Soon to be posted to first unit....

[YORKSHIRE LAD]

Evenin all,

I'm currently mid way through my supply training at Halton and am giving serious thought to my 'preferred' first unit. I am well aware that I may not get my choice however thought you guys could still give me some assistance! DT_Xtremez_26:

My question to the floor is what stations, and sections have you found the most interesting in your careers (the job it self, social side & sport?) What sections have allowed you the most chance of travel?

I’ve been told about various parts of the supply trade though flight staff, reading this website & fellow suppliers but am very interested to know your opinions!

Hope you can find time in between stacking to help! Looking forward to your posts! DT_Xtremez_42:

Cheers guys!

 

[441staines]

Best jobs

Best jobs

Fuels, without a doubt in my humble opinion, and I dont mean TSW. However, in these man strapped times I doubt if you will get a choice when you arrive at your first unit, it wiil all depend on where the slots are and who's shouting the loudest.
Hope you enjoy it anyway.

 

[RAF Bird]

Evenin all,

I'm currently mid way through my supply training at Halton and am giving serious thought to my 'preferred' first unit. I am well aware that I may not get my choice however thought you guys could still give me some assistance! DT_Xtremez_26:

My question to the floor is what stations, and sections have you found the most interesting in your careers (the job it self, social side & sport?) What sections have allowed you the most chance of travel?

I’ve been told about various parts of the supply trade though flight staff, reading this website & fellow suppliers but am very interested to know your opinions!

Hope you can find time in between stacking to help! Looking forward to your posts! DT_Xtremez_42:

Cheers guys!

Mate, if it's travel your after get yourself to Benson or Odiham on MSF/PEP cell whatever they call it there. Plenty of chance of travel, not always to hot and sandy... sometimes it's even to cold and snowy!!

 

[Tin basher]

What do YOU want to do?? Had a mate once who always limited his preferred choices to units with a bowling alley. To him that was the most important thing, not bothered what job he did at any particular place just that it had a bowling alley. Back to the start really what do YOU want to do??

 

[YORKSHIRE LAD]

Hey up Guys,

Thanks for your replys so far. To elaborate a little more on my position i'm 24 with no current attachements or other worries back home (She ran away with the milkman!DT_Xtremez_26 so traveling and see 'The world' is certainly something i'm looking forward to.

I would also say i'm currently more interested in the physical side of the job than the office based side!

Any other old hands that can shed some light?

Cheers

 

[scooterboy]

Mate, I agree with RAF BIRD on this one. If travelling is your thing a MSF would be good depending what unit it your posted to,but you might be lucky enough (after you have done your TATS) to get a squadron stores post which as I remember they always try to take their own supplier with them,this might have changed though,it has been a while since I was a Sqn Supplier. Im sure many people will disagree with me when I say that TSW is the best job in supply but that is only my opinion, so if you want a physical job which is both demanding and rewarding you might think of applying for the Wing,not sure if you have to have done so many years before you can apply but Im sure some kind soul from TG18 will put you right on this one. End of the day mate its what you make of it so enjoy.

 

[IPT Scales God]

Hey up Guys,

Thanks for your replys so far. To elaborate a little more on my position i'm 24 with no current attachements or other worries back home (She ran away with the milkman!DT_Xtremez_26 so traveling and see 'The world' is certainly something i'm looking forward to.

I would also say i'm currently more interested in the physical side of the job than the office based side!

Any other old hands that can shed some light?

Cheers

Mate if its physical and travel you want.....My slant would have to be towards TSW......but only if your planning on staying single for a bit, its not a married mans job in my eyes.......I did it as a single guy and loved it..................but it wont do your Supply career any good to stay there to long......

 

[scooterboy]

IPT,your right mate it is defo a single persons job,even more now they have taken over down south. I loved my time on the wing even the 6 week tours at BBK.

 

[IPT Scales God]

Hey up Guys,

Thanks for your replys so far. To elaborate a little more on my position i'm 24 with no current attachements or other worries back home (She ran away with the milkman!DT_Xtremez_26 so traveling and see 'The world' is certainly something i'm looking forward to.

I would also say i'm currently more interested in the physical side of the job than the office based side!

Any other old hands that can shed some light?

Cheers

IPT,your right mate it is defo a single persons job,even more now they have taken over down south. I loved my time on the wing even the 6 week tours at BBK.

even Pre-NI was fun.....and the place in north Wales were TSW set up on the Rugby pitches....Oh and otterburn ranges.....the list could go on and on......lol

 

[scooterboy]

Oh happy days DT_Xtremez_14:

 

[wingmong]

Dont think TSW are still down south.....but great job but don't be fooled by the slightly green people, all we do is fill up choppers and sometimes with the engines running too!!!

 

[scooterboy]

HA HA, Dont be so modest.

