RAF Basic Training - My Personal Kit List, What I Am Taking (OLD VIDEO, NEWER ONE OUT NOW)

[@JakeGchannel]

WHAT I HAVE ADDED TO MY LIST SINCE MAKING THIS VIDEO (MIGHT ADD MORE AS TIME GOES ON): 1. Steam Generating Iron 2. First Aid Kit (Bandages, Plasters etc) 3. Walking Shoes (I had a decent pair of Sketchers from my job which cost like £140 brand new but will be taking them for long walks if we do them) 4. Washing Bag 5. Water Bottle 6. Box of Pens 6. Note Books

[@NickyGardner-nd3sl]

My son is currently at basic training. We invested in a decent ironing board with a good height as you will be spending a lot of time ironing. Like the lady has already said, it’s also worth investing in a decent iron/steam generator iron. A water spray bottle is also useful. The water at Halton is hard, so a water filter/descaler for your iron also necessary. Some extras we put in that he has used (based on advice) were: Vitamins, lip balm, paracetamol and ibuprofen plus plenty of plasters, brasso, cleaning cloths and sniper tape too. We also put everything in plastic storage boxes (one for shoe/boot cleaning stuff, etc) to help with his organisation acleaning inside his lockers. You’ll go through loads of polish 😬. Best of luck when you get to Basic, it’s a tough gig but very rewarding 😊

[@kynan3400]

For anyone watching. I've recently finished basics. I'd recommend a double edged safety razor. Much easier to clean which is a pass/fail point during inspections. Don't bother with aftershave, some deodorant will be just fine. Personally I prefer shaving foam (not gel) just makes life a bit quicker in the mornings. You can't wear jewelry unless its required by your religion, so a cross isn't allowed. Headphones are a must, feels like a way to escape and have some privacy. With polishing stuff, youll need horse-hair brushes, not debatable, get horse-hair. Cherry isn't a great brand, Saphir may cost more but its worth it for the hassle. Youll probably only need 100ml total of black polish, and 150ml total of brown/dark tan. For inspections you can use black polish on the bottom of your shoes the night before to make them look cleaner and more consistent all over. You will NEED fabric softener, the blue shirts you are issued are hard as rock, by the time you get to the stage where you're wearing them youll want them soft, I'd recommend washing them lots as well as a soak in the wash basin in 1/5 softener, 4/5 hot water for about an hour, then just hand wash it out, then tumble dry and repeat. You don't need a water filter but a spray bottle can be a big hand to get out some pesky creases. You can take your laptop or not, won't make a massive difference. I didn't use mine much but some people spent evenings near the end/weekends falling asleep while watching Netflix on theirs, one guy even brought a small tv and his xbox that he would use on weekends. Any other questions anyone has, just ask and I'll do my best to answer them.

[@danielgreenshields4713]

I passed out with this guy🫡

[@danielgreenshields4713]

Big lizard

[@MonkeMac66]

Well done about passing basics :) I was wondering if you could help me with a question I’ve been having, I’m in my last year of A Levels and I was thinking about applying as soon as I have my results around the middle of August, from when I apply how long do you think it will take for me to be accepted and be in Basic Training? Thanks a lot! :))

[@joewhatcott7824]

​@@MonkeMac66lots of factors, I would apply sooner than later if I was you. It can be for just a few months to a year ish, mine took 11 months.

[@lukepoulston8092]

Glad to see got a lot of same items aha would recommend building a nice first aid kit for yourself as I’m doing with things like Vaseline vapour rub tiger balm and other things to keep you well incase u get under the weather Abit and feeling rough you don’t need to go to med centre u can help yourself out Abit things for recovery too for after exercise will be nice just so u don’t feel it too rough you can sort yourself also get plenty of blister plasters they will be life savers once again great video look forward to seeing you at Halton 🙏

[@KimMayhew-od2qs]

Yes! Compeed plaster are a must.

[@JakeGchannel]

Yes yes yes. Not going to lie after reading some of these posts I'm glad you guys are here I never though of bringing a first aid kit and it never once crossed my mine. Great idea and I will be adding this one to the list. Thanks and will be seeing you soon :)

[@Hughenn]

Great to see this. I was at Swinderby in 1980 and served for 10 years.

[@JakeGchannel]

@@Hughenn nice! Must of been a great career 🙂

[@Jack-mf5ns]

Hello mate, along with the card I’d recommend to take some pics of your family to stick up in ur locker, really good for inspections also. Definitely get another set of brushes for your boots/shoes, don’t mix and match black/tan polish on your brushes. Get another really hard shoe brush for brushing mud off your boots, you’ll be expected to shower, clean and polish your boots and get dressed in minus 5 minutes, enjoy! Haha good luck.

[@JakeGchannel]

Yeah that's not a bad idea about the pictures at all. Ah yes that is something I forgot to mention as I have about 8 old boot brushes I'll be using for my boots. That's good advice I will defo keep in mind I thought they would be strict with the time but 5 minutes its crazy hope they are not expecting a mirror shine 😂

[@Cameronds97]

Look at this upgrade 😂 love it mate, keep up the good work!

[@JakeGchannel]

Exactly! See I do listen to your guys concerns and I know so many people have a burning desire to see my beautiful face without the blur 😄Christmas has come early! 🎁

[@Mountianlions69]

My late mother took the pleasure of sorting my kit out as she'd served 4 years from 1957. That was in 1987 when I was Swinderby bound. I served 12 years. Good luck lad.

[@JakeGchannel]

Wow that is crazy. Are a lot of the products mentioned still used back then?

[@Mountianlions69]

@@JakeGchannel yeah, yellow dust clothes, polish on, polish off brushes, brasso, not sure what you're expected to pack in your kit now but there won't much of a difference, you'll have carpets and quilts now so no polishing up the floors and no bed packs, you're missing out on the fun we went through.

[@JakeGchannel]

@@Mountianlions69 Yes sounds like bundles of fun XD brasso I forgot to mention actually for the belt buckle thanks for reminding me 👍👍

[@Mountianlions69]

@@JakeGchannel Bio-tex is brilliant for getting your whites back to white, that's a must for PT t shirts, gloves and parade belt.

[@JakeGchannel]

@@Mountianlions69 I've never heard of it before if it get's anything back to white I will defo look that up, thanks!

[@NickyGardner-nd3sl]

My son is currently at basic training. We invested in a decent ironing board with a good height as you will be spending a lot of time ironing. Like the lady has already said, it’s also worth investing in a decent iron/steam generator iron. A water spray bottle is also useful. The water at Halton is hard, so a water filter/descaler for your iron also necessary. Some extras we put in that he has used (based on advice) were: Vitamins, lip balm, paracetamol and ibuprofen plus plenty of plasters, brasso, cleaning cloths and sniper tape too. You’ll go through loads of polish 😬. Best of luck when you get to Basic, it’s a tough gig but very rewarding 😊

[@JakeGchannel]

Ah some of this is top-notch I'll defo be adding some to my list especially the filter jug as I have one for drinking water and everyone is recommending a steam generator iron so will get that next week or so. Oh I'm counting on the polish part hence the 8 tin bundle I have in my polishing kit hopefully that'll be enough 😂 A question I have for you son is: Is there a point in Basic where you can go off base to like buy things or whatever? It says you can buy things at a later date but never specified what this means. Glad to hear your son is doing alright.

[@NickyGardner-nd3sl]

@@JakeGchannel his bestie was just finishing so we had loads of advice before he started. It made such a difference and he didn’t need loads of Amazon deliveries for extras (this is a good option if you’re stuck though). One thing I didn’t add was a laundry bag for your washing so you can share loads with others and not mix your things up. We also sent him with dark clothes so he didn’t have to worry about sorting whites, etc. He was allowed off base on day 20 after mod 1 (I think it was for 6 hours) then again after the AT week but on the Saturday that time. Everyone was getting haircuts ready for the final inspection 😬. Thank you, he graduates next week 💙

[@JakeGchannel]

@@NickyGardner-nd3sl That’s great to hear and will defo take his/yours advice. Not bad idea with the black as I don’t have many whites anyway. Oh right so you can order Amazon stuff while on base? Oh right I see, I bet your well excited to see him uniformed up, do keep us informed on how it went! 👍

[@NickyGardner-nd3sl]

@@JakeGchannel yes you can, your address will be given to you and to anyone accompanying you in the briefing. So you can have post 😊. Check your email for your JIs as they come straight from Halton and there’s loads of helpful details and things you need to collate in that pack too. We are super-excited to see him in his no 1s next week 💙

[@JakeGchannel]

@@NickyGardner-nd3sl ah I’ll have to note that down and that’s cool will defo do that. Will be a huge moment! Bet he’s well excited do keep us posted with how it goes.

[@memomomomomo185]

The best polish for bulling shoes/boots is Saphir - Pate de Luxe. Way better than Kiwi ever was. Good luck on your journey

[@JakeGchannel]

Yeah I've heard good things about that brand but never really got around to using them will defo keep this in mind. Thanks :)

[@mkjones7603]

A steam generator iron are great! My son took one and it was a lifesaver for him. Loads of his flight borrowed it to do their ironing.

[@JakeGchannel]

I've never heard of a steam generator iron. Instead of the obvious, what does that iron do that makes it superior to any others?

[@mkjones7603]

@@JakeGchannel steam! Lots and lots of stream! Which irons out those cresses a lot easier. They are great especially if ironing isn’t really your strong point. My MIL had one and she ironed my top without the iron even touching the fabric! She placed it near my top, pressed a button and the amount of steam that came out, got all the cresses out within seconds. Though I imagine shirts are not quite as easy as that!

[@JakeGchannel]

@@mkjones7603 Oh wow I might consider looking into that, any brand that you would recommend?

[@loganmitchell7530]

I 100% agree with this it has been a life saver for me currently at training

[@mkjones7603]

@@loganmitchell7530 they are great aren’t they? Good luck with the rest of your training.

[@decsmith2193]

Hey man. Noticed your videos ages ago when joining myself couple of months ago. Currently in basic myself:) I hope your RAF journey goes well.

[@decsmith2193]

I just realised we may also cross paths briefly in basic as well haha. I may bump into you at some point when you join here.

[@JakeGchannel]

That's good to hear I'm glad you got in. When did you start basic?

[@JakeGchannel]

@@decsmith2193 Most defo will I've only got 3 weeks then I'm off.

[@Tyler-zz2fb]

Thanks for this video mate. Im far from this stage only applied the other day just getting the tasks done on the portal thing. Just need to register with a doctors as I haven’t been for 4 years.. lol

[@JakeGchannel]

Well done on taking the courage to apply. The beginning seems like a long road and to some extent it is but it will go quickly. Yeah I would recommend registering as they do like their medical documents XD do keep us posted with how your application goes.

[@traceynorcross5666]

Get a pair of issue boots before you join and walk and run in them to break them in getting your legs use to the extra weight use Vaseline between your toes and heels and talc your feet after washing and run in woollen socks as opposed to nylon

[@JakeGchannel]

Makes sense, fortunately when I got my boots from stores I didn’t get any blisters and they are broken in now cause the amount of drill/walking we do. Vaseline is a definite as my knuckles have cracked, bleeding so got some for that.

[@l_trips_]

Good luck brotha, I also go to cadets and my CWO was telling me a few tips that you shouldn’t tell that you’re a cadet or the corporals will overuse you, and she was saying how I shouldn’t be too perfect despite having cadet experience so I’ll keep that in mind.

[@JakeGchannel]

Oh I never thought of that or knew that. I wouldn’t be telling them unless they asked but obviously they have my cadet file on hand as it’s on my records so we’ll see.

[@l_trips_]

@@JakeGchannel fair enough, but I have a question, on your BRTC instructions I believe you start late April and on my BRTC instructions I was told to turn up a day before the actual BRTC to sign yourself in at RAF Halton. Did you get the same instructions?

[@JakeGchannel]

@@l_trips_ yeah I think mine is the 22nd which is day 0 then it officially starts on the 23rd which is day 1 I believe, is that the same as you?

[@l_trips_]

@@JakeGchannelthe layout of the days are the same as you but I have to come to RAF Halton on 6th May and the actual training starts on 7th so we have a short interval of days between eachother

[@JakeGchannel]

@@l_trips_ Right I see yeah I think its to get all the rest of the paperwork out of the way and stuff so makes sense so they can crack straight on with the fitness and stuff.

[@ItzxSef]

Goodluck mate i just finished phase 1 and got phase 2 end of april bro goodluck

[@JakeGchannel]

Nice work on passing phase 1 and good luck with phase 2! How long is your phase 2?

[@loganmitchell7530]

You can use flip flops, crocs, sliders whatever really they don't care about them

[@JakeGchannel]

Oh as long as there is something on your feet that aint shoes or socks basically XD

[@jessicalee1557]

i have the same intake date as you!!

[@JakeGchannel]

That's great to hear! I look forward to working with you :)

[@dylanthurston7935]

Im currently applying to the RAF and was wondering how long does it take until you start basic training at halton after you have passed your fitness test? Also how often do they run basic training at halton? Thanks

[@JakeGchannel]

It depends but for me its roughly a month after. I passed on the 20th of February and they got back to me within 1-2 weeks with a date set. Basic is 10 weeks long. Hope this helps.

[@dylanthurston7935]

Yes that does help thankyou, I was told it would be a few months maybe 3-5 months after, wasn't expecting it so soon. It should be ok though I have done quite a bit of research and I am confident I am fit enough for the challenges.

[@JakeGchannel]

@@dylanthurston7935 yeah my mindset going in is basically to just take each section as it is and deal with it until I finish the 10 weeks. Do let us know when your date is set for

[@dylanthurston7935]

@@JakeGchannel yes will do

[@callumyork9524]

Do u get paid for basic training at Halton?

[@JakeGchannel]

Yeah it’s on the raf page under pay and benefits. You get paid the same for the entire 10 weeks and for the next 6 months after I think then it goes up but don’t quote me on this.

[@mkjones7603]

It’s for the 10 weeks basic then for however long phase 2 is. My son got put on full pay (or not far off, but definitely way more than basic) once he was posted. Then once he got his first promotion it went up again.

[@NicholasAyirebi]

Hi mate, please I have applied to join the royal airforce last month.. what should I be expecting and how long does it take to begin the whole process. I got a call from the royal airforce confirming my application few days after I applied. Thanks mate

[@JakeGchannel]

There is a lot to take in especially during basic (I’m graduating tomorrow after 11 long weeks) but in terms of time, for me to get to basic training from applying it took 11 months but I had a load of medical jargon to deal with. I’ve heard better like 5/6 months but also some worst at almost 2 years so it varies for different people. In terms of what to expect, nothing much during the application but basic is a pretty big hitter which would take me hours to explain typing it. I will make a vid in the next couple of days when I’m finally home talking about everything I can. Small things to do keep in mind is make a first good impression always, show up on time with the correct kit and push yourself on every areas you will pass with flying colours. Again, I’ll go into more detail when I have time to make a vid. Hope this helps.

[@NicholasAyirebi]

@@JakeGchannel really helpful advice mate. Really appreciate it

[@CB_Brum]

What is your intake? I’m on Douglas and hopefully graduate next week.

[@JakeGchannel]

I'm not even in basic training yet. I go in on the 23rd of April and have no idea what the name is. Are you in basic or phase 2?

[@CB_Brum]

@@JakeGchannel I’m in basic

[@JakeGchannel]

@@CB_Brum Oh ok I'm not there yet, hope the passing out parade goes well :)

[@CB_Brum]

@@JakeGchannel have you received your joining instructions in your email? That will tell you what intake you’re on.

[@JakeGchannel]

@@CB_Brum I don’t think so I will have a look as I don’t check my emails. When did you receive yours? As soon as you accepted the date or did it come a bit later?

[@Day-vg1bh]

Can you bring a laptop/ would you even have time to use it?

[@JakeGchannel]

I don’t see why you couldn’t and probably not as you would spend your evenings polishing, ironing, preparing etc.

[@Day-vg1bh]

@@JakeGchannel thanks for the reply mate, yeah probably best to leave it at home for basic training but it would come in handy for the schooling side afterwards I’m sure

[@JakeGchannel]

@@Day-vg1bh yeah defo I will be taking my little one there or my entire pc if there’s the space for it.

[@NickyGardner-nd3sl]

Take something with internet access, you’ll need this for DLE access. My son took his iPad but a laptop is fine too. It’s also useful for watching tv (add Netflix, etc and films) while you’re ironing 😬

[@HypotheticalJoke]

All the revision exercises they give you will be much easier on a laptop rather than a tiny phone screen so I'd recommend it

[@leoncassar721]

Hey Mate what role did you go for?

[@JakeGchannel]

I am applying for the Cyber Space Communication Role

[@Djsoacsososo]

@@JakeGchannelhi mate, I’m currently about 2 months into my phase 2 for ccs. We should end up being on phase 2 at the same time, if there’s anything you’d like to know about phase 2 I could help you

[@JakeGchannel]

@@Djsoacsososo Oh really I've still got my basic to do which I think ends in July this year as I start on the end of April. Have you got any tips for basic?

[@Djsoacsososo]

@@JakeGchannel imo try and be the grey man, don’t be first and don’t be last makes it harder for them to target you. There’s also multiple reflightable things like cbrn, weapons handling, and stuff like that- really focus on those and practice in the evenings instead of spending time in the briefing room socialising like lots of people will be doing

[@JakeGchannel]

@@Djsoacsososo Sounds like good advice I will defo take this into account. When you say don't be first or last otherwise they target you, what do you mean exactly?

[@Allthedifferentcheeses]

Off to crab air? You forgot the vaseline 😅😅😅

[@JakeGchannel]

Oh I do love lathering up my body from head to tippy toe dripping in Vaseline I thought that was mandatory to bring! But yes I did actually forgot to mention as I only use it when my quads decided to rub together out of nowhere. Guys if you are reading this bring Vaseline as I probably will forgot and nick yours 👍😁

[@memomomomomo185]

@@JakeGchannel you sure you're joining the RAF? Sounds like you want to be in the Navy 😄

[@JakeGchannel]

@@memomomomomo185 Well we all secretly want to be apart of the wavy navy and if Vaseline is a pre-requisite to get in then I've already passed 🕺

[@harryseymour5425]

you won’t need baby powder until cpt

[@JakeGchannel]

Maybe but it depends on who you are as for me my feet blister really easy so any new shoes, boots etc so I found (for myself) the blisters reduce slightly when I use baby powder. They tend to still come along with new footwear but less frequent and intense.

[@chrissheppard5068]

Crack girl guides/boy scouts then you will crack this easily.

[@JakeGchannel]

@@chrissheppard5068 crack it indeed 👍