Eh army questions.

estebancambias

Is there any particular amount of time I am obliged to stay in the army once I join? i.e 2 year period.


And what does the training detail? Long Hikes, extensive training with weapons? training our survival techniques?

Thanks

indough

I would imagine so, there is in most countries and I think its about a standard 2 - 2.5 years. That info must be online somewhere i'd say.

Are you looking to join the defence forces?

estebancambias

Yeah I am. I cant find anything about the time you must join up for. Just another thing where does the training take place? Ireland seems too small, and the landscape(from what I see in movies and read) does not seem to suit army training.

Dave!

I believe the term is 5 years in the Irish army

mikemac

estebancambias wrote:

Yeah I am. I cant find anything about the time you must join up for. Just another thing where does the training take place? Ireland seems too small, and the landscape(from what I see in movies and read) does not seem to suit army training.

Sure why we have some of the most varied landscapes in the world.
Nowhere else in Europe has anything like the Curragh or the Burren afaik.
River crossings, mountains treks, flat open land, you name a specific landscape you need for training and Ireland has it.

I'll let the experts here tell you where training takes place. I'm sure it's online already if you start searching.

kowloon

If memory serves correct you can opt out early if its not for you but after youre finished basic and assigned you have to buy out of your contract, am i correct on this one?

estebancambias

Thanks fpr the replies. Good points Micmclo. See my plan was to give it a year, and then go to college(if it's not for me). Something really intices me into joining the army, perhaps it's my idealistic view of being a hero, or the lure of using high tech weapons.

mikemac

Ah to be young, innocent and idealistic.

The grisly veterans here will soon put you straight on the realities. There's a thread on a typical week for a soldier a few pages back so be sure to read that. Good info!

NoQuarter

its 5 years first, its 30 euro to buy yourself out for the first 6 months while your training and after that its 300 euro to buy yourself out of the contract if its not for you!

training takes place is a few areas, in dublin cathal bruagh barracks in rathmines trains recruits and gormanstown in meath also, you could be sent anywhere its just luck of the draw!
any more questions just fire away!

estebancambias

Thanks very much. So like if I do 6 months and the leave, i will not be obliged to pay any fee? Just want to clear that up.

This might sound stupid, but does much of the training involve being out in the wildnerness(so to speak), as in places like micmclo mentioned.

NoQuarter

you will, if you complete the training youll have to pay 300 but if you leave durin training its only like 30 euro!
yeah training lasts 6 months and theres about a 2 week "ground phase" its basically living in forests and trenches for a week or so....

Hagar

estebancambias wrote:

Just another thing where does the training take place? Ireland seems too small, and the landscape(from what I see in movies and read) does not seem to suit army training.

I take it that if you are dependant on movies and reading for your knowledge of Ireland that you are not Irish, maybe not even resident in Ireland?

Maybe somebody else can fill in the blanks for me on this one.
Can non-resident non-nationals just join up? I have my doubts.

estebancambias

Ah ok, thanks for the help. Call me insane, but I presume you have been in the army?

estebancambias

No Hagar, I'm Irish, just in the movies(American) and books, army training is done in great big landscape in contrast to Ireland probably not having the same space.

Hagar

Thanks for clearing that up, the post just read funny.

Anyway, bigger armies will train in bigger spaces.The US Forces recruited 21,016 personnel in July 2007 alone, not counting recruitment in their reserve forces of 13,123 more bodies. That's quite a bit more than the whole IDF I believe.

They need a bit of space.

kowloon

300 quid!! Feck, i dont know what people complain about then.
In the company i work for if you get a training assignment the buy out is the cost of the training if you leave within the contract period (think its a year for most).
Usually comes to a minimum of a few grand.
Of course you can get around that by just getting fired

rednik

After you sign on you will be sent to a specific Barracks for recruit training this will most likely be Cathal Brugha Bks in Dublin. Most of your basic training will be conducted in the Bks. Fitness levels will be brought up to standard during training. Eventually you will be brought out on the ground which will be in the camp in the Glen of Imaal. Basic Trg will consist of square bashing,weapons training,map reading. On completion of trg you will be asked which unit you would like to go to although you will not be guaranteed to get the unit you want. Most recruits on completion of trg will go to the infantry.

