now what should he do?

[rippatiggerboo]

little advice if I may gals

Dh went to the RAF recruitment office today. (he was made redundent on Monday) Hes 30 in feb and was told their over subscribed to the police (what he really wants) till 2011! All they have is caterer for the GCSE's he has. Which he doesnt want. He forgot to ask about regiment.

My question is should he risk not getting accepted for the police in the end and wait (which for his age could mean never joining if they turn him down) or join the regiment, wait 3-5 years and then try for the military police?

Or try for the police in another force (army really, navy bases are too far away and am not so sure about his sea legs)

He currently thinks he should get any job and wait it out. Calling every few months to see if their recruiting yet. were talking tonight but what do you think?

Hiya

My DH is RAF and as far as I know they are not recruiting a lot of trades right now (although no-one knows why, majorly understaffed up here at least).

Regiment is a good job, but it's a lot of time away from home, going by the regiment lads I know anyway.

If he joins up as anything other than police he needs to make sure that he would still be happy doing that job just incase police never presents itself as an option.

Has he thought about MOD Police?

Sara

RAF police isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway, and if he gets dog handler then it means the majority of the time he'll be on nights, at least as a caterer his qualification would be worth something when he left.

The RAFP does offer training other than just being a police officer, although not to start off with. There are different aspects to the trade - CI,SIB,At Sy,ComSy, Dog section,Instructor etc.

MOD police could be a good choice, or MPGS!

rippa, just a small query to your comment 'navy bases are too far away'?

apols if i'm being dim - are you planning to stay where you are/ with dcs and for him to travel on posting?

just curious, we have spent most of our army career out of the uk in various places around the world, it may not be quite as convenient as you hope lol...

Yes we are planning to stay where we are. Its the only chice we have. Our bills require both of us to work and I have my own career to think about. Plus even after training I will earn more then him for a while so I really cant move jobs (its a unique situation that leads to my wage. I wont find that else where)

I guess in the grand scheme of things he could end up anywhere so navy may as well be raf but at least theres a chance he could be posted closer then portsmouth say if hes in the RAF. (plus RAF pays slightly more, tho thats my brain speaking there, not his)

is long term sep not an issue for you? service marriages have a fairly bad success rate even when the spouse accompanies tbh, what with the high rate of operational tours etc - i think to start out a military career planning to go this route is extremely brave!

good luck with whatever he/ you decide.

The Navy don't recruit police directly I think - you join up in another trade, serve some time and then transfer to the police (same for PTI). Not sure about Army

It is risky waiting - recruitment will probably remaain bouyant for the next few yeras, so he is likely to be up against fairly fierce competition in 2011, potentially from slightly younger fitter guys who could be better qualified.

As someone mentioned above, the Regiment are away a fair amount and in some pretty dangerous situations right now, but if you and he are up for it, it is a possibility.

Catering gives him a trade and qualifications, although he will be away a lot as well as they are deployed to operational theatres - but to slightly safer locations than the regiment.

He would need some GCSEs for RAF police or Army police as well I think (at least English and maths at C?)

Thanks madwoman. I know what your saying. And it is something I am wrestling with. I hate the idea of him not being around and missing mile stones (or in a few years TTC #2!) But I have known DH for 7 years and in the time he has had 7 jobs, we are now looking for an 8th. Some have lasted weeks or months, some years but never longer then 2 years. And only one has he left for another job. That in mind I dont know how many times our relationship can take that.

He needs a career and at nearly 30 there hard to come by that pay enough. We are looking for a civilian career while he gets fit, which will be made easier if he passes his driving test today (fingers crossed girls) but if he finds nothing by the time he is fit forces looks best. At least he has an interest. Tho thinking about it, the best working job he had was McD's so catering may be best.

Surprisingly notyummy RAF police need 2 GCSE's G grade or higher. So given that and that its on the higher pay band its not surprising its over subscribed really.

In a way I wish he had joined up years ago. Our life would be very different. Ah well. thats life.

Rippa - is he sure he wants a career in the Forces? I'm asking as he seems to have flipped around so far. From an Army perspective once the person has completed their training they are committed to serving for 4 years at least. It is possible to be discharged during training if it appears that they are not right for the Army or that the Army is not right for them, but he should be prepared for numerous interviews and counselling before he can go.

