RAF Reserves before Regular Service

RB199611

Hey guys, I’ll keep this brief...

I am currently halfway through my Masters research degree with the aim of enrolling as an RAF Intelligence Officer, Analyst or Linguist being my other options, upon completion. COVID has scuppered my timeframe I had set in regard to finishing my Masters and there is little point applying now, as intended, due to an unknown timeframe on my behalf.

I know there may be issues regarding my medical which may end my application altogether but I am still going to try until I either am in service or told to stop trying. I really want to get the ball rolling so was wondering if it would be worth joining the reserves as an Intelligence Analyst now and get an understanding of what it’s about then join the regulars or wait around 18 months or so until I have completed everything and just join the regulars as an Intelligence Officer?

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips

Reply 1

Foured2

Hello

I’m part way through my application as Int. Analyst, as far as I’m aware the full training in the Reserves for that specific role takes 12 months+ if I’m not mistaken (as you only train weekends), not sure how flexible that is, so might be something you need to consider as well as the time it will take for your application to complete.

Not sure how much you’ve read into Intelligence Officer or Officer role at all, but make sure you have good previous leadership experience, it might be a good idea to focus on that until you apply if you don’t have much. I originally went down the SNCO route which is quite similar to joining as an Officer, and I’ve read and heard a lot of people failing the application because they just don’t have the previous experience.

Reply 2

Drewski

Original post by RB199611

I really want to get the ball rolling so was wondering if it would be worth joining the reserves as an Intelligence Analyst now

Not really. In 18 months you'll have barely got through your training, there's not much insight you'll gain in that time.

If officer is your first choice, apply for officer.

Use your time to improve your fitness and gain experiences that you can use to demonstrate leadership potential.

Reply 3

RAF_Adam

Hi

You'll go through the same medical as a Reserve as you will for Regular entry, so if you think there may be an issue then it will be picked up there.

As has already been advised, as a Reserve you will not have finished all of your phase two training by that period of time, so you'll not see anything in terms of day-to-day role before being ready to apply for the Regular side.

The decision is entirely up to you, you'll also have to factor in whether you can commit to Reserves as well as doing your studies etc.

Kind regards
Adam
RAF Recruitment

Reply 4

username1177050

hey man, the place in which i worked at until recently had someone who was a reserve for 3MI, they might be worth checking out if you are in London. It helps greatly with the recruitment process and timeline if you already have some form of clearance, preferably DV but SC is good also, especially from a government agency/civil service department.

We work with some of these lads and the royal signals on the regular, and let me tell you, they are extremely switched on and on the ball, they know exactly what is happening in all theatres of the world. we also, from time to time, have a JNCO on site, as they are expected to do a stint with my department, and their work can be read by the prime minister.

If you want to go the reserve route, then that is also a very good choice, as the unit is heavily operationally focused and many of the reserves have done tours and placements. it is not the easy route by any means and you will have plenty of opportunity to put yourself forward for service as a reserve. There are other detachments if you are located elsewhere, but the unit is highly selective, so be prepared to hear that you are not necessarily what they are looking for. I have also heard that its better to join as an intelligence soldier, as opposed to an officer, if you want to do the nitty gritty intelligence work, rather than managing a team of soldiers.

It looks like a really solid unit, and I have looked at joining them myself. However, i have a 4 PARA Company in the town next to mine, and the other units are further away, so i may have a crack at that.

good luck with whatever you decide to do!