Royal Air Force

I have been in the RAF just over four years now, I joined up in August 1999. I had wanted to join from a very young age and had been in the Air Cadets since the age of 13. As soon as I was old enough at 17 I went along to my local careers office to find out some more information, my local office was in Manchester but they have offices situated all over the country. After talking with an advisor who was a corporal in the RAF I was booked in for an aptitude test, this is how they distinguish the type of job that you are for want of a better description brainy enough to do. My dream was to be a ... more

An unusual question for a title. However one I was once asked when a lady found out that i was a member of the RAF Police. Im sure that everyone who reads this will have heard of the Royal Military Police (Redcaps), the British Armys police force. Well the RAF Police is the Royal Air Forces police force. They are responsible for the investigation of both criminal and security incidents that occur on RAF establishments throughout the world. The RAF Police's history dates back to the formation of the RAF on 1st April 1918 (Some might say a sign of things to come, April fools day) and have served ... more

The Royal Air Force was formed on April 1st 1918, an amalgamation of both the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). During its short history, the RAF has been involved in every war the country has ever fought in, and has played a decisive part, most notably in the Battle of Britain (1940) and the Allied bombing offensive on Germany (1941-1945). Todays RAF is very different to the war time RAF. Since the demise of the Communist bloc, the UK armed forces have been faced with severe budgetary pressures, the RAFs current strength stands at just over 50,000 with further ... more

I have been in the RAF since early 1988. For all of that time I have been a commissioned officer. For the record, I too wanted to be a pilot - but the RAF realised quickly that it was safer for all concerned if I was kept as far away from actual aeroplanes as physically possible! It might surprise the casual reader to know that 99% of the personnel in the RAF do not fly aircraft instead they fulfill one of over 60 support roles including catering, administration, engineering, education, medical services, driving, policing, air traffic control, logistics and others. Full details of these can be ... more

Life in the armed forces is not for everyone and everyone has their own experience but I would like to offer my view of life in the Royal Air Force (RAF). You can judge from the following if it is a course you would wish to pursue. I joined the RAF in 1980 and served twelve years, leaving in the rank of Corporal. My story, as they say, follows… First, the history lesson. The Royal Air Force was formed on 1st April 1918 from the combination of the existing Royal Flying Corps (run by the Army) and Royal Naval Air Service. You will note that it didn’t take the Army and Navy long to re-establish ... more