stuh:
You can do It wIthout joining as a regular,
but when the MOD requires it your a full time soldier.You come under all military regs
That would be the deal breaker if it was me. 
Way back in the dark ages, I joined up as a combat driver with the Royal Corps of Signals (scaly backs or bleeps). It were 'orse n cart back then, chariots had gone out of fashion.
I did my basic (infantry) training, Signals style, then went to the Sigs Depot and did basic signalling skills, then went on to do my driver training. That was around 9 months in total, including waiting for training places to become available. Signals was all 4 wheeler driving, often with little (tiny) 2 wheeler trailers. We operated all our own equipment, including fuel tankers. Those have got bigger, often 8x8 artics now.
You donât join the infantry as a driver. You join the infantry as an infantryman. Then, if youâre lucky, you might get to do some driving.
Iâd recommend joining up with the engineers as a first choice, they do all sorts of civil engineering and need all sorts of plant, heavy plant and their armoured (even heavier) plant moving around.
Second choice would be Royal Corps of Transport, if they still exist. Probably a part of the Royal Logistics Corps now. They do the tank transporters, those big Oshkosh units, but they do everything else on wheels as well. Tank Transporters was a prime job, not many trogs got the chance to do it. The openings were rare, only the blue eyed boys got the chance and only then if they were due to be posted when an opening came up. So you could do your whole time driving 4, 6 or 8 wheelers and never get anywhere nearer to a tank transporter than overtaking an Oshkosh. Almost everyone who joined the trogs wanted to do tank transporters. Almost everyone who wanted to do tank transporters was promised thatâs what theyâd be doing. Almost everyone who was promised that was disappointed.
Iâve been out over 20 years, but I doubt much has changed. Equipment will have moved on, not always for the better, but recruitment promises wonât have. Once youâre in, youâre in.
chester:
Are you saying in 2015 soldiers are still required to buy their own kit which they are expected to wear on a daily basis?
In the Signals, it was your own personal choice to buy your stable belt or not. We also had to âearnâ the right to wear it.
You were not ârequiredâ to buy it, but.
If one soldier on parade didnât have a stable belt and only had their issued belt, everyone on parade would have to wear their issued belt, uniformity.
If you were that soldier, you would be extremely unpopular. Some soldiers would not be backwards in âinformingâ you of their displeasure.
Iâve still got mine somewhere.
The army issues you with everything you require, and nothing except exactly what you require.
To be more comfortable and to have extras for your own convenience, there is none issue equipment available for you to purchase from the regimental PRI shop.
An example is the stable belt, a canvas belt made in your regimental or corps colours.
Another very simple thing was ankle elastics. You can tuck your trousers in the tops of your boots, it looks crap and they soon come out. You could buy ankle elastics, worn over your boots with your trousers tucked up inside them. To tidy them up, you stamp your feet a couple of time so your trousers hang just right.
You used to be able to get green string issued, but you could also buy khaki green and black bungee cords, ideal for throwing up a bivvy in moments.
Simon:
Second choice would be Royal Corps of Transport, if they still exist. Probably a part of the Royal Logistics Corps now. They do the tank transporters, those big Oshkosh units, but they do everything else on wheels as well. Tank Transporters was a prime job, not many trogs got the chance to do it. The openings were rare, only the blue eyed boys got the chance and only then if they were due to be posted when an opening came up. So you could do your whole time driving 4, 6 or 8 wheelers and never get anywhere nearer to a tank transporter than overtaking an Oshkosh. Almost everyone who joined the trogs wanted to do tank transporters. Almost everyone who wanted to do tank transporters was promised thatâs what theyâd be doing. Almost everyone who was promised that was disappointed.
Equipment will have moved on, not always for the better, but recruitment promises wonât have. Once youâre in, youâre in.
Iâd guess as in the case of those I knew in the day who joined up under that exact illusion that is the relevant information for anyone joining up on the erroneous premise that the army is a limitless place of opportunities allowing anyone/everyone to specialise in their exact chosen job.In their case as I heard it any type of specialisation in truck driving being at best a lottery and at worse an impossible dream.To the point at that time where the choice often ended up as patrolling the streets and wild boderlands of Northern Ireland or buy yourself out.With the idea of being able to join a section like the RCT/RLC from the recruitment stage being an illusion probably relied on by the recruiters just as the âKingâs Shillingâ if not the press gang was in the days of the Red Coats.
Which leaves the question does the old buy yourself out option still exist if/when the reality doesnât match the recruitment hype ?.In which case maybe thereâs nothing to lose if anyone doesnât mind trading all the freedoms of civilian life for the chance of maybe doing what theyâve hopefully joined up for in the case of specialising in truck driving in the military and just walk away if the army canât deliver.
Which still leaves the possibility of being given the ârightâ job in order to remove that option and then finding yourself involved at whatever level in the latest âpeace keepingâ,regime change,or anti insurgency operation.Possibly up to and including on NATOâs new borders with Russia.Bearing in mind that our armoured forces were some time ago reduced to a skeleton level because the âCold Warâ was over.Which may be for the best considering that âtank transportâ turns into a very different ( horrific ) job if it turns into a shooting match.Let alone the poor souls who actually have to fight in the things. 
My brother joined up about 2 years ago. He went into the Royal Artillery. Now has his class c, c+e and ADR.
Driving for the army was ok. At least you didnât get your wages docked when you let ambition outweigh talent! Hereâs one I made earlier⌠
wouldnât like to fill in the FMT3 for that one
. What happened wasâŚl
Thatâs the good thing about th Army.