 

[Deano8123]

I would defo go for a unit with a MSF/MMS OR PEP Cell. so LYN, BZN, ODI OR BEN.

I did two stints on MSF at lyneham and got to goto some awesome places with that section. Mainly the States, Canada and Afghan but also too some places i thought i'd never end up like Pakistan, Norway and Bosnia.

TSW is also good for travel but more your hot and sandy dets!!

As far as social I think most people would agree that each camp would have a hald decent social side (not as good as before) some better than others. Just up to you how much you get involved in it!! Ie Rugby clubs, Familys clubs and Eng Bars.

Hope that helps fella!!

Cheers

Deano!!


I want in!!!!!!!

 

[RAF Bird]

Boys boys boys you cant get posted to TSW from training, you have to be an SAC to go there. I can only echo the others posts on that... it's a bloody good job (some say the best kept secret in Supply) and defo a single persons job. Hope you enjoy whatever you get.

 

[441staines]

Newjob

Newjob

Think twice and hard about TSW, all this lot harp on about the good times but they neglect to mention the hours hanging around the crew room being given gash jobs to keep you busy, cleaning tents and being stiffed for things like the Stafford Show and more lastminute.com jobs that come up, and as far as travel is concerned the Army use a hell of a lot of training areas in the UK which are'nt that glamorous.
For travel I would suggest MSF, you might have to do some UK exercises before you go abroad, but the experience you gain there will prepare you for when you do go overseas and the lines of communication are stretched. I still say F&L is the best, especially if you dont want to be in doors all day, theres plenty of humping and dumping to be done as well.
Good luck

 

[Redundancy please]

Not sure if they allow LACs anywhere near MSF, normally for people who earned it??? If you wanna travel, try a bigger Unit that can absorb you being away on expeds etc more often than the smaller Units.

 

[Schmit]

Grad

Grad

All MSFs are good but first you need to get through the rest of your course and get through RAF PAINTHORPE! I hear the instructors are real hard nosed bast***s there and recourse your ass!!

Good luck

 

[BJW]

Within reason it hardly matters where you go or what job you are put into, you will always look back on your first posting as the place where you made the best mates and had the best time.

As you are likely to spend the first 12 months or so getting up to Operational Performance Standard you will be moving around all of the sections in the sqn, make your choice after that.

 

[rackrat]

Not sure if they allow LACs anywhere near MSF, normally for people who earned it??? If you wanna travel, try a bigger Unit that can absorb you being away on expeds etc more often than the smaller Units.

Not sure how but my first job after training as an LAC was at MSF at Brize, but there wasnt much travel with that just lots of digging through peps all day, everyday.
(did get a trip to luechars out of it but that was the oonly time I went away with MSF)

 

[The Helpful Stacker]

Boys boys boys you cant get posted to TSW from training, you have to be an SAC to go there.

I was posted to TSW as an LAC. RAF Locking, where I was based at the time, was drawing-down for closure and TSW were desperate for bodies.

I left RAF Locking, marched into Hornell Block at RAF Stafford, unpacked my stuff, hung about the t-bar for a bit and then a week latter, after being promoted to the dizzy heights of SAC by OC TSW, I was back at RAF Halton for my BT2 course which had been brought forward so that I could be 'official'.

The fact I was a 'wing mong', and a sprog one to boot, meant that JJ treated me with utter contempt during the course...... (memories of hateful feelings towards the man arise from deep within....).

Anyway, back to the question.

I'd recommend for a first unit somewhere not too big, because otherwise you are just another number and you'll end up having a whistle stop series of movements around the areas you need to go to in order to tick the boxes, then you'll be dumped in tech stores or SCAF for a few years until you learn which are the right backsides to kiss in order to move somewhere better.

Unfortunately big units such as Brize have more suppliers so there is a good chance you'll end up there anyway.

Personally, if I were doing it again and hadn't enjoyed the units I went through as much as I did I'd ask for somewhere like Leeming, Waddington (very popular) or Odiham. Medium sized units that aren't a million miles from civilisation but have small enough supply orgainsations that you can get to know more than one area but large enough that there is still some movement between sections rather than dead man's shoes.

As for TSW. It was the best 6 years I spent in the RAF. Yes there is a fair bit of maintenance, cleaning, training etc to do when you aren't deployed away but the purpose of this is to make it easier for you and your oppos when you do deploy away. The saying "train hard, fight easy" is true of TSW more so than any other part of the supply trade. If your kit is in rag-order when you go away it'll be a long old det.

But remember, the best bit about TSW is that you can get loads of medals. Who is the busty nympho you meet at your mate's wedding going to take home? The sun-tanned demi-God with the gong-fest hanging of his No.1s or the loser from SCAF who only has war-stories about paper cuts to talk about?DT_Xtremez_30:

"Wing before family...."DT_Xtremez_40: