Joining the CF

[63rd@Nish]

Hello everybody!

I would like to join the CF but I am not yet qualified (I‘m a Landed Immigrant). I really, really, really wanna be in the Army but as of now I am eligible for the Reserves only.

What I am interested in is this Basic Training. They say it‘s outrageously demanding. I am not scared, I will pass. I just wanna know the details. Would anyone be so kind to help?

BTW, I came from Serbia 5 years ago. I was drafted (63rd Para / Special Forces) and was ready to start my training but then we got visas for Canada and left the country.

The requirements are as follows:

"Must be a Canadian Citizen (or permanent resident of Canada for Reserves)."

Cool, I am a perm. resident.

"Must have at least grade 10."

Cool.

"Must not have any outstanding judicial requirements such as fines, probation, etc. "

Cool. Never had trouble with the law.

"Must be 16 years of age (or to turn before enrolled). "

I am 22.

"Must be medically fit for the trade. "

Strong as an ox!

"Must meet test standards. "

Hmm... This I am not familiar with. What kind of "test standards" are we talking about?


Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[King]

I‘ll give you the link to the the CF Recruiting page. There‘s information on the entire process you have to go through, including PT standards. I just finished the recruiting process to get into the reserves, waiting for the unit to give me a call. If you want you can drop me an e-mail.


http://209.82.43.54/html/index.html

 

[63rd@Nish]

Hey, thanks for the link!
I‘ll check it out asap.

Keep in touch,
Cheers

 

[Brad Sallows]

"Strong as an ox" is not equivalent to "medically fit". (Ask Arnold Schwarzenegger.)

 

[fortuncookie5084]

The standards they speak of are fairly simple: No physical handicaps that prevent carrying out your duty. You cannot be colour blind, pass a drug test (they can test you any time, btw), and a vision test. There is a multiple choice test too, and an interview. It‘s easy. I say visit the Regiment of your choice and speak to their recruiting section. Plus if you have military experience then you‘ll be ahead of the game. Basic training for the reserves just isn‘t as hard as it should be, so don‘t think too much of it till you get there---you might even do it on weekends if that‘s how your brigade handles things. Do you know what Regiment you want be a part of?

 

[63rd@Nish]

"The standards they speak of are fairly simple: No physical handicaps that prevent carrying out your duty. "

Right. I am 100% able.

"You cannot be colour blind, pass a drug test (they can test you any time, btw), and a vision test."

Understood. I am not colour blind; have never used drugs; 20/20 .

"There is a multiple choice test too, and an interview. It‘s easy. "

OK, so I have a fair chance of passing it... I hope.

"I say visit the Regiment of your choice and speak to their recruiting section."

Well, the recruitment office is just 2 blocks down the road from where I live. I will go there either on Friday or first thing Monday morning. The Regiments in our area (Windsor, ON) that I am aware of are The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment and The Windsor Regiment (RCAC).

"Basic training for the reserves just isn‘t as hard as it should be, so don‘t think too much of it till you get there---you might even do it on weekends if that‘s how your brigade handles things."

Right. Well, I wouldn‘t mind if I had to do it on a daily basis cuz I‘ve just been laid off (due to the Sept 11 attacks) and have loads of time on my hands... As for the training itself, I am confident enough. Based on my preliminary fitness exam, I was drafted into the 63rd Parachute Brigade of the Yugoslav Army (which is like THE elite unit of the YA, along with the 72nd Motorized). However, I never actually had any real training because, as I said in my previous post, we emigrated before I could actually start my service.

"Do you know what Regiment you want be a part of?"

Well, I have no preference, really. I‘d just like to join... Any of the two I mentioned above would be perfectly fine. I don‘t know if I‘d be willing to relocate, though Actually, I have no idea whether I will be required to relocate for longer periods of time. I will go to the Office and will be back here to tell you how it went.

I have just one more question: Can I choose my position/job within the Reserves after I complete the Basic Training or do I have to make up my mind before starting BT? I am asking because I want to know more about different "fields" before making my choice and I think I‘d make a much better decision if I were to choose after having first successfully completed BT.

Thanks for your help, guys!
Cheers!

 

[Spanky]

I‘m certainly biased here, but the Windsor Regiment would be a good choice. As armoured recce we perform a large number of different tasks and we have the opportunity to send patrols or troops on different taskings. The people are the best.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I‘m with Spanky. If you want to go to the Windsor‘s, go to the armouries and see MCpl Trottier in the recruiting office and she‘ll get you started.

 

[63rd@Nish]

Thanks!!!