Parsley

micmclo wrote:

Sure why we have some of the most varied landscapes in the world.
Nowhere else in Europe has anything like the Curragh or the Burren afaik.
River crossings, mountains treks, flat open land, you name a specific landscape you need for training and Ireland has it.

Em, pretty much every country in Europe except Belgium and the Netherlands have a more varied landscape than us... Look at the Alps, the Pyrenees, Scandinavia, Andalucia, the Black Forest, Sierra Nevada, Bavaria......

The Burren is unique but there are a lot more interesting places in Europe. Like Norway for example. The Curragh is only a plain.

sor10

is is true that the army will pay for a course like basic computer skills or something, and if u do complete some courses would your salary go up????

NoQuarter

yeah ive actually just left the army after 4 years, it could be possible to get them to pay for a computer course but it wont be at all easy! and it wouldnt make your pay go up either! they have funds set aside for stuff like that but how ta get access to them is the problem, as for the landscape thing, we have plenty of forests and fields to play soldier in so theres no shortage of that, and ya may not think we have big mountains like the alps but try walk up them with a backpack on your back and its a different story!

ex_infantry man

king-stew wrote:

you will, if you complete the training youll have to pay 300 but if you leave durin training its only like 30 euro!
yeah training lasts 6 months and theres about a 2 week "ground phase" its basically living in forests and trenches for a week or so....

its actually seven months now they extended the 2-3* course by an extra month

ex_infantry man

sor10 wrote:

is is true that the army will pay for a course like basic computer skills or something, and if u do complete some courses would your salary go up????

your salary will go up every year on the date you were attested but to be honest with ya the money aint that good i am earning twice the amount now then i was when was in the army as a sales rep

rednik

The more courses you do which the Dept of Defence pay for the more it will cost you to leave. You can do educational courses, computer courses etc but in the end if you decide to leave early you will end up paying more to buy yourself out.

arybvtcw0eolkf

sor10 wrote:

is is true that the army will pay for a course like basic computer skills or something, and if u do complete some courses would your salary go up????

Depending on the course. But these day's the CIS corp are pushing alot of computer course's with the added attraction of tech pay at the end.

Alot of courses in the D.F.'s qualify for tech pay.

Listen, the Defence Forces can be a brilliant building block for a young lad who has left school early. Its just getting onto the first step of the ladder, but don't listen to the loser who has done a few year's in and left with a sour taste, usually they were wasters while in.

Even if you don't want to go down the CIS route, other corp units are open to you. From M.T. driver (tech pay) where you can qualify with all your driver's licence right up to artic to motor mechanic. To the Engineers where you can gain a trade.

The Defence Forces can be a very positive and rewarding career, just don't expect the D.F. to take you by the hand through your career. Work hard, keep the right attitude and the rewards will come.

NoQuarter

oh yeah and your on barrack guard saturday.....

mate id honestly advise ya to take a "losers" advice and not join because its crap really, the wages are low compared to whats outside, i recently spoke to a fella who was in the army 26 years and he was only on 750 quid, now that is terrible, even if yaa were on tech 6 for the time and effort ya put into gettin that ya could be clearin a grand on civvy street easy.

of all my mates in the army id say only 20 percent are happy with it, the honest truth is we clean toilets every day, in autumn youll be sweeping up leaves an all, that is no word of a lie....

i would have been better off bein a waster because they get better treatment, its the good lads that end up caught for all the exercises and dodgey duties because their safe bets.

as i said in one of my other posts its only my opinion so do what ya want but a smart lad is wasted in the army, a monkey could do that job.....

arybvtcw0eolkf

king-stew wrote:

as i said in one of my other posts its only my opinion so do what ya want but a smart lad is wasted in the army, a monkey could do that job.....

Do what job?, the army has a whole host of jobs on offer.

