Now looking at a career in the british military

Flashpoint

Hi guys I always have a interest in joining the Irish defence forces and decided to do a 3rd level course as a mature student to give me a better chance of getting into the defence forces. However I have started looking at all 3 branchs of the British military as a back up plan, army= royal irish reg or army air corp, RAF= airman or RAF reg, RN= seaman or royal marines at first at general service level, But now a british army cadetship has got my eye as they take people up to 32 years of age. Any feedback on my choice is welcome.

discus

The British Army 'cadetship' (aka, attending Sandhurst) certainly does not take people up to 32. You must have passed through selection by 28 years of age. You must get into Sandhurst by 29 years old and not a day later.

Flashpoint

Well I'm 24 at the moment and will be 26 or 27 when i finish college so i'm still under the max age.

OS119

what is it you want to do - not what have you heard of, and what do you fancy being a member of - and what do you find interesting?

Flashpoint

Well i have a interest in all 3 branchs, The army air corp, RAF airman or RN seaman has my interest because of the chance to work with aircraft. The interest in the royal irish reg, RAF reg and royal marines comes from being in the reserve and looking for a bigger challenge. I have never be a big fan of officers but would love to try for a cadetship. ya could always sleep well saying ya tried for it anyway.

Trooperboyo

Flashpoint wrote: »

Well i have a interest in all 3 branchs, The army air corp, RAF airman or RN seaman has my interest because of the chance to work with aircraft. The interest in the royal irish reg, RAF reg and royal marines comes from being in the reserve and looking for a bigger challenge. I have never be a big fan of officers but would love to try for a cadetship. ya could always sleep well saying ya tried for it anyway.

You won't be eligble to become an officer in the RM or RAF Reg if you have only Irish citizenship, but you could with the Parachute regiment if you're after a challenge. You could still get a chance at p coy anyways with R Irish or Irish Gaurds, the Rifles Regiment 1 have an active role in the commando brigade so you could have a shot at the all Arms Commando Course there too. That is if you're going for an infantry reg...

RMD

Flashpoint wrote: »

Well i have a interest in all 3 branchs, The army air corp, RAF airman or RN seaman has my interest because of the chance to work with aircraft. The interest in the royal irish reg, RAF reg and royal marines comes from being in the reserve and looking for a bigger challenge. I have never be a big fan of officers but would love to try for a cadetship. ya could always sleep well saying ya tried for it anyway.

If you're considering Officer RAF reg and RMs are out of the question, British / DN required for it. Make sure you know what an officer does though and what daily life entails, I had all these glorious ideas of what an officer is, decided I wanted to become an officer in the RIR, realised what an being an officer actually entails and decided instead I'd go enlisted route in the RMs. Make sure you research everything to the last detail before deciding what route you want to choose. Goodluck and don't pay any heath to the Republicans, they'll always give you some crap over it.

piby

Trooperboyo wrote: »

You could still get a chance at p coy anyways with R Irish or Irish Gaurds, the Rifles Regiment 1 have an active role in the commando brigade so you could have a shot at the all Arms Commando Course there too. That is if you're going for an infantry reg...

Well the OP will have to consider his age will be a slight factor too. If you're going to be 26/27 starting Sandhurst (and therefore 27/28 on commissioning) you might want to consider non-infantry regiments. They tend to prefer younger lads and unofficially the cut off is 23.5 finishing the Factory, let alone starting! In the middle of the process myself and even at the ripe old age of 24 (just turned!) the ACAO in Belfast told me to look at other units. Of course if you really want an infantry regiment, they like you and you perform well enough then you can still get one it's just age is a much bigger factor in officer selection than other arms.

OP you've still got a while so I'd spend some time researching all the options (Officer vs. Enlisted; RN vs. RAF vs. BA). The application process (for an officer at least) can take up to a year so if you decide it's what you want than be looking to get the ball rolling as you're starting your last year at college, if not a little sooner.

Flashpoint

Thanks guys, ya i had known about the DN for RM and RAF reg already. The units and branchs I named I had planned on just enlistment not cadetship. The army cadetship is only a new idea in my head. Do you need DN for cadetship in the RN or RAF other then the royal marines or RAF reg?

