[Closed] Any RAF chaps here? Experiences?

I've a couple of family members in various forces, afaik, once you are over the initial hump of basic traning at the start it's pretty good. Can be hard on significant others though, if thats a factor. Also, don't expect to be able to walk into any trade or specialisation that looks like big fun, you might have to be a ditch digger for a few years! 😀

Which branch are you looking at? What's your degree in?
If you get into an interesting specialisation it can be better than good from what I understand.
If you just end up doing general eng. stuff, then it tends to have more chance of becoming dull quickly, from what i've seen.

Can't answer for the RAF but I spent 10 years in the Army, allbeit some time ago before the current commitments and publicity, but I did spend 3 years in NI.

As a character building experience there in none better and based upon your degree it will also give you the career direction you seem to need.

All the forces offer excellent sport and social activities, sound like an advertising poster don't I(?). If you're single it's ideal. I left just after I got married and we had our first daughter. As Andy_K says, if you're married or in a relationship, the current commitments can make it very hard.

I think [b]sootyandjim[/b] of this parish is something to do with them so he'll probably be along sometime.

Just BUMP the post a couple of times and see what responses you get.

Good luck whatever you do.

Thanks for the wise-words already!

My degree is in Film .. which is something that I have pursued, but the whole media industry is fubar right now. The raf would be a different direction entirely ... But I'm a pragmatist at heart, I'm not too concerned about the job, ('aerospace battle manager' is 1st choice) but the salary, lifestyle, and job security are what I'm looking at.

thanks again guys

DO IT!

Biggest regret I've ever had was turning down my acceptance into the RAF 2 days before my training was due to start for a girl.
Was going in as an officer in Imagery intelligence - Dream job. Needless to say we broke up a year later and the RAF laughed down the phone at me when i asked if i could re-apply.
Be prepared for a long application process, mine took approx 18 months iirc which included a couple of days worth of tests at RAF Chicksands.
I'd do the job now if they'd let me

Are you looking as going in as an Officer? I looked seriously at joining as a Fighter Controller before Uni but later decided against it.

I was an Air Cadet for years and visited many bases and spoke to lots of people there. I was in touch with the careers office and did a 'Realistic Job Preview' - basically went to a base (RAF Boulmer) to see what being a Fighter Controller entails. Unfortunately, it involves sitting in a hole in the ground, on a rubbish base miles from anywhere, although this appears to be specific to Fighter Controllers.

The general life of an Officer seems good - you're really well looked after and the social side and aporting activities are second to none. I know someone who is a Navigator at an exciting base and loves every minute.

[img] [/img]

😀

Have you got experience of the Military at all? It can be a shock, the way they operate, the discipline, the bullshit, that way of life is fine if you know how it works, it can be...hard otherwise.

Not trying to put you off, just go in with your eyes open is all.

Have you looked at joining the police? There are a lot of ex forces in the police who all speak highly of their times there but very quickly got sick of the deployments and look stints away from home, especially if you're settling down and have family (I know not everyone is the same). But police has a lot of variety, options and good jobs out there. You can easily arrange a "ride-along" basically a shift going out with the guys to see EXACTLY what we do .. definately worth doing, and worth thinking about if you have that forces mentality, obviously looking for something challenging and that offers variety. good luck!

I'm in the RAF, i've been in just over 12 years and love it!!! I work in comms and stuff 😆 I am looking at going for my commission as I fancy going down a different path. I have never looked back or regretted joining up. I have met some quality folks and done some awesome things and been some great places.

