RAF Halton pay/ deductions

hi mate recently graduated from phase 1 (3 weeks today actually!)
basically whilst on phase 1 you get a few deductions from your payslip,
the first being your accommodation charge for the block you’ll be sleeping in, it’s not the greatest if i was honest (on my intake we had no lights in our drying room for 7 weeks and my room was so cold we were failing inspections for damp kit) which is about 25 pound per month, which isn’t too bad.
As for the mess charge it’s around 175 every month, which is quite a lot of money when you realise how bad the mess food is🤣, but once you leave phase 1 you are put on a different scheme called ‘pay as you dine’ basically meaning you will only be charged for the meals you decide you want to have at the mess,
hopefully this helps for you, if you have anymore questions or uncertainties feel free to ask away

Thanks for the info. I was going to send you a pm but I’m unable to sue to being a new user I have a few questions if you wouldn’t mind pm’ing me first?

sent you 2 pms by accident🤣

No worries seems I’m unable to even respond so I’ll ask away here as it’s nothing private as such!

I suppose any more info on the following would be great!

what did you find the most challenging part of BRTC? Any top tips for this?

Did you wish you’d taken anything that wasn’t on the kit list? Or contrastingly did you take anything that you didn’t need?

I noticed boots weren’t on the kit list or socks - having done a lot of mountain walking I can only imagine how fresh boots and socks may of rubbed! Are they allocated and how did you find them?

is there anything that you with you were more prepared for?

I assume you’re now off to trade training? Wishing you all the best for that - what trade are you in?

Quite a few questions here so i’ll try go through them as best as i can.

Personally speaking there were a few parts of the course which were challenging for myself, to begin with learning personal admin (as i’ve only just turned 19) was a big step for me, ironing clothes to such a high standard can be very daunting at first but it you’ll learn it all and pick it up very quickly, if you don’t already, i’d highly recommend practicing ironing whilst you’re home just so you have a little bit of expierience doing so. Id also recommend staying on top of your kit as much as you can as it will benefit you as some days you will be wearing a lot of different kit compared to other days, but by having it all ironed and hung up correctly it can save you that bit extra time on a night so you can go on social media etc. finally, i can’t STRESS enough about this but listen to what the corporals want you to do, for example they told us to break into our 1s and 2s shoes from early on so when it came to bulling them it made it a lot easier, i did not do this and found out the hard way as everytime i put my shoes on they cracked and meant i had to re-do it all again, remember if the corporals or flight staff want you to do something, it will be for your own benefit and not just to be a pain.

As for kit wise, make sure you have a good iron that can iron at different temperatures, instead of just a universal one, as some clothes require a lot of heat and others require none at all. DON’T bring a ridiculous amount of civvy clothes with you. Most of the time you will be wearing clothes issued to you and you may get the odd occasion on a weekend to wear your civilian clothes, bringing too much will be a burden as when it comes to inspections it means ironing more civvy clothes - taking up a lot of time which you some nights you might not necessarily have. For guidance we got told around 48 hours of civilian kit is enough to last you the 10 weeks. I didn’t bring a lot of civvies compared to others and it benefited me in many ways. Finally id say bringing good quality wooden coat hangers and trousers hangers will be beneficial, as you want it sturdy to keep as many creases away as possible, bring a fair amount of them with you, but not ott as most of your military kit won’t be displayed and will be stored away. A lot of people didn’t bring enough boot polish with them on my intake, id say you’d need roughly 3 tins of brown polish to last you as you wear your boots a lot, compared to your black shoes. There is a shop on the base that you can use to get a fair few of items that are on the kit list, but the prices they charge are unbelievable and you’ll end up paying a fortune, so don’t try to rely on it.

Personally when it came to our issued boots, i had no issues with them at all, you get issued 4 pairs of thick black socks to wear with your boots and 3 pairs of thin socks to wear with your parade shoes. As long as your boots fit correctly I shouldn’t see you having a problem with them at all, although if you do, maybe bring some plasters with you incase, or a friend of mine doubled up on his thick socks to stop his feet rubbing as much, and that worked for him.
Out of the whole course i was probably most prepared for PT, as i was going on 5k runs every day to ensure my fitness was at a good level for joining, other than that, i’d never ironed or knew how to shoot a rifle at all, and if you haven’t don’t worry. The flt staff are very good at their jobs and you’ll get the hang of it all in no time.

I’m on satts for the time being meaning i’m just waiting for my phase 2 date to start, i’m off to Cosford for a year and a half as i’m going in as an avionics technician, apparently it’s a lot more relaxed there so i’m excited to be there and treat somewhat more like an adult. Thank you for the wishes.