Of course a monkey could sweep leaves and clean toilets, no problem there. But a monkey couldn't hold a tech six appointment. So I guess your a monkey then?.

rednik

Army life does not suit everyone this is why they give an opt out before final selection. Personally I recommend you give it a go and if it's not for you, well at least you have tried. The life is varied and you will get out of it what you put in. It can be boring but what job is'nt. There's no guarantee you will get in. As previous poster says there are many different areas in the army where you can work and trades to learn. Good luck whatever you decide.

NoQuarter

Mairt wrote:

Do what job?, the army has a whole host of jobs on offer.

Of course a monkey could sweep leaves and clean toilets, no problem there. But a monkey couldn't hold a tech six appointment. So I guess your a monkey then?.

theres plenty of monkeys holding tech 6 appointments!
theres no educational requirements to join the army and if your patient enough and stupid enough to remain as an infantry private for more than a handful of years then yes you have a chance of getting an apprenticship or whatever, not by merit but by number(which is exactly what you are in the army, just a number) so therefore any moron could and does end up in these appointments!

i relalise it doesnt suit everyone but saying youll get out what you put in just isnt true, a lot of it is just being in the right place at the right time too....

i havent left the army with a sour taste like someone said, i left on good terms but im just trying to give the OP the info that i would have like before i joined instead of lookin at the DF adds on TV and getting a completely wrong impression!

The facts are that you dont get a free choice where to go after training, at max youll have a choice of 3 units, my platoon only had 1 choice, as a private in a battalion youll be cleaning other peoples crap daily and pickin up smoke butts and plenty more menial jobs, if you decide to try promotion, once your an NCO in the battalion youve twice as hard a job to get out of it. most of the lads get less respect that the worst criminals by an abundance of NCO's with the "god complex". everyone complains all day every day, your superiors would have a go at ya for complaining and their even worse than privates, just not in front of them!

for sure life outside the battalion is different and there might even be something to challenge your brain, god forbid, but getting out seems almost like a lottery most of the time, and the wages are still not worth it....
theres so many good lads leaving at the moments somethings not right but of course theres always plenty of fresh faces to come in...

to the original poster, there is the chance of joining and gettin very lucky and getting out of the battalion fast(as in 3 years) and having a decent career(still no good wages though) but those are the facts of todays army mate, and as i said unfortunatly their no word of a lie!

rednik

As you can see there are a lot of different opinions on army life and as I said it's not for everyone. I retired in May this year after 25yrs service. Personally I got a lot out of the army worked hard and enjoyed most of the time. I saw many wasters promoted in every unit but I also saw many good people filling the right positions. You will find this situation in most large organisations.

ex_infantry man

king-stew wrote:

oh yeah and your on barrack guard saturday.....

mate id honestly advise ya to take a "losers" advice and not join because its crap really, the wages are low compared to whats outside, i recently spoke to a fella who was in the army 26 years and he was only on 750 quid, now that is terrible, even if yaa were on tech 6 for the time and effort ya put into gettin that ya could be clearin a grand on civvy street easy.

of all my mates in the army id say only 20 percent are happy with it, the honest truth is we clean toilets every day, in autumn youll be sweeping up leaves an all, that is no word of a lie....

i would have been better off bein a waster because they get better treatment, its the good lads that end up caught for all the exercises and dodgey duties because their safe bets.

as i said in one of my other posts its only my opinion so do what ya want but a smart lad is wasted in the army, a monkey could do that job.....

i can back this up 100% the army is load of ****e and u can get better out on civvy street where ya actually work for the day for your better pay and not being told to hide in locker room for the day by the sgt because he has nothing for ya to do, that aint a life, i got banned for having a discussion like this before and to be honest its the truth the irish army they hurry up to wait!!! think of it this way you have to put up with seven months of training and bull**** from some arsehole of an nco with chip on his shoulder and power gone to his head and a platoon commander who is just fresh from the cadet collage in the curragh who also has power surge to his head and as punishment for someone else fecking up there will be daily essays given out something like 20 pages on the inside of a golf ball personally i preferred the press ups, then when it all over and done with ur just playing poker with the rest of the lads on the lines, i,m glad i left and have been putting young lads from tramore off joining it since!

