Jamjar

Hi all, Been thinking about joining the TA recently, Anyone on here doing/done it? and if so did you enjoy it/ get something out of it and would you do it again.
Any answer would be appreciated.

ScoTTyB

Never did it, never got anything out of not doing it. HTH.

Jerome

I've been in the TA for a while and would say I've got a fair amount out of it. What you get out of it depends on how keen you are and what you put in.

Some of the things I've done with the TA:

6 week exercise in the US - excellent trip
Camps in Germany, Cyprus, Denmark and all over the UK
Skiing trips
Freefall parachute course (19 jumps)
Kayaking course
Abseiling (including out of helicopters)
C+E driving course
3 months in Iraq
An instructor in 2 disciplines.

There are many other personal benefits to being an active member of the TA - the ususal stuff they bang on about on TA promotional material.

You should also be aware there is a very real chance of being called up to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

I'll do a search later and post links to previous posts of mine on the subject.

OllyK

A lot depends on what regiment you're looking to join. I was in the Royal Logistics Corps for a number of years. Got my HGV C and C+E licenses as well as basic truck maintenance and DROPS operator. Obviously the licenses have a use in civvy life as a fall back. If I stayed a bit longer I'd have got my bike license but unfortunately work commitments resulted in me giving it up.

NACRO

We ask too much from our TA soldiers - Telegraph

'TA Soldiers Not Fit Enough To Fight In Iraq' |Sky News|UK News

Socialist Review

MFAW Online - Army 'covers up' soldier deaths

Ta Boys Take On The Taliban (from Oxford Mail)

War blamed as 6,000 quit Territorial Army - Sunday Times - Times Online

IMO it would be best to wait until after this war to join up then you get the free camping and skiing trips without the risk of spending 3 months hiding from AK47 and motor fire in a sun blasted desert.

If you do choose to join then at least you can't say you weren't warned.

SJ_Skyline

You run a very REAL chance of being killed in a combat zone. IMHO that's not worth it.

174 British troops killed to date in Iraq.
87 British troops killed to date in Afghanistan.

Abdabz

I would go fellwalking and paintballing instead and not sign up to be blown up by a roadside bomb in illegal wars...

bibo_boy

Don't listen the tree huggers that say that qoute "illegal war" or some other cr@p!

They're lucking they are allowed to live in a country that doesn't kill them or their family for saying that.

People in the armed forces are just doing there job and deserve the thanks and praise that they chose to do it.....

YouTube - Awesome Military Commercial

bibo_boy

I've been in the Ta for over 6 years and have friends that have died as the victim of IED's.....

I'd still go right now if I was asked and be proud to do it.

BTW, Joining the TA, doesn't give you a one way ticket to Iraq.... Actually all mobilisation is voluntary....

RANT OVER

NACRO

It is an illegal war and yes you are correct we are lucky we live in a place where we can express that point of view. I get the feeling you would rather the opposite was the case however.

bibo_boy

PMSL....

You can say what you want That's the good thing about living here.

Illegal war ?

NACRO

The Iraq invasion was illegal and contravened the UN charter.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq war illegal, says Annan

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal | Iraq | Guardian Unlimited

Links to Opinions of Legality of War Against Iraq

etc etc etc

Maybe you'd be better informing yourself before making accusations of stupidity. From here it looks as if you are the one conforming to that definition.

bibo_boy

Have you actually ready those?

If you had, you'd know the "whole" story and not the opinion of one person?

I'll ask you another question.... have you ever worked with the UN?

If you had, you'd know what type of organisation they are.

bibo_boy

BTW, I can cut and paste some links if you want........

These may explain the type of people involved in the sorry situation!

SJ_Skyline

So marching into another country and removing their government by force because you don't agree with it is ok by you?

bibo_boy

Tell that to the towns folk in halabja?

Halabja - Never forget Halabja 88

Regardless of religion or politics... some things cannot be tollerated.

SetoN

Sadam was an unstable leader that has killed thousands of his own people. That type of leader goes against everything this country and the UN are trying to work towards. We should have finnished the job in the first gulf war.

The world has one less tyrant leader. Lets move on to the next.


