Regimental insight Course, Northern Ireland,

AllthingsCP

Anyone here been, or have any information on such a course?, That will help me better prepare?.

tac foley

The Regimental Insight Course will tell you all you want to know, that is why it is called the Regimental Insight Course.

tac

AllthingsCP

tac foley wrote: »

The Regimental Insight Course will tell you all you want to know, that is why it is called the Regimental Insight Course.

tac

lol thanks tac,

But i was looking more for information on the course itself, rather then what the course entails, And why it takes 5 days?.

tac foley

Well, assuming that you are going to the RIR RIC, they will be trying to instil in you as much as they can in the time allotted to pass on information about life in the RIR, and what committing yourself to a career with them involves you in doing.

Each and every part of the numerous branches of the British Army has its own dedicated and specific RIC, and the one for the Royal Signals will be drastically different from the infantry, and so on.

On the joining instructions you will be advised what clothing to wear to arrive in, although you will also be given kit to wear there, as well. You WILL be getting wet and dirty.

And tired.

Remember that you will NOT be joining the Army - so it does NOT commit you in any way to taking it any further. Nor is there any shame attached to not taking it any further. Think of it as a familiarisation guide to what you might expect, and ask lots of questions.

At the right time, that is.

Let us know how you get on - if you go.

tac

John_D80

I had never even heard of such a thing. Great idea and definitely something the Irish DF should be doing. Have the British Army been doing this for long tac foley? Is it a a requirement for all potential recruits to complete this course?

tac foley

John_D80 wrote: »

I had never even heard of such a thing. Great idea and definitely something the Irish DF should be doing. Have the British Army been doing this for long tac foley? Is it a a requirement for all potential recruits to complete this course?

Great idea, eh?

It's so that folks don't join 'cold' and waste a huge amount of British taxpayers money before they bail out.

This is from the BA's own website - it will answer most of your questions, prolly. Note that THIS assumes that you are thinking of joining the infantry - namely, the Yorkshire Regiment. To get an idea of what it will be like for somebody joining the Royal Irish Regiment, remove all reference to anything Yorkshire-ish, and insert RIR. Simple...

As for why the PDF do not run courses like this, well, the answer to that might be as simple to understand as this - Saving time + Saving costs + sheer numbers of possible recruits make it a viable proposition for the BA. It is said to cost the MoD about £5Million every year to run these courses, and I doubt that the PDF would necessarily see that money as well-spent. I could be wrong, and if so, I look forward to being put right. Besides which, the current method of recruitment for the PDF seems to us to be distinctly, well, odd, to say the least.

Right -

The Army Insight course is a 4-day course aimed at young men and women aged 16 and over who are interested in joining the [British] Army. It is aimed at students studying Public Services or Uniformed Service courses and can be booked by their course tutor.

This course is very similar to Yorkshire Warrior - the only difference is that females may attend the course. It is aimed at students studying Public Services or Uniformed Service courses at college and can be booked by their course tutor.

Why do we run these courses?
The process of turning a civilian into a soldier is a long, demanding, hard and expensive. It is essential that before an individual commits themselves to joining the [British] Army that they get a comprehensive insight into what it is all about. This Course offers potential applicants the chance to experience what life as a soldier is like.

What will they do on the course?
The emphasis on the course is to impart as much information as we can about life in the [British] Army. The course runs for 4-days at Queen Elizabeth II Barracks in Strensall (near York) by our own dedicated Support Team, all of whom are serving regular soldiers currently detached from our regular battalions [namely, The Yorkshire Regiment].

What risks will they be taking?
We take our duty of care very seriously. All participants are supervised at all times. Chaperones are appointed and they are never left alone. All staff on our courses have a great deal of knowledge and experience and the welfare of participants is our top priority.

Will my son or daughter come into contact with weapons and ammunition?
Potential applicants will be shown weaponry and military equipment. They will be allowed to handle it - however, under no circumstances will they fire full bore ammunition or handle explosives. They may fire on the Dismounted Close Combat Trainer (DCCT) which is a laser target range. This is a safe, risk assessed activity which is supervised by fully qualified staff.

What happens if my son or daughter wants to come home?
In the unlikely event that a participant wants to return home before finishing the course we will liaise with his or her parents direct. Under no circumstances will a participant be allowed to return home unsupervised. We acknowledge our duty of care both to you as parents/guardians and to your son or daughter as a potential soldier.

What special equipment will my son or daughter need?
We will issue items such as safety equipment, special clothing, etc. There are no major purchases for you to make. The course is completely free of charge - your son or daughter will receive free food and transport throughout the day.

Will my son or daughter feel pressurised to enlist?
At the end of the course your son or daughter will have had an insight of what life is like in the [British]Army. They will not be asked to enlist during the course, even if they express a desire to do so.

After a few weeks, if they still want more information about the Army or the Yorkshire Regiment they will be able to visit an Army Careers Centre (ACC) or Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO). They must ensure that the ACC/AFCO is aware that they have attended The Yorkshire Regiment's Army Insight Course and, if they are offered an infantry position (males only) that they wish to join the Regiment of their choice.

How can I get on the course?
This course is for those studying Public Services or Uniformed Service courses at college. Places can be booked by course tutors.

OK with that?

tac

tac foley

John_D80 wrote: »

I had never even heard of such a thing. Great idea and definitely something the Irish DF should be doing. Have the British Army been doing this for long tac foley? Is it a a requirement for all potential recruits to complete this course?

Seem my post above. And no, it is not compulsory, but most potential recruits do it - wouldn't you?

I have no idea how long it has been going on for, perhaps somebody here nearer to having done it than I am can give you an answer. When I joined up way back then our Army numbers were inscribed on clay tablets and we were issued with two spare strings for our bows.

tac

John_D80

Thanks for the reply. You pretty much answered every other question I had before I even asked!! Would you reckon in your opinion that the British Army has fewer early stage drop-outs as a direct result of having this course available to potential recruits? Or has this perhaps been documented?

Always bugged me when I was training recruits that guys quite often came in, having no realistic idea of what to expect and ended up leaving after a week or two, effectively robbing someone else of an opportunity to be in the Army.

I know there is an 'Induction Phase' in Irish DF recruit training these days, but from day 1 they have signed along the line and are already 'part of the machine'. A similar 3-5 day period for potential recruits here would be far more beneficial.

tac foley

John_D80 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. You pretty much answered every other question I had before I even asked!! Would you reckon in your opinion that the British Army has fewer early stage drop-outs as a direct result of having this course available to potential recruits? Or has this perhaps been documented?

Always bugged me when I was training recruits that guys quite often came in, having no realistic idea of what to expect and ended up leaving after a week or two, effectively robbing someone else of an opportunity to be in the Army.

I know there is an 'Induction Phase' in Irish DF recruit training these days, but from day 1 they have signed along the line and are already 'part of the machine'. A similar 3-5 day period for potential recruits here would be far more beneficial.

AFAIK the British Army has very few drop-outs in the initial stage, simply because they know what to expect. Sure, there ARE those who decide that it really isn't for them, but the Army has a way of coping with the disappointment.

It has for sure been documented, but I'm not privy to recruit training figures, never ever having had anything to do with the recruiting phase, except as a recruit back in the late mumblemumblemumbles... All my students were JNCOs about to become SNCOs and young officers of the Army, RAF and RN with the occasional RN senior rating or SCNO/Officer Royal Marine. As far as real furriners went, they could be anything from sergeant up to lt col in any of about sixty nations. They were further broken down into Commonwealth/NATO and 'friendly aligned nations' like Sweden and Swizerland, Hungary and the Ukraine, Chile, Brazil and Japan, The Ayrabs, and the real fuzzy-wuzzies, who were, uh, fuzzy and wuzzy - Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe et al. I'll let YOU guess where the RoI fitted in there.

I'm sure you'd agree, however, that there is a whale of difference dealing with three/four thousand or more recruits per year, and the few hundred that the PDF have to deal with. I'd be interested in finding out, but not TOO interested, to learn how the various elements cope with training before they go to their pre-selected employment specialisation. How do your signallers do their basic training? Gunners? Logistics? Clerks? Mechanics? Do you have a basic military training establishment/s where you undergo basic military common-to-all arms military training? What about the female soldiers?

tac

John_D80

Every man-jack/juliet joining the army does the same initial 16 week basic infantry training, followed by a slightly more advanced 12 week phase (this phase incoporates public order training, Internal Security, and others amongst more infantry training). From here then they are sent out to their chosen units (which in reality have been chosen for them long before they expressed an interest in any one) to learn their basic craft.

Generally they will find themselves in the Infy, Arty or Cav unless they get really lucky or they have some civilian skill that might make them useful to one of the other corps. Having completed a mechanics apprenticeship on civvy street will get you down to the workshops to rot the rest of your days away smokin fags and doing nixers. (**JOKE**)

Young Infantry soldiers will do their weapons courses,
Young Artillery soldiers will do a AD/Field gunnery course and young Cav Trooper will do their weapons and driving courses. Most of the other corps have a basic entry level qualification course as well.

In a nutshell, we all start out the same and stay as such for about the first 6 months.

AllthingsCP

Thanks tac and John for both replying, I certainly will let you know after i attend the course its the start of next year. Ahh i remember my first week in the PDF, Second week was totally different!