To blog or not to blog.... joining the Royal Navy....

I've been debating whether to start blogging or not, I've toyed with the idea of launching my own website to blog from, but then it hit me. Do I actually have anything to talk about up here, many of my friends already blog regularly the most notable of whom would be Stephen Spillane. And then I said to myself, you know I actually probably do have something to talk about. The most pressing issue for me at the moment is my choice to enter the Royal Navy. So this will be the subject of today's blog my very first.

For those of my friends who know me well or indeed hardly at all, already know of what can only be described as my obsession with sailing and the sea generally. This 'obsession' as it is so frequently called has taken many forms.
The first of which is with books. I have consumed almost every naval fiction writer of repute as fast as I can afford and be in a posisition to read them having read some 100 books on the subject in these past three years.
Another, which is the more obvious aspect to my passion for the sea is my recently and increasingly mushrooming fascination and participation with sailing and boating generally, so far the culmination of this has been my present job with www.sailcork.com, taking part on two cruises in the Canary Islands and in the Western Mediterranean around Spain, Gibraltar and Morocco.

I also have immense respect for the achievement of the Royal Navy in it's 700 years of existence, the shining examples of it's success, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the Nile, Trafalgar, Jutland and many, many more. It also has a rich heritage and tradition which as a student of history and a particular interest in the Royal Navy this was also a factor in my choice of the Royal Navy an underlying desire to be a part of that rich past.

All of these have been extremely fascinating and have allowed me to learn a lot about sailing but also myself. For many of my friends the change that has taken place in me as a person has been extraordinary. To put it plainly I am a new person. To consider the person I was and now am, does not bear thinking. I put this down to my new fascination with the sea and the many new friends and experiences I've made and shared. It has allowed me to be a more independent, outgoing, social and many would say friendlier person. But the problem for me now is my future and what to do with myself now that I've graduated. And after much internal and private debates on the issue I've finally resolved to join the Royal Navy, much to the bemusement and confusion of my friends. So I've decided to address the FAQ's if you will, which are the usual response from friends and family.

The first and certainly most irratating of these is: "Have you not considered the Irish Navy?"
And my reply must be OF COURSE! I would hardly consider joining a militarily active navy if I had not first considered the option of a neutral force first. I pondered over the idea and decided that if I join a Navy I want to have every possible opportunity and have no conceiveable obstacle to my appointment ultimately to that of captain or indeed flag rank, my ultimate dream and goal. The obvious restriction to this is that the Irish Naval SERVICE as it is correctly termed does not have a sufficent number of vessels in commission to make this ultimate goal a reality for many who enter the service. Whereas with the Royal Navy this number is far greater as well as the existence of many honourable shorebased appointments with appropriate ranks and privileges which are not afforded to their contemporaries in the Irish Naval Service. There is also to be frank equal if not better terms of pay and conditions in the Royal Navy.

The above also addresses the question which usually inevitably follows the first question: "Why not?" So instead I will address another popular question: "What if your posted to a warzone or frontline, what if your shot at or killed, or have to kill someone?"

As this question has a number of aspects to it I will deal with it point by point. If I am posted to a warzone then I will go as directed, by the time I'll be "requested and required with immediate dispatch" to present my services to any warzone or frontline I will have received sufficient training as well as being in the company of one of the worlds most advanced armed forces. I will also trust in my own ability to be able to handle such a situation with the maturity I've come to expect of myself as well as the level headedness that will allow me to do my duty and come home alive. If that however is not to be my fate then so be it. This leads us on to the question. If I am shot at, it is more then likely to be expected if I am on active service, I will be equipped with every neccessity that can be afforded to my person. I will also be in company of other men and women of the service so I will not be personally shot at unless my rank is made obvious for some reason or another. In the event I am killed on service, there is little I can do, I'll be dead, every effort will be made while I was on duty and prior to me taking up my posisition to ensure I had sufficient training and protection. It sounds morbid and I guess it is, but it was something I had to consider. Many people have said it's a fine thing to die in other people's war but by the time I will proably see active service it won't be for any country I'll be fighting for, it will be for my friends I've made in the service, for the ship which is my home, the service I represent and myself, only then does the country I serve come into it, strictly speaking it's not the way the RN would represent it but it is the reality. It is the reality of any military force or country at war. In the event that I have to kill it will, hopefully, be of a defensive nature. If I am forced to kill on an offensive it will be in the age old saying kill or be killed. It is neither a defence or a criticism of what I may be required to do, but it is an explanation.

There aren't many questions I haven't addressed the others I've been asked have been childish or immature at best, I've had fun made of me because I'm 'taking the queens shilling' and I guess I am to some degree but that is neither here nor there. It was nor will be a factor in my choice to join the Royal Navy, I want to make a career out of the service and will I hope be somewhat successful in my career. Whether you wish me luck or resent my choice, I hope you now at least understand a little more of why and how I came to such a choice.