Army Reserve
The Army Reserve is the largest of the UK’s Reserve Forces. The Army Reserve provides support to the Regular Army at home and overseas, and throughout its history almost every major operation has seen Reservists serving alongside their Regular counterparts. Army Reserve units may provide trained Reserve soldiers to Regular Army units, or they may be deployed as fully formed Army Reserve units.
In Northern Ireland, the Army Reserve contributes more reservists per capita than the rest of the UK. With options to join:
- 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment
- 152 (North Irish) Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps
- 210 (NI) Multi-Role Medical Regiment
- 591 Independent Field Squadron
- 40 Signals Squadron, 32 Signals Regiment
- 206 (Ulster) Battery, Royal Artillery
- 157 Company, 102 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- B (North Irish Horse) Squadron, The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry
- 52 Military Intelligence Company, 5MI
- Army Training Unit (NI)
- Army Reserves come from all walks of life and serve part-time as soldiers and officers in the British Army alongside full-time Regular soldiers.
- Regular Reserves are those who have left the Army but are recalled when required for operations alongside Regular soldiers.
- The Army Reserve has two principal roles: firstly, it provides highly trained personnel who can work alongside Regulars on missions in the UK and overseas; and, secondly, it provides people who have specialist skills, whether medics, communications engineers or drivers when required.
- The role of the Army Reserve is currently expanding and becoming fully integrated with the rest of the Army, providing increasing opportunities to enjoy the challenges and benefits that come with being an Army Reservist: this could be you!
To join the Army Reserve you should be physically fit, aged between 17 and 31 (or older if you have previous military experience, specialist skills or certain professional qualifications). If you think that you may qualify it is worth finding out if you are eligible. You should be able to spend one evening a week, one weekend each month and two weeks a year to train or undertake courses.
As a soldier or officer in the Army Reserve you can:
- Learn a trade which gains you civilian, as well as military accreditation and qualifications.
- Work in challenging situations as a key member of a team.
- Develop and refine your management, leadership and communication skills.
- Experience new challenges, opportunities to travel and comradeship.
- Earn the same rate of pay as your Regular colleagues and qualify for an annual tax-free bonus.
JOINING THE ARMY RESERVE
As with your Regular counterparts, in order to join the Army Reserve you should have been a citizen of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland at all times since birth and should normally have lived in the United Kingdom for at least five years, preferably immediately prior to your application.
You can arrange a visit to your local Army Reserve Centre to see exactly what it’s like, ask as many questions as you want and decide if the Army Reserve is for you.