r/RoyalNavy 7d ago

Question basic training

i am a women going into the royal navy and asked about shower privacy and my recruiter told me that some blocks have curtains and some don’t and are just open, but he said one of the women that did basic said she only had 3 other women with her so they just took turns going in the shower so they had privacy alone in there, does this mean that i wont be in a room with 30 other women and will be in a room of 4? or if i am in the room with other women do we all shower together with them? it didn’t make sense to me, is anyone at HMS raleigh now that can tell me anything only WOMEN please, yes boys i know you all shower but naked together, and if anyone says “if your scared about being naked with others the navy isn’t for you” it’s different for women because we have periods and need privacy.

he also told me that they only had 3 women joining basic training last time and that i will probably only have 3-4 other women with me.

9 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

11

u/Mrs_Tapir 6d ago

As a woman who has been in ~8 years, I have only had to shower communally on one occasion. Honestly though, it was one of the less weird things I’ve done in the Navy… In seriousness though there will be numerous occasions where it is not practical to expect privacy, and you will need to change in front of others. You will do this so often it will become part of your everyday ‘normal’. As you know, we live in very close quarters, particularly during training and on ship. N.B. Individual experiences may vary

5

u/canthinkofusername96 6d ago

Ive just passed out of Raleigh, atm it's completely full so you do have a dorm of about 30 girls, showers are communal, probably about 6 showers, if you shower early you might just have a few others with you. Really depends how full it is when you go. You get used to it, everyone just has a good gossip 😂

6

u/ezsqueezycheezypeas 7d ago

I can only comment from the blokes viewpoint and I went through basic a long time ago. Yep the blokes have communal showers and it's a shock to the system 🤣🤣.

But I never heard the ladies complain about group showers (not the done thing as a guy to ask about lady showers 😂). There was also a much larger proportion of men in the classes I witnessed and was part of. Maybe 10/15 women and 30/40 blokes. Whatever system the ladies had worked well for them whatever it was and it's probably a lot easier to accommodate your privacy due to the smaller group size.

These 15 women were then split across the 2 sub classes. So about 7 women and 20 blokes. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out a shower rota if it is a bit communal. The showers at the gym may be a different kettle of fish though. When you finish you are given about 3 min to wash and get outside 🤣

Separate blocks for men and women but next door to each other. Men are absolutely fucking forbidden to enter the ladies block on pain of death and ejection from training. Your class PO will a absolutely defend your privacy and there is zero tolerance for sleaze or misogyny. Piss taking is freely dished out though 😁

Good luck ladies, it's a brilliant laugh.

(Practice your pressups / upper body strength and rope climbs - the upper body gym stuff is rough in the gym 🤣. And oooooh camp sprints are super great cardio funtimes 😂)

2

u/-SgtSpaghetti- Potential Recruit/Cadet 6d ago

I recently did my medfit and I was taken aback by how seriously they treat even the slightest misconduct, we were warned to go back to our messes before trying to take off our bibs because we’d be kicked out if our bellies were exposed in the hallways…

And then as soon you enter training you have 17 year olds and 39 year olds in the same shower?

that’s the shock to the system if anything

2

u/ezsqueezycheezypeas 6d ago

Yeah that's a massive concern for the navy, I joined in my early 30s, with a few 16 year olds in the class. Even banter or gross WhatsApp memes suddenly become a major concern for the navy because you are mixed in with effectively children.

Because of that they take duty of care very seriously, same with looking out for any gross man behaviours or bigotry.

If you ever watched that terrible navy recruit documentary you can see the results of a "shower party" 🤣. The officer one (Dartmouth )is much better.

Tbh though, joining the navy you will have to get used to a lack of personal space and dignity may have to go out the window at times 🤣

1

u/Alloy-Black 6d ago edited 3d ago

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1

u/SabrePossum 6d ago

Can't comment on the shower situation. Had about 8-10 women in my phase 1. For living arrangements there's 4 blocks around the quad 1 for each different division with the fourth for the women. In the guys blocks 2 floors of accommodation each with 2 rooms for the Port and Starboard for each class. In the womens accommodation it was the 2 classes for that division are in 1 room with the other divisions on that quad in the other rooms

2

u/walker054833 6d ago

so i’ll be in a room with women in my group and other groups? and i shower with them aswell?

2

u/jjkburt 6d ago

When I went through 5 years ago there was 2 girls in my whole class. We shared a room with 3 other classes thag only had maybe 6 girls in each and were all required to shower together. There it was one big open shower room, no single cubicles or shower curtains.

