THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS

 INFANTRY SOLDIER

"Did You Know"

The Royal Green Jackets..................

• Were the first Regiment to introduce camouflage into the British Army.

• Were the first Regiment to use rifles as opposed to muskets.

• Were the glider-borne troops who took `Pegasus Bridge` (on the night before D-Day).

• Have won more Victoria Crosses than any other Regiment. (The Victoria Cross is the highest award for valour).

• Introduced "Skirmishing" in the attack.

                These are just a few facts about this elite infantry regiment

       The television programme "Sharpes Rifles" portrayed the Regiment in its early days during the Napoleonic Wars.

  The SAS soldier who wrote "Bravo Two Zero" was a member of the Royal Green Jackets.

Job Specification

• EMPLOYMENT Infantry soldier (Royal Green Jackets) known as Rifleman

• PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS You need to be tough, adaptable and reliable, able to fit into a team as well as act with a degree of independence. You must enjoy a challenge. A really valuable asset is a sense of humour.

• JOB DESCRIPTION When you join the Green Jackets you will be trained to a high standard on modern infantry weapons including machine guns and anti-tank missiles, you will learn the different techniques of living and fighting on foot or in armoured vehicles. You could soon be operating in Europe, the desert or the jungle as part of a close-knit four man team, on operations alongside the police in Northern Ireland, or keeping the peace as part of a multi-national force, being a Blue Beret anywhere in the world.

• SALARY Your salary will increase with number of years you serve and the rank you obtain. 

Join the Royal Green Jackets

and you can expect the following:

• The worlds best military training with a basic salary after training of over £11,000 and a guaranteed job on completion. This is far better than YTS or staying on unemployment benefit.

• Excellent accommodation whether you are single or married. You will get free medical, dental and welfare support, generous travel assistance and an opportunity to join discount schemes for personal insurance and house purchase.

• You are automatically entered into the best pension scheme money can buy. For example a Sergeant after 22 years service receives a tax-free Golden Handshake of approximately £32,000 plus an annual pension of £6000+. 

• Within 1 year of joining the Battalion, you will get the opportunity to gain your driver's licence and become a specialist, such as Sniper, Radio Operator, Mortar Man or Paramedic.

• Each Battalion offers outstanding sporting opportunities, including football, hockey, boxing, squash and skiing. In addition you can rock-climb, canoe, sail, parachute and dive plus much more.

• You will get the chance to see the world. Within the last few years the Green Jackets have been in Bosnia, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Jordan, Egypt, USA, Canada and Australia to name but a few.

• You will be treated on merit, whatever your race, colour or creed. The Regiment has a proud tradition of fair employment and strongly upholds a policy against discrimination. The Army is committed to being an Equal Opportunities Employer.

Training

• PHASE ONE Basic Training takes place at the Army Training Regiment, Winchester in Hampshire and lasts for eleven weeks. The Common Military Syllabus is to follow and this is your recruit training. Everyone in the Army does the same initial training which includes learning how the rifle and light support weapon works and how to fire them, drill, basic fieldcraft, physical fitness, education (the organization of the Army and what it does world-wide) and Regimental history. There is also map reading, first aid, time for sport and adventure training.

• PHASE TWO (Specialised Infantry Training) lasts for 12 weeks and takes place at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick. During this time you are trained to take your place as a Rifleman in your battalion. You learn to operate and fire the Light Anti-Tank Weapon and are trained in other Infantry weapons, including throwing live hand grenades. After this you are taught the tactics of the Infantry (attacking in a group, digging a trench, living in and fighting from it for 2 or 3 days, patrolling by day and by night). You will then combine the tactics with the live firing of weapons in a two week battlecamp, a hard working, demanding and exciting finale to your combat infantry training.

• FOLLOW ON EMPLOYMENT Once you have completed your training, and consolidated your basic skills as a Rifleman in a Green Jacket battalion there are numerous opportunities open to you for self-improvement and change. The following list shows the various roles, and skills you will learn that will be helpful when you leave the Army and the number of individuals employed in these roles within a battalion. 

