Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary?

I would choose Royal Navy Warfare Officer for the reason that you have only a few short years before you are too old to apply for the Royal Navy. The RFA, however, enlists up to 55 years of age.

Go Royal Navy I would say, otherwise, you may get too old and wish you had.

Reply 2

Lscott22

OP

Good point but isnt your life at risk in the navy? And don't the Merchant navy get a better pay scales?

Reply 3

So you don't fancy the police now?

Given your answer to MN over RN, it sounds like you have made up your mind. Yes - armed forces WILL, in the big scheme of things, have a higher risk to life.

Reply 4

Lscott22

OP

I have not made up my mind yet, I am just trying to get as much information as I can and keep my options open. Still early days.

Reply 5

Lscott22

Good point but isnt your life at risk in the navy? And don't the Merchant navy get a better pay scales?

Firstly, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Merchant Navy are different organisations.

In the RFA you will be supporting Royal Navy operations. Yes you will usually be in less danger, but you will still be deployed to warzones across the globe.

Reply 6

Who in this thread mentioned the RFA? Not the OP or me.

Reply 7

ProStacker

Who in this thread mentioned the RFA? Not the OP or me.

Look at the title of the thread......

Royal
Fleet
Auxiliary

:rolleyes:

Reply 8

Fair enough - my bad - but the OP keeps mentioning the Merchant Navy and the RN and hasn't covered RFA in his posts.
He is confusing me.

Reply 9

ProStacker

Fair enough - my bad - but the OP keeps mentioning the Merchant Navy and the RN and hasn't covered RFA in his posts.
He is confusing me.

No worries. The OP himself seems to be mixing up the RN, RFA and the Merch.

In his first post he mentions "Deck Officer" this is an RFA position as well as a Merch position.

Reply 10

LukeatForest

13

Your life will be in some small amount of danger if you join any maritime force, simply by virtue of the fact that you shall find yourself 'riding' a tempestuous force that is prone to unpredictability - see rogue waves as a fine example. The Royal Navy is dangerous to an extent, but it's not as if we're losing a load of Navy boys at the moment, is it? I know a few and they're all doing fine. The waiting lists are so long at the moment you may as well apply anyway and then decide in the meantime whether you REALLY want to do it. Though you'll have to research your role well and prove you're really up to it at interview - presuming you meet your mark in the RT, of course.

Reply 11

tea_or_coffee?

Can someone please explain what the difference is between the Royal fleet auxillary and the merchant navy? :confused:

Reply 12

Why not look at the Wikipedia entries for both. That'll see you right and improve your Google fu.

Reply 13

Michel Foucault

10

tea_or_coffee?

Can someone please explain what the difference is between the Royal fleet auxillary and the merchant navy? :confused:

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is part of the MoD Civil Service. The Merchant Navy is a group of commercial civilian shipping companies.

I think that makes me a 1st Dan in Google Fu. I guess I'll have to undertake more extensive searches to get my 2nd Dan.

Reply 14

djmarkmclachlan

My best mate is a Deck Officer (Merchant). His job is very different to that of a Deck Officer (RFA), and even more different to an X(GS) officer in the RN. Before anything else, and even thinking about applying, I'd think you might want to atleast let yourself know the difference and what you might be getting yourself into!

:top:

Reply 15

lewislj12

Hello I am also looking for the same answers to the differences between the rfa and navy. However I would imagine the main difference is in the rfa you are still a citizen in the rfa.This may mean a faster deployment as lower barriers the navy fail to admit this though. The main difference is that as a citizen you ll have more rights. So if you were injured or died this would be an epic problem for the navy. As a military person you I guess sign your citizenship away your contracted to be apolitical. Your rights will be shaped around the needs of the navy. As a navy personal you would almost certainly be looked after very well. More money through promotion in the long run in the navy.I imagine the rfa gives you bags of leave to rest from the stress. Perhaps the rights are adapted from the 48 hour working directive?I imagine this reflects the main differences.

Reply 16

brookjohn5