And I have great support from friends, family and my reserve unit no matter which career I go for i.e. Irish or British military, enlist or cadet.

RMD

Flashpoint wrote: »

Thanks guys, ya i had known about the DN for RM and RAF reg already. The units and branchs I named I had planned on just enlistment not cadetship. The army cadetship is only a new idea in my head. Do you need DN for cadetship in the RN or RAF other then the royal marines or RAF reg?

And I have great support from friends, family and my reserve unit no matter which career I go for i.e. Irish or British military, enlist or cadet.

Depends on what trade you want to go into as an officer. Pilot for example in both the RAF and RN requires British / DN, while say in the RN a Marine Engineer Officer can be Irish, likewise in the RAF a Logistics Officer can be from Ireland. Really the best solution is just to go through the careers section on the RAF / RN site and see if there's an Officer trade which interests you, then check the nationality requirements.

Flashpoint

Even if i join go the enlisted route, saying i'll be in late 20's i'd say a lot of doors will be already closed for me i.e. courses etc. Is this the case?

Utrinque Paratus

Flashpoint wrote: »

Even if i join go the enlisted route, saying i'll be in late 20's i'd say a lot of doors will be already closed for me i.e. courses etc. Is this the case?

Depends how well you score in your Barb test.

Flashpoint

Well apart from the barb test, I'm sure mortar, anti-tank, sniper etc are open to any age. Para/all arms commando courses and SF groups would have age limits i guess. Is there any other courses with age limits. Like I might be 24 at the moment but i only look 20 and fitness is the same. So hope a number wouldn't hold me back

piby

Flashpoint wrote: »

Well apart from the barb test, I'm sure mortar, anti-tank, sniper etc are open to any age. Para/all arms commando courses and SF groups would have age limits i guess. Is there any other courses with age limits. Like I might be 24 at the moment but i only look 20 and fitness is the same. So hope a number wouldn't hold me back

AFAIK the age limit for SF selection is 32. Of course you have to have a few years behind you before you can attempt it, so normally you'd be at the rank of lance corporal (enlisted) or captain (officers) before putting yourself forward for selection. Although I don't know the ins and outs of every course for every arm, when there is an age limit 32 seems to be the oft quoted number.

This thread might be of some interest to you:
http://www.arrse.co.uk/gunners/161340-joining-26-a.html

Similar one about officers:
http://www.arrse.co.uk/regular-officer-recruiting/159715-written-off-27-28-already.html

Trooperboyo

Just on the Dual Nationality, is there something that you may be entitled to one if one of your parents were born before Ireland left the commonwealth?

Raging_Ninja

Trooperboyo wrote: »

Just on the Dual Nationality, is there something that you may be entitled to one if one of your parents were born before Ireland left the commonwealth?

I believe that people who were born in Ireland before 1937 are entitled to a British passport. I can very easily be wrong though.

RMD

Trooperboyo wrote: »

Just on the Dual Nationality, is there something that you may be entitled to one if one of your parents were born before Ireland left the commonwealth?

I've looked into it before to see if there's a way around it as well. AFAIK if your parent was born in Ireland prior to 1937 they may claim a British passport, but that doesn't entitle you to a British passport. Only option to get around it is either live in Britain for 5 years which isn't realistic, or hope to get a commission once you're already in the service. If you're deadset on being an officer, could always join the army.

Flashpoint

Is it worth me joining as enlisted at 27-28 so? Like if its 32 cut off point for courses. Lol SF I guess ya need at least 4 years service, and courses have big waiting lists.

OS119

Flashpoint wrote: »

Is it worth me joining as enlisted at 27-28 so? Like if its 32 cut off point for courses. Lol SF I guess ya need at least 4 years service, and courses have big waiting lists.

there's no reason not to - certainly you're on the old side of the normal recruit intake, but that is attractive to units because it means you have life skills, experience and don't need to be baysat. infantry Bn's might be a bit wary because, realisticly, don't have 10 years of fearsome grounding left in your knees, but pretty much everyone else won't see it as a catastrophic problem.

Flashpoint

Well as i said i am a very young looking 24 years old and i'm more fit now then ever, so should still be ok when i join. If i go enlisted I want to get my hands dirty and not be a tea boy of some officer lol