Royal Irish Regiment

[Chelonian]

Hearing alot about Spec Inf recently. Are they the army's boys when it comes to STTTs or is there more to it than that?

Everything I need to know summarised here. Empathy, my ärse.

Specialised Infantry Group

The Specialised Infantry Group is a game-changing new capability for the Army that will complement the continued work of 1UK Div and the regionally aligned Brigades in delivering Capacity Building overseas in line with UK Defence priorities.

www.army.mod.uk

 

[SCOTTY6]

I think it was Spec boys that got a load of stick from certain military banter profiles for calling their personnel “operators”.

 

[m2013]

From people I know serving in a spec inf battalion
They are away alot with sttt type stuff and do go to some Gucci places.

They do tend to think of themselves as seal team 6 I've noticed aswell haha

But in my btn theres always opportunities for blokes to go to the spec inf battalion should they wish

 

[Rob20]

From people I know serving in a spec inf battalion
They are away alot with sttt type stuff and do go to some Gucci places.

They do tend to think of themselves as seal team 6 I've noticed aswell haha

But in my btn theres always opportunities for blokes to go to the spec inf battalion should they wish

Amazing. To be fair any kind of work related to JCTATT is pretty interesting and the full high threat course is meant to be proper gucci. Not quite Seal Team 6 mind...

 

[Dangerous Steve]

I think it was Spec boys that got a load of stick from certain military banter profiles for calling their personnel “operators”.

To be fair their JPA competency after doing the training literally is Spec Inf Operator
The role looks quite good if you want to get away abroad a lot and to get on decent courses like JWIC and UOIC.

 

[Chelonian]

I'm old enough to remember that Mavis who managed a rural telephone switch in Somerset was officially an HM Government Operator.

 

[m2013]

My favourite part of the spec inf mindset is they still have to do the same jnco cadre which is conventional old school squadding
Not the spef inf style which skill fade and rust if you will may show

 

[FlyingMoose]

First off, thanks all for the massive amount of info its greatly appreciated. With regards to STTT's these are one of the things that has drawn me to the RIR ( I understand most army reg's do them).

I think the recruiter is buttering them up. I know a good handful of people move to 2 rifles from rir. But I'd say personally pretty much 99% of line infantry will do the same sort of deployment/overseas exercisss. Mostly depending on if your light/mechanised/armoured. And I dont really think any are better than the other it's just regimental history/pride.

Army has a bad tendency to lie in recruitment. I was told I could do things I dont have a snowballs in hell chance of doing. But fool me

Yeah thats one of the things I'm worried about the buttering up, I am being told that there are huge deployment opportunities within RIR and to be fair they have for sure been about recently, so hopefully its not too buttered up.

From what I've heard the RIR get up to a lot regarding overseas exercises and deployments.

When it comes to operational tours, the Line Infantry seem to get the bulk of them compared to the Paras and the RM - SHADER, TORAL, CORDED, etc (obviously disregarding maritime ops and the ones not in public domain.)

2 and 3 PARA have only been to Afghanistan on TORAL in the past couple of years whereas units like the Rifles and Household Division have been all over the place

As others have mentioned though you're better off doing some solid research first, and with the Future Commando Force things are looking pretty interesting!

Also quick edit, if you're not from that area I wouldn't bother joining the RIR, 'outsiders' tend to get shunned from what I've been told by a guy serving in that regiment.

Thats another thing that draws me towards them, the massive number of deployments they seen to be getting. With regards to the outsider bit, I'll have an ask around and see if thats the case although even if it is I can always work some of that southern charm

The specialisations I'm really interested in are mortars and signals so I need to ask the recruiter about how I would go about getting there (I understand thats a long time away though) in the RIR and to check there's no 'pinging' equivalent in the army.

Thanks all for the help so far, hugely appreciated.

 

[m2013]

There is no pinging equivalent. Youl start in a rifle coy. Then if you want after a while youl get a chance to try one of the fire Support cadres (mortars/jav/recce/snipers etc)

I'm not sure how rir do it but usually people do a couple years before moving to fire.support or hq or a nco cadre.

Most infantry regiments will get a similar amount of deployments. Dont pick purely off that I'd say personally. Think of things like history/job role/ location.

Personally I'd recommend avoiding infantry and going the trade route. One thing that cant be buttered up is infantry retention

 

[FlyingMoose]

There is no pinging equivalent. Youl start in a rifle coy. Then if you want after a while youl get a chance to try one of the fire Support cadres (mortars/jav/recce/snipers etc)

I'm not sure how rir do it but usually people do a couple years before moving to fire.support or hq or a nco cadre.

Most infantry regiments will get a similar amount of deployments. Dont pick purely off that I'd say personally. Think of things like history/job role/ location.

Personally I'd recommend avoiding infantry and going the trade route. One thing that cant be buttered up is infantry retention

Ah right thanks. The job role of RIR on army.mod is light infantry and the specialism of "CQB" which sounds great although it doesn't really provide much info, if anyone could provide a bit more info on why thats their specialism that would be much appreciated.

 

[m2013]

I'd take that as they probably practise cqb alot I know some battalions are better than others at it, and some even have mock houses to practise in

 

[Chelonian]

The specialisations I'm really interested in are mortars and signals so I need to ask the recruiter about how I would go about getting there (I understand thats a long time away though) in the RIR and to check there's no 'pinging' equivalent in the army.

My bold. The most noble of aspirations. Mortars are the pinnacle of military specialisations. Princes among men. Anyone who suggests otherwise is most likely disappointed, bitter and jealous.

Whatever path you choose, best wishes. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Rob20]

Ah mortars. The clumsiest of all in the military, chosen for their ability to drop things.

 

[FlyingMoose]

About ready to start my application and I still don't really know who to go for. Apologies if this comes across as beating a dead horse, but what would people say the major differences between the two are? (aside from titles etc)

 

[SCOTTY6]

Bring me on here mate? We covered a lot of ground on this thread. Differences between who?

 

[Chelonian]

About ready to start my application and I still don't really know who to go for. Apologies if this comes across as beating a dead horse, but what would people say the major differences between the two are? (aside from titles etc)

What are you seeking in a career path?
List the three most important factors which might influence your choice. Over to you.