Why Royal Naval Reserve?

Serve your country

Protect our nation’s interests across a range of operations, from counter-terrorism and anti-piracy work, to preventing conflict, maintaining security at sea and providing humanitarian assistance, at home and overseas.

Challenge

Seeking a challenge that’ll take you beyond your everyday? In the Royal Naval Reserve you’ll be pushed to your limits and experience things that stretch you, and take you out of your comfort zone. It’s a world away from the ordinary 9 to 5.

Global travel

Become a Reservist and you’ll join the General Warfare or Engineering branch, unless you’ve applied for a specialist role. That means deploying on operations that take you all over the world. 

Adventure

As a reservist, along with the chance to travel, you’ll be entitled to adventurous training (AT).

You’ll be able to use your AT allowance to go on sailing expeditions, Royal Navy Ski Championships or even competing in the Bavarian Challenge in Germany. Whatever you choose this serves as a chance to develop your skills and learn some new ones too.

Personal development

Joining the Royal Naval Reserve isn’t a pastime. You’ll complete military training and gain career-related qualifications though courses accredited up to Masters level. You’ll also develop invaluable transferable skills, such as leadership and teamwork to advance your career at home and at sea.

Fitness

As a Reservist your fitness will become part of a larger cause. A new kind of motivation to be at the top of your game and in peak physical condition, not only for personal development but in the name of protecting our nations interests.

Specialist maritime knowledge

Learn everything from Naval tactics to navigation as part of the team that makes our operations tick.

Transferable skills

The skills you’ll acquire in the Royal Naval Reserve aren’t limited to your Naval life. Your experiences and adventures will provide you with new levels of confidence, assertiveness and communication that will set you up for life.

Social life

Joining the Royal Naval Reserve is a great way to form solid friendships. You’ll meet like-minded people from a diverse range of ages and backgrounds, bonding over a sense of camaraderie you can only get from training together, and working together.

Additional pay

You’ll be paid for training and you’ll receive travelling expenses too. And, when you’re on operations you’ll be paid at the same rate as your regular rank equivalent.

You’ll also qualify for a tax-free bonus, or ‘bounty’, when you complete your yearly training commitment. This increases annually and you can achieve the top level bounty after five years service.

Benefits and support

Being a reservist comes with a whole host of benefits and support, from our Welfare Team, to the the Royal Navy forum. There is also SaBRe (Supporting Britain’s Reservists and their Employers) to provide your employer with all the information they need on your role in the RNR. We’ll also cover travel expenses up to 70 miles to and from your unit and introduce you to our pension scheme.