If he’s that easily persuaded, he’s probably not made of the right stuff anyway.

Why though? I know you are reacting to a rise but it can turn out to be a trudge/a plod for most or a brilliant and varied career.

How many really are combat troops?

How many end up digging ditches, ‘guarding’, driving and cooking food?

Imagine sat on the Falklands bored out of your tree for a stint being told when to go out, when to get up, when to go to sleep when to wash and when to talk (at times).

Yes you get to travel but with the government putting more and more squeezes on the services is it what it used to be?

I’m firmly a ‘patriot’ BTW. 🙂

I know you are reacting to a rise but it can turn out to be a trudge/a plod for most or a brilliant and varied career.

I’m not biting, I’m making an observation. People don’t join the army to get rich. If young pictonroad fancies some fast cash rather than an active life of soldiering, then he’s the wrong sort for military service.

How many end up digging ditches, ‘guarding’, driving and cooking food?

At some point, pretty much all soldiers will dig trenches, guard and drive. You seem to present these as mundane risk free tasks; if you’re digging a battle trench or guarding, there’s a reason/something to guard. The front line does not consist of pure infanteers you know. RAF regt aside, most will go out of the wire at Bastion during a Afg tour.

most will go out of the wire at Bastion during a Afg tour.

Can’t be good for the nerves. Chapeau.

How many really are combat troops?

From my (poor) memory, about 20-25% will be teeth, the rest are supporting them. I think the HERRICK that 3 PARA were out (2006?) 3k troops provided about 650 fighting men.

It takes a lot to put people on the front line and a lot of those roles (logistics, signals, medical, etc, etc) can and are filled with reservists.

Non-teeth does not mean non-fighting. Engineers, Gunners, RLC, Sigs all patrol and contribute in contact as well as perform their normal duties (bomb disposal, explosives, driving, search, comms etc etc).
So, whilst only 25 odd % may be infantry capbadged, they are by no means the only ones on the front lines using their weapons.

I was a combat medic in the TA, I’m a Paramedic on civvy street. I did it because I’m good at my job and wanted to test my skills in a hard environment and actually use some of my training rather than focussing on nan down’s and minor injuries. I learnt some new skills that apply to my current job, some new skills that I’d never have thought about before (I’m pretty handy at plumbing now) and met some interesting people. Crap knees stopped me getting deployed and I regret that. I’d sign up again but I’ve a wife and family now and I’m not sure they’d appreciate me going off for a 12 month deployment.

If I go office based in my current role I may sign up again and look into a training role rather than deployment.

If its not for you, then fair enough. I always wanted to be a soldier as a kid and as an adult was always looking for new, interesting experiences. Statistically more cyclists die on UK roads than Combat medics getting killed in Afg… so its probably safer out there as well!

I guess much depends on the trade. There’s a lot of TA medics and nurses where I work & many of them have rotated thru Bastion – it seems to me (as a civilian) that they bring much the same attitude to everything they do.

I know I’d want ’em looking after me, that’s for sure.

(Not that this necessarily justifies MOD policy…).

RAF regt aside, most will go out of the wire at Bastion during a Afg tour.

😆

From my (poor) memory, about 20-25% will be teeth, the rest are supporting them. I think the HERRICK that 3 PARA were out (2006?) 3k troops provided about 650 fighting men.

IIRC during WW2 the average frontline American had 11 people supporting him though the supply chain.

Non-teeth does not mean non-fighting. Engineers, Gunners, RLC, Sigs all patrol and contribute in contact

Wrecker, absolutely. I know a lot of people in the Signals that have done just that, including some from my own group. My point was just to try and relate the rough ratio of infantry soldiers to support troops.

I think that the teeth arms/combat support/support services stuff is outdated now. It’s not like there’s a nice wall of infantry somehow protecting the CS guys. I know for a fact that 9 & 59 sqns have been door kicking with 3 & 16 Bdes since Jacana, never mind Herrick.

I’ve put all my money into a savings account, my son can have it when he’s 25 IF he doesn’t have anything to do with any armed forces.
If he’s that easily persuaded, he’s probably not made of the right stuff anyway.

That’s the plan! I nearly signed up, officer training in the RAF, got right to the door. My politics have changed so much, I’m no longer a black and white kinda guy I’m more of a humanist who sees the shades in most situations and I don’t think you know enough about the world at 20 to make such a choice.

I hope having a less ‘ready’ armed forces will discourage our politicians to embark on more missions of God.

I think that the teeth arms/combat support/support services stuff is outdated now. It’s not like there’s a nice wall of infantry somehow protecting the CS guys. I know for a fact that 9 & 59 sqns have been door kicking with 3 & 16 Bdes since Jacana, never mind Herrick.

Weren’t navy divers deployed as EOD in Afghan recently too?

I don’t think you know enough about the world at 20 to make such a choice.

Fair point. But that’s a choice you make.

If I’d have been in when Iraq kicked off I would have been deployed (with the benefit of hindsight). Whether I agreed or disagreed would have been irrelevant, unfortunately.

As it happens I did disagree so it’s a happy coincidence, but I accepted that possibility when I signed on the dotted line.

I hope having a less ‘ready’ armed forces will discourage our politicians to embark on more missions of God.

Do you think that the politicians give a ***k what state the military is in before following the americans into war?
Did you see the state of our kit when afghanistan kicked off? We had little more than land rovers and DAF trucks! Some of our kit was still 58 pattern!

Whilst I wish you were right, there is the flip side that we would also not be as ready for humanitarian/relief missions either. But a small less expeditionary military has its price I suppose.