Life in the Royal Naval Reserves

Your Commitment:

Although you’ll serve part-time as a Reservist, we still expect a high level of commitment from you. You’ll need to be passionate about your job as a Reservist, commit to an aggregate 24 days of service each year spread over evenings, weekends and one fortnight, and keep your fitness at a consistently high level. This is a big demand on you and your time, but with it comes one of the most rewarding opportunities you’ll ever experience.

What You'll Do:

Non-continuous Training:

This is 12 days of mid-week, evening and weekend training. Each two-hour period is the same as a quarter-day’s training, so doing four periods will give you a day of non-continuous training. You’ll need to complete at least three training weekends a year, and it’s quite likely this will be elsewhere in the UK, away from your home location.

Continuous Training:

This is a 12-day period of training. We do understand that civilian commitments may sometimes make this difficult so some courses can be attended in the two one-week blocks. 

Deployments:

As a fully trained Reservist, you could be called out to serve anywhere in the world in response to military threat or humanitarian disaster. You’ll serve alongside full-time Royal Navy ratings and officers, doing exactly the same work, in identical situations.

The Rewards:

Pay and Expenses:

Although you’re a volunteer, we don’t expect you to do all this hard work for free. In fact you’ll be paid for:

• Training nights
• Training weekends
• Operations (at the same rate as regular rank equivalents)
• Travel expenses

You’ll also qualify for a tax-free bonus or ‘Bounty’ when you complete your year of training satisfactorily. This can be from £400 in your first year, to over £1500 after five years.

Training and Transferable Skills:

Training to become a Reservist involves developing skills that can be used in your normal daily life or transferred to your civilian job. You’ll learn basic first aid, firefighting and command, plus leadership and management skills –all invaluable skills. On top of that, you’ll naturally acquire self-motivation, self-discipline and the ability to work well within a team. All of these skills and attributes are a huge benefit to your current and future employers.

Sports and Recreation:

Sport is a major part of a Reservist’s life. As well as keeping you in the best condition, it helps you make friends and get involved in the social side of the Royal Naval Reserve. Sporting competitions are also a great way of meeting Reservists based in other parts of the country and making new contacts for your civilian life and work.