Thinking of joining the TA
21 January 2008, 12:40 PM
#31
21 January 2008, 12:40 PM
#32
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21 January 2008, 01:58 PM
#34
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Government recruits these tools from the masses, usually the lower echelons. This is easy to achieve because the government ensures they are indoctrinated from an early age and ill educated. Higher echelons of this tool are recruited from the elite to rule over those recruited from the masses.
Government wields this power as it sees fit.
As a citizen who isn't brainwashed it's my duty to fight against it or be culpable.
Government wields this power as it sees fit.
As a citizen who isn't brainwashed it's my duty to fight against it or be culpable.
It's not 4 million tommies sent to slaughter anymore you know.
I also know several people who are officers in the Armed Forces, and none of them are from well to do backgrounds, they are just highly talented and motivated people. The days of generals and Field Marshals all being Lord so and so are long gone.
Geezer
21 January 2008, 02:05 PM
#35
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Jamjar - if you fancy it, give it a go. All you can do is try it and see if you like it. Depending on where you live, you might have a reasonable choice about what type of TA Job you'd like - Almost every Corp in the Army has a TA equivalent. TA units do vary quite a lot in how good they are at what they do (I spent 2 years in the reserves as RAF Regt, and have been in the regular Army for 10 years - so thats where that opinion comes from!). If you've got any specific questions, have a look on British Army Rumour Service, your reasonably likely to find someone on there from the specific TA unit you'd like to join and get some unbiased opinion from.
As for the doom and gloom "YOUR GOING TO DIIEEEE!" mongers out there.. i.e. NARCO, and SJ_Skyline.
I've done two tours of Iraq and one of Afghanistan.. I'm obviously not dead, seriously wounded, and much to the disappointment of you Independent reading types, I haven't killed any babies or raped any children either. So, just perhaps, bugger off and comment on something you have a clue about.
As for Leslie - you know fully well that we don't have a choice what wars we fight/don't fight; the OP asked if people had experience of of the TA (and presumably other reserve forces), and didn't ask for a lecture from a bunch of people who've had about as much experience of the Armed Forces as I have brain surgery - you excluded. I'd have hoped that as Aircrew previously trained for one of the most contentious and morally dubious military tasks ever thought up, you'd have been able to draw that line.
As for the doom and gloom "YOUR GOING TO DIIEEEE!" mongers out there.. i.e. NARCO, and SJ_Skyline.
I've done two tours of Iraq and one of Afghanistan.. I'm obviously not dead, seriously wounded, and much to the disappointment of you Independent reading types, I haven't killed any babies or raped any children either. So, just perhaps, bugger off and comment on something you have a clue about.
As for Leslie - you know fully well that we don't have a choice what wars we fight/don't fight; the OP asked if people had experience of of the TA (and presumably other reserve forces), and didn't ask for a lecture from a bunch of people who've had about as much experience of the Armed Forces as I have brain surgery - you excluded. I'd have hoped that as Aircrew previously trained for one of the most contentious and morally dubious military tasks ever thought up, you'd have been able to draw that line.
No one know better than me that we had no choice about where we were sent and had I been sent off to Iraq I would have done it since that was required of me as part of the Queen's forces. Those armed forces taking part are doing the job required of them by the government are are in no way to blame for the war or their actions during it. That is as ever down to the politicians. Just a pity that Billy liar took that decision without any recourse to cabinet or the House and forced the issue with his majority and the Conservative's stupid support. Do you really think I was criticising our armed forces in Iraq?
As for my own part, yes of course I would have set off on the one way mission to deliver the "bucket of sunshine" because my job was as part of a deterrent to the nuclear holocaust and the whole reasoning behind it was that the Eastern Bloc knew that was what we would all do if they tried it on and therefore we can be said to have been wholly successful in our efforts at the time. There was never any question of us starting it on our own account.
I was surprised to see your comments over all this.
Les
21 January 2008, 02:06 PM
#36
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So, from what bibo is saying, you can join the TA do all the fun stuff (play with guns and radios, go on yomps across Dartmoor, camp in the cairngorms etc), but when it comes to war deployment you can refuse to go without fear of jail or branding? If that's the case then go for it! 
21 January 2008, 02:25 PM
#37
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Things may have improved over the last 10 years or so, but when I was in the TA, I didn't use a single bit of standard issue personal kit, the TA were way behind the regulars in terms of issue kit so I used to buy my own from suplus military suppliers and places like Silvermans or else buy decent thermal stuff from Ski and outdoor shops. On excersie we'd all use mobiles as the crappy issue radios never worked.
21 January 2008, 03:52 PM
#39
Things may have improved over the last 10 years or so, but when I was in the TA, I didn't use a single bit of standard issue personal kit, the TA were way behind the regulars in terms of issue kit so I used to buy my own from suplus military suppliers and places like Silvermans or else buy decent thermal stuff from Ski and outdoor shops. On excersie we'd all use mobiles as the crappy issue radios never worked.
