Working As An RAF Gunner On A 'Tour Of Duty'
What is a 'tour of duty'?
A tour of duty is one of two things. You have a tour of duty out of area. An out of area tour would be going to somewhere such as Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Iraq, Afghanistan, wherever in the world the RAF is serving. You could find yourself out there for a four to six month period, if not even longer. That's an out of area tour, that's something that is sort of out of the ordinary from serving in the UK. A tour of duty in the UK approximately lasts three years. It could last longer, it could last less. It just depends on the nature of the job that you're getting posted to. I'm in a field squadron, I'm [unintelligible] Field Regiment, [unintelligible] posted there three years ago. I've spent the last three years carrying out field regimen with that particular squadron.
How long does each 'tour of duty' last?
You can get to choose. You have something called a general application known as a gen app in RAF terminology. Your gen app for the particular tour you would like to go and serve next. The Royal Air Force is very keen to keep personnel interested, keep you happy. So basically people go where they want to go because it is going to keep people in the job. So yes you can choose where you want to go. But if there is a manpower requirement for you to go elsewhere, you might have to go somewhere else for a certain length of time as well.
What are the main differences between being on a 'tour of duty' and serving in the UK?
The differences of being away on a foreign tour is massive compared to being in the UK. In the UK, as I said, a lot of the time you'll work Monday to Friday nine until five and then you go home on a weekend and lead a normal civilian life. Being away on a foreign tour, being out there in a foreign country for one, living in what can a lot of the time can be hostile conditions with high pressure, and it's not everyday that a rocket or a mortar will land within a hundred meters of where you're sleeping. So as I say, life abroad is a lot more high pressure. But, that's what we're trained to do. As a royal air force regiment gunner, that's our bread and butter. That's why we're here. So you have to take the rough with the smooth.
What can you take with you on a 'tour of duty'?
Anything that you can get out there inevitably. I took me guitar over there with us last time; I'm a keen guitarist so that was my little getaway in between going out and serving on the front line. And you can also take things such as TV, playstation, Xbox, anything that's going to keep the troops' morale high and keep spirits going, the royal airforce will try to take it out there for you at your peril, as you like.
How does being on a 'tour of duty' affect family life?
Being on a 'tour of duty' affects you massively, and I think spending six months out of any country is going to affect a person, certainly when you're out in somewhere hostile. You're away from your family for a long length of time. You come back, and your life has inevitably been on hold as far as the U.K. is concerned. You've missed all the news that's went on for the last six months. You've missed life and the pop, the pop culture. And at first it takes a length of time to fit back into being with your friends again and not feeling angry about things that you've missed because you've been away for such a long time. It is very difficult when you first come back, and it is a lot of strain on a person.
How much travel is involved in being an RAF Gunner?
A lot of travel. Expect to travel to hot and sandy places. You're going to find yourself going on exercise quite a lot. So you're going to have to travel away from base for that. You're going to find yourself going away on operational tours quite a lot as well because that is the nature of an RAF regiment gunner, where they are to defend their bases and insure the RAF can police the skies. So just expect to be going away and spending a lot of time away.
Can you receive mail and parcels when you are on a 'tour of duty'?
You can receive parcels and mail. Sometimes there is a bit of a delay on it. It just depends on how many flights are coming into your particular aircraft base. But people can send you parcels and send you something called blue, it's a blue system, and obviously emails now are a massive part of life. Certainly out in Afghanistan I had a laptop at my bed space and I could receive emails, so you can still keep in touch with people back home.
What is the worst thing about being on a 'tour of duty'?
Worst thing about being on tour is being away for a long length of time from the people that you love and miss back home, and also if in hostile conditions. I'd be a liar if I sat here and said that I got a kick out of bullets and bombs coming my way every day. So, the worst part of being on tour is the high pressure of the job, and being away from your family and friends.
