Submariner life, could anyone shed any light?

.....

 

abc123 your post is confusing, is he going to apply as Rating (which means going to Raleigh) or Officer (which is Dartmouth)?
As things stand most if not all Boats will be a Faslane, if he wants to work in Scotland he will probably get his wish (or if he doesn't if it comes to that)!

 

You're absolutely correct, if he joins as a Wafare Specialist (Submariner) then he will undertake his Initial Naval Training at Raleigh, which is 10 weeks long and during which leave is not usually granted. That said, there is a new intake most weeks and so if seasonal leave falls during their training then they will get leave. As a WS(SM) his Phase 2 training will also be at Raleigh. I'm not sure how long that is but the RN website will have the details. Weekend leave is granted during Phase 2. If he wants to go to Faslane after that for his subsequent training and service I can't see that being a problem.

Time away once qualified is dependent on what platform he's serving on and its tasking and so the question can't really be answered at this range. It can vary from days or weeks to 9 or 10 months. Glasgow is plenty close enough to commute. Living in the area already, I'm sure you know enough about Helensburgh not to want to move there!

And of course the separation can cause issues in some relationships, others survive years of Naval life. That is entirely down to you and your other half. I've been a submariner for over 25 years, and while it hasn't always been a bed of roses my marriage has endured.

 

I have been told by one of the people from my local AFCO office that for the role I have applied for in the Subs that the waiting list is around two months.

 

Warfare Specialist Tactical

She made it out to be both. She did say that the Submarine Service would take me on very quickly due to them being so short on recruits she said it may be 2 weeks or 2 months after my tests are all done.

 

@pompeyexpat I quite like living in helensburgh, it's a lovely town, the married patch is really good community is great and scenery around here is beautiful

 

Great fish and chips. Terrible beach.

 

It's hardly a golden Sandy beach but never the less is a beautiful view from my living rooms and bedroom looking out at the sea and a nice walk along the front to the park in the sun is a damn sight better than walking past brick buildings and litter on the floor and a horrible murky canal in the town I used to live In haha

 

Can't say the beach we have here in my town is any better. At least we can see ships berthed up next to Dunfirmline as well as the Forth Road/Rail Bridge. Adding to that we see lots of Merchant ships sailing up and down every day. Due to a rather controversial oil plant close to us we can no longer smell the salty sea air.

 

Good luck to you however it goes fella!

 

@abc123, I am impressed at the amount of thought you have already put in to having an OH as a submariner. If you're looking for stability once he has been appointed to a boat the best to volunteer for are the Trident boats which have two complete crews and alternate 3 months(approx.) at sea and 3 months catching up with leave and courses etc. As there is always one boat at sea this can mean your OH could be away at main holiday periods(such as Christmas) and also there is very little communication available during the patrol.
As long as you are going into this with your eyes open there should be no problem maintaining your relationship.
Good luck whichever way you chose to go.

 

Good luck abc123! I'm actually from the 'Burg and kept getting sent back there!

Look here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/helensburghmemories/?ref=bookmarks

 

Hey

Just a quick dit from me, I finished Raleigh recently and am now in my phase 2 as a WESM and we no longer get a preference between SWS and TWS. The drafting process is made before we even turn up at Raleigh for WESMs.

So now, each whole entry of WESMs is drafted completely SWS or TWS, there's no choice anymore!

 

I would like to shed some light on the subject of submarines.
Here's a photo of my pit. I took it a very long, long time ago.
You shed any light on my bunk - you got verbally and physically
abused. Simple.

 

@pumber21, were you given no choice at all and just got to Raleigh to get told whether you were SWS or TWS? Or are you getting asked at the AFCO what your preference is?

 

No choice at all! Yeah mate, when I arrived at Raleigh there was a chit on the bulkhead that just said WESM SWS training pipeline and boom, that was us.

Nope, no preference at the AFCOs either.

Not sure if it's the same for Warfaries

 

Told 8 weeks from training ... if the medics get the finger out !

 

Good to hear. My Arse is making buttons to get it all over and done with.

 

Ha don't take it from me though ... i was told i would be in training within 3 months ... that was a year ago lol

 

Oh dear