Gen Tech Mech

[Gapjohn]

Not really sure if this is the right place to be looking really Too many trade nicknames...I'm in the middle of my application process, AST and selection interview done, more to come. I'm looking for any Gen Tech Mechs currently serving to tell me the best, and worst bits of the job, any thing I should know for my trade interview, anything that would impress my recruting officer? Whats St Athan like? How many intakes a year to St Athan? Going to be there (hopefully) for 18 months, along with my wife/kids, so reviews of married quarters would be useful too. Thanks in advance

 

[Temet Nosce]

Not really sure if this is the right place to be looking really Too many trade nicknames...I'm in the middle of my application process, AST and selection interview done, more to come. I'm looking for any Gen Tech Mechs currently serving to tell me the best, and worst bits of the job, any thing I should know for my trade interview, anything that would impress my recruting officer? Whats St Athan like? How many intakes a year to St Athan? Going to be there (hopefully) for 18 months, along with my wife/kids, so reviews of married quarters would be useful too. Thanks in advance

St Athan is a bit of a hole, the quarters aren't to bad but watch out for car crime, the quarters get targetted every now and then. As a Lecky can't really advise you on trade so much but any signs of being eager to learn and willing to work hard to adavnce through the ranks will go down well. One thing you could say is that you are looking forward to working on a vast amount of equipment and working throughout the world. If you want more detail I'll help you as much as I can. Best of luck fella.

 

[snakepliskin]

im a 12 year served fitter who was assimilated and has been stuck in gef for the past year. If your joining the trade to be a car mechanic, be prepared to be stuck servicing jacks and ladders.
best bits of the trade for me is the dets you get, im at leeming and attatched to 90 su so get to go away all the time, we have lads in paris this week and apparantly there is a 2 month det in cypress coming up shortly.
the only bad part of the trade for me is being in gef, i joined as a car mechanic and the only time i get to go over mtms is when i brake test a feps.
st athen is poop, food is bad and accomodation is worse but since your in quarters you will be ok. im there in feb/mar time on my tmt 1 and 2 so have the joys of it all over again.

 

[Bignick]

im a 12 year served fitter who was assimilated and has been stuck in gef for the past year. If your joining the trade to be a car mechanic, be prepared to be stuck servicing jacks and ladders.
best bits of the trade for me is the dets you get, im at leeming and attatched to 90 su so get to go away all the time, we have lads in paris this week and apparantly there is a 2 month det in cypress coming up shortly.
the only bad part of the trade for me is being in gef, i joined as a car mechanic and the only time i get to go over mtms is when i brake test a feps.

I'm a 26yr served GSE fitter who was a motor mechanic before joining and absolutely did not want to join as an MT tech despite being fully qualified to do so. Imagine my annoyance when I was forced to assimilate with them and listen to them whine incessantly about how they were hard done by when joining up with our 'inferior' trade. Of course they were more than happy to take on all the cool dets that they were previously excluded from, such as 'cypress' or even Cyprus, and bitched at us when we weren't uber quick in completing our x500 so we can take on their myriad of $hit 4 month dets. It's horses for courses at the end of the day.

In answer to the OP: you have made an excellent choice of trades, the range of equipment you will be maintaining is vast and whatever you decide to do in the future your GTM trade background will serve you well. The training is excellent at the moment, and the trained man is of higher quality than either the MT Tech or the Gen Tech GSE he replaced. Only risk at the moment is that you will not be doing 18 months training anymore! I think it will be more like 14 months by the time you join up thanks to efficiency savings (read money savings)

enjoy!

 

[wench02]

This is what I have applied for... Looks really good; I am really hoping i get in!

 

[Toffee-Scouser]

for what it's worth, food at Saints has gotten better recently

 

[Gapjohn]

This is what I have applied for... Looks really good; I am really hoping i get in!

Wench02, where are you up to with your application? Got a start date yet? I have my fitness tomorrow, so looking at next Spring if all goes well...

 

[wench02]

Start date...

Start date...

I have medical, and all being well fitness this week. Have you been told a start date of spring?