 

[enfield]

Join the Ek Scots. In the end, of course, it‘s up to you, but check them both out. The Infantry, especially, in the Reserves, offers rewards no other trade or branch can - and the training is still the longets and hardest (not that‘s it all that hard anymore).
In a reserve infantry unit yu can choose your job to a degree - Infanteer, clerk, Supply,, maybe Medic or Mechanic if they‘re recruiting for them. BUt keep in mind that all of those are seperate jobs and seperate training. Infanteer is the "foot soldier", and as such you‘ll do a variety of jobs/roles/duties depending on the needs of the unit and which coures you have. Rifleman, machine-gunner, driver, heavy weapons, recce patrolman, and many more.
Also, and this is important - your Yugoslavian, right? The Military will LOVE you. Translators are always in short supply overseas and when they find a soldier who can speak the local language and get him overseas he‘s treated like gold. If you want to, you could be back in the Balkans relaively soon on a tour.

 

[Garett]

GO INFANTRY, don‘t play with toy tanks!!!!

DUCIMUS

 

[63rd@Nish]

Enfield,

Thank you for your reply. Yeah, I had a feeling the knowledge of Serbian would be an advantage. In the Balkans, some 20 million people speak Serbian. However, I don‘t think I‘d want to be in the Balkans. It‘s hell, as many Canadian soldiers will tell you.

I am good (very good, actually) at computers so I thought an office job (or anything to do with computers) would be awesome. I can contribute with my knowledge of a foreign language without leaving Canada, can‘t I?

Went to the U of W this past Friday and got all kinds of CF brochures. I‘ve read them countless times since.

If I am with the Reserves, will I have to go to Saint-Jean for 10 weeks of Basic Training or the Reserves have a different way of doing it? I know I can go to the Recruiting Office here and ask but maybe you could help...

I told my Mum about my plans to join the Reserves and she said - "Thank God you‘ve made a decent decision for once in your life!"

Catch you later, guys!

 

[enfield]

Ok, to be a soldier you need two courses - Basic Military Training and your Trades course. Everyone does BMT, an dit‘s the same across the military. It teaches you drill, military law, basic rifle, etc. This is usually done in a a weekends and evenings course where anumber of units (infantry, armour, arty, service, medic, etc.) send their recruits to be trained. At the end of this course, you would be returned to your regiment.
The second course you need is your trade course - such as Infantry, or Mechanic, or whatever. It‘s where you learn the job you will do in your unit. This course is always done over the summer (course lengths vary between year to year and which trade - infantry is the longest, and some service trades take a few summers to learn). Summers are done at a central base in the region, or some tradesaredone at one base in the counytry - military police go to Borden Ontario for example.

Now, some Areas (ie, parts of the country) offer GMT and the Infantry course in one big package deal over the summer (other trades may do this also, I don‘t know).

Office work is done by RMS Clerk. I don‘t know how much of your computer skills you‘d get to put to use, but it‘s defintaley a trade that‘s very necessary. However, keep in mind that you wouldn‘t get to do the "fun" "army" stuff as a clerk.
Drop by the units and talk to the them, look around. Which unit and which trade you choose will have a big effect on your career.
I‘d have to say go infantry, but I‘m biased. And there are benefits to being a Scottish/Highland unit...

 

[John Nayduk]

Try the Windsor Regiment web site at http://www.windsorregt.ca. By the way, as armoured recce, we don‘t use toy tanks, we use 4 wheel drive vehicles. Another thing to concider is the people you will be working for. Both regiments have good people but take a look at how many join a certian regiment and then quit within a year, there must be a reason.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Originally posted by Enfield:
[qb]
In a reserve infantry unit yu can choose your job to a degree - Infanteer, clerk, Supply,, maybe Medic or Mechanic if they‘re recruiting for them. Infanteer is the "foot soldier", and as such you‘ll do a variety of jobs/roles/duties depending on the needs of the unit and which coures you have. Rifleman, machine-gunner, driver, heavy weapons, recce patrolman, and many more.
.[/qb]

I don‘t know what infantry reserve regiment trains mechanics (or why), etc. Those are all separate MOC‘s from infantry. You may get ERE‘d into one of them, but not as that trade MOC, you‘ll still be infantry! Meaning line serialed to "rifleman" for the next long while. As to all the neat stuff- mg gunner, driver,hvy wpns & RECCE ptl (we do it both on foot and vehicle mounted), it‘s yours to choose, but the infantry don‘t have a lock on this stuff. Come on down to the armouries this Thursday night. We‘ll have a bunch of our jeeps from the hanger there. We‘ll be doing some radio, weapons cleaning and having some fun. Come and chat and have a look.