If you feel stressed at any time during your phase 1 or feel like your struggling, try and push through it as best as you can, I can’t put into words how amazing it feels being on the parade square infront of family / loved ones when you’re passing out, definitely a highlight of my life. If you do really struggle at something in particular don’t hesitate to ask your flt staff, they are there to help you and not just shout at you, and will try to assist the best way as possible.

Hopefully all this helps for you, if there’s anything else you’d like to say feel free, if you don’t mind me asking what trade are you going into and i might be able to give you a little insight into what it’s like, depending on what trade it is of course.

Finally, all the best during your training, i’m sure you’ll do very well

sent you 2 pms by accident🤣

Quite a few questions here so i’ll try go through them as best as i can.

Personally speaking there were a few parts of the course which were challenging for myself, to begin with learning personal admin (as i’ve only just turned 19) was a big step for me, ironing clothes to such a high standard can be very daunting at first but it you’ll learn it all and pick it up very quickly, if you don’t already, i’d highly recommend practicing ironing whilst you’re home just so you have a little bit of expierience doing so. Id also recommend staying on top of your kit as much as you can as it will benefit you as some days you will be wearing a lot of different kit compared to other days, but by having it all ironed and hung up correctly it can save you that bit extra time on a night so you can go on social media etc. finally, i can’t STRESS enough about this but listen to what the corporals want you to do, for example they told us to break into our 1s and 2s shoes from early on so when it came to bulling them it made it a lot easier, i did not do this and found out the hard way as everytime i put my shoes on they cracked and meant i had to re-do it all again, remember if the corporals or flight staff want you to do something, it will be for your own benefit and not just to be a pain.

As for kit wise, make sure you have a good iron that can iron at different temperatures, instead of just a universal one, as some clothes require a lot of heat and others require none at all. DON’T bring a ridiculous amount of civvy clothes with you. Most of the time you will be wearing clothes issued to you and you may get the odd occasion on a weekend to wear your civilian clothes, bringing too much will be a burden as when it comes to inspections it means ironing more civvy clothes - taking up a lot of time which you some nights you might not necessarily have. For guidance we got told around 48 hours of civilian kit is enough to last you the 10 weeks. I didn’t bring a lot of civvies compared to others and it benefited me in many ways. Finally id say bringing good quality wooden coat hangers and trousers hangers will be beneficial, as you want it sturdy to keep as many creases away as possible, bring a fair amount of them with you, but not ott as most of your military kit won’t be displayed and will be stored away. A lot of people didn’t bring enough boot polish with them on my intake, id say you’d need roughly 3 tins of brown polish to last you as you wear your boots a lot, compared to your black shoes. There is a shop on the base that you can use to get a fair few of items that are on the kit list, but the prices they charge are unbelievable and you’ll end up paying a fortune, so don’t try to rely on it.

Personally when it came to our issued boots, i had no issues with them at all, you get issued 4 pairs of thick black socks to wear with your boots and 3 pairs of thin socks to wear with your parade shoes. As long as your boots fit correctly I shouldn’t see you having a problem with them at all, although if you do, maybe bring some plasters with you incase, or a friend of mine doubled up on his thick socks to stop his feet rubbing as much, and that worked for him.
Out of the whole course i was probably most prepared for PT, as i was going on 5k runs every day to ensure my fitness was at a good level for joining, other than that, i’d never ironed or knew how to shoot a rifle at all, and if you haven’t don’t worry. The flt staff are very good at their jobs and you’ll get the hang of it all in no time.

I’m on satts for the time being meaning i’m just waiting for my phase 2 date to start, i’m off to Cosford for a year and a half as i’m going in as an avionics technician, apparently it’s a lot more relaxed there so i’m excited to be there and treat somewhat more like an adult. Thank you for the wishes.

If you feel stressed at any time during your phase 1 or feel like your struggling, try and push through it as best as you can, I can’t put into words how amazing it feels being on the parade square infront of family / loved ones when you’re passing out, definitely a highlight of my life. If you do really struggle at something in particular don’t hesitate to ask your flt staff, they are there to help you and not just shout at you, and will try to assist the best way as possible.

Hopefully all this helps for you, if there’s anything else you’d like to say feel free, if you don’t mind me asking what trade are you going into and i might be able to give you a little insight into what it’s like, depending on what trade it is of course.

Finally, all the best during your training, i’m sure you’ll do very well