-{SpoonmaN}-

I've been going over the website and it doesn't have enough specific information about the kinds of training you can do, only that your pay increases as you do more courses. This is a little annoying, and I was wondering if it was possible to do parachute training while in the reserves, or is it restricted to full time personnel from the Parachute Battalion and the SF Group? Also, how does one become a door funner for Army or Air Force Helicopters? I've looked over the Aviation careers section and it never mentions that job. Is it under an obscure title or is it simply not covered? And is it possible to volunteer for full time service from the reserves to join a particular operation, such as Iraq or East Timor, or are you stuck with your unit. Also I looked at the units based in Victoria and the only one with a link was the 1st Commando Rgt., which is a little beyond my physical capabilities. Any info on the other reserve units in Victoria?
The URL is www.defencejobs.gov.au
I figure since there's a few Australian servicepeople on the board they might be able to help out.

Selective

Im ex army in melb. U mentioned being a "door funner for Army or Air Force Helicopters" and about para training.You cant do both hehe. You need to go into the cbd recruiting centre and get a heap of info and talk to someone. Most battalions are up nth and i think 1st Commando Rgt was taking reserves from memory. It depends if u want a trade or u want to be a rirfleman. 5/6 RVR Simson Army barracks Watsonia deployed a company to timor, if their still kickin then best u try them if u want a reserve battalion in melb.

Some info on 5/6....
http://www.users.bigpond.com/nichola...ons/5_6bn.html

-{SpoonmaN}-

The door gunner thing was a curiosity, in case I opt for full-time service. I read that the Army is considering bolstering it's regular battalions with an extra rifle company when in need, from the reserves, so I thought this might apply to the parachute battalion as well. Ah well.

Selective

Well if u r interested in the "door gunner" thing then check out aviation army corps career fulltime. You wanna be a para then infantry fulltime and try and get posted to 3rar. Best bet is to join up part-time, join 5/6 and get a taste for it. Coz it won't be anything like u thought.

-{SpoonmaN}-

I've gotten the impression there'll be a fair bit of boredom and monotony, punctuated by periods of extreme physical stress. Anyway I know the ads are baloney.

Selective

lol nice summary of the lifestyle. btw 3rar might be heading to adelaide to become a mech batt, so the para idea might not be an option anymore.

-{SpoonmaN}-

You're kidding? We need the Para Battalion. Then again I guess we need more of everything. We should raise at least two more battalions, and maybe post one in Melbourne and one in Sydney, as a major deterrent to people from those cities to joining the Army is the fact that they'd have to move to somewhere small and distant like Townsville or Darwin. That, and the fact you only get 2 weeks of vacation a year is what will most likely keep me away from full time service. I am correct in thinking we only have 6 full time infantry battalions right?

-{SpoonmaN}-

Hey that brings me to another question. The website says Riflemen get paid like $85 a day in the reserve. Is it based purely on daily pay or is there a base annual rate as well?

Officer of Engineers

Selective,

What's the status of the ADF as far as quality of life and career issues? I kinda remember that you guys were in the same boat as the Canadian Forces almost a decade back. The CF has gone through a drastic reduction in size and when I saw what was left and what was being asked, I took my leave when the chance came up with the Forces Reduction Plan.

For several years after that, I would not have recommended people joining the CF. The good people took the FRP and those left were either never offerred the FRP or who could not do better even if they took the FRP. I also saw our deployment schedule going through the roof. What's more, there were not the slots left open for promotion and with a pay freeze in place for the longest time, it was not a very good career/job prospect.

Hear the same kind of things with the British Army, especially with the Territorial Army. Our reserves got 60 days training before they got deployed. The TA had 14 days notice.