ex_infantry man

rednik wrote:

Army life does not suit everyone this is why they give an opt out before final selection. Personally I recommend you give it a go and if it's not for you, well at least you have tried. The life is varied and you will get out of it what you put in. It can be boring but what job is'nt. There's no guarantee you will get in. As previous poster says there are many different areas in the army where you can work and trades to learn. Good luck whatever you decide.

any course from what i,ve come across in me short time in the army was always given to a corporal before a private or a certain arsehole cpl office clerk in sp coy 3rd inf bn if he did,nt like ya would dump ur application and it would never see the commandants desk at all

ex_infantry man

Mairt wrote:

Depending on the course. But these day's the CIS corp are pushing alot of computer course's with the added attraction of tech pay at the end.

Alot of courses in the D.F.'s qualify for tech pay.

Listen, the Defence Forces can be a brilliant building block for a young lad who has left school early. Its just getting onto the first step of the ladder, but don't listen to the loser who has done a few year's in and left with a sour taste, usually they were wasters while in.

Even if you don't want to go down the CIS route, other corp units are open to you. From M.T. driver (tech pay) where you can qualify with all your driver's licence right up to artic to motor mechanic. To the Engineers where you can gain a trade.

The Defence Forces can be a very positive and rewarding career, just don't expect the D.F. to take you by the hand through your career. Work hard, keep the right attitude and the rewards will come.

i was,nt a waster either mairt and did,nt leave either with sour taste i am an honest hard workin individual and was also when i was in the army i was class president in recruits and a lot of the younger guys looked up to me! i thought the army life would be completely different than what it actually is and to be honest us tax payers are,nt getting value for money out of the army and thats a fact, i could bring you into stephens barracks kilkenny on any day during the week at any time during the day and show you every spot in the barracks that we used have to disappear to and i can 100% guarentee there,ll be a poker game on and the same guys playing every time

goose06

Have to agree with ex_infantry man and king-stew, I was in the 2 Batt for a few of years back in the late 90's, left to go back to college, and while I enjoyed alot of the time there and was fairly successful while there (Best Soldier in my platoon), a good deal of your week was spent as the lads said hiding, cleaning or getting caught for duties because some kn*b-end went sick instead of going on barrackguard, it used to be so bad that you'd dread going on parade on a Friday morning because you know someone is going to get caught to go on duty.

So moral of the story is, do a couple of years, if you're into slogging it out and get involved in the likes of the Platoon in Attack competitions, you'll get alot out of it, but don't think of the Army as a carreer.

arybvtcw0eolkf

There ya go OP, two stories told from opposite sides of the same coin.

A couple of lads who spent a week down 'The Glen and two lads with a combined 47yrs experience between us both.

Sometimes its not easy being a soldier, its not a life for everyone and alot of wasters drop out very early and go on to bad mouth a great organisation. The good lads who leave because they genuinely felt if wasn't for them usually just go and you never hear from them again.

As for me, I've got so much more out of the army than I ever though possible. Its provided me with valuable life experience, I've seen things and travelled to places I'd never have went as a civilian and its provided me and my family with a very comfortable living.

ex_infantry man

Mairt wrote:

There ya go OP, two stories told from opposite sides of the same coin.

A couple of lads who spent a week down 'The Glen and two lads with a combined 47yrs experience between us both.

Sometimes its not easy being a soldier, its not a life for everyone and alot of wasters drop out very early and go on to bad mouth a great organisation. The good lads who leave because they genuinely felt if wasn't for them usually just go and you never hear from them again.

As for me, I've got so much more out of the army than I ever though possible. Its provided me with valuable life experience, I've seen things and travelled to places I'd never have went as a civilian and its provided me and my family with a very comfortable living.

it might be like that for you but there a lot of lads i know that want to get on in the army and can,t because they don,t have stripes on there smock or as i said before that there a prick of clerk in coy office who dumps people,s applications,

arybvtcw0eolkf

ex_infantry man wrote:

it might be like that for you but there a lot of lads i know that want to get on in the army and can,t because they don,t have stripes on there smock or as i said before that there a prick of clerk in coy office who dumps people,s applications,

http://www.odf.ie/

There's also a system to re-dress a wrong in the Defence Forces too.

