Hopefully new enlistee here (USAF)
Targets are THAT way!
What are your thought on remote pilots, and the use of drones for terrorist targets?
Drones are a beautiful weapon of war, and anything that helps us kill the enemy while avoiding being killed ourselves is a good thing, but the pilots aren't very popular people amongst the Lean, Mean, Killing Machines that are the Infantry. In general, the further back from danger your job is, the more we hate you, and the more you talk about your job being vitally important, the more we hate you. Being part of a group of people that are often drastically unfit by army standards adds to the hate. Conclusion - if you fly drones, don't talk to the infantry.
What are some differences between the British military and US military? Do a lot of people join for patriotic reasons, or for ego/finances/free college?
From what I know of your lot, the British army is a lot more like the USMC than the Army. I can't speak for why people join - it's mostly because we've made it into a really good career, I like to think - but in comparison to our American bretheren we tend to be less muscular but far more capable at marching long distances with weight on. We also tend to dispense with all the 'hooah' and overt displays of enthusiasm and stick to slagging off the army - until a civilian tries to join in, at which point it's the best thing in the world. There's a programme by which there's always a US Airborne officer in the Parachute Regiment and a Para officer with the Airborne, and we once had a bloke called Captain Conn as a platoon commander. I don't doubt they chose their best man to be an ambassador, but he was a fantastic young officer and became one of the lads straight away.
The extent of my parachuting knowledge is through the 101st Airborne from watching Band of Brothers. I'm sure there are some new changes since. Can you explain a bit of what they were?
You'd be surprised; I watched Band of Brothers and very little has changed, except that it's supposed to be sneaky so flying into anti-aircraft fire isn't generally recommended.
Yeah, noone jumps out of aircraft anymore.
Grr... nerve touched there. Drops on the scale of Market Garden are no longer considered a Good Idea because they're so hideously unsubtle, but small-scale drops can and have been done to great effect. Last year, 1 PARA (
not the post-SDSR British Army, but an entire airborne battalion or regiment in US terms) jumped into Afghanistan and managed to drive the Taliban out of one of their last major stronghold towns in the Task Force Helmand area. That was the most recent jump into combat since Suez, but smaller jumps - for example, my battalion dropped our new CO into the sea around the Falklands by parachute in 1982 - prove that it's still a very useful skill to have. Not to mention the seperate argument that having 'jumped from the air' means we 'conquer fear', to use old Monty's words, and that having a specialist role like that attracts the best men and makes them feel a cut above the rest, contributing to why we are the best line infantry in the army.
It's all about helicopter insertions now, right?
Ah, I
love air assaults.They're certainly getting used a lot, because they're fast and much more subtle; 5 Airborne Brigade was redesignated 16 Air Assault Brigade not too long ago and the American 101st Division followed suit. I'd say, as much as I don't like to admit it, they're almost always a better option than parachute jumps, although there is still a place for throwing yourself out of an aircraft.
Not for Paras, they usually do ground insertions these days.
As do all infantry. There's no point going by aircraft and putting all of your metaphorical eggs in a few baskets if we can just walk or take a vehicle. We're the best line infantry in the army as well as being able to parachute into battle; whatever we need to do, we can do.
Do you know if there are age restrictions on recruits? For example, could someone join an armed service in his late twenties or early thirties?
The British don't let you apply over 29, I think, except for certain professionally qualified roles (lawyer or padre, for example)
I suppose compared to a bunch of C-130s and parachutes. But I recall back when Huey's were still widely in service, you could hear them coming, and recognize the difference between a Huey and a different helicopter, a couple of minutes before it came into view.
