Joining UK Armed Forces

[Canuck_25]

I just recieved this today.

Dear Robert,
I am sorry to inform you that as from tomorrow there is a change to the
Officer process. All applicants must have resided in the UK for 5 years to
be considered eligible for a Commission in the British Army. So, I am sorry
to say that if you have not lived in the UK for this stated period then you
could not be considered for Financial Sponsorship or Direct entry to the
British Army.

Your only alternative would be to do 3/4 year Degree in the UK funded by
yourself and then 6 months prior to completion of the Degree apply for a
Commission in the British Army.

I am sorry to impart this disappointing news.

Regards
L. Bradbury (Mrs)
Overseas Officer Recruiting group
02/11/04

 

[NavyGrunt]

Well, im 17 and i would dream of a career in the military, but not in canada's. Budget cuts and ignorance from the canadian people has helped me steer clear of joining. Do any of you know how well armed the British army is compared to canada's? They have a population of 50 million and they beat us hands down in equipment and funding.

I my ambitions are to be an Infantry officer in the British army. Why the british army? well i hate yanks, and i hate what the stand for. A falsefied nation, who is hated my most of the world. The British army is a well trained and greatly respected force.

  Untill then, most educated people like me, looking for a long term career in the military, with steer clear of our forces.

pffff who wants to go officer anyways? So what are you going to do now? You wont join the Canadian forces because that would be hypocritcal after you shat all over them in the "whats wrong with teens thread".....looks like its pumping gas for you..... ;D

 

[Canuck_25]

well, looks like im f****d then, dosnt it?

 

[Pieman]

Your only alternative would be to do 3/4 year Degree in the UK funded by
yourself and then 6 months prior to completion of the Degree apply for a
Commission in the British Army.

Is that an option for you? Many UK Univeristies are very good, some are considered to be among the best,   so it would not be a bad thing if you studied over there -- over here, i mean. lol   :dontpanic:

 

[Canuck_25]

Is that an option for you? Many UK Univeristies are very good, some are considered to be among the best,   so it would not be a bad thing if you studied over there -- over here, i mean. lol   :dontpanic:

well, considering it costs 15,000 pounds a year for foreign students, yes if i was rich, i would.

 

[pegged]

Sort of a rant, but that kind of attitude pisses me off.
I think that's a total bullshit excuse, the whole lacking equipment and funds. You obviously have no idea what is involved in being a soldier in our army. If you go into it with a mind like that, you will miss everything going on around you. It is a VERY fun experience. Yes I haven't been in long, almost a year, but the lack of funds, as a Pte has not affected me personally. I've done some awesome training. Yea with a few problems here and there, but if you don't think about that shit, and are proud to be in the Canadian Military, and ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE, you don't worry too much about that shit.
I couldn't fire the Carl G on my SQ due to the rounds costing too much, and on Active Edge we couldn't get Griffons because of some reason or another, but I imagine if we had more Griffons than we do, they would have been readily available.

What you put into it is what you get out of it.

Suck it up and join; have fun, make friends, and be the proudest man on the earth because you are a Canadian Soldier.

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

Every Army has its problems, you'd be surprised with the amount of rants a British Soldier could go on about his own woes within the system. Welcome to the Federal Government, not the military.

 

[winchable]

Well looks like I'm still in the clear if I actually want to go, good thing I have had a "residence" in Southampton for 3 years now.

Although it wouldn't really be going because technically I'm there...
Mind bender.

 

[enfield]

canuck_25-
Can you forward me the email address for Mrs Bradbury or the Overseas Recruiting Cell? I'd like to confirm this independently.

enfield7@yahoo.com

I was standing in a British recruiting office in London 5 months ago, and being Canadian wasn't even an issue worth mentioning then, it really didn't matter to them. 

 

[Northern Touch]

Is this for only those going officers?  What about those looking to go NCM?

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

I think its jsut for NCM's. I know some branches had a mandatory residency in the UK (RM's for example) but it could be waived with the proper incentives. Dont quote me on it though, I may be wrong.

