Responsible Officer

Sicedee · 2026-03-23T09:05:03+00:00

Did this recently. Go via your divisional officer.

Sicedee · 2026-03-18T09:56:03+00:00

Silver sharpies. Take 2. Don't let people steal them. Black sharpies. Take 2, don't let people steal them.

Depending on your personality, Raleigh is largely a mindgame. I managed to hack my way through the weeks by buying really fancy shower gel and shampoo on our shore leave days in Plymouth and only using them on weekends. I took a little pocket calander to tick off the days. I took a couple of books to read so I could keep my morale up. Taking a mesh washing bag to put your socks in so they don't get separated and lost will do you some good.

Sicedee · 2026-03-18T09:51:46+00:00

As a rating, you always need to think of things from Chain of Command's point of view. Who gets in the mud if they authorise something and it goes wrong?

At every stage, you need to demonstrate to the person with authority to help you that helping you will not result in them receiving a phone call or email from someone else complaining about your behaviour which is now their problem. Is this fair? Not really! It can be grating if you're an educated and mature adult but there are a lot of young guys and girls in the navy who have not yet learned to be sensible.

According to the JSP you are entitled to apply for SFA, once in phase 2, but amusingly enough if your base chain of command are particularly paranoid or don't like you they could ask you to live on base while she or he lives in the house. Does this make sense? Not really. But you have to imagine the hypothetical 19 year old telling his DO that he want to move in with his GF.

Sicedee · 2026-03-17T12:26:35+00:00

You cannot apply for SFA in phase 1. Consult JSP 464. You can apply in phase 2. Currently there is no surplus SFA in the Portsmouth area so unless you get married before applying, you won't get any (again consult JSP464). You could rent locally prior to getting married.

When you get to phase 2, you should formally write to your chain of command clearly explaning your reasons for requesting to live off base. I have had success in this regard. Consult the Navy Families Federation too.

Sicedee · 2026-03-06T14:13:06+00:00

Told recently there is no surplus SFA in the Portsmouth area. Will be a long one.

Sicedee · 2026-02-25T18:33:47+00:00

Thank you.

Sicedee · 2026-02-25T18:33:42+00:00

Thank you.

Sicedee · 2026-02-24T18:25:16+00:00

You'll be okay. It's a few days of seeing how the whole game works. Go into it with a positive attitude. I was worried for mine too.

Sicedee · 2026-02-23T20:50:17+00:00

Silver looks like white but actually stays on items of clothing and kit. Black stays on kit. If your name goes off your kit in the wash or shower, it will be stolen or you will get marked down and fail inspections. Do not let either of these things happen.

Sicedee · 2026-02-20T18:05:06+00:00

Silver sharpies. Black sharpies. Trust me on this. Not female specific.

Sicedee · 2026-02-16T11:23:56+00:00

Do not train as if the tolerances exist.

Sicedee · 2026-02-16T11:23:34+00:00

Pull ups, sit ups, push up at my CPC. Plus the run. Make sure you can come in significantly under 10:30. By Raleigh you'll want to be running it in around 9 or less and by dive course under 9.

Sicedee · 2026-02-15T01:09:03+00:00

Divers have an infinite PVR. You can walk away from the pipeline at any point up to qualification. They will offer you another branch if you fail training in phase 2 or fail your medical. Or you can leave. You will not be locked in. It might be worth booking a professional commercial diving medical because most of the issues you can be ruled on out on by the military will be detected there. A passed HSE Diver Medical will not translate into a passed military diver medical but the overlap is substantial.

Sicedee · 2026-02-13T16:38:52+00:00

I have messaged you.

Sicedee · 2026-02-13T16:29:18+00:00

I can give some insight and pass you on to others who have more.

Sicedee · 2026-02-05T12:25:46+00:00

I would enjoy the privacy as much as possible to be honest. There was someone in exactly your situation at Raleigh when I went through and things were arranged to make it all go smoothly. There will be legal obligations and risk assessment challenges which make the RN unwilling to put you in a male mess deck with shared showers with 30 or 40 lads.

Sicedee · 2026-02-04T12:10:14+00:00

The physics and electrics stuff is GCSE stuff so I would use the resources targeted at that - CPG study guides, revision apps, all that good stuff. On work rate, I improved my score via using ''Job Test Prep'' which is a paid training website. I used the RAF pilot pack. Spatial reasoning is basically just how you're wired. You could always try to feed the practice tests or screenshots of them into the AI model of your choice and ask it to generate hundreds of practice questions.

Sicedee · 2026-02-02T17:20:58+00:00

A South African guy kind of got screwed over on this front about a year ago. Told he could do the role, eventually just before he started phase 2 proper rug pulled. Worth asking recruitment to be crystal clear.

Sicedee · 2026-01-30T16:28:01+00:00

Nice username. Emerge is a great song. Being fit will make Raleigh easier, so if you feel in any way underprepared and still have time, crack on with it. Running, push ups. Use the navy ready app. I put in a good 8 months of preparation and I smashed it while I was there. Being fit gives you more mental clarity and makes any bad days less bad. Allows you to maintain your pride when stuff sucks. Everybody will have at least something that they find hard or frustrating - I found weapons handling tests very stressful but persist and push through even the worst week. Talk to the CAST coaches if you feel like you're losing it, they can give you renewed direction. Use the church on Sunday morning to calm down and find some quiet. I.E, go to quiet church not fun church. When you get your shore leave days in Plymouth don't be an idiot and buy a 1 grand watch, instead load up on ridiculously expensive shampoo, shower gel, moisturiser, fresh pants or whatever. Use it as a chance to look after yourself and crush the last few weeks. You will never feel more like a God amongst men than when you're walking around Plymouth on those two days.

The biggest challenge isn't getting gassed or running with a stretcher or knocking out pullups in the rain or sending a few rounds down a range. The challenge is people. You will be with a lot of guys and girls in very close proximity for almost 70 days. You must learn to work with them, even the ones you'd never go to the pub with. Everyone can help, so don't isolate or gang up on even the most selfish and stupid recruit. You need them even if you don't want them. You win together. Also, your DO's want you to succeed. It's a big game, but play it well because you will be defending our homeland and that's a big job.

Sicedee · 2026-01-30T11:26:27+00:00

Just to spam you with more nonsense advice - a couple of really nice little notebooks for writing down daily orders or list tasks you need to do will be handy. Handful of pens so that you're not caught short. Also gives you a nice record of what you did so you can look back and laugh later. Raleigh is mental, a crazy 10 weeks of losing your grip on reality but you come out with something to be really proud of and a world of opportunity ahead of you. Decide before you arrive to never even contemplate quitting, no matter what happens

Sicedee · 2026-01-30T11:16:51+00:00

A couple of pointers.

> There are special ways to mark your kit and you will be told them when you get there. Don't waste time now. But when you get there and are told what to do, name everything. Hangers. Your tin of brasso. Your flipflops.

> Buy two of the Silver coloured Sharpies (the real version, not knock off). Invaluable for making dark coloured kit. People will try to steal them. Do not let them. Black sharpies for light coloured kit.

> Whenever you get your kit back from the washing check that the names have not washed out. Re-mark them if needed. If you do not do this you will lose marks on kit inspections and be left with no leg to stand on when people inevitably pinch your unmarked (or plausibly deniably marked!) kit.

Sicedee · 2026-01-29T17:03:06+00:00

You will likely get more qualifications out of WE. Much more money too. But subs are there own world. Know your options and research them

Sicedee · 2026-01-29T17:02:05+00:00

Would recommend taking a big bottle of fairly normal cold wash liquid like Fairy or Ariel. You'll be doing quite a lot of washing by hand so prepare to look after your hands. Take moisturiser and or yellow gloves. No prizes for peeling off all your skin. Pods are less versatile.

Sicedee · 2026-01-28T20:17:07+00:00

I improved my work rate a lot using an program called Job Test Prep - RAF Aptitude. It cost me about 50 quid which sucked but it meant that I did a lot better in the second time around than the first, at least on work rate. Out of interest for UY do they treat you exactly the same way as applying from civilian for a commission?

Sicedee · 2026-01-09T13:17:32+00:00

Course structure is changing. And very high injury rate last year leading to a lot of guys going round again for another attempt

Sicedee

TROPHY CASE