Originally Posted by pomikev

Not long, but I did go through HMS Raliegh as a 17 year old, but I only really joined up because my dad bullied me into it and the RN was enjoying a new lease of life and popularity because of the falklands at the time, and then 2 weeks before my passing out dad died of a brain hemorrhage aged 55, my world fell apart, I finished my training but I couldn't bring myself to sign up for 9 years and I quit before getting a posting, I headed for America with a backpack and worked my way around the world on my own instead.

Also I got a bit duped, we had to fill out a drafting preference form where you got to say what branch of the Navy you were interested in, I really wanted to go into the fleet air arm as my cousin had been in that and I had dreams of being a helicopter engineer, anyways you got to put 3 options on the form and a petty officer told me "They never give you your first preference, so put down something unrealistic for that one and put fleet air arm as your second choice, that's the way to get it" He suggested I put down submariner as my first choice saying that no one ever got that right out of basic training so I believed him and put it down, guess what ? 3 weeks later - good news son, you've been accepted to submarine service, you're on you way to lossimouth in scotland to join a polaris group where you will go away for 6 months at a time without ever surfacing or knowing where you have been ! (This was in the cold war days remember), I was gobsmacked, I tried to complain but they totally made me feel like an ungratefull git and an idiot for putting down subs as my first choice because they were always struggling to find people willing to do it and I was always going to get a yes, why had I wasted everyones time etc.. and no I couldn't change my mind., so that petty officer stitched me right up.

So I quit.

However there have been too many times to count that I have had deep regrets about leaving the NAVY, life would have been very very different if I had stayed. I made lots of stupid decisions when I was a teenager but escaping Thatchers Britain was one of my better ones I think.

Maybe in another life I'll get to do it differently.

Originally Posted by ukecadet

Brown Hatters Bar would be a better choice.

Originally Posted by cresta57

Sundodger?