Why the Army is changing its entry rank for some reserve recruits

A new initiative is to be trialled that will allow some civilians to join the Army reserves at a higher rank.

From the autumn the Army School of Physical Training will allow qualified civilian fitness professionals to join the Physical Training Corps as sergeants rather than entering training as a private.

It is hoped the move, which will come into place in September, will boost reserve numbers across the Army.

[larsr.hansen]

If the Army lacks trained physical trainers - why not hire them as civilian employees instead of giving civilians a military rank they have not earned through service and training - it undermines the military rank system.

[Moseley]

That lass seemed enthusiastic and tough but the interview loses its focus when they start talking about gender.
It’s the quality of the candidate not the identity.

[sibets]

Having civilians go into the army at a higher rank is out of order, paper qualifications do not mean that they can actually do the job in hand. This fast tracking has been used in other various jobs and they do not work, the people already in the job who will be working under them are expected to show and guide them through what and how the job works. That to me is unfair on the existing staff and is blocking their chances of promotion or progression.

[dr.ryttmastarecctm]

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, my father joined the USA Navy. He was a college graduate PT instructor and he entered the Navy as a Petty Officer. As he told it, the Navy did this so he outranked the seamen he was drilling. After the Guadalcanal landings, he volunteered for the Navy's "Underwater Demolition Teams" (UDT). They were the direct antecedent to today's Navy SEALs. Dad received a battlefield commission to Ensign and ended the war as a Lieutenant Junior Grade, was a UDT team commander, and has 9 Battle Stars on his Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.

[rogerwilco]

"I always felt I needed to prove myself.."
Could you do me a favor and pick up a 200 pound man and move him 100 meters please?

[steveobright]

Quality wheelbarrow technique on display there

[alextop]

I'm sure the pt core lads going to love this idea why not promote more solid ptis think it's the wrong unit to be playing with

[davidking]

You don't need to have been in Combat to be a fitness instructor. It helps in a Fighting unit as a PTI because of the amount of different kit you have to carry. We need the Reservists more than ever at this present moment in time. Fast track would help with getting more civilians through the door as long as they have the teaching abilities that the Military needs. We need warriors on the front line not body builders.

[Accrd]

Imagine being in the military for years and some random just walks in and skips past you, not talking officers here.

[baronedipiemonte]

Some branches of the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve have already been doing this, Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, and possibly the Army. Depending on critical specialty you can enter as an E-3 or E-4. I entered the service as an E-4 Petty Officer, age 27, at the start of the first Gulf War, but the requirements were far and away more strict and stringent than that for a regular enlisted recruit or even a Direct Commissioned Officer. I already had my University degree as well. I think there's a lot of benefit to the service and the population with such programs. The military gets a higher calibre, more mature, and for the most part already higher trained cadre. I had completed three years of high school ROTC which is the UK equivalent of the various Cadet Corps.

[davidrowan]

Direct entry to rank hasn’t worked out well in the Police and it won’t do so in the Army either.

[alfnoakes]

Many years ago when working as a Nurse in London a patient who was an old soldier told me (after watching me spend another exhausting shift trying to persuade patients to co-operate with treatment) I should join the Army, where my rank as a Registered Nurse would mean they had to Obey Orders : ). Have to admit the idea had a certain appeal.

[alantoon]

When I joined the US Army National Guard in 1977 it was under a skills for stripes program. Became an E-5 6 months after completion of training....

[bastogne]

Im over 50 can I go in as a general...

[mjspice]

Some years ago as a serving police officer with around 12 years service and having CID experience I looked at what was then the TA. I was told that with my service and experience I would be taken into the RMP and fast tracked to the rank of Sgt. I would of course have still had to undergo basic training and start at the bottom.

Sadly the force I belonged to was, at the time, very hostile towards officers serving in the TA and rejected my application for permission to join.

Pity, I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed it..

[s]

This reporter needs to look at the questions she's asking, in a environment where equality is being massively pushed to the front of everything (and so it should be.)
How can questions like"what's it like to be a woman here..." Still be relevant? Instantly undermines that particular individuals efforts by making it sound like they're less capable.

[hungryghost]

'I'm at such a disadvantage. I'm a real hero, just for taking two weeks off my job. It's horrible. It's a break. I'm a hero...blah blah blah....' Get out a box of pink-ribbon VC's 🎖🥇 : the disadvantaged heroes are coming! 😂😂

[billmmckelvie]

I could write a thesis on the pros and cons of this system. Back in the mid eighties, I had to leave due to the numbers educationally qualified to corporal but no positions in the trade. The question the MoD should have be asking back then was instead of transfering any soldier, sailor or airman to the Reserve after completing their service. They should have offered an optional transfer them to an active Territorial Unit, RAF Reserve Squadron, or RN Reserve Unit. Sadly I think it is down to short term Government policy. I believe we lost quite a lot of valuable experience, in my own case it took me 4 years to become really experienced, wiser, maturer and in some ways finding my identity! This maybe a way of the MoD trying to get PTI experience into the service quickly! I hope they have moved on since the eighties and really look after those who are in!

[ssjmonstar]

Is the physical training the same for women as men?
Can a female soldier carry another soldier to safety?

[steveluke]

In the days of National Service men who went to univesity had their service defered until they finised. Some with the right degree became Corperals after basic training then Sargents after trade training. Others went to an OTC and became officers. Young women who qualified as State Registered Nurses entered as officers. One SRN I knew of went in as a Lt. and six months later was a Capt. So this is not new.