SetoN

Brendan Hughes

A War Crime Or an Act of War? - New York Times

SJ_Skyline

So you're suggesting that we continue along this course and remove the likes of Kim Jong Il, Robert Mugabe and Omar Hassan al-Bashir?

Who says that your point of view is right? Who or what gives you the moral authority to say what's right or wrong? The UN exists to provide a diplomatic channel to solutions rather than countries arbitrarily taking action against others, it has been belittled by the actions of individuals and events of the past few years.

Leslie

What do you mean by tree huggers etc. The attack on Iraq was indeed illegal, it was not sanctioned by the Security Council And billy liar and his mates spent long enough telling us lies and cooking the so called Dossier and the intelligence as an excuse to attack Iraq with the USA for his own selfish reasons. As well as driving Dr Kelly to his death for speaking the truth! This country now is a a major target for terrorists just because of that. How much of the taxpayers' money has been squandered on this ill fated adventure and how many of our own soldiers have been killed as well as the many thousands of innocent Iraqis and the destruction of that country. Regime changs is not a legal excuse for attacking a country and anyway that excuse was only used in desperation after the war.

Before you accuse me of being a tree hugger, you should remember that I had a full career in the Armed Services.

Les

billythekid

Jamjar, unless its something you really want to do I would say no, and my main reason for saying dont do it is down to the support and training you will get. Its not enough. Previous campaigns that have involved the TA have been more old school open theatre war. The war in the sandbox is very much an Urban war, and this is only second worst to jungle warfare (IMHO). Unless you have a specialist skill and are able to join via a UKSF then I would not bother. You would also need a lot of time and a very understanding employer.

Another option to consider is the specials.

SetoN

Murder is wrong, If i was the only one to think that it wouldnt be agaist the law would it. People like you make me mad. I bet you were one of the first to say, "we should have helped that poor women from Ghana out, not deport her".

You can not run a country in this day and age and expect the world to sit back and watch you kill thousands of people. It will not happen. We sent NATO and UN troops into African countrys when they were killing each other, so we should do the same to the middle east.

He was a dangerous man who hated the west, and WOMD or no WOMD i dont care. We still should have took him out of power.

War takes a long time. When Iraq's future is begining to look good maybe we will move into the next country and set down our demands and what will happen if they dont meet them.

I would move into Zimbabwe next and whipe that smug grin of that **** mugabe's face

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

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.

Geezer

You run a very REAL chance of dying in a car accident if you drive. So don't drive!

The odds of being killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are very slim. Hell, the odds of getting killed in WWII on the allied side were about about 10 to 1, and that was a real war!

Personally I wouldn't go, but let's not scaremonger eh?

Geezer

NACRO

It's a fact you've participated in an illegal war and in my opinion that makes you a war criminal.

As far as the contention that you have to participate in something to have an opinion, sadly I have participated being a citizen of a criminal country. Despite my being vehemently opposed to it from the beginning I guess I have some responsibility for it as well.

Partly the reason I speak out against it at every opportunity and rub the noses of people like 'biboboy' in their own ignorance. It's a fact the war was illegal, denying it or decrying the UN doesn't change that.

PS I despise the so called independent and the grauniad.

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

The fact that you fail to understand the relationship between the British Public, the British Government, and the British Armed Forces, in my opinion, makes you an idiot, so the feelings mutual

NACRO

I haven't stated the opinion that you're an idiot, there is no feeling to be mutual.

I also have a very good understanding of the nature of the relationship.

It something like this

Government is the executive of power. It uses various tools to manipulate the population. One of these tools is the army. If needs be they will be used against the population to maintain order. If political expediency dictates it they will be used to further the political and economic ambitions of the state.
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.

andythejock01wrx

Me too ! Was fun for a bit. Has to be said the TA is viewed differently by HM Govt now compared to 10 years ago. In the first Iraq War it was mainly medical staff in the TA being called up, now the chances are that if you're in any TA unit you will go there or to Afghanistan (which is fair enough).

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

All I saw there was a bunch of Socalist Worker derived nonsense. No wonder you don't like those Right-wing fascists at the Independent and Guardian.

NACRO

Shame you don't have the ability to argue your point and prefer to just dismiss someone else's viewpoint as nonsense. Still I guess that's why you have a career in the army.

For the record I think the socialist worker party are a bunch of *****