So I’m turning 17 in December and I’m thinking of joining my local air Force cadets. Considering I’ll only be in for a year will I even get through much, especially things such as gliding and powered flying courses. And overall is it even going to be worth the effort with my have right around the corner.
You can join up to your 17th birthday, so don’t dawdle.
You will be working with new cadets of 12, 13 and 14 as you go through the initial training and that may be a bit weird for you but shouldn’t really disadvantage you. It may be easier if you already have friends in your age range at the squadron.
Many squadrons will let you progress through the syllabus at an accelerated rate due to your advanced years, but be warned that you will need to be able to “show value” to the squadron if you wish to stay beyond 18 and that may be more difficult to do with a compressed cadet career.
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Ultimately, you’ll never know unless you give it a go!
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Something’s to think over…
Why do YOU want to join the ATC?
You not a youngster at 12 so what do you aim to get out of it? What is the draw for you to join?
If you think it’s worth while then go ahead and join
If you work hard and prove yourself to the sqn oc then they can extend your service until your 20
I would go along and have a talk with the local unit and see how things turn out
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Thank you guys and honestly I want to join because I really want to push myself and gain various skills and knowledge through this. I feel like I’ve alread missed out on a fair bit and but im willing to dedicate myself to catchup. But the only problem is im also under a fair bit of pressure with school trying to get into a medicine uni course. So I just wanted to know if there are any severe disadvantages from my late enrolement that might potentially leave me with nothing but wasted effort or time.
Honestly I’ll probably enrol either way but I just wanted to be informed beforehand
The is always the Reserves, RAF Army or Navy depending where you live and you will get pay, traveling and you will be allowed a pint when you turn 18…
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I was just about to comment on the Reserves, being able to join at 17 and a half. If I remember correctly.
But it’s not a cadet force. It’s not a youth club or a jolly. It’s a Reserve Force for the military with the capability of call up.
If you are doing a medicine Uni course, then look for your local field hospital unit, they are usually made up of mostly NHS medical professionals, Docters, Nurses etc but you could join as a private and work towards your Combat Medic Technician (CMT) it’s a good course, and has relevance to your intended career.
http://www.army.mod.uk/join/20088.aspx?suppresssearch=true
Use the map to determine your local Field Hospital. You can also look at RAF Reserves, or Royal Navy, Royal Marine Reserves. Find your closest unit, or one that interests you, give them a bell and have a chat.
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My now Cadet Sergeant joined at the age of 17! 
Nothing is impossible and he has come on leaps and bounds!
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I have had some great cadets join approaching 17 and stay all the way until 20. No reason why you can’t do loads if you apply yourself and have the time required. The same “more you put in more you get out” philosophy applies no matter what the age for 12-60 years old.
But as said above it might be worth looking at your reserves options too, but don’t if you go that route you do run the risk/opportunity of being deployed.
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Thank you all for the great support and yeah as much as I want to contribute to my country I’m really not keen on being deployed. I’m heading down to my local cadets next week to apply. Honestly I’m in love with this community I’ve posted this yesterday and there’s already so many great responses. Looking forward to all the opportunities and I’m really liking the idea of combining a medicine career with the defence Force as mentioned above.
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No worries mate. As far as I remember You wouldn’t get deployed if you were in fulltime education unless you requested to do so. But it’s not for everyone. Fair play for making your choices.
If you decide later on you are thinking about Reserves, just pop up in here again, there’s a few of us who are ex-regs or ex-Reserves or currently serving with the Reserves, so there is a plethora of experience to draw on. I have no doubt we could all answer and questions you had.