metric vs imperial - which does CF use?

[baudspeed]

I did a search on this and didnt find anything so here is the question:
Simple question does CF use imperial or metric ? i am one of the generations caught in the middle where i talk to my parents, and anyone older than 40 in feet, but have to discuss things in meters with anyone under 25.
I know its an odd question but can someone clarify? which would be best to sharpen up on? i can judge visual distances in kilometers, but short distances i rely on feet, not meters or yards. Please dont tell me that some groups use KM while others use miles?

 

[hugh19]

The navy still uses nautical miles. So imperial measurements are still used. I have yet to hear someone say how long a ship is in meters, its always in feet.

 

[baudspeed]

Do you ever have to deal with other nato countries that use other measurements? and is there a standard between them? I always thought that it might be a bit of an issue if someone would have to work in a joint mission or something and you are constantly doing the conversions.

 

[big bad john]

I've personally never had a problem with it.  It is just something that you might have to deal with once in a while.

 

[rmacqueen]

The CF is actually a real mix.  For instance, we use metric for rounds size, ie 5.56mm, 25mm, 105mm, range is usually done in metres and PT is in km.  At the same time, as was pointed out above, the Navy uses feet and I believe the Air Force measures height in feet.

 

[Kat Stevens]

I believe all of NATO is standardized in the metric system, un-FATHOM-able (see what I did there?) naval traditions to the contrary.  This applies to distances mostly, as our American friends use Km for distance, but still insist on pounds and gallons. Further muddying up the waters, US navigate in degrees and minutes, we navigate in mils.  I've been out of the game for 4 years now, so this may be old info.

 

[baudspeed]

'we navigate in mils.' did you mean miles?

 

[Kat Stevens]

No.... 6400 MILS compose a full circle, 1 degree=17.8 mils

 

[baudspeed]

oh wow... i'm having a hard time getting my head around anything other than degrees. I thought radians were bad...lol

 

[Shamrock]

The divisors of degrees are seconds and minutes, and just like their name suggests, 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in a degree.  So, 1 mil = 0°03'23".  Half a mil is 0.5 mils.  Using mils, it's also easier to measure objects' or locations' distances apart if the distance to the viewer is known.  If two objects 1000 metres each from the viewer are seperated by 10 mils, we know them to be [n] distance apart.  Hence the artillery's, "Whats a mil among friends?"  Mils can also be used by a trained individual to determine ranges using similar calculations.  (I imagine the same is true of degrees but I bet the math gets a bit harder).

The CF is a little more metric than average Canadians.  Officially, we speak metric, but unofficially we'll measure in SI.

 

[baudspeed]

ah... that makes sense! seems like it would be easy to get your head around. 

 

[rmacqueen]

ah... that makes sense! seems like it would be easy to get your head around. 

So much of it you end up picking up by osmosis anyway.  Hang out with a sailor you'll start talking like a sailor, hang out with a soldier...

 

[Shamrock]

Hopefully you pick it up.  I know a few people who can't navigate their way out of a Disney Store with a map, compass, and exit sign.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Q:  Why do we issue OCdts a compass with a mirror?

A:  So they can keep an eye on the a**hole that got em lost!

 

[Shamrock]

I had one troop prepare to march us about 5 km's in the wrong direction when he was putting the black in the bed.  So, I told him, shoot a bearing like that and it'll be a back bearing.  Red in the bed, black takes you back.

After a few moments of internal calculation (and a dirty look at me), he just rotated the dial 3200 mils.  It was a long, mildly humourous walk.

 

[rmacqueen]

Q:  Why do we issue OCdts a compass with a mirror?

A:  So they can keep an eye on the a**hole that got em lost!

:rofl:

On an exercise in Chalk River we went on a foot patrol and the person leading us took us right into a restricted area. Reason it was restricted?  Because there was radioactive material there.  End ex was called and everyone else head back to base while we waited for the guys from the lab to come and check us for contamination.

 

[BernDawg]

Must be where that reactor is buried 

Back to the topic.  We use SI in our National building code but we do all of our work in Imperial.  ie 16" on centre is 400 mm OC etc.  we have to change back and forth quite often but so do civilian carpenters too. 

 

[rmacqueen]

I work for a construction supply company now and I am usually the one explaing sizes to the young kids who start work there.  Sizes are almost all in Imperial but the kids learn metric.  My military background has enabled me to be functional in both.

 

[Centurian1985]

rmacqueen hit the nail on the head.  A lot of our youth dont know how to convert between systems.

I think you would need to do a lot of converting no matter where you work.  Just for your own knowledge you should know degrees, mils systems, and GPS systems; kilometers, miles and nautical miles; and feet, inches and meters.  There are a lot of programs out there that do it automatically for you, but its always best to be able to figure it out in your head.

I.e.; Km to miles is about 1.6:1, miles to nautical miles is about 1.2:1, and km to nm is about 1.9:1.  You can go to decimal places with better numbers but this gives you ballpark figures.

 

 

[Red 6]

The US armed forces are all over the place with the metric and imperial system. We measure distance on the map in kilometers, but run the PFT in miles. Artillery uses mils, but infantrymen measure their azimuths in degrees. The max effective range of a round is expressed in meters, but we still have a 50 cal machine gun. That's just what I can think of off the top of my head.