Im in the RAF and have to say its a very good life. You do have the Bulls**t factor to put up with sometimes but the pro's outweigh the cons by miles. If you are after a career more than a job its hard to beat.

yes i ve been in the mob now as a weapons tech for 11.5 years.

just got back from a 3 year tour in cyprus where i did no end of sports and spent hardly any time at work!!

however ive just come back to the worst posting i could of not wished for working with the army!!

im actually getting to the point of throwing it all in to b honest !!

dont let that put you off though, as long as you stay away from anything to do with the army you will have a brilliant time in the RAF and make some great friends.

as long as you stay away from anything to do with the army

What, you mean like fighting and stuff? 😉

I was an officer in the Army, way-back-when it was know as BAOR & we all swanned about the N German plains in tanks and armoured vehicles & drank our respective weights in beer most nights in Hamburg.
Can't fault it.
Still trying to work off the beer belly even now ; )

Nixon

You mentioned that your degree is in film. Have you seen [url= http://www.defencemediaops.co.uk/Index.html ]this[/url]

This is some of their work:

[img] [/img]

and they are also responsible for [url= http://www.youtube.com/user/armyweb ]this[/url] channel on YouTube.

as long as you stay away from anything to do with the army

You may end up operating with the Army though as I would imagine that taking pictures of planes taking off from airfields might get quite dull.

no what i meant is the army way of life!!!
in the army its like.............. you do that now,no questions!!

whereas in the raf.............. hey steve can you have a look at that job for us please .

in the raf you get treated with more respect.

that is all

If you're wanting to join the military and not just wear a blue jumper and be asked “to see to a job” (that's what civvies do), then the RAF maybe isn't for you.
Unless you're a fast jet pilot you're only ever going to be support staff - admin in a blue jumper.
I'd suggest that simply by being here, on the site, you're more likely to be happy getting your hands oily and occasionally enjoy (?) some muddy rides - so maybe the Army is more what you should be looking at?
It’s going to more physical in the Army, but if equate it to how you ride your bike and what sort of events & riding you enjoy, this might point the way a little more.
After school & Uni, my best friend became a Harrier pilot, I instead went to RMAS and even now he’s not keen on getting wet on a training ride unless I put him in a position where it’s a given!
Chalk & cheese.
Thus far no one has mentioned either the RN nor the RM.

Ti29er - Nice piece of generalisation, you do your parent service a great discredit for uttering such bilge as well as the memories of many 'blue jumper wearers' who have lost their lives recently far from a paperclip. I served as 'support staff', spent 6 of my 12 years in the RAF on TSW operating alongside teeth arm elements of the army from as near as South Armargh through Bos/Kos, SL, Iraq and Afghanistan (with only the most brief of transits through the Butlins currently featured on Channel 5). Plenty of 'oily hands' moments as well as brown trouser ones. In fact in total during my 12 years I only spent 3 in 'blues', one year at the start when I was still an LAC and unable to deploy then 2, I'm proud to say, whilst serving at DMRC Headley Court. So please, don't judge all the RAF from the not as brief as it could be interface with movements muppets and snowdrops at Brize Norton!

...on the other hand s&j, a friend of mine's recently retired after 30-odd years in the RAF. He says he had a shot fired in his general vicinity once in his whole career, while involved in evacuating British civvies in Cyprus.

TI29er... that is the biggest load of bollocks ive ever read!!!!

if im a blue jumper admin walla what am i doingwearing overalls(green btw) in a bay fixing/building ejection seats or on the pan at 4 in the morning trying to get a jet in the air???

come to think of it im sure i wasnt wearing a blue jumper whilst in the bomb dump at Basrah.

Nixon fiend - I no longer serve in the RAF (though I've been weighing up joining the RAuxAF of late, I do miss serving quite a bit) but I'd like to offer you a bit of advice if I may and its this. Make sure you realise what you may potentially be called upon to do. Con-tray to the bilge spouted by some of those fellows from the army, RAF personnel can and do often serve as far forward as their pongo cousins. Of course this has come as a shock to those who did join up for an easy life of wearing a blue jumper and hanging around handbrake house. The larger RAF (away from field force units such as TSW) has on the whole 'woken up' over the last few years and with deployments coming around more often and numbers decreasing due to cut-backs the days of sports afternoons, knocking off for beer calls and POETS day are gone, especially if you find yourself posted somewhere like RAF Odiham (as I was for my last tour) and supporting the only really useful SH asset the armed forces has left and therefore busiest. All that said though, if you don't mind working hard, understand that one day you may end up somewhere dodgy holding a rifle and don't think of it as an easy option career you can get a lot out of the RAF, though they will try to take as much as they can out of you (my old unit, TSW, once had the unenviable reputation for having one of the highest rates of divorce among its personnel due to the high tempo of deployments, ie: my first year, 286 days deployed out of 365, though I was single at the time.)

