I must identify myself because of nature of this thread and my job. I’m Sgt L. Warawa of Division B, Instructor Cadre, CFLRS. You all will have the opportunity to bump into me in the Mega no doubt.
First off, this thread was great. Excellent to see the enthusiasm and the hopes enunciated here by hopeful future recruits. I’m impressed with the positive foreknowledge of the CF in general you’ve shown, and I liked hearing that your are actively (meaning physically) getting ready.
I stumbled onto you all a bit late, but I’ll offer two dire chunks of advice that you may still have time to insure they’ve been squared away. This would also be my chance to inform others so they can insure they are ready. Here it goes:
1) Get into shape. Hey, if you have doubts about your fitness now there still are 8 days left, and if you commit to two runs of your best effort daily you just might get past the Express Test. You must be doing as many push-ups and sit-ups as you can by now, as often as you can. Chin-ups would be good as well. The policy now is that if you fail the Shuttle Run we will send you home and you can re-apply in 6 months. That’s a waist of your tax dollars though, isn’t it? Besides this small point, most of the injuries we see that potentially take you off-course are caused by being physically un-prepared for the course. That’s why you should arrive in the best shape you can.
2) Make sure you have your finances in order. This career is like any job in that you will not be getting a pay-check right away. You will need the money suggested to purchase what you need here for course materials. Things like boot-bands, an Iron, the proper locks. You need them and you will have to buy them. You need to insure that anyone left behind, be it wife or husband, kids, family, will have adequate finances available. You do not need the distraction of having to do extra admin while your course is learning. Bring extra money if possible, or better yet have your money in a debit-card accessible account you can access through normal banking machines.
I could give a lot more advice, but what the Recruiting office gave you is bang-on: follow it. HAVE the Course documentation given you so far available IMMEDIATELY as you exit the Taxi when you arrive at the Mega. If you have brought your own car, and we discourage this, you MUST insure you follow instructions for parking it. If you didn’t get any, ASK. I recommend only a normal haircut, nothing radically military unless you know the dress regulations because we will insure you have a haircut within days of arriving and you may be wasting your money. Unless you are sure of what you need to buy, do not waste you money by pre-purchasing things.
Your course starts on the 21st, eh? Good luck to you all and welcome to one of the most rewarding professions there are. Any of the long-serving posters can tell you that there are exiting times and opportunities awaiting you.
This thread has some interesting prospects. Perhaps something can be done to for future recruits or prospective. That isn’t my job but I will pass that one my CofC. For the old snots who remember Cornwallis, this isn’t it, a fact you already know. But what you don’t know is that these future prospects will be learning a lot of the tactical and field applications some of you didn’t see until you were on tour. Things in the field in Farnham are VERY different from what you remember. It would be a bit of an education for all serving members to hear from these future recruits as they go through their course, wouldn’t you agree?
see you there.