Things have improved
I can remember having '58 pattern sleeping bags and '90 pattern combats as well.... my first pair of boots were a pair of Combat highs that I still have as a pair of "normal" best boots for when I don't wear my ammo's with No2 dress!
21 January 2008, 04:04 PM
#40
No direct offense was meant at you.. but it just bugged me that certain people jumped on someone being interested in joining the forces as being some crazy war loving psychopath who wants to eat babies.
21 January 2008, 04:10 PM
#41
Prasius,
With respect, I think it's important that anybody considering joining any part of the forces does the right amount of soul-searching and looks at it from all angles: yours, mine, "some bloke down the pub".
I apologise if I wasn't clear earlier - it's the current policy and process behind our forces that I feel is flawed, NOT the soldiers and sailors and aircrews that are out there, ill-equipped by that process on the front lines.
With respect, I think it's important that anybody considering joining any part of the forces does the right amount of soul-searching and looks at it from all angles: yours, mine, "some bloke down the pub".
I apologise if I wasn't clear earlier - it's the current policy and process behind our forces that I feel is flawed, NOT the soldiers and sailors and aircrews that are out there, ill-equipped by that process on the front lines.
21 January 2008, 04:49 PM
#42
Prasius,
With respect, I think it's important that anybody considering joining any part of the forces does the right amount of soul-searching and looks at it from all angles: yours, mine, "some bloke down the pub".
I apologise if I wasn't clear earlier - it's the current policy and process behind our forces that I feel is flawed, NOT the soldiers and sailors and aircrews that are out there, ill-equipped by that process on the front lines.
With respect, I think it's important that anybody considering joining any part of the forces does the right amount of soul-searching and looks at it from all angles: yours, mine, "some bloke down the pub".
I apologise if I wasn't clear earlier - it's the current policy and process behind our forces that I feel is flawed, NOT the soldiers and sailors and aircrews that are out there, ill-equipped by that process on the front lines.
What I would say is that if your not willing to deploy on operations and do the job for real, don't join the TA. It IS more than just a grown-up boy scouts, if you don't like that fact, then you shouldn't be there as, frankly, your a waste of funding. Thats my opinion of course, and some will argue that people joining the TA gives them a valuable insight to service life etc etc - and while I accept that people have "real" jobs, and sometimes the requirements of your job or family means that you can't complete your obligations to the service, and that is fair enough - what I can't stand is people being in the reserves and then finding every excuse under the sun to not deploy even though they want to carry on playing soldiers.
SJ - I hope you can understand that I get very defensive when faced with certain, very stereotypical, politicised, opinions of the Armed Forces! So apologies from me if I sounded excessively harsh!
21 January 2008, 05:13 PM
#43
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What I would say is that if your not willing to deploy on operations and do the job for real, don't join the TA. It IS more than just a grown-up boy scouts, if you don't like that fact, then you shouldn't be there as, frankly, your a waste of funding. Thats my opinion of course, and some will argue that people joining the TA gives them a valuable insight to service life etc etc - and while I accept that people have "real" jobs, and sometimes the requirements of your job or family means that you can't complete your obligations to the service, and that is fair enough - what I can't stand is people being in the reserves and then finding every excuse under the sun to not deploy even though they want to carry on playing soldiers.
22 January 2008, 11:15 AM
#44
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Les
22 January 2008, 11:24 AM
#45
23 January 2008, 01:23 AM
#46
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Wow seem to have started an argument here. Anyway thanks for the replies I'm fully aware if I joined i could get sent into conflict especially as I'm thinking of joining an Infantry regiment and i am dubious about the Iraq war, but i suspect a lot of people in the Army are but as said previously you can't choose the wars you fight, I guess it comes down to how much you want to do it, and i do have a desire to prove something to myself. Anyway training takes about 18 months so who knows world peace may have happened by then. 
23 January 2008, 12:39 PM
#48
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23 January 2008, 12:43 PM
#49
oh yeah, we're going to be in Afghanistan for a loooooooooooooooonnnng time.
Which is fine by me because I really enjoyed (in a professional sense) my time in Afghanistan. Plus the Afgans are generally a far more likable bunch than the Iraqis are (Mother Theresa would have probably considered hitting them with nerve agent as well..)
Which is fine by me because I really enjoyed (in a professional sense) my time in Afghanistan. Plus the Afgans are generally a far more likable bunch than the Iraqis are (Mother Theresa would have probably considered hitting them with nerve agent as well..)
Last edited by Prasius; 23 January 2008 at 12:46 PM.
23 January 2008, 01:13 PM
#50
To the "mass murder using nerve agent isn't a joke" infractor.
It isn't a funny to sit around on your **** watching it happen on TV in your comfortable mundane little suburban life, tutting about how terrible the world is, and then bleating about illegal wars when someone removes the individual responsible for it either, but plenty do that
It isn't a funny to sit around on your **** watching it happen on TV in your comfortable mundane little suburban life, tutting about how terrible the world is, and then bleating about illegal wars when someone removes the individual responsible for it either, but plenty do that
Last edited by Prasius; 23 January 2008 at 01:16 PM.
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