army reserve

[impactX]

If you sign up now, I doubt you will be able to go to camp in time in the summer.

I signed up around the same time last year. Gave up after knowing how long the application process was going to take.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

Originally posted by impactX
If you sign up now, I doubt you will be able to go to camp in time in the summer.

I signed up around the same time last year. Gave up after knowing how long the application process was going to take.

probably wont make boot camp. unless they run one in august. then you might make that. but trust me, you don't wanan go straight into boot camp without any parade nights. it'll be total culture shock to you, unless you've been in cadets or something.

[SeanJohn]

Originally posted by Ulic Qel-Droma
heh, the mexican woman. yeah, she had a pretty bad experience. it took her a year to get in. hell it took me almost a year to get in. but from what i've heard it's a lot better now. if you were to hand in your papers like.. this week, you'll probably be in within 3 months. hopefully :S

i would fill in the papers and hand them in asap. like this week.
the references. no letter. just get two of your good buddies to fill in the blanks on those sheets (two right? they havnt changed that?)

umm what else.. oh yeah be a keener. be presistant. call every 2 weeks after you hand in your package. call them and ask your status, if they've sent it off yet. eventually they'll tell you that it's not in their hands anymore and they've sent it off the HQ (downtown). then you call HQ every 2 weeks and ask them of your status. and eventually they'll tell you to come down and do a medical, physical and amplitude test. after you do that. you call them till they say your shit is in ottawa. then you basically wait. and wait... depending on your background check and how you did on the tests and if there are any complications (medical). you get a phone call. they tell you to go to your unit. and you swear in, then.. that's it.

just curious... since i never hang out in the recruiting area there... the mexican woman, was she a recruiter? or did you just happen to talk to her? because from what i know there are only three recruiters. you either had a little talk with captain davis, liutenant quinn or private watson.

you sure she was mexican? she sounded russian to me...but yeah, she was the only one there.

alright, so from what im reading from the previous posts, im prolly not gonna make it in time for camp but would i still be doing the usual stuff you do on parade nights? and then go to camp the next time it comes around? if i got accepted that is.

well, it's three references now...one from a current/former employer, one from a current/former educator, and one from a friend.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

Originally posted by SeanJohn
you sure she was mexican? she sounded russian to me...but yeah, she was the only one there.

alright, so from what im reading from the previous posts, im prolly not gonna make it in time for camp but would i still be doing the usual stuff you do on parade nights? and then go to camp the next time it comes around? if i got accepted that is.

well, it's three references now...one from a current/former employer, one from a current/former educator, and one from a friend.

heh pretty sure shes mexican.

yeah, your most probably wont make basic training this summer, unless they run one real late (they did last year because a shit load of people joined late, so they decided to run one in august).

on parade nights you would be in PAT platoon (personnel awaiting training). and they basically prep you for basic training, give you weapons handling lessons, navigation...etc. basically basic training without the excessive busy work and screaming and yelling.

yeah the three references, just get them to fill out the blanks, no letter needed.

-do they 'look down on you' if you were a cadet? (i heard that if you were ever in cadets, it's best not to mention it)
-what do you think is an ideal age to join? 16 seems a little young.
-is it hard to keep up with school and everything else?

edit: sorry, double post

[impactX]

Ideal age is 16, so when you are 20 or so, you will be a coporal or Master Coporal. Joining late sucks.

[bcrdukes]

Originally posted by wirehangers
-do they 'look down on you' if you were a cadet? (i heard that if you were ever in cadets, it's best not to mention it)
-what do you think is an ideal age to join? 16 seems a little young.
-is it hard to keep up with school and everything else?

1) No but they expect you to help your buddies out.

2) 16. Join now while you can and while you're young.

3) No. You'll learn your priorities and it helps develop time management.

[biu gor]

i always been curious about joing the military as a reserve.
I've actually have an undergrad degree in computer science. I've heard that if you have a degree, you can take courses to become an officer after basic training. Is that true?

Is it hard to be an officer?

[ÜberJumper]

I served from 90-98 with The Royal Westminster Regiment in New Westminster.

Did my GMT (General Military Training) in August of '90, BTT (Basic Trade Training) Infantry Course in Winter/Spring '91, STT (Specialized Trade Training) Infantry Mortars in July of '91, Recce Course fall/winter of '91 (did not complete for medical reasons), STT Infantry Comms (or did they drop STT to QL4 by then?), and my Basic Para in November of '92. I served as a Rifleman (and C-9 Gunner occasionally), Section 2IC (acting section commander a couple of times), Platoon Signaller, and Company Signaller.

I was 17 when I started. By the time I finished Highschool, I was trained to close with and destroy the enemy. My self confidence went through the roof. I got to see and do things that most people never get to experience. I learned my limits physically and mentally. I met amazing people who had seen the ugliest the human race had to offer and survived or even thrived.

In short, it was the BEST, TIME, EVER. You can do yourself no wrong by joining the Army Reserve.

Here's some shots for entertainment purposes... http://uberjumper.hwcommunity.com/gallery/military

biu gor: If you have a university degree, AND you score well enough on the aptitude tests, you can be offered a chance at a commision. Be warned though, Infantry officers get less sleep and have more responsibilities than most others (in my experience).

[bcrdukes]

If you have a degree, you can become an officer. You still go through basic training except with other officer candidates and a lot of training involves leadership, strategy and whatnot.

Since you have a degree in computer sciences, what you could do is check out the Communications Squadron at the Jericho Garrison located on W.4th just before UBC.

[killyourparents]

i'm not sure what an officer is... so can somebody explain what exactly is an officer?

how does having a degree help in the reserves?

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

Originally posted by ÜberJumper
I served from 90-98 with The Royal Westminster Regiment in New Westminster.

oh man, oldschool heh. The reserves I think, would be slightly different now with all the cut backs. I always hear stories of the "good ol days" when they actually had proper funding. the east get so much more than the west.

heh im glad i dont have to wear that green mopat no more, cadpat baby.

damn you have your jump wings? nice. you have no idea how hard it is to get on the jump course now. last year, in the 3 years i've been in, they ran one for 39brigade. ONE PERSON from each unit went. and like, only one person from 39 brigade came back without injuries or other reasons for quitting/failing that course. and of course it was the good old service battalion, that was a good laugh haha.

Originally posted by wirehangers
-do they 'look down on you' if you were a cadet? (i heard that if you were ever in cadets, it's best not to mention it)
-what do you think is an ideal age to join? 16 seems a little young.
-is it hard to keep up with school and everything else?

-they don't look down on you. They expect you to know more, and to show it. Don't boast about it, don't expect to be treated the same if you were a sergeant or a warrant in the cadets. You're gonna start off as a no hook private like everyone else.

-16 is good, if i knew about the reserves back when i was 16, i would have joined. i joined when i was 19 or 20. since all the training is run during the summer, and highschool sping breaks, i'm almost never free. that means less qualifications, which means less promotions. If you're in highschool man, within 2 years, you should be a corporal and another 2 years if you're dedicated, a master corporal. highschool is good.

-No, the reserves are very flexible, if you have a big test, or exam, project..etc. whatever, you just tell them ahead of time and say you cant make that exersize or that parade night due to "whatever" and that's that. they'll leave it at that. but if you constantly do that over and over again, they'll kinda raise an eyebrow at you and question it. the MINIMUM attendance required before they stick you on NES (non effective strength) is parading ONCE a month, which isn't that terribly hard to do. if you're on NES they review your file and decide what to do with you.

Originally posted by biu gor
i always been curious about joing the military as a reserve.
I've actually have an undergrad degree in computer science. I've heard that if you have a degree, you can take courses to become an officer after basic training. Is that true?

Is it hard to be an officer?

