im going to RMS clerk
the course starts January

wow, that's like the exact opposite of infantry :p
well at least you'll be all warm and comfy. sometimes i wish i was an RMS clerk. feels like they actually do work. make sure everyone gets paid! i love clerks that give me my pay stub :p

Are you serious!?

At worst you will be called to help natural disasters in Canada or help with forest fires...

Thats at worst, because unless WW3 magically comes, you wont go to anywhere outside of Canada. And if WW3 does suddenly occur, well, ya dun fucked up now.



BTW, does the reserves have like sniper dudes or rocket guys...?

reservists never get deployed to war. ie. korean war, and afghanistan 2001.

but reservists can volunteer to go on peace keeping or peace making operations. ie.. afghanistan now... haha. and.. israel, bosnia..etc.
they are designated "safe" enough so the threat is low, but there is still threat.
but things dont always go right. i know a guy over 10 years ago he was in bosnia peacekeeping. i duno handing out candy and stopping theives. whatever. then suddently come the croatians and they had a 15 hour firefight. hey, shit happens. peace keeping becomes peace making sometimes :p


as for.. "sniper dudes" and "rocket guys"... hahaha you have a lot to learn man :p

yes there are snipers, but not in the reserves. perhaps they were regular force, and got sniper qualified and then retired and went reserve. but they dont teach reservists sniper stuff. sniper stuff isnt just shooting well. anyone can be taught that. sniping is NOT just shooting from far away. most of it is observational, scouting, and camo skills.

as for rocket guys. haha.. the canadian forces doesnt have super specific trades like that. unlike the americans where you can be a machine gunner and that's all you do. everyone in the CF gets taught all the weapons. they can all be any position (well other than crazy shit like snipers). anyone in a section (squad) can be assigned to be the machine gunner, rifleman, grenadier, or "rocket guy" as you call it haha.

yeah, if WWIII happens, well fuckin i wouldnt be surprised if they changed the rules and sent reservists to war, but then if WWIII happens, they'll draft all your asses anyways so at least reservists will have rank and wont be thrown into infantry. "here's your rifle, here are your boots. now go run at some bullets"

hey Ulic great stuff thanks!

Got a question fo ya.

So I'm still in highschool but ill be gradding. I'm interested in studying psychology for post-secondary maybe at Cap or UBC or something. I just attended an RMC (Royal Military Conference) seminar and they explained most of the things you just said. Will the reserve help with my tuition fees and other fees?

I was planning to join the reserve in the infantry but with my bad eyes and all it might not be a good idea. So, i might follow your footsteps and be a driver LOL. What do you think?

OH and btw how can i get into Class B contract?

Last question LOL! Say that Canada decides to join a war or something. Am I required to go oversees and fight? or is it voluntary?

i dont know if this has been answered but.. im 16 and in grade 11 if i join the reserves in like whatever the starting position or rank is how much do i get paid?.. i would get paid right? haha

yes you would get paid, you'd get the starting recruit pay, everyone gets that pay when they start out. it's roughly 76 bucks a day. or something like that. if you do some digging in this thread im sure you'll find the exact number and how the army pays (we dont pay by hourly rate).

yes the military will reimburse either partially or fully your education depending on your position and what you're training to be. all reservists that have passed basic training are eligible for 50% or 2000 dollar reimbursement (whichever is lower) per year up to 4 years of undergraduate studies. this is for the reserves. regforce is different. they might cover the whole thing. im not sure on that.

drivers.. well it doesnt matter what you join at first. after basic training, you'll have a real good idea of what you like and do not like. if you loved the field portion of basic, you'll love infantry. if not.. heh... then yeah. i personally like being in a heated cabin of a 6 wheel drive vehicle.

haha.. i answered your last question already but ill answer it again. no. unless it is a war that has come to canadian soil. or perhaps like i said, if it's a really big war like WWIII. they'll probably change the rules and send reservists, and draft people. either way you're going. at least with the reservist training you'll have a trade, and rank. you wont be thrown into the infantry. which is a good or bad thing depending on how you view war :p

for example. in 2001 canada went to war. in afghanistan. yes it was WAR. regular force went. reservists didnt go. even if we wanted to we couldnt. reservists can volunteer for peacekeeping operations overseas.. if there is room.

ie. now. afghanistan is no longer at war and is in a peacekeeping situation. starting 2008 or earlier they'll be reserivsts in afghanistan peacekeeping.

what is the comm group like?

honestly, i have no clue. haha a buncha nerdy computer guys. hahah i duno for real.
but you need to have level: secret clearance to be communications. so perhaps your background will be checked even further. most probably will.

well, i got my appointment time for next thursday.

im gonna start getting my interview answers ready this week so that im well prepared.

they also wanted me to bring some fitness clothes, haha. i guess they are gonna have me do somethinig more than just a step test?

im sure i have all the bases covered but is there anything i should know that they might do or ask that seems to come out of left base? like any "if you were a flower, what type of flower and why" type questions? anything about the tests?

haha no. the interview will be pretty straight forward.

the only questions i remember them asking me were

"have you ever used drugs? (something like that)"
"uhh, does aspirin count?"
"well, here's a list, look over it and maybe it will refresh your memory" *hand's be a nicely laminated sheet listing every imaginable illegal drug possible*
"no"

what else did they ask.. oh yeah
something about racism, and homo stuff. like if a homo was checking you out, how would you deal with it? he kinda gave me multiple choice, like if i would punch him out, talk to him about it or whatever. then he said if he persisted what i would do. pretty simple straight forward stuff.