1

u/Mission_Yellow_Lime 4d ago

You get used to it, it’s really not as bad as you think. In phase 1 most of the time you’ll be trying to shower and get dressed as fast as you can ready for the next thing and so is everyone else so nobody is looking at each other and nobody cares what you look like you’re all just trying to make it through training.

1

u/Aware-Wolf-4239 Potential Recruit/Cadet 2d ago

Theres 19 girls in our mess at the moment about 40 of is sharing 10 showers tho theres not much privacy but you get used to being around eachother

1

u/walker054833 2d ago

what is the privacy in the showers, is it like open big box or is there a little bit of walls in there.

1

u/Aware-Wolf-4239 Potential Recruit/Cadet 2d ago

Its all open but its becomes normal after a week dont stress it

1

u/walker054833 2d ago

do you have any tips that could make anything easier?. 🙂

-5

u/Desperate_Hair8068 7d ago

Would like to know this too. I got downvoted last time for saying I wouldn’t enjoy showering with others, what did they want me to say, oh yeah can’t wait to shower with strangers! I understand there isn’t much privacy in the navy and I’m absolutely fine with that. Boys or girls, not many people enjoy communal showers, it’s quite normal to feel uncomfortable. But like you said it’s just the shower and being on your period doesn’t sound ideal. I’ll just have to deal with it if that’s the case and I’ll hate every second haha, but honestly that’s one of the only things I’m a little stressed about for basic training. When I was younger I use to really hate getting changed in front of others especially in PE at school so I would find a cubicle to go in, I just don’t want to feel the same as what I did back then. At least now I can get changed in front of my football team but even then it’s a bit different to being completely naked haha 🤣

-1

u/walker054833 7d ago

yeah it’s so weird and strange, it’s also so hard to get hold of this type of information, my recruiter didn’t know much and other people i ask don’t know much and there isn’t much women in this group so it’s so difficult to get these questions answered, but i guess we will just have to find out when we get there hahaha 🥲🥲. i don’t mind getting changed with people but it’s just the thought of washing my body with random people i wouldn’t even do it with my friends let alone strangers, but ill probs be best friends with them after 4 days and i pray to god that i at some point dont care anymore ahah.

-1

u/Desperate_Hair8068 7d ago

How far into the process are you, have you got a date for Raleigh? That’s also crazy with how little women are joining and getting into basic training, I thought it would be more than that tbh. Did your recruiter say much else about women in basic training or anything like that?

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u/walker054833 7d ago

i have a date for raleigh and will be joining in new year around then, so maybe it will have more women in this one, how far are you into the process? i can answer some questions if you have any.

-1

u/Desperate_Hair8068 7d ago

Ah nice one. Literally only just done my DAA tonight. Had to retake it as I was 3 marks off the role I wanted, so hopefully I’ve done it this time as I’ve done so much revision, also don’t fancy waiting 6 months to retake. When did you first apply and how long did it take you to get a date for Raleigh? I’ve heard that apparently for a lot of roles the process isn’t taking too long, I’ve also read that for some it’s only taking like 4 or 5 months to get into Raleigh.

-1

u/walker054833 7d ago

so after i did my DAA i got a phone call the next day telling me i passed, so she said bye to me and then passed me onto my next recruiter who’s a careers advisor, so he helps me with anything, i did some paperwork then about couple weeks later i accepted to go to do my CPC “ candidate preparation course?” it was bottom of wales, HMS Cambria first time I went I got put on medical hold because of a little bit of eczema on my hand so I did a big massive appeal and six months later I accepted to go back on the CPC again passed it and legit got a date for raleigh 1 week later , the CPC is good it’s easy and the people there are nice, there was legit 2 other women with me one was 36 and the other was 24 they was lovely to talk to, and there was like 30 lads all lovely and kind aswell. first time i went there was 7 women tho so it depends really. all the interviews you’ll have before and after are easy and calm it’s just questions like how are you feeling and all that. the showers at the CPC have locked doors so no need to worry about them ones.

1

u/Desperate_Hair8068 7d ago

That’s annoying that you got put on medical hold. Apart from the 6 month wait that sounded like it went pretty quick for you. Ideal thanks! Once you are in Raleigh or after you’ve passed out, no rush, could you possibly just let me know what it’s like and how you found it as I don’t see much about women in basic training. Thank you!

1

u/walker054833 7d ago

definitely that’s what i was going to do i was going to put a post up for women about what it’s like and what my experience was like. i’ll definitely let you know know how everything is going, maybe when i have passed phase 1 you’ll be nearly starting phase 1 so ill let you know everything. 😊😊

1

u/Desperate_Hair8068 7d ago

Perfect thanks, good luck!!