You apply as an officer, and your application will get reviewed. Usually your degree has to do with your trade or unit or whatever. But that's not always the case, I mean, there's no degree for infantry haha. a lotta history majors stuff like that, psych. for the engineers and the more technical trades, they will definately prefer an engineering degree, or some kind of technical background/qualification. Of course lawyers and doctors need the appropriate degrees.

a lot of the officers in the infantry are actually drawn out of the enlisted. they pick the guys most qualified and that show leadership. because a degree does not equal leadership. but there are many exceptions.

as for killyourparents question, I'll have to get back to that. haha, I don't know the "official" definition. but, in my own words, quickly, enlisted are basically the worker bees, they're the ones that get all nitty gritty and dirty, they specialize in one specific area, they do the "work". Officers would be kinda like managers, they don't specialize in anyone area, but they are familiar with "all" areas. they are not expected to know the technical side of things, they have sergeants and warrants (higher ranking enlisted) to help them out on these things. they make major decisions, and do most of the paperwork. heh yeah they sit behind desks a lot of the time.

[ÜberJumper]

It was pretty easy for us to get a Jump course back then, as we were tasked to provide an operational jump platoon attached to 2Cdo of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. As jumpers, we paraded with Maroon Berets, and the old pattern pants, but wore jump smocks (with Maroon Airborne T-shirts underneath) instead of regular tops.

We lost our jump tasking in early '95 if I remember correctly, and when the 10/90 battalions came into effect (for those couple of years), we became B-company of 3PPCLI, and were tasked to provide the Battalion TOW platoon.

I remember hearing stories from "The Good Ol Days" when I was in as well. I don't think there are good ol days, just different ones :-)

[bcrdukes]

It was sad to see the Jump Team become disbanded.

[ÜberJumper]

Well... we lost our Jump Platoon before the Airborne Regiment was disbanded. But the Airborne Regiment's actually still around... kinda. The jump companies in the Regular Battalions are essentially the same thing.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

hidden.. yes.. secret.
heh saw plenty of maroon berets when i was in edmonton.

yeah it's pretty hard to get on courses now. well anything past your QL3.

[Enecsver]

so would so you on average, a office cadet makes 12 bucks an hour? How much do you think one can potentially make in a week?

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

i a private3 and i get paid more than an officer cadet does in any of his stages.

if you worked full days 5 days a week. or 4 days a week, 395-495 bucks. that is if im in the lowermainlands. if i was working say in borden away from home thats an extra 17 dollars non taxable straight to my pocket per day.

officer cadets dont make much heh. but that soon changes as soon as they pass their training. no one joins to stay ocdt forever. once you pass your basic training and officer training you'll be promoted to second liutenant, and shortly after that if you complete another qualification you get promoted to lieutenant.

like i said though, you cannot depend on the reserves for a steady income. it's once a week, one weekend a month job. you get most of your money from going away getting qualifications during the summer.

it's a good job for highschool students, university students, and people that just have some spare time.

if you have a full career, that requires you to work 5 days a week 8-5 or whatever, and you're not allowed to take time off to go training, you're never going to get promoted because you'll never beable to go away and get qualifications.

if you're lucky you can be asked to come in regulary (day staff) and basically work there, or even better land a class B contract where you get paid 24/7 even though you only work 3.5 days a week. (this is for all ranks)

[SeanJohn]

okay, i got the package of info after i dropped off my application.

it's pretty good info, especially the interview stuff.

seems like they want you to research your top three trades, am i right? should i be going down to the base to be doing that stuff?

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

if you're keen heh. or you can ask here, and search the dnd website. if that doesn't satisfy you, then yes you can go down and get them to show you what those trades do. but then remember, this is the reserves, in the most west end of canada (the rule is, the farther west you go, the less funding you get )

your trades will be limited to your physical attributes. err well not really. but i mean like eye sight, hearing.. i guess more so your medical.

anyways yeah. just ask away.

[smok3y]

i duno what u applied for but i applied for infantry soldier and the recruiter told me not to even bother writing down anything for alternate positions... he said i'd get it for sure

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

haha yes, for sure. you can never have enough infantry

[NB8C]

I applied for infantry (Reg force) as well about 2 yrs ago at my first choice but I didnt get it coz my vision. But thats not a bad thing at all because I am sure guys like us from Vancouver do not enjoy the freezing temperature in the East coast.

I dont know too much about the Basic Training for reserves. But I would suggest to start training yourself by the time you hand the paper work in.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

^
so what trade are you now?or did you just give up cuz you didnt get infantry.