Becoming An RAF Gunner
What does an RAF Gunner do?
Basically, as an RAF regiment gunner, it's my job to defend aircraft assets and air personnel. I could find myself serving in somewhere such as Iraq or Afghanistan on the front line providing force protection and basically ensuring that the RAF can protect the skies effectively.
Can women become RAF Gunners?
Unfortunately women can't join the Royal Airforce Regiment. This is for combat effectiveness reasons. But they can join other jobs within the Royal Air Force and they could find themselves serving along side the Royal Airforce Regiment doing day to day duties on an operational tour.
Is being an RAF Gunner a full time job?
It certainly is a full-time job. I would like to call it a full-time lifestyle. Being part of the Royal Air Force and the organization that it is, you're going to find yourself working twenty-four hours a day at times, so, it's probably a little bit more than a full time job.
Is there any specific training you can do to become an RAF Gunner?
The training consists of soldiering skills: basically, how to live in the field, how to operate effectively with heavy equipment on your back. It involves learning a range of different weapons systems, learning those weapons inside out and knowing how to fire them effectively, and obviously hit the target that you wish to engage. It also involves things such as drill, which is marching, learning how to put on a parade. And you could find yourself doing ceremonial duties in the Queen's Colour Squadron as a part of the Royal Air Force regiment. So you've got to be able to put on a show outside places such as Buckingham Palace.
Do you have to be fit to become an RAF Gunner?
You certainly do have to be physically fit to be a RAF Regiment Gunner. It's a massive part of the job, being able to hike with 60 pounds in your pack for however many miles you might have to go, and not just in the UK but also overseas as well where weather conditions could be extremely hot, so being fit and being robust is a massive part; the fitter you are, if you do decide to become a regiment gunner, the easier life will be when you're undergoing training.
How long does basic training take for an RAF Gunner?
Basic training consists of approximately 22 weeks at Royal Air Force Halton. Some of the things can affect that, if you are to get injured, or you get back-squatted for whatever reason, then your basic training course could last a little bit longer than what you anticipated. But after basic training, the training never stops. Before you deploy on an operational tour overseas to somewhere such as Iraq, Afghanistan, you'll undergo pre-deployment training. It's basically the Air Force is always going to prepare you for whatever situation that you could come across, so training is an ongoing development within the Royal Air Force.
What advice would you give to an aspiring RAF Gunner?
I think the mere bit of advice I could give to anybody is, make sure you research the career thoroughly before you go into it. It is very different from all the traits within the Royal Air Force. We are very much on our own in the sense that we do things a little bit differently being gunners as opposed to wearing blue uniform. I think that you have to be 110% committed to get through the training and you have to really want to be a gunner to succeed. So just make sure that is definitely what you want.
Do I need a GCSE's or A-levels to become an RAF Gunner?
You don't actually need any academic qualifications to become an aircraftsman within the Royal Air Force regiment. But what you do have to do is undertake the Royal Air Force aptitude test and this consists of basic numeracy skills, English language skills and that sort of thing; if you score high enough on the test then you'll be asked to go on something called a potential gunner's acquaintance course, better known as a PGAC and that's a 3-day course, standard RAF, where you put through your paces, and at the end of that you'll be told whether you'll be invited to come back to undergo the 22-week, gruelling basic gunner training.
What skills do RAF Gunners learn?
Obviously learning how to fire guns is the main one. You're going to learn how to fire a range of different weapon systems. You're going to learn survival skills, how to survive in the toughest of conditions. It's our job to make sure we can operate effectively in whatever conditions may be. You could find yourself on snow survival training courses in somewhere like Norway or you could find yourself on a jungle warfare training course in somewhere like Belize. The skills are absolutely huge, there's a massive range there. You're going to learn leadership skills, management skills, and oviously working as a team. You can't operate effectively unless you've got a team of men handy, so teamwork is a massive element of the job.
What roles can you combine with being an RAF Gunner?
It's certainly a security-orientated role. Obviously, you're providing protection for air bases and aircraft and air assets. So it's definitely security-orientated. Job searchers: the police force, working in professional security back in the UK, they're the type of thing that you might find yourself going into if you ever do decide to leave the service.
Why did you become an RAF Gunner?
For a number of reasons to be perfectly honest. I think the main one was for mental and physical challenge. I thought of a range of careers before hand. I visited all three sections of the British military. And the RAF Gunner was the most appealing to me and I got the best positive response from them. The thing about a career in the military, I wanted to experience life on the front line, and I wanted to get away as much as possible. So the RAF regiment was the one for me.