That said, I love being in the Army and would recommend it to anyone! We are recruiting in a number of trades so may be able to offer more choice than the RAF. As Madwoman said, seperation is hard on relationships and an understanding of the life and what the service person is experiencing can be essential for a successful marraige.

Anyway, long post, sorry!

I wouldn't limit it to RAF because of proximity issues, we were in Gloucester last posting with RAF and Navy, (we're army). All forces tend to go everywhere at the mo. The Army's apparently getting to full force as well so it might be good to try all 3 if you're he's not too fussed about which uniform he wears

Thats ok sweetpeasmum. He is flipping about. Am nailing him down tomorrow night. Its thrown him for a loop with the police so I think he needs to re analyse his options. He did join the RAF before when he was 17 but he dropped out during basic training for various reasons. mostly he was there coz others wanted him there, it wasnt for him. Its why I keep asking him as I want to be sure its for him this time.

But thanks for your imput girls. Its certainly made me see we shouldnt shut our options off. look at the trade, not the force.

On another note he failed his driving test today. So a few options we had have been shut off again. he will have more once he passes that

Chulita is right - all the Forces are pretty mobile these days and it's rare to avoid operational tours. We've been all over the country (my husband is in the Army) and we're currently based in Scotland.

One thing you need to consider is that the recruitment personnel will want to know what your husband can offer the Forces. Each of the three Services offer different choices and careers and they all have their own traditions and ethos.

Going in and saying that he wants to be a policeman but doesn't care which cap badge he wears might not be the best option. The careers office will not be too impressed with someone who says that they want to stay in one place, near their home. They want people who will buy into the life - and that includes the moving around.

The best thing he can do is to sit down with the recruitment officer and ask what is available to him with his qualifications and aptitudes/experience in each Service.

From an Army POV, Sweetpeasmum is right - there are a wide variety of trades and disciplines available - some are oversubscribed some less so.

Someone mentioned the MPGS - you need to have served at least three years inj any of the Services before you can join. However the MOD POlice might be a good option - here's a link: www.modpoliceofficers.co.uk/joining.html

Oh dont get me wrong. I dont expect (and neither does he) that he will be staying close to home! I fully expect to see him 2 days in every 7. I just meant there are more base options that MAY land him closer to home then the navy.

I am going over with this tonight with him. (was last night but there were problems that cropped up) He has been knocked back by the police officer bit and needs to decide what he wants now.

He has had a meeting at the careers office, theres a big one in sheffield but he only saw the RAF people. They went over his options and what of those options are over subscribed.

What ever force and trade he does I know he will give 100% as in a way, he already feels part of the military. And as I say, he needs to put himself through alot to get fit enough (he on 1 hour runs 3 days a week and 17 mile cycles the other 3) so what ever he chooses has to be for him other wise the getting fit wont happen never mind the signing up lol

Thanks for the link by the way. I'll look at it now

Hi rippa. I am ex RN and my DH is still serving. when we were first together and I was doing trainig and he was on a ship, we hardly saw each other at all. Maybe one weekend a month - or at another time it was 2 weeks together in 6 months.

I don't want to pour cold water on your plans, but if you "fully expect to see him 2 days in every 7" I suspect you will be very disappointed.

We've been lucky over the past few years with DH being in Portsmouth at a desk job and now in London (and we've moved up). However even that involved an impromptu 5 months on a sub (2 days notice), several week long trips away at inconvenient times and now he is due to go to the middle east in early Dec for 6 months. Xmas will not involve Daddy and life over the next 6 months will be interesting.

"Oh dont get me wrong. I dont expect (and neither does he) that he will be staying close to home! I fully expect to see him 2 days in every 7. I just meant there are more base options that MAY land him closer to home then the navy. "

Ah. I see what you mean.

Can I echo mumof2... and say that you might be expecting a bit much to have him home every weekend. My husband was based in Edinburgh and we live just outside Glasgow and he still didn't make it home every weekend. There were exercises, duties, visits to the sections under his command and he's been in Afghanistan for the past six months.

When he comes back. he'll be posted to London and we'll be lucky if we see him every second weekend.

I wish your husband lots of luck and I don't want to rain on your parade as it were. I simply wanted to point out the realities of Service life, as do others on the thread. Marriage in the Forces is hard work, especially if you have to live apart. It's a strain you need to take into consideration.

Saying all that, it can be a very rewarding life for your husband and your family.

Best of luck.