Ten Bears I'd recommend the TA. I'm a member of a TA Infantry Regiment up here in Scotland. Training commitment is fairly intense in the first couple of years after you join but thereafter it becomes a bit more relaxed. On a monthly basis I normally do 1 weekends training (Fri night through to Sunday early afternoon) and 1 training night (Tues) each week although this varies month to month.
Our annual 2 weeks training camps are often held overseas and being in Scotland we make up the land proponent for Mountain and Cold Weather Warfare so some of our guys have been out to doing courses similar to that originally undertaken by the Royal Marines.
Another added benefit is the adventurous training we get to do. This training weekend I'm off mountain biking, rock/ice climbing, kayaking and hill walking on the west coast ....... and they are paying me to do it :?: . You can also gain alot of civilian qualifications such as Summer Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Lead, Expedition leader (a large number of adventurous training expeds overseas each year) amongst many others. If you complete all your minimum training requirements you also get a tax free bounty that ranges from about £300 in your first year to just over a £1,000 after serving 5 years (I think!). You do get extra payment for travel expenses on any training you attend.
It has it's flip side though. My regiment was deployed in Iraq and unfortunately two good jocks were killed whilst out there. Today there is a very good
article in the Guardian about the guys that have gone back for a second tour. If you join up now then I'd be surprised if you didn't go operational within the next 2/3 years ..... so bear (no pun intended) this in mind before you sign anything :shock: ! Overall you get out what you put in so if you throw your self into it then the TA has alot to offer.
Whooah that was a bit of a recruitment drive wasn't it! Sorry
If you've got any questions then PM me and I'll try and give you an answer.