Every Rifleman once trained can achieve Level 2 NVQ in Customer Service and Distribution Warehousing and will soon gain their Security Guarding Level 2 NVQ. Level 1 in Public Service Key/Core Skills are also awarded.

• MORTAR CREWMAN Number in the Battalion: 50 Skills. Acquired: Computer literacy.

• ANTI-TANK MISSILE OPERATOR Number in Battalion 60.

• ASSAULT PIONEER Number in the Battalion 12. Skills Acquired: Use of power tools, use of explosives, watermanship and water purification.

• RECONNAISSANCE PLATOON Number in the Battalion: 20.

• SIGNALLER Number in the Battalion: 20. Skills Acquired: Computer literacy, telecommunications level 2 NVQ.

• DRIVER Number in the Battalion:150. Skills Acquired: Driving skills, road haulage level 2 NVQ.

• STOREMAN Number in the Battalion: 30. Skills Acquired: Distribution warehousing level 2 NVQ. Accounting skills.

• SNIPER Number in the Battalion: 6. Skills Acquired: Self-reliance.

• MEDIC Number in the Battalion:5. Skills Acquired: First aid, resuscitation. Accounting and documentation.

• REGIMENTAL POLICEMAN Number in the Battalion: 5. Skills Acquired: Security guarding level 2NVQ.

• INTELLIGENCE SECTION Number in the Battalion: 3. Skills Acquired: Analysis, computer literacy.

• BUGLERS Number in Battalion: 12.

• PHYSICAL TRAINING INSTRUCTOR Number in the Battalion: 5. Skills Acquired: Sport and recreation level 2 NVQ being requested.

• NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER  Number in the Battalion: 164 Junior NCOs, 42 senior NCOs. Skills Acquired: Management.

        Rewards

• PROSPECTS You will be part of an organisation that will counsel, assess and advise you. You will be given regular opportunities to qualify for higher pay bands in accordance with your length of service, and you will be helped to develop your leadership potential. If you have the ability and ambition you will be given a chance to compete for promotion.

• EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS As you progress in the Infantry you can get real qualifications which are recognised and valued in civilian life. In addition, employers in industry value the personal qualities you achieve through your infantry training because they know how good it is. In spite of the unique nature of an Infantryman, many of his skills can be transferred to the civilian workplace. These skills are not necessarily related to specific trades, but are more to do with the work ethos of the Infantryman, and his personal skills of initiative, leadership, resourcefulness, teamwork and communication.  On completion of recruit training he receives automatically National Vocation Qualification Level  (Public Service). Thereafter he can acquire units of accreditation of competence awarded by BTEC. He is eligible for Management and Training Vocational Qualifications as his career progresses. If you want the Army will help you take GCSEs.

For more information about the
Royal Green Jackets please contact
us at any of the following addresses

FREEPHONE. 0800 2789910

The Royal Green Jacket Regimental Recruiting Team
Headquarters The Light Division
Sir John Moore Barracks
Winchester SO22 6NQ
Telephone 01962 888 200

Armed Forces Careers Office
9 Lee Road, Blackheath
London SE3 9RQ
Telephone 020 8852 1464/8877

Armed Forces Careers Office
Graeme House, Derby Square
Liverpool L2 7SD
Telephone 0151 227 1766/7

Armed Forces Careers Office
35 St Giles
Oxford OX1 3LJ
Telephone 01865 515 989

Armed Forces Careers Office
46 The Pallasades
Birmingham B2 4XN
Telephone 0121 633 4963

Armed Forces Careers Office
Medena House, 302 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes MK9 2AE
Telephone 01908 674 722

Armed Forces Careers Office
TA Centre, Bath Street
Mansfield NG18 1BA
Telephone 01623 621 934

Armed Forces Careers Office
453/454 Strand
London WC2R 0RG
Telephone 020 7930 8603

Armed Forces Careers Office
594 High Road
Wembley HA0 2AF
Telephone 020 8903 3491

Armed Forces Careers Office
180a Cranbrook Road
Ilford IG1 4LR
Telephone 020 8518 4565