Thinking of joining the RDF

Bam Bam · 29-04-2005 1:15am

Darkener why not try again to join, usually at your medicals they take into account if you are wearing glasses.

Obviously the 2 hours traing parade isn't stressful but have yet to do an exercise, where there is little sleep yet you must always stay alert.

Nuts, think about how many defence installations are around the country and the duties that are required at each base, cooks, barbers, medical staff, mechanics etc then the people who work when others are off, then there is base guard and security. Admin staff at each facility, drivers. remember that that 7500 members work throughout the entire country.

I said that the RDF are not trained for prison duty, we are a back-up to the PDF if they need us they'd call usually they first request volunteers from units to help the PDF if they needed to call up the entire reserve or individual units they would, or if a strike lasted long enough they would have no choice but to call up the reserve.

Nuttzz · 29-04-2005 8:38am

Bam Bam wrote:

Nuts, think about how many defence installations are around the country and the duties that are required at each base, cooks, barbers, medical staff, mechanics etc then the people who work when others are off, then there is base guard and security. Admin staff at each facility, drivers. remember that that 7500 members work throughout the entire country.

I said that the RDF are not trained for prison duty, we are a back-up to the PDF if they need us they'd call usually they first request volunteers from units to help the PDF if they needed to call up the entire reserve or individual units they would, or if a strike lasted long enough they would have no choice but to call up the reserve.

surely if there is an emergency the cooks barbers mechanics etc are trained for other duties and can preform these roles before the fca is called up

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=177244&issue_id=1901
the last threaten bus strike, the army made plans and only needed 200 people, sureley they can spare 200 out of the 7500?
The bus strike of 74 lasted nine weeks, no fca call out then.

now you have moved from a call up to a request for volunteers, go on admit it this is just all your personal opinion with no basis in fact what so ever.

I bet your fca mates and superiors will love reading this :rolleyes:

Bam Bam · 29-04-2005 10:29am

Nuttzz wrote:

surely if there is an emergency the cooks barbers mechanics etc are trained for other duties and can preform these roles before the fca is called up

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=177244&issue_id=1901
the last threaten bus strike, the army made plans and only needed 200 people, sureley they can spare 200 out of the 7500?
The bus strike of 74 lasted nine weeks, no fca call out then.

now you have moved from a call up to a request for volunteers, go on admit it this is just all your personal opinion with no basis in fact what so ever.

I bet your fca mates and superiors will love reading this :rolleyes:

I've said usually the PDF first request volunteers because this is less time and resource consuming then a full scale call-up( which only happened during the emergency)

But we can go round and round in circles like this, so I'm going to stop now.

This thread is about the RDF not PDF. It is supposed to be a resource for people who want information on the reserve and what we do and how to join that is all.

If you want to discuss PDF strength anymore then start a thread on it.

woosaysdan · 29-04-2005 10:52am

usually what would happen is that if the P.D.F were called out for say a strike or more recently Shannon, the R.D.F would fill in for the P.D.F for the likes of duties etc if numbers were tight in the barracks!!! as fro nuttzzs comments the R.D.F are better trained and to fill in these roles than they were 20 - 30 years ago!!!

Jim_No.6 · 29-04-2005 10:53am

Well, I've read most of this, and I don't have much else to say, except that;

i.) I wear glasses - my eyesight isn't that bad though; clearly there have to be *some* minimum requirements. That said, I agree with Bam Bam in saying that you should try again. :rolleyes:

ii.) Nutz*: All I can say to reply to your saying that the RDF have no useful function is that I spent a few very boring, yet vital guard work while G.W. was over here this summer - there weren't enough PDF to go around; they are almost constantly on some kind of operation schedule {by which I mean, that they are in constant training, unavailable, or on operations} and so there is a need for people who are willing to give up their time for their country: for free no less! {Compared to the time put in over a year, a RDF soldier recieves very little pay: anyone in it just for the money will be sorely disappointed}. As to a Reserve call up; this is seen as an absolute last resort: maybe you should look up what the purpose of an army is before you start spouting that kind of (rubbish).

* Is this spelled right? Or is that immaterial?

Nuttzz · 29-04-2005 11:40am

Nuttzz wrote:

I have never been a member of it, but I know plenty of scout leaders who were utter gobsh!tes but I wouldnt write off the whole organisation based on the few people I met.

I know some lads who were in the fca and some were muppets, but some were sound and cringed when they heard what the afore mentioned muppets would say.

