join the territorial army

[MCavity]

Just donated to help for heroes so somthing good has come from this thread lol

[NorthernRaider]

I tend to donate to the RBL and SSAFA rather than H for H, after they decided they were rich enough to turn down donations from EDL members I stopped supporting them.

[MCavity]

Yeh i understand your point - HFH are put in a tricky spot imo. Its the fault of our leftie media though not the troops, so I try to leave politics out of this one.

[bigpaul]

now they are laying off soldiers left and right, the TA is being used to top up the numbers and they will be called up in any future wars! I support our armed services but I do not support TPTB that send them to foreign countries, where we have no business being, to die!

[Sunna]

giving up stopping fighting back no no no lot of the same things piss us off more than ever our young brits should know how to fight and fight back theirs loads of 3rd worlders who would join given the chance .
our generation did not fight back thats why were in the mess were in
the time for sitting on the fence has gone just like we will be gone if we dont fight back

rant over

[Skean Dhude]

We are going way off topic.

I'm for the military and support them just not our leaders.

The thread was about the TA. That is different from a career in the military. They train and it seems to me it was a great hobby. I use the work hobby because it was a choice to join the TA and beats camping at playing paintball.

Now they are expected to take over front line jobs with a fraction of the training. Not worth it in imo.

[Sunna]

the idea behind the ta always was to back up full time forces in time of trouble , but when they have to go and fight they dont want to if you agree with this war or that one is not the point if told to fight you have to .
over the years iv known plenty of lads join and to be honest all they wanted was more hardcore boyscouts they would run a mile at the first sight of agro mummys boys every last one of them

[Arnie72]

Well I was a regular RAF Regiment Officer and when I was made redundant at SDR I got a 9-5 job and joined the TA as a Bomb Disposal Officer. The military taught me a lot and I have served in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The TA was always sold to me as the Army reserves and fully understood if things happened I would be called up, more so because of my specialist trade. I am Sunna but no-one I have ever met in the military wants to go and fight, we did it as we were ordered to. For me personally I fought for my comrades rather than TPTB.
I also fundamentaly disagree with your comment about 'mummy's boys' as they do put their lives on the line, rightly or wrongly and whether or not you agree with the conflicts.
SD - I agree that years ago the TA was different to a career military and was more hobbyist until we went to Iraq. I was called up for a year, underwent full training alongside the regulars and served in regular units, so not really just made up of hobbyists anymore which I stipulated to the new recruits when I interviewed them to ensure they realised that they would be called to serve.

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But in answer to the original question I think the TA can be very good training for a small amount of survivalist skills but you can gain more relevant skills elsewhere and the military does not cover most situations, they are set up for short term (ie more BOB kit) and we operate from bases. We do not teach farming / livestock control, things post SHTF that was needed and for most only rudimentary battle first aid. So in short there are some useful skills to be learnt but not IMHO really ideal for survivalist training unless you do some of the specialist stuff.

[Highlander]

I have a grandson who has managed Sergent in the Cadets, he now wants to join,.. and thats a big part of it,.. he WANTS to,.. I would never feel its my place to stop a son or daughter joining if they want to,.. explain the dangers, but its their right to live their life.

I agree with most of what NR has said, but as far as the original question was put, then I still think it is a good idea, sign for three years, use it as a damn good training period,.. and stay safe

[Mortblanc]

I did notice that the OP diverted at the famous third post mark!

The question was "does one join to gain skills", not to get benefits, be respected and loved by one and all or to support political agendas.

The very purpose of a military organization is to forcefully advance the political agenda of the agency they serve. Always has been, always will be.

If you want real training one must go where the training exists. You will not pick it up in magazines on the book rack or from the internet or from online gaming. You will not get it in a "survival school" of some "tactical weapons training class"

One does not gain confidence in those skills until one has experienced bullets whizzing overhead, shrapnel flying about and still stuck their head above the sandbags to see what is what and call in arty support.

The major wars that were fought to preserve "liberty" were fought by conscript armies, not the way volunteer forces of today, where enticement, bribery and huge signing bonuses are the recruiting tools.

You were sent a notice and you were instantly in the Army. Refuse to go and you were listed as a deserter, subject to the death penalty.

I might not support every political agenda the government proposes but I do recognize the military training of today as some of the best ever developed by fighting forces anywhere at any time.

Folk that have not served in the military only "think" they have combat skills. They will never know how they will react or what their instinctive reactions would be in a given situation. The will also lack the long term planning skills needed to secure an area or offer long term resistance severe enough to fend off numbers of attackers.

One that has been in combat can spot information given by a person with combat experience as compared to one without that experience within a few moments. They can also spot the advice of one that has led men in combat as compared to those that simply followed orders.

I have a half dozen friends that joined our forces for the simple reason that they wanted the combat training offered by the military. They did not join the catering corp, the pay corp, the motor pool or the library section.

They volunteered for combat arms, in the middle of a war.

Oddly enough, looking back on it, I did the same thing.

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Looking back I see this one diverted at post number 2!

Not #3.