Army Recruitment Ads from the 1980s......

Jawgap

Now re-released - presumably for good behaviour!

xflyer

I remember them well. Imagine having to actually place ads to encourage people to join up? Those were the days. In fact I came across a recruiting leaflet for the Defence forces lately. I think from the seventies. Might scan it and put it up.

One thing though. In the second ad, some lads leap out of the Panhard APC. They all appear to be wearing para style helmets. Another can be seen standing in the APC at the end of the ad. It's different to those worn by the crews of the vehicles. They're not the Israeli helmets either. I remember seeing similar pictures of a border patrol wearing them.

Does anyone remember those helmets. I never actually saw any in use during my time in the FCA.

Donny5

Xflyer, do you not remember these ads during the '00's?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnrYHH5ugXA

goldie fish

xflyer wrote: »

I remember them well. Imagine having to actually place ads to encourage people to join up? Those were the days. In fact I came across a recruiting leaflet for the Defence forces lately. I think from the seventies. Might scan it and put it up.

One thing though. In the second ad, some lads leap out of the Panhard APC. They all appear to be wearing para style helmets. Another can be seen standing in the APC at the end of the ad. It's different to those worn by the crews of the vehicles. They're not the Israeli helmets either. I remember seeing similar pictures of a border patrol wearing them.

Does anyone remember those helmets. I never actually saw any in use during my time in the FCA.

The Panhards originally came equipped with french army helmets. That is what is being worn. Everyone else is wearing the Post ww2 piss-pots.

xflyer

Yes I remember the 00 ads. Thought it was a bit of a liberty using an Aussie Huey in the video. Even though it was technically accurate for the deployment in East Timor.

As for the helmets. I don't mean the crew helmets, the ones with headphones etc. But the helmets worn by the infantry. They look like Brit para helmets or those worn by tank crew or despatch riders in WW2. I have an old Defence forces handbook and there's a couple of pictures of infantry wearing those helmets. The 27th along the border. I think.

Now maybe they are just the crew helmets worn without the headphones?

Maybe there was an attempt to differeniate from the British army along the border. Because before the Brits went to DPM. Both armies were essentially identical in uniform, helmets and rifles.

goldie fish

xflyer wrote: »

Yes I remember the 00 ads. Thought it was a bit of a liberty using an Aussie Huey in the video. Even though it was technically accurate for the deployment in East Timor.

As for the helmets. I don't mean the crew helmets, the ones with headphones etc. But the helmets worn by the infantry. They look like Brit para helmets or those worn by tank crew or despatch riders in WW2. I have an old Defence forces handbook and there's a couple of pictures of infantry wearing those helmets. The 27th along the border. I think.

Now maybe they are just the crew helmets worn without the headphones?

Maybe there was an attempt to differeniate from the British army along the border. Because before the Brits went to DPM. Both armies were essentially identical in uniform, helmets and rifles.

I should have been clearer. They were dismount helmets. Wear the crew helmet with headset while in car, wear dismount helmet when outside. In practice, crew never dismounted, so dismount helmets were worn by passengers. NS gunners wore them for a while at sea after the izzie was introduced to the army in the early 80s.

xflyer

:cool:Thanks for that. Just a minor bit of trivia that exercised my mind over the years. Should have asked here in the first place.

Fishtits

Somewhat ironic to hear the West Brit accent proclaiming you'd "go places"...

I'm not sure why they advertised to be honest, I joined in the early eighties and there were no shortage of applicants (think 2012 austerity but back then there was no running hot water... )

Nice shot of the AS312's breaking formation, I never really appreciated just how special those machines were until I got sucked into aviation issues much later in civvy life.

Thanks to the OP for reviving the memories.

xflyer

Fishtits wrote: »

Somewhat ironic to hear the West Brit accent proclaiming you'd "go places"...

I'm not sure why they advertised to be honest, I joined in the early eighties and there were no shortage of applicants (think 2012 austerity but back then there was no running hot water... )

Not just the commentator, the guy shouting the orders 'Stand by' 'Fire' sounded like he just graduated from Sandhurst.

Yes hot water was a mystery to many people in Ireland back then not just the army.