I would say there are good and bad in it, just like all large organisations

I started off by defending you lot, i have friends in the fca. You asked who would we call on during stirkes, I said it would not be the fca, which it wouldnt be, by your own addmission all the fca would do would be to free up the regular army.

Jim No 6, I know what the army does and I know what the fca do, so you volunteered for some security duties, well done.

bam bam wrote:

Nowadays the PDF is spread pretty thin, so if there was a strike the RDF would have to be called up

there is a big difference between volunteering for duties and being called up.

jimNo_6 wrote:

As to a Reserve call up; this is seen as an absolute last resort: maybe you should look up what the purpose of an army is before you start spouting that kind of (rubbish).

yet your buddy bam bam says differently? And i'm the one spouting rubbish?

Bam Bam · 29-04-2005 3:28pm

End this argument now.

This thread is for people who wish to become members of the Army Reserve.

If anyone has any questions about how to join and what we do. Then please post and I and others will try to help.

seamus · 29-04-2005 4:09pm

Moved from AH

Nuttzz · 29-04-2005 4:17pm

Bam Bam wrote:

This thread is for people who wish to become members of the Army Reserve.

If anyone has any questions about how to join and what we do. Then please post and I and others will try to help.

it was back in 2003 but then you came along and posted

bam bam wrote:

What are peoples opinion of both the Army Reserve and the Naval Reserve?

people don't just think its cheap booze and guns do they?

I'm a Pte in the Army Reserve and have been for 3 years. I don't drink and take what I do very seriously

so you were soliciting opinions on the fca, which you got, but now you havent heard what you wanted to hear so all of a sudden about people wishing to become members....

So then would you like to answer my questions?

i'm 33 can I join?
Is there a fitness test?
How often do you shoot guns?
Can I join the fca in meath or do I have to serve in dublin first?
Can I drive a tank? Do the fca have tanks?
what do you do when you go to the glen?
how often do you do duties in barracks?
how much is the booze?

testicle · 29-04-2005 5:42pm

i'm 33 can I join?
yes

Is there a fitness test?
no, but there will be if you join after oct 1

How often do you shoot guns?
minimum once a year

Can I join the fca in meath or do I have to serve in dublin first?
yes to meath

Can I drive a tank? Do the fca have tanks?
no to both. the defence forces do not have any tanks

what do you do when you go to the glen?
train

how often do you do duties in barracks?
depends

how much is the booze?
€2.35 at last check for a lager

Barry Aldwell · 30-04-2005 12:15am

Darkener wrote:

What you think contacts are?? I can see well enough myself without them. What do they do in the american army btw? You see them all in pics ect with glasses on. If i was in a situation were the would break anyway id probably be hurt quite a bit. In all the time i have had my glasses and the **** ive done with them.

Contacts are fine in a nice well lit bathroom where you have your sterilising solution and soap handy. When you're living in a hole in the ground, they're a health risk. If you drop one, it's gone. Your hands are eternally dirty, so you're as likely to get something in your eye as you are to get the contact in. The idea of a minimum sight requirement is that if you lose your glasses you at least retain some utility, and aren't a complete liability.

Capall86 · 30-04-2005 10:40pm

Both Barry and I wear glasses, we are both in the fca. to not get in you have to be nearly blind.

Bam Bam · 30-04-2005 11:01pm

Barry's got it in one.

I remember the state of my hands after 3 days in Kilworth, and others peoples were in worse condition.

The PDF mess staff were worried we'd all get food poisioning, cause when we got back to base and washed our hands they were still dirty

Jim_No.6 · 01-05-2005 3:59am

testicle wrote:

Can I drive a tank? Do the fca have tanks?
no to both. the defence forces do not have any tanks

what do you do when you go to the glen?
train

The DF do have tanks! None of them are treaded*, but they're there. I know because I've seen them, in case anyone's going to say the opposite.

Never heard of transport by train though!

*Treaded tanks being useless in most of Ireland's terrain, as far as I'm aware.

Bam Bam · 01-05-2005 6:04am

You mean the AML 90's.
I wouldn't class them as tanks, They are IFV's

The scorpions as well are not tanks, they are tracked recce vehicles

And the mowags are APC's

And finally the AML 20's. Forget about them, they are IFV's no more.

Barry Aldwell · 01-05-2005 3:48pm

Jim_No.6 wrote:

The DF do have tanks! None of them are treaded*, but they're there. I know because I've seen them, in case anyone's going to say the opposite.