 

[jmacleod]

I may be wrong about this comment, but it seems to me that if a Canadian citizen had employment
in the UK, or a source of steady income, the British Territorial Forces would probably welcome a new
face or faces. For current perspectives on the British Army, go to the Ministry of Defence Site,
United Kingdom which provides a lot of highly detailed information about the British Army, the
Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. I would think that a serving member of the Territorial Forces
could readily transfer to a British Army Unit, which are recruited for the most part, focused on
vacancies in a Regiment or even possibly a Battalion. MacLeod

 

[pappy]

if you hate the US, shouldn't you join the North Korean Army, they are always looking for native English speakers.  Last I checked the Brits where on our side...

:dontpanic:

all kidding aside, if your only 17....  why not join up first as an enlisted man.... find out if you like it first.... if you do then go to college / Officers trainins course.

The best by far Officers we had in the Marine Corps where prior enlisted. 

Personally I wouldn't wanna be a Rupert in the British Army....  the IRA knows all the rank insignias

 

[Figure11]

"Personally I wouldn't wanna be a Rupert in the British Army....  the IRA knows all the rank insignias"

It was a common practice to remove them in "hard areas." Besides; that war is over.............for now anyway.

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

all kidding aside, if your only 17....   why not join up first as an enlisted man.... find out if you like it first.... if you do then go to college / Officers trainins course.

Too true, i would suggest you at least join A Canadian Reserve unit to get a feel for it. The Army is never what you expected it to be, getting you're feet wet would be an excellent option.

 

[Pieman]

Well looks like I'm still in the clear if I actually want to go, good thing I have had a "residence" in Southampton for 3 years now.

Although it wouldn't really be going because technically I'm there...
Mind bender.

Hey Che, I think I saw you walking down the street here the other day. Creepy  ???

 

[pappy]

"Personally I wouldn't wanna be a Rupert in the British Army....   the IRA knows all the rank insignias"

It was a common practice to remove them in "hard areas." Besides; that war is over.............for now anyway.

Yeah that is pretty common in all armies.  I was just being a tad bit sarcastic....

But I wasn't joking about joining as a enlisted first, I think that makes for better Officers.

 

[Pieman]

Some rotten news. I was speaking with my army careers adviser this morning and it appears the time you have to live in the UK to apply is now official 2 years, and this will be enforced.

This is an except I posted in my Application to foreign forces thread:

Word came down from the Ministry of Defence that all foreign commonwealth applicants will have to live in the UK for a period of two years before applying. It appears that it dropped from the original 5 year requirement and this will be enforced. So anyone going to apply to the British Forces had better plan on living here a while before you can join. Looks like the days of Commonwealth applicants serving with the Brits is drawing to a close. Special thanks goes out to Osama and his gang of idiots for causing all the security increases in the world.

 

[Pieman]

Here is an excerpt I got from an email I got from my Army Careers advisor.

As promised during our telephone conversation of a few moments ago, this
correspondence is to confirm the nature of our discussion; to the effect
that the requirement for ALL overseas candidates to have lived in the UK for
a period of time prior to application has been reviewed recently. This is
due to the level of threat in the world, the necessity of tightening up
Security and the requirement for all potential officer candidates to have
received Security Check clearance.
With Immediate effect, ALL candidates are now required to reside in the UK
for a period of time before an application can be considered, to enable
these full Security Checks to be carried out.   Where there has been no
residency prior to application, candidates from commonwealth countries will
be required to have lived in UK for a minimum period of five (5) years.
However, because there is a reciprocal security arrangement between UK and
Canada (i.e. Canada is prepared to assist with your Security clearance) the
period of UK Residency required could be reduced substantially, to a period
of two (2) years.  

 

[Canuck_25]

2 years is better, my hopes rised again after this post. If i do a University transfer for one year to a british university in my 3rd year of UNI and completed my BA in my final year at a British University, maby i could pull it off. The gears are always turning and new ideas keep springing out.