__________________
Chimo

Selective

1st Commando Regiment
1st Field Regiment
1st Joint Support Unit
1st Royal Australian Regiment
1st/19th Royal NSW Regiment
10th/27th Royal SA Regiment
108th Signals Squandron
11th/28th Royal WA Regiment
110th Signals Squadron
12th/16th Hunter River Lancers (APC)
12th/40th Royal Tasmanian Regiment
13th Field Squadron
11th Combat Support Regiment (141 Sig Sqn)
144th Signals Squadron
155th Signals Squadron
16th Field Battery
16th Royal WA Regiment
17th Construction Squadron
19th CE Works
2nd Cavalry Regiment (Recon)
2nd Health Support Battalion
2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (QMI) (Recon)
2nd/17th Royal NSW Regiment
21 Construction Squadron
25th/49th Royal Queensland Regiment
3rd Royal Australian Regiment
3rd/9th Light Horse (SAMR) (APC)
41st Royal NSW Regiment
42nd Royal Queensland Regiment
48th Field Battery
51st Far NQ Regiment
6th Royal Australian Regiment
7th Field Battery 3 Field Regiment
7th Field Regiment
8th / 12th Medium Regiment
8th Combat Service Support Battalion
8th Combat Engineer Regiment
8th Signals Regiment
9th Combat Service Support Battalion
9th Royal Queensland Regiment
ADF Pilot Selection Agency
Army Personnel Agency - Adelaide
Army Personnel Agency - Melbourne
Army History Unit
Army Recruit Training Centre (ARTC)
Australian Army Band Corps
Australian Army Band Corps - Melbourne
Australian Army Band Corps - Sydney
Australian Special Forces
Centre for Army Lessons
Defence Force School of Music (DFS of Music)
HQ 1st Brigade
HQ 4th Brigade
HQ 8th Brigade
Land Warfare Studies Centre
Regional Training Centre (WA)
Royal Military College Duntroon (RMC)
Science and Technology
Soldier Career Management Agency (SCMA)
The Pilbara Regiment

List of units that might help ya Spoonman. Yea theres been talk of forming a new regiment for ages....but theres alwayz been talk. The reserves pay was done with a level system. e.g period 0f 11th-19th Pvt Joe bloggs spent 3 days on base (gets x amount of dollars) and 5 days in the bush eating ration packs ( substandard conditions so gets a higher rate).

Officer of Engineers, Is it a rewarding career that I would recommend 2 somone? Well.. like the canadian, the aus army has been downsized substantially over the last 2 decades and periods between promotion increased. Although, for the individual, its still a good career to have. Its a shame we dont have the ready reserve scheme still for the army (1 yr fulltime 4 yrs part-time with paid education and service bonus). But.. the pay is still above average and alot of living costs are paid for. Most the infantry reservists that went to timor were 'ready reservists' serving the last yrs of there part-time commitment so they were already trained up b4 they started their deployment training.
Biggest problem in the adf would be the retention rate and a lack of funds for new weapon systems. Biggest problem in the army is the lack of infantry regiments and often being last on the list for new toys (maintaining the air/sea gap gets priority) whilst having both homeland and os deployment responsibilities. It's great for the young guys who want to make extra money with all the deployments but tough on the guys with families to care for. If your young and want to learn a trade then its worth it for the general rank entry. For officers, after the rank of Major, availability of commands and promotion is low. Personally, I left coz because of the office politics that go on with the lack of advancement options available.
But that seems the trend of the australian, canadian, british and new zealand defence forces unfortunately.

-{SpoonmaN}-

Yeah we should have a ready reserve scheme. If we did I'd be more than happy to take that option, although it's pretty unlikely that they'll initiate such a program by next year so I guess i'll just have to make do with the normal reserve system, which is a shame cause it doesn't appear to pay all that well. But yeah we need more infantry battalions, and we could probably use another armoured rgt. I read that enlistment's been up in the past few years, so perhaps a reday reserve scheme would attract more recruits and we'd be able to boost frontline units. Another idea I've read about would entail attatch reserve rifle companies to regular infantry battalions on a permanent basis. I guess then we could raise some extra battalions and keep some full strength ones handy for rapid reaction. But like you said the Army always comes last so it's nothing but a wish list.

Officer of Engineers

Selective,

One question, how's the Staff leadership? Do they have a vision or are they just begging for scraps from the Treasury?

Selective

The staff aint 2 bad actually (some great minds amongst them). It's more the defence ministers, political departments and media that turn the defence budget into a redtape nightmare.

Officer of Engineers

Medic! I've just cracked a rib laughing.

I hear you, Man. I hear you.

-{SpoonmaN}-

Even if they don't always do it so well, I still prefer to have civilians running the military rather than the other way round.