No good just moaning about it, and I'm not directing that at you.

newby.204

joined the army last year, tried college didn like it, im loving the army its the job for me!! maybe in a few years ill change my tune but at the moment its what i want to do!!! i know lads like ex inf man bitch and moan all day bout the army, if you didn like it then well thats your problem, dont get turned off you will regret it if you dont try it, go for it and in th end you can always leave and go to college or whatever, you have loads a time to change your carreer!!!

my two cents

NoQuarter

well i liked it too for about two years mate but after that it gets tedious so in a couple of years ya might change your tune!

arybvtcw0eolkf

king-stew wrote:

well i liked it too for about two years mate but after that it gets tedious so in a couple of years ya might change your tune!

LOL, "two years"... LMAO... "two years"... Buddy I've more time spent in airpockets travelling to oversea's missions than you gave your career!.

Jeeze two years, lol.. Sorry, but my last two tours (UNIFIL & KFOR) I extended both times to complete "two years"... Sorry, but that was hilarious.

NoQuarter

mairt mairt mairt,
ya jumped the gun there a bit buddy,

i never said my career lasted two years, i said i liked it for about two years and after that its just the same old crap, i actually wish it had only lasted 2 years, i stayed in for four which was way too much for my liking, and saying you spent more than 2 years overseas alone is just sad buddy,

i came back from kosovo in april (mmm mmm that chicken farm smell good in the mornin cleetus!) and all everyone does over there is count the days till there coming home LOL, and the people who extend..... well i certainly LMAO at them because if your life at home is so sad as you have nothing better to do (than sit in the comcen was it?) well then they should give yas all the "airpocket" medal in my opinion!!!

i have a little theory ya know, its real easy, it goes.......
average persons I.Q = soldiers I.Q divided by no. of years served...
see real easy :rolleyes:

so congratulations man, what a difference a soldier makes.....

arybvtcw0eolkf

Mmmmmmmmmm, ok Kinger, lets see.....


I bought my first home (off my army wage) when you were still in short pants. The deposit came from a trip to Lebanon (1988).

In that time I've bought and sold two more house's, plus a house in Spain, all off my army wage (at home and oversea's).

I've also had free medical (including dental) care in all this time.

I can now retire with a decent pension (I'm only 41) and as my mortage is fvck all I could retire and not have to work another day (if I wanted). But I've a son shortly moving onto college and a daughter who'll do like wise in a few year's so I'll continue to work.

I live in a middle class area, I drive a new car & my wife drives a second car although its three year's old.

My mates who are civilians can only dream of most of this, plus my time off is fantastic.

Tell those guys my IQ is below average and that I was an idiot for making the army a career & like me, they'll laugh in your face.

NoQuarter

Mairt wrote:

I bought my first home (off my army wage) when you were still in short pants. The deposit came from a trip to Lebanon (1988).

congratulations on being older than me, thats a great achievment...

yeah i agree the money is great overseas and ya save so much you can do a lot with it but what im saying is that theres plenty of jobs out there that a person can get that same money and more and dont have to be away from their family for 6 months or whatever,

i have the pdforra diary in my hand here and im lookin at all the wages and they are crap, 4 years as sergeant-major and its only 854, sure it must take 20 years to get there if not more, the only way you got all that is by spendin a huge amount of time away from your family and friends overseas and i dont think its worth it personally.

if i stayed in i could have retired at 40 but realistically in this day and age ya cant, everything is so expensive in this country, if ya did retire ya couldnt enjoy yourself and as you said yourself youd have trouble sending your kids to college so the way i figured it is nobody really retires at 40 most people would probably want to work after that until 60 maybe so theres no point gettin a pension at 40 in the army and then go drivin a taxi or something, sure by that time i ould be very senior in a civvy job earning a bomb so thats the decision i made by as i keep sayin its only my opinion,

anyways this topic is gettin old so we should leave it be and just agree to disagree because were obviously not gonna change each others minds, but one thing i do know is in ten years im gonna be earning as much and you earn overseas and that will be workin a nine to five, it might not suit some people but thats just the way it goes

arybvtcw0eolkf

king-stew wrote:

congratulations on being older than me, thats a great achievment...