btw, if you have like, dyed pink hair and like.. you look like some street punk or hippy, i'd suggest you change your look before your interview. they dont look highly on.. umm, individualism? i don't know the word. ie. a face full of metal, a really fucked up haircut or hair color, weird ass objects implanted in your face. shit like that. i also suggest you have a clean shave, and no choppers. and by choppers i mean huge sideburns. technically you could do that stuff, but hey, lets be realistic.

for the medical test, it's pretty straight forward. u get locked in this sound proof cabinate thing haha.. and whenever u hear a beep u click the button. for your eye test, u look at letters and read them. they get smaller and stuff.
then you strip down to your underwear and the doctor there uses his hearing enhancing round thingie and listens to your heart beat, your breathing..etc. looks for scars and abnormal markings on your body, like.. i duno rashes and needle marks hah. asks you about them.

for physical test, they make u do some situps, some pushups, and a grip test. then a step test (which is supposed to simulate 2.4k run). that's all they did for me.

for written tests.. uhh.. yeah.. i dont really remember, but it gets increasingly hard.
the examples i got were
slow is to slug
fast is to ____
a) speakers
b) speedy
c) ferious
d) wheel

shit liek that. i thought it was gonna be so easy. but it gets pretty hard. the vocab increases to a point where i almost didnt know any of the words. but dont worry. any normal person should beable to pass it.

then they have shape stuff.. like.. a shape thats unwrapped and you have to figure out what it would look like if it was put together. they also have some simple math questions

dont worry. u get scrap paper and stuff. like i said, if you passed grd 8, you should beable to pass this test. i know people that cant read that are in, i dont know how they got in but yeah :p those identifying the shapes and stuff are pretty hard. i suggest u make use of the scrap paper. either draw it out, or rip paper out and try to reconstruct the shape. do whatever you can. but that's more for advanced positions like pilots.

anyways good luck. it's not that hard :p as long as you have all your limbs, and half a brain, you'll get in.

i still remember during the questionaire... asking which drugs you have done, and how much you have done them...

one of the guys in my room asked the person, "what if i don't remember how many times i've done it....?" i think he was talking about pot.

well, ill tell the truth when they ask me ;)

those handouts really gave me the impression that the screening process would be a lot tougher than the standards that you gave ulic, haha.

in that case, im sure ill get in and when i do, i guess i owe you one.

remember that you do have to give a urine sample and that drugs will come up when they look at it (if you've taken drugs before)... so make sure you are honest.

oh yeah i forgot about that, urine sample. u know, i have a feeling they just huck it out. but you never know. every year we get a speech on the CF drug use policy. it may sound like a joke, till someone gets caught. most british columbians take it as a joke (and we all know why). but yeah. keep clean. the only drugs soldiers are hopped up on is caffeine and alcohol.

hey, how long will the interview take?

around 45mins, and at the end of the interview you will be told rather you are ready for the job or not.

I can still remember a few interview questions when I had mine 2 yrs ago:

- any problems with shooting a person at a self-defence situation
- hours of exercise/sports u have been involved per week
- how did you prepare yourself (physically) for basic training
- the role/misson for Canadian Forces (ie. peacekeeping, home-land security)
- of course the most important one.....what makes you want to be part of the CF


dont worry too much......goodluck

Hello Phillip :) It's Lincoln

Hello Folks,

I am a 4th year member of 12 service battalion in Richmond and my trade is Vehicle Technician. I am 22 and a full-time engineering student at UBC. I am serving with Ulic (Geoff), whom you are all familiar with in a good way or bad.

I am here to help ulic and all the other regular/reserve soldiers here in this thread answer your questions and inquiries. My trade in the army is automotive repair, diagnostic, maintenance and recovery (towing). We also work with small motors such as outboards, generators and chainsaws. I believe many of you have interest in this field, and are just itching to get your hands dirty! So please go ahead, ask away, and no questions will be turned down. I hope my area of interest and my specific trade in the army will help answer some of your more specific questions regarding the automotive trade in the army and its associated training!

I am not here too often, so please add me on MSN @ lincolnism@hotmail.com, and I shall do my best!

In the reserves, the comms guys take care of mostly radio communications, ie command posts, vehicle mounted radios, personal radios etc during training exercises involving troops, vehicles and many levels command. They are responsible for setting them up, programming them, linking them together and tearing them down afterwards.

In the comms unit are also attached a small group of maintenance natured troops who repair the communications equipment, and some mechanics to keep their vehicles in shape. You also get some supply guys who take care of your uniform, bullets and beans, and the clerk that handles your pay and paperwork. But for the most part, comms guys are there to keep you talking to people above and people below.

I just handed my applications in yesterday at the richmond one :D

wut if u can't run da 2.4k cause u smoke to much n get tired to fast

When I got fitness tested, there was no actual running involved. Just a "step test" to gauge your heart rate and blood pressure, or something like that. They check to see how much it elevates and that tells them what shape your in.

So basically you just do this stepoping exercise for 3 minutes straight, its as easy as pie compared to running 2.4 km in under 12 minutes.

what smok3y said. it's easy as pie. they don't expect you to be iron man going into the army. but during basic training, they will slowly work you up. they'll start off slow, perhaps even too easy, but you only go as fast as the slowest person. never leave anyone behind. by the end of basic, i guarentee you'll beable to run the 2.4k in at least 11min.

hope to see you there next early next year.

What trade did you put down for 1st, 2nd and 3rd?