Here we go, Army v RAF......please boys no, I dont think any of us have been in both.

Like Ti29er I was an Army officer so here is my tuppenceworth. Got to say nixon-fiend it sounds like you are drifting into this without any real commitment. Thats fine for a 17yr old with no prospects and no idea but you are a 20-something graduate and presumably an officer candidate. 2 big issues with that:

1. Training - I was super committed to being a soldier and almost literally crawled over broken glass to get into Sandhurst. If you are just along for the ride you will get found out.

2. War - you may have noticed a few bombs and bullets flying around lately. RAF, Army, Navy, whatever, we live in dangerous times and you are going to get posted somewhere sh1tty.....are you really up for this?

johnners - Yes, there are a few about but they are becoming fewer and fewer. My boss at Headley Court had served a similar amount of time but had only a LS&GC medal, an MSM (and bar) and and QGJM to his name, but the RAF isn't unique in this respect. There are such tour dodgers in the army and in the RN (FAA aside) it seems almost a matter of pride to have never drawn 'green kit' from pussers.

Double post, oops.

Renton - relax; I was fishing!
And as per McBoo's comments, you have to WANT a commission to put up with the amount of "basic" training you'll have to endure at Sandhurst.
Can't you look at a pre course? They used to call them O typre engagements.
A time in the TA maybe? (my experience of the TA is from may years ago and not very positive; I have no doubt it's changed radically since 1991/2).

Frankly I'd go for it mate - my brother was in the RAF for years and loved it - terrific opportunities for travel (and not just to war zones!) Try and pick a trade that will be useful in civvy street would be my advice.

I turned down a career to join the Kings Own Scottish Borders as an Officer - what a mistake! I also fancied a career in Intelligence but realised I'd probably be sent back home to Belfast to 'work' - no thanks! Then looked at a career in bomb disposal - I wanted to get home at weekends!!

If you're at a loss career wise etc then the RAF would be a good choice. Esp in the current economic climate

Good luck
TS

Yes. Choose something that has Civvi applications if possible. You'll be a heaving civvi again before you know it!
Tank: KOSBies, GreenSlime & RAOC / RLC. Not enough hours in the day me thinks!

I have been told that the RAF Club in London has a very good wine list, so add that to the list of good reasons to join the crabs.

The RAF also have the best married quaters, by far of the two services.

You are quite late in the day to be looking at the Armed Forces in general as somewhere to go when other stuff isn't going according to plan. Current recruiting figures will see the Army fully manned by next year - many Trades and Branches in all 3 Services are currently closed as they have met their targets.

There isn't anything quite like a recession for military recruitment. You'd best make sure you want it, fit the criteria and can convince recruiters that you are better than the other 100's of applicants - many of whom have wanted nothing else for a long time. It sounds like you are close to applying rather than joining up - application is the first part of some fairly testing times.

I hope that I can offer some useful comments here. To start with I'll declare my allegiances so that everyone knows where I'm coming from, I'm in the Army, I'm 28 and have 2 and a half years of service (including training). I'm an NCO and my only regret is not joining up sooner. I'll also mention at this stage that I have a bit of problem with the RAF at the moment for a couple of professional reasons which I won't go into here for the obvious reasons.

