Few questions about the MT Driver role...

[Mark6597]

Hi, I'm 16 and I hope to join RAF when I leave college. I've been looking around the web for information about the MT Driver role but there isn't much out there and not all my questions have been answered, the RAF website does not give enough information about the role in my opinion. So here's a few of my questions:

• Do MT Driver's see much combat in places such as Afghanistan and other war zones?
• Do MT's drive vehicles such as the Jackal or Jeeps for the RAF Regiment or even the Army while on a mission?
• What do they do on a day to day basis while based in the UK?
• Do you rank up fast or slow as an MT Driver?
• Do you usually travel in convoys or alone?

Thank you :smile:

 

[FOMz]

Hi, I'm 16 and I hope to join RAF when I leave college. I've been looking around the web for information about the MT Driver role but there isn't much out there and not all my questions have been answered, the RAF website does not give enough information about the role in my opinion. So here's a few of my questions:

• Do MT Driver's see much combat in places such as Afghanistan and other war zones?
• Do MT's drive vehicles such as the Jackal or Jeeps for the RAF Regiment or even the Army while on a mission?
• What do they do on a day to day basis while based in the UK?
• Do you rank up fast or slow as an MT Driver?
• Do you usually travel in convoys or alone?

Thank you :smile:

1. MT drivers don't see 'combat' they are drivers, not soldiers.
2. No
3. Depends on where you are employed. Could be driving a bus, a fuel bowser or a 4 tonner.
4. From memory, promotion is slow.
5. Depends on the job, I've seen them do both.

There may be a door slammer lurking who may be able to give you more gen.

 

[muttywhitedog]

Hi, I'm 16 and I hope to join RAF when I leave college. I've been looking around the web for information about the MT Driver role but there isn't much out there and not all my questions have been answered, the RAF website does not give enough information about the role in my opinion. So here's a few of my questions:

• Do MT Driver's see much combat in places such as Afghanistan and other war zones?
• Do MT's drive vehicles such as the Jackal or Jeeps for the RAF Regiment or even the Army while on a mission?
• What do they do on a day to day basis while based in the UK?
• Do you rank up fast or slow as an MT Driver?
• Do you usually travel in convoys or alone?

Thank you :smile:

Although I'm not a driver, I work with 150 of them. My first question would be "Can you aspire to something better"? MT is one (if not the) lowest scoring entry in the aptitude test. However, in answer to your questions:

1. Yes, they go to Afghan, but they do not go outside the wire. They look after the vehicles inside the base (Think "Hertz office").
2. No. If you want to drive those, then join the army or the RAF Regt.
3. They drive from A to B. Take people to airports in cars, minibuses, and sometimes coaches. If you end up on 2MT Sqn (you will at some stage), then you'll drive a big truck (Think Eddie Stobart).
4. Promotion is quite quick at the moment, largely due to a lot of people leaving.
5. Mainly on your own. Even on 2MT, there are very few large convoys.

Good luck with your application, but if you can - aim higher!

 

[bigtrev952]

As an ex mtd !

The answer is: depends to where you are posted, after your first posting what you apply to do within the trade. 1st posting is normally your grounding doing airport runs, freight runs to other units and crew driver on squadrons.
As your time in service grows, your skills do. I was a heavy aircraft tug operator, crane operator as a corporal then became more of an administrator as the years went by and as I went up the ranks.

As for going outside the wire, depends on your job.

As an mtd on a regiment squadron, yep I was a driver but had to be able to do a combat fitness test and do my bit as part of a machine gun crew and trained to do it.

In the 1st gulf war I operated in the desert refuelling and there was no wire.

In the second gulf war, raf trucks worked for the army as they could not move ammunition in sufficient amounts without the raf articulated trucks. Some were attached to the scots guards moving fuel and ammo. And followed all the way to Baghdad shot at by Iraqi and Americans !!

The locals around basrah after the war used to take pot shots at the fuel convoy tankers, which is an interesting experience when the fuel in the tank is already hotter than its flashpoint !

If you are a clever lad and have a good education go for an aircraft trade with skills you can transfer when you leave.

I had a good career of 30 years and have done well since I left.

Mtd wise though the only time it's a uniform post now is if it's a deployable post. Ie Falklands, afghan etc. once you have done your training you will deploy within a year and will then pretty much every eighteen months.

If its not a deployable post it's manned by a contractor or civil servant driver.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mark6597]

Although I'm not a driver, I work with 150 of them. My first question would be "Can you aspire to something better"? MT is one (if not the) lowest scoring entry in the aptitude test. However, in answer to your questions:

1. Yes, they go to Afghan, but they do not go outside the wire. They look after the vehicles inside the base (Think "Hertz office").
2. No. If you want to drive those, then join the army or the RAF Regt.
3. They drive from A to B. Take people to airports in cars, minibuses, and sometimes coaches. If you end up on 2MT Sqn (you will at some stage), then you'll drive a big truck (Think Eddie Stobart).
4. Promotion is quite quick at the moment, largely due to a lot of people leaving.
5. Mainly on your own. Even on 2MT, there are very few large convoys.

Good luck with your application, but if you can - aim higher!

Thanks for the info! I'm not just aiming for MT Driver, I'm open to lots of roles and I have 2 years to decide. I just wanted some extra information because the RAF website doesn't go too in depth on the role. The Intelligence Analyst role looks very interesting, I might even look at Intelligence Officer depending on how well I do on my A-level's.