There are some tanks lying up in the Curragh Camp, rusting. The DF has no operational tanks*. The closest we have is the Scorpion, which is too lightly armoured and armed to be considered a tank, or to do the job of a tank. So it is called a Combat Vehicle, Reconaissance, Tracked (CVRT), as that is what it does - combat recon. Drive until you contact or see the enemy, shoot a few rounds if you have to, and then run like hell and call something capable of dealing with the enemy (if we have anything that is capable of dealing with the enemy)

* In this context I am using the military definition of a tank, ie a heavily armed and armoured tracked vehicle capable of standing and fighting enemy infantry and armour, not the civilian "metal thingy with a gun on top" definition

AMLs are not infantry fighting vehicles. An infantry fighting vehicle is capable of carrying mounted troops to contact, and then dismounting them and supporting them while dismounted. A Mowag can be considered an IFV as it carries troops and belongs to the infantry (the vehicle and troops are rarely seperated), however AMLs belong to the Cavalry, and as such would only be attached to an infantry unit to provide support. AMLs are also used by the cav independant of infantry, in the recon role.

Bam Bam · 01-05-2005 6:05pm

Ment infantry support.

Meaning they'd only be called in if the infantry come upon an obstacle. i.e. enemy bunke or if enemy forces had access to light armour.

Also they'd be used in conjunction with an infantry assault to smash enemy defences.

testicle · 02-05-2005 1:10am

The Scorpion is a CVR(T) - Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (Tracked)

The AML 20 and 90 are Armoured Cars, not IFVs, have you ever seen one? The 90 and the 20 are exactlt the same vehicle, with a different turret. The FCA are uing 90s, and the PDF have changed to 20s. Hence, I don't see why Bam Bam thinks the 20 is no more.

Bam Bam · 02-05-2005 2:03am

No more no less.
I know we still use em

Nuttzz · 03-05-2005 2:53pm

Infantry assaults! Lol I'm sure you FCA boys will be doing loads of these... :rolleyes: Barry seems to know what he is talking about, Bam Bam your just in a make believe land....

So you have tanks or dont you have tanks?

Thanks to testicle for somewhat answering my questions, but i has lead to some more!

If I join before Oct 1, will have have to do a fitness test afterwards? if so how often?

Why Oct 1, why not before?

testicle · 04-05-2005 9:20pm

Infantry assaults! Lol I'm sure you FCA boys will be doing loads of these...
Course they do.

If I join before Oct 1, will have have to do a fitness test afterwards? if so how often?
Yes, undecided as yet, probably annually

Why Oct 1, why not before?
http://www.defence.ie/website.nsf/Speech+ID/B8766E1EA1A8AB6180256EDD00458ACD?openDocument

mcguiver · 04-05-2005 10:05pm

Shame on you lads!!!
How often do you shoot guns!!

I had a C.O. that would have bollocked anyone saying that from a hieght.
WE DONT SHOOT GUNS!! WE SHOOT TARGETS!!

D other famous one is who do you salute in the Army???

A: Nobody...you salute rank, as that has been earned regardless of what your opinion of the person is!

And your totally right on Tanks... we dont have anything thats classed as a tank........ but I loved flying around cross country in a Scorpion... those things can move.

Has anyone seen the old mobile crane/tow truck in the Curragh..(usually parked beside "The Digger" ).I dont know what make it is, a driver was telling me it has 34 forward gears and 17 reverse..and was brought up to Armagh to help move a Chieftain Tank that the British lads had got stuck in a bog... destroyed the tank by ripping a lump off it!!

Victor · 04-05-2005 10:48pm

testicle wrote:

The AML 20 and 90 are Armoured Cars, not IFVs, have you ever seen one? The 90 and the 20 are exactlt the same vehicle, with a different turret. The FCA are uing 90s, and the PDF have changed to 20s. Hence, I don't see why Bam Bam thinks the 20 is no more.

The AML-20s don't have a profile.

robin321 · 24-11-2009 10:45pm

im 13 and i want to join in the summer, have i a hope in hell??

star gazer · 24-11-2009 11:00pm

Not yet, the age is 17.
Reserve Defence Forces

star gazer · 24-11-2009 11:11pm

<moved> from volunteerism. It is a paid position.
<Title of thread changed> It is called the Reserve Defence Forces now.

Finnt3 · 05-01-2010 3:50pm

I was seriously thinking of joining the RDF when im 17, i want to know what it is that the RDF do, exactly.

concussion · 05-01-2010 4:47pm

Train for the next war. Apparantly.

