Inquiry: Logistics Officer

[JC2213]

Hello all,

A little about myself: I am currently a reservist  mobile support equipment operator (private). I have finished BMQ-C, and am hoping to complete both BMQ-L and QL3 this summer. I will be finishing my arts degree (major in philosophy) this coming May.

I am intending to apply for logistics officer this coming September. Before that however, I have a few questions about life in the CF as a logistics officer and was hoping to hear from current reg force logistics officers or ex-reg force logistics officers.

My Questions:

1) Are there opportunities to do exciting training throughout the career? I.e. Are logistics officers often seen participating in such training such as parachuting? or perhaps some of the more exciting training which NCMs participate in?
2) Are you optimistic about work placement civy side after reg force? (How transferable do you feel your skills are?).
3) How stable would you consider this occupation (in regards to raising a family in consideration of needing to relocate multiple times in ones career).
4) How frequently do you move bases? How frequently do you change elements (Air, Land, Sea?)
5) Is racism an issue in the reg force CF for ethnic minorities?

Thank you in advance for any advice. General comments on the occupation not listed in the questions would also be very appreciated. I am hoping to get an interview soon with an ex-reg force logistics officer, so I wanted to get some information on the questions I intend to ask before speaking with them.

JC2213

MOD EDIT:  Corrects "logistics" in thread title

 

[SentryMAn]

I'm a Former PRes Air Log-O, I'll answer the questions as best I can to help you out.

My Questions:

1) Are there opportunities to do exciting training throughout the career? I.e. Are logistics officers often seen participating in such training such as parachuting? or perhaps some of the more exciting training which NCMs participate in?
I was not included in any such training.  My training was for my trade and involved many days spent in classrooms in front of lecturers. 
2) Are you optimistic about work placement civy side after reg force? (How transferable do you feel your skills are?).
No, not at all, of all the trades in the military LogO has good transferable skills to civilian employment.  Any business, weather government or private works similar and requires certain things to exist.
3) How stable would you consider this occupation (in regards to raising a family in consideration of needing to relocate multiple times in ones career).
I cannot answer this question, I was located in a PRes unit and was never posted.
4) How frequently do you move bases? How frequently do you change elements (Air, Land, Sea?)
Again I cannot answer with 100% certainty, from what I was told the posting time frame was 2-4 years per posting.  But remember you can get posted to the same base just a different unit too.
5) Is racism an issue in the reg force CF for ethnic minorities?
I only ran into one person that was racist, and it was short lived.

Hope this helps a bit?

You may have issues with becoming a Log-O with an Arts degree in Philosophy.  Best to talk to a recruiter soon to find out if it is an acceptable degree for the trade.

 

[brihard]

Hello all,

A little about myself: I am currently a reservist  mobile support equipment operator (private). I have finished BMQ-C, and am hoping to complete both BMQ-L and QL3 this summer. I will be finishing my arts degree (major in philosophy) this coming May.

I am intending to apply for logistics officer this coming September. Before that however, I have a few questions about life in the CF as a logistics officer and was hoping to hear from current reg force logistics officers or ex-reg force logistics officers.

My Questions:

1) Are there opportunities to do exciting training throughout the career? I.e. Are logistics officers often seen participating in such training such as parachuting? or perhaps some of the more exciting training which NCMs participate in?
2) Are you optimistic about work placement civy side after reg force? (How transferable do you feel your skills are?).
3) How stable would you consider this occupation (in regards to raising a family in consideration of needing to relocate multiple times in ones career).
4) How frequently do you move bases? How frequently do you change elements (Air, Land, Sea?)
5) Is racism an issue in the reg force CF for ethnic minorities?

Thank you in advance for any advice. General comments on the occupation not listed in the questions would also be very appreciated. I am hoping to get an interview soon with an ex-reg force logistics officer, so I wanted to get some information on the questions I intend to ask before speaking with them.

JC2213

I'm not a logistics officer; I have two family members who are/were, and I have a number of years in the military myself. I'll speak to what I'm able to.

1) There are opportunities, but they won't be nearly as frequent as you'd find in the combat trades, and as we're forced increasingly to make do with less, priorities will dictate that we throw less LogOs out of planes and the like. You'll get the necessary range time and skills training to maintain the basic level of readiness you're expected to have.

2) LogOs tend to get a skillset that is more applicable to the civilian world than most. Good LogOs get poached regularly. But as with anything, it's as much about your ability to network and market yourself as worth someone's time. The world runs on logistics, so if you get good at moving stuff and people, dealing with supply chains or finance, you'll have skills that will give you a leg up.

3/4) Hard to say... Like anything in the military, it can be a roll of the dice; you may move a lot or not very much. The general CF trned is towards less moving form place to place in order to save money. Now, LogOs can more easily find employment in headquarters in palces like Ottawa, Halifax, Esquimault, etc... But they are also needed in such lovely locales as Meaford, Goose Bay, Cold Lake. In short, expect the possibility of moving. As you get to know the trade, you'll get a sense of what it means to your career options if you choose to try not to. On the other hand, you'll get some pretty cool opportunities if you line yourself up for them and express interest- my LogO family members have served in Germany, Cambodia, Bosnia, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, Afghanistan, Britain, and elsewhere.

5) The CF does its best to be representative of Canadian society. Yes, there is racism in the CF, because there are racists in Canada. We unfortunately can't successfully weed out every mouth-breathing degenerate with obsolete world views at the recruiting centre. However institutionally we DO NOT tolerate it, and if you experience genuine racism, your peers and chain of command should absolutely back you in seeing it rectified. There is no excuse in our institution not to treat people in accordance with their inherently equal human worth, and to judge them based on their merits and actual proficiencies rather than the colour of their skin, what they pray to, or whatever.

Best of luck!