Territorial Army (UK)

[AlphaBravo]

Is anyone from the UK in the TA?? I was thinking about joining, as you only hav to do 27 days a year (minimum) but u get paid for the days you do. There is also the chance of being deployed as well  ;) as well as travel.


Craig

[Ivan]

weekend warriros?

Probably something like the 'Nationale Reserve' in holland. Does the same tasks the now disbanded BB (Bescherming Bevolkin) did in the past (pumps and sandbags)

[Hagar]

Not sure how you feel about it but a lot of TA units are serving in Iraq. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1326694,00.html

[ozzy72]

The TA is a great thing to do Craig, but be prepared to make a serious commitment, whilst there is only a certain number of hours you must do a year you'll have to use a fair bit of your own spare time to keep in shape.
You could be deployed anywhere at anytime which could cost you your job or relationships.
It is a big responsibility to take on and some employers are anti-TA, but I'd say it is worth it

[AlphaBravo]

I did send off a thing on there website and got a letter back saying that my local unit (Reading) will get in touch with me. Im currently in the Army Cadet Force so have some aspect of millitary training. Im not employed though... im doing a Forensic Science course at college.


Craig

[ozzy72]

Actually being in education rather than employment is a big advantage, and once you've completed your course (and training) you could apply for a commission as that pays a nice bit extra.
Also on your CV saying you've done/are doing something like this looks so much more impressive than gardening, delivering newspapers, working in McDs.
If I were you I'd find out who the local units are, might be that the nearest one isn't for you if it is something like artillery and you don't like loud noises
Have a look in the Yellow Pages, they'll be listed in there, just give 'em a call and ask about them and parade nights/weekends. Who knows it could lead to an exciting career in uniform

[Hagar]

I don't wish to interefere Craig. You know what you want to do & I'm not trying to discourage you. You're obviously interested in aviation or you wouldn't be here. I find it rather surprising that you're in the Army cadets rather than the ATC.

[Romulus111VADT]

Here in the US it's known as the State Army National Guard. Each state has it's own and they are under the command of the state governors to be used to keep order in the event of a crisis. They can be called into Federal Service at a moments notice and their units can be called into active duty status for the Federal Government as well. There is also the Air National Guard.

No employer would dare oppose anyone joining or dare to let the person go for serving. By Federal Law all employers must hold the jobs of any Guard member. They can fill the vacancy with a temp employee. But must rehire the guardsman when he or she returns from active duty.

[ozzy72]

Legally it is the same in Britain Romulus, but reality is somewhat different The usual BS eh?

[Romulus111VADT]

Legally it is the same in Britain Romulus, but reality is somewhat different The usual BS eh?

Yep, wadding boots and a shovel should be considered standard attire when entering into the field of political service. Because the BS does get waist deep for the norm. I here they have life jackets and life rafts for the really severe days of BS.....

[Hagar]

It's all very well but imagine the problems a small company would have if one or more of their key employees was called away, possibly for several months at a time. I'm not unsympathetic by any means but I worked for a small company all my life, I would be very wary of hiring anyone in the TA myself. Fortunately this situation never cropped up when I was responsible for hiring staff. It's difficult enough to find suitable employees as it is without that sort of complication.

[ozzy72]

I do sympathise with the employer as well Doug, but when they know about something like this and still sack the poor chap then I'm afraid my loyalties lie with the uniform not the tie.......

[Hagar]

I obviously can't comment on specific cases but it's quite possible the employer knew nothing about it until one of his employees was called away. It would never have occurred to me to ask a job applicant if they were in the TA or similar organisation (I can't actually think of a similar one) & not everyone is honest enough to volunteer that information.

We had a small workshop with 2 or 3 employees at the most so you can see the effect of losing one of those employees for any length of time. In some cases I can see the company going bust through something like this. That would put the whole workforce on the dole & he would have no job to come back to anyway. As so often happens I don't think you can have one rigid rule to fit all circumstances.

[Romulus111VADT]

Well, even here in the US an employee must disclose his/her military obligations to any National Guard Unit. If they fail to do so, this can be used against them to legally terminate their employment on the grounds of falsifying their resume or employment application.

But as Ozzy said, an employee that did disclose this information and the employer hires the employee with the full knowledge of his/her commitment. Then they legally must make arrangements to cover the position while the employee is serving to fulfill their commitment.

[Hagar]

I can't quote rules & regulations as I don't know them. I would certainly know them if I was still working but I've been retired for several years. It's quite likely that the rules in the UK are completely different to those in the US but I simply don't know. I'm just putting the case for those much-abused employers. With all the (often petty) rules & regulations they have to comply with these days it's surprising they haven't all gone to the wall.