Actually considering we'd three lads from the west killed up near 6-9B, one killed on 6-48B and one on 6-48 (both 27th Bn) I done ok.

Something you have to consider here for a moment.

When we're talking about enlisted men & women were mostly talking about unskilled teenager's, taking that into account the wages in the Defence Forces is pretty damn good.

And looking at a Sgt.Maj's pay like that isn't telling the whole story as your not taking into account MSA and any other allowences gathered over his service.

You should have seen the wages in the Defence Forces before the National Army Spouses Association (N.A.S.A.) got involved with picketing the gates of army bks and A.H.Q.. these were the days before PDFORRA, now they were tough times.

ANyway, I think I've won this one so I'll bow out undefeated.

Two Stripes

Damn you Mairt!

You got there before me about the allowences and tech pay etc.

ex_infantry man

Mairt wrote:

Mmmmmmmmmm, ok Kinger, lets see.....


I bought my first home (off my army wage) when you were still in short pants. The deposit came from a trip to Lebanon (1988).

In that time I've bought and sold two more house's, plus a house in Spain, all off my army wage (at home and oversea's).

I've also had free medical (including dental) care in all this time.

I can now retire with a decent pension (I'm only 41) and as my mortage is fvck all I could retire and not have to work another day (if I wanted). But I've a son shortly moving onto college and a daughter who'll do like wise in a few year's so I'll continue to work.

I live in a middle class area, I drive a new car & my wife drives a second car although its three year's old.

My mates who are civilians can only dream of most of this, plus my time off is fantastic.

Tell those guys my IQ is below average and that I was an idiot for making the army a career & like me, they'll laugh in your face.

aint we bit old to be calling people names! u wud,nt say it to me face boy coz i,d rearrange it for ya! and anyway the army so brilliant aint it coz if you were in a real job like some of us on here like meself and stew then you would,nt be spending your day on here abusing people and giving us cock and bull stories

ex_infantry man

king-stew wrote:

mairt mairt mairt,
ya jumped the gun there a bit buddy,

i never said my career lasted two years, i said i liked it for about two years and after that its just the same old crap, i actually wish it had only lasted 2 years, i stayed in for four which was way too much for my liking, and saying you spent more than 2 years overseas alone is just sad buddy,

i came back from kosovo in april (mmm mmm that chicken farm smell good in the mornin cleetus!) and all everyone does over there is count the days till there coming home LOL, and the people who extend..... well i certainly LMAO at them because if your life at home is so sad as you have nothing better to do (than sit in the comcen was it?) well then they should give yas all the "airpocket" medal in my opinion!!!

i have a little theory ya know, its real easy, it goes.......
average persons I.Q = soldiers I.Q divided by no. of years served...
see real easy :rolleyes:

so congratulations man, what a difference a soldier makes.....

i have to give you pat on the back there my friend jesus the bull**** mairt is coming out with now he may as well give, the american have jar heads and us irish have empty heads all they do is follow eachother around the ground like sheep while a spotty faced 2nd Lt who fresh from cadet school and has,nt got a pair of balls gives orders

muletide

ex_infantry man wrote:

aint we bit old to be calling people names! u wud,nt say it to me face boy coz i,d rearrange it for ya! and anyway the army so brilliant aint it coz if you were in a real job like some of us on here like meself and stew then you would,nt be spending your day on here abusing people and giving us cock and bull stories

Jesus, relax would you. Good to see the army taught you some self discipline because they sure as hell didn't teach you English.

Hagar

I'm closing this before I perm ban some gobshyte.:mad: