Hi there, How do you get in to a reconnaissance role within the army and do all regiments offer them?

Hi there, I’ll take your question to refer to ground reconnaissance and therefore be related to combat units, if you were thinking of STA and UAS then please come back to me. All infantry and armoured corps units have a reconnaissance capability. What differs will be how they travel. This can range from foot like Pathfinders and Light Infantry, to light mobility vehicles, or small armoured vehicles in Armoured Infantry or Armoured Corps units. To be selected for a Command and Reconnaissance Troop or Platoon you would need to join the relevant unit depending on the role you were interested in. You would firstly be placed into a regular Platoon or Troop to gain knowledge and experience in trade, and then be selected to attend a Recce Cadre. If you wish to be selected for a reconnaissance role you will need to be at the top of your game. The soldiers need to be some of the best trained, fittest and most robust in the unit so it’s seen as quite a prestigious role. Good luck with your application. Katie

Thanks for your question. To add to the above, most infantry units have Reconnaissance platoons. Reconnaissance platoons are generally the top 10% of soldiers within the regiment alongside snipers due to working in Either a sniper pair up to a reconnaissance team of 6-8 operators. Once you get to your chosen battalion, if you were joining the infantry that is, they run a yearly reconnaissance cadre which you can request to attempt providing your platoon staff/chain of command believe you meet the standards as you are required to be extremely fit, good at navigation and able to work in a small team. Hope this helps J

I was looking into trying to become a special observer or STA but I would not like to join as UAS because I don’t want to be behind a desk in my career I would like to be in a position of pressure and high physical and mental demand

If you put STA patrols or Observer into the search bar you’ll be able to pull up responses to a number of other questions I’ve replied to on the topic. It is also worth saying the UAS operators don’t sit behind desks, they deploy out on operations. In particular mini UAS operators are generally embedded with the infantry and armoured Corps. Their role is high pressure; supporting combat troops and sourcing battle winning intelligence, it is also very technical and needs a sharp mind. Don’t discount anything until you’ve done your research.