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HMS Raleigh

Discussions on joining & training in the Royal Navy.
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Adam_01
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Posts: 1
Joined: Mon 01 Aug, 2011 1:25 pm

HMS Raleigh

Post by Adam_01 »

Hi I am 21 and joining the Royal Navy as an Air Engineering Technician, I have passed the medical and fitness tests and have one more interview to go. Is there anything in particular I might need to know before I attend this interview about the life and training at HMS Raleigh??
shaft_brake
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Joined: Sun 11 Sep, 2011 4:30 pm
Location: Ferndown

Re: HMS Raleigh

Post by shaft_brake »

I’m guessing you’ve already had your final interview but if you haven’t I’d recommend you have a look at the RN/MOB web site and have a read up on the current issues affecting the RN and ask questions about them. i.e. the future aircraft carriers, operations in Afghanistan, redundancies etc. To be honest it doesn’t matter if you already know the answers to them; just demonstrate that you have an awareness of the issues and are keen to learn more about your future career. It’s far better than asking ‘what’s the food like’ or ‘do I really have to shave every day’.

Raleigh really isn’t anything to worry about. Just go in there with bags of enthusiasm and be prepared to ‘play the game’ (i.e. do as they say, no matter how petty or irrelevant it seems). The three main things that cause people to struggle are;
1) Lack of fitness – you don’t need to go mad with training before hand but it does help with other aspects of the course if you’re not constantly hanging out your arse from the last PT session. I went a bit overboard with my training before I went and my fitness actually got worse during basic training as I was doing less PT than I was used to.
2) Unable to swim – you’re joining the navy ... enough said.
3) Fighting the system – not that I’m suggesting you are not a nice lad but going down there with a chip on your shoulder or giving it the big ‘I am’ isn’t advisable. You are far better off playing the’ grey man’ and then being noticed on your own merits.

Just remember that Raleigh is NOT the real navy. It is purely a process of turning civvies into sailors. It’ll be a steep learning curve initially, but once you get into it you will enjoy it. You will make friends for life and it’s an experience that you’ll look back on with fond memories in years to come. If you do find you’re struggling and thinking of binning it, just remember that you have 6 months from the date of joining where you can simply leave and even after that date there are still ‘ways and means’ of being discharged. In my experience a lot of people who jack it in do so because they feel trapped after signing a 22 year contract (or whatever you sign up for these days). Stick at it and keep a positive attitude and I promise you that you’ll have the time of your life!

At 21 you're likely to be a bit older and more mature than most of your entry so I'm sure you'll take it all in your stride.

Good luck and I’ll hopefully see you in the fleet.
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