join the territorial army

[Kenneth Eames]

NR, This makes my blood boil. What Scum, to treat a soldier in this way. Disgusting I hope they rot in Hell. Treachery at its worst. Kenneth Eames.

[Mopster]

I'm 13 and I'm in the ACF. Looking to join the army or police when I reach 18.

[Timelord]

++(My post is not a dig at ex-military! It says-- "I find that some ex-military personnel are over confident".
I am a long time student of military history and have great respect for military of all periods and the debt we owe them for our legacy today.)++

Not everyone with skills has been in the military. Not everyone with skills has been in a combat zone. It would also depend exactly what skills were being referred to. If only combat & military tactical unit organization skills as some seem to think, then what about many other skills. Not all these are only military specific.
Many of the men & women in history that are alluded to in previous wars did not in fact get their skills in training prior to being thrust into a combat arena and still a substantial number of them performed admirably. Resistance fighters in WW2 often did not have previous military training to be effective. Guerilla fighters the world over are often similar.
Some of the military's specialist instructors are civilians.
Some civilians have knowledge of military/civilian planning & tactical options that a squaddie would never have. Historical military tactical studies might be more appropriate to a PSHTF world than any modern battlefield tactical version. A modern soldier is a product of his time and is a specialist within that specific environment to fulfil the role he is allotted to. PSHTF and a lot of the modern specialisms could be redundant, leaving a core of skills of high value but missing others that were not necessary during training.
The definition of a "war fought to preserve liberty" is open to interpretation and objection from different sides of the table.
The American War of Independence had a large number of volunteers not conscripts taking part and many of these had no prior military service.
Militias often used in the past were composed of many without previous experience and a core of those with it.
I find that some ex-military personnel are over confident and think that their military training is the answer to a preppers problems. A prepper is unlikely to find themselves in a large well oiled organisation with squad buddies to share the tasks and squad team tactics for military situations, along with the military supply chain back up & logistics and the comms network with the ability to call in support at times etc etc etc.
I do however think that military experience is a great asset and has many desirable skill experiences that can be utilized and also I do think that politically and career decision aside, then the opportunity to aquire these skills is excellent. On the flip side is the political considerations and the risks / crap that goes with the job. I still maintain though that a life as a soldier only gives you some of the skills you need as a prepper and again that the way in which you can approach scenarios as an indoctrinated military soldier can be very different from the way you would approach it as a prepper/survival individual and the capabilities/options that entails.

Would it be feasible to consider the timescale of acquiring these military skills via the joining up route? If someone is concerned as a prepper about the end of society or anything really that preppers worry themselves about - then is a 3 or 4 year military term wise? being away from home and the local terrain, away from family. On foreign shores when "A major event" could take place? or even the moral dilemmas that may face a new soldier away from home when the news breaks that all has gone pear shaped back home and the political and military machine will prevent the individual soldier from going to aid his family.
In fact the military encourages & enhances the natural fight for your buddy mentality, no matter what the political situation. This is the norm and once in that situation is pretty unavoidable. Looking at this from the outside, prior to joining up, then a more informed reasoning can be made about the moral aspect in relation to political dodgy dealings. Is a prospective new recruit willing to give up their own input to the security of their own family in the short term in exchange for the military skills on offer - while weighing up the prep timescale worries?
I strongly suspect that most young prospective recruits would not weigh it all up this way anyway.
I think there are a quite a few skills in the military that can be acquired in a civilian environment. Some can not and are valuable. Then again, there are a vast amount of skills that are not taught in the military.

(Skills for kills.....)

[Sunna]

i wonder how many of our sas types are training the free syrian army and will those skills be turned against us

[Highlander]

Thats a good post TL and as ex Army I completely agree with you, I think this is where the difference between prepper and survivalist comes in, the two are often classed in the same mold, yet are very different, the ex military can be fairly sure to survive as a survivalist, but may be of little use as a prepper, unless his previous trade was of use to him after an event

i do think that the confidence `skill` is an important one though, its certainly not to be sniffed at, to get by in dire times will need a certain mind set, one that most squadies should have,... he will often think slightly differently than some others, and see things others miss

I have met quiet a few preppers, and I realise without a shadow of a doubt that the best groups will be those that include many different trades and skills,... military being just one of many

[Sunna]

s13 hope this helps

[NorthernRaider]

The army only mirrors the outside world, its got cooks, stormen, typists etc who after basic training never sally forth again, and its got skilled engineers who can buuild or fix anything anwhere, and its got nurses, fighters, signals, mechanics, planners, drivers, storemen etc as a mirror image of civvie street.

[BFG Central]

There is no way either of my kids will be going into the TA or the Armed forces.
You dont have kids to send them away to another country to get shot at or blown up.

[Prepper1]

Well that's the difference now, I dont think I'd join up again knowing what I know now.

Did I value the experience-yes.

Have I personally gained from it-yes.

Am I over confident- in my opinion no.

I am full of confidence but I believe that's different to over confidence.

Overconfidence to me means you take unnecessary risks because you have no grasp of the reality of the situation.

Being full of confidence means you approach the situation knowing you will succeed but being aware of your limitations and knowing when to draw the line, whereas a person who is overconfident wouldn't and carry on regardless putting himself or others in danger. etc.

BUT that's just my opinion.

I am older, maybe wiser and realize what I was doing it for, then I didn't care.

Most youngsters dont, and that's what they count on a fresh steady stream of young uns that'll do as they wont with little complaint if any.

Why do you think they get rid of lads as they start maturing and developing a brain of their own.

T.A. if you can get in is good, as its a civvy thing mostly and you pick and choose what you do and when you do it so good opportunity to get your hgv licenses, or learn a trade all for free.

BUT there's always the possibility of being called up as they look to the T.A. first normally before civvies.
that's the risk you take.

[BFG Central]

I dont mean any disrespect to anyone who is in the military in my last post.
20+ years ago being in the army was a good thing to do in my eyes.
But sadly we live in different times now.
Travel the world and grow up being one of the lads was a great life style back then.
Over the least 10 years our lads have been in one war zone after the next.
Thats not something i want for either of my kids.
Probably me being an over protective parent?
But thats just how i feel about it.