oohhh,,,life on the ocean wave (Royal Navy)

Member Name: angusreid

Product:	Royal Navy
Date:	15/06/01 (225 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: team work, travel, grow up

Disadvantages: hard work, apart a lot

Life on the Ocean Wave, is it what you dream it is??
Yes and No?
What, I hear you cry, he talks in riddles!

I will give you an account of the experiences that I lived in the Royal navy between 1985-1994, and from there, you can decide.

Now the Royal Navy is not a bit of fun, it is a career, it is serving your country to the best of your abilities, it is having respect and discipline and it is the best way to see the world and all her jewels and get paid to do it.

That is exactly how I would summarise the R.N.

December 1984, the snow was falling from sky with such vengeance that I could barely see ten feet in front of me. My toes were cold, my ears numb and still about a mile to walk before I was home. I stopped at a brightly lit window with a model type 42 warship in the window. This place looked inviting, what was it?
The sign read, Join the Navy!
I was twenty years old, temp working my way around the country since finishing my Business Studies Diploma at college, and I now had this vision of sailing onboard this sleek Navy Warship!

I slinked inside the door and let my eyes follow the pictures of various military items.
“Can I help you?” said the voice of a man in his mid 40’s, obviously in a cushy number until he retired.
“Yes, I would like to join the Navy!” whoops, you have said it now.

Well to cut a long story short, lots of paper work, some fairly easy exams, and a 5-month wait, I was on the train to Plymouth, to join H.M.S. Raleigh, the training centre for the R.N.

As we took the Torpoint ferry, I had a chance to get to know some of the people who would become my family for the next 6 weeks.

There were people from all over the country.
6 jocks oops Scots!
3 scousers
A mixed batch of cockneys and the surrounding areas
I was the only Geordie
A few Brummys

About 30 people in total




Aft
er a brief introduction (about 3 hours) we were fed watered and put to bed.

I think it was 4.30 the next morning we were disturbed from our sleep, by the sound of dustbin lids being banged together loudly.

This was the start of 6 weeks of intense, hard work, but the most fun I have ever had in my life.

You had to learn to march, take orders, salute, fire weapons, assault courses (my personal favourite) gym work and many other discipline and fitness procedures.

It was nearly 4 weeks before you were allowed out for a drink, but I will get back to that later, or maybe even another time, we will see!

The teamwork and bond you have in those 6 weeks is second to none.
The changes that happen to people are amazing, responsibilities sneak past your barriers and you become an adult in every sense of the word.

The training is gruelling, but as I have mentioned, fun!
We spent a weekend on Dartmoor, and some time on a small boat learning the skills of seamanship.

My original trade was that of a Radar Operator, but there are so many different trades you can apply for such as;

Operations department
Sonar, radar, electronic warfare,

Engineering
Marine engineer mechanic, weapons analyst (apparently maintainer operators now)

Modern Apprentice
Know as Artificers, a quick way to gain promotion and learn the skills that will set you up for life.

Supply and secretarial
Store Accountant (this is what I changed vocations to) writers, stewards, and chefs


For more info, go to the Royal Navy’s web site and look it up.

It takes about 6 month before you get a ship, and that is when the hard work and fun really start.
The initiation period is when you first join and everyone shouts at you until you get it right! Now that is not as bad as I make it sound, and if you are not a lippy lad, as I was, you soon get accepted and learn the right a
nd wrong ways.
If you are fortunate to join a ship that is destined for foreign waters as I did, your first year may look like this.

VISITS
Gibraltar
Egypt sail through Suez Canal
Djibouti
Karachi
Diego Garcia
Mombassa
Bahrain
Saudi Arabia
Cyprus
Nassau
Guadeloupe
Puerto Rico
Virgin Gorda
Tampa
Bermuda
Sardinia
Minorca
Majorca
Spain, 3 different ports.

And that was my first year!

What can I say to summarise?

It is certainly not an easy life, but it can be rewarding and set you up in good stead for the rest of your life.

Angus

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