Quick question about joining the military.

[Serin]

Posting here for traffic, sorry if that isn't appropriate. A young lad I work with on a voluntary basis has applied to the Royal Navy, is he also allowed to apply for the other services as well or is it one application at a time?
He can't seem to find clear guidelines online.

Would it look like he wasn’t committed to any of them if he did?

Thehop that's an interesting point.

Best way to find out would be to telephone the Armed Forces Careers Office in your town. Or ask on pprune (like Mumsnet for military people)

He wants to do engineering and doesn't mind which service really. I personally feel the military would be the making of him.
I worked with another teenager a couple of years back who had an awful home life and wanted to go to uni (against his families advice). MN was so helpful in advising me how to help him make a decent personal statement out of a sows ear, and he is now in his first year and living away from home.

How would one arm of the armed forces know he’d applied to join another arm unless he told them?

SEXPEOPLE Love your name . I have never heard of pprune. Will have a look at it, thanks.

Hildegard I know, that's what I thought, but maybe they share Intel or a centralised admission system like UCAS? I kind of think he should spread his best to maximise his chances but not sure if that can look like he isn't committed to any of them.

My oh works in this field, he said they Can apply to all three services at the same time as long as they declare it.

Bets. Not best

Thank flobbadobba. Much appreciated.

No idea but give him lots of encouragement, it's a great career pathway - I'm bias though as my dd is on the technical officer scheme, she'll won't be on a ship though for couple of years yet.

I would talk to him and find out what he wants to get and what he wants to experience because they are very different environments. The army will be more hands on but the navy is a more adult environment for example. when he decides, he can persue one as his first choice and go for the other is it doesnt work out.

user I have talked with him, he wants stability, mates he can rely on, a "family" and a regular income He is really bright with very good GCSEs, that he achieved without any parental support.
It's a shame there isn't some sort of scheme that would take youngsters like him away for a weekend, to see which service would suit them best, sort of try before you buy. He is too old for cadets.
Thank you all for your support.

Hi OP,

Would Welbeck 6th Form Defence College be an option if he is bright and keen on engineering?

www.dsfc.ac.uk

Navy is probably a bit more stable and it used to be better income (not sure anymore), but hel do well in either I think. Look at things like how long he has to stay in for as well, but my advice would still be for him to prioritise one and go for it, then try the other if 1st choice doesnt work out.

I can best sum up the differences by saying the army is set up more for young recruits and those with perhaps a not ideal background, the navy is a bit more of a usual career.

Looooads of drinking in the navy though

They often do try out weekends or days as part of the joining process. Im meant to have one coming up as part of going back into the reserves but it keeps being shifted cos of this virus. They do really like to check you;re ready for it despite its reputation because the kit costs a fortune.

All three services have engineering, across various trades. But all three services are very different. I'd advise he looks into the different lifestyles associated with all 3, and then choose the service that suits him best.
Then you have to consider the commissioned or enlisted entry.

Hrs better off taking his time reading up on it all, and then choose his path.

Thank you. I wonder what the ratio of applicants to places is? Am imagining it's very competitive as some of the apprenticeship roles look very good.

My brother was accepted into the RAF but they weren’t recruiting for the career he wanted so he could have either waited or apply to a different service, which he did and he’s now in the Army. He is considering putting in for a transfer to the RAF though.

It won’t look bad if he applies to more than one, although there’s a healthy rivalry, it’s enough to just want to join the Armed Forces.

@Serin

Thank you. I wonder what the ratio of applicants to places is? Am imagining it's very competitive as some of the apprenticeship roles look very good.

My husband and son are both engineers in the RAF, and both love their jobs and see the world. Most of the recruitment process is external now, but still managed by careers office. It is competitive, but so long as he has the required grades from school, does well in the aptitude & fitness tests, interviews and has no medical conditions that exempt him from entry, he will be fine and advised on availability of roles. Some roles have quicker entry dates than others, all depends on current availability.

You mean American Military or UK Armed services.
We don't have military in the uk
HTH

And yet every single other poster understood what was meant and took the time to make a helpful comment for the benefit of the young person concerned.

I understood, hence the correction

Oh yeah you can transfer pretty services easily. I havnt told them this obviously but if I go back into the reserves il probably do that myself. You can do things like officer scholarships and what not. Anyway he should spend a night online looking at this stuff and just apply as well, he doesnt have to be full on ready to apply, half of the process is questioning if you're ready for it and taster days and all that.

He'l do most of the initial application and medical stuff online, they'll give him a choice of a few areas he can apply in. Then he'l get called by a sergeant recruiter and invited to a day of presentations in a month or 2, which he doesnt have to be up to fitness standard for. This day is in North allerton for me (not sure if it is for everybody). After that I think you have the medical then you do a day or weekend in Scotland or somewhere similar.