life changing desision?

reccymech2502

Ohhhh that was a cheap blow mmmmmmmm let me think sleep in trench full of water and be cold,,, or or dig the trench for the INF to sleep in then go back to your nice warm pack,,,,,,lol ....
Toffee wrappers rule.

But seriously i am no expert, but if me old fella was still around i would ask him, he did somework with them in the past and his words he mentioned rymed with bucket and no way.
If you join the RE you can still go 9 Para or 59, and still have a trade at the end of it.
But good luck in what ever you do mate.

pete84

cheers mate, im gonna have a hard think about it and make a choice soon. i think my best option is to take a weekend tip tp lyon or lille and see if i can chat to them in there offices. would that be my best option?

Starlight

Pete84, I don't want to piss on your parade mate, but think really carefully before joining the rifles based on the 'excitement' of the recruiting bumph.
Now I'm not saying you couldn't hack it, and it may be that you'll do spectacularly well, and I'll be humbled by your success. But, the Rifles, along with Para reg, RM and a few others, is a particularly brutal place to be if you get it wrong.
All I'm suggesting is that you take a bit of time, think about what you're about to do and choose your options really carefully at this stage. However good a soldier you become, you'll have to leave the army one day, so pick something that enhances your civvy employability. Remember all soldiers myself included, are just has beens waiting to happen. That's the sad reality. It's YOUR career so choose well brother.

With regards to moving your girlfriend to France, that may work if she was French and/or she spoke the language and understood French society, but I doubt you'd see her very much if at all.

Imagine the hardship that families have in the UK when the soldier is deployed. In the UK, there are families offrs, wives clubs, work, going 'home' to mum for a few days. And it can still be a nightmare for them. Now transplant that to your girlfriend in France. She'll be in a foreign country, in a strange place, speaking a different language, having to get used to a different type of buraucracy and miles from family support, and she's unlikely to get to see you or know where you are anyway. Probably a bit of a nightmare for her.

Again, the advise of any LE will probably be of enormous help to you now.

Starlight Out

napoleon

pete84,

Think long and very hard about joining the legion.

(starlight you have taken some of my post ha ha)

You mentioned getting your girlfriend to move to France
Can she speak french?
Does she know anyone there?
Where in France its a big place?
For a young girl (I presume) thats a big step to take when the love of her life is not there for about the first (maybe more) year or so and in an alien environment, even then you may only see her for a weekend at best really depends on the Legion at the time and their comittments!!!

You could get posted to Djibouti or French Guina for a couple of years straight after your training!!!! then what?

Dont take offence (I am a realist) but what if it does not work out with your girl?(been there) then what?

My nephew joined the RLC (driver against my advice) at 17 and finished his training then had the option to leave and then rejoin a year later (baffled me but this is what they do now). He rejoined and has now completed two years with a tour of Afghanistan to boot. He is based in Germany and he is home most of the time anyway. The Army has lots to offer and you are still young to transfer to various corps / trades etc in the future. If you don't like it, it is far easier to leave the British Army than the Legion.

Mate it is a hard life but a single man's life in the Legion and can be for the best part of three years or so, some of the lads had girlfriends where I was stationed but most of them had some form of rank under their belts.

The recession has hit every trade, business and even the security industry (including in some parts the CP industry) surely you have other options? Most of the advice points to the same thing so far so good luck in whatever you do and keep us all posted.

pete84

do you think that im too old or at the right age for the army, as my uncle was in the forces when he was 16, and he said to me that joining up at 24 years old im past it and that i wouldnt fit in, do u think that is because in his day (around the 70s and 80s) that was the average age. thats why i considerd the legion?

annie

Why in the name of god would you want to join the FFL? Jesus man you have a girlfriend, a home, the lot? You talk about asking her to move to France? It isn't some namby pamby unit that you get leave to go home and play happy families in. You get posted all over the world, just a s you do in the British forces! You can't just suddenly demand she leaves her family and the like to go live in France when she may not see you for months, and she is stuck in a foreign country away from everything she knows, not speaking the language and the like!

It isn't a Laurel and Hardy movie you know. Take a look at British forces and all that has to offer before you do something that you may well regret is what i'd say. I know you'll still get posted away, but at least she won't be stuck in some foreign country alone! And what about if you have children and get married and you can't be there and she has nobody to help her, and nobody that speaks her language, and she is stuck in a strange hospital giving birth to YOUR child all alone?

I am just throwing out some possibilities here.

No you aren't too old, your a mere child in the scheme of things, and if your relationship is serious then get your house in order man, she counts aswell. Nevermind moving her abroad like she is a piece of furniture. Women follow you anywhere when theyre your wife, not when theyre your girlfriend.

You are a young man yet and have plenty of time. Not everyone joins the forces at 16 you know. Often a bit of age and experioence of life is a good thing

Burg

Mate Iv got a friend in the legion and by the sounds of things he doesnt see much of anything outside of the legion. Infact he described it like being in jail but you get guns. I hope you speak french (because you will learn fast if you dont)
All the best

annie

At the end of the day i have lived with someone for a long time who was away only 12 weeks at a time, i say only, it felt like 12 years at times, and it sucks like hell, but that's the reality of joining any military unit be it FFL or British military. Only difference is that British military guys and girls have good support and people who know what it's like, and are in the same boat as it were. I am trying here to jmake you look at this choice through your partners side of things ok. Granted i am not some wussy girly who can't change a lightbulb or the like, but some women simply do not cope with that kind of lifestyle, why do you think there is such a hig divorce rate amongst military guys. Fact is your a young guy, you need to decide if you are doing this for YOU, or doing this as a partnership. You need to look at what is more important to YOU before you can look at what is more iportant to you as a couple. It's harsh but it's realistic

mpctc

I joined the Legion in the seventies. It was probably the best decision I have made in my whole life. Yes, there a few times I felt like legging it, but stuck it out until I was injured in an operation against the ARC in Corsica. It changed my life, gave me focus and confidence that I could deal with any situation. It gave me the skills to be a survivor. However, if the girlfriend is important to you, then it probably isn't for you as you won't see much of her for 3 years at least. Think carefully because once you have passed the assesments and gone through basic (and yes boys Corte was MUCH harder than it is in Castelnaudary ) if you decide you don't want to stay, you can't just walk away and legging it is not a smart thing to do.

maddog

why the ffl if you go in that mate you will end up like someone else on here!!!!!! STAY WITH THE BRITISH ARMY (BE THE BEST) HAHAHAHAHHAHA. But i would use the trade you have why waste that!!!!!! But at the end of the day it's your call,