times. Your continuous Defence Forces bashing on this site is getting a bit annoying because you haven't a bloody clue about what the Irish Defence Forces do. Stop posting stupid posts on this site about the Irish Defence Forces because some people who don't know any better will be naive enough to believe the crap you post.

OP, You won't spend all your time guarding a transit van. I know people in the British forces, and the PDF, who mutually agree that training and exercises etc. in the PDF and the Brits are similar, and are both of the same standard, which is good. The only difference is, you'l get paid more in the Irish army, and although you will take part in operations that might be very dangerous, in very dangerous parts of the world, you probably won't see the kind of combat that British forces are currently facing. But don't join the Irish Army expecting a cushy safe number. Lots of Irish troops have lost their lives on missions. Just because the Irish army isn't involved in Afghanistan doesn't mean that you definitely won't come into contacts with belligerents oversea's on operations. Peacekeeping isn't always very peaceful. You will have to train hard and became a fit, capable, professional soldier in both the British forces and the PDF.

Thats not true, 22 countries are signed up in the partnership for peace.

Can you post a link to show thats 8% posted overseas is a requirement ? Countries like Cyprus are signed up, how could they have an 8% overseas presence ?

Your claim cant be right, in many countries the US, Uk have small numbers of advisors/monitors, the republic has 7 in Afghanistan as an example.

Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members.[1]

Former republics of the Soviet Union Armenia (October 5, 1994)[8]
Azerbaijan (May 4, 1994)[8]
Belarus (January 11, 1995)[8]
Georgia (March 23, 1994)[8]
Kazakhstan (May 27, 1994)[8]
Kyrgyzstan (June 1, 1994)[8]
Moldova (March 16, 1994)[8]
Russia (June 22, 1994)[8]
Tajikistan (February 20, 2002)[8]
Turkmenistan (May 10, 1994)[8]
Ukraine (February 8, 1994)[8]
Uzbekistan (July 13, 1994)[8]

.....................You are seriously claiming these countries must have 8% posted on overseas ops ?

Quote. I know people in the British forces, and the PDF, who mutually agree that training and exercises etc. in the PDF and the Brits are similarUnquote

......The British army units train in Kenya, Canada, Belize, the deserts of Oman etc etc.

.....Wheres the PDF jungle warfare school then ?

.....Im not trying to score points, but you keep leaving the goal wide open.

......And nowhere have I slagged off the defence forces, Im just keeping it real.......unlike you.

As I said the PDF were nothing but a professional army, but if you are going to keep posting inaccurate posts, you are going to keep walking into it.

It wasn't me! · 12-03-2012 1:48pm

cruasder777 wrote: »

Thats not true, dozens of countries are signed up in the partnership for peace.

Current members[edit] Former republics of the Soviet Union Armenia (October 5, 1994)[8]
Azerbaijan (May 4, 1994)[8]
Belarus (January 11, 1995)[8]
Georgia (March 23, 1994)[8]
Kazakhstan (May 27, 1994)[8]
Kyrgyzstan (June 1, 1994)[8]
Moldova (March 16, 1994)[8]
Russia (June 22, 1994)[8]
Tajikistan (February 20, 2002)[8]
Turkmenistan (May 10, 1994)[8]
Ukraine (February 8, 1994)[8]
Uzbekistan (July 13, 1994)[8]
[edit] Former Yugoslavian states Bosnia and Herzegovina (December 14, 2006)[8]
Republic of Macedonia (November 15, 1995)[8]
Montenegro (December 14, 2006)[8]
Serbia (December 14, 2006)[8]
[edit] EU members Austria (February 10, 1995)[8]
Finland (May 9, 1994)[8]
Ireland (December 1, 1999)[8]
Malta (joined April 26, 1995;[3] withdrew on October 27, 1996.[4] Malta decided to reactivate their Partnership for Peace membership on March 20, 2008;[5] this was accepted by NATO at the summit in Bucharest on April 3, 2008.[6])
Sweden (May 9, 1994)[8]
[edit] Other Switzerland (December 11, 1996)[8]
[edit] Future members

You should probably read it again. Particularly the key point.

Ireland, Britain, and the USA are THE ONLY countries in the world that are signed up to the NATO partnership for peace programme, that actually maintain the required 8% of forces on oversea's ops at all times.

IDF or the RIR?

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