Have a look at http://www.1bderdf.com , it lists all Army Reserve Corps and what they do. In general, you will start attending training nights which last for around 3 hours from September or so. While waiting for security clearance and a date for a medical you will undergo instruction on foot drill and be introduced to what the Defence Forces does. You will learn weapons, ranks, organisation and tasks. After attestation you will conduct weapons training and in the summer attend 2 weeks Recruit training and be promoted to 2*.

The next September you will begin 2-3* training and hopefully attend your second summer training camp as a 3* where you learn Corps specific skills.

clubberlang · 05-01-2010 10:06pm

Hi, im wondering if anyone can tell me if the rdf is definatly not recruiting at the moment, i've heard mixed stories on this?

concussion · 05-01-2010 10:13pm

Units are (apparantly, as nothing has happened in mine) receiving recruits on a trickle basis, comprising those who applied late 2008 or early 2009. The best thing to do is call you local unit and ask. Keep an eye here aswell, as soon as recruiting begins again it will be posted here.

http://www.rdf.ie/maps/

clubberlang · 05-01-2010 10:22pm

Thanks concussion, i suppose at this stage though the best i can hope for is to get on a waiting list. Worth a try anyway.

Local-womanizer · 05-01-2010 10:49pm

Yup,as concussion said thats what they are doing (it has happenend in mine) After this who knows,but keep an eye out I suppose and if you known anyone in already,they will be told to inform the masses!

lissacahaluke · 11-01-2010 12:00am

Hey all,
I was thinking of joining the rdf when im 17 also.
Im 15 at the moment and I wanted to know if I would be able to join and at the same time stay at school and uni if I go.
Sorry if this is a stupid question,
Luke Delaney.

concussion · 11-01-2010 1:11am

There will be no issues with that, a huge amount of reservists are in school and college.

lissacahaluke · 11-01-2010 2:44am

concussion wrote: »

There will be no issues with that, a huge amount of reservists are in school and college.

Thanks for thats cleared up a good bit of stuff just there.
Now all I have to do is sway my Mother. lol
Thanks again.

clubberlang · 12-01-2010 3:06pm

i got in touch with my local unit the other day, they told me there is no intake until probably next year, so its just a matter of waiting now.
Does anybody know if you join the rdf with an engineering qualification are you enlisted as a private or can you join as an officer like in the pdf?

Cool Running · 12-01-2010 5:52pm

clubberlang wrote: »

i got in touch with my local unit the other day, they told me there is no intake until probably next year, so its just a matter of waiting now.
Does anybody know if you join the rdf with an engineering qualification are you enlisted as a private or can you join as an officer like in the pdf?

Everyone enters the RDF as enlisted personell. You have to work your way up. As soon as you become an NCO you can apply for the officers course but you would usually need a good few years experience to be considered for the course.
As regards not being able to join till next year, id keep an eye out and maybe give them a call in April just in case things change which can happen a lot in the RDF

.22 Lover · 19-01-2010 10:55pm

So are any units taking in people at all?

Bam Bam · 20-01-2010 12:57am

Yes in VERY limited recruitment, but they likely taking from the stock of current applications.

Local-womanizer · 20-01-2010 1:02am

Yup,its only taking in people who have had the paper work in from the get-go,I assume thats the way it is in every unit around the country,its the way it is in mine.

.22 Lover · 20-01-2010 5:48pm

Can I still be in secondary school and still apply/join?

concussion · 20-01-2010 6:27pm

No problems. Besides the current miniscule recuitment that is.

concussion · 22-04-2010 3:37pm

We were informed on parade last week that 1 Bde. RDF had been given permission to enlist x number of recruits. Anyone interested in joining should contact their local unit. I don't know whether 2 or 4 Brigade RDF are recuiting at this time.

Brigade formations can be found here

http://www.rdf.ie/maps/

xxboylarzxx · 23-04-2010 10:56pm

hey all,
my mate and i really want to join,
is the RDF 65th Batallion in swords?is thats what its called?
could someone post a contact number so i can see if they are taking on new recruits please.
thanks,
Andy

concussion · 24-04-2010 12:26pm

Click the link I posted and zoom in on Swords to see. All the information is there.

BigDuffman · 26-04-2010 12:55pm

PMed with relevant info.

concussion · 30-04-2010 4:50pm

RDF Recruitment -

3 Air Defence Battery in Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick, is taking applications for a limited recruit platoon. PM me for further information. Training time is 7.30 pm every Wednesday night.

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