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Training for the Royal Naval Reserve
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Basic Training – Rating
The New Entry Training is split into two parts. Part 1 takes place in your local unit and involves a wide range of subjects including the Navy and how it works, drilling, map reading, team building, and reaching and maintaining a certain level of fitness. Part 2 training is a two week residential course held at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall. It involves first aid, fire fighting, an assault course, a swimming test, a 2.4 km run and multi-gym fitness exercises done against the clock, a one day sea survival course and activities on Dartmoor. It ends with a ‘Passing Out Parade’ that family and friends are invited to.
Trade Training – Rating
The specialisation training takes place either in your Unit, or at Regional or National training weekends. Your mandatory two week continuous training either takes place on a ship or at a shore establishment in the UK or abroad. This is completed with a two week qualifying course at the Lead School for your specialisation where you take any exams that are required.
Once you have successfully completed all the required elements you are eligible to be promoted to Able Rate along with an increase in your daily rate of pay. It is then up to you to take advantage of the promotion system within the RNR.
Training – Junior Officer
If you enter the RNR as an officer, you join as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant and enter the Junior Officer training programme. This involves a variety of different types of training that gives you all the basic skills required of an officer. This includes man management, military leadership, sea-sense, teamwork skills, fire-fighting and damage control.
The training takes between 18 to 24 months and is usually done one evening a week and occasional weekends, along with two weeks consecutive training a year. It may be done at seas on a Royal Navy war ship anywhere in the world, as well as a two weeks training stint at BRNC Dartmouth in Devon.
Your training finishes with the Fleet Board exam; a full day assessment of written and oral examinations. Pass this and you become a substantive Sub-Lieutenant, the first step of your RNR officer career.
Adventurous Training
You’re not likely to join the RNR so you can sit around and read books! Sport and adventure is an important part of life in both the Navy and RNR as it improves fitness, team skills and confidence as well as being good fun. Activities such as canoeing, climbing, skiing, football and abseiling can take place either in the UK or abroad.
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