That said, yes, the RAF is a good career from what I've seen. A friend of mine recently graduated from Cranwell and yes, they seem to be better treated etc etc. However from what you've written so far nixon-fiend, I do find myself wondering if you REALLY WANT a Commission, or are you just drifting towards the military as they seem to offer you what you want? I think a pertinent question here is to ask can you offer what the Armed Forces want? As has already been said, if you do want a Commission, sooner or later you're going to have to prove it...which basically means you're going to have to take a step to your front and prove you're a better man than the people around you. It pays to be a winner. And that goes for all three services.

I'd also comment that although having a degree opens up the Commissioned Ranks to you, maybe you should also look at what the Non-Commissioned Ranks can offer you. Yes there'll be a little more bullsh1t factor but you'll have a different career...not better or worse neccesarily, different. Perhaps you could also look at the Royal Navy. From my limited contact with them they do seem to be treated better than a comparable rank in the army.

Hope that helps and it hasn't come across as too sanctimonious.

ti29er

Balls! Should have read I turned down a career in the KOSBies! Anyway - no point thinking what could have been!!

Nixon - just do it if it's what you want to do. Life's not a dress rehearsal. If I had to do it all again I'd jump into the services with both feet. Especially if you haven't fully settled yet.

That's a very timely point.
Is there anything left that you actually fancy doing? In whichever service?
It's all very well having a degree from 3 years ago, but does that make you obvious material for Cranwell when you'll be up against highly motivated, mostly younger officer cadets who desperately want to serve in the RAF, whose first choice is RAF, whose every waking thought is to pass selection & join up?

Maybe have a look at other openings - after all no one said you had to be an officer. I had many soldiers under my command who were far better educated, to a higher level than ever I was & they weren't officers. I’d go so far as to say that the Army was a far better organisation for having such a rich seam of talent and education liberally distributed throughout the rank structure.

Tank: Why did you not take up that commission in the KOSBies if it was offered? I am assuming you passed out of RMAS (?).
That's it - off to Bonty 24 shortly as I'm racing pairs and I need some beauty sleep + it's 03:00hrs.

Had a mate in the RM he told me stories of wearing womans un derwear on important parades, training in Norway - lots of Skiing but also sitting in a snow hole all night!
I nearly joined the RAF wanted to do something on planes - all they would have let me do was clean the cockpit windows! so i went to work in a foundry instead......

Never been in the forces myself but I have many colleagues at work (Air Traffic Control) who are ex-RAF. They almost all speak very highly of working as an ATCO with the RAF. From what I've heard most ex Raf ATCO find it very easy to convert their licence to a civil one on leaving so you've got good career options there as well.

Plus (slightly) less chance of ending up where bombs may land on you. Many of them worked at Prestwick so good riding nearby as well.

I’d go so far as to say that the Army was a far better organisation for having such a rich seam of talent and education liberally distributed throughout the rank structure.

holy crap Ti - you really post some unqualified and splendidly out of date bilge. Your previous 'fishing' post set a standard and yet you continue to excrete waste product. You were part of a military left long behind.

+1 ^^^^^

Perhaps some qualification would be useful Tall?
Just popping up, attempting to rubbish another’s post with no qualification as to your issues nor in any way an explanation as to why you feel this way is a little lacking in both merit & substance - to put it mildly.

Let's have some meat on the bones of your derisory comments or if not then perhaps you could venture a suitable answer to the original post? This might be more constructive, after all that’s why we've taken the time to contribute to this thread. 💡

This might be more constructive, after all that’s why we've taken the time to contribute to this thread.

Your second post on this thread was, as you put it, fishing - so don't get all high and mighty that you are adding value and I must therefore justify my response to your guff. If it wasn't, your claim of fishing was a late cover up for what was outdated, biased and unqualified guff that did nothing but highlight a solid ignorance of the RAF.

Your point I highlighted and robustly rubbished above was another example of a lack of knowledge on the subject. I doubt you've worked in the Tri-Service environment in this century, so offer only conjecture and historical subjective opinions. The Army has an average reading age of about 14 years old. The RAF has a higher educational requirement for entry into training, on average, than the Army. There are stars and idiots in all Services, but your last statement was unfounded and factuallly incorrect - and not just biased guff.

