reserve life...

[Slanker]

I guess i‘ve never really known exactly what type of things you do after you finish BIQ. I know that you go in on tuesday and every second weekend? but what exactly do you do. some examples form some reservists would be great!

 

[Spr.Earl]

You sit,learn and be patient.

 

[Mr. Ted]

Usually it‘s one weekend a month, and your parade night during the week. Sometimes they offer you another weeknight as a "PT" night, floor hockey, running, that sort of thing. Not sure if it‘s still done though.

Your parade night is usually forming up into sections, and breaking off to either do simple training round robin excercies(take the gas mask off, put it on, assemble the C7, dissasemble, load the CarlG, unload it), kit inspections, various bits of administrivia, and planning for the monthly ex. As well, you will probably find half an hour somewhere to go the junior ranks mess and hang out, then a final parade, a bunch of yelling, and then everyone goes to burger king.

The weekend excercises are where it‘s at. The parade nights, unless it‘s a range night, are unfortunately not terribly exciting. Unless you‘re doing hand to hand combat or the local SWAT team is giving a demo or some such thing.

Ted

 

[kyleg]

SWAT demo, eh? Sounds pretty cool. Anyone know much about Montreal‘s SWAT? I don‘t know if we even have one :S

 

[mattoigta]

My unit has some better training nights than Mr Ted explained. Alot of the time we do alot of really hands-on things that arent really the basics (such as weapons drills or gas mask drills), we do a lot FIBUA or OBUA or whatever the **** they call it now - urban combat training. Lately we‘ve done a lot of vehicle checkpoints and searches, pioneer type stuff, and also theoretical classes such as going through the procedures for different patrols, or Fibua, Booby Trap and Mine Awareness

Possibilities are endless.

And Kyle G - I‘m sure montreal has an ERU (emergency Response Unit)or ETF (Emergency Task Force)or whatever they call it there - SWAT is an American term

 

[kyleg]

Yeah, I knew SWAT was an American term, I just forgot the acronym we use here. I‘ll look it up.

 

[portcullisguy]

Nearly every major police service has a tactical team, including Montreal.

Toronto‘s ETF (Emergency Task Force) did a demo for the 48th a while ago, although I was working and unable to attend that night.

Even Halton Regional Police, a force of no more than 300 cops, has an emergency task force and a bomb squad. The province enforces minimum standards for a police service to qualify and be recognized as having that capability, and it usually means some additional resources allotted by the province (although the budgeting is normally municipal).

Anyway enough about that.

Parade nights are exactly as was described. There will be class training, anything from learning about your pay statement and benefit plans, to classes on things you need to know for an upcoming ex, such as house clearing, vehicle check points (VCP‘s), etc. 32 Brigade is doing a lot of that sort of stuff, as we are in "transitional operations", meaning going from defensive to offensive ops, and it involves a lot of rear area security, FIBUA, patrolling, and meeting engagements (contacting the enemy when neither side has prepared or is aware of the other‘s location previously).

Our unit has our annual church parade soon, so we will start doing more drill and parading in DEU‘s.

At the beginning of the training year (September 2003), there was an emphasis on PT, and each night finished with a 40 minute PT period, and one night we even did a swim test. We are supposed to do another PT test at the end of the year, and the goal is to beat our scores from Sept.

The training is a lot of refresher stuff, but overall is supposed to progress towards a unit or higher formation goal, and the theory is it will all be put in to practice at milcon.

Mr. Ted ... a HALF HOUR in the mess? Oh, before dismissal... ok. We don‘t even see our mess until dismissal, but when we finally get there, we‘re usually there until 1am, drinking ourselves silly. Our mess ain‘t pretty (insert pun here), but it‘s got air hockey, pool, foosball, and beer.

Dileas!

 

[ludacris]

actaully SWAT is just in L.A. Every other city just uses ERT, ERU, OR ETF, SWAT is only los angeles

 

[Meridian]

another probably typical question that relates more to the title of this thread:


Weekend ex‘s.. I see mentioned a lot of fridays.. does this generally mean people take off the friday off of full time work, or.. is it more of a friday night thing?

 

[Mr. Ted]

You would gather at the armories usually at about 6:45 or 7:00 or so in order to hit the local trg area before midnight. Sleep in shacks, train Sat and Sun until about 4:00, then back to the armories for final parade at about 8:00 and dismissal.

Ted

 

[stukirkpatrick]

...shacks?

 

[steve_mackay1088]

well im in the pipe band and the infentry, so im in 2 nights a week and most weekends in my unit. so i drum alot... thats bout it, lol but im on all the ex‘s 2!

 

[clutch6]

Usually when we go on ex. we meet at the armoury at 1900 hrs go out to a training area stay up patrolling until Saturday at around midnight, do mock raids and then just before sunrise on Sunday hit a final objective.

 

[GreenFrog]

sorry Ted but i dont k now what kind of army you join but from the description  you give it cant be an infantry unit...  We dont stay in shacks, shacks are a luxury we live without, just like transportation... does black cadillac mean anything to you? 

 

[Kevins833]

Do Infantry Reserve units ever go on exercises longer than 2 or 3 days? maby during the summer time or something?

 

[leopard11]

from my own personal experiance, yes we do go on ex's longer then 2 or 3 days. Annual  Reserve concentration (stalwart guardian in my Area) was 9 days this year for me(including travel days), Aug 20-29th. also this summer on course, our SQ Ex was 5 days 4 nights, and if  I remember Correctly BIQ was 4 days 3 nights altho it might have been 3 days 2 nights, anyways, yes Reserves go on 'longer' ex's

 

[Kevins833]

so reservesits only do PT once a week, what type of PT do they do.

 

[Highland Lad]

See a previous thread about PT in the Reserves - Most units have a parade night and an admin night each week - sometimes the admin night can be stretched to include other training if something big is coming up, but unless you're a clerk, an officer, or a band dude, one night of training a week is usually it, and yep, it's been described pretty accurately already.

Weekends depend a lot on where you are and where the training area is located - if you're lucky, minimal travel time is required - if you're not, gather at the armouries at 1900, load the buses by 2030, then on the road - arrive at training area entrance by 2230, then load up into black leather cadillacs to travel to the 5-star facilities to put together your bunk from whatever materials are handy, decide who's on picket or stove watch, then you can lie in bed until the wakeup Warrant comes around.

Training can be fun, tedious, dirty, painful, or all of the above, then you leave the training area at whatever time you need to to get back to the armouries by 1600, clean kit and everything else until dismissal parade at 1800 or so, then go to the mess for a pop (wobbly or otherwise) before going home so that you can take at least a half hour or so to get back into civvy mode for Monday AM.

 

[pbi]

Highland Lad: How's the BIQ going? Cheers.

 

[rounder]

so reservesits only do PT once a week, what type of PT do they do.

    In my regt it is the soldiers responsibility to conduct PT on his own time. No, we don't get reimbursed for it, and if we get hurt the CF doesn't cover any of it.