Advice on becoming a reservist

[rob111]

Hello,

First off, my situation. I'm 27, degree educated, decent employment but contract and flexible to move and may do so in the next year or so. I'm located in Shropshire.

Ive been to my local AFCO and whilst useful the info wasn't very accurate about what roles are open etc.

Im generally interested in policing and intelligence roles (I'm open to persuasion) Whilst I know they exist in the other forces the RAF has always appealed most. I was also interested in going for officer roles but have now been told they do not recruit inexperienced officers into reserves.

Now my my other problem is that being in Shropshire I'm along way from any reserve units except for Cosford which is not recruiting for policing.

Therefore my my question is, is it worth travelling for a reserve role or even possible? Is it easy to change units if you move? And generally any advice as to who to contact?

Many thanks

 

[Stevienics]

Whilst they do not recruit directly, I am pretty sure that Int is one of those branches from which you can commission after some phase 2 training has been completed (I went through ROIT with a few). These are based all over, but seem to be Woodvale (Liverpool and closest) Wyton, Waddington, Marham and Northolt based Sqns. It's a bit of a haul but not too onerous from Shropshire, especially as it's just once a month. Cosford is just for Loggies, as is Wittering. Note that as for any trade, you can P2 train at non-service establishment Sqns, especially Int. At some point you will spend a lot of time on the road travelling to active units anyway.

The CIO's are probably the least equipped people to recruit reserves - they act like car dealers being asked to flog wiper blades. Your first port of call is the interweb. Its all on the MOD website and on there are all the locations and Sqns, which is why i wont insult your intelligence by giving you a link or all the names. Call the units and ask for a visit - they're very accommodating.

 

[Mag2grid]

Whilst they do not recruit directly, I am pretty sure that Int is one of those branches from which you can commission after some phase 2 training has been completed (I went through ROIT with a few). These are based all over, but seem to be Woodvale (Liverpool and closest) Wyton, Waddington, Marham and Northolt based Sqns. It's a bit of a haul but not too onerous from Shropshire, especially as it's just once a month. Cosford is just for Loggies, as is Wittering. Note that as for any trade, you can P2 train at non-service establishment Sqns, especially Int. At some point you will spend a lot of time on the road travelling to active units anyway.

The CIO's are probably the least equipped people to recruit reserves - they act like car dealers being asked to flog wiper blades. Your first port of call is the interweb. Its all on the MOD website and on there are all the locations and Sqns, which is why i wont insult your intelligence by giving you a link or all the names. Call the units and ask for a visit - they're very accommodating.

As as been said you'll need to be phase 2 qualified before you can commission with no previous commissioned experience, plus 2 SJARS ( annual reports) recommending you for a commission. Depending on trade thats4 years from walking through the doors to applying to OASC.

 

[Wobbly_Jon]

Hello,

First off, my situation. I'm 27, degree educated, decent employment but contract and flexible to move and may do so in the next year or so. I'm located in Shropshire.

Ive been to my local AFCO and whilst useful the info wasn't very accurate about what roles are open etc.

Im generally interested in policing and intelligence roles (I'm open to persuasion) Whilst I know they exist in the other forces the RAF has always appealed most. I was also interested in going for officer roles but have now been told they do not recruit inexperienced officers into reserves.

Now my my other problem is that being in Shropshire I'm along way from any reserve units except for Cosford which is not recruiting for policing.

Therefore my my question is, is it worth travelling for a reserve role or even possible? Is it easy to change units if you move? And generally any advice as to who to contact?

Many thanks

If you're interested in the dark and dirty workings of the Int world then contact HQ Int Reserves at Waddington, they deal with 7006 (VR) and 7010 (VR) Sqdn's. I don't know where 7006 work but 7010 work out of Marham and Wyton depending on whether it's Tac Recce or not. As for travel, I used to travel from the Lake District to Coltishall (Norwich area) and latterly to Marham (Kings Lynn area) so a jog from Shropshire isn't exactly a major expedition. Come to think of it I think there was a guy from 7010 who worked out of Wyton used to travel from Shropshire too, not sure if he's still around though.

 

[rob111]

Thanks chaps, feeling a bit more enthusiastic now after constantly seeming to reach dead ends. I will contact Waddington to find out more and hopefully go and visit.

If I were to look at the policing route would you recommend the same course of action? Generally people have been less enthusiastic about policing?

Many thanks