The Army has an average reading age of about 14 years old

You know I had my ups and downs with the Army but one thing I never found was that my soldiers were stupid. Dishonest, aggressive, frequently drunk and regularly AWOL but also brave, loyal, hardworking and generally hilarious company.

Did you get carried away and make this up? Pretty insulting.

Anywaaaay....

nixon-fiend: have you considered the TA or whatever the RAF version calls itself? Probably a bit more receptive to the "I'm not entirely sure..." line of enquiry and will give you an idea of whether you want to go full-time or not.

mcboo - nope - fact. I have other sources, but this is a good link that you can believe:

"With up to 50% of recruits joining the Army with literacy or numeracy skills at or below levels expected of a primary school leaver (compared with 5-8% for the Royal Navy and 8% for the RAF"

[url= http://www.niace.org.uk/development-research/programmes-of-work/armed-forces-basic-skills-longitudinal-study ]Link to quoted document[/url]

Without getting carried away with an RAF vs. Army debate or allying myself with any particular camp here I agree with Ti29er to a certain extent... I would suggest (without consulting any figures and from my own experience) that there are certian trades within the Army's technical corps (Signals, Engineers, REME etc) where having a degree is by no means an uncommon feature within the NCO ranks.

I'd also argue that should the Infantry be excluded from a survey of the reading age of the average soldier, it would rise somewhat. I feel I should also make clear that I am in no way deningrating the Infantry (I'm sat between two of them at the moment)...I'm just stating that they're not known for having a high reading age.

Anyway, I think we're perhaps getting off the point...we were originally here to offer advice to someone considering pursuing a career in the forces...

Cheers for the input guys,

I appreciate the comments, very insightful !

Please don't mistake my open-mindedness for apathy. I am looking for a good trade within an organisation that I can grow with and do my damnedest... I give 110% and don't expect an easy ride. It's true that I don't have a one-track-military mind which is why I'm intelligence gathering before jumping in. I know the military would rather have indoctrinated robots but I'm not of that mindset (yet?)

At 24 I may be a little older than the norm but I'm fitter and faster than I've ever been

edit : Heh, I see the armed forces now have an ad on the right

[i]I know the military would rather have indoctrinated robots[/i]

No they don't. You need to get down to the recruiters and talk to them really

I know we're not flavour of the month due to all the land based operations at the moment, but have you considered the RN? I'm just coming up to 21 years in, and on the whole have enjoyed it immensely. In fact I can't beleive how quickly the time has flown past. If being at sea for months on end would put you off then it's worth considering that with some trades you are as likely to be a part of land based ops as on a ship. In fact I find myself off to Afghanistan in October as my partin shot from the RN! (will at least give me a chance to save up for a new mountain bike).
I don't want to get into the Army vs RAF vs RN debate, I'll just say that each service has it's advantages/disadvantages and a certain way of doing things (and believe me I know - I have extensive tri-service experience).

Just a thought....Dave

Nick, I have been to my Afco a couple of times and spoken to people down there .. Although different personnel give you varying p.o.v and all seem to have a different idea of what I'd be good for.

My 'robot' comment was not meant as a slight, but I don't see that the fact that I haven't wanted this career since forever should put me behind.. I would rather be judged on my capabilities.

If 50% of Army recruits have literacy or numeracy equal to that of a school leaver, then that does not mean that the majority of the Army have a reading age of 14, does it? firstly; 50% is not a majority, secondly; [i]recruits[/i] are not reflective of the army and are taught numeracy and literacy, which would bring the levels down below 50% thirdly; School leavers are not 14.
So your quote has merely proved you wrong, hasn't it?
For someone who claims sooooo much experience in joint services; you are criminally ignorant and why so down on the Army?
Ah, jealous of the history, or of the present sterling work done by the guys on the ground?