 

[Gapjohn]

no won't get one til my fitness is out of the way, just the kind of time scale I'm looking at, wouldn't like to have to wait much longer

 

[wench02]

Ll hood luck, I appeared to have developed a lovely cough and cold to help me along with medical and fitness. How nice

 

[MQ-9 Reaper]

Married Quarters

Married Quarters

Not really sure if this is the right place to be looking really Too many trade nicknames...I'm in the middle of my application process, AST and selection interview done, more to come. I'm looking for any Gen Tech Mechs currently serving to tell me the best, and worst bits of the job, any thing I should know for my trade interview, anything that would impress my recruting officer? Whats St Athan like? How many intakes a year to St Athan? Going to be there (hopefully) for 18 months, along with my wife/kids, so reviews of married quarters would be useful too. Thanks in advance

BE CAREFULL when requesting a married quarter at St Athan. I was there for 18 months as a trainee and got put in one of the tiny crappy quarters on WEST side of the camp. The camp itself is now spilt in two, East side is the RAF Training side, the nice quarters are outside the wire on this side and is where all the instructors live(and for good reason, the houses are a hundred times better). The west side is now mainly army and this is where they WILL put a trainee unless you specify street names on the married quarter application form and it is a right trek across the airfield every morning to work! My advice, arrive at St Athan unaccompanied for the first week or so and live in the block, ask the instructors to show you where the married quarters are on that side of camp and walk around them looking for empty ones. Put down the house number and street of all three of your choices on the form.... if they are empty and within your entitlement, they have to accomodate you!

 

[Gapjohn]

Fitness done now all pleased, good luck with yours this week Which afco you going through?

 

[Gapjohn]

BE CAREFULL when requesting a married quarter at St Athan. I was there for 18 months as a trainee and got put in one of the tiny crappy quarters on WEST side of the camp. The camp itself is now spilt in two, East side is the RAF Training side, the nice quarters are outside the wire on this side and is where all the instructors live(and for good reason, the houses are a hundred times better). The west side is now mainly army and this is where they WILL put a trainee unless you specify street names on the married quarter application form and it is a right trek across the airfield every morning to work! My advice, arrive at St Athan unaccompanied for the first week or so and live in the block, ask the instructors to show you where the married quarters are on that side of camp and walk around them looking for empty ones. Put down the house number and street of all three of your choices on the form.... if they are empty and within your entitlement, they have to accomodate you!

Nice, this sounds like solid advice, cheers buddy

 

[ruckus1969]

Gef

Gef

I have done 22 years firstly as a Gen Tech GSE then as a Gen Tech M. The only reason the trades were merged was to save money! Both sides of the house MTMS and GSES have a lot to offer in terms of job satisfaction, what is spoiling it now is the constant bitching by both sides about the now joint trade. Remember the job can easily be done by civilians as was the case at St Athan and is the case at Lossiemouth. If you don't like the job as it is now - then get out! Good luck to you new guys joining up and enjoy the job whether it's fixing a step ladder, RHAG or changing a tyre or out inspecting a fire truck. The pays the same.

 

[Very Heavy very Humble]

maybe LOX plants too?

 

[bawbagjambo]

GTMs would work if we get all the correct courses to do the job, i.e. RBT, VI, MFVs. I have done my RBT and VI course (during my ETSC pt2) but wasn't awarded the q because i wasn't x500. They won't send me on the course again thats the bit that annoys me

 

[Gapjohn]

GTMs would work if we get all the correct courses to do the job, i.e. RBT, VI, MFVs. I have done my RBT and VI course (during my ETSC pt2) but wasn't awarded the q because i wasn't x500. They won't send me on the course again thats the bit that annoys me

I have no idea what any of this means!!DT_Xtremez_31: Too many acronyms DT_Xtremez_07:

 

[MQ-9 Reaper]

I have no idea what any of this means!!DT_Xtremez_31: Too many acronyms DT_Xtremez_07:

are you at St Athan now?

 

[Gapjohn]

Nope, not even in Halton yet.....still waiting on a date for PRTC....only been 2 months so far, not like some people who've been waiting five months

 

[Martin Blank]

Tranch 2 redundancies includes 5 Sgt's and 35 Cpl's on the Gen Tech M trade, a visit from manning informed us that there is now trickle flow recruitment in operation for our trade.
There WILL be courses but in the mean time stay fit healthy and ready for the call.