You get away with everything lol
The Royal Corps of Transport were absorbed in the Royal Logistics Corps in the mid nineties. They still worked as transport regiments just had a different badge. You used to be able to join various corps as a driver, the Royal Signals for instance, thatâs what you did every day, driving jobs. From collecting stores & equipment to transporting personnel, you turned up after morning parade & got given a detail, or job to you lot. You could spend time in the servicing bay or be sent to the other end of the country to help on an exercise, or anywhere in the world for that matter.
I started in the Royal Signals in 79 until 99, as an electrician driver, that meant I drove trucks pulling generators to supply power to units on exercise. By the time I took redundancy I was a staff sergeant looking after 70 vehicles & 25 men. Of course being in the Army I couldnât do anything without being told by a sgt major, 
Iâve been out since 99 but still havenât geen for a dump yet as I canât find a sgt major to ask if I can go.
As for getting away with anything, total pish Iâm afraid. You damage something & they can prove it, they usually can btw, you get an NM&D charge raised, thatâs negligence, misuse & damage. If found guilty you can be fined 10% of the cost of repair, that can be a tidy sum if your at fault for that picture above.
As for being in, I loved it, all of it. How many companies would send you to Germany to go skiing, free transport, food & accommodation, all kit used free as well as free training. Oh & they pay you while youâre doing it.
Themoocher:
Thatâs the good thing about th Army.You get away with everything lol
In my experience; only if the RSM thinks itâs funny. And they have a very quirky sense of humour.
I was in for 10 years and left last year due to my injuries. I was on the recruiting team aswell during my rehab.
The royal logistic corp is where you sole role would be a driver but you will be trained as a soldier first. Most regiments have their own drivers who are not in the RLC. I was in the Royal Artillery and got all my licences through them. If you want an easy life and get promoted quickly for doing naff all go to the RLC. If you actually want to class yourself as a soldier, join any other regiment. 
If you already have your class 1 why join as a driver.
Join as something else and youâll probably get to drive once they find out what you have.
Once eveything is back from Germany and Afghan etc there wonât be that much kit to run about.
Thereâll stil be a lot of painting and cleaning to do - even with the rose tinted glasses I have to admit it wasnât all driving.
Phase 1 (basic training) turns you into a soldier
Phase 2 trains you on the trade that you agreed to train for which may or may now include driving. As an operator in the Signals I needed cat B so it was near the end of phase 2 for me
Phase 3 should be doing your trade but in the Army you become a jack of all trades and there are courses available. I was sent to ATC Leconfield for 7 weeks to do C, C + E, ADR, pass plus, NVQ2 and all the uncertified driver training (combat driving, skid pan etc) At my next posting I was in an armoured squadron so I was put through cat H but that was in house with a civvy examiner. RLC is the cap badge for driving as a trade but most jobs in the Army will require driving something
Stable belts were optional when I served but never issued. You could buy one and wear it from phase 3 but nobody had to. Most people did because they looked better than the working belts and you didnât need to keep spray painting the buckles for parades
madmackem:
You can join as a driver, but with the way things are going and considering how much they contract out to the civvy market, not sure how many vacancies will be out there.
probably join as a driver then they will take on civvy polish drivers
Where are you living? Why not join your nearest Army Reserve Royal Logistic Corps Transport Regiment? It will give you an idea of the kind of work a driver does without too much commitment. If you like it, then you can go regular later.
The process goes:
A) Selection weekend somewhere like Grantham
B) Become a trained soldier (Phase 1 training, done in a one-er, or a mixture of weekends and weeks/two weeks.
C) Licence Acquisition via civilian contractors, usually somewhere like Catterick (you will obviously skip this stage).
D) Class 3 Driver training - this used to be carried out by individual units, or at Grantham, but now it is being done alongside the regular army at DST Leconfield, near Hull.
(I believe there is talk of amalgamating stages B-E into one huge 12 week course for those who have the time, which would be great, as the process usually takes at least a year, and thatâs once the current incompetent civvie contractors handling recruitment get you into selection.
You can then go on to do other courses of interest as you move towards class 2 and class 1 driver status (ADR, MHE, etc). There are also great opportunities to do other stuff (I have a friend who just turned down 10 weeks driving for the Dutch Royal Marines in Belize, he is off to Germany and/or Cyprus this year too. Other Driver mates in other units have just returned from 4 weeks skiing in Germany - all paid for and they even pay you!)
Ah Belize, spent six months there in 85/86. If theyâre stll looking and donât mind an old geezer driving them Iâm up for it. Rauls rose garden, those sweet sweet Venezuelan ladies. Happy nights.
The one corps in the Army , where if your trade is a driver, you donât get that much driving, is the corps set up to drive. RCT/RLC always has had an issue that on peacetime standings they have more drivers than jobs⌠and the Civvies do it cheaper, as an RLC driver in a transport squadron you will spend more time driving a broom or paintbrush than a vehicle.
Join another corps such as signals or engineers then your trade is in a minority- and you will get far more miles.
As far as choosing your trade/cap badge, that is totally down to you, the recruitment staff will know where there is a need for bodies and try to persuade you to join those units, however as long as you pass the tests to the required grade for your desired trade they cannot force you to take another job/cap badge.
One thing correct above, your primary trade in the Army is always a soldier, no matter wether your a cook, medic or driver you will train your basic infantry skills a lot. You are always a soldier first- your trade second
The RCT âRickshaw Cabs & Taxisâ was the unit to join if you wanted a driving career, long since gone due to restructure/ defence cuts.
smokinbarrels:
The RCT âRickshaw Cabs & Taxisâ was the unit to join if you wanted a driving career, long since gone due to restructure/ defence cuts.
âRickshaw Cabs & Taxisâ ? You musta been a trog, theyâre the only ones who use that polite version