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31 years old

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Steve H

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Hi all

I'm 31 years old, married with 2 kids and another on the way and i have a mortgage. I really want to join the RAF regiment as a gunner and was wondering if their are others who have joined up in a similar situation? what is the pay for someone in my position? When basic training is complete would i be able to be posted near my family in Cirencester Gloucestershire? My wife and i have discussed me being sent to Afghan or Iraq and the things that could mean. How often are you able to phone home?
I also read some where about people not being allowed to join due to financial circumstances, but can't find it again?
Would joining the RauxAF be of any help to me?
 
Sorry to be brief but we have had a glut of people asking questions that are easily researchable on the public domain.

Answers:-

Yes.
About 16.6k after one year.
Very Very unlikely.
Normally daily.
It can depending on the seriousness of it.
Possible but not necessary.

Hope that helps
 
sorry about that, i just found what i was looking for in another thread.:PDT_Xtremez_21:
Also i didn't mean being posted next door to my wife and kids. i meant within a reasonable radius (100miles ish!)
 
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As a gunner LAC your first tour would be on a Regiment Sqn, you can see from their locations you will struggle to get close to home. Other trades will differ massively.
 
The missus and kids will have to move then! Can you still get service family accommodation even if you own a house that would be rented out?
 
Think about it

Think about it

I don't want to put you off Regt Gnr but you need to be aware of what will be expected of you and what you can expect.

You will join up on a salary of £13,000 ish for your 1st 6 months, you asked about financial problems, the odd loan and credit card is not normally a problem, IVA, CCJ or Bankruptcy are problems, and you must be able to survive on a salary of £13,000 for 6 months.

If you join as a Regt Gnr you will undergo 29 weeks of pretty intense training, whilst you will not be remitted to work every weekend you will find that the chances of you getting the opportunity to travel from Suffolk to Cirencester will be limited.

If you join the RAuxAF your nearest unit is (and I'm sure I'll get corrected if I'm wrong) at Brize Norton 501 Sqn I think and whilst this isn't too far your home when you get mobilised you will spend about 3/4 months with a regular Sqn before going abroad, Sqns which as you know are not so close.

At the end of the day if it's right for you go for it.

Good luck.
 
Steve H said:
The missus and kids will have to move then! Can you still get service family accommodation even if you own a house that would be rented out?
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As a newly qualified Gunner you will be posted to one of 4 bases, Honington in Suffolk (1 Sqn, II Sqn, 15 Sqn and 27 Sqn), Wittering in Cambridgeshire (3 Sqn), Leeming in North Yorkshire (34 Sqn) or Lossiemouth in Scotlandshire (51 Sqn). Which one of those locations will be determined by which Sqn is next to go out of area. You can get married quarters which rental wise are a lot cheaper than your own mortgage which, if you rent out your own house will save you a bit of money. I rejoined the RAF as a Gunner last year aged 37 (i previously did 12 years as a Gunner) and I live in quarters at Leeming and I rent out my own house.

As has been said by Busby during the Trainee Gunner course you will only get about 3 weekends off, the first one being about 4 1/2 weeks into the course and the next not till about week 16 (if you are lucky).

Bear in mind that an out of area tour will last 6-7 months and within 6 months of arriving on your Sqn you will be away on tour. You will then spend about 12 months back in the UK before you go again. Even on an RAuxAF Sqn you can be attached to a regular Sqn and spend a similar amount of time away.

Hope all this helps
 
Thanks for the information guys, being away for that length of time is going to be difficult but if it is what it takes then so be it, I have discussed this with my wife. Living on that sort of money would be really hard for 6 months, i would have to come up with a sound financial plan to get my family through, but its not impossible. Is it still £13000 if your in officer training? as i have the qualifications to try for officer. Also, you say that you get time off during training if your "lucky"??
 
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Steve H said:
Thanks for the information guys, being away for that length of time is going to be difficult but if it is what it takes then so be it, I have discussed this with my wife. Living on that sort of money would be really hard for 6 months, i would have to come up with a sound financial plan to get my family through, but its not impossible. Is it still £13000 if your in officer training? as i have the qualifications to try for officer. Also, you say that you get time off during training if your "lucky"??
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Pay for officer cadets starts at just under 15k on level 1 and goes up to just over 16k on level 2 so a couple of grand more than airman pay. As for why I said you had to be lucky to get the weekends off, well it is up to the training staff based upon the performance of the training flt. There have been courses that have not had ANY weekends off due to being complete biffs.

Bear in mind though that officer training is much longer than airman training so you will be away from your family for much longer.
 
You need to weigh up the pro's and cons for firstly joining the RAF then becoming a Gunner. If you decide the first is for you but not the second there are many other trades you could think about where the training is much shorter and the posting opportunities are greater.

Only you will know if you can dedicate yourself to the cause, the RAF is not just for Christmas !!!:PDT_Xtremez_40:
 
ha ha, I've been thinking about it for about 10 years, if I'm going to do it i need to get my arse in gear and do it now before i get too old, too fat and too ugly ( not necessarily in that order).
 
Steve H said:
ha ha, I've been thinking about it for about 10 years, if I'm going to do it i need to get my arse in gear and do it now before i get too old, too fat and too ugly ( not necessarily in that order).
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If you are that indecisive you will make a great officer!!

I all seriousness you need to know what you want to do before you make you application, you the 3 main streams are Officer, Airman Crew or Airman. If you decide to go for Airman then its a simple case of deciding what trade suits you and your family best. That includes how much time you expect to be away from home (this is where the goat can help) What sort of jobs have you been ding for the last 15 years?

If you finally decide to go for Gunner good luck! I would never recommend it to a family man unless you have a great knowledge about the job/life and you are 100% sure its right for you.
 
I've had long running problems with my eldest child with which ment i couldn't leave her, but now thats changed and i can start thinking about my own life. I spent 8 years managing a busy town pub and the rest was as a large offset printing press minder. I never really considered joining as an officer as i thought it would be difficult giving orders to people a lot younger than me with twice the experience?
 
Steve H said:
I've had long running problems with my eldest child with which ment i couldn't leave her, but now thats changed and i can start thinking about my own life. I spent 8 years managing a busy town pub and the rest was as a large offset printing press minder. I never really considered joining as an officer as i thought it would be difficult giving orders to people a lot younger than me with twice the experience?
Click to expand...

Age has no relevance on orders, provided you have the right caliber your training would be sufficient for you to cope with the rest.
 
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