I am in the Royal Engineers, and i'll be at my 10 year point in November. I work as a Geographic Technician with a HQ in Germany at the moment. It can be very interesting and rewarding at times, at other times you feel like throwing the towel in. The hours can be horrendous at times, and you'll sometimes feel like you're forever on duty. I was also posted out of my trade for my last post (3 years), which has put me back a bit in comparison to some of my peers, with respect to skill fade, etc. I joined up very late too, just before i was 26, which was the age limit at the time. I think it has been upped to 31 though now.

Despite the above, i do love my job. The good things outweigh the bad. I used to work in the aerospace industry before joining up, and really could never go back to it now. Living and working in a town/city with the monotony of the ratrace would drive me mad now. The places i've seen and the things that i've done would simply not have been possible in a civvy life. It was probably the sense of adventure that the Army instilled in me that got me into mtb'ing and other outdoors type stuff too. I'd probably have been happy to continue with a work/pub/work/pub/gym/work/pub lifestyle if i hadn't joined up. So, i'm glad i did it, and i think that i'm a better person for it.

My first post after training was at a RAF base, i worked for 4 years with a photo recce sqn, so spent a lot of time working with RAF imagery analysts. I have to admit that it was my best time in the forces so far. Very good socially, the work was very interesting and you are treated slightly better too. I must however point out that the RAF were no more proffessional or intelligent than the Army in similar trades, just a different approach to things, that's all.

As others have said though, you definitely need to be 100% to it. It's not easy, and the forces really are busier than ever before at the moment.

It is very sad to have seen this degenerate into a p!ssing contest between the RAF and Army. At the moment both services are contributing a huge amount to operations world wide, both are feeling the pinch brought about by years of neglect by the government and both have unfortunately lost personnel through current operations and to suggest that one may be 'better' than another due to some morbid glance at casualty lists misses the point of tri-service ops, something that the armed forces are excelling at currenty even with forces within the current government attempting to create divisions for budgerty purposes. Also to briefly touch upon the 'average 14 year old reading age of the army' point, this shouldn't be considered a slight. Often for many lads who join the army its the chance to make something of themselves after being let down by the educational systems of this country, a chance to earn a living rather than sit on the dole and a very real opputunity to get that education they missed out on and one day leave the services with a raft of useful qualifications. Those that stick with a career in the army often (in my experience) 'better themselves' and leave the services in a much better position to gain further employment than they joined and this is something the modern British Army should be justly proud of. Now please, stop this pathetic capbadge blind bitching, it does the majority of those who serve in our armed forces a discredit at a time when they are more 'joint' than at any time in the past. If CGS and CDS can sing from the same song sheet to give GB a bloody nose then a bunch of mtbers on a website should be able to bury the hatchet.

My guys had pretty much all come from dirt poor backgrounds in Glasgow. Not having had a great education doesnt make you stupid.

Like the man says, Army, Navy, RAF all very different. Thing I like about forces folk is their confidence. Everybody looks you in the eye and tells it straight, really miss that.

One last thing on the RAF though before I go on hols. Why the f*** do your Officers' Mess always have fruit machines?

It is very sad to have seen this degenerate into a p!ssing contest between the RAF and Army.

You sound surprised sooty. This is STW forum - home of prejudice, bigotory, and sectarianism.

backhander. If you could read, you'd see my quote says 'primary school leaver' and not 'school leaver'. Thats about 11 - younger than 14. Your apology is accepted.

I'm not down on the Army - I work with them now and the guys are stars. I was down on the outdated hackneyed views of Ti29er up there and was just reponding to him and his downer on the RAF.

nixon - you don't need to have wanted it forever - you just need to want it enough and bone up and know what you want to do - and why. Your phrasing in your OP read like 'degree-based career not working out - want another career because downturn has screwed 1st choice'. Not saying that is how it is - just how it read.

mcboo - last 3 messes I've been in didn't have fruit machines.

Nixon

There are plenty of people that join the services (Navy, Army or RAF) either as Officers or as members of the ranks who only serve for a handful of years before leaving. It's only the minority who stay in for a full career. The points above about "you should only join if you really want it" would imply that it's only the most committed that manage to get through training.

As long as you have a sense of humour and you are fit you will get in.

My advice would be to go for it, either Officer or other rank entry. If you like it, stay in. If you don't then you can leave after serving for the minimum time. Whatever the length of your career it will be quite an experience.

Oh, and all three services have thriving cycling clubs / teams.

Ok fair enough, fair mistake to make.
There is currently far far more excitement to be had in the RM and the Army.
In the RAF if you are not a pilot, you're a REMF.

RAF here, 23 years so far as a pilot. Many positives, an increasing no. of negatives, especially over the last 5 years or so. It all depends what you're after as an individual. One thing to bear in mind is that it will ask far more of your family than most other career paths.

"In the RAF if you are not a pilot, you're a REMF."???

rivett - backhander is being a throbber either because he wants a rise or he truly doesn't understand current operations. I'd guess a combination of both TBH.

Fair mistake to make - missing a word from a sentence and getting chopsy with someone? I hope you never give or action any basic written or verbal instruction - do you have a bike without training wheels fitted?

Beamers... my comments regarding commitment are offered in the context of Nixon applying for a commission. For an NCO I'd agree, a sense of humour and the requisite level of fitness are 'enough', but for a commission something altogether more is required. A useful reference here would be the oft-quoted comment that the Commissioning Course at Sandhurst has been likened to studying for the third year of a degree whilst training for the olympics... therefore I would argue that 'just turning up' wouldn't be enough.

The RAF: it's for people who would like to be public servants but who don't fancy the discipline.

Dogsby

If you live in the SE maybe you should look at joining th RauxAF they have a media sqn which might be of interest;

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafreserves/squadrons/rafhaltonno7644mediaoperationssquadron.cfm

nixon
I've come to this late so shall ignore all the bitching back and forth that has gone previously (all good practice for you though, if you can't stand the banter the Forces aren't for you).
I don't like to go into details of my employment on public forums but safe to say that a successful career in the Forces is possible, even if it hasn't been your ambition since birth. As has been said though, it requires massive commitment (from you and a future family) but generally rewards in equal measure. Although your degree won't be directly relevant, one of the good things about the Forces is the sheer diversity of opportunities it offers if you're prepared to take control of your own destiny.
RN, Army or RAF are all good choices and manned by committed and entertaining individuals, if it doesn't eventually work out at least you won't think 'what if' for the rest of your life.

Good luck.

One thing I do know about current ops...if it weren't for the USAF we'd be ****ed.
Gobby RAF shower.

I joined 4 years ago, promised the trade i joined up for was a techie trade, but its now its more computer admin, so my Engineering A-levels were a waist of my time, depends what trade u want to go for, just dont got for TG4, would leave but job markets as they are its not worth the risk.

care to go into that a bit more backhander??

I think perhaps 'backhander' is confusing lack of ability due to lack of funding with unwillingness to carry out a task. Chronic under-funding of the SH force is not an RAF issue, JHC is funded through LAND (an army controlled organisation) and its a combination of JHC being considered the poor relation of LAND and government under-funding for this most valuable of assets that has led to the situation the troops in Afghanistan currently find themselves in. Luckily though RAF units such as TSW exist to deploy forward and act as force multiplier, supplying the means to extend the legs of the few SH and attack helicopter assets, both British and allied, available.

Unfortunately he appears to be a typical 'Arrse' forum type armchair warrior and if he does actually serve I hope his marksmanship is more accurate with whatever weapon system he operates as his 'blame the RAF' mentality is way off target.

Also unfortunate is that unlike the Pprune